Post by el Gusano on Aug 12, 2004 21:10:41 GMT -8
Right click and download the following four documents:
www.hopeofglory.net/Articles/Words/ages.pdf
www.hopeofglory.net/Articles/Words/AGE-LASTING.pdf
www.hopeofglory.net/Articles/Words/ETERNAL.pdf
www.hopeofglory.net/Articles/Words/ageverselist.pdf
There are three words that I want to take a look at that are translated in various ways. These words are not interchangeable, but interpretations have tried to make them so. The words are: aidios, aionios, and aion.
Aidios means eternal or perpetual. It can possibly be construed as meaning “existing outside of time”, which would be eternal from a human perspective; literally, "unperceivable".
Aionios means literally “age-lasting”. It is often translated variously as eternal, everlasting, or whatever suited the fancy of the translator at the time.
Aion means “age”. The list included is only the uses in the plural, so it is a listing of every use of “ages”, which has been translated all kinds of interesting ways.
To clarify some terms, “eternal” means without beginning or ending, age-lasting would imply a specific period (Kingdom of the Heavens), everlasting would have a beginning, but no ending. The expression in Greek that means “everlasting” is εις τοὺς αιωνας των αιώνων or literally “from the ages unto the ages”. (I must note here that those who believe in universal reconciliation get this idea from this phrase; it is a standard Greek idiom that means “everlasting”, but they take the literal “ages unto ages”; I do not take this view.) Below is every example of “everlasting”; please note that Revelation 14:11 does not contain the definite article, so it is simply “ages of ages”, which simply means a long time.
Gal 1.5
Eph 3.21
Phl 4.20
1Tm 1.17
2Tm 4.18
Rev 1.6
Rev 1.18
Rev 4.9
Rev 4.10
Rev 10.6
Rev 11.15
Rev 14.11 (no definite article)
Rev 15.7
Rev 19.3
Rev 20.10
Rev 22.5
I’ve included a literal verse list for “everlasting” and “eternal”. If anyone wants the list for “ages” and “age-lasting”, please ask.
Dualism of Eternal Life: The Latin Vulgate translated the Greek adjective aijw>niov to the Latin aeternus in which we get the English word eternal and eternity.
The KJV translators instead of going back to the original Greek and translating the Greek adjective aijw>niov, went to the Latin Vulgate and translated the Latin aeternus. This is why the word eternal has been misunderstood by the English reader. If they would have gone to the Greek they for sure would have translated it as many translators such as Rotherham and Young, namely, age lasting or life for the age (eijs ton aijw>niov).
It is equally a fact that the theology of the West was not that of the Greek Church but that of Roman Catholicism. It was Latin theology. And just as it is beyond doubt that the revisers, translators, and lexicographers, were chiefly influenced by the Latin language and Latin translations. It is admitted that the theology of Calvin was derived from Saint Augustine, modernized and extended.
“It was absolutely essential to Augustinian theology with its blightening emphasis on the doctrine of predestinarianism to mistranslate the Greek adjective aijw>niov, and put on it a meaning which the Greek will not for a moment allow in its respective applications to salvation and judgment.
And that was essential to Augustinian theology was equally essential to Latin Christianity from the days of Augustine to those of Calvin and Luther. And the same exists in the Reformed Theology from then till the present.
To say nothing of other words, the Calvinist simply cannot, dare not, face an honest and truthful interpretation of the two frequently occurring words with which we are now dealing with, namely “eternal life”.
www.hopeofglory.net/Articles/Words/ages.pdf
www.hopeofglory.net/Articles/Words/AGE-LASTING.pdf
www.hopeofglory.net/Articles/Words/ETERNAL.pdf
www.hopeofglory.net/Articles/Words/ageverselist.pdf
There are three words that I want to take a look at that are translated in various ways. These words are not interchangeable, but interpretations have tried to make them so. The words are: aidios, aionios, and aion.
Aidios means eternal or perpetual. It can possibly be construed as meaning “existing outside of time”, which would be eternal from a human perspective; literally, "unperceivable".
Aionios means literally “age-lasting”. It is often translated variously as eternal, everlasting, or whatever suited the fancy of the translator at the time.
Aion means “age”. The list included is only the uses in the plural, so it is a listing of every use of “ages”, which has been translated all kinds of interesting ways.
To clarify some terms, “eternal” means without beginning or ending, age-lasting would imply a specific period (Kingdom of the Heavens), everlasting would have a beginning, but no ending. The expression in Greek that means “everlasting” is εις τοὺς αιωνας των αιώνων or literally “from the ages unto the ages”. (I must note here that those who believe in universal reconciliation get this idea from this phrase; it is a standard Greek idiom that means “everlasting”, but they take the literal “ages unto ages”; I do not take this view.) Below is every example of “everlasting”; please note that Revelation 14:11 does not contain the definite article, so it is simply “ages of ages”, which simply means a long time.
Gal 1.5
Eph 3.21
Phl 4.20
1Tm 1.17
2Tm 4.18
Rev 1.6
Rev 1.18
Rev 4.9
Rev 4.10
Rev 10.6
Rev 11.15
Rev 14.11 (no definite article)
Rev 15.7
Rev 19.3
Rev 20.10
Rev 22.5
I’ve included a literal verse list for “everlasting” and “eternal”. If anyone wants the list for “ages” and “age-lasting”, please ask.
Dualism of Eternal Life: The Latin Vulgate translated the Greek adjective aijw>niov to the Latin aeternus in which we get the English word eternal and eternity.
The KJV translators instead of going back to the original Greek and translating the Greek adjective aijw>niov, went to the Latin Vulgate and translated the Latin aeternus. This is why the word eternal has been misunderstood by the English reader. If they would have gone to the Greek they for sure would have translated it as many translators such as Rotherham and Young, namely, age lasting or life for the age (eijs ton aijw>niov).
It is equally a fact that the theology of the West was not that of the Greek Church but that of Roman Catholicism. It was Latin theology. And just as it is beyond doubt that the revisers, translators, and lexicographers, were chiefly influenced by the Latin language and Latin translations. It is admitted that the theology of Calvin was derived from Saint Augustine, modernized and extended.
“It was absolutely essential to Augustinian theology with its blightening emphasis on the doctrine of predestinarianism to mistranslate the Greek adjective aijw>niov, and put on it a meaning which the Greek will not for a moment allow in its respective applications to salvation and judgment.
And that was essential to Augustinian theology was equally essential to Latin Christianity from the days of Augustine to those of Calvin and Luther. And the same exists in the Reformed Theology from then till the present.
To say nothing of other words, the Calvinist simply cannot, dare not, face an honest and truthful interpretation of the two frequently occurring words with which we are now dealing with, namely “eternal life”.
