--------------------Keizer, Heleen M.'Eternity' revisited: A Study of the Greek Word AIΩNdownload link:http://philosophia-reformata.org/content/index.php?structure_id=750dcea0e2ce48376f28a22f6cbf7f2d&download=393--------------------For anyone interested, this is a short[er] article about the greek word "Aion" or "Age". It discuses OT importance, corresponding to the Hebrew word "Olam".-------------------This is one of the more important examples of greek/hebrew words with rich meaning that don't translate into the English language word-to-word, one-to-one.Blessings
Be careful,Noah. Suggesting that aion/aionos may not mean "eternal" around here will get you into trouble.
_________________Todd
There is a version of the bible that translated AION not as eternal: http://concordant.org/version/index.html they also are at the forefront of encouraging the thinking of an "non-eternal hell".The great danger of this dear saints is that virtually all true saints in the last 2000 years have held firmly to a eternal hell and heaven. It is only in the last 100 and namely 50 years that modern scholarship, questioning etc have assumed otherwise.We must be careful for many will come in Christ's name with new doctrines and ideas that are not the "faith once delivered to the saints."90% of all new large cults started in the last 150 years. Mormon, Jehovah Witness, and hundreds of others. This is part of the last days deception. The enemy is working overtime.
_________________SI Moderator - Greg Gordon
Greg,Am I not welcome here if I am open to the idea that Hell/Hades may not be eternal/everlasting? Open to the possibility that some may be reconciled from there or contrariwise, annihilated?
Ok. hmmm. So don't post about anything contradicting Eternal Hell?Because I believe it is necessary for the Christian to know that books like the Apocalypse of Peter were considered divinely inspired scripture by the early church fathers. Which details horrible punishments for the wicked, (hanging from their tongues, bubbling up mire and fire, thrown off cliffs over and over) but then also seems to indicate God having mercy on the wicked, specifically those who killed the saints, as those same martyred saints continually pray for their enemies who killed them as they are tormented.To me that makes sense of the Sermon On The Mount to love one's enemies, how God is love, and how Jesus own words "will never pass away". (Yet God is not mocked, the wicked suffer immensely) Its hard for me to make sense of the whole of Scripture without interpreting it that way.My qualms,Noah
NoahJD,I am late to this conversation, so I apologize for jumping in now. But, I read the article you linked to. There is food for thought, and I am not assaulting the researcher but I do wonder what you are offering here as the significance of the article and of the translations of aion.
_________________Tim
Hi dolfan--The Greek word aionos is generally translated as "eternal" or everlasting in the NT. The subject article questions the validity of that translation. However it should be stated that there is ample support for translating that word as "eternal"The question is whether it must be translated that way or if there is an alternate acceptable translation of the word.
The article, as I read it, does not foreclose a reading of aion as eternal/eternity. It does posit a reading of it as non-exclusively meaning less than eternity. Even the author stops short of New Testament commentary, but the implication she makes is clear that whatever NT aion is stems from the bases of thought that she refers to, and that a reading of aion in the NT that ignores those sources is ill informed. And she may have a point as far as it goes. In particular, what does Noah want people here to think of it? And why? That is my own question.
Those in law enforcement carry a special burden every day, when they see crimes being committed they are under an obligation to intervene whether they are in uniform or not. They have taken an oath, and it doesn't go away at the end of a shift.Likewise, the God we serve has taken an oath, He is the moral governor of the universe, the only One capable and willing to do this immense job. He is to uphold and enforce the law, with no "end of my shift" provisions. His governance is eternal, and consistent. There are no rule changes along the way, no authority to overlook the crimes of any person or spirit under His jurisdiction, no statute of limitations, and no release from punishment without the substitutionary blood of His Son.While I am no Greek scholar, there is no logical reason why the Father would subject His beloved Son to the degrading death on the cross if there were some other way to achieve righteousness for sinful men.Further, it is clear that those whose spirits have departed the earthly sphere and entered eternity pass from a place of decision. The demons are created beings, active in the affairs of men, vocal in those they seize to possess from time to time, but never willing or able to repent.There is a spirit at work in the church, been there a long time, trying to convince men that God has made a mistake, is sorry He has been so cruel, willing to let bygones be bygones, and really does have "another way" despite telling Jesus in the garden that there was no other way.It is actually, "appointed unto men once to die and after that the judgement." As a servant of Christ, you have no authority to camouflage or sweeten-up His clarion call to repentance and the cleansing blood of Jesus now and today, the day of salvation. We must never create an alternative that He has not clearly taught us.
_________________Tom Cameron