Eschatology in Didache 16 and Ellen White Compared also Perfection
before the End Time (Koot van Wyk, Sangju, South Korea, 8 January 2021)
Translation of Didache 16 is below taken from a source. Also the
analysis is by that source. Then Ellen White is placed in between to illustrate
the Adventist doctrine. Notice how only the good ones are resurrected and not
the bad ones also. Except those who pierced him says the Bible. But Didache
says nothing. Surprising is also the doctrine of perfection before the Second
Coming.
16:1 [A] Bë_watchful over ÿour life; [1] do not let ÿour lamps
be_quenched, [2] and do not let ÿour
waists be ungirded. (Matt. 25:8; Luke 12:35?) [B] But bë prepared; for ÿou do not know the hour
in which our Lord is coming. (Matt 24:42) [Be
Adventists expecting Christ any time for we do not know when]
16:2 [C] (And) frequently bë_gathered_together, seeking the things
appropriate for ÿour souls; for the whole time of ÿour faith will not be of use to ÿou if in the end time ÿou should not have been perfected. [Doctrine
of Perfection before the Second Coming] GC 613
16:3 [1] For, in the last days, [a] the false_prophets and corrupters will be multiplied, [b] and the sheep will be turned into wolves, [c] and the love will be turned into hate. [Deception [Deception
by ministers] GC 654-655 16:4 For, when lawlessness increases, [a] they will hate each
other [b] and they will persecute [c] and they will betray
[each other]. (Matt 24:10-12) [2] And then will appear the
world-deceiver as a son of God, [a] and he will do signs and wonders, (Matt 24:24) [b] and the earth will be delivered into his hands, [c] and he will do unlawful things that never have happened
from eternity. [Imitating
Christ and His Coming by Deception] GC 624
16:5 [3] Then the human creation will come into the burning-process of
testing, [a] and many will be led into sin and will perish, [b] the ones remaining firm in their faith, on_the_other_hand, will be saved (Matt
24:10,13) by the curse itself. [Wicked
and their fate at the Second Coming] GC 657 16:6 [4] And then the signs of the truth will appear: (cf. Matt
24:30) [a] [the] first sign [will be] an opening in heaven, [b] then [the] sign of a trumpet sound, (cf. Matt 24:30; 1 Thess 4:16) [Coming
of the Lord Accessories] GC 640-641 Voice
(GC 640); small black cloud; with a cloud wrapped in flaming fire; voice
calling for resurrection (GC 644) [c] and the third [sign will be] a resurrection of dead ones—
16:7 but not of all [the dead], but as it was said: “The Lord will come and all
the holy ones with him.” (Zech 14:5; cf. 1 Thess 3:13) [Resurrection
of the Faithful only not the wicked] GC 644-645
16:8 [5] Then the world will see the Lord coming atop the clouds of heaven . . . (cf. Matt 24:30; 26:64; Dan 7:13 LXX) [Description
of His Second Coming] GC 640-641
NOTE: The translation and Scripture annotations are my own. For the
sentence analysis, Aaron Milavec in his recent books on The Didache is at
play here. The Didache: Text, Translation, Analysis, and Commentary
Paperback – Illustrated, October 1, 2003.
Source: http://www.tms.edu/m/tmsj16f.pdf William Varner, The Didache Use of The Old and The New Testaments. TMSJ
16/1 (Spring 2005) 127-151, especially pp. 150-151.
Perfection
attained before the End Time…article There is the article on Didache 16:2 by Jonathan A. Draper in which
he used a number of early patristic sources including the Didache here to
postulate that they had a strict perfection expectation because of the Jewish use
of Deuteronomy in Christianity. But, Draper argued, that as the Christians
secularized by mingling with pagans also now joining the church, they could not
insist of legal perfection for the End Time because the heathens did not know
the laws of the Jews. So what happened? They modified and “watered down” the
truth and accommodate the heathens by saying “no one really can be perfect.
That is okay. You do not have to be perfect at the End Time.”
Source: Draper, J.A. 2018. “’For the Whole Period of Your Faith Will Be of
No Use Unless You Are Found Perfect in the Last Time’ (Did. 16.2): Salvation by
Works in the Didache, Barnabas and the Shepherd Of Hermas?” Paper presented to
the SBL International Conference, Helsinki, 30th July-3 rd August 2018
(Apostolic Fathers Section). Forthcoming.
Abstract:
The Pauline understanding of salvation by grace alone appropriated by faith without
works of the law has dominated Christian soteriology, particularly since Augustine.
However, it is not the only or perhaps even the earliest Christian understanding
of salvation. Utilizing the lens of Terror Management Theory this paper
explores and compares the Two Ways as catechesis for salvation through works in
Didache, Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas. Covenantal nomism drawn from
Deuteronomy provides the basis for initiation into the Christian community, as
well as for their ongoing common life as believers, and their destiny in the
final judgment when the Lord comes. Walking on the Way of Life provides an
attractive, achievable and effective cultural double anxiety buffer against the
fear of death which is the basis of human motivation: a shared worldview and
status enhancement. However, the need to accommodate both Gentile converts and
Torah observant Jews led to a double standard of “the perfect” and the
“not-yet-perfect” which undermined its potential once it was removed from its
Jewish Christian roots. Hermas demonstrates the paralyzing effect of
“double-mindedness” and the emergence of penance as an obsession for many
Christians