Mat 24:7

[ZekeSr]

Mat 24:7 'For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, ..........

It was recently brought to my attention that this portion of Matthew 24:7 sounds somewhat redundant, due to the fact that "nation against nation" and "kingdom against kingdom" is a kind of repetitive statement. Could it have a broader meaning and be better translated? So, I looked up the original words that are generally translated nation and kingdom in this line of Scripture. Sure enough, in my opinion, it seems to be true. This portion of the verse appears to depict strife not only between nations, but also racial and tribal (societal, ethnic, community) groups. I won't claim to know an exact better way to translate it, but, as I see it, this portion of the verse actually paints a much more comprehensive picture of local, national and world events than one might assume from the way it is presently translated .... especially in light of contemporary times.

Naturally, I'm interested in what you all think.

Mike

[Porter]

The world has always been in turmoil. Mat. 24:7 is for the Elect to experience. The sermon on the mount is for you, as Ray would say.

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

[ZekeSr]

The world has always been in turmoil. Mat. 24:7 is for the Elect to experience. The sermon on the mount is for you, as Ray would say.

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Hello Porter,
I am in total agreement with what you say concerning the elect and I was remiss in not mentioning that these things have been happening throughout all of human history. Yes, for the elect it has a deeper meaning. But I do not necessarily see Mat.24 as being a strictly spiritual experience for the reader. There is a definite air of generalized prophecy in Mat. 24. And I am constantly seeing what appears to me to be a complex set of both physical and spiritual reference within so many assemblages of Scripture. I don't know if I'm describing this correctly, but I would express it as a physical narrative understood by all, including the "mainstream", with a spiritual subtext understood only by the few. I guess it's very much like a parable with just a little more surface value. I hope that makes sense.

The above discussion is actually a bit of a digression from what I really intended to get across, but I suppose it's difficult to separate one from the other. However, I'm still set on the point of translation, which is what I actually intended within a very narrow scope. I was basically trying to reference the interpretation of those two particular words alone in verse 7 and how they become far more comprehensive in meaning when properly understood. Once again, I hope that makes sense. 

Mike

[Porter]

It makes total sense Mike, and it actually reminded me of references to the warring tribes often mentioned in the Scriptures.

The few are a tribe of sorts and so are the many. The Kingdom of God with His tribe, and the Kingdom of Satan with his tribe; rising up against one another (spiritually speaking), as our warfare is spiritual.

Thanks for sharing that, you've helped open my understanding a bit more.