How Long Is Forever?
As we read through the Scriptures, we are struck with the many uses of the word forever. This word, along with its counterparts, “eternal” and “everlasting”, have formed the theology of the vast majority of Bible readers concerning God’s future dealings with His creation. Once these readers become teachers, it is easy to see how an assumed truth, becomes theological fact and orthodoxy.
But what if
“forever” does not really mean forever as we understand
that word? Could it be possible that the majority have been mistaken in their
understanding of this important word, and the future implications for humanity
that this word conveys? Suppose that our understanding of the concept of these
words was a result of MIS-translation by the English
translators? What if the common translation of the Hebrew word “olam”, and
the equivalent Greek word, “aion” as “forever”,
was incorrect?
Itis an indisputable fact that from these two little
words, “olam” and “aion”,
and the adjective form of “aion”, namely “aionion”,
the translators of the Authorized version of the Bible (KJV), have given us the
following renderings:
1.
“Age”
2.
“Always”
3.
“Ancient”
4.
“Ancient times”
5.
“Anytime”
6.
“Before the world
began”
7.
“Continuance”
8.
“Course”
9.
“Eternal”
10.
“Ever”
11.
“Evermore”
12.
“Ever of old”
13.
“Everlasting”
14.
“From the beginning
of the
world”
15.
“In old time”
16.
“Lasting”
17.
“Long”
18.
“Never” ( “Ever”
with negative)
19.
“Of old”
20.
“Old”
21.
“Perpetual”
22.
“Since the beginning
of the
world”
23.
“The world”
24.
“While the world
stands”
25.
“World”
26.
“World without end”
It is obvious from
a perusal of this list of words and phrases, that the translators have been
wildly inconsistent in their translation of these words. One could even say
that they have perpetrated a gross injustice to their readers by their erratic
choice of words.
How, for instance,
can the same word “aion” mean “eternal” in
one passage, and “while the world stands” in
another?
“Eternal” is the
adjective form of “eternity”, and as such, describes all within the parameters of “eternity”. Was there no eternity BEFORE the
world stood, or AFTER “the world stands”? It is just as
evident that “ancient times” is not equivalent to “always”,
and “course” does not mean “perpetual”.
To the average
reader of his Bible, who is not familiar with the original languages from which
the Scriptures were “translated”, all these words and phrases would be assumed
to be different Hebrew and Greek words. I also assumed this to be true.
However, once I began my own in depth
investigation of this word, “forever” in my
concordance, I was shocked at the cornucopia of words that the translators used
as its equivalent.
If it were merely
using synonyms to keep the flow of the passage, or to give a better shade
of meaning, one could accept this method of translation to be proper. But this
is not the case.
To use words and
phrases that would convey to the reader something perpetual in
one place, and something finite in another, is translational
malpractice!
It is either
eternal, never having a beginning or end, or finite in
nature, having both a beginning and an end, it must be one
or the other, it cannot be both.
So the question
arises, Why would 47 scholarly men, familiar with the Hebrew and Greek
languages, blatantly fail in their translation of these key words? We have two
choices: either they deliberately misled English readers, or they did so
through ignorance. I believe it was a combination of both, and I will explain
why.
First, the
Authorized Version of the Bible was commissioned by King James of England in
1607 and completed in 1611. It was “authorized” not by God, as many believe,
but by King James I, the autocrat of England. It was a revision of earlier
English translations by Tyndale (1526), Coverdale’s edition (1535), The Great
Bible (1539), The Geneva Bible (1560), The Bishop’s Bible (1568), and the
Douay-Rheims Version (1609).
The KJV of 1611 was
just another in the line of revised English translations, and would have faded
into obscurity just like those before it, were it not for the extraordinary
steps taken by King James I of England, to make sure that his version
would endure.
The Bishop’s Bible
was the English version accepted and used by the churches of the day. When the
KJV was introduced, it was not well received by the masses. It was deemed
inferior in both substance and style as compared to the Bishop’s Bible.
In order to force
the acceptance of the KJV, the King’s printer was ordered to discontinue any
further printing of the Bishop’s Bible. Being deprived of the Bishop’s Bible,
the demand for the older Geneva Bible ensued, resulting in the smuggling to
London from Amsterdam, Holland, great quantities of that version of the
Scriptures.
It was only after these smuggled bibles were
seized, and a ban on import of any other versions was ordered, that the KJV was
reluctantly accepted by the people. Thus, the idea of the KJV being the only
authoritative version, indeed the singular Word of God, was instilled upon English
speaking people for centuries.
It is because of
this aura of ‘divine’ authority attached to the KJV by the powers that
controlled the printing press, that there remains to this day the idea among
many, that the KJV is the only authoritative, inspired version of the
Scriptures.
King James was..
well… a king, and as such, his orders were to be obeyed… or else. In that era,
being the king, the head of the government, also meant King James was the head
of the Church of England. He was basically the protestant Pope! He held firmly
to “The divine rights of kings”, which stated that the king was God’s
spokesman, and his decrees alone were to be obeyed as God’s word.
In his 15
instructions to the 47 translators of this new version of the Scriptures, there
were 3 explicit directives that give us insight to understand why the finished
product of these scholars was what it was.
King James wrote to
these men:
1.”The ordinary
Bible read in the Church, commonly called the Bishops' Bible, is to
be followed, and as little altered as the original will
permit.”
4.”When any
word hath divers significations, that to be kept which hath been most commonly
used by the most eminent fathers, being agreeable to the
propriety of the place and the analogies of faith.”
15. "Three or
four of the most ancient and grave divines, in either of the
universities, not employed in translating, to be
assigned to be overseers of the translation, for the better
observation of the fourth rule."
So, these
translators, were not nearly as free to “translate” as many have
supposed. First, they were to use the Bishop’s Bible as their standard to
follow primarily, not the original
language manuscripts.
King James was not
interested in a completely new translation from the Hebrew and Greek. The
translators were under scrutiny by “divines” (other state
approved minders) of the king’s choosing, to keep a check on the translators,
and to report to the king, to make sure they adhered to Rule #4 (see above).
This rule made clear that they were not to translate any word differently than
that which agreed with “the most eminent fathers” and the analogies of
faith”.
This “faith”
was not individual faith, but that faith deemed acceptable by the State. This
was simply state-run religion, and they were forbidden to change any word, especially
when a word did not fit the accepted profile of the state’s theology.
This, I believe
explains the translators’ deliberate mistranslation of
the KJV. They simply did not want to give a literal translation of the words “olam”
and “aion” in most passages, because they knew that it would go
against the accepted theology of the Church of England. These alternate words
and phrases in their place, would not threaten Church tenets.
Neither would they translate ‘sheol’, ‘hades’,
‘Gehenna’, or ‘Tartarus’ as they appear, but would call all 4 by an Anglo-Saxon
catch all term – “Hell”. This along with the term “damnation” instead
of “judgment”, fit well with the Church’s teaching on
eternal torment.
The reason I
contend that they also mistranslated these words without intentional
malice, was because they also held tenaciously to the idea of these
words actually meaning “forever”.
They along with the vast majority of believers, had been fully indoctrinated by
Church leadership on the concept of eternal life for the saved, and eternal
damnation for the lost.
By the 5th century
A.D., Augustine’s pagan teaching of the soul’s eternal torture in hell, had
thoroughly permeated the Church. They simply did not believe that ‘aionion’
fire did not signify “eternal” fire. They also could not accept
that ‘aionion’ life was not equivalent to “eternal”
life. ( It is important to note that “aionion life” is
better stated as “Life pertaining to the aion(s)”, (more on this later).
Every time they
encountered the Hebrew word ‘olam’ or the Greek word ‘aion’, they immediately thought
“eternal”, and translated them accordingly, unless the context of
the passage forbid it. In such cases, they would insert phrases such as “while
the world stands”, or “since the beginning of the world”,
or other nonsensical phrases. In short, they simply “read into” these little
Hebrew and Greek words a meaning that was not there.
Although I may seem
to believe that the KJV is an unfit version which should be disregarded, I actually
do not hold that position. Even though it has its share of flaws (as do all
translations), I believe it to be an acceptable version, to be used alongside
others. However to refer to the KJV as a “translation” is
incorrect, rather it is a reworked version, not a true translation from
original texts.
Unfortunately, I
believe it to be flawed in critical passages that promote some false doctrines
that have caused great emotional suffering to many readers, and have hidden certain
tenets of God’s truth and His actual character of unfathomable Love
from His saints.
Happily, the
Bishop’s Bible, which was followed closely by the scholars of the KJV, was an
acceptable translation from original Hebrew and Greek text manuscripts, so the
English reader can have confidence in the majority of the KJV content.
The ready
availability today of concordances and other Hebrew and Greek language
resources, give us a much greater ability to know and study the original texts
than any generation before us, and to personally check each word to see if the
translators were true to the originals.
So, if the Hebrew
word ‘olam’ and the Greek word ‘aion’ do
not mean “forever”, and if ‘aionion’ does
not mean “eternal” or “everlasting”,
then what do they signify? To find the answer to this question, we will need to
study the etymology, context, and the usage of the words throughout Scripture.
The Hebrew
word ‘olam’ is found from Genesis through Malachi a
total of 439 times. We have already documented the many and varied ways that it
was translated by the KJV linguists. By a wide majority, the word ‘olam’ is
translated “forever” and “everlasting” in the KJV.
To see all the
other renderings of ‘olam’, I recommend “The Englishman’s
Concordance” which is keyed by number to “Strong’s Concordance”. This
invaluable tool allows you to see all the varied words used in one convenient
listing. This saves the student many hours in researching a given word.
‘Olam’ comes from
the Hebrew root ‘alam’, which simply means “to
veil from sight”. ‘Gesenius’s Lexicon of Hebrew OT Scriptures’
states that ‘olam’ signifies: “What is hidden, long;
the beginning or end of which is either uncertain or not defined”.
And so, far from
having a definite, certain meaning
of “eternal” or “everlasting”, the word ‘olam’ is used
to signify something indefinite, and uncertain.
It is beyond the viewpoint of man, a vanishing point like that of a series of
mountain ranges, or distant railroad tracks. We know that the tracks began
somewhere, and will end somewhere, as do the mountains, but where is not known
to the viewer, it is beyond the boundary of sight.
In short, ‘olam’ is
an indefinite, past or future epoch, usually long, but sometimes very short,
all of which is concealed from human view. ‘Olam’ does
not mean that the subject at hand never had a beginning and will never have an
end, for that is the attribute solely connected with God. God alone always was
and always will be, He is The great “I Am”.
A perfect circle is
often used to describe eternity, and is the concept behind the bands exchanged
by bride and groom at their wedding. However, their marriage had a definite
beginning and will have a definite end! Who and when each would wed before
meeting was ‘olam’, beyond their view. And also how long
they will be married is ‘olam’, out of sight, hidden,
concealed.
The indefinite past
and future of time, which also includes space, and matter is what is indicated
by the word ‘olam’. It deals with the creation, and man’s
relation to it. It is an age of uncertain length, often very long, but
sometimes brief. This was Jonah’s view from the belly of the fish:
“I went down to the very bottoms of
the mountains; the gates of the netherworld barred me in forever (‘olam’);
but you brought me up from the Pit, O Lord,
my God.” {Jonah 2:6}
From Jonah’s
perspective, his stay in darkness was an eternity, with no foreseeable
end to his incarceration, but his forever stay
in the great fish ended after 3 days. God used Jonah, to not only teach him an
important lesson, but a truth that we can all benefit from. God is
outside of time, space, and matter, He alone is eternal in the true sense of
the word.
With our definition
of ‘olam’ in hand, let’s look into the Scriptures with a new
understanding of our all-wise God of Love, and His dealings with His creation.
Although there are many passages where ‘olam’ can be
made to fit the concept of “eternal” or “everlasting” without doing harm to the
passage, there are many more where that rendering is completely untenable and
very harmful.
There must be
consistency in our dealing with this word, for this will determine the
understanding of the truth presented by The Spirit of God in these passages
where this word is found.
The first
occurrence of the word ‘olam’ is found in {Gen.3:22}:
“And the Lord God said, “Now that the man has become like one of
Us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and
take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever (‘olam’).”
This verse always
puzzled me. I just couldn’t understand why it was necessary for God to keep
Adam from eating the fruit from The Tree of Life. Hadn’t Adam already begun to
die?
God’s prohibition
had warned Adam that if he partook of the fruit of The Tree of Knowledge, that:
“Dying, you will die.” How could eating from The Tree of Life, reverse God’s
sure sentence of death for Adam, and allow him to live forever?
Was the fruit of
The Tree of Life the antidote for sin? Would Adam then be cleansed of his fatal
disease? If it would accomplish that, why would God forbid the cure? Why was
The Tree of Life put there by God at all?
No, the fruit of
The Tree of Life could not cure Adam of his dying condition and ultimate death,
it could only delay the inevitable. Only the blood of the Innocent Sacrifice
could accomplish his cure.
The key to this
puzzle is the understanding that Adam was created sinless, but not
immortal. His mortality lay latent within him, and was brought into
play by his sin of disobedience. Yes, Adam would “surely die”,
regardless of how much fruit he ate of The Tree of Life. The Scripture states
unequivocally that “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness
for sin.” It took the blood of the sinless Lamb of God to counter sin’s
curse … death.
Adam had no
guarantee that he would live to see the next day after his disobedience, for
his Father had not revealed to him the length of the dying process. Death was
at work in him, and could claim his consciousness at any time. Eating the fruit
of The Tree of Life would stave off his final fate indefinitely, he would not
live ‘olam’ (through the age).
This did not mean
he would have gained immortality by eating the fruit, and thereby have
lived forever, only that it would have staved off his final
fate for an indefinite period, as long as he ate continually from the tree.
With Adam being kept from the Tree of Life, his vitality would wane, and he
would ultimately succumb to death.
We will now do a
survey of the O.T. to see how ‘olam’ is used in many
passages to prove beyond doubt, that it cannot possibly mean “eternal” or “everlasting”.
“The Nephilim were on the earth in
those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of
humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old (‘olam’),
men of renown.” {Gen. 6:4}
Did these “heroes
of old” have no beginning or end? They were giants, the result of an unholy
union, but they were not immortal.
“Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty
appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me 4 and
said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will
make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting (‘olam’)
possession to your descendants after you.” {Gen. 48:4}
Did Israel possess
the land of Canaan eternally? How about from 70 to 1948 A.D.?
Will they possess
it as a nation when the new earth is brought into existence?
“And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this
selfsame day have I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt: therefore
shall ye observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance forever (‘olam’). 22 And
ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin,
and strike the lintel and the two side-posts with the blood that is in the
basin; and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.23 For
Jehovah will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood
upon the lintel, and on the two side-posts, Jehovah will pass over the door,
and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.24 And
ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons forever (‘olam’).”
{Ex. 12:17, 22-24}
Will Israel be
required to keep these rituals eternally, or were they to be only long-lasting,
to be discarded at some distant, future time?
“And Jehovah said unto Moses, Lo, I
come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with
thee, and may also believe thee forever (‘olam’). And
Moses told the words of the people unto Jehovah.” {Ex. 19:9}
How long did the
Israelites believe Moses? After only 40 days on Mt. Sinai, they had abandoned
any notion of obedience to Moses’ words.
“But if the servant shall plainly say,
I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: 6 then
his master shall bring him unto God, and shall bring him to the door, or unto
the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he
shall serve him forever (‘olam’).” {Ex. 21:5,6}
Will the servant
belong to his earthly master after they are both resurrected? According to the
law of the Jubilee, all servants must be released from servitude in the 50th year
as is proven from the following verse...
“As a hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee;
he shall serve with thee unto the year of jubilee:41 then
shall he go out from thee, he and his children with him, and shall
return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he
return.” {Lev. 25:40,41}
“And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them;15 and
thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may
minister unto me in the priest's office: and their anointing shall be to them
for an everlasting (‘olam’) priesthood throughout their
generations.” { Ex. 40: 14,15}
Are there Jewish
priests offering sacrifices today? There has not been a temple for 2000 years!
How about in the
New Jerusalem, where there will be no temple?
“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb,
are the temple thereof.” {Rev. 21:22}
“Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son
of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, in
that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I consumed not the
children of Israel in my jealousy.12 Wherefore say, Behold, I
give unto him my covenant of peace:
13 and it shall be
unto him, and to his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting (‘olam’)
priesthood; because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the
children of Israel.” {Num. 25:11-13}
Are the descendants
of Phinehas serving as priests to God today?
“Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue
thee and overtake thee till thou be destroyed, because thou hearkened not unto
the voice of the Lord thy
God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded thee.46 And
they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed forever (‘olam’).”
{Deut. 28: 45,46}
Israel did not obey
the Lord, God’s curses fell upon the nation. Are these curses, as the result of
Israel’s sinfulness, to remain upon God’s people “Forever”?
“And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written: “There shall
come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.27 For
this is My covenant unto them when I shall take away their sins.”
“And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of
God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.” {Rev.
22:3}
“And David and his men went up, and
invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations
were of old (‘olam’) the inhabitants of the land, as
thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt.” {1 Sam. 27:8}
“And Joshua said unto all the people,
Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the
flood in old time (‘olam’), even Terah, the
father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.”
{Josh. 24:2}
Here are 2 examples
of passages that place “forever” in the past, but were no longer the case at
the time of the writing. These people used to inhabit
the territories, but did so no longer, there is nothing perpetual about
that.
“For thou hast confirmed to thyself
thy people Israel to be a people unto thee forever (‘olam’):
and thou, Lord, art become their God.” {2 Sam. 7:24}
How do we square
this statement with the following verses if ‘olam’ means “perpetual”?
“Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not
my people, and I will not be your God.10 Yet
the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which
cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass,
that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it
shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.”
{Hos. 1:9,10}
Here is an example of Israel’s “forever”
relationship to God that changed 2 times in the past, and will yet change again
in the future!
“Now therefore the sword shall never (lit. ‘not
olam’) depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast
taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.” {2 Sam.12:10}
Will the royal house of David never have
peace? Let Isaiah answer that question;
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.7 Of
the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne
of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even forever (‘olam’).
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” {Isa. 9:6,7}
Here is a good example of the use
of ‘olam’. If the question were asked, “How long will Christ
reign upon the throne of David”? Most would answer “Forever”! However, Christ
is not now reigning upon the throne of David’s government, indeed there has not
been a king in Judah since Zedekiah ruled almost 600 years before Christ was
born!
And when our Lord does finally take His
rightful place upon David’s throne to reign, it will be ‘olam’,
but not forever. I can almost hear the reader shout
“Blasphemy!”, but hear the Apostle Paul:
“Then the end will come, when He (Christ) hands over
the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion,
authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He
has put all His enemies under His feet.” {1 Cor. 15:24,25}
How wonderfully the Scriptures open
up to us when we at last free ourselves from the destructive doctrines of men!
Christ Jesus our Lord, will reign UNTIL He has
accomplished the subjugation and reconciliation of all His creation. And then
what? Let’s read further…
“The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For
he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that
“everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God
himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has
done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put
everything under him, so that God may be all in all.” {vs. 26-28}
Our hearts tell us that this must be
so! The ever humble Son of the Father, after reconciling all creation to
Himself by way of perfect and righteous rule, graciously and willingly hands
over a perfect universe to His Father of Love, and God will then become All
in all His creatures!
“My lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to learn
from you who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21 Otherwise, as
soon as my lord the king is laid to rest with his ancestors, I and my
son Solomon will be treated as criminals.” The king then took an oath: “As
surely as the Lord lives,
who has delivered me out of every trouble, 30 I will
surely carry out this very day what I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel: Solomon
your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place.”31 Then
Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground, prostrating herself before
the king, and said, “May my lord King David live forever (‘olam’)!”
{1Kings 1:20,21, 30,31}
After stating her belief that he
would be “laid to rest’’, did Bathsheba believe there was a
possibility that the old, sickly King David would live forever as
king, or was she expressing her wish for an extension of his days that were
beyond the view of the expected time? Which makes more sense?
“Canst thou draw out leviathan with a fishhook? Or press down his
tongue with a cord? 2 Canst thou put a rope into his nose?
Or pierce his jaw through with a hook? 3 Will he make many
supplications unto thee? Or will he speak soft words unto thee? 4 Will
he make a covenant with thee, That thou shouldest take him for a servant forever (‘olam’)?”
{Job 41: 1-4}
No, Job will not keep a leviathan as
a pet into eternity as a result of an agreement they made on earth.
“Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting (‘olam’)
doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” {Psa. 24:7}
Whether these signify gates and doors
of Jerusalem or the Temple proper, both have been destroyed at least twice.
Neither was “everlasting”.
“For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the
brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.11 Their
inward thought is, that their houses shall continue forever (‘olam’),
and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their
own names.” {Psa.
49:10,11}
Has there ever been a man so foolish
as to believe that their house and worldly wealth could endure “forever”?
Rather they believe their possessions will remain a long time.
“Lord, you have been
our dwelling place throughout all generations. 2 Before
the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting ‘(olam’)
to everlasting (‘olam’) you are God.” {Psa. 90:1,2}
Here is an excellent example of how
rendering ‘olam’ as “everlasting”
misleads the reader. Before the world was created was indeed ancient, however
it was not necessarily before anything was created.
There existed at least one epoch before God created the earth.
A far more natural and sensible
translation of this passage would read:
“Lord, you have been
our dwelling place throughout all generations. 2 Before
the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from age ‘(olam’)
to age (‘olam’) you are God.” {Psa. 90:1,2}
Remember, when God laid the earth’s
foundation, some of His creation already existed from an earlier creative act.
While educating Job, God says:
“Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you
instruct Me!4 “Where were you when I laid the
foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding,5 Who
set its measurements? since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? 6 “On
what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone,7 When
the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” {Job
38:4-6}
The celestial host shouted in
jubilation in anticipation of the next phase of their Father’s creative work.
Instead of declaring that God is eternal, (and He is the only One
that is), this passage is stating that in God’s dealings with His creation, He
is always there. Beyond mankind’s view in either direction, from age to age, from epoch to epoch,
God is orchestrating all events pertaining to His creatures, as the omnipotent “I
Am”.
“Praise be to the Lord, the
God of Israel, from everlasting (‘olam’) to everlasting (‘olam’).”
{Psa. 106:48}
Another use of this phrase: “from
everlasting to everlasting” in the above passage, shows clearly
that the concept is to be understood as from ‘age to age’. If it
was from eternity, there would not yet have been any created
entity to give praise to God, He would have had to praise Himself! In addition,
He has not eternally been “The God of Israel”.
“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be
shaken but endures forever (‘olam’). 2 As
the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now
and forevermore (‘olam’).” {Psa. 125:1,2}
Has Mt. Zion in Jerusalem eternally
existed? Will the Lord perpetually surround Israel? No, there will come a point
where God will be “All in all”.
“Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly
hosts. 3 Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you
shining stars. 4 Praise him, you highest heavens and you
waters above the skies. 5 Let them praise the name of the
Lord, for at his command they were created, 6 and he
established them forever (‘olam’) and ever (‘olam’)—
he issued a decree that will never pass away.” {Psa. 148:2-6}
The simple fact that all these things
that give praise to God were created, proves that ‘Olam’
does not mean eternal, for eternity has
no beginning as well as no end.
“Remove not the ancient (‘olam’)
landmark, Which thy fathers have set.” {Prov. 22:28}
Any landmark that was set up, cannot
be eternal. Here the translators got it right!
“For the living know that they shall die: but the dead
know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory
of them is forgotten.” {Ecc. 9:5}
“Remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the
evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no
pleasure in them; …because man goeth to his everlasting (‘olam’)
home, and the mourners go about the streets:” {Ecc. 12:1,5}
According to these passages, the
unconscious dead go to their “everlasting home” in the grave (‘sheol’). This
would deny any future resurrection if ‘olam’ means “eternal”!
“And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast
lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my
peace even of old (‘olam’), and thou fearest me not?”
{Isa. 57:11}
Again, the translators had no choice
but to render ‘olam’ as “of old”. To put “eternally” here, would deny that God
had ever brought judgment in His past dealing with Israel.
“Those from among you will rebuild the ancient (‘olam’)
ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the
repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.” {Isa.
58:12}
These buildings laid in ruins for
long eons in the past, outside the view of men, but they are to be wonderfully
restored along with God’s nation.
“For since the beginning of the world (‘olam’)
men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God,
beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” {Isa. 64:4}
The “translators” really outdid
themselves on this lengthy phrase, in order to cloud one word, ‘Olam’.
This is not a translation, this is a made-up conjunction of words. The
terms “of old” or “for ages” would
have sufficed, and been true to the Hebrew text.
“Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my
presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual (‘olam’)
decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves,
yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?”
{Jer. 5:22}
How can this decree for the boundary
of the seas be perpetual, when Rev. 21:1 informs us that in the new earth,
there will be no seas?
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and
the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
Can anyone reconcile the following
two verses, by reading ‘olam’ as “eternal”?
“And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage
that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land
which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger,
which shall burn forever (‘olam’).” {Jer. 17:4}
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.9 He will not always
chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever (‘olam’).
{Psa. 103:8}
We could go on quoting many more
examples of the obvious limitations of ‘olam’ reaching
back into the past, and looking forward to the future. Hopefully, the reader is
able to see that the concept of “forever”, as is the common definition,
does not fit the vast majority of these passages when put to the test by
comparison with other scriptures. We can safely say that the Hebrew ‘olam’ has
a beginning and an ending, this disqualifies it from the concept of perpetual
continuance that the words ‘eternal’, ‘everlasting’,
and ‘forever’ convey.
AION, AIONION
When we turn to the Greek scriptures,
we are confronted by ‘olam’s counterpart, ‘aion’, and its
adjective form, ‘aionion’, almost 200 times. There is
no question that the Greek speaking Jews considered ‘aion’ to
be synonymous with the Hebrew word ‘olam’. The reason we
know this, was that in the 3rd century B.C., a panel of 70 Jewish scholars,
translated the Hebrew O.T. scriptures into Greek. Of the 439 times they
encountered the word ‘olam’, they rendered it ‘aion’ or ‘aionion’ almost
every time. This translation has become known as The Septuagint,
and was probably used by the Hellenized Jews of Jesus’ day.
It is important to understand that
the Greek language changed over time, therefore it will be beneficial to our
study to quote some extra-biblical sources using the word ‘aion’ from
Classical Greek (500 B.C.) down to the koine (common) Greek being spoken in the
1st century A.D. This will help us to discover any changes in
the usage of the word.
While it is plausible that some words
will gain or lose certain nuances over time, it is hard to imagine any word in
any language that would develop an opposite meaning
from the original!
These are quotes from some ancient
Greek writers and philosophers:
Pindar-(522-443 BC)
: “A long aion produces the four virtues”.
Empedocles-(490-430
BC) : “… an earthly body deprived of a happy aion”.
Euripides-(480-406
BC) : “Marriage to those mortals who are well situated is a happy
aion.”
“Every aion of
mortals is unstable”.
“A long aion has many
things to say”.
Hippocrates-(460-370
BC) : “A human aion is a 7 days matter”.
Plato-(424-348 BC)
: “… leading an aion involved in troubles.”
Aristotle-(384-322
BC) : “The period which includes the whole time of one’s life is called
the aion of
each one.”
“… and the relation of the stars, sun,
and also the moon moving in most perfect measures
from one aion to
another aion.”
Again Aristotle
says concerning the earth:
“All these things seem to be done for
her good, in order to maintain safety during her aion”.
Philo-(20 BC- 50 AD) : “It is
better not to promise than not to give prompt assistance, for no blame follows
in the former case, but in the latter there is dissatisfaction from the weaker
class, and a deep hatred and everlasting punishment.” (‘aionion
kolasis’) This same exact Greek phrase is found in {Matt. 25:46} referring
to the “goat nations” that will go into “aionion kolasis” or rather
“ age-related chastisement.”
Josephus-(37-100 AD) : He refers to
the time between the giving of the Law of Moses and his writing as “a
long aion”.
He also calls Herod’s temple “aionion”,
which had already been destroyed in Josephus” day.
So it becomes very evident that these
Greeks did not believe the words Aion or Aionios had
anything to do with Eternal. It is only because of the
warped theology of deluded men, that the vast majority of teachers and
preachers within the Church, ignorantly peddle such God dishonoring rubbish.
From the Greek word Aion,
we get our English word Eon.
Webster’s Dictionary defines Eon as
follows:
Eon - “from Gr.
Aion, an age, lifetime. A period of immense duration; an extremely long,
unlimited period of time; an age; a cycle; eternity.”
As we have already discovered, an
Aion is not Eternal, yet even Webster felt compelled to
add “eternity” to the end of his definition. By doing so, he completely
nullified the whole definition he had just given for Eon.
Proof of this is to see Webster’s definition of Eternity just
a few pages later:
Eternity – 1. “the
fact, condition, or quality of being eternal; duration or continuance without
beginning or end.
2. infinite time; time
without beginning or end.”
You cannot have it both ways, Mr.
Webster. Even an extremely long age is not “without beginning or end”. We can
see clearly from Webster’s glaring contradiction of his own definitions, that
an Eon cannot be Eternal!!
But this is similar to the kind of
self contradictory theology rampant in churches today! The preacher promotes
the idea that God created all, loves all, and sent His own Son, Jesus Christ,
Who died to save all. Yet in the next breath, they warn that, that same God of
Love will damn the ones He loves to ETERNAL TORTURE if
they fail to accept His love before they die!
What a bi-polar god is this? This
would indeed be “conditional love” at its worst! One minute he loves you like
no one else in the world, but the moment you take your last breath, not having
met the required conditions, he shows his “love” by tossing you into fiery
torment, burning you eternally with no
compassion for your suffering, and without any purpose except to exact revenge.
This is not a god of Love, but of Hate. But thankfully, this is only the god of
religion, not the All-Loving Father who sent His Son to prove that Love!
As we now turn to the Greek
Scriptures, we will see how this horrendous blunder of Christendom has maligned
the character of The Creator, our God of Love and Mercy. We will see that all
of His love for His beloved creation was put on display for the cosmos to
witness, at Calvary’s Cross. He is completely satisfied, for all eternity, with
the sacrifice of His Beloved Son, and He will never require any more payment
for sin. To do so, would cast a shadow on the effectiveness of Jesus’ blood,
and belittle the sacrifice of Himself for all mankind.
Here are some examples of Aion and Aionion that
will prove they cannot mean “Forever”.
“And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall
be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be
forgiven him, neither in this world (aion), neither in
the world (aion) to come.” {Matt. 12:32}
If ‘Aion’ means
“forever”, “eternal”, “everlasting”, etc., then we must account for at least 2
“forevers” according to this passage.
“But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never (not
for the aion) forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal (aionion) damnation (krisis).”
{Mark 3:29}
Here is a real doozy by the King
James boys. First, because they are determined to make ‘Aion’ mean
forever, they are compelled to translate it “Never” when it appears in a
sentence with a “Not”. So for them, “not for the aion” becomes…voila!...”NEVER”.
Secondly, they have wrongly
rendered ‘aionion krisis’ as “eternal damnation”.
Krisis simply means
judgment. It is a neutral term, the outcome of the judgment has yet to be
determined. It is not condemnation, and is certainly not “damnation”!
This term evokes visions of “The
damned” in “Hellfire”. These pictures have been drilled into our minds from the
peddlers of religion, full of “eternal flames” to scare us into submission to
their unscriptural doctrines.
These verses concerning blasphemy of
the Holy Spirit become clear, when ‘aion’ is translated
as “age” or “epoch”. It is essential
to know who these words were spoken to. Jesus “came unto His Own (Israel),
and His own did not receive Him”.
Therefore, those Jews that
heard Jesus speak, and concluded that He was demon possessed, were
blaspheming The Spirit of Christ. For that sin, born of unbelief, they would
not enjoy forgiveness from God during Messiah’s ministry, or the following
epoch. The Jews would have understood that to be the Kingdom Age of Messiah. It
does not say that they were “never” to
be forgiven, in spite of what the ‘translators’ said.
“But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses,
and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with
persecutions; and in the world (‘aion’) to come eternal (‘aionion’)
life.” {Mark 10:30}
Here is a prime example of a
comparative verse. What is being compared? It is “now in this time” (Jesus’
day), and “the world to come”. Again, if ‘aion’
means forever as it is translated many times, then we
have two “forevers” here in this verse. It is
obvious that Jesus was talking about two distinct epochs.
Since ‘aion’ represents
a limited duration, all makes perfect sense. The followers of Jesus were
promised blessings with persecution in their present circumstances, and future
blessings in the coming Kingdom age with Christ, which they expected Jesus to
usher in any day. That was to be their eonion life or
rather their Kingdom age life.
Most would object to this
interpretation. To limit “eternal life” to an age or epoch is unsettling
for them. Then, they have no guarantees from God about what happens after their
“eternal life” ends. But there is nothing at all to fear, simply,
because they worship an eonian God! He is the age pertaining
God, the One who holds all the happenings of the ages within His powerful hand.
Because He is the eonian God, does
that mean that He will not live after the eons have
ceased? Of course not! There are at least 2 eons that follow the current one in
which we live, the Millennium, and the perfect Kingdom Age
of The Son. After that epoch, God will become “All in all”. He
will take up His rightful place in the very center of each of His creature’s
hearts. There will never come another time when God is not their All!
God will then have completed His
mysterious Plan of Reconciliation. Paul informs us in 1 Cor. 15:54 that “this mortal will
put on immortality”. That means that we will
never again be subject to death. The only Man that walked this earth that possesses
immortality now, is our Savior, Jesus Christ. All others
will receive their immortality at the resurrection at the return of Christ.
“.. that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until
the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will
bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the
King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone
possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no
man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”
{1 Tim. 6:16}
“The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end
of the world (‘aion’); and the reapers are the angels.40 As
therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the
end of this world (‘aion’).” {Matt. 13: 39,40}
Here we see that ‘aion’ has
an end, eternity does not.
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and
redeemed His people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the
house of His servant David; as He spoke by the mouth of His
holy prophets, which have been since the world began (lit.
“from the aion):” {Luke 1:68-70}
Again, we see the KJV translators
inserting words that are not in the Greek text. It is evident that it cannot be
“since the world began”. Were there Jewish prophets then? No, but once
we see that ‘aion’ means “era”, “age”, or “epoch”,
this statement fits perfectly. The prophets of old spoke
abundantly of the coming of The Messiah as Israel’s Redeemer.
“And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world (‘aion’)
marry, and are given in marriage:35 But they which shall be accounted
worthy to obtain that world (‘aion’), and the
resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:” {Luke
20:34,35}
Here we are presented with two
distinct “worlds”. The present eon is one in which the children (humans)
marry in accord with God’s command to populate the earth. The resurrected
humans of the Kingdom eon, will not then have that commission from God.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting (‘aionion’)
life.” {John 3:16}
This verse is universally known, and
can be quoted by many verbatim. Yet, how many truly understand what Jesus was
telling Nicodemus? First, we must ask, Who was Nicodemus?
He was a ruling Jew, a religious Pharisee. The
subject at hand was the coming Kingdom of Messiah of which the saved in Israel
were promised prominence and rulership over the Gentile nations. In verse 5
Jesus had said:
“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be
born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of
God.6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and
that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Nicodemus, typical of the unbelieving
rulers in Israel, needed the Spirit birth from above. Without The Spirit of
God, the flesh/soul would “perish” and not be resurrected to enter the Kingdom.
Jesus was alluding to Ezekiel’s prophecy concerning Israel:
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit
will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your
flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I
will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye
shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall
dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my
people, and I will be your God.” {Eze. 36:26-28}
Without God’s Spirit of illumination
in their hearts, the rulers of Israel rejected God’s Son. The promised Kingdom
was put in abeyance, and the “everlasting life” which
is life during the Kingdom eon, was lost to all that rejected Jesus, they
will “perish” for that epoch, but not “forever”.
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal (‘aionion’)
life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come
to me, that ye might have life.” {John 5:39,40}
Did these self-righteous Jews believe
that their life had “no beginning” and would have “no
end” (Webster’s definition), or did they think that they would
live in the Kingdom eon after their resurrection?
“And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto
you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of
restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy
prophets since the world began (lit. “from an aion”).
{Acts 3:20,21}
Here we go again! These words do not
appear in the Greek text. Did the Jewish prophets foretell the “restitution
of all things” since God created the earth, or was it spoken by
prophets from long ago in Israel’s past?
“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you
are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his
righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each
person according to what they have done. To those who by
persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will
give eternal (‘aionion’) life.” {Rom.
2:5-7 NIV}
If God “will give”
in the future, “eternal life”, then it is evident that it
was not possessed by those individuals in the past, which would disqualify it
from being “eternal”. Once again, “life pertaining to the age,
era, or epoch” makes perfect sense. Of course, life will not end
after the eons have been completed, for our immortality will make death
impossible! We will live with Him Who loves us ALWAYS,
for He will be in all His creatures, and become their All!
“Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my
gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of
the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began (
lit. “times eonian”), But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the
prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting (‘aionion’)
God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be
glory through Jesus Christ forever (‘aionion’). Amen.”
{Rom. 16:25-27}
In this marvelous passage, we have a
wealth of information concerning the evangel that Paul preached which he called
“my gospel”, and the word ‘aion’. Paul
preached ‘good news’ that none of the other 12 apostles preached. His gospel
involved the unveiling of a secret that God had kept hidden, not “since the
world began” (which is not in the Greek text), but “from eonian
times”.
This shows us that God has placed the
eons within the parameters of time. Time and eons had a beginning and will come
to an end together. On either side of both time and the eons is eternity.
God placed His dealings with His
creatures within the framework of the eons in order to test them.
These trials are not eternal, they are temporary.
God is using them to reveal to man
his inadequacies and inabilities to save himself. At the end of the eons, God
will have finished all His lessons, the testing will be complete, the grading
and judging of all His creatures will be over. All will be reconciled to Him at
the end of the eons. Hear Paul on this hidden secret:
“For it pleased the Father that in Him (The Son) should all fullness
dwell;20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross,
by Him, to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether
they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” {Col. 1:19,20}
Back in the Romans passage, He is
called the “eonian God”, not because He is finite and limited to the ages, but
because that is how He reveals Himself as He deals with His finite creation.
They are of the eons, therefore He became of the
eons with them. He is not the God of the ages only, but also The
pre-ages and post-ages God!
He is not a God who is detached from
His creatures. He has not forsaken His creation during this temporary time. His
purpose all along has been to rescue His
creation, not destroy it!
Is this not the reason He revealed
Himself in the lowly Jesus of Nazareth? He, The Almighty, took part in His
fleshly creation in time, in order that we may partake of
His nature perpetually.
“And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of
man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith
should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit
we speak wisdom among them that are perfect (Gk. ‘telios’ =
‘mature’): yet not the wisdom of this world (‘aion’),
nor of the princes of this world (‘aion’), that come to
nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the
hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world (‘aions’)
unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of this world (‘aion’)
knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
{1 Cor. 2:4-8}
In this passage, Paul uses the singular
word ‘aion’ 3 times and once in the plural, ‘aions’
in just 3 verses! Three of the uses are stated as “this” Aion.
We have encountered this use of ‘aion’ throughout our
study. In many instances, the word ‘aion’ has been
employed by the writers to signify Past, Present, and Future Eons, yet all of
them are of limited duration as they always begin and end,
to make way for what follows. The “wisdom” and “princes”
of this eon will “come to nothing”. Paul also states that God’s
secret wisdom was established “before the aion”. Are these
not definite statements that ‘aion’ has a limited
existence?
“Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they
are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of
the world (pl.- ‘aions’) are come.”
How could this statement possibly
refer to something eternal, without beginning or end? The Apostle tells us that
there are definite “ends of the ages”. These epochs of Israel’s
history were given as examples to us, that we may benefit from their mistakes.
However, Christendom is just as blind
as God’s chosen nation. Our leaders have darkened God’s truth and maligned His
character, in order to exert control over His people through fear and
intimidation, using a fanciful doctrine of ‘eternal punishment’
as their weapon. This is inexcusable, and we must speak the truth about these
things, so that the sunlight of God’s love dispels all of religion’s darkness.
“While we look not at the things which are seen, but
at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are
temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal (‘aionion’).”
{2 Cor. 4:18}
Here is a favorite verse of those
that would insist that ‘aionion’ means “eternal”.
At first glance, it appears that they have a valid case. However, upon further
inspection of the passage, Paul’s meaning becomes very clear, and the
definition of ‘aion’ holds true to form.
It is always dangerous to formulate
our theology from one passage of Scripture, let alone one verse, and here is no
exception. Paul is urging the worldly Corinthian assembly in this passage, to
place their focus upon “the things which are not seen”, and away
from those things that “are seen”.
What are these temporary things that
were apparent to the Corinthians? Paul is laying out for them the distinction
between the evil things (“evil” here
does not mean “sinful”: See my article “The Good
in Evil” https://triumphantloveinchrist.blogspot.com/p/the-good-in-evil_5344.html
) pertaining to this era, which are now observable to all, in
which “the god of this age (‘aion’)” operates,
and the good things which will be manifest
during the coming eons of God’s Kingdom rule.
A careful reading of this whole
passage will show that Paul is speaking about present suffering in
Satan’s realm. In verses 7-12, Paul refers to these things that were apparent:
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the
excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.8 We
are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are
perplexed, but not in despair;9 Persecuted,
but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;10 Always
bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that
the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.11 For
we which live are always delivered unto death for
Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal
flesh.12 So then death worketh in us, but
life in you.”
The verses immediately preceding our
verse under consideration proves that the eonian things
for which he longed, would bring glorious things into view:
“Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying,
yet our inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction,
which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly
an eternal (‘aionion’= “epoch-lasting”) weight of
glory.”
Paul and his companions suffered
intensely for their Lord, both physically and emotionally. The record says that
Paul desired to “fill up (supplement) on my part that which is
lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh” {Col. 1:24}NAS
Paul’s desire was to put on display
the resurrected life of Christ through his sufferings. Those
were the things that were passing and temporary. He looked
beyond his present afflictions to lay hold on the not yet visible things of God
which would reveal that “eonian weight of glory”.
“Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead,
and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,21 Far
above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that
is named, not only in this world (‘aion’), but also in
that which is to come:” {Eph. 1:20,21}
Again, we have two eons to
consider, “this world” and “that which is to
come”.
“And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in
heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages (‘aions’)
to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward
us through Christ Jesus.” {Eph. 2:6,7}
The translators got it right in this
instance. “Hip, Hip, Hooray!” Have they finally seen the light? Well…No, their
hand was forced. To translate ‘aion’ here the way they
did in most of the other passages, would have given us: “eternities”,
“forevers”, “perpetuals”, etc. It is hard to justify a plural rendering of
something infinite like eternity!
“Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout
all ages (‘aions’), world without end (lit.
“the eon of the eons”). Amen.” {Eph.
3:21}
Just to make up for their correct translation
of “ages” for ‘aions’, they totally dropped the ball
in this verse, saying, “ages” for another Greek word
meaning “generations, or families”. Then they
added; “world without end”. These 3 words are pulled out of thin
air, having no such counterpart in the Greek text! It is a blatant attempt to
mask the true meaning of Paul’s message. The actual words are “aion
of the aions”.
Is that not a strange phrase? It is,
if you believe that ‘aion’ means “eternal”,
like the KJV fellas did. And herein lies the danger of “paraphrasing” the Word
of God. The original words ARE important! The literal
translation of this verse is as follows:
“To Him [is] the glory in the assembly in Christ Jesus, to all
the generations (families) of the age of the ages. Amen.” (Young’s Literal
Translation)
This correct, literal translation
changes the whole meaning of the verse! When we remember that eons are distinct
segments, within the larger framework of time itself, it is easier to
understand Paul’s phraseology. “The eon of the eons” should be understood to
mean, “The eon belonging to the eons”. In other
words, it is a specific eon within all the time
frame of the eons. It is an eon that has been singled
out for our consideration.
So which age of all the ages would
Paul be referencing? I believe it to be the supreme epoch of all the epochs
before it, it is the last eon. It is the era of the new heavens and new earth.
In this eon, there will be nothing to stain its perfection. All sin will have
been erased, and all evil discarded. They will have served God’s hidden purpose
of bringing all His creation to have all their needs fulfilled in Him.
There will be no more oceans to
divide earth’s families, nor a Temple for ritualized worship. The Father and
Son will be among them, all will worship Him in Person, and there will be peace
and complete harmony. There will remain nothing but perfection in all the new
creation, and God’s creatures will have been perfectly cleansed to inhabit it.
“Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven
and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I
saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now
among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God
himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will
wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or
crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”5 He
who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said,
“Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” {Rev. 21:1-5}
Continuing our study of ‘aion’,
Paul writes:
“Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace
given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of
Christ; And to make all men see (enlighten)
what is the fellowship (partnership)of the mystery (secret),
which from the beginning of the world (‘aions’) hath
been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:10 To
the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places
might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,11 According
to the eternal (‘aionion’) purpose which he purposed in
Christ Jesus our Lord:” {Eph. 3:8-11}
We are given privileged information
concerning God’s secret purpose for the eons in this passage from the Spirit of
God, through Paul’s pen. This passage is packed full with illuminating truth,
which will almost never be heard from any pulpit today. Again, the translators
cloud God’s truth. “Beginning of the world” in the place of “aions”
is poetic license, not translation.
Paul was given a secret by The
Creator of the universe. This secret had been concealed in God Himself, Paul’s
was the first human ear to receive this divine information. Paul wanted to
enlighten all believers and to partner with them in rejoicing over such grand
and glorious truth, to spread this good news far and wide.
Here, we are given the eonian
purpose or rather, “the purpose of the eons”
concerning His spirit beings. And what is that purpose? God’s purpose that had
been there all along, but no one had ever known. It is this, that all of
God’s celestial creatures, the vast billions of
His original creation, might be illuminated to the “manifold”,
which means “many variegated”, or the “kaleidoscope” wisdom
of God.
Is that not glorious information? Through
us, the Body of Christ, God’s “manifold wisdom” is being perceived by celestial
creatures!
And just how are these rulers
and governmental authorities in the heavenlies to receive this
illumination of God’s wisdom which they have never known? We, as members of
Christ’s Body, are the vessels of mercy through which the celestials will pause
to contemplate, and wonder at the unfathomable wisdom of The Creator!
His love for us as undeserving
sinners, reveals His unsurpassed love for all of His created sons, including
all in heaven and earth. Jesus Christ is The Savior of the world (Gk.
‘kosmos’).
Religion wants to minimize His
Offering at Calvary. Religious men speak casually of God damning men to “hell”,
and since Jesus has the keys, they make the Savior hell’s gatekeeper, to ensure
their eternal suffering! Such blasphemy directed against The Author of Love has
done unspeakable harm to multitudes of sensitive souls. I once was one that
swallowed this lie put forth by the clergy, but thanks be to Father God, “I
once was blind, but now I see!”
“In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and
that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who
shall be punished with everlasting (‘aionion’)
destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” {2
Thes. 1:8,9}
Here is an example of the word ‘aionion’ being
rendered “everlasting”. The subject of this verse is “destruction”. Once
we untrain our minds to always think “eternal”, when we encounter ‘aionion’ in
the Scriptures, our minds are free to see truth that was previously hidden from
us.
Vain tradition is a blinding force
that has engulfed almost all of Christendom, turning many into desensitized
robots, mechanically going through the motions that dead religion produces.
In this verse, Paul is presenting us
with the fate of all those who do not believe the good news at Christ’s return
in glory. The wording of the KJV is very ominous, so we will define these words
from the Greek.
“In flaming fire” – These words should
have been the ending of the previous verse. Remember, there was no punctuation
in the original manuscripts, all punctuation and verse division was done by the
translators of the English versions. This is how the verse would then read:
“And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus
shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire.”
“Flaming fire” is the description of the angels coming with
Christ. It has to do with their appearance as we see in {Heb.1:6} :
“And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and
his ministers a flame of fire.” This description
has nothing to do with any kind of “eternal fire” for the torture of
these that were disobedient, only the bright appearance of the sons of God.
“taking vengeance” – This word vengeance has
to do with “righting a wrong” and is the same word used in {2 Cor. 7:11}:
“For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow,
has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what
fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong!
In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.”
Would Paul be praising these
believers for “taking vengeance” on a wayward brother? Of course not!
They were righting a wrong done, they had previously ignored an inappropriate
sexual sin in the assembly, now they had dealt with it appropriately. The
returning Lord will right the injustice of unbelievers.
“punished” with everlasting destruction”
- This indeed
sounds violent and final! Yet, when we look at the Greek words, it loses much
of its dread.
“punished” is an
acceptable translation, the idea being “brought to justice”. This is the
outcome of Christ’s return in power.
“everlasting” – We already know
that this word, ‘aionion’, is indicative of a finite
period.
“destruction” – Here is
another word that appears to be permanent, with no possible future remedy.
However, Paul uses this same word concerning the same
sinning, wayward brother to whom we already referred. Listen to Paul’s
instructions concerning him:
“For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit,
have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were
present. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are
assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 I
have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of
his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” {1
Cor. 5:3-5}
Wow!, that’s surely instructive. Was
Paul referring to what Peter did with Ananias & Sapphira? Here we see a
brother in Christ handed over by the assembly for destruction!
Is that the end of him? No, it is doubtful that Paul was even speaking of
his death. If he was alluding to his demise, then the
assembly did not get that outcome, because we know that this sinning brother
was restored to the assembly later! This word “destruction”
does not have to signify death, as is evident in {1
Tim. 6:9}:
“But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare
and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For
the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it
have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many
griefs.”
Greed will cause all sorts of painful
things in one’s life. A person can be “ruined” and “destroyed”
and still be living. Grief is the result of the fruit of ruin and destruction
in the life of a person, that has been deceived by the riches of this world.
As to the phrase, “so that his
spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” We are conditioned
to think of deliverance from eternal punishment, whenever
we see this word “saved” in Scripture. However, the word only means ‘deliverance’,
and there can be deliverance from many different things. In this case, the
repentance from his destructive behavior, would result in his deliverance from
loss at the Bema seat of Christ. His spirit will be saved from the eonian loss
that unrepented sin brings to the believer.
“Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father,
which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting (‘aionion’)
consolation and good hope through grace,..” {2 Thes. 2:16}
Here, Paul speaks of “everlasting
consolation and good hope”. Tell me, will we need to be consoled
forever? Will our sorrow at the Bema for our failure of our Lord, never end?
Or, will we perpetually need “good hope”? Hope has to do with an
unrealized expectation.
“For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not
hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But
if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”
{Rom. 8:24,25}
When this eon comes to a close, there
will be nothing left unrealized, for hope is dependent upon faith. Faith will
come to an end as well as hope, for then “we will know even as we
are known”. Only Love will remain of the present three essentials. We
will bask in the unending Love of the Creator of the universe, this will be
enough.
“In hope of eternal (‘aionion’)
life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began (
Gk. ‘chronos aionion’);” {Titus 1:2}
Here again, we see “hope”
connected to “eonian” . This is “age
pertaining life” and will come to an end at the consummation of
the ages, when time is swallowed up by eternity. The end of this verse should
read “eonian times”. The translators had no idea what to do with
such a phrase, so instead of saying “eternal times”, which is
non-sensical, they opted for their old standby, “the world began”,
none of which is in the Greek text.
“So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made an high priest;
but He that said unto Him, Thou art My Son, today have I begotten Thee.6 As
He saith also in another place, Thou art a priest forever (‘for
the aion’) after the order of Melchisedec.” {Heb. 5:5,6}
A priest is an intercessor between
God and men. I would only ask the reader to ask himself: Will Christ be a
priest forever? Will there never be a time when men no longer need an
intercessor? The need for a priest suggests distance between
man and God, and the need to bring reconciliation. At the end of the eons,
there will be no need for this, for God will be All in all.
“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having
the everlasting (‘aionion’) gospel to preach unto them
that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and
people,7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to
him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven,
and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” {Rev. 14:6,7}
There are many “gospels” in the
Scriptures. Gospel simply means “Good news”. Abraham,
David, Zechariah, The 12 Apostles, and Paul all received different messages of
good news from God.
In this passage, we see an angel
delivering eonian good news to those enduring
the Tribulation era. Is this the gospel we are to preach today? Is this the
gospel by which men are saved today? Read again these instructions from the
angel, and see if you would give this message to your unsaved friends.
There is not one word concerning the
Cross of Christ, or of His Resurrection in this gospel.
Nothing about God’s conciliatory attitude toward all men, based on the finished
work of our Savior. No, this is a gospel related to that era alone, it is pertaining
to the age of God’s judgment.
There are many other passages we
could point to, that repudiate orthodox teaching concerning these words, but I
hope the reader sees from our study that ‘aion’ &
its adjective form ‘aionion’ cannot possibly fit the
concept of “forever” in the vast majority of
passages in the Greek scriptures. The understanding of this truth brings great
relief for the majority of those that come to see it, and a new appreciation of
The God of Love of all His creatures.
There remains one Greek phrase that
we need to consider using ‘aion’; that being the
construction: “aions of the aions”. We have already looked at the
phrase: “aion of the aions” and have proposed that is
referring to the ultimate eon in God’s eonian purpose, in relation to the rest
of the eons. But with “aions of the aions”, we have before
us more than a single eon being compared to another plurality of eons.
One thing that all would agree on, even
if they believe the words mean “eternity”, is that this phrase is referring
to future time. Therefore, we see “aions of
the aions”, as pointing to those future eons where
righteousness rules. We are now living in an evil eon, where sin is the norm,
and Satan rules as “the god of this age”.
In the future millennial age, we see
Satan bound, and Israel exalted above all the other nations. It is in this
epoch, that God begins to gather His creatures back to Himself.
However, God still is teaching His
creatures a valuable lesson during that era, and this is by no means the
perfect society among earth’s citizens that all are longing for. Although Satan
has no direct influence upon the world’s inhabitants, sin has not been
eradicated from mankind’s hearts. Man will continue to rebel against their
Creator, even without Satan’s influence.
Those that have their names in the
Book of Life, will have been resurrected to receive their sinless, immortal
bodies, to reign with Christ. The curse on the ground will be lifted, and the
earth will produce food in abundance.
The animal kingdom will revert back
to total harmony, and nations will no longer be at war. But the peace on earth
will exist, not because man’s heart has yet been changed, but because it is
an imposed peace.
Those of earth’s delivered
inhabitants that came through the great tribulation, will still be subject to
the flesh with all of its lusts and limits. Those children born to them will
also be mere flesh and blood, and all be subject to sin and death.
The resurrected King David will rule
as vice-regent upon the throne of Christ, he will truly be ‘the vicar of
Christ’. Having the authority of Christ, “he will rule them with a rod of
iron”. The 12 apostles, along with the overcomers of the
tribulation, will be given places of authority in Christ’s Kingdom.
All deeds done against this righteous
Kingdom will be dealt with immediately and forcefully. There will be no open
rebellion tolerated. The fires of Gehenna will once again burn outside the city
of Jerusalem, and the bodies of all rebels against this rule, will be thrown
there to burn, and the maggots will feed on them.
This is what Isaiah’s prophecy speaks
of, and what Jesus warned Israel about during His earthly ministry:
“And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men
that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither
shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all
flesh.” {Isaiah 66:24}
“And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for
thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be
cast into hell fire: 48 where their worm
diet not, and the fire is not quenched.” {Mark 9:47}
Although there will be rebellion
during this 1000 years, it certainly will not be the norm, for swift and sure
justice will deter it. If any country refuses to come to Jerusalem at the
appointed time, God will judge their land with drought, until they comply with
the King’s directives.
“And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the
families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of
hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.” {Zech. 14:17}
However, at the end of this era,
Satan will be released to find a vast multitude of willing and ready rebels to
overthrow all righteousness within the Kingdom’s realm. God will make a quick
and decisive end to this rebellion, and Satan is cast into the Lake of
Fire.
What then is the meaning of the phrase,
“Aions of the Aions”? Just this: Since all are agreed that this is future time,
and we know that eons have a beginning and an end, this must refer to the “good”
eons that lie beyond the “evil” eons before them. Since
the Millennium is an outwardly righteous era of peace, this stands in stark
contrast from the evil ones that immediately preceded it. The time following
the Millennium is the perfect eon of God’s rule in the new heavens and new
earth, from which, sin has been eliminated. These make up the “eons of
(all) the eons”.
Of the 22 times this phrase is used
in the Greek, 14 of those appear in the book of Revelation! This makes perfect
sense, since the view of the prophet is looking toward those eons that follow
the “Time of Jacob’s trouble”. A few examples will show
their significance:
“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the
first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him
that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,6 And
hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory
and dominion for ever and ever (‘aions of the aions’).
Amen.” {Rev. 1:5,6}
It is not until Jesus Christ takes
His rightful place upon His throne, on this wayward planet, that His glory and
dominion will be seen by all creation. It does not mean that He does not
possess these, but in the eons to come, these will be put on
display to the universe. Every eye will see Him all will
acknowledge His Glory and Dominion. Satan will not be the god
of those ages, for he will not be present, all will worship
the Son of God.
“Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was
slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and
strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.13 And every
creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as
are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor,
and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the
Lamb for ever and ever (‘aions of the aions’).” {Rev.
5:12,13}
I have highlighted the words “to
receive”, Because He has not yet received these things! it is not
until the ages of the ages that our Lord will receive
His rightful due upon the earth. When He is enthroned with the name above all
others, and The Father places the crown upon His thorn pierced brow, all His
creation will fall before His awesome presence, to acknowledge that He is “The
Worthy One” to be adored!
“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in
heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord,
and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever (‘aions
of the aions’).” {Rev.11:15}
This verse is an excellent example of
the fact that “aions of the aions” refers to future eons. We can
see clearly that the “great voices from heaven” give
confirmation to this truth. It is not until the 7th angel
sounds his trumpet, that the kingdoms of the world are said to “BECOME” the
kingdoms of The Father and His Son. And it is After this
time, that He will reign upon His throne for the oncoming eons of
righteousness.
“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If
any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead,
or in his hand,10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath
of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation;
and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy
angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:11 And the smoke of
their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever (‘aions of
the aions’): and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his
image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” {Rev. 14:9-11}
Here is a passage so pregnant with
truth concerning God’s dealing with evil deeds, that we will give it the
careful scrutiny it deserves. It is filled with fearful penalties that will
befall the followers of The Beast. These judgments from God are well deserved
by these Satan worshippers, but we must keep them in the context of God’s overarching
Plan for His creatures.
It is always best to compare other
passages of Scripture that have similar language, before we draw any
conclusions and build a doctrine that is inconsistent with the rest of God’s
revealed truth.
Some passages seem to present things
that contradict God’s love and care for His creation, but they only appear to
be so, for in the end, the scriptures assure us that God will become All in all
His creatures.
Most people confuse God’s process with
His goal. He is working all things together for the ultimate
good of all, and there will come a day when all His mysterious ways will become
clear to all.
These apostates are said to “drink
of the wine of the wrath (Gk. ‘thumos’) of God”, so
we must determine what and when that wrath is referring to. It is also said to
be poured into “the cup of His indignation” (Gk. ‘orge’).
Here are 2 words similar in meaning. Both give the idea of “Passion”,
but ‘thumos’ is hot anger, that is violent, but
short-lived. ‘orge’ is less sudden in its rise than ‘thumos’,
Being the slow-burning anger from which ‘thumos’ violently
explodes into fierce action.
The Greek word ‘thumos’ is
used 10 times in the book of Revelation. Once it speaks of Satan’s wrath,
having been expelled from heaven by Michael’s army. The other 9 times it
appears, it is always concerning God’s cup of intoxicating wine, being given to
those recipients of His fierce anger, to drink. The
following is the complete list:
“And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is
fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the
wine of the (God’s) wrath of her fornication.” {14:6}
“The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God,
which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation;
and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy
angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:” {14:10}
“And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered
the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the
wrath of God ”. {14:19}
“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven
angels having the seven last plagues; for in them (vial=bowl) is
filled up the wrath of God.” {15:1}
“And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven
golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever”.
{15:7}
“And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven
angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of
God upon the earth”. {16:1}
“And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities
of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give
unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.” {16;19}
“For all nations have drunk of the wine of the (God’s)
wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have
committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich
through the abundance of her delicacies”. {18:3} (Note: Although the Harlot
holds the cup, it is filled with God’s wrath because of her
fornication.)
“And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should
smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he
treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God”. {19:15}
We have the key to when the anger of
God is completed. It is found in {15:1}, where we read: for in them
(vial = bowl) is filled up the wrath of God. This
rendering, “filled” is the Greek word ‘teleo’,
and of 26 occurrences, this is the only place it is translated “filled”
by the KJV. It is the same word used by Jesus on the cross, when He cried
out, “It is finished!” Jesus referred to
His suffering on the cross as the drinking of a cup from His Father’s hand.
“Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the
sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink
it?” {John 18:11}
The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah
spoke concerning the coming Day of God’s Wrath:
“Awake, awake! Rise up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk
from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its
dregs the goblet that makes people stagger. 18 Among
all the children she bore there was none to guide her; among all the children
she reared there was none to take her by the hand. 19 These
double calamities have come upon you— who can comfort you?— ruin and
destruction, famine and sword— who can console you? 20 Your
children have fainted; they lie at every street corner, like antelope caught in
a net. They are filled with the wrath of the Lord, with the
rebuke of your God.” 21 Therefore hear this, you afflicted
one, made drunk, but not with wine. 22 This
is what your Sovereign Lord says, your God, who defends his people: “See, I
have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the
goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again. 23 I will
put it into the hands of your tormentors..” Isa. 51:17-23}
“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take
from my hand this cup filled with the wine of My wrath and make all the nations
to whom I send you drink it. 16 When they drink it, they
will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.”17 So
I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom He sent me
drink it:” {Jer. 25:15-17}
We see from these passages, that God
gives His chosen nation, Israel, the full force of His punishment for their
stubbornness. He makes them “drain to the dregs” the wine of His
anger, in the form of “ruin and destruction, famine and sword”. Israel
must drink first, because “To whom much is given, much is required”.
Israel’s failure will bring God’s judgment to her first,
then God will bring His fierce anger to the rest of the Gentile nations.
But the question arises, Will God
remain angry forever? Will He never forgive
those that rebelled against Him? Will He, after expending His fierce judgments
upon earth’s inhabitants, then burn them alive forever and ever?
Does this fit the character of The Father of Love and Forgiveness that we see
in all the rest of Scripture?
Let’s return to our passage under
consideration;
“…and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in
the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:11 And
the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever (‘aions
of the aions’): and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and
his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” {Rev. 14:9-11}
This indeed is sober and ominous
sounding language. To get a better idea of The Spirit’s meaning behind these
words, we must compare Scripture with Scripture. The question is: Do we see
this language used anywhere else in God’s Word? Let’s see.
“Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and
fire from the Lord out of heaven; 25 And
he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the
cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from
behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 And
Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the
Lord: 28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and
toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of
the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.” {Gen. 19:24-28}
Smoke is the aftermath of fire. The
smoke that went up from those cities arose for a long time after the fires were
out, BUT THEY DID GO OUT! The fires of those cities
are no longer burning, nor is there any evidence of the judgment, even the
smoke is gone.
“And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and
salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass
groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and
Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath: 24 Even
all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? what
meaneth the heat of this great anger? 25 Then men
shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their
fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land
of Egypt: 26 For they went and served other gods, and
worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto
them: 27 And the anger of the Lord was kindled
against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are
written in this book: 28 And the Lord rooted them
out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation,
and cast them into another land, as it is this day.” {Deut. 29:23-28}
I ask you, Are Sodom and Gomorrah
still burning today? Is God still angry with the people of those cities? Will
He remain angry forever? How about God’s curses, will they remain upon the
people of Israel forever? No, and they will be restored in the end:
“However, I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and her
daughters and of Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes
along with them, 54 so that you may bear your disgrace and
be ashamed of all you have done in giving them comfort. 55 And your
sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her
daughters, will return to what they were before; and
you and your daughters will return to what you were before. 56 You
would not even mention your sister Sodom in the day of your pride..” {Eze.
16:53-56}
Continuing with our passage:
“…and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in
the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:11 And
the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever (‘aions of the aions’):
and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and
whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” {Rev. 14:9-11}
Those that receive the mark of The
Beast, are said to be tormented in the presence of Christ and His
angels. What could this indicate? This is generally thought to
refer to the Lake of Fire. Are the holy angels and Jesus to be in the Lake of
Fire with these apostates? Of course not!
The fire and brimstone is figurative language
to describe the hot anger of God. Brimstone is sulfur, which burns extremely
hot for a short time. This judgment during the Tribulation period is directly
from the hand of God, and is before the presence of heaven’s occupants that are
dealing out the penalties of their evil deeds.
The smoke that ascends for the ages that follow
the judgment, is figurative also, and indicates a remembrance for all,
especially of those during the millennial era, of the consequences of rebellion
against The Almighty.
The “torment” spoken
of here, is from the Greek word ‘basanos’, and means “touchstone”.
A touchstone is a crystalline rock that was used by the ancients to test gold
and silver. By rubbing the metal on the rock, its purity could be determined by
the streak which was left.
The same word is used without
the idea of physical pain at all!
“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a
centurion, beseeching him,6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth
at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And
Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.” {Matt. 8:5,6}
Paralysis is not a painful condition,
in fact, by definition, there is no sensation at all! By Jesus healing this
man, his sensation was restored. This man was suffering from emotional pain
before Jesus healed him, and that should be very instructive to us as to the
meaning of the passage at hand in Revelation.
“And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and
make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two
prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.” {Rev. 11:10}
The same idea of emotional torture is
in view here. These apostates rejoice over the death of God’s two witnesses,
because they were tormented by the truth of their message, which
warned them of oncoming judgment from God.
And now we will complete our study of
this passage:
“…and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the
presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:11 And
the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever (‘aions of the aions’): and
they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and
whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” {Rev. 14:9-11}
“and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the
beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” {Rev.
14:9-11}
The mere fact that these “have no
rest day or night”, shows that this occurs within the
parameters of time and space, which will come to a
conclusion with the eons.
“And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that
wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the
mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both
were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” {Rev.
19:20}
“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of
fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be
tormented day and night for ever and ever (‘aions of the aions’).” {Rev. 20:10}
These 3 are the only ones who are
cast into God’s Lake of Fire, that are said to have torment during these last
two ages. And as we have proven from Scripture, it does not necessarily have to
be pain. Since these are supernatural beings, it must be soulish,
spiritual anguish that is their lot. The Lake of fire is not called
the Second Death for these beings, because they did not experience their first
death.
For mere men, that have been
resurrected for judgment at the Great White Throne, it is called the Second
Death. Since their first death, from which they are raised for adjudication,
involved no conscious passage of time, it is likely to be the same with the
second. When their sentence has been served, they will be raised to new life
and reconciled to God, the Cross of Christ being the means of their
justification.
Make no mistake, the Lake of Fire
judgment is not for the purpose of payment for sin, for that was already
accomplished by way of the Cross, for all creation. It is simply the means whereby
all who are subjected to it, are made ready for The Creator’s use.
Fire is used to purify, to burn away the
dross, and bring forth the valuable substance. Even the believer will
experience the same testing fire at the Bema Seat of Christ;
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that
every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath
done, whether it be good or bad.” {2 Cor. 5:10}
“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is
Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every
man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it
shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort
it is. 14 If any man's work abide which he hath
built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If
any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself
shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” {1 Cor. 3:11-15}
It is always our Father’s goal to
refine His creatures, not destroy them. He wounds that He may heal, He breaks
down that He may build better, He casts away that He may gather again.
Men think of God’s judgments as final, because
they are not yet made mature in their understanding of His love and
forgiveness. There is a certain amount of pride, which would condemn a fellow
being to eternal damnation in “hell-fire”, yet ignore the Bema judgment for
themselves. The love of Christ is the only thing that can cure our blindness
and insensitivity to His Spirit of love.
There is no warrant to make this
judgment eternal, nor is it correct to read this as “eons and eons”,
this is the KJV blunder, “forever and ever.” If
forever is never-ending, why would another “ever” be needed to supplement
“forever”? If the translators were consistent with the Greek, and
they believed ‘aion’ meant “forever”,
they should have rendered the plural construction: “forevers of the
evers”!!
It just as well, cannot be “eons upon eons”,
or “eons after eons”, as if they went on
perpetually, no, the Greek reads ONLY “eons of the
eons”. The second “eon” in this phrase, is in the
genitive case, which indicates possession or relation
to the first “eon” of the phrase: “eons belonging
to the eons”, or “eons derived from the
eons” is the concept.
The translators ignored this fact of
Greek grammar, and opted for the word “and”. The Greek word for “and”
is “kai”, but the manuscripts read “aions tōn aions”,
where ‘tōn’ is the Greek word for “of the”,
which indicates “belonging to”.
The same concept is found in such
phrases as: “King of kings”, where a King above
all other kings is meant. Other examples are: “Lord of
lords”, “God of gods”, “Holy of
holies”, etc. These are comparative phrases, something is being
singled out as primary, above the rest. This is the meaning we are to
understand in “eons of the eons”, but with plural
subjects.
Love is the greatest force in the
universe, it overcomes all things. Paul tells us:
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have
love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If
I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and
if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am
nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give
over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain
nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not
envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does
not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love
does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It
always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres. 8 Love never fails. “
{1Cor. 13:1-8}
LOVE NEVER FAILS.
LOVE NEVER FAILS. LOVE NEVER FAILS. LOVE
NEVER FAILS.
The beloved Apostle tells us
that God is Love. And since GOD IS LOVE. GOD
NEVER FAILS.
No, God will never fail in any of His
plans. He created all things in the universe in order that He may rejoice in
them, and they in Him. God saw all of Adam’s progeny before He wonderfully
fashioned him from the soil. He lovingly, tenderly leaned over him, to breath
His breath of life into Adam’s nostrils.
Why would God then instruct Adam and
Eve to “Be fruitful”, to populate the earth with those like them,
knowing that the vast majority of their offspring would be populating the realm
of the damned? He creates every baby in the womb, and knows all that they will
become, before they ever take a breath in this sin-cursed world, into which
they are brought.
Knowing the odds against them being
among the redeemed, and so to protect them, and ensure they may never
experience sin, would it not be the highest act of love to abort them?
Or would not the gentle, loving
mother of her small children, those not yet reaching an age of accountability; in
order to rescue them from hell’s yawning chasm of flames, would she not be
justified by her love for them to murder them to ensure their safety from eternal
flames, (as actually occurred)?
Does our Creator not love His
children of creation as much as this mother? Is it
possible that He could take His sons, made in His image and likeness,
and throw them into a furnace of never-ending flames. Could He ignore their
screams, and cries for mercy, and calmly reply, “Children, you had
your chance, now burn on forever!”
Yet, this is the “orthodox” view of
Christendom. God forgive the hard-heartedness of His people! May God open the
eyes of those that claim to speak for Him concerning the lost. May our blind
eyes be opened to know the love of Christ Jesus our Savior!
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn
over all creation. 16 For in Him all things
were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created
through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and
in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of
the body, the church; He is the Beginning and the Firstborn from among the
dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For
God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20 and
through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or
things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.” {Col.
1:14-20}
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