But if we keep reading 1 Corinthians, it seems clear that unity didn’t mean there were no disagreements. Paul writes about several differences, including for example food sacrificed to idols, and on that issue he concluded that eating or not eating the meat is not what mattered, the issue was exercising love toward those with a weaker conscience.
Yes, dietary differences and concerns. No big deal. But matters involving the imminent return of Jesus Christ would be on a totally different level, right?
So I don’t read Paul’s appeal for unity as evidence that every Christian held identical views on every issue. Rather, I see him urging believers to remain united while working through their differences.
Do you suppose Paul would have had a problem with saints pushing back on the imminent return of Christ and vying for the idea that it would be thousands of years into the future? What if they had actively said that the coming of Christ was not going to happen during their generation or lifetime but was to occur thousands of years into the future during the life of prophet LittleNipper?
Do you see where I am going with this, Limnor?
Sure. But I haven’t been following littlenippers argument. But yea I read Paul and others as expecting an imminent return.
I’d politely offer that I wonder if LittleNipper sees the value in being challenged. You and Bill ask difficult questions, but those questions can be useful. If a position is sound, it should be able to withstand careful scrutiny, and if it isn’t, then it’s better to discover that through honest discussion.
...I read Paul and others as expecting an imminent return.
The others being the apostles (less Judas) of the Church -- those who received personal instructions from Jesus about his return and wrote about it in their gospels. Hence, the grand prophecy of the Christian church.
I wish I could get into a time machine and go back and take those guys on! Imagine that!
The simple fact is that GOD wrote HIS WORD for that time, as well as, for future generations.
No, he wrote those things concerning the Second Coming for the generation at hand. Again, you are making things up.
According to the Jewish Learning Institute +3
The dual-layered approach is the foundational consensus across mainstream Christian, Jewish, and biblical traditions. The scriptures were purposefully given to directly address the immediate historical context of the people at the time, while simultaneously functioning as eternal, universally applicable teachings for future generations
The dual-layered approach is the foundational consensus across mainstream Christian, Jewish, and biblical traditions. The scriptures were purposefully given to directly address the immediate historical context of the people at the time, while simultaneously functioning as eternal, universally applicable teachings for future generations
...I read Paul and others as expecting an imminent return.
The others being the apostles (less Judas) of the Church -- those who received personal instructions from Jesus about his return and wrote about it in their gospels. Hence, the grand prophecy of the Christian church.
I wish I could get into a time machine and go back and take those guys on! Imagine that!
Here comes Shulem! I AM the AntiChrist!
I don’t know… I’m not sure that’s quite as lofty a position as you seem to think lol… If I had a time machine, I’d probably spend less time announcing “I AM the AntiChrist!” and more time asking, “Okay… when you said “coming on the clouds,” what exactly did you mean?”
