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NASB | Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [Prov 25:21, 22] |
Subject: Praying for the 'World'. |
Bible Note: Greetings Kalos! May I provide a slightly different perspective? It is certainly clear that sometimes 'all' can be modified or limited in some manner by the text. A reference to 'all disciples' is not the same as 'all people'. 'Everyone in the room' clearly does not mean the same as 'everyone in the world'. :-) However, there is a theological bias that forces many to make 'all' mean less than 'all' in many passages. If I said to someone, 'I ate all the pie', would anyone assume that I only meant that I ate some of the pie. Or, would anyone assume that I only meant that I had eaten some of all kinds of pies? As for the examples in your quote, some of them them either ignore the context or make major assumptions not in evidence from the text. For instance, John 12:19 says, "So the Pharisees said to one another, ‘‘See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”" This is quote of the Pharisee's, not an affirmation of fact. The Pharisees were not correct in their statement, since they had not gone after Him! ;-) Matthew 3:5 says, "People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan." Do we really know that everyone didn't go? Or, are we assuming that they didn't? The most likely case with this verse is that the cities are personified since the verbs are singular. I have no problem with restricting the word 'all' when the text demands it, but I have a major problem with doing it because a theological system demands it. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |