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57m. Before He Comes – Part 13

3rd July 2007 by Arthur Eedle

Part 13. Sunteleia

Imagine a convex lens, a “burning glass” as some call it. On the left of this glass draw a set of parallel lines, depicting rays of light entering the lens. As these rays travel through the lens, they are refracted to come to a focus, the “burning point.”  The rays on the right hand side look somewhat like a sharpened pencil, with the focus like the tip of the pencil lead. This “pencil of rays” is what we must now “focus” on.

In the “Olivet Discourse”, the final word the Lord gave the disciples about the future, found in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, the word SUNTELEIA occurs in the Greek. The Lord had spoken about the destruction of the Temple, and His disciples, who were seated around Him on the Mount of Olives, asked, saying, “When shall these things be?  And what shall be the sign of Your coming? And of the end of the age?”  The underlined word is SUNTELEIA. What a shame the translators have not given us the distinction between this word and TELOS, the true word for “end.”  Of course, SUNTELEIA contains the word TELOS. But the prefix SUN ( = together) makes all the difference. Let me explain.

When an author writes a detective novel, he introduces a number of people and situations, all of which interact with each other, to produce the story. But in the final chapter, everything “comes together” and we use the worddenouement to describe the unravelling of the plot, the issue, the exposure of the guilty party. The Greek word SUNTELEIA aptly describes all the characters and situations which lead up to the final “end”, the denouement, which is TELOS. In terms of our lens picture, the SUNTELEIA is the pencil of rays that passed through the lens, and the TELOS is the lead tip of the pencil, the “focus.”

In the first number of this series, I drew attention to twelve interesting world-events that pervaded the 20th century scene, all of which seemed to restore the world chess-board of the first century A.D. It was as though the Lord was intent on returning the conditions of the world of the early church, so that His latter day plans might be fulfilled according to the prophetic scene presented in the Bible. The disciples were asking the Lord, not only about the sign of His return, but of the collection of world events that would betoken His near return. They used the word SUNTELEIA advisedly. Perhaps they remembered the Lord using the word when He gave the parable of the wheat and tares. He concluded by saying, “The enemy that sowed the tares is the Devil; the harvest is the SUNTELEIA of the age; and the reapers are the angels.” (Matt.13:39

After His resurrection the Lord commissioned His disciples to go into all the world and make disciples from all the nations. His promise was, “behold, I am with you always, until the SUNTELEIA of the age.”

Throughout the Olivet discourse the Lord never used the word SUNTELEIA, but three times He used the word TELOS.

“You shall hear of wars and rumours of wars. Be not troubled. the END is not yet.”  (verse 6)

“He who endures to the END shall be saved [i.e. preserved] (verse 13

“This gospel of the Kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the END will come.” (verse 14)

What therefore will be found within the period of time before the END comes?  The best judge of this may be found in that parable of the wheat and tares. See how the Lord ended His word, “As the tares are collected and burned with fire,so shall it be in the SUNTELEIA of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will collect out of His Kingdom all things that offend, and those who practise lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”  (Matt.13:40-42)

As a final conclusion to this study, it must therefore be said that the period of time before the END, will be full of divine activity. There will be a season in which the Lord will begin to cleanse the earth of all that He finds offensive. This indicates a state of affairs that is seldom mentioned in eschatological literature.

When does the SUNTELEIA start?  How do we know that it hasn’t already started? Didn’t the Lord speak about the beginning of His Kingdom being so small as to be likened to a grain of mustard seed? (Mat.13:31-32) Wouldn’t that indicate certain initial tiny signs that might be missed, or misinterpreted, by the many?

When it begins in earnest, would that be the signal for some people to want to run away and hide in the “rocks of the mountains”? (Rev.6:15)

Is this the time when “men’s hearts shall faint for fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth”? (Luke 21:26)

Is this the time Isaiah referred to when he said, “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together”? (Isa. 40:5)

And could this be why the Lord said to His own people, “when you see these things begin to happen, lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near”? (Luke 21:28)

Will this be the time when the eyes of the House of Israel will suddenly be opened, causing them to wail?

Will this be the period of time when resurrections begin to occur, leading finally to the manifestation of the Son of Man at the END?

If we need to “endure until the END”, then I suppose the SUNTELEIA will be a difficult time? A Tribulation? A sorting out process?

If God is about to expose things that He finds offensive, doesn’t this suggest a degree of divine intervention? Surely it cannot happen apart from that?

Are those who “practise lawlessness” governed by the “man of lawlessness” of 2 Thess.2?  If so, is this the time when he is finally manifested for what  he really is, as Paul suggests in this passage?

Are these the people spoken of in Proverbs 28:9?  “He who turns his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.”

If people are thrown into a literal furnace, how can they wail and gnash their teeth?  Wouldn’t they be dead within seconds? Furthermore, does this sound like a compassionate God, who said “It never entered my mind” when referring to the hideous practice of passing their children “through the fire to Molech”? (Jer.32:35) Doesn’t this indicate a figure of speech? Isn’t it a symbol of sudden exposure of doctrinal and practical error, causing them deep internal frustration, whereby the fires of indignation boil up inside them?

Does the “proclamation of the Kingdom Gospel” mean the same as preaching salvation through the shed blood of Jesus? Isn’t it rather a preaching of the coming of Jesus as King over the whole earth? Surely that is “good news”?

Could this “proclamation” be the same as that of the angel “flying in the middle heaven” of Rev. 14:6 who has “theaeonian-gospel to preach to all those sitting upon the earth, and to every nation, tribe, tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God, and give glory to Him, because the hour of His judgment is come, and worship Him who made heaven, earth, sea, and fountains of water.’?

Doesn’t that proclamation signal the exposure of the universal error of evolution?

We shall say no more, because the purpose of these studies has been to expose a number of weak areas of exposition, thereby requiring us all to go back to the Bible and study the subject again in this new light. None of us have all the answers. I believe that once the Lord starts His end-time work we shall all be surprised.

What then can we say to all this?  Shall we not obey our Lord’s words, when He said, “Take heed to yourselves,lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare; for it will come upon the face of the whole earth. But watch at all times, praying that you may be able to escape all these things that will take place, and stand before the Son of Man”?  (Luke 21:34-36)

Or as Peter said, “Seeing all this is to happen, what sort of persons ought you to be in all holiness and godliness of life, waiting for and hastening the coming of the Day of God”?  (2 Peter 3:11-12)  Yes, even tohasten the Coming, because the Lord spoke about those days being “shortened” for the sake of the Elect.

That, brethren, concludes this series of studies. We should like to take this opportunity of thanking those of you who have kindly written in to give us assistance, and sometimes to correct, during this series. The fellowship that comes from such interaction is always a blessing to us. Maranatha!

Filed Under: The Wellspring Tagged With: Expository Items

About Arthur Eedle

Arthur was born in 1931, and became a Christian in 1948. At London University he gained a 2nd honours degree in Physics. He went on to get a Teaching Diploma, and throughout his career life taught physics in England, Kenya, and Hong Kong. Coupled with his love of science, he was a keen student of Greek and Hebrew, and gave many lectures on Biblical subjects. Read more

The Wellspring

1. God’s Megaphone

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2. Suicide

1st October 2001 By Arthur Eedle

3. Petra

12th October 2001 By Arthur Eedle

4. Two different Gods?

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5. I AM

23rd October 2001 By Arthur Eedle

6. “Not I but Christ”

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7. How I Love Your Law!

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8. The Jewish Problem

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9. The Evaluation of Coincidence

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10. Gracious Uncertainty

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11. Jasper & Sardius

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12. Antithesis

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12a. The Essential Role of Free Will in Universal Reconciliation

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13. The Importance of Earnest

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14. The Millennium

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15. Cancer – A Personal Testimony

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16. C.S.Lewis on the New Year

1st January 2003 By Arthur Eedle

17. Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

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18. Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)

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19. “The Intolerable Compliment”

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20. The Power and Practice of the Truth

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21. The Power and Practice of the Lie

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22. The Use and Abuse of Power

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23. What on earth is happening?

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23a. A reply to “What on earth is happening?”

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24. Equality

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25. Paul to the “Ephesians”

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26. Mystery

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27. Ephesians 1:15-23

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28. Ephesians 2:1-10

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29. Ephesians 2:11-22

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30. Cain and Abel

19th January 2004 By Arthur Eedle

31. Laying the Foundation of the Lord’s House

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32. Tomorrow’s Bread

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33. Grace Parables

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34. The Responsibility Factor

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35a. Our Wilderness Journey. Part 1

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35b. Our Wilderness Journey. Part 2

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36. Genetic Modification in the Bible

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37. Arthur’s Testimony

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38. Identified with Christ

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39. It Would Have Been Better…

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40a. Friday’s Man was nailed upon a Cross

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40b. Sunday’s Man was nowhere to be found

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41. Jeremiah’s Cryptogram

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43. The Gospel of Humanism

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44. Cosmetic Christianity

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45. EXPERIENCE versus KNOWLEDGE

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46. “Just a wearyin’ for you”

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47. Islam by ex-Muslims

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48. Six Particular Men

9th April 2006 By Arthur Eedle

49. Ten “Everlasting” wonders in Isaiah

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50a. Missing the Mark. Part 1

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50b. Missing the Mark. Part 2

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51. The Mark of the Beast

29th April 2006 By Arthur Eedle

52. Irreducible Complexity

2nd May 2006 By Arthur Eedle

53. No historical Jesus?

4th July 2006 By Arthur Eedle

54. The Power of God’s Spoken Word

17th March 2007 By Arthur Eedle

55. God’s chosen fast

19th April 2007 By Arthur Eedle

56a. Resurrection and the Change – Part 1

1st May 2007 By Arthur Eedle

56b. Resurrection and the Change – Part 2

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56c. Resurrection and the Change – Part 3

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56d. Resurrection and the Change – Part 4

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56e. Resurrection and the Change – Part 5

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56f. Resurrection and the Change – Part 6

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56g. Resurrection and the Change – Part 7

15th May 2007 By Arthur Eedle

56h. Resurrection and the Change – Part 8

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56i. Resurrection and the Change – Part 9

17th May 2007 By Arthur Eedle

56j. Resurrection and the Change – Part 10

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56k. Resurrection and the Change – Part 11

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56l. Resurrection and the Change – Part 12

22nd May 2007 By Arthur Eedle

56m. Resurrection and the Change – Part 13

23rd May 2007 By Arthur Eedle

56n. Resurrection and the Change – Part 14

24th May 2007 By Arthur Eedle

56o. Resurrection and the Change – Part 15

25th May 2007 By Arthur Eedle

56p. Resurrection and the Change – Part 16

27th May 2007 By Arthur Eedle

57a. Before He Comes – Part 1

31st May 2007 By Arthur Eedle

57b. Before He Comes – Part 2

8th June 2007 By Arthur Eedle

57c. Before He Comes – Part 3

10th June 2007 By Arthur Eedle

57d. Before He Comes – Part 4

11th June 2007 By Arthur Eedle

57e. Before He Comes – Part 5

12th June 2007 By Arthur Eedle

57f. Before He Comes – Part 6

13th June 2007 By Arthur Eedle

57g. Before He Comes – Part 7

14th June 2007 By Arthur Eedle

57h. Before He Comes – Part 8

18th June 2007 By Arthur Eedle

57i. Before He Comes – Part 9

19th June 2007 By Arthur Eedle

57j. Before He Comes – Part 10

24th June 2007 By Arthur Eedle

57k. Before He Comes – Part 11

29th June 2007 By Arthur Eedle

57l. Before He Comes – Part 12

30th June 2007 By Arthur Eedle

57m. Before He Comes – Part 13

3rd July 2007 By Arthur Eedle

58. Free Will Versus God’s Sovereignty

28th August 2007 By Arthur Eedle

59. Rules of Engagement

10th October 2007 By Arthur Eedle

60. Cameo. Part 1

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61. Cameo. Part 2

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62. Cameo. Part 3

26th October 2007 By Arthur Eedle

63. Cameo. Part 4

28th October 2007 By Arthur Eedle

64. In His Hands

1st November 2007 By Arthur Eedle

65. The Starlings

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66. “Dead Truth”

13th November 2007 By Arthur Eedle

67. “Dead Sin”

18th November 2007 By Arthur Eedle

68. “Dead Faith” and “Dead Works”

2nd December 2007 By Arthur Eedle

69. “Dead Worship”

18th December 2007 By Arthur Eedle

70. A Pseudo-Bunyan Author

19th March 2008 By Arthur Eedle

Article Series

  • All our Yesterdays (30)
  • Before He comes (13)
  • God's Spoken Word (37)
  • Mysteries of Science & Faith (8)
  • New Series (101)
  • Newsletter (2)
  • Original Series (109)
  • Prophecy considerations (5)
  • Recognising the Hand of Judgment (33)
  • Resurrection and Change (16)
  • Seekers Corner (14)
  • Simple Statements on Serious Subjects (6)
  • The City of God (18)
  • The Millennial Octave (23)
  • The Restitution Times (22)
  • The Song of Solomon (6)
  • The Standard (19)
  • The Wayside Pulpit (107)
  • The Wayside Pulpit 2015 (96)
  • The Wellspring (101)
  • The Wellspring 2017 (55)

Index of Topics

Arthur & Rosalind Eedle's Personal Testimonies Discipleship Expository Items Good and Evil Human Pre-Existance Jane Leade. Philadelphian Numerology in the Bible Quotations from other Authors Resurrection and the Change Ron Wyatt. Archaeology Science Topics The Kingdom of God the Millennium and the Return of Christ The Sabbath Day Universal Reconcilliation

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