Imibuzo Evela Kubafundi

Kweyoku-1 kaPetros 2:9, iBhayibhile yesiXhosa ithi amaKristu athanjisiweyo “sisizukulwana esinyuliweyo.” Ngaba oku kumele kuyichaphazele imbono yethu ngokusebenzisa kukaYesu igama elithi ‘isizukulwana’ njengoko kubhalwe kuMateyu 24:34?

Kwezinye iinguqulelo igama elithi “isizukulwana” livela kuzo zombini ezi zicatshulwa. Ngokutsho kweBhayibhile yesiXhosa, umpostile uPetros wabhala: “Ke nina nisisizukulwana esinyuliweyo, isibingeleli esibukumkani, uhlanga olungcwele, abantu abayinqobo, ukuze nivakalise isidima salowo wanibizayo ukuba niphume ebumnyameni, ningene ekukhanyeni kwakhe okungummangaliso.” Yaye uYesu waxela kwangaphambili esithi: “Inene ndithi kuni, Asisayi kudlula esi sizukulwana, zingadanga zonke ezo zinto zibekho.”—1 Petros 2:9; Mateyu 24:34.

Kwisicatshulwa sokuqala, umpostile uPetros wasebenzisa igama lesiGrike elithi geʹnos, ngoxa kumongo wengxelo kaYesu, sifumana igama elithi ge·ne·aʹ. La magama mabini esiGrike asenokubonakala efana, yaye enengcambu efanayo; kodwa, akafani, yaye aneentsingiselo ezahlukeneyo. INew World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—With References kumbhalo osemazantsi kweyoku-1 kaPetros 2:9 ithi: “‘Race [isizwe]’. Igama lesiGrike elithi geʹnos; lahlukile kwelithi ge·ne·aʹ, elithetha ‘generation [isizukulwana],’ njengakuMat. 24:34.” Umbhalo osemazantsi ofanayo ukwafumaneka kuMateyu 24:34.

Njengoko le mibhalo esemazantsi ibonisa, igama elithi geʹnos liguqulelwa ngokufanelekileyo ngegama lesiNgesi elithi “race [isizwe]” njengoko lixhaphakile kwiinguqulelo zesiNgesi. Kweyoku-1 kaPetros 2:9, uPetros wasebenzisa isiprofeto esifumaneka kuIsaya 61:6 kumaKristu athanjisiweyo anethemba lokuphila ezulwini. La athatyathwe kwiintlanga nezizwe ezininzi, kodwa imvelaphi yawo yobuhlanga ayisenantsingiselo njengoko esiba yinxalenye yohlanga loSirayeli wokomoya. (Roma 10:12; Galati 3:28, 29; 6:16; ISityhilelo 5:9, 10) UPetros wawachaza njengeqela elahlukileyo ngokomoya—“isizwe esinyuliweyo, isibingeleli sasebukhosini, uhlanga olungcwele, abantu abayinqobo.”—NW.

Kodwa kumbhalo wesiGrike wamazwi kaYesu afumaneka kuMateyu 24:34, sifumana igama elithi ge·ne·aʹ. Kuqondakala ngokubanzi ukuba uYesu wayengabhekiseli kuso nasiphi na “isizwe” sabantu, kodwa wayebhekisela kubantu ababephila ngexesha elithile.

Kwiminyaka ephantse ibe likhulu eyadlulayo, uCharles T. Russell, umongameli wokuqala weWatch Tower Society, ecacisa oku, wabhala: “Nangona igama elithi ‘isizukulwana’ nelithi ‘isizwe’ kusenokutshiwo ukuba asuka kwingcambu okanye anemvelaphi efanayo, kodwa akafani; yaye ukusetyenziswa kwawo kwiZibhalo kwahluke kakhulu. . . . Kwiingxelo ezintathu ezahlukeneyo zesi siprofeto iNkosi yethu kuthiwa yiyo eyasebenzisa igama elahluke gqitha lesiGrike (genea) elingathethi isizwe, kodwa elinentsingiselo efanayo negama lesiNgesi elithi generation [isizukulwana]. Ezinye iindlela elisetyenziswa ngazo eli gama lesiGrike (genea) zingqina ukuba alisetyenziswa kusingiselwe kwisizwe, kodwa kubhekiselwa kubantu abaphila ngexesha elithile.”—The Day of Vengeance, iphepha 602-3.

Kutshanje, incwadi ethi A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew (1988), elungiselelwe abaguquleli beBhayibhile, yathi: “[INew International Version] iguqulela igama elithi esi sizukulwana ngokoqobo kodwa ilandelise ngombhalo osemazantsi othi, ‘Okanye isizwe.’ Kwakhona omnye umphengululi weTestamente Entsha ukholelwa kwelokuba ‘uMateyu akabhekiseli nje kwisizukulwana sokuqala emva koYesu kodwa ubhekisela kuzo zonke izizukulwana zamaYuda ezamchasayo.’ Noko ke, akukho bungqina buthethiweyo bakuqinisekisa ezo zigqibo, yaye zimele zityeshelwe ekubeni ziziinzame zokulahla intsingiselo ecacileyo. Kwimeko yayo yantlandlolo le mbekiselo yayisingisele kubantu ababephila ngexesha likaYesu kuphela.”

Njengoko kuxutyushwe kwiphepha 10 ukusa kwele-15, uYesu wasigweba isizukulwana samaYuda sexesha lakhe, abantu ababephila ngexesha lakhe abamchasayo. (Luka 9:41; 11:32; 17:25) Ngokufuthi wayesebenzisa izichazi ezinjengezi “esingendawo, esikrexezayo,” “singakholwayo, sigwenxa” nesithi “sikrexezayo, sonayo” xa echaza eso sizukulwana. (Mateyu 12:39; 17:17; Marko 8:38) Xa uYesu wasebenzisa ibinzana elithi ‘isizukulwana’ okokugqibela, wayekwiNtaba yemiNquma nabapostile abane. (Marko 13:3) Abo bantu, ababengekathanjiswa ngomoya yaye bengeyiyo inxalenye yebandla lamaKristu, ngokuqinisekileyo babengayili ‘isizukulwana’ okanye isizwe sabantu. Noko ke, babeqhelene gqitha nokusebenzisa kukaYesu ibinzana elithi ‘isizukulwana’ xa ebhekisela kubantu ababephila ngexesha lakhe. Ngoko ke, ngokusengqiqweni babenokuqonda ukuba wayecinga ngantoni xa wayekhankanya ibinzana elithi “esi sizukulwana” okokugqibela.a Umpostile uPetros, owayekho, kamva wabongoza amaYuda esithi: “Zisindiseni kwesi sizukulwana sigoso.”—IZenzo 2:40.

Ngokufuthi siye sapapasha ubungqina bokuba izinto ezininzi ezaxelwa kwangaphambili nguYesu kwakule ntetho inye (ezinjengeemfazwe, iinyikima zomhlaba, neendlala) zazaliseka ngexesha elaliphakathi kokuprofeta kwakhe nokutshatyalaliswa kweYerusalem ngowama-70 C.E. Izinto ezininzi zazaliseka, kodwa azizange zizaliseke zonke. Ngokomzekelo, akukho bungqina bokuba emva kokuba amaRoma ehlasele iYerusalem (ngowama-66-70 C.E.) “umqondiso woNyana woMntu” wabonakala, ubangela ukuba “zonke izizwe zomhlaba” zizimbambazelele. (Mateyu 24:30) Ngenxa yoko, loo nzaliseko eyayiphakathi kowama-33 C.E. nowama-70 C.E. yayiyeyokuqala, ingeyiyo ezeleyo okanye inzaliseko enkulu awayekwabhekisela kuyo uYesu.

Kwintshayelelo yenguqulelo yakhe yencwadi kaJosephus ethi The Jewish War, uG. A. Williamson ubhala esithi: “UMateyu usixelela ukuba, abafundi babebuze [uYesu] umbuzo ontlu-mbini—ngokutshatyalaliswa kweTempile nangokuza Kwakhe okokugqibela—yaye wabanika impendulo entlu-mbini, inxalenye yayo yokuqala exela kusengaphambili iziganeko eziza kuchazwa ngokupheleleyo nguJosephus.”

Ewe, kwinzaliseko yaso yokuqala, ibinzana elithi “esi sizukulwana” ngokucacileyo lalinentsingiselo efanayo nezinye izihlandlo elisetyenziswe kuzo—isizukulwana selo xesha samaYuda angakholwayo. Eso “sizukulwana” sasingenakudlula kungenzekanga oko uYesu wayekuxele kwangaphambili. Njengoko uWilliamson egqabazile, esi siprofeto sangqineka siyinyaniso kumashumi eminyaka angaphambi kokutshatyalaliswa kweYerusalem, njengoko umbhali-mbali owayelingqina lokuzibonela, uJosephus, wachaza.

Kwinzaliseko yesibini okanye enkudlwana kunaleyo, “esi sizukulwana” ngokusengqiqweni besiya kuba ngabantu ababephila ngelo xesha. Njengoko inqaku eliqala kwiphepha 16 libonisa, asifanele sigqibe kwelokuba uYesu wayebhekisela kwinani leminyaka emiselweyo eyenza ‘isizukulwana.’

Ngokwahlukileyo koko, kukho izinto ezimbini ezisisikhokelo ezinokuthethwa ngalo naliphi na ixesha kuthethwa ‘ngesizukulwana.’ (1) Isizukulwana sabantu asinakujongwa njengexesha elineminyaka ethile emiselweyo, njengoko kunjalo ngenani elithile leminyaka (ishumi leminyaka okanye inkulungwane). (2) Ngokwentelekiso abantu besizukulwana esithile baphila ixesha elifutshane, abaphili xesha lide.

Ekugqibeleni, xa abapostile bamva uYesu ebhekisela ‘kwesi sizukulwana,’ babeza kucinga ntoni? Ngoxa thina, sincedwa kukuba nolwazi oluthile, sisazi ukuba ukutshatyalaliswa kweYerusalem kwimbandezelo enkulu kwafika kwiminyaka engama-37 kamva, abapostile ababephulaphule uYesu babengenakukwazi oko. Kunoko, ukukhankanya kwakhe ‘isizukulwana’ kubo kwakungachazi ixesha elide, kodwa kwakuchaza abantu ngokwentelekiso ababephila kwixesha elithile elisikelwe umda. Kunjalo kanye nakwimeko yethu. Ngoko, hayi indlela afaneleka ngayo amazwi uYesu alek’ umsundulo ngawo esithi: “Kodwa akukho bani uwaziyo loo mhla nelo lixa; azazi nezithunywa zamazulu, nguBawo yedwa. . . . Ngenxa yoko yibani nilungile nani, ngokuba uNyana woMntu uza ngelixa eningalikhumbuleliyo.”—Mateyu 24:36, 44.

[Umbhalo osemazantsi]