 |  |
D 15 -25, the first member of the second half of the structure, is the
first to deal with Israel's punishment. The Lord abhorred them; the Lord
shut up His people, and sold them into captivity.
The last verses (34 -43) take us into the Day of the Lord; and are
parallel with the Book of the Revelation.
The Song that we have been considering in this article, with its
emphasis upon His perfect work, and His faithfulness and righteousness, is
yet to be sung once more:
'And they sing the Song of Moses the servant of God, and the Song of
the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God
Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints' (Rev. 15:3).
So is sounded out by two songs the history of this people of Israel,
for the Song of Moses would never have ended in blessing had it not been true
that there was to be added to it, in due time, the Song of the Lamb.
THEN
COMETH
THE
END
'The End' (1 Cor. 15:24)
Three features of extreme importance cry out for recognition when we
read 1 Corinthians 15:24 -28; they are:
(1)
There is an end, a goal toward which the ages with their burden
converge.
(2)
This 'end' is vitally and indissolubly linked with the abolition
of death and the fact and hope of resurrection.
(3)
This 'end' is linked with the beginning, with Adam and all that
he failed to accomplish, yet all that he prefigured.
Let us begin our study by setting out the passage before us in
structure form:
1 Corinthians 15:24 -28
The Goal of the Ages attained
'That God may be all in all'
A
15:24.
The end.
B
a
15:24. when.
Kingdom delivered up.
b
15:24.
when.
All rule abolished.
steps
c 15:25.
for.
He must reign.
to
d
15:25.
Enemies, under His feet.
goal.
d
15:26.
Enemy, last, death.
c 15:27.
for.
All under His feet.
b
15:27.
when.
The one exception.
B
a
15:28.
when.
The Son, subject.
A
15:28.
God all in all.
Some commentators teach that 'the end' here in verse 24 refers back to
the words of verse 23, 'every man in his own order (or rank)', and read verse
24, 'then cometh the end rank'. No example of such a use of the word telos,
however, is found in the New Testament, where it occurs 42 times. Cognate