COMMUNION
Shew The
Lord’s Death Till He Come
“For
as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew
the Lord’s death till he come.” (1
Cor. 11:26) If Jesus did come in judgment, as these
first century believers we’re being told by the Holy Spirit that He would, then
do we now stop taking communion? Does His coming in the clouds of judgment put
an end to communion? We must examine the use of the three Greek words used here
to express “till”. They are 891, 3739, 302 in the Strongs.
891-archri:
a terminus of time, until, or up to-as far as, while.
3739-hos: (fem.), he (neut.), ho prob. A prim. Word (or perh.
A form of the art. 3588); the
rel. (sometimes demonstrative) pron., who, which, what, that:-one, (an-, the)
other, some that what, which, who (-m, -se), etc.
302 -an:
denoting a supposition, wish, possibility or uncertainty-what, where, whither,
whosoever. Usually unexpressed except by the subjunctive or
potential mood.
To
interpret scripture with scripture, lets
examine where else these three Greek words are used together. Four chapters
away, in 1 Cor.15:25 we see the same
English word “till” used for the same three Greek words. “archre, hos, and an.” These same three Greek words are
all again in the same order. “For He must reign till He hath
put all enemies under His feet.” (1
Cor.15:25) Does this usage of “till” convey
termination? Does Jesus stop reigning after all enemies are put under His feet? Answer, no! We might even
say today for instance, “work on this till I get back.”
Termination is not guaranteed, as one may continue
working after the individual comes back. Maybe a clearer example would be,
“They walked over the hill, till we could see them no longer”. Their walking is definitely not terminated, the activity continues.
In Matthew
28:20 says, “and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the
end of the age. Amen.” A bit different Greek word here, but
nevertheless the same idiomatic usage is in play here. [2193-Heos-continuance,
until, of time and place, even until, unto, as far as, how long, till, hither, un, up, to while.] Again
termination is impossible here. Is he not going to be with them after the end
of the age? He is, therefore the activity of being with them always is not terminated. This same word is used
in Matthew 26:29. “I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the
vine, until I drink in new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
We know that termination of the drinking of this wine would not take place. (Luke
22:29,30) Therefore, we must conclude that
termination of communion has not taken place.
By GARRETT PAUL PARRISH
www.BibleProphecyFulfilled.org
as of 9-2007