Timothy to Hebrews - The Preterist Archive

a
First Timothy Y. 21. 139
elusion that is spoken of, but only a rebuke before the cliurch—
public disclosure, and a conviction accompanied with a rebuke (comp,
Harless on Eph. v. 11-13). Not until this rebuke was not received
{jf lie shall neglect to hear, Matth, xviii. 17), or produced no fruit,
was the sinful person to be excluded, as those passages shew. Before
all and others, are therefore not to be understood of the assembly
of the presbyters, but of the church. The moral efiect of
this rebuke with respect to all is, that they are to fear ; the exhibition
which is thus made of the judicial strictness of the law is designed
to make an impression on their consciences, so that they may
feel a salutary fear of their own sins, and may work out their salvation
ivithfear and trembling.
Yer. 21.—The reading here varies ;
still there can be no doubt
that Kvptov is to be omitted before Xpiarou, 'Irjoov, and that the true
reading is not -npoonXrioiv but npoaKXioiv ; comp. Tischendorf, De
Wette. The solemn protestation with which the observance of the
rule just laid down is enjoined upon Timothy, is similar to that in
2 Tim. iv. 1. AiaimpTvpofiai = obtestor, obsecro, to conjure with entreaty
; comp. Luke xvi. 28 ; the word is used elsewhere by the
apostle, 1 Thess. iv. 6 ; comp. also Eph. iv. 17, and Harless on the
passage. The sense of the whole is, as Chrysostom observes :
[idp-
Tvpa KaXu rbv debv koI rov vlov avrov, etc. They will testify against
thee if thou actest contrary to what is CDJoined upon thee. Bengel
well : repraesentat Timotheo suo judicium extremum, in quo Deus
revelabitur et Christus cum angelis coram conspicietur. This is the
most natural interpretation of the additional words, the elect angels.
Comp. Jos. B. J. II. 16, 4 : iiaprvponai . . . rovq lepovg dyyiXovg
6eov.'^ Schleiermacher was the first to stumble at this expression,
itcXeicTol dyyeXot, and he thinks it strange that the man who is so
very zealous against the genealogies and profitless questions should
here recognize special ranks of angels, as is evident from his using
the article. Nothing, however, can be certainly inferred from the
use of the arti'cle here, although Leo lays weight upon this ;
for if
the writer intends to denote the entire company of the angels,
he could not do this without the article ; comp. Winer's Gr., §
18, 1. The only question then will be, can ekXektoI be applied as
an epithet to the angels generally, in contradistinction to other
creatures, or only in contradistinction to other angels, whether it be
to the angels that fell, 2 Pet. ii. 4, or only to those of a lower rank,
which last view would be supported by passages such as 1 Thess. iv.
16 ; Eph. i. 21 ; Col. i. 16 (Leo comp. also Harless, a. a. 0., p. 112,
seq). Against the latter interpretation as a whole, as it appears to
me, it may be objected that, according to it, the epithet t'/c/le/croi has
no proper meaning. For if it is used to denote the good angels in
* Huther ; because the throne of God is encompassed by angels.