|
|
ETERNITY
God Has A PLAN
The Plan Of
the Ages
AION-An Age
The Ages
of the Ages
The Age of the Ages
AIONIOS-The Life of the Ages
Time vs. Eternity
The God of the Ages
From Time to Eternity
Ages-Lasting Correction
GOD HAS A PLAN!
AMONG all
the questions that men have asked, there is one that is of supreme interest
and
importance.
Why are we here? What is our destiny? What lies beyond the grave for the
Christian,
for the unbeliever? For old, for young? For our fellow citizens, and for
the teeming
masses
in far-away lands serving strange gods? These questions were raised by
one of the
great
poets of all times. I am speaking now of that American genius of letters,
Edgar Allen Poe
- an incomparable
genius, and yet a man whose life was destroyed by unbelief. Millions of
people
have read his masterpiece, "The Raven," but few, I am afraid, have ever
grasped the
real spiritual
significance of the struggle that was going on in the soul of this man.
He asked
four very
significant questions - questions which every living soul, at one,' time
or another,
must raise
to God. First, Is there a God who comforts? Is there a God who can assuage
the
pain of
life? (In this case it is the poignant pain of the loss of a loved one,
his beloved Lenore.)
Is there
"some water from the river of paradise, the water of Nephenthe," which
can take
away the
heartache that is driving him insane? Secondly, he asks, Is there really
a Christ? Does
He live?
Is there a balm in Gilead? Is there One who can smoothie the wrinkled brow
and
soften
the hard heart? Thirdly, he asks, Is there some place, some heaven, some
distant Eden
or future
world where we shall be joined again with our loved ones? And, finally,
Is there any
hope that
the darkness and hopelessness and despair of this life will be lifted?
But always he
directs
his questions to his own unbelief which is personified in that grim and
ghastly raven, a
picture
of doubt and unbelief. A few years after writing those chilling words,
Poe became
insane.
Regaining his sanity, he drank himself to death, and this genius was found
dead in the
gutter.
Untold
billions of human beings have lived and died without hearing the gospel
of salvation
through
our Lord Jesus Christ. What has become of them? Is there no hope? For more
than
six thousand
years generations of men, like the grass, have appeared and in a few fleeting
years
withered and vanished. Whence came those countless billions of human beings,
and
where
do they go? This is the problem which has preoccupied the world's thought
since the
dawn of
history. This is the question about which philosophers have theorized and
theologians
have dogmatized.
Unquestionably the problem of the eternal destiny of mankind is the
question
of questions! It concerns every individual and touches everything of enduring
interest.
Life is
a vapor that appears for a while and vanishes away. But there is a beyond!
What is that
beyond
to be?
God has
a plan I Indeed, God has a wonderful plan for this world! It is a plan
of which the
architectural
drawings were made in eternity. It encompasses the minutest detail of all
of
creation.
I assure you that when time has run its course, and the veil is dropped
upon the final
scene,
we shall discover that that plan has been worked out to its very tiniest
detail, just as
God had
planned
it in eternity - that His will has been done!
That is
an amazing thought because it often seems as if the world is flying off
unattended, like
a chariot
where the driver has fallen off, the horses are running wild, the reins
are flapping in
the breeze,
and it is threatening to go over the precipice at any moment. Yet the Scriptures
would
have us know that God, the sovereign Lord of history, has His hands firmly
upon those
reins
and that His plan is coming to pass. Think about it! Our God is perfect
in all His
attributes.
He is perfect in His power. He is perfect in His holiness and justice.
He is perfect in
His love
and mercy. He is perfect in His wisdom and in His omniscience. Therefore,
His plan
must be
perfect. Indeed it is a perfect plan!
This is
not to deny that the world is filled with many evils; that all about us
we see that sin and
evil and
disease and death cling to man. It is not to shut our eyes to those realities,
but it is to
open our
eyes to the realization that God sovereignly overwhelms all these
things to bring
about
His own will. God has created this world. Even though Satan let chaos loose
into the
midst
of the creation, God created Satan and God knew precisely what this angel
of
destruction
would contribute. He knew of the chaos and the sin that would be introduced
into
the peaceful
calm of those Elysium fields. Yet God created him anyway. God knew that
with
sin would
come the perfect judgment of God upon that sin, which means sickness, death,
judgment,
disillusionment and decay. Yet, God ordained all these things so that He
might
overcome
them for good.
Central
to the whole plan of God is Jesus Christ and His greater glory, but even
more amazing
is the
realization that God has planned for us to share His glory and to work
out for us our
good as
well. God has a perfect plan. My friends, I want you to understand one
thing. This
plan needs
no human support! In Madrid, Spain, there exists the Escorial, one of the
greatest
cathedrals
ever built by man. For centuries the kings of Spain have been buried there.
When
that magnificent
structure was under construction, the architect designed a vast arch, perhaps
bigger
than anything that had been built before. However, that arch was so flat
at the top that
the reigning
king was frightened by the prospect of the tremendous weight of the roof
collapsing
on his head. He commanded the architect to build a column from the floor
all the
way to
the center of that arch to hold it up. The architect protested vehemently
that it was not
needed,
but the king insisted and, over the laments of the architect, the column
was built. The
king worshipped
contentedly in the vast structure, having seen to it himself that the ceiling
would
not fall. The years went by, the church stood, and the king finally died.
Only then did
the architect
reveal that between the top of the column and the bottom of the arch there
was a
quarter
of an inch of space. In all these hundreds of years that have passed the
arch has not
sunk so
much as a quarter of an inch. Today a board is still passed over the column
and under
the arch
for all to see. So it is with the plan of God - that over-arching plan
that encompasses
all of
reality and all of life. It needs no human support to hold it up. God is
the LORD OF ALL
and He
is working out His purposes in our lives, in all of the world, and through
the whole
universe.
Read the
words of that magnificent hymn: "God moves in a mysterious way His wonders
to
perform;
He plants the footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm." What a beautiful
hymn!
Many people may not know how William Cowper was brought to write that hymn.
His
life was
in shambles. He was not a Christian. He was filled with despair and discouragement.
In fact,
so overcome with despair was he that he determined to take his life by
taking poison.
Instead
of dying, he became deathly ill. He bought a gun and tried to shoot himself,
but the
gun would
not go off. In great anger, he threw the gun away, got a rope and tried
to hang
himself.
The rope broke. So then, in utter desperation, he hired a carriage in London
and
instructed
the driver to take him to the Thames River. The driver could not find the
Thames
River!
The fog had settled in so thickly on the town that even a London cabdriver
got lost!
After
several hours he brought Cowper back to his apartment. He went up to his
room, totally
dismayed,
and his eyes fell upon a Bible. He opened that Bible and began to read.
He read of
the love
of a heavenly Father who loved even William Cowper. Astonished by the events
that
had just
taken place, he read of the sovereign providence of God working all things
after the
counsel
of His own will. He embraced Him as his Saviour and wrote the wonderful
words of
that great
hymn.
Perhaps
I ought to state here for the benefit of some of my readers, that the idea
that God
HAS a
plan may be to them a new one. According to the view of most Christians,
God has no
definite,
prearranged plan, but is simply endeavoring to do the best He can through
human
instrumentality
to repair the ruin that sin has made, and, though thus far the majority
of the
race have
been overwhelmed in that ruin, yet in the end truth will triumph and sin
will be
confined
in an eternal prison house.
As some
ignorantly misjudge the skill and wisdom of a great architect and builder
by his
unfinished
work, so also many in their ignorance now misjudge God by His unfinished
work;
but by
and by, when the rough scaffolding of sin, death, and redemption has been
removed,
and the
rubbish cleared away, God's FINISHED WORK will universally declare His
infinite
wisdom
and power; and His plans will be seen to be in harmony with His glorious
character.
Since God
tells us that He has a definitely fixed purpose, and that all His purposes
shall be
accomplished,
it behooves us, as His children, to inquire diligently what those plans
are, that
we may
be found in harmony with them. Notice how emphatically the Lord affirms
the
fixedness
of His purpose: "The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, Surely as I have
thought, so
shall
it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand." "The Lord
of hosts has
purposed,
and who shall disannul it?" "I am God, and there is none else; I am God,
and there
is none
like me... My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure ... Yea,
I have spoken
it, I
will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it" (Isa.
14:24-27; 46:9-11).
Therefore,
however haphazard or mysterious God's dealings with men may appear, those
who
believe
this testimony of His Word must acknowledge that His original and unalterable
plan has
been,
and still is, progressing systematically to completion.
When we
think of a plan, we think of something involving more than just a single
element. An
architect's
plan for a building consists of drawings and specifications descriptive
of its several
floors,
including styles of plumbing, decoration, arrangement of rooms, etc. Unless
each floor
of the
building is to be identical to every other floor, necessarily the drawings
and
specifications
for any given floor do not harmonize with the details of the other floors.
No one,
however,
would construe this to mean that the architect is incompetent, nor that
his plans and
specifications
are contradictory. God's plan, like the plan of a building, is also made
up of
many parts.
Instead of different floors, however, it embraces EPOCHS AND AGES. Through
each of
these ages the divine plan has steadily progressed toward completion. Only
when it is
complete,
and mankind sees the result, will they all be able to appreciate the wisdom,
justice,
love and
power of the Divine Architect. -Ps. 72:1-20
THE PLAN OF THE AGES
Upon your
table today there is or should be a book we call the Bible. This book alone
reveals
God's
secret plan of the ages. It unfolds with unerring accuracy the mysteries
of ages in the
dim and
misty past and points with unerring finger to the purpose of countless
eons yet to
come.
The Christian Church as we know it has been living in a fool's paradise,
propounding
pet doctrines,
ranting and raving about an endless eternity with golden streets and harps
and
white
nightgowns for some and crackling, searing, tormenting flames for others,
but almost
completely
overlooking God's wonderful PLAN OF THE AGES.
Paul writes
of this plan of the ages in Eph. 3:8-11. "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 make all to see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the
beginning of
the world
has been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent
that now
unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church
the
manifold
wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ
Jesus
our Lord."
The word translated "eternal" in the phrase "eternal purpose" is the Greek
word
AIONON
which means "ages." Young's Literal Translation reads, "And to cause all
to see
what is
the fellowship of the secret that has been hid FROM THE AGES in God, who
the all
things
did create by Jesus Christ, that there might be made known now to the principalities
and
authorities
in the heavenly places, through the assembly, the manifold wisdom of God,
according
to A PURPOSE OF THE AGES, which He made in Christ Jesus our Lord." The
Diaglott
renders verse 11 thus, "According to A PLAN OF THE AGES, which He formed
for
the Anointed
Jesus our Lord," and Rotherham says, "According to A PLAN OF THE AGES
which
He made in the anointed Jesus our Lord. "
It will
be a wonderful day for you, dear one, when first your soul becomes enthralled
with the
revelation
that God, before ever the world began or ever the ages were formed, looked
forth
from His
temple of wisdom and omnipotence to chart with resolute care the course
and
purpose
of every age. Your heart will throb as you read the opening proclamation
of Scripture,
"In the
beginning
- GOD! " In the beginning of what? Not in the beginning of God, certainly,
but in
the beginning of His creation of all things, in the beginning of time,
in the beginning of
the orderly
procession of the divinely destined ages. In the beginning stands God,
omnipotent
and omniscient,
creating, sustaining and guiding all things and all people and all the
ages of time
according
to the purpose of His own will. No purpose ordained by God from the beginning
can
possibly
go astray or be hindered by the efforts of devil or man. Oh, for the hour
when all
creation
will grasp the beautiful message, "From Him everything comes, by Him everything
exists,
and in Him everything ends!" (Rom. 11:36).
As men
with the aid of God's Word have gazed into the vista of the future, it
seems to have
missed
their understanding that God says very little in His Word about eternity,
while devoting
many hundreds
of passages to His will and works wrought through THE AGES. "God, who at
sundry
times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers
by the prophets, has in
these
last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of
all things, by
whom also
He made the worlds" (Heb. 1:1-2). What tremendous statements we
have here!
God has
spoken to us through His Son - literally, "spoke to us in Son,"
or, God spoke to us in
One who
has the character that He is a SON, revealing the realm and relationship
of sonship to
God. This
Son is heir of all things and, blessed be God! we are joint heirs with
Him. "By
whom also
He made the worlds. Many people believe this refers to the
creative act - "In the
beginning
God created the heavens and the earth." Actually, it does not refer to
that at all. The
word here
for "worlds" is AIONAS. It means ages- "... by whom He made the
ages." This
goes beyond
His being the Creator of matter and its arrangement into multiplied billions
of
stars,
suns, and planets with their atmospheres and inhabitants. This lends purpose
to
everything.
He is the heir who GIVES THE PROGRAM FOR THE FUTURE! He framed the
ages,
He ordained the end from the beginning; not only did He create everything,
He did it for
a purpose,
and "known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world"
(Acts
15:18).
Notice - the Amplified Bible says, "But in the last of these days He has
spoken to us in
the person
of a Son, Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of all things, also by
and
through
Whom He created the worlds and the reaches of space and the AGES OF TIME
- that
is, He
made, produced, built, operated and arranged them in order! " "Through
faith we
understand
that the worlds were framed by the word of God." (Heb. 11:3), but it should
read,
"the
ages were planned by the word of God."
God made,
planned, and determined the destiny of all the ages by Jesus Christ. The
Lord
Jesus
Christ is the Creator of this universe, and time and space, and there is
purpose to it all.
Abroad
today is the idiotic notion that the universe is running at breakneck speed
through time
and space
like a car that has lost the driver. The interesting thing is that when
a car loses the
driver
there is a wreck, but this universe, even according to the scientists,
has been running
millions
of years, and it has been doing pretty well, by the way. The sun comes
up at a certain
time every
morning; it is very precise. The moon stays in a predictable orbit. As
one of the
men who
works on the moon modules says, all they have to do is aim, and the moon
will be
there
when the module gets there. This is not a mad universe in which you and
I live. It has
purpose,
and the Lord Jesus Christ is the One who gives it purpose. HE is the architect
and
sovereign
Lord of the ages. He FORMED THE AGES and appointed what should be done
in
each of
them. I must, therefore, with utmost force impress upon all who read these
lines that,
if we
are to comprehend God's great plan for the ages, we must raise our eyes
far above the
engulfing
muck and sucking quicksand of Babylonish Church tradition handed down to
us by
the mother
of harlots and abominations of the earth to keep God's people in bondage
to eternal
hopelessness.
God has a plan of the ages! It was conceived by the omnipotent and omniscient
Christ
of God, the Creator and Redeemer of the world. Its successful conclusion
is as sure and
unfailing
as God Himself is sure and unfailing. God never "flits" from one thing
to another. He
does not
begin one work and then tiring of it, drop it and start another. He does
not create
what He
cannot control. He is not the proverbial mad scientist who creates an
UNCONTROLLABLE
monster. The prophet Isaiah gives us the words of God wherein God
declares,
"I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me,
declaring the
end from
the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done,
saying, My
counsel
shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure" (Isa. 46:9-10). God's purpose
is so
unalterable,
so fixed, so certain that He could declare from the very beginning just
what the
end would
be, and that end will come to pass in just exactly that way.
For many
years now multitudes of preachers and people in the Churches would have
us
believe
that God has been in this great work of the ages for the short period of
about 6,000
years.
They tell us that in this day God is about to become so disgusted with
the whole mess
that He
is going to close it down, take a few saints away to some far off heaven
somewhere,
and give
up on the rest of the creation, the work of His love. What a WEAK God some
folk
have and
worship! They worship a God who CHANGES, one who in the beginning did start
out to
bring about a glorious end, but somewhere along the line lost control of
the situation and
has now
thrown up His hands in despair and decided to destroy the whole thing and
be
satisfied
with a little handful for Himself for all eternity. What great pity I feel
for such people
and for
the god they serve! For this is going to put their god in the unenviable
position of being
filled
with regret throughout all eternity because He was not able to carry out
His purpose, and
He will
have to always remember that over in the hell He created is the vast majority
of His
creation
suffering the tortures of the damned for ever and ever. What a prospect
for God and
His creation!
If God knew in the beginning that it would turn out like this and included
eternal
damnation
in His creative plans, then why did He create the world in the first place?
Better to
have forgotten
the whole creation in the beginning! And if God DID NOT know this from
the
beginning,
THEN HE IS NOT GOD.
"AION" - AN AGE
This brings
us to the thought I want to share in this chapter. Let us consider the
wonderful
Kingdom
parable Jesus told of the sheep and the goats. "When the Son of man shall
come in
His glory,
and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of
His glory: and
before
Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from
another, as a
shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on His right
hand, but
the goats
on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come,
blessed of
My Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
for I was
hungry,
and you gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink: I was a stranger,
and
you took
Me in: naked, and you clothed Me: I was sick, and you visited Me: I was
in prison,
and you
came unto Me. Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when did
we see
You hungry,
and fed You? or thirsty, and gave You drink? When did we see You a stranger,
and take
You in? or naked, and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison,
and
come unto
You? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch
as you have done it unto the least of one of these MY BROTHERS, you have
done
it unto
Me. Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me,
you cursed,
into EVERLASTING
FIRE prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry, and you
gave Me
no meat ... then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we
see You
hungry,
or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not
minister unto You?
Then shall
He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as you did it not
unto one
of the
least of these, you did it not unto Me. And these shall go away into EVERLASTING
PUNISHMENT:
but the righteous into LIFE ETERNAL" (Mat. 25:31-46).
There are
many precious and important truths contained in this parable, but we must
restrain
ourselves
from pursuing them at this time in order to deal briefly with two points.
First, it is
important
to note that this separation of the sheep from the goats was brought about,
not on
the basis
of whether one had accepted Jesus Christ as his personal saviour, but solely
on the
basis
of WORKS. Everything depended entirely upon what the sheep or goats had
DONE or
had NOT
DONE. There was nothing of faith or a spiritual experience connected with
this
separation.
The sheep were set on God's right hand because of the fact that they had
done
something
- given meat and drink to the LORD'S BRETHREN, clothed them, visited them,
and comforted
them. All these things the Lord said they had DONE TO HIM. But the sheep
confessed
that they had never seen Him, so how could they have done these things
to the
Lord?
He answered, "Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of THESE MY BRETHREN,
you have
done it unto Me." All of this is a kind of ministry unto the Lord Himself
and it
brought
all these people into a separation unto blessings of the right hand of
God! This had
nothing
whatever to do with how the sheep treated the Jews, or the orphans in foreign
lands,
or the
destitute masses or the poor drunk in the gutter. None of those are the
Lord's brethren!
Paul identifies
the Lord's brethren in Rom. 8:29, "For whom He did foreknow, He also did
predestinate
to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn
among
many
brethren." The Lord's brethren are the sons of God, the members of
His body, of His
flesh,
of His bone, of His spirit and nature. The sheep had responded in a positive
way to
these
brethren in their time of testing and preparation during their sojourn
in the flesh, and now
there
is rich reward!
This meant
an entrance into a kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the
world.
This kingdom
was not to be some far-off land of ivory palaces, golden streets, beautiful
mansions,
white nightgowns, wings and harps, where there is nothing to do and all
eternity to
do it
in. THIS IS A KINGDOM. And because it is a kingdom it denotes rulership
and
advancement
of all kinds. It indicates the bringing of a great many people into a higher
realm in
the Spirit
than they have ever known before. It means WORK and RESPONSIBILITY and
a
place
of ministry and authority to bless.
But the
people who had never done all these things mentioned by the Lord were separated
unto the
left hand of God! They received no kingdom. There were no rewards for work
done
or attainments
reached. Rather, they were set on the dark side of God, they were put under
a
kingdom
and under authority and they were placed in a process of fiery judgment
to receive
correction.
There is much subtle truth in these words of Jesus: "These shall go away
into
everlasting
punishment." The word punishment is from the Greek KOLASIS which means
simply
that - punishment. But it comes from the root KOLAZO which sheds precious
light
upon the
nature of the punishment. KOLAZO, according to Strong's Concordance, bears
only
two shades
of meaning, namely, "to curtail" or "to chastise." To "curtail" means to
restrain as a
person
is restrained in ail or a child is restrained when he is "grounded" for
a week because of
some disobedience.
"Chastise" has one simple meaning according to Webster's New World
Dictionary:
to punish in order to correct, usually by beating. It should be
clear to any
thoughtful
mind that the subject here is not meaningless, sadistic, unending torture,
but
PURPOSEFUL
CORRECTION.
While the
King James version states that these goats go into everlasting fire
and
everlasting
punishment
and the sheep enter into life eternal, that is not quite the meaning
of the Greek.
The Greek
word here translated everlasting and eternal is AIONIOS and AIONIOS is
the
adjective
form of the Greek noun AION. Some have arrogantly contended that
the
punishment
must be everlasting because the same word is used of the life of God -
eternal
life
- and
if the punishment is not eternal then the life cannot be eternal. But that
is an argument
put forth
by the ignorant, the result of the shallow reasoning of men who reach hasty
conclusions
not founded on the facts. "If the punishment ends then God's life must
end, if the
life is
eternal then the punishment must be eternal," we are told!
In late
years there has been much controversy over the meaning of the little Greek
word
AION.
Certain deceivers, to further their unscrupulous ends and uphold their
blasphemous and
Romanish
doctrine of eternal damnation, have maintained, contrary to and in spite
of all
revealed
facts, that it means eternal. And our King James version renders
it, together with the
adjective
AIONIOS as "age, course, eternal, for ever, evermore, for ever and ever,
everlasting,
world,
beginning of the world, world began, world without end." What a horrible
mixture!
But we
need not remain in darkness, for fortunately the Word of God tells us precisely
what
this Greek
word means. Too few have taken the time or energy to consider the real
meaning
of AION.
It is the word from which we get our English word eon. Eon, according
to Webster,
means
"a long period of TIME." Many attempts have been made to prove that eons
are
eternal.
But this is more than a grave error, it is the height of stupidity, for
the divine Author of
the blessed
Bible has not Himself used them in that way. AION nowhere means eternal!
Its
simple
meaning is an age. In its plural form it means ages. This
fact can be unquestionably
and incontrovertibly
demonstrated from numerous New Testament passages. A glance at any
Greek
concordance proves that the noun AION, or AGE, is not the synonym of eternity.
A
study
of each case would make a library; so, leaving this task to the reader,
we must content
ourselves
with adducing a few specimens to demonstrate the fact. It is usage that
determines
meanings
- THEIR usage, not ours; the meanings that the holy prophets and apostles
gave to
their
words rather than those that our English translators may try to give. Let
me illustrate.
The term
forever
(and its equivalents, eternal and everlasting) often occurs when it cannot
possibly
mean unending. In the story of Jonah one is surprised to hear him say while
in the
belly
of the fish, "I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with
her bars was
about
me for ever" (Jon. 2:6). But he was in the fish only three days
and three nights! When a
Hebrew
slave loved his master and did not wish to go free at the end of the seventh
year, we
read,
"... His master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve
him for ever"
(Ex. 21:6).
Of course, that couldn't be longer than his life span. Again, when Solomon
built the
temple
unto the Lord, he began his prayer of dedication with the statement, "I
have surely built
You a
house to dwell in, a settled place for You to abide in for ever" (I
Kgs. 8:13). And the
Lord answered
Solomon, "I have heard your prayer and supplication that you have made
before
Me: I have hallowed this house, which you have built, to put My name there
for ever"
(I Kgs.
9:3). But Solomon's temple lasted for only about 400 years! And it was
never in God's
mind to
dwell there for ever!
Here is
something that ought to be clear to any intelligent, honest man. A word
that is used to
mean in
one case three days and nights, in another case to mean a man's lifetime,
and in still
another
case to mean a period of about four centuries, surely does not mean unending
or
eternal,
no matter what English word is used to translate it. USAGE DETERMINES
MEANING.
Another illustration is the Aaronic priesthood. According to the King James
version,
Aaron and his sons were anointed as priests for ever. It says, "Their
anointing shall
surely
be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations" (Ex. 40:15).
Yet we read in
Heb. 7:11-18
that the Aaronic priesthood is CHANGED to that of Melchizedek. "Now if
perfection
had been attainable by the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people
were given
the Law,
why was it further necessary that there should arise another and different
kind of
Priest,
one after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one appointed after the
order of Aaron?
For when
there is a CHANGE IN THE PRIESTHOOD, there is of necessity an alteration
of
the law
concerning the priesthood as well. For it is obvious that our Lord sprang
from the tribe
of Judah,
and Moses mentioned nothing about priests in connection with that tribe.
So, a
previous
physical regulation and command is CANCELLED because of its weakness and
ineffectiveness
and uselessness" (Amplified Bible). Amazing, isn't it, that the priesthood
which
was ordained
for
ever has been CANCELLED! There would be no contradiction if the
statement
in Exodus were translated as it should be, "to the age throughout their
generations."
That is,
throughout their generations AS LONG AS THAT AGE LASTED. In the Septuagint,
the Greek
translation of the Hebrew Scriptures which Jesus and His disciples used,
the Greek
word AION
was the word used for the Hebrew OLAM. According to Hebrew and Greek
usage,
therefore, these words mean a period of time, a period of unknown length,
the duration
of which
is determined by the fact or condition or person to which the term is applied.
Furthermore,
Lev. 24:8 states that the covenant given to Israel was an "everlasting
covenant."
Yet, it
was conditional and based on Israel's obedience (Ex. 19:5-6). And the inspired
writer of
the book
of Hebrews declares, "For if that first covenant had been faultless, then
should no
place
have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, He says,
Behold, the days
come,
says the Lord, when I will make a NEW COVENANT with the house of Israel
and with
the house
of Judah... in that He says, A new covenant, He has made the first old.
Now that
which
decays and waxes old is ready to VANISH AWAY" (Heb. 8:7 8, 13). Ah, did
you
notice?
The everlasting covenant has been DONE AWAY! What a wonder, that!
We are told
that the
"earth abides forever" (Eccl. 1:4), but Jesus said, "Heaven and
earth
shall pass away..
(Mat.
24:35).
The Lord
announced through the prophet Isaiah, "Upon the land of My people shall
come up
thorns
and briers; yea upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: for the
palace shall be
forsaken;
the populous city shall be deserted; the hill and the watch-tower shall
be dens for
ever;
a joy of wild asses, a pasture for flocks; UNTIL the Spirit be poured upon
us from on
high,
and the WILDERNESS BECOME a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted
for a
forest"
(Isa. 32:13-15). Verse 15 limits the use of the word in verse 14, for the
desolations of
the land
are "for ever" only UNTIL the Spirit is poured out from on high bringing
glorious
RESTORATION!
As regards
animal sacrifices, dietary laws, ceremonial observances and sabbaths, each
was to
be "observed
as a statute for ever" (Ex. 31:16-17; II Chron. 2:4; Lev. 16:31).
But the New
Testament
clearly shows that these were, one and all, but "carnal ordinances imposed
UNTIL
the time
of reformation" (Heb. 9:10). It is clear - if "for ever" really meant ETERNAL
- we
would
still be offering sheep, bullocks, and goats as sacrifices to God!
But - more startling still
- the
idea of endlessness does not adhere even to the reign of Christ. Heb. 1:8
says, "But unto
the Son
He says, Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever..." Now turning
to another
Scripture
bearing on the same subject, we obtain additional light on this subject.
"Then comes
the end,
when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when
He shall
have put
down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign TILL He has
put all
enemies
under His feet. And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, THEN SHALL
THE
SON ALSO
HIMSELF BE SUBJECT UNTO HIM that put all things under Him, that God
may be
all in all" (I Cor. 15:24-25,28). The Kingdom of the Son will have a conclusion.
In
some remote
time the Son delivers up the Kingdom to the Father, the Kingdom continues
no
longer
in the rule of Sonship, but in the rule of Fatherhood, that God may be
known no longer
in and
through the Son and the Sons, but transcendentally as ALL IN ALL!
Dear reader,
it is high time to stop acting the fool. It is high time to cease from
exalting
ourselves
and our ignorant imaginings above the knowledge of God. It is high time
to bow in
humble
submission to His Word and cease our own blasphemous and ignorant pratings.
It is
high time
for a lot of people to curb their wagging tongues and do some listening
for a change,
if perchance
they might at length learn something worth talking about. The Hebrew word
OLAM and
its Greek equivalent, AION, mean a limited time, an age, and their plural
means
ages.
No one who is sane and reasonable can maintain otherwise. To do so is to
contradict all
known
facts and to contradict God's own Word. That is precisely what all the
"eternal
damnation"
people are guilty of. God be merciful to them!
Let us
look at how the word AION is used in a number of passages. About 37 times
in the
New Testament
it is rendered "world," twice as "worlds," twice as "ages," and once as
"course."
Every place where the word "eternal" appears, with but one exception, it
is a
translation
of this word AION or its adjective form AIONIOS. Twice it is rendered
"evermore."
Ever place where the word "everlasting" appears, but one, it is this same
word or
its adjective
form. With but thirteen exceptions, every place where the word "ever" appears
it
is the
same word or its adjective form. And aside from all this confusion, the
word also
appears
in the plural, and in a number of confusing combinations, such as "the
aion of the
aion,"
"the aion of the aions," and "the aions of the aions," etc.
Some of
the passages where AION is found will give us added information concerning
it. In
Eph. 2:7
we find, "in the ages (aions) to come." In Col. 1:26 we find, "the mystery
which has
been hid
from ages (aions). " In Eph. 2:2 we find "you walked, according to the
course aion of
this world."
In Heb. 1:2 we find, "by whom also He made the worlds (aions)." In Heb.
11:3
we find,
"the worlds (aions) were formed by the Word of God." In about fifteen instances,
such as
Mat. 12:32, 1 Cor. 1:20, etc., we find it rendered "this world (aion).
" Twice we find
"this
present world (aion). " In Gal. 1:4 we find, "deliver us from this present
evil world
(aion)."
In Eph. 6:12 we find, "the rulers of the darkness of this world (aion)."
In 11 Cor. 4:4
we find,
"the god of this world (aion)." In I Cor. 2:6 we find, "the wisdom of this
world
(aion)."
In Lk. 16:8 we find, "the children of this world (aion)." In Mk. 4:19 we
find, "the
cares
of this world (aion)." How much more understandable it would be if the
translators had
used the
word age instead of world!
In Mk.
10:30 we find that there is not only this present aion, which is evil,
but also "the world
(aion)
to come." In Lk. 20:35 we find, "but they that shall be accounted worthy
to obtain that
world
(aion), and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given
in marriage." In
Heb. 6:5
we find, "and have tasted the powers of the world (aion) to come." And
in Lk. 1:70,
Jn. 9:32,
etc., we find that the aion had a beginning: "since the world (aion) began."
And now
in reviewing the Scriptures we have just quoted we note that this aion
is something
which
has a king; it has princes; it is in darkness; it had a beginning; it has
an ending; it is evil;
it has
wisdom; it has children who marry; it has cares. The aions we find were
made by Christ,
simply
through His spoken Word, and we also find in Col. 1:26 that the mystery
of Christ in
us, the
hope of glory, has been hidden from these aions.
Now, if
AION means ETERNAL, consider how ridiculous the Word of God would be! The
Holy Spirit
would be found saying, "the mystery which has been hid from eternities;"
"the
mystery
of Christ which in other eternities was not made known;" "in the eternities
to come;"
"You walked
according to the eternity of this world;" "by whom also He made the eternities;"
"the rulers
of the darkness of this eternity;" "now once in the end of the eternities
has He
appeared;"
"the harvest is the end of the eternity;" "since eternity began;" "in the
eternities to
come,"
etc. etc. Let the scholars whose business it is delve into the many intricacies
of
expression,
and worry over the many grammatical combinations. Suffice it to say here
that
there
have been "aions" in the past, there is this present "aion," and there
are "aions" to come.
And these
all combined make up TIME, encompassing the whole of the progressive plan
and
program
of God for the development of His creation.
Any thinking
person should clearly see that if you translate the word AION which means
an
age
by the word eternal, which has nothing to do with time, you immediately
get the wrong
idea.
The same thing applies when the word AION is translated by the word world.
It is
incorrect
and brings nothing but confusion. That is why so many Christians have been
worrying
about "the end of the world" when they should have been understanding God's
special
dealing here at "the end of the age." There is a great deal of difference
between the
expression,
"He shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever," and the expression,
"He
shall
be tormented day and night unto the ages of the ages." For ever and ever
has no end. The
ages of
the ages do have an end, and their end will see every knee bowing and every
tongue
confessing
that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God the Father. (Phil.
2:10; Rom.
14:10-11).
The first expression forbodes complete hopelessness for billions and makes
the
faith
of God of none effect. The second expression, which is completely correct,
not only
offers
hope but expresses the ultimate fulfillment of the purpose which was purposed
in Christ
Jesus
before
the world began or before the ages were framed.
THE AGES OF THE AGES
The best
way to arrive at the true meaning of a word is to study carefully the way
it has been
used.
If we are to study a Greek word, we must go to the Greek text and not to
a translation,
nor to
a definition which has been derived from an interpretative translation.
If, in the original
text,
the word appears in different forms, surely these forms must have some
special
significance.
A singular form cannot have the same meaning as the plural. Since both
forms are
used they
should be distinguished when they are translated. Yet in certain places
the singular
form is
translated by exactly the same words as the plural form and thereby the
true import of
the words
is hidden. For example, compare the following passages: Heb. 1:8 Your throne,
O
God, is
forever and ever (Gr: for the aion of the aion); Rev. 1:6 To Him be glory
... for ever
and ever
(Gr: for the aions of the aions); Eph. 3:21 Unto all generations for ever
and ever (Gr:
for the
aion of the aions). In I Cor. 10:11 we have the expression, "The ends of
the aions." In
Heb. 9:26
we have "The end of the aions." How can a period that is definitely said
to come to
an end
be endless? How can a group of such periods, each said to come to
an end, be forever?
I am aware
that some people will oppose us on the grounds that the Greeks of today
use the
phrase
"the aions of the aions" meaning eternal, everlasting. A Greek gentleman
told me
several
years ago that "the ages of the ages" is how they express eternity in Greek,
and that
when the
book of Revelation says "and the smoke of their torment ascends up to the
ages of
the ages"
(Rev. 14:11) it means FOREVER. Ah, that sounds convincing, conclusive,
final and
unanswerable,
does it not? But precious friend of mine, in studying Bible language we
are
studying
ANCIENT GREEK, not MODERN. The Greek language in two thousand years has
changed
to such an extent that the ancient tongue is altogether unintelligible
to a modern
Greek.
The fact is, for over a thousand years, up till the year A.D. 1453, Greek
was almost
unknown
or forgotten in most of Europe. Even in Italy, which formerly had been
dominated
by Greek,
it became almost unknown. Ancient Greek has been a dead language for 1500
years!
Anyone who knows anything at all will at once see the utter ridiculousness
of this form
of argument.
Ancient and modern Greek are as different as day and night. As well might
we
teach
our children the English of 2,000 years ago, and then expect them to be
proficient in
modern
English, as to try to apply modern meanings to ancient Greek. The older
the English,
the more
unintelligible it becomes. The spelling changes, word meanings change,
sentence
structure
changes, until finally one is hopelessly lost in a morass of indecipherable
hieroglyphics.
Even in the four centuries since the translation of the King James Bible,
what
changes
have taken placer "Thee" and "thou" have been replaced by the more familiar
"you"
and are
no longer used except in classical literature and religion. "Let" meant
to "restrain or
prevent"
in King James' day; now the word means exactly the opposite, to "permit
or allow"!
So with
Greek. Ancient Greek is a dead language, while modern Greek is a living
language,
with about
as much similarity as there is between German and English.
It was
the false doctrines of the apostate Greek Orthodox Church that caused the
meaning
eternal
to
be placed upon the modern Greek phrase "the ages of the ages." And don't
think for
one moment,
dear friend, that religion doesn't influence language! The English word
"hell"
once meant
"a dark hidden place" but Church dogma has through the years caused the
word to
take on
an altogether different connotation. Word meanings do change! And
religious dogma
has effected
many such changes!
So usage
is
the fundamental key to unlocking the meanings of ancient Greek words. That
the
expression
"the ages of the ages" cannot mean an endless succession of ages, or eternity,
is
clearly
revealed by comparing Rev. 11:15 with I Cor. 15:24-28. In Rev. 11:15 our
Lord is said,
in the
Greek text, to reign "for the ages of the ages" but in I Cor. 15 His reign
is said to end.
He does
not reign "for ever and ever" though He does reign "for the ages of the
ages." As the
Son, God
reigns unto the ages of the ages through a process of subjecting, subduing
all things
unto Himself.
When that work is completed and there is nothing more in all God's vast
universe
to subdue and reconcile unto Himself, God reigns no longer as the Son,
but as Father
He shall
finally and eternally be ALL IN ALL.
Endlessness
is expressed in the Scriptures by the simple phrase "no end" (Lk. 1:33;
Dan. 7:14;
Isa. 9:7).
The thought of permanence is also expressed in Heb. 7:16, "the power of
an endless
(or indissoluble)
life," and in I Pet. 1:4, "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled,
and that
fades
not away." Now had the Holy Spirit wished to indicate true unendingness
or true eternity
as the
time issue in the punishment and suffering of the lost, He could have used
the word that
He used
in Rom. 1:20 to describe God's "eternal power and Godhead, " literally
God's
"perpetual"
or "imperceptable" power and Godhead, one being unable to see to the end
of it!
You see,
had the Holy Spirit wanted to convey unendingness in reference to the punishment
of
the enemies
of God, He could have used words that plainly denoted that, rather than
the words
"to the
age...... to the ages," "to the age of the ages "to the ages of the ages,
" etc., all which
plainly
denote SPANS OF TIME.
"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: and the smoke of their
torment
ascends
up for ever and ever (to the ages of the ages): and they have no rest DAY
NOR
NIGHT,
who worship the beast..." (Rev. 14:10-11). Notice, dear reader, that these
are
tormented
DAY AND NIGHT unto the ages of the ages and have no rest DAY NOR NIGHT.
The very
terms day and night and for ever and ever prove beyond question
that we are still
dealing
with the realm of time. The expression for ever and ever is misleading
and throws us
into confusion,
for, while on one hand eternity is indicated, on the other hand time is
indicated
by the
use of the words day and night. There is no day nor night in eternity!
Both are
creatures
of time. There is no way of knowing how long a time this will be, but since
it
unquestionably
deals with day and night and ages, it does therefore belong to time and
no
endeavor
must be made to equate it with eternity. These words are solemn and awful,
and we
have no
desire but to acknowledge both the wicked deeds and the dreadful and fearful
doom
of those
who are so justly condemned. I have no desire to spend even one day under
the
terrible
hand of God's severity! But to refer to these words as bespeaking eternal,
endless,
hopeless,
and merciless torture is to invite the fearful curse of those who "add
to the words of
this book"
(Rev. 22:18).
Once we
understand that AION and all the compounds of that word denote TIME, how
clear
everything
becomes! And how ridiculous the ignorant pratings of men! In an effort
to
harmonize
the Scriptures with the false doctrines of the apostate Church, the translators
rendered
"the ages of the ages" as "for ever and ever." This one little mistake
once and for all
exposes
their folly. Even in English we can see that "for ever" cannot be endless
if "and ever"
may be
added to it. Eternity cannot be added to! Only time may be compounded.
Eternity is
absolute
timelessness. Eternity is without either beginning or end. There cannot
be more than
one eternity.
You cannot add a second eternity on to a first eternity. Forever
in English means
"for eternity;
always; perpetually; endlessly." Now if "for ever" is "eternity" how can
you add
"and
ever,"
attaching ANOTHER ETERNITY to an already existing eternity? That isn't
even
correct
English grammar! Ah - but ages are time and time, beloved, can be
added to! When
the Greek
speaks of "the ages of the ages" it is speaking of AGGREGATED PERIODS OF
TIME -
not eternity! And you cannot get eternity by compounding all the time periods
of the
past and
the future, for time began and time ends. The ages and all
the time and times
combined
do not equal eternity. There simply is no such thing as "the endless ages
of eternity"
as the
preachers love to say, for the phrase is a complete contradiction of itself.
No one who is
sane and
reasonable can maintain otherwise. To do so is to contradict all known
facts and to
contradict
God's own Word.
No other
book that was ever written can be compared to the Bible, which is the Word
of God.
I am a
believer in the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures, and I am not a believer
in the folly of
uninformed
and unenlightened men who by ignorance of the facts and misinformation
try with
puny human
reasoning to tear it apart. There are a great many people who forget their
scholarship,
however, if ever they had any, and contend for the King James version even
when it
is manifestly wrong. One thing I should like to say in passing is, that
while the Bible is
inspired
in its origin, you have to be exceedingly careful of two things: FIRST,
THAT YOU
HAVE THE
ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT; AND THE SECOND, THAT YOU HAVE A
GOOD TRANSLATION.
Original manuscripts are inspired, but translations are not. To hear
some people
talk you would think that the good old King James Bible was the one Paul
preached
from!
It is interesting
to note that the word "Easter" appears one time in the King James version
in
Acts 12:4.
"And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him
to
four quaternions
of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth
to the
people."
Here Easter is translated from the Greek PASCHA which appears twenty-eight
other
places
in the New Testament, and in all of those instances is translated "Passover."
The Greek
PASCHA
comes from the Hebrew PASACH which means to pass, to leap, or skip over.
We
see from
this that the English word "Passover" is the correct meaning of the original.
How then
did the
translators of the King James version come up with Easter? Easter, according
to
Webster's
New World Dictionary, is from "Eastre," the ancient Anglo Saxon GODDESS
OF
THE DAWN
- her festival being in the spring of the year. And "Eastre" is the Anglo
Saxon
form of
the Babylonian goddess "Ishtar" the pagan Queen of Heaven! Hundreds of
years after
Christ
the Romish Church, as a compromise with the pagan converts, adopted the
pagan rites
and customs
associated with the worship of Ishtar into the Church as a celebration
of the
resurrection
of Christ - and called that celebration EASTER! Naturally, Easter is celebrated
at
approximately
the same time as ancient Israel celebrated their Passover. But the point
is -
because
of deeply entrenched apostate religious practice, the translators of the
King James
Bible
mis-translated the Scripture according to CHURCH TRADITION instead of TRUTH!
We must
never forget that the King James version was translated under the auspices
of a
STATE
CHURCH, which Church was even at that time persecuting, torturing and martyring
humble
followers of Jesus who dared to resist and denounce its apostasy and shame.
It lets
in light on the attitude of the translators of King James' Bible to know,
as stated in the
Bible
helps of Bagster's edition, that King James instructed the men who gave
us our
Authorized
Version, "To sanction no innovation that would disturb the orthodoxy or
peace of
the Church."
It is said that, "The translators were careful in the main to respect the
rules laid
down by
the king." What a vast difference it would have made in our thinking today
had these
translators
followed consistently and accurately the Hebrew and Greek texts, instead
of
conforming
to the heresies of the mother of harlots! Especially where "eternity" THE
AGE OF
THE AGES
and the "ages" are concerned!
Thus, the
translators were at the disadvantage of never being able to say or write
anything that
conflicted
with the accepted belief of the While the Scriptures speak of an age, and
the ages,
and the
ages of nominal Church, its leaders or the ruling element of the nation.
In support of
this I
would give you a quotation from page seven of the Emphatic Diaglott as
follows,
concerning
the King James version: according to Dr. Gell, it was wrested and partial,
and only
adapted
to one sect; but he imputes this, not to the translators, but to those
who employed
them,
for even some of the translators complained that they could not follow
their own
judgment
in the matter, but were restrained by reasons of State." Little wonder,
then, that we
have eternal
damnation taught in the King James Bible! (For more on the King James Version
and
'aion',
see link below.
THE AGE OF THE AGES
While the
Scriptures speak of an age, and the ages, and the ages of the ages, - one
age
proceeding
from, or out of, a previous age until all the ages have run their courses
- it also
points
to that glorious climatic age of all ages. We read the phrase, "Your throne,
O God, is for
ever and
ever" (Heb. 1:8). These words "for ever and ever" come from the Greek which
literally
reads TO THE AGE OF THE AGES. This is very familiar terminology in the
Scripture.
Few men
have been caught away by the spirit of inspiration as was the wise king
Solomon
when he
penned the beautiful Song of Solomon. God dropped one thousand and five
songs
down into
the heart of Solomon, but of these, only five comprising the Song of Solomon,
have
been preserved
and have found a place in Holy Scripture. Inspiration named it "The Song
of
Songs,"
that is, the one song which was above and beyond all the songs that have
ever come
from human
heart and human lips. Just as the "Song of Songs" was chief above
them all, just
as the
"Holy of holies" was the Holiest place of all, just as the "heaven
of
the heavens" is the
highest
heaven of all, just as the "King of kings" is the greatest King
of all, so all through the
Scriptures,
though obscured by many translators, we have this remarkable phrase TO
THE
AGE OF
THE AGES. It points to that age which shall be the most glorious of all,
and which
finds
its type in the year of Jubilee. This is the Holy Spirit's way of expressing
the superlative,
and so
far as God's plan of the ages is concerned this AGE OF THE AGES is THE
AGE PAR
EXCELLENCE
of them all. A simple illustration of this is our expression, "a day of
days,"
meaning
a day that comes out of previous days, which crowns them, and embodies
not only
what they
contained, but the full fruition of all that was elementary in them. Eternity
does not
emerge
full grown in man's consciousness until this wonderful age is ended. This
AGE OF
THE AGES
is that glorious climax to His purpose and process of the ages, wherein
He states,
"Behold,
I make ALL things new" (Rev. 21:5). And when He says, "ALL," it is self-evident
that there
is nothing remaining in the universe which shall not be made new, else
all is not all.
"For He
must reign until He has put ALL enemies under His feet. The last enemy
that shall be
destroyed
is death" (I Cor. 15:25-26). When the last enemy is under His feet, destroyed,
and
there
is no more death in any creature anywhere in all God's great universe,
then shall God be
all in
all! The Amplified gives, "Be everything to everyone." Time comes to an
end when the
ages end
and eternity, with God "all in all," becomes a conscious reality.
"AIONIOS" - THE LIFE OF THE AGES
I have
pointed out previously that the word for "everlasting" as used of punishment
and
"everlasting"
as used with life is often the same word in the Greek - AIONIOS. Some sincere
and well
meaning people assert that if AIONIOS does not mean eternal, that is, if
the
punishment
is not eternal, then the life is not eternal. If the "aionios punishment"
ends, then the
"aionios
life" of God must end, say they! That sounds like a reasonable argument,
but when
one searches
beneath the surface he discovers that it merely reveals the ignorance of
those
who labor
the point. Let us see!
The noun
AION nowhere means eternal. Its simple meaning is an age. In its
plural form it
means
ages. We have unquestionably and incontrovertibly demonstrated this fact
from
numerous
New Testament passages. Now once we understand that AIONIOS is the adjective
form
of the noun AION, a simple little sixth-grade grammar lesson should
once and for all
establish
the exact meaning of AIONIOS.
A noun
is a word that tells what you are talking about. A noun is a word that
names
something,
a person, place, thing, quality, etc. Boy, water, tree, age and truth are
all nouns. An
adjective
is a word that is used with a noun to describe it. It is a word that tells
you what kind,
what
color, which one, etc. If you wanted to tell me about the hat a woman
was wearing you
would
describe the hat in some way. You might say that it was a large
hat, an atrocious hat,
or a red
hat.
These are adjectives, words that describe what kind, what color of hat.
When
you add
one or more of these "describing words" or "adjectives" to hat, you give
a clearer
picture
of what the hat is like. Some words are both nouns and adjectives, that
is, the same
word can
be used both ways. Sometimes the adjective form of the word is identical
to the
noun form,
while at other times the spelling is slightly different. Look at these
sentences: "I
would
like to visit France." "I am learning the French language." France is a
proper noun, but
the adjective
form of the same word is spelled differently - French. But in both cases
they
indicate
the same setting. Anyone with even an elementary knowledge of grammar (English
or
Greek)
knows that the meaning of a noun and the meaning of the same word in its
adjective
form MUST
CORRESPOND! It cannot have one meaning as a noun and exactly opposite
meaning
as an adjective!
Let me
illustrate. If we say "John is in college," the word college is a noun.
But if we say,
"John
has sixteen college credits," college is an adjective, modifying the word
credits - telling
what kind
of credits. Now we all know what a college is - an institution of higher
education
that grants
degrees - so we understand what kind of institution John is attending in
the first
sentence.
Since we know the meaning of college, when we come to the second sentence
we
have no
difficulty understanding what kind of credits John has - college credits
- credits gained
through
study in an institution of higher education granting degrees! No one in
his right mind is
going
to read the second statement and conclude that John has just finished kindergarten,
or
that he
has a diploma showing that he finished sixteen lessons in leathercraft
at the YMCA, or
that he
has $16.00 worth of credit at a department store! College as a noun and
college as an
adjective
cannot have altogether different meanings. They mean the same in both cases!
Ah, brethren,
let's be fair with the basic rules of English grammar and interpretation,
and
Greek,
too, for they both follow the same basic rules. No one can say that AIONIOS
means
eternal
without
breaking the basic rules of English or Greek. The adjective AIONIOS which
is
directly
derived from the noun AION occurs seventy times in the New Testament. It
is an
axiom
of grammar that derivatives cannot have a greater force than the parent
word. When we
have an
adjective derived from a noun, the meaning of the adjective is dependent
upon the
meaning
of the noun. A daily paper is one that comes every day. A
monthly bill is due for
payment
every
month, not once a year. A yearly automobile license is good
for one year, not
for ever.
Thus the
adjective AIONIOS, a derivative of AION, carries within itself its own
solution; for
AIONIOS
is simply what belongs or relates to the AIONS - the ages - hence it cannot
carry a
force
or express a duration greater than that of the ages of which it
speaks. If therefore these
ages are
limited periods, some of which are already past, while others are yet to
come, the
word AIONIOS
cannot mean infinity!
And yet
men who should know better tell us that the Greek noun AION means an age,
or
ages,
which is TIME, and then proceed to ridiculously explain that the adjective
form of the
same word
means exactly the opposite - unending, everlasting, ETERNAL! A child of
ten
should
be able to understand that that is not so. The adjective AIONIOS modifies
two nouns
in Matt.
25:46 and numerous other passages: punishment and life. "And these shall
go away
into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." It tells what kind
of
punishment
and
what kind of life Jesus is talking about. It is ages-lasting punishment
and ages-lasting life,
or better
stated THE LIFE OF THE AGES. Now I can hear someone protesting, "But isn't
the
life we
have received from God ETERNAL LIFE?" Certainly God's life is eternal life.
But we
have received
that life injected into TIME, so that the inworking of that life through
the
processings
of God is experienced in relation to TIME rather that ETERNITY. Let me
explain.
Anything
that is absolutely eternal is not only unending, but is also UNCHANGEABLE.
Anything
that changes in any way is not eternal, for in the change some characteristic
is left
behind
and a new one acquired. In every change something ends and something else
begins, at
least
in form. That which dwells in an eternal state knows NO CHANGE. Change
is possible
only in
that which is limited, imperfect, or not fully developed. The Lord declares
of Himself,
"I am
the Lord, I CHANGE NOT" (Mal. 3:6), and the inspired apostle says of Him,
with
Whom there
is no VARIABLENESS, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17). God is never
surprised.
God has not learned anything this week, nor last year, nor in the last
several trillion
years.
If God learned one thing today, it would destroy Him. He would no longer
be the
omniscient
One who knows the end from the beginning, for known unto Him are all His
works
from the
creation of the world. God does not experiment. God does not become stronger,
mightier,
or increase Himself in any way. God is the omnipotent and omniscient one.
He
CHANGES
NOT. He eternally is all that He is without an decrease or increase or
fluctuation
whatsoever.
Therefore He is the ETERNAL GOD! It means more than unending, it means
unchangeable,
and therefore unending! But we, in our spiritual life, are STILL
BEING
CHANGED!
"And all of us... are constantly BEING TRANSFIGURED (changed) into His
very own
image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another"
(II Cor.
3:18,
Amplified). Therefore the life we have received is not truly eternal yet,
it is the LIFE OF
THE AGES,
God's life injected into time to be processed and matured into that
unchangeableness
which He Himself is!
TIME VS. ETERNITY
It is a
great and blessed fact that God is the eternal God. Transition, adjustments,
change -
these
words seem to be constantly with us, until we fain would grasp for something
that seems
to be
stable, solid, enduring. Much of the inner drive for change is simple evidence
that man is
not satisfied,
has not found his completeness in Christ, for "beloved NOW are we the children
of God,
and it does not yet appear WHAT WE SHALL BE: but we know that when HE shall
appear,
we SHALL (then) BE LIKE HIM for we shall see HIM AS HE IS" (I Jn. 3:2).
Here is
stability
- immutability - the quality of His nature remains the same, HE IS THE
ETERNAL!
And this
is the nature of which we would be a partaker, the fullness of which we
find in Christ,
and through
union with Him with which we shall be changed until we become changeless
in
the absoluteness
of that which He is. He who is eternal cannot be influenced, affected,
moved,
changed,
altered, damaged or destroyed in any way. He cannot grow tired or old.
The
character
of God is eternal, changeless, unaffected. The love, joy, peace, righteousness
and
power
of God do not rise and fall, rise and fall, rise and fall. Matters not
what happens or what
men or
devils say or do, the love of God, the purpose of God, and the power of
God are
steadfast,
unmoved, unquenched, unaffected, without fluctuation. The eternal existence
of
God is
certain for He is the source of all life. Death cannot touch Him for He
is not dependent
upon the
sustaining power of another, He is Jehovah, the SELF-EXISTENT ONE.
A concept
we must immediately grasp in order to understand God's plan of the ages
is that
time
is a created phenomena consisting of past, present, and future just
as man is created
phenomena
having youth, middle age, and old age. No, you cannot smell, touch, or
feel time,
but it
is there, ever-present, always marching into the future. Time was created;
it had a
beginning,
it shall have an end. It is only one thing among countless other things
that are part
of the
entire created universe. It is as much a "species" of creation as, for
example, rocks,
elephants,
trees, and water are species of creation. Before the creation of the universe,
there
was no
time; at the end of the ages when the present material universe is dissolved
and
replaced
by a new, spiritual universe, time shall cease to be. It will be swallowed
up into
eternity
just as all death will be swallowed up into victory, and there shall be
no more death.
Time -
composed of milliseconds, seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months,
years,
decades,
centuries, milleniums, ages was created in the beginning, and will be dissolved
at the
end of
the ages.
A proper
understanding of time as a created phenomena having beginning and ending
is an
absolute
prerequisite to a proper understanding of eternity. Time is relative only
to the physical
universe
and the purposes of God therein. Let me ask - If there were no such thing
as the
planet
earth, would there be days? No! If earth didn't have a satellite called
the moon, would
there
be months? No! If both earth and moon didn't have a thing called the sun
around which
to orbit,
would there be years? No! If there were no stars, no suns, no planets,
would there be
time?
No! Time is "duration set forth by measures;" the ticking of a clock, the
beating of a
pulse,
the burning of a candle, the falling of sand through a certain aperture,
- these, and a
thousand
similar regular movements, may serve as measures, more or less exact, of
time.
Time,
then, because it is a created phenomena, can be studied to some extent
just as any other
part of
the creation of God can be studied. We know how it functions by its effects
in passing:
decay,
corrosion, erosion, deterioration, or progression, growth, development,
maturity.
The late
Dr. Einstein discovered, at least theoretically, that time and space are
interdependent,
inseparably
related, and form a four-dimensional continuum (length, height, depth,
and
duration).
That is to say, there is no space without time, and no time without space.
Space
cannot
be traversed without the passage of time; without the passage of time,
there is no
traversing
of space. That is why in His post-resurrection, spiritual body, Jesus was
able
immediately
to transcend and traverse the space-time continuum with the speed of thought.
By
Christ's
power, space and time cohere and consist. Without His binding power, space
and time
would
become nonexistent. Also, since we know from the Scriptures that space
is created, we
can then
know that time is created, too. We can also understand that both time and
space (as
we presently
know them) will end together at the conclusion of the ages.
I am compelled
to state that the Bible says very little by way of a definition of eternity
because
the Bible
is essentially a book of time and for time. It was written for man who
lives in a
temporal
state and who is not yet a totally eternal being. Only as we enter thatbeing
state of
being
called eternity... only as HE who IS ETERNITY becomes "All in All" in us...
only as we are
spiritually
metamorphosized into our eternal condition... only as eternity becomes
an absolute
reality
to us... only then will formerly temporal beings such as we now are truly
comprehend
and understand
eternity and things of an eternal nature. This marvelous work has now begun
within
our spirit as our spirit has been quickened by His Spirit. I stated that
the Bible is
relatively
silent about what eternity is; that is not to say that human teachings
and theology
haven't
taught us a great deal about eternity, but, alas! much of it over the past
centuries has
come from
the carnal minds of Babylonish theologians and not from the mind of the
Eternal
One via
the Holy Spirit.
ETERNITY
IS A STATE OF ABSOLUTE TIMELESSNESS, not of unending time. Eternity
is a STATE
OF BEING, resident in the very nature and person of God in which such concepts
as past,
present, future, before, after, change, transition, growth, decay, etc.
do not exist. It is
wrong
to assert that, when time ends, eternity will begin, because eternity has
no beginning.
Neither
did it end when time began, as so many charts indicate. Therefore it is
very important
that we
make a clear distinction between ages, which belong to time, and eternity,
which is
timeless.
It is more important still that we, in our study of the Bible, search out
diligently those
passages
which refer to time and those which refer to eternity. Do you have it yet?
Do you
see? Time
is not part of eternity; eternity is not composed of segments of time.
Eternity is not
time standing
still; it is simply not time at all. Eternity doesn't go on and on and
on, ad
infinitum.
Eternity
doesn't go anywhere, nor does it do anything. Eternity simply IS. Eternity
is part
of the very nature and person of God. Eternity transcends beyond our knowing
anything
having to do with time. It is not time at all. It is just a glorious experience
of BEING!
Eternity
simply IS, just as God simply IS. Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I AM"
(Jn. 8:58)
- not
"Before Abraham was, I WAS." There are not past or future tenses in eternity.
There is
only one
eternal NOW.
THE GOD OF THE AGES
Now the
eternal God has injected Himself into time. The Bible rarely speaks of
God as eternal;
both the
Hebrew and Greek Scriptures reveal Him as the GOD OF THE AGES - time. "In
the
beginning
God
created..." Since that wonderful dawn God has been the God of His creation,
the God
of heaven and earth, the God of the ages, the God of history, the
God of Abraham,
Isaac,
and Jacob, the God of Israel, and the God of our salvation. God is said
to be living "for
the ages
of the ages" not because God must die when the ages end, but in contrast
to
multitudes
of His creatures whose days upon earth are limited to "threescore and ten
years."
Generation
after generation, through the rise and fall of empires, and the shifting
sands of
history,
God remains.
The great
revelation of the Scriptures is that this universe is governed by a throne
and that
throne
is not in Moscow, it's not in London, it's not in Rome, and it's not in
Washington - it's
in heaven,
the eternal dimension. Time is being governed by eternity, creatures are
being
governed
by the Creator. There is a whole order of cosmic government that those
of us who
have had
our eyes opened, our spirits quickened by His Spirit, raised up and made
to sit
together
with Him in heavenly places, have beheld. And the first thing we saw was
that
ultimate
reality sits upon a throne and governs mountains, governs hills, governs
streams,
governs
insects, governs animals, governs things, governs man, governs time, governs
history,
governs
creation, and governs the whole vast, unbounded universe!
God in
Christ became man as well as God. God as man has tenses to His being: the
yesterday
of the
past, the today of the present, the tomorrow of the future. This is not
the eternal God,
but the
God who has dispensed of His eternity into time. "Jesus Christ the same
- yesterday,
today,
and to the ages" (Heb. 13:8, literal). "And the four beasts had each of
them six wings
about
him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night,
saying, Holy,
holy,
holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to
come" (Rev. 4:8). Day and night
do not
exist in eternity - they fill up the whole of time. HE is praised and extolled
both DAY
AND NIGHT,
this God who WAS, and IS, and IS TO COME, the God of the ages, the
Architect
of history, the Lord of time, the King of the universe, the Most High who
"...lives for
the ages,
whose dominion is an age during dominion, and His kingdom is from generation
to
generation:
and all the inhabitants - of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He does
according
to His
will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and
none can stay
His hand,
or say unto Him, What doest Thou?" (Dan. 4:34-35, literal & KJV).
Oh, take
me not back through the long ages to a Christ that walked the shores of
Galilee, to a
Christ
that was! He is! He lives! He is here! In my today! I can never
again be alone, never
grope
in the dark for a hand, never be forsaken, never lack in the hour of need,
never fail in
His ongoing
purposes, never need a Saviour, a Redeemer, a Sanctifier, a Guide, a Master,
a
Friend,
a Husband, a Father. I have Him, He who was everything in the yesterday
of the past,
and who
will be everything in the tomorrow of the future, is mine today; and at
each conscious
moment
of my existence - here, and in all ages, praise His wonderful name! Not
a far-off,
untouchable
God, "inhabiting eternity," as the King James version erroneously states,
but a
God made
nigh, INHABITING THE AGES, involved in His creation, working tirelessly
and
unceasingly
and unfailingly until His wonderful plan is brought to a successful conclusion
and
HE becomes
gloriously ALL IN ALL!
"Crown Him the Lord of Years - The Potentate of Time,
Creator of the rolling spheres, Ineffably sublime.
All hail, Redeemer, hail! For You have died for me;
Your praise shall never, never fail As long as Time shall be!
FROM TIME TO ETERNITY
This phenomena
called time was created by God for man. Why? Time is the womb
from
which
God is birthing a people like unto Himself. We get the germ, the beginning
and foretaste
of eternity
in time, but this is only the seed of eternal life. This womb of time is
provided to aid
man in
his development, to assist him in preparation for a new, totally spiritual
existence
beyond
time, beyond the last age, when the umbilical cord is cut, in a state of
existence called
eternity.
Man, as he is dealt with by God, is passing from a gross, largely material
consciousness,
into a glorious spiritual existence. Time serves only as an instrument
to help
man, to
give him time and experience to develop into that new state of being. In
time there is
change
- in eternity there is no change. All change and development must take
place in time.
Thank God!
we are being changed! But that means that the life of God within is still
in a
limited,
imperfect, underdeveloped state. That life as to our condition and state
of being is
limited,
imperfect, and in some measure immature. God has dispensed that life into
us in time,
that through
a process of time with its experiences the spiritual life may be perfected
and
matured,
brought to the fullness of that which HE HIMSELF IS. When the process is
completed
and we are like Him fully and see Him as He is, there will BE NO
MORE
CHANGE.
We will then truly know what ETERNAL LIFE is! But as long as the life within
is
passing
through the process of change, growth, and development, it is not viewed
as eternal,
unchangeable
life, but as the LIFE OF THE AGES, life undergoing the dealings of God
in
time.
The
eternal security of the believer is known only by the overcomers who
have fully and
forever
conquered every vestige of the world, the flesh, and the devil, being conformed
into
the image
of the Son. Of these triumphant ones it is written, "To him that OVERCOMES
will I
give to
eat of the TREE OF LIFE," and again, "He that OVERCOMES... I will NOT BLOT
HIS NAME
OUT of the Book of Life" (Rev. 2:7; 3:5). The inference is clear ... until
this
"overcomer"
state is attained, it is possible to have one's name blotted out
of the Book of Life!
That does
not mean that the name cannot be written there again, any more than it
could be
said that
it was impossible for it to be written there in the first instance. But
it does indicate
that the
life possessed by a Christian who is not fully an overcomer is not by God's
definition
ETERNAL
LIFE, for if it were absolutely eternal it could not be lost! Little wonder,
then, that
our Lord
says to the Church at Smyrna, "Be faithful unto death, and
I will give you a
CROWN
OF LIFE" (Rev. 2:10). it is my deep conviction that He speaks not of the
death that
takes
this old body to the cemetery, but the death that comes by the INWORKING
OF HIS
CROSS
until all that pertains to the realm of carnality has been completely and
forever dealt
with.
Then, and only then, are we CROWNED WITH LIFE, His life reigning within
without
interference
or possibility of defeat.
The life
we now have is a progressing, growing, conquering life - the LIFE OF THE
AGES. It
is life
that has come by the quickening of our spirit by His Spirit, giving a new
beginning, and
the potential
to become, in due time, all He is. But I am sure my readers, with myself,
must
confess
that there is a great deal of progress still to be made, considerable growth
to be
experienced,
much transformation to be wrought before we stand in Him in the fullness
of that
life that
needs no change, no further development, no additional experience, no more
growth,
no fuller
stature, no added triumph, no increase of wisdom and knowledge - that state
of being
as unchangeable
as He is unchangeable, as ETERNAL AS HE IS ETERNAL! Only faintly
now do
our eyes behold the splendor of that eternal realm which ties before
us, but if we
approach
softly with reverence and godly fear, not disrespectfully and thoughtlessly
as nosey
children
prying into some sacred thing, then the Lord of glory will meet us and
will be a Father
unto us
and we shall be the Sons of God in whom the Father shall unfold the fullness
of His
life,
mind, will and glory. Thus shall we come into that same image and
be sharers with the
Christ
in the glory He had with the Father BEFORE TIME WAS - ETERNAL GLORY! I
think
I know why some become so enraged when we tell them that we do not now
possess the
absolutely
eternal life. Is it not because they would rather ignore this life of
the ages, somehow
projecting
themselves into that life which is eternal, claiming "by faith" the finished
product,
while
by-passing the tedious processing? Ah, dear ones, it doesn't work that
way! God has
graciously
given unto us life aionios - the life of the ages - and how I thank
God that my
present
state of being is NOT ETERNAL! There is MORE! I would follow on
to know Him in
all fullness.
And it will take "the ages," my friend, to unfold it all. As long as there
is need for
growth,
change, and advancement, there is need for time. But redemption as a completed
plan
has a
unique relationship to time. Until redemption is complete its work will
proceed in time,
but the
finished work of redemption stands at time's end. Thank God! There is an
END - then
eternity,
God all in all!
As God's
plan of the ages has progressed there has been a level of life, a spiritual
vitality, for
each age.
Each age has been different. Men in antediluvian times knew God in a certain
way
and received
life of a particular order. Israel, under the law, and the ministry of
the prophets,
entered
into another degree of spiritual life. Perhaps I can give you a simple
illustration in this
way. There
is a difference between "fetus" life and "baby" life and "child" life.
There is a
difference
between "youthful" life and "middle-age" life and "old-age" life. Can we
not see by
this that
there is a continuing development of God's life in us, until HIS FULLNESS
is
attained,
and there shall be a continuing development of His life in the whole human
family in
the ages
to come until God becomes all in all.
God is
cultivating within His Sons an eternal nature. The thoughts of God's people
are
becoming
boundless and eternal, no longer controlled and motivated purely by carnal
memories
of the past, by present events, or by dim hopes for an endless future in
"mansions
over the
hill-top". The fledgling spirits of God's Sons are fast growing up into
the limitless
expanses
of God's own eternal, spiritual nature. Yes, the whole man is becoming
a new,
eternal
creation, no longer limited by the space-time continuum. God's maturing
Sons see the
reality
of a state of being called eternity, and their hearts strain and leap upward
toward that
"place"
in God!
AGES-LASTING CORRECTION
We miss
so much vital truth by our careless scanning of the Bible, and by clinging
tenaciously
to the
time-worn traditions of the religious systems, mistaking them for the holy
truths of God.
It should
be clear that if the "eternal life" of Mat. 25:41 is really the "life of
the ages", then the
"eternal
punishment" is likewise an age-lasting correction. The Diaglott says, "Depart
from Me,
you cursed
ones, into that aionian fire... and these shall go away into a cutting-off
age lasting."
The Bible
in Modern English by Farrar Fenton reads, "And these He will dismiss into
a LONG
CORRECTION."
Rotherham's New Testament says, "These shall go away into age-abiding
correction."
Young's Literal translation renders, "And these shall go away to punishment
age-during."
The word
punishment is from the Greek KOLASIS which means simply that - punishment.
But it
comes from the root KOLAZO which reveals the true nature of the punishment.
KOLAZO
according to Strong's Concordance, means "to curtail" or "to chastise".
The word
means
"a pruning" according to Liddell and Scott's Greek English Lexicon. it
is so used all
through
the Greek language. That punishment of which the Christ spoke was the very
thing
that helped
me to see the glorious HOPE for all who are unbelievers or rebellious against
God -
because
the word punishment there means chastisement or pruning. I saw in a moment
that it
was not
the destruction of the man; it was the correcting of the man. it was not
the destruction
of the
tree; it was the cutting back, and the pruning, that it might bring forth
fruit. Some rightly
reason
that KOLASIS cannot mean corrective punishment or pruning if it is everlasting.
But
everlasting
is
itself wrong - who ever It is age-lasting punishment, heard of EVERLASTING
CORRECTION!
age-abiding correction, age-during pruning.
There are
those who did not enter into His life in ages past, there are those who
do not enter
into His
life in this present age, and there shall be those who will not enter into
His life in the
age to
come. But in the world where God is the King you can count on it - every
man will
finally
have to face up to his waywardness, and being thoroughly disciplined, broken,
and
purged
of self-will, until he is prepared to respond to the love of Christ, to
advance from the
realm
of punishment into the blessing of HIS LIFE and victory. If you do not
punish a criminal
for his
improvement, for what do you punish him? There are just two right reasons
- to protect
society
and to restore the criminal to society improved by the punishment. The
"aionian"
punishment
which will come to every sinner who goes to hell will be a punishment that
will
break
his stubborn, rebellious spirit and bring him back to God!
It is most
regrettable that many Bible translators have been careless in their translation
of
words
that concern the ages. The common thought seems to have been that any age
following
this present
age must be identical with eternity, which, of course, is gross error,
and we get
ourselves
into all manner of confusion by thinking that such is the case. For instance,
according
to the King James version Jesus, speaking of the blasphemy against the
Holy Spirit,
is clearly
quoted as saying, "He that blasphemes the Holy Ghost has never forgiveness"
(Mk.
3:29).
Because of this faulty rendering we have concocted the fallacious notion
of an
unpardonable
sin. But the Emphatic Diaglott translates the passage correctly thus:
"Whoever
may blaspheme
the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness to the age, but is exposed to aionian
(age-lasting)
judgment." Likewise also the passage in Mat. 12:32...... Whosoever speaks
against
the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world,
neither in the world
to come."
The word world here, as the margin of your Bible will probably indicate,
is
translated
from the Greek word AION, which means age or a period of time. See also
Young's
Concordance.
Hence the translation should be, "It shall not be forgiven him, neither
in this age
nor in
the coming age" (Diaglott). Jesus was born in the age of law. Therefore,
when He spoke
of this
age, He was speaking of the age of law, the age to come being
the Church age in which
we now
live.
God's precious
people, saturated and literally "oozing" with the false doctrines of the
harlot
Church
systems have long viewed God's judgments as a vindictive action prompted
by a
motive
for revenge and supported by a tumultuous wrath that must be pacified.
NOT SO!
Such is
a gross caricature of our God! His mercy and grace are super-abundant,
His mercy
endures
to all ages, and though He finds it necessary to chasten, His wisdom and
righteousness
produce
a just and pure chastisement conditioned to correct the situation, and
bring forth a
creature
prepared to respond to the delivering and redeeming power of God. ALL OF
GOD'S
JUDGMENTS
ARE CORRECTIVE IN NATURE, conceived in His wisdom, motivated by
His love,
administered by His power, and used to work out the divine purpose, into
our good,
and unto
His praise!
This does
not deny that "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and
unrighteousness
of men" (Rom. 1:18). There is no doubt whatever as to the fact that the
Bible
clearly
teaches wrath - not only in this age but in that which is to come and in
dim and distant
ages beyond
that. But it is a just wrath; the judgment is everywhere said to be ACCORDING
TO OUR
WORKS (Ps. 62:12; Rom. 2:6; Rev. 20:12-13). The punishment will fit the
offense,
and it
is for a purpose. If we teach that it is endless we will have to tear the
Bible all to pieces.
Those who
are hard and impenitent of heart treasure up for themselves wrath in the
day of
wrath
and revelation of the righteous judgment of God who will render to every
man according
to his
works. If you don't believe it, ask the antediluvians, ask Korah and his
followers, ask the
inhabitants
of Sodom and Gomorrah, ask the Jews who passed through the holocaust, and
ask
all the
rest of men who have lived and died trampling under foot the righteousness
and mercy
of the
Lord. To them that are rebellious and obey not the truth but obey unrighteousness
shall
be wrath,
indignation, tribulation and anguish upon every soul. All that the Scriptures
actually
teach
about the wrath of God will surely come to pass. The wrath of God is an
awful thing and
it is
not my purpose to minimize it in the least. I do rejoice, however, in the
knowledge that it
will accomplish
its work until all men are broken before God and call upon Him for mercy
full
and abundant.
Thank God
- He has a plan! And it will work. You can count on it. Grace has intervened.
Love will
conquer. The wisdom of God will be vindicated. God will actually WIN! Hallelujah!
Isn't
THAT good news! The devil will have none left to possess. The grave will
claim not one
victim.
Death will hold no more power over any creature anywhere in all God's vast
universe,
for death
shall be DESTROYED. Sin and rebellion shall raise their ugly heads no more,
for
God will
be all in all. YOU CAN COUNT ON IT! THAT IS GOD'S PLAN!
For any
of the literature write to:
J. Preston
Eby - P. O. Box 371240 - El Paso, Tx. 79937-1240
BACK
- AGES or ETERNITY
and the King James Bible
Click here to pray for the leading of the Holy Spirit as you read this site.
Click here for a prayer of salvation if you believe Jesus is your saviour.
Click here to discover why Jesus Christ is your saviour and saviour of all.