Who are the Ta Ethne of Scriptue?

[Pergamum]

All the nations (i.e. all the tribes) or the Gentiles? I.e. many groups within this title or one mass called the Ta Ethne?


Here an article too: http://images.acswebnetworks.com/2015/51/Slack_Ta_Ethne_Doc.pdf What are your thoughts?

 

[Puritan Sailor]

Piper spends a long chapter on this in his book Let the Nations be Glad. If I remember right, he argues that it refers to every ethnic group, not just nation states.

 

[Pergamum]

I am having trouble figuring out whether it is ALL the nations (i.e. thousands of ethne) or the ONE lump of the nations (i.e. one group as opposed to thousands....i.e. the Gentiles..the goyem).

Does that distinction make sense? Is it the ONE MASS of All of the nations or is it the MANY ETHNE of All the nations?

 

[Puritan Sailor]

I am having trouble figuring out whether it is ALL the nations (i.e. thousands of ethne) or the ONE lump of the nations (i.e. one group as opposed to thousands....i.e. the Gentiles..the goyem).

Does that distinction make sense? Is it the ONE MASS of All of the nations or is it the MANY ETHNE of All the nations?

I think the other narrower descriptions like "every tribe and tongue" or "every family" favor the "many nations" concept rather than the "one mass" idea. There's a remnant from every ethnic group.

 

[Pergamum]

If so, does at least one or two persons from every tribe and tongue need to be saved for Rev 5 to be absolutely true? If so, what is the biblical definition of a tongue and tribe?

 

[TimV]

The Strong's definition for those words is the same as we use them in English today.

On a personal note, the missionaries I stayed with in PNG understood that verse just how is sounds, and it gave them great comfort and boldness, since like yourself they were living with previously unreached tribes.

 

[Pergamum]

I know of a few language groups that are almost totally extinct. A few have already died out and to my knowledge not a single person came to a knowledge of Christ. I can list about 1/2 dozen tribes with less than 30 people left.

 

[TimV]

Yes, I've thought about that myself. The natural question, and the one I think you asked is when a language starts and when a dialect begins, and that I don't know. Maybe a better way of starting is by asking the smart people here what "every" means.

 

[Pergamum]

Maybe a better way of starting is by asking the smart people here what "every" means.

.....Or what nation is.

The Old Testament gives a table of nations and then Acts 2 speaks of Jews from every nation. I guess we could go down the ol' road that Luther went down and say that the Great Commission was fulfilled in Acts 2.... there is some justification for that (though even Luther believed that further mission work was warranted).