March 7
UNDERSTANDING THE PURPOSE OF THE AGES ( OLAM, AION, AIONIOS )
-Ephesians 3:11 states, … According to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: … The
words "eternal purpose", when looked up in the original Greek, should literally read, ... THE PURPOSE OF THE AGES. This is
one of the many mistakes made by the King James Version. This version is consistently WRONG when it comes to its handling
of the Greek word "aion", which means an age or period of time.
-Here are some quotes from: The Outcome Of Infinite Grace, by Dr. Loyal Hurley, to help clear up the misunderstanding
and mistranslation of the words "olam", "aion", and "aionios", which all refer to time, and are not endless in their meanings
as we have been incorrectly taught.
… "The Hebrew word "olam" and the Greek word "aion" both mean “age” or “eon”. For evidence
of this refer to Young’s Analytical Concordance. Incidentally, Robert Young in his “Literal Translation of the
Bible” always translates these word by “age” and never once as “ever”, “everlasting”,
or “eternal”. The Hebrew word “olam” comes from a root meaning hidden. The word therefore means a
period of time, but a period of unknown or hidden length. The word was often used to mean a man’s lifetime because it
was an unknown period. The adjective "aionios" is often translated “age-lasting” or “age-during”,
but would be more properly translated “pertaining to the ages”, that is, something that occurs within the ages,
but not necessarily lasting even through one entire age."
… "Many things in your Bible will continue to be confusing, and apparently contradictory, until you see this truth
of the scriptures ( about ages )."
… "There are so many Biblical statements that become clear when one grasps the truth of the ages."
… "Only as one sees the plan of the ages does he see the beauty of God’s program for the redemption of the
race. ( 1st Corinthians 15:22-28 )"
… "The scriptures speak often of this present age. Again they speak of ages past, and ages to come. ( Ephesians 2:7
speaks of the ages to come )"
-We can now clearly see that all of God’s dealings with man are confined to the ages of time ( the purpose of the
ages ). The life of God would be more properly stated as “the life of the ages”, or God’s life inserted
into the ages of time. The punishment, wrath, judgment, vengeance, and consuming fire of God are all also to be seen as “of
the ages”, and for the purpose of correction. Matthew 25:46, according to the King James Version, speaks of everlasting
punishment. This is once again an incorrect translation of the Greek word "aionios", which should be translated “the
punishment of the ages”. In actuality, the word "punishment" should be translated as CORRECTION, for it does come from
the Greek word "kolasis", which means a punishment ( correction ) for the BETTERING of the offender.
-As we mentioned earlier, Ephesians 2:7 speaks of at least two ages to come. These ages are referred to as the Millennium
and the Age of the Ages. When speaking of both of these ages at the same time, the Bible ( in the original Greek ) refers
to these ages as THE AGES OF THE AGES. This means that there have been ages, but these two ages are of greater significance
than all of the previous ages that have gone before them. When the Bible ( in the original Greek ) speaks of the final age,
it refers to it as THE AGE OF THE AGES. This means that the final age ( also referred to as the dispensation of the fullness
of times ) IS THE GREATEST AGE OF ALL!!! The purpose of the Millennium is to gather ALL NATIONS unto the Father. The Age of
the Ages, which is the final age, and the greatest age of all, is for the purpose of gathering ALL THINGS INTO CHRIST ( Colossians
1:20 ) that have not been previously gathered into Him. This age will bring about the end of death and hell ( Hades, the grave
).
-The study of ages will set you free from the traditional teaching of the church, which has led us to believe that God
will lose the vast majority of His creation to eternal torments forever. This is not the God of the Bible. For our God will
be …
-ALL IN ALL!-
