53. V. UNIFORM GREEK USAGE: "MYSTERY"

(e) It is used also, and specially of "the great secret" (1 Tim. iii. 16. Rom. xvi. 25, 26. Eph. iii. 1-11. Col. i. 24-27).

This secret does not refer to the fact that Gentiles were to be blessed with Israel. That was never a secret, but was revealed to Abraham at the moment of his own call (Gen. xii. 3; xxii. 18; xxvi. 1, etc. Compare Pss. lxxii. 17; lxvii. 1, 2; xviii. 49. Deut. xxxii. 43. Isa. xi. 10; xlix. 6. Luke ii. 32).

Thus though the connections are different, the meaning and usage of the word are uniform; and the translation and usage of it in English should be uniform also.

7. "At hand," ἐνίστημι (enistēmi).—The word ἐνίστημι (enistēmi) occurs seven times, and though its usage is uniform, it is rendered in four different ways in English. One of them is of great importance, and most misleading. The word means to be present, and is so rendered in Rom. viii. 38. 1 Cor. iii. 22; vii. 26. Gal. i. 4. Heb. ix. 9.

In 2 Tim. iii. 1 it is "perilous times shall come": i.e., be present.

But in 2 Thess. ii. 2 it is rendered "at hand," in connection with "the Day of the Lord" as being "now present" (R. V.).

The interpretation of the verse is thus shown to be that the Day of the Lord could not then have been present, inasmuch as the foretold Apostasy had not taken place, and the Man of Sin had not yet been revealed.

This being the case they were not to be troubled or disturbed in their mind.

On the other hand, however, if that had been the case, and the Day of the Lord had set in, there was every reason why they should have been troubled; for, the Apostle's word would in that case have failed; the revelation made in 1 Thess. iv. would not have been fulfilled; and the comfort would have been given in vain. That day would have overtaken them as a thief, which he had assured them should not be the case (1 Thess. v. 4). And they had not "gathered together" unto Christ in the air as He had promised them.

The rendering "at hand" makes the whole context of none effect.

R 2

III. BIBLICAL USAGE ESSENTIAL

The English expression "at hand" occurs in twenty other places, but in not one of them is it the Greek word *enistēmi* as in 2 Thess. ii. 2.

8. "*Depart*," ἀναλύω, *analuō*.—The word rendered *depart* in Phil. i. 23 must be taken in the same sense as that in which it is used in the only other passage where it occurs; *viz.*, Luke xii. 36: "when he shall RETURN from the wedding." It does NOT mean to *depart*, in the sense of setting off from the place where one is, but to *return* to the place that one has left. The verb does not occur in the Greek translation of the Canonical books of the Old Testament, but it does occur in the Apocryphal books; which, though of no authority for the establishment of *doctrine*, are invaluable as to the use and meaning of *words*. In these books, this word always means to *return*, and is generally so translated.¹

This settles for us the uniform usage of the word rendered "depart" in Phil. i. 23, and shows that it must have the same rendering as it has in Luke xii. 36.

It was the return of Christ and to be with Him for which the Apostle longed; and this longing pressed him out of the other alternatives of living or dying.

It was not his personal gain of which he was thinking, but the gain to the Gospel. The Scope of the whole passage is the Gospel. The argument is that, If his imprisonment had turned out for the "furtherance" and gain of

¹ See Tob. ii. 9. "The same night I returned from the burial."

Judg. xiii. 1. "Now when the evening was come, his servants made haste to depart" (i.e., to return to their tents).

1 Esd. iii. 3. "They ate, and drank, and being satisfied they went" (i.e., returned) "home."

Wisd. ii. 1. "Neither was there any man known to have returned from the grave."

Wisd. v. 12. "Like as when an arrow is shot at a mark, it parteth the air, which immediately cometh together" (returneth) "again."

Wisd. xii. 14. "The spirit when it is gone forth returneth not."

Ecclus. iii. 15. "As the ice melteth away" (i.e., returneth to water) "in the fair warm weather."

2 Macc. viii. 25. "They pursued them far; but lacking time, they returned."

2 Macc. ix. 1. "Antiochus returned and came away with dishonour from the country of Persia."

2 Macc. xii. 7. "He went backward, as if he would return to root them all out of the country of Joppa."

2 Macc. xv. 28. "Now when the battle was done, returning again with joy they knew," etc.

v. UNIFORM GREEK USAGE: "DEPART"

the preaching of the Gospel, what might not the gain be by his death.

It ought to be added that there are no less than twenty-two Greek words rendered "depart" some one hundred and thirty times: but this one word ἀναλύω (analuō) occurs only twice, and in one of these it is rendered "depart" and in the other "return." If this is not convincing evidence as to what should be the correct rendering in Phil. i. 23, we know not what evidence is required.

We have the noun ἀναλύσις (analysis) in 2 Tim. iv. 6, but it has the same meaning, returning or dissolution; i.e., the body returning to dust as it was, and the spirit returning to God who gave it.

9. "Leaven." ζύμῃ, (zumē).—The usage of this word is uniformly in a bad sense throughout Scripture.

(1) It must be put away at the Passover (Exod. xii. 15).

(2) It must not come into contact with any sacrifice (Exod. xxxiv. 25. Lev. ii. 11; x. 12).

(3) It is likened to the corrupt doctrines of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees (Matt. xvi. 6); and of Herod (Mark viii. 15).

(4) The Corinthian Church was commanded to purge out corrupt persons (1 Cor. v. 7) because "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (v. 6); and

(5) It is used of "malice and wickedness" (1 Cor. v. 8).

In the face of this, How can anyone dare to use "leaven" in a sense totally opposite, and interpret it of that which is good in itself and in its workings and effects?

The supposed exceptions are—

(1) Lev. xxiii. 17. From verses 9–14. The wave-sheaf or first-fruits was to have no leaven. But in verse 17 the "Two wave loaves" offered fifty days after were to have leaven with them. This distinction was made because the "wave-sheaf" represented Christ the first-fruits in resurrection, without sin (1 Cor. xv. 23); while the two wave-loaves represented those who were endued with His gifts (fifty days later, Acts ii. 1–4): but who had sin

BIBLICAL USAGE ESSENTIAL TO INTERPRETATION and corruption in them. This is why leaven was used in the two wave-loaves and not in the wave-sheaf.¹

(2) Amos iv. 4, 5. But here the offering "a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven" is what is described as the multiplying of transgression.

(3) Matt. xiii. 33. The Parable of the Leaven hidden in three measures of meal. It is one of seven parables which all have to do with the "Kingdom," and therefore not with the Church. This we have already seen under our chapter on "Dispensational Truth and Teaching."

The Kingdom was proclaimed by John the Baptist, by Christ, and by Peter. But since it was finally rejected, it is in abeyance, and is not recognized as having any place in Scripture.

"We see not yet all things put under Him" (Heb. ii. 8), who is now "henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool" (Heb. x. 13).

Till that day, the Kingdom has no place on earth, and it must not be read into those Scriptures which concern the present position and portion of the "Church of God."

The Scriptures relating to the Kingdom must be confined to the Kingdom period which is before and after this present Church-Interval: they must be read on from its rejection in the Acts of the Apostles to the coming of the King; leaping over this present Dispensation as though it had no existence.

Only thus shall we understand the Seven Parables of Matt. xiii.

The Kingdom was proclaimed by John the Baptist and Christ: The seed was sown. But from that moment the enemy (likened to the "fowls of the air") was on the watch, not only to catch it away, but to sow and mingle tares with the good seed. The tares appear, but nothing more is said about them "till the harvest": nothing is done till "the time of harvest." "The harvest is the end of the age": i.e., after the present Dispensation.

The mustard-tree, rooted in the earth, gives shelter for the same "fowls of the air" (Rev. xviii. 2).

¹ See a separate pamphlet on Leaven by the same author and publisher.

v. UNIFORM GREEK USAGE: "LEAVEN"

The leaven follows immediately to illustrate the inward corruption (as the mustard-tree shows the outward).

If the leaven be taken here in a good sense it would reverse the whole course and point and scope of the previous teaching; and this parable would be the very opposite of the others.

It cannot mean the preaching of the Gospel in this present Dispensation; for the woman *hides* it, but the Gospel is proclaimed *openly*.

The usage of the word "leaven" here must be taken in this sense; and thus, uniform with all the other passages where the word occurs.

CANON IV.

THE CONTEXT IS ALWAYS ESSENTIAL TO THE INTERPRETATION OF WORDS.

i. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CONTEXT SHOWN.

We have already seen something of this in the consideration of the Structure of the Word and the Words of God.

The order of the words is as perfect as the truth revealed by them, and contained in them.

This order is Divine: and it is nothing less than a crime for any human hand to subvert that order, either by ignoring it or changing it.

Beware of any teacher to whom the context is not manifestly essential. Beware of any teaching that is not based upon it.

Some passages of Scripture derive their chief importance from some remarkable words employed; others derive their chief importance from some wonderful truth revealed; while others derive their chief importance from the place where we find them. Every passage has its own importance in this last respect. When we find a passage in its own particular place, there is a Divine reason why it is there, and also why it is not in any other place.

It is essential to our understanding of the "words" to find out why they are where we find them. It is essential to our enjoyment of the words that we should discover not only what they mean, but why they are not in any other passage. If we would find the words and the Word of God to be a delight to us, instead of a perplexing jumble, we must have special regard to the Context.

If this be disregarded, then a word, a sentence, or a verse, may be taken out from its context and interpreted of something quite foreign to its original intent.

We have all heard the proverbial saying that "the Bible may be made to prove anything." Exactly so; but this, very often, is only when, and because, a verse is taken apart from its context: otherwise it could never i. IMPORTANCE OF CONTEXT be made to teach anything different from the context in which God has set it.

Every sentence and every verse has something going before it and something following after it. We call this the context. This is regarded as being essential even in the case of human writers. How often are complaints made by public speakers and writers that only a part of what they have said is quoted: whereas, if the whole had been given, or even the sentence that preceded or followed, quite a different complexion would have been given to the point referred to.

If this be so important where man is concerned, how essential it must be when we remember that, in the case we are considering, it is God's context and not man's.

How great must be the presumption if we disregard or disturb that context.

Yet this is constantly done in order to prop up some tradition.

Let us illustrate this by giving a few examples of error arising from a disregard of the context.