Question:
Please explain Luke 16:16. Some say that there were to be no more prophets after John and that this statement abolishes the moral law.
Answer:
(1) It does not mean there were no more prophets after John, for the apostles, some of them, at least, if not all, were prophets. See Acts 2:17, 18; 19:6; 21:9, 10; 1 Cor. 14:29-32. (2) It does not mean that the law of God was then done away. Nearly all those who make this claim also contend that the law was abolished at the cross two years later. It was after this that our Lord said, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” Matt. 19:17. Who would charge Christ with teaching obedience to an abolished law? In the very connection of Luke 16:16, he tells us, in the next verse, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” We have found that it does not mean that prophets were no more or the law abolished; what does it mean then? It means, “The law and the prophets [were preached] until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.” Before John came, the teachers of God taught the law and the prophets— the Scriptures— but did not see all that they meant; when John came, he preached the fulfillment of many of these prophecies in the advent of the Messiah. The Royal One of David’s line was born, and the present truth for that time was proclaimed (Matt. 3:2, 3). Satan was working as never before, and only the earnest and persevering would enter the kingdom.
