گر نظر پاک کنی کعبه و بتخانه یکی است
ریشه مسجد عربی مَزگِت فارسی است . مسجد هم واژه ای است با ریشه در زبان فارسی . پیش ما سوختگان...
عادل اشکبوس
با پرتوئی از ایسپیهَ مَزگَت در تالش زادگاه زرتشت پیامبر ایرانی
نه تنها مسجد ریشه فارسی دارد بلکه جهنم و فردوس و چند واژه دیگر دینی نیز چنین است . در اشعار فارسی واژه مَزگت که همان مَزکَد است بسیار به کار رفته است .
همچون کدویی سوی نبید و سوی مزگت
آکنده به گاورس که خرواری غنجی .
ناصرخسرو (دیوان چاپ تقوی صفحه 495).
تو مشرف تری ز هر مردم
همچو بیت الحرم ز هر مزگت
سوزنی (از آنندراج ).
صد مرد پیر و جوان ... اندر آن مزگت نشسته اند.
(تاریخ بیهق ).
ای برادر می ندانم تا چت است
کت وطن گه دیر و گاهی مزگت است .
هنوز در کردستان ایران و عراق و ترکیه و سوریه واژه مِزگوت کاربرد دارد . مثلاً : arom bo mezgot در زبان کردی سورانی یعنی به مسجد می روم .در انگلیسی نیز mosque و در ارمنی maskit باز هم ریشه در مَزگِت دارد .در اطراف کاشان هنوز به مسجد مَزگه می گویند . تالشی های اصیل نیز هنوز مَزگَت می گویند . زبان معیار موجب فراموش شدن این واژه کهن از زبان مردم شده . برخی به گمان اینکه این واژه گونه نادرست مسجد است تلفظ خود را تغییر داده اند .
منظور از (مـَز)در مزکد یا مزگت همان خداست به کلمه مزدا توجه کنید که بخش نخست آن مز است و به کلمه کَد نیز دقت کنید هنوز در بسیاری از شهرهای ایران مانند نواحی اطراف کاشان مثل بادرود به خانه می گویند کَده . واژه های میکده و دانشکده و کدبانو و کدخدا و... بیانگر این است که کد خانه است و مزکد یا مزگت که تغییر یافته ی آن است همان خانه خداست .
زیبایی و توانمندی زبان عربی این است که واژگان زبان های دیگر را در وزن و ساختار زبان خود می برد و رنگ و چهره ی عربی بدان می بخشد . مثلاً همین مزگت را مسجد کرده و پس از آن با آن مشتقات دیگر ساخته است . اگر سخت این را باور می کنید به چند مثال دیگر توجه کنید که واژه های فارسی رنگ عربی به خود گرفته اند . یا به اصطلاح مُعَرَّب شده اند .
اندازه ==>هندسه کنده یا کندک ==> خندق پردیس ==> فردوس گناه ==> جُناح
استَبرَگ ==>اِستَبرَق بنفش ==> بَنَفسَجیّ ارغوانی ==> اُرجوانیّ پسته ==> فُستُق گهَنام ==> جهنم اگر با دیدن اینکه جهنم هم فارسی است دیگر اصلاً حرف بنده را نمی پذیرید به صفحه 775 از جلد اول کتاب فرهنگ لاروس چاپ انتشارات امیرکبیر مراجعه کنید .می بینید که در آن کلمه جهنم را فارسی معرب دانسته است .
البته برخی این واژه را نیز آرامی دانسته اند .
حال به فرهنگ های لغت برویم و ببینیم در باره مزگت یا مزکَد چه آمده است :
مزگت . [ م َ گ ِ ] (اِ) ۞ نمازخانه و مسجد. (ناظم الاطباء). خانه ٔ خدا. بیت اﷲ. (برهان ). مزکت . مژگت . (زمخشری ). به معنی خانه ای که برای پرستش پروردگار بسازند و هرکس خواهد در آن بندگی وعبادت کند و آن خانه را حرمت گذارند و پاک نگهدارندو چون خانه ٔ بندگی یزدان است به یزدان نسبت دهند و چون زاء و سین و تاء و دال تبدیل یافته اند معرب آن مسجد به فتح جیم ۞ است یعنی مکان سجده کردن . (آنندراج ). مسجد. (ترجمان القرآن ) (غیاث ) ۞ (رشیدی ) (دهار) (لغت فرس اسدی چ اقبال ص 51). نمازگاه . هر جائی که برای پرستش خدا سازند. (یادداشت به خط مرحوم دهخدا). این کلمه آرامی است و از این زبان وارد عربی و فارسی شده است : پیغامبر علیه السلام به مزگت آمد و پیش خلق این آیت بخواند. (ترجمه ٔ طبری بلعمی ). و امروز هرکه آنجا رسیده است داند که آن ستونها و پایه ها همه از سنگ است و مزگت دمشق نیز همچنین است . (ترجمه ٔ طبری بلعمی ). و مزگت تمام نشد پس خویش سلیمان را وصیت کرد که آن مزگت را تمام کند. (ترجمه ٔ طبری بلعمی ).ابوسلمه وزیر آل محمد به مزگت اندر آمد جامه ٔ سیاه پوشیده بر منبر شد و خدای عزوجل را حمد و ثنا کرد. (ترجمه ٔ طبری بلعمی ). خدای تعالی بسوی زکریا وحی فرستاد که مادر مریم را بگوی که من این دختر را از تو به پسری قبول کردم و او را به مزگت آور و محرر کن و هرگز به مزگت اندر دختر نبوده زیرا که زن حایض شود و زن حایض را به مزگت نشاید آمدن . (ترجمه ٔ طبری بلعمی ). و اندر بیت المقدس مزگتی است که مسلمانان از هر جائی آنجا شوند به زیارت . (حدود العالم ). لهاسا، شهرکیست و اندر وی بتخانه هاست و یک مزگت مسلمانان است و اندروی مسلمانانند اندک . (حدودالعالم ). مشتری دلالت داردبر مزگت ها و منبرها و کنشت ها و کلیسا. (التفهیم ).
ببست رهگذر دیو و بیخ کفر بکند
بجای بتکده بنهاد مزگت و منبر.
عنصری .
باخدای عزوجل اندر مزگت ها چیزی را مپرستید و جز یادکرد خدای چیزی دیگر مگوئید. (تفسیر کمبریج چ متینی ج 2ص 491). و ما یاد کرد ترا بر داشته کردیم تا ترا هرروز به هرمزگتی اندر پنج بانگ نماز و پنج قامت یاد کنند (در تفسیر آیه ٔ «و رَفعنا لک ذِکرَک » ازسوره ٔ انشراح ). (تفسیر کمبریج ج 2 ص 601). چون بانگ تبیره رابشنیدند برخاستند و از مزگت بیرون شدند. (تفسیر کمبریج ج 2 ص 416).
اینک به این مدرک جالب ، توجه بفرمایید اسپی مزگت در تالش:
ایسپیهَ مَزگَت
از رامین باباپور شکردشت
بنای ایسپیه مزگت باقیمانده یک آتشکده قدیمی و بزرگ در دیناچال تالش است. تمامی نشانه های معماری وکاربردی آن عملکرد مذهبی این بنا را تایید می کند.این بنا دردوران پس از اسلام احتمالا بعد ازقرن سوم هجری به مسجد تبدیل شد و ظاهرا تا مدتها ی مدید مورد استفاده قرار می گرفته است. گذشته از اهمیت تاریخی و معماری بنا اینکه در اطراف آن باید شهری بزرگ وجود داشته باشد. مشغله فکری بسیاری از اندیشمندان در گیر با این موضوع است. بازسازی این بنا وتعریف حریم حفاظتی و برنامه عملیاتی می تواند هویت آنرا روشنتر ساخته و مجددا زندگی را به این محل بازگرداند.
بنای تاریخی اسپیه مزگت
ایسپیه مزگت از دو کلمه "ایسپی "در زبان تالشی به معنای سفید و"مزگت" در زبان اوستا به معنای مسجد تشکیل شده است.ایسپیه مزگت در دهکده کیش خاله در شمال آبادی دیناچال از آبادیهای جنوب اسالم در فاصله حدود 22کیلومتری جنوب شهر تالش واقع شده است.بنای مذکور در کرانه شمالی دیناچال رود و در یک و نیم کیلومتری شرق جاده تالش –انزلی واقع است. این بنا را می توان یکی از شگفت انگیزترین بناهای تاریخی گیلان دانست.
ریشه شناسی "جهنم"
نویسنده: ؟؟
"جهنم" شکل عربی شده ی واژه ی "گِهینُّم" [Gehinnom] در زبان عبری است — زبان ِ کهن تر و از همان شاخه ی زبان های سامی در منطقه ی بین النهرین — و به معنی:
"دره ی پسر هینّوم" [“Valley of the Son of Hinnom”]
این دره در شهر اورشلیم، و در جنوب کوه صهیون واقع است، که در زمان های قدیم محل سوزاندن زباله های شهر بوده. بعد ها، افراد آن منطقه، بر اساس اعتقاد خود، جنازه ی کسانی را که از رستگاری نومید شده بودند، مثل آدمهایی را که دست به خودکشی می زدند، در این مکان می سوزاندند.
اما اتفاق های دیگری هم در این منطقه رخ می داد. محل عبادت آن دسته از قوم بنی اسرائیل هایی بود که به دین های کنعانی و فنیقی ایمان داشتند و پیکره هایی از خداهای آنها را — مانند، "مُلِک" [Molech] و "باآل، بعل" [Ba’al] — در این دره ساخته بوده و عبادت می کردند.
ولی اندک اندک، نادانی قوت گرفت و منجر به پی آمدهای دهشناکی شد، و آنها در آن مکان، قربانی کردن را شروع کردند، و روزی، شخصی به نام هینّوم [Hinnom] ، فرزند خود را در آنجا قربانی کرد، و از آن پس، آن نقطه را
"دره ی پسر هینّوم" نامیدند.
Gey Ben-Hinnom /ĝ-ben-hinnōm/
"valley of the son of Hinnom"
بعدها، واژه ی "پسر" [ben] نیز از آن کم شد، و به "گِهینُُّم" ]"دره ی هینّوم" [Gehinnom] کوتاه شد.
اینکه در ابتدا، آن دره، برای مردم، محلی برای از بین بردن زباله های خود بوده، و بعد، از روی خرافات و نادانی، آن را به عبادت گاه و قربان گاه تبدیل کرده اند؛ یا اینکه، بر عکس، از عبادتگاهی به زباله دانی پیشرفت کرده، خیلی آشکار نیست، و بسته به گمان و بینش ما دارد.
اما، شاید نکته مهم این باشد که کل این ماجرا ها، بعد از سلیمان و داودِ قصه های سامی ها شروع می شود که مربوط به سه هزار سال پیش اند، و می توان منشا "گِهینُّم" را در زبان پارسی کهن یافت. چرا که بسیاری از واژگان و آئین های زبان و فرهنگ آریایی، در دوران های بعدی، به زبان و فرهنگ ِ مردم منطقه های دیگر از جمله یونانی و عبری راه پیدا کرد.
واژه ی اوستایی گَئِثانَنی [gaeθānani] که در زبان ِ کهن ِ سانسکریت هم با کمی دگرگونی ِ آوایی وجود دارد، در بر گیرنده ی ریشه ی واژگانی مانند "گیتی"، "کیهان" و "جهان"، و به معنای "جهان های زیرین" است که به باور آریایی ها به هفت طبقه بودن دنیای مردگان اشاره دارد که مکانی است سرد — که خود انعکاس دهنده ی ذهنیت ایرانی ها ی باستان است که با توجه به موقعیت جغرافیایی زندگی خود، زمستان و سرما را سخت و عذاب آور می دانستند، بر خلاف قوم های سامی و اسرائیلی که از گرمای سوزان رنج می بردند.
بهرحال، "جهنم"، که گهگاه بصورت "جهنم دره" در زبان فارسی متداول است، دره ای در اورشلیم است که در حال حاضر یکی از مراکز گردش گری آن شهر محسوب می شود. حتی افرادی در آن قربان گاه روزگاران قدیم، دراز می کشند تا تصویری از نادانی ِ جنایتکارانه ی پیشینیان را بازسازی کنند.
Introduction to the Hell site
Posted on November 11, 2010 by admin
What you will find at the What the hell is “Hell?” Site
After spending several years in many different denominations of Christianity, spending thousands of hours comparing and studying various translations of the Bible, looking into the Greek and Hebrew behind our English translations, studying the writings of the early Church Fathers, and seeking God in prayer with all that is in me, I am one hundred percent convinced there is NO such thing as a Hell of everlasting tortures as taught in most denominations of Christianity.
This site is dedicated to the eradication of the myth of Hell from the face of this earth. This pagan myth, invented by men and women—NOT God—has been a great stain upon the nature and character of our Creator for thousands of years. It has turned men and women into animals and caused them to see the Creator as a fiend. It is time to dismantle this evil. Continue reading →
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Hell’s Scholar’s Corner
Posted on December 8, 2010 by admin
Introduction
100+ Year Old Bible
The original “Authorized Version” of the King James Bible contained the word “Hell” only 54 times from Genesis to Revelation. The New King James Bible contained the word “Hell” only 32 times and the American Standard and New American Standard (both revisions of the KJV) only 13 times.
There are literally scores of Bible translations which do NOT contain the word “Hell” even ONCE! What’s going on? The answer is really obvious, except to those who insist on hanging onto “traditions of men.” (Matt. 15:6-9) The scholarship of the Reformation period was just a few steps out of the Dark Ages.
The Bible translations from this era were simply bad from the point of view of today’s understanding of the original languages of the Bible. Our greater understanding of the manners and customs of the peoples living during the Biblical period have also given us greater understanding of the meaning of many obscure passages of scriptures. Light is coming to what has been “traditionally” still in darkness.
Listed below are some reference books and articles which highlight one of the key doctrines which modern scholarship is shedding some incredible light upon…the subject of Hell and the doctrine of Everlasting Punishment. These works deal with the subjects of the Greek words behind our English word Hell, the concept of eternity in the Bible, the teachings of the early church on these subjects and the teaching of universalism, that is, the salvation of all mankind through Jesus Christ.
Some links are to brief articles. Others are to full and well-documented reference books. In addition, at the bottom of the page is a link to Bibles and concordances for the individual to do their own searches and also two links to Internet sites full of more books and articles on these most important subjects.
Truly the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth even as the waters cover the seas. Open your minds and hearts and let the Glory of God, our Father and Jesus Christ, His Son, shine upon you! The first few entries on this list deal with Hell and the Bible. The next few deal primarily with the mistranslation of the key words “olam,” “aion,” and “aionios,” and a few other key Greek words followed by several works that show that the early believers closest to the original languages believed in the salvation of all mankind through Jesus Christ.
These works show/prove that this teaching is perfectly consistent with the original Greek and Hebrew AND more importantly with the nature of the God of the Bible.
Jesus’ Teaching on Hell by Samuel Dawson.
Most of what we believe about hell comes from Catholicism and ignorance of the Old Testament, not from the Bible. This study will cause you to re-examine current teaching on hell and urge you to further study on what happens to the wicked after death.
150 reasons for Believing in the Final Salvation of All Mankind
150 Scripturally-based reasons, proving that God is not the eternal tormenter of most of of His creation.
The Case Against Hell
Did you know that there is a solid scriptural case to be made against the idea of Hell? Many non-Christians have rejected the concept of Hell, but it may come as a surprise to learn that there is a growing number of Bible-believing Christians who also reject the notion–not in spite of Scripture but because of it!
The Lake of Fire — by J. Preston Eby. What is the significance of the words “lake of fire?” Do the words indicate a literal place of fire as we know it?
Hell is Leaving the “Bible Forever”
The word “Hell” is disappearing from the pages of English Bible translations and HAS already completely disappeared from many of them. Even those leading selling translations which contain the word usually don’t use the word more that a dozen times or so? Why so few times if indeed salvation is FROM such a terrible fate? Was God absent minded? Or is it NOT found in the original languages at all? Scholars are beginning to see that a few key ancient words should NEVER have been translated to mean eternal.
Hell is Leaving the Bible “Forever” (Updated and expanded version)
Hell is leaving the Bible forever. Contains a Chart showing many Bible translations which DO NOT contain the concept of a Hell of everlasting punishment and many scriptural proofs that words like “eternity,” “forever and ever,” “everlasting” in various leading Bible translations are simply gross errors.
Bibles That do not Teach A Hell of Everlasting Punishment (also Entitled “The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail”)
This article is a comparison and list prepared by Gary Amirault showing that there are major differences among English translations regarding the teaching of Hell. Many Bible translations do NOT contain the word Hell nor the concept of everlasting punishment.
The Bible Hell
An excellent short book by Dr. John Wesley Hanson detailing the history of the English word “Hell.” He also goes into thorough detail discussing the Greek and Hebrew words, Sheol, Gehenna, Hades and Tartarus.
The Origin and History of the Doctrine of Endless Punishment
An excellent well-documented full-length book by Thomas Thayer proving the teaching of Hell and Everlasting Punishment was added to Christianity centuries after Jesus walked this earth.
Analytical Study of Words
Louis Abbott spent 50 years combing the Greek of the Bible and related reference works. Once believing in Hell, his studies turned him away from such a concept because he could not find it in the original languages of the Bible. He quotes many outstanding scholars who have come to a similar conclusion…Jesus is indeed Savior of the whole world.
The Greek Word Aion/Aionios Translated Everlasting/Eternal in the Holy Bible
by Dr. John Wesley Hanson
Surely, the Greek word aion and its adjective aionios have been mistranslated in most Bible translations leading to grave misrepresentations regarding the length of punishment and Hell in the Bible. This book is probably the best one on this most important subject.
The Power of Life and Death in a Four Letter Greek Word: Aion
A short article by Gary Amirault that shows how important the correct translation of a single Greek word can be in truly understanding the God of the Bible. There is a REAL problem with how some leading selling English Bible translations have translated the word “aion” and its adjective “aionios.”
Does ForeverS and EverS Make Sense to You?
This article by Gary Amirault deals with the various double construct forms of the Greek word “aion” found in the Greek New Testament. The author shows that many leading selling English Bible translations have translated these constructs after the traditions of their denominations, NOT according to the Greek or correct English grammar.
Eternal Death; One Step out of Hell, One Step short of Glory
This work by Gary Amirault deals with the concepts sometimes called “Conditional Mortality,” “Eternal Death,” or “Annihilationism.” The leading visible figure espousing this view is Dr. Edward Fudge. Many small groups of Christians hold such a view: The Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, many Bible Student Movement groups, etc. This work shows that the original languages of the Bible do not allow for such a view. This view would still make God out to be an utter failure, which He is not.
Olethron Aionion (Eternal Destruction)
An excellent short note from “Word Studies in the New Testament” by Dr. Marvin R. Vincent. There are a few key passages in leading selling English translations of the Bible which have been mistranslated causing the God of the Bible to appear to be double-minded. This brief note examines one of those key passages.
Etymology of the Word “Damned”
Most modern English translations no longer use that word. Why? Because this word has been changed by theologians to such an extend that it no longer even remotely means what it did when it was first used in the original King James Bible. Discover what it originally meant before “theologians” changed its meaning. By Gary Amirault (use attached article) Aion This small book by Dr. John Wesley Hanson is perhaps the complete treatment of a Greek work which has been mistransated by several of the leading selling Bible translations. He proves conclusively the word “aion” and its adjective “aionios” should NEVER have been translated eternal, everlasting, or for ever and ever. It’s clearly a timely word.
Time and Eternity
An excellent short book by G. T. Stevens examining the Greek, Hebrew, Latin words behind our English concepts of time and eternity. It traces how Hebrew words denoting time were changed to the idea of eternity through Jerome’s Latin Vulgate.
Bible Threatenings Explained
Some leading selling English Bible translations seem to teach both the concept of everlasting punishment AND universalism, that is, the salvation of all mankind. This book by Dr. John Wesley Hanson shows that those passages in SOME translations that teach Hell have been mistranslated or misinterpreted. Dr. Hanson analyzes each of those passages of Scripture which appear to teach endless punishment proving the original Greek and Hebrew taught something entirely different.
Early Christian View of the Savior
Many Orthodox scholars acknowledge that the early Church did NOT primarily believe in Hell, but believed in the salvation of all mankind. They termed their belief in Greek “apocatastasis,” that is, the restoration of all things back to God. This work by Gary Amirault quotes some of those Orthodox historians as well as some of the early church leaders who taught universalism though Jesus Christ.
Universalism in the First 500 Years of the Church
A well-referenced full length book by Dr. John Wesley Hanson proving that the message of Universalism, that Jesus Christ was the Savior of the entire world, was the majority view of the early Church and its leaders.
The Doctrine of Scriptural Retribution
Brother of the famous Henry Ward Beecher, Dr. Edward Beecher traces the teachings of punishment after death to their original sources. He discovered this teaching does NOT originate from the original texts of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures.
One Hundred Scriptural Proofs That Jesus is the Savior of All Mankind
A list of scores of Scriptures by Thomas Whittemore proving that Jesus Christ is indeed Savior of the whole world, not just a part of it.
Arguments in Favor of Biblical Universalism
The twentieth chapter of E. E. Guild’s book “Universalist’s Book of Reference. The Scriptures implore us to “reason together” with God. This chapter reveals the reasonableness of Jesus Christ truly being the Savior of all instead of a few.
Bible Proofs
Another fine work by Dr. J.W. Hanson showing both the reasonableness of the Doctrine of the Salvation of all mankind through Jesus Christ, but also it’s scriptural foundation.
Just What Do You Man By “The Judgment?”
Christians have been brainwashed to believe in a false and unbiblical concept of God’s judgments. This book by J. Preston Eby brings God’s judgments and punishments back into their proper Biblical places.
Bible Search Tool
Lots of Bible Translations and search tools. Compare your favorite translation with Young’s Literal Translation or Weymouth’s NT and see some MAJOR differences regarding Hell.
Hell Charts
In-depth statistics and charts showing how all the Greek and Hebrew “hell” words have been translated by many different Bible translations. (This is the chart that’s in the Hell’s Encyclopedia)
http://www.what-the-hell-is-hell.com/HellStudy/HellCharts.htm
http://www.what-the-hell-is-hell.com/HellStats/hell.htm
There are many other well-researched articles on the subjects of Hell, everlasting punishment, and Universalism (Salvation of all mankind through Jesus Christ at the following urls. Try the provided search engines on these sites to help you find specific persons, events, or passages of Scripture.
http://www.tentmaker.org
http://what-the-hell-is-hell.com
Posted in Hell Scholars Corner | Leave a comment
The Purpose of Evil
Posted on December 3, 2010 by admin
by A.P. Adams
There is probably no
subject in all the range of religious thought so hard to deal with as that of the purpose of evil. Writers on biblical lore have tried to account of the originof evil; but it seems to me that the real difficulty is the bare fact of its existence,whatever may have been its origin.
The great question for theologians to wrestle with is this: How can you account for the existence of evil alongside a supreme, all-wise, holy and benevolent God?
Think for a moment on the condition of things in this world. Evil exists on the earth to embitter and darken, to blight and curse everything else that exists on the earth. On it goes, like a huge Juggernaut car, rolling through the world, crushing its helpless victims on
every hand, and (the saddest feature of all) crushing without distinction the innocent and guilty together in one common quagmire of sin, suffering and death; and God allows it to
go on when he might at any instant stop it, and on it has gone for six thousand years. Take an example in the concrete – the horrible September massacre of the French Revolution when during a period of one hundred hours, from Sunday afternoon, Sept. 2, 1792, until
Thursday, the helpless inmates of the seven crowded prisons of Paris were, after a mock trial before a self-constituted tribunal, hurled to a howling mob of human wolves and fiends and butchered in cold blood. Men and women, young, middle-aged, and gray-haired,
shared the same fate, and for no other crime than that, as Carlisle expresses it, they were “suspected of being suspected.” And all this was enacted under the canopy of
heaven where sits the God of infinite power and love! How can we believe it? Add to this the years of horror of that same revolution. Add the slaughter of the Waldenses and the Albegenses.
Add the massacre of St. Bartholomew. Add the unspeakable cruelties of the Spanish Inquisition. Add the decades, centuries and millenniums of butchery and blood that have cursed the world from fratricidal Cain down to the present time, and then try to
reconcile all this with the existence in the same universe of a God of infinite power and love! Can you do it? Rather does not the contemplation of this vast sea of human suffering cause one to shrink back with horror from the ghastly vision and almost (and sometimes quite) doubt that there is a God? Alas, how many there are that are troubled by this problem! Can you help them? The Word can help them!
First let me say that there is no help out of this trouble in orthodoxy. In regard to
this subject orthodoxy is hopelessly contradictory and utterly absurd. Thus it speaks: “It was not in God’s original plan that evil should exist, but evil has come into existence and done incalculable harm; yet God’s plans cannot be thwarted nor disarranged in the least, because he is all-wise and almighty. Evil being in existence before man was created, God allows it to come into contact with the man He created when He might have prevented it, knowing full well what the result would be; yet He is in no wise responsible for the consequences of evil. In fact, it is blasphemy to entertain any such idea. Evil having come into
existence contrary to God’s will, he cannot put it out of existence, but it will continue as long as he exists, an eternal blot on His otherwise perfect universe and a perpetual offense unto all the purified; yet His will is absolute and sovereign and the redeemed will be perfectly happy. Thus, God is in no wise responsible for either the origin, existence, consequences or
continuance of evil; yet He can have everything as He pleases, and is the Creator of all things.” And so Orthodoxy goes on,stultifying common sense, throttling human reason, and stupidly expecting that intelligent, thoughtful men and
women will accept its idiotic patter as the infallible utterances of divine inspiration. Cannot everyone see that the entire orthodox view is contradictory and absurd in the extreme, and hence self-destructive and untenable?
Now I hold that the following proposition is self-evident. Given a God of infinite power, wisdom and goodness, He is responsible for ALL things that exist. And
this also follows from the wisdom and goodness of God: All things that exist are for an intelligent and benevolent end. These conclusions are inevitable from the premises; they cannot be modified except by modifying the premises. For instance, if you
say that some things exist contrary to God’s will, then it follows that God is not all-powerful; and you cannot escape this conclusion by bringing in the orthodox doctrine of man’s free moral agency, for whatever a free moral agent may do, He is responsible for it who made him a free moral agent. If God made man a free moral agent, He knew beforehand what the result would be, and hence is just as responsible for the consequences of the acts of that free moral agent as He would be for the act of an irresponsible machine that He had made.
Man’s free moral agency, even if it were true, would by no means clear God from the
responsibility of His acts since God is His creator and has made him in the first place just what he is, well knowing what the result would be. If God’s will is EVER thwarted, then He is not almighty. If His will is thwarted, then His plans must be changed, and hence He is not all-wise and immutable. If His will is NEVER thwarted, then all things are in ACCORDANCE with His will and He is responsible for all things as they exist.
If He is all-wise and all-good, then all things, existing according to His will, must be tending to some wise and benevolent end. Thus we come back to my proposition again: If God is infinite in power, wisdom and goodness, then He is responsible for ALL things that exist, and all existing things are tending toward some wise and good end. He who cannot see that this proposition is absolutely inevitable – as much so as a mathematical axiom – must be very deficient in logic and reason, and it would be useless to argue with him. He who DOES see the truth of this proposition will also see the truth of several
corollaries depending upon it; viz., ABSOLUTE evil cannot exist because God is absolutely GOOD. The absolute is the unconditioned and unlimited. If there were absolute evil, then the good WOULD be limited, and hence NOT absolute, and hence again God would not be absolutely or infinitely good. But God IS infinite in goodness; hence evil is NOT infinite.
Therefore it is relative, temporary and limited, and therefore again ENDLESS evil is an impossibility unless you make God less than infinite. Thus it is seen that the doctrine of endless torments is as contrary to reason as it is to scripture.
We have arrived then purely by reasoning to the somewhat startling and yet perfectly
scripture conclusion that “all things are of God,” (Eccl. 11:5) or God is in all things, or is responsible for all things, including all so called EVIL things as well as good things. Is not such a position as this very dangerous? Is it not a fearful thing to say that evil is of God? I answer there is nothing dangerous or fearful about this view unless the TRUTH is dangerous and fearful. We have seen that reason compels us to this position whether we will or no, and everyone familiar with the Bible ought to know that this view is positively scriptural. That “all things are of God” is declared over and over again in the bible. The prophet Amos goes so far as to particularize evil as ”of God” when in his question he makes an implied statement which from an orthodox standpoint would be blasphemous: “Shall
there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?” (Amos 3:6). But what is
still more to the purpose we have the direct positive statement that GOD CREATES EVIL!
“I form light and create darkness; I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things.” (Is. 45:7). This passage is most strange and unaccountable on the ground of any of the current orthodox creeds. God creates evil! It cannot be! But here it is in the word. What will you do with it? “We must explain it somehow,” says Orthodoxy, “and yet save our creed. How shall it be done? Suppose we say that the evil here spoken of is not moral evil, sin, or wrongdoing, but physical evil, famines, pestilences, tornadoes, etc., which God controls and sends upon
mankind as punishment for their wickedness.” It will not do! The word here rendered evil is the one commonly used throughout the Old Testament to denote wickedness, sin, wrongdoing .
In some five hundred passages it is so used. For example, see (Gen. 6:5; Num.
14:27; Deut. 31:29; I Kings 11:6; 16:30; Psa. 34:21). The very same word in the original is also rendered “wicked” and“wickedness” more than a hundred times. (See for
example Gen. 6:5; 13:13; Psa. 94:23; 101:4).
Suppose that instead of trying to explain this passage in harmony with some cut-and-dried creed, we let all creeds go and see if we can find out what the passage really means, and then, if the creed does not harmonize with that meaning, throw the creed away and form a another one that will harmonize with it. At any rate here is the statement in the word and we will be brave enough to receive it as truth and trust the same One who made it to explain it. Since God is infinitely good and wise and evil is one of His creatures, it must be that evil shall ultimate in some good and wise end, as we have already seen. But how can
that be? And, if we can by any means understand how it can be, the next question would be what can it be? What can be the end, good and wise, toward which evil is tending?
We can understand how all evil tends to good from the fact that we know from our own
experience how some evil tends to good, and in the Bible and in the world around us, we see the same thing illustrated again and again. Now if God has done this in some cases, and if, as we know, He worketh all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph. 1:11), then it
surely is not difficult to believe that He overrules all evil for good. In fact, this must be so, for it is only on this ground, i.e., that all evil tends to be good in the end, that we can
harmonize the existence of evil at all with the existence of a God of infinite power, wisdom and love. It is not necessary for us to understand how in each particular case evil is overruled for good in order to believe that it is so overruled. The subject is made
still clearer, moreover, from the fact that we can see and understand what some of these good ends are toward which evil conducts us, and thus we come to know something of the purpose of evil. We see furthermore that this purpose is grand and glorious and and in perfect harmony with the character of God and that it fully accounts for the existence of evil.
How could God ever reveal Himself to man in His mercy, long-suffering, and compassion
if it had not been that evil had put us into a position to call for the exercise of these attributes in our behalf? And especially how could God manifest to us His love in all its
intensity and greatness except by such an opportunity as evil furnishes? As it is written, “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because God sent His only Son into the world that we might live through Him,” (I Jn. 4:9) and
there could have been no such manifestation of the Father’s love if there had been no such thing as evil. We might believe that a friend loved us even though his love had never been especially tested, but we never could appreciate his love unless circumstances transpired to give him an opportunity to exhibit it in all its strength and fulness. So, too, we never could understand fully the love of God (and hence never could know Him
fully – I Cor. 13:12 – for God is love) had it not been for our lost and wretched condition furnishing the Father with an adequate opportunity for its manifestation. It was “when we were yet without strength” that Christ died for us. “God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” (Rom.
5:6). It was because we were in such an evil case, without strength and sinners, that
the love that sent the deliverer is so marked and readily appreciated. Hence “hereby perceive we the love of God because Christ laid down His life for us.” How should we have been able thus to perceive that love in its so great plenitude if we had never come under the power of evil so as to need this extreme manifestation of it?
Furthermore, as evil
gives God an occasion to reveal himself to us so that we mayknow Him, so it gives us the opportunity to exercise
the attributes of God so that we may become like Him. The
existence of evil in the world gives the child of God the
opportunity for the exercise of the godlike attributes of mercy,
compassion, forgiveness, forbearance, meekness, and gentleness and
thus he becomes like God; for, if ye do these things, ye shall be
the children of the highest; for He maketh His sun to rise on the
evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the
unjust, and is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. (Matt. 5:45; Lk.
6:35). Thus we see
something of the purpose of evil in the blessings of
mankind.
In addition to all this
we have other direct testimony from scripture that evil is one of
God’s ministers for good. It is clearly intimated again and again
that God uses evil for the accomplishment of His plans, which,
of course, are always good. See, for instance, Judges
9:23. Read the
context and you will see that Abimelech by a most atrocious crime
had obtained the rulership of Israel, and to punish him, “God
sent an evil spirit between him and the men of
Schechem,”
and the result was the punishment of all the guilty parties. See
the same idea in I Sam.
16:14. “The
Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and an
evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.”This evil
spirit did not come from the devil nor from hell, but from the
Lord to do his bidding. See also I
Kings 22:23 where
the Lord is represented as using a “lying spirit” in
order to deceive wicked Ahab for his own destruction.
The case of Job is one
of the most striking and perfect illustration so this wonderful
truth. The Lord speaks of him as “My servant Job – there is
none like in in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that
feareth God and escheweth evil.”
(Job. 1:9). Thus it
appears that Job was a remarkably good man, and this is confirmed
by Ezek. 14:14, 20. Now then, what does God do but deliberately
hand over this perfect and upright man into the hands of Satan to
do his worse upon him, only that he should not touch his life. How
could we have a more perfect illustration of how God uses evil as
an instrument for good? Although Job suffered intensely, we know
that in the end he was greatly blessed by his hard and bitter
experience. If God thus uses Satan, the embodiment of evil, as a
minister for good in the case of one individual, is it hard to
believe that all evil is overruled of God for good in all
cases?
The New Testament
teaches the same truth. Did you ever notice how strangely the
evangelists Matthew and Mark speak of Christ’s temptation? TheSpirit drove Jesus into the wilderness to betempted of the devil, and he was there with the wild
beasts. (Matt. 4:1; Mk.
1:12-13). What a
strange statement! The Holy Spirit of God drives the sinless Jesus
into the wilderness among the wild beasts to be tempted of Satan,
the arch enemy of all good, a murderer from the beginning, and the
father of lies! Truly God creates evil and uses it, too, for His
own purposes and glory! The apostle Paul fully understood this
great truth and practiced it himself. Hence he writes to the
Corinthians “to
deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh
that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord
Jesus,” (I Cor.
5:5) and he declares
in his letter to Timothy that he himself had delivered certain
ones unto Satan “that they might learn not to
blaspheme.” (I Tim.
1:20). It would seem
also that the apostle knew something of this kind of discipline
himself, for he says, “Lest I should be exalted above
measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given
me a thorn in the flesh,
the messenger of Satan to buffet
me,
lest I should be exalted above measure.” (II Cor.
12:7). All this
clearly proves that God overrules evil for good, that even Satan’s
work shall result in blessings for God’s children.
Finally, we will notice
one more passage more remarkable, if possible, even than those I
have cited. In the 20th chapter of the Revelation we have an
account of the total restraint of the devil and consequent
suppression of evil for a thousand years. What a blessed era of
peace and righteousness that will be and how desirable that it
should continue and that evil should never again curse the earth!
But, lo, wonderful to relate, at the end of the thousand years
Satan is loosed out of his prison, and again goes out to deceive
the nations, and peace is banished form the earth, and war and
slaughter ensues with terrible suffering and destruction.
According to the orthodox idea of the origin and final effects of
evil, there would seem to be some terrible mistake here. Either
Satan as not watched closely enough, or his prison was insecure,
or there was treachery; some awful blunder or more awful crime has
been committed to let the devil loose when once he was well
secured – surely it would seem from the orthodox standpoint. But
so it is not. All is plain when we see the great truth I have
tried to set forth in this article. Satan
is God’s servant to carry out His
plans. He is
just as much under God’s control and works; just as as truly under
His direction as is the angel Gabriel. God now leaves him free to
work out his mischievous will among the children of men. He is the“prince of this world,”
(Jn. 12:31; 14:30; 16:11)“the spirit that worketh in the children of
disobedience.” (Eph.
2:2) the time will
come when he will be bound and put under total restraint and so
remain through the Millennium. Then he will be loosed because God
has something more for him to do, and he will finally be disposed,
but we have seen that evil is needful and beneficial in the end.
It is one of God’s creatures and His servant, and is conducive to
the accomplishment of His gracious plans, as are all other
things.
Thus the Word untangles
this great mystery of evil for us and shows us clearly that it is
not an interloper in God’s economy. It is not a foreign substance
in the delicate fabric of God’s great plan, obstructing and
disarranging its intricate mechanism; nay, it is a necessarypart of that plan. It rightly belongs to the
marvelous congeries of forces that under the control and guidance
of the one supreme mind works and inter works steadily and without
interruption or delay to the glorious end of creating a divine and
godlike race. Thank God that on this, as in all other
things, He will be glorified and man, in the end, be
blessed!
Now, another thought.
There are some who say that they could accept the foregoing
position if it were not for one thing – the great injustice there
is in the world. They can see how God can overrule evil for good
in the case of the guilty. Those who deserve punishment are
benefited by it, but the evil of this world falls with equal
weight upon the innocent as upon the guilty, and even in many
cases with greater weight upon the former than upon the latter.
The sins of the fathers are visited upon the children. The
innocent and helpless suffer most keenly on account of the
viciousness and brutality of others, and thus, the most outrageous
injustice is perpetrated continually around us in the world. How
can all this be permitted in the dominions of a God of absolute
justice and boundless love? And how can all this be conducive to
good? Is there an answer to this tremendous problem? Two
considerations, if I err not, will help us to a
solution.
We have seen thatone
of the purposes of evil is to develop in our characters attributes
akin to God: pity, mercy, compassion, charity,
gentleness, etc.
Now suppose we lived in a world of absolute justice where no one
suffered except what they strictly deserved to suffer, where the
innocent never suffered, but only the guilty, and they suffered
just so much – no more and no less – as was due to their
transgression and as would be beneficial to the transgressor.
Suppose we lived in such a world as that. At first thought it
would seem as though it would be a very nice kind of world; but
how could we in such a world develop the godlike attributes above
referred to? There would be no room for heavenly compassion and
sweet charity and pity in a world of absolute justice. We would
not be likely to pity very much a person who we knew was receiving
only the punishment due his fault and that in the end would be for
his benefit and blessing. Is it not plain that just thiskind of evil, i.e., the evil of injustice, is needed in
order that those crowning attributes of God, the tender and loving
qualities of our Father in heaven, may be developed and perfected
in His human children? Furthermore, so far as the injustice goes,that may be only temporary and apparent. Who shall say that
in future cycles which God’s plan has yet to run, all the
apparent injustice of this present time may not be perfectly
adjusted, taken into account, and made right? Surely no one has
any right to say it will not be so; and it is perfectly reasonable
and probably that it will be so.
But there is still
another consideration that fully confirms all the foregoing and
still further explains the whole subject. We should always
endeavor to discover the underlying principles of God’s
actions. Nothing that god does is arbitrary or capricious, but
every one of His movements has an adequate and righteous cause.He always acts from principle. The outward act may change
under different circumstances and toward different individuals,
but His principles of action never change. See this whole subject
set forth in Ezekiel, chapter forty-three. Hence, in order to
become acquainted with God, to know Him more and more, we must
endeavor to understand, not simply what God does, butwhy He does it. To know merely what God does is ofttimes
very puzzling and inexplicable. to know why He does it makes all
as clear and luminous as noon day. What we need to know,then, in order to know God are the reasons for God’s actions
- the purpose, “the end of the Lord,” (Jas.
5:11) the causes an
principles of His movements and operations in His dealings with
mankind. We may always be sure that there is a just and righteous
reason for all God’s ways and our endeavor should be to know and
understand that reason.
Now let us apply this to
the subject we are considering. Evil exists – thing thatseems utterly antagonistic to God and His way, but which we
are sure from the foregoing considerations to be in some
sense of God, in harmony with His will, and conducive to the
furtherance of His plans. Now then, is there any principleof action, just and righteous in itself, that will account for
the existence of evil and indicate its ultimate result? There
certainly is such a principle, thus: It is a recognized principle
in law, equity and morals that it is right and just to inflict or
permit temporary evil for the sake of an ultimate and permanent
good. This principle, all will see is certainly correct. It is
upon this principle that all punishment of any kind is
justifiable, and it is only on this principle that it can be
justified. Punishment is an evil, but it is an evil that may
ultimate in good, and when it is inflicted for such a purpose, it
is right and just. Now we know from numerous examples, many of
which I have given in this article, that God acts upon this
principle. He
uses evil as an instrument for good.Admit that this
principle is correct and that God acts upon it, and all is at once
accounted for an dits final result indicated. This sweeping
conclusion may not at once be clear to all, but a little thought
will show that it is fully justified. If it is right to use evil
as an instrument for good, and if god acts upon this principle,
the principle fully explaining and justifying the act, then is it
not reasonable to conclude that all evil is so justified? We
cannot enter sufficiently deep into God’s plans to be able to
explain the how and the why of each individual case,
but, once admitting the principle, and seeing numerous examples of
its application that we can understand, the conclusion is fully
warranted that this principle applies to all cases.
Of course, no one could
accept this conclusion who believed in endless torment. The above
principle will not explain or justify unmitigated and eternal
evil. I have already shown that such evil really dethrones God, or
at least shares His throne with Him, which is equivalent to
dethroning Him. to say that evil is absolute and eternal is to
fully invest it with attributes peculiar to Deity and thus to make
it “equal with God,” at least in some respects; but this cannot
be. At that rate there would be two gods, a good and a bad one,
and each of them would eternally exist and be eternal foes. To
such a frightful conclusion does the doctrine of the eternity of
evil lead us. Let those believe it who can. But, if we take the
Bible teaching on this subject, the principle enunciated fully
accounts for and explains the existence and purpose of evil. It
may seem to some that this principle cannot apply to all
evil. They are able to see how some evil may be overruled for
good, but that all the terrible forms of evil can be so
overruled seems to them impossible. but such a question is simply
on of degree. If God can make some evil conducive to
good, can He not so make all evil of whatever from or
quantity? If it is true that God uses evil for good at all, how
can we tell, not knowing perfectly God’s plans and methods, justwhat kind of evil and just how much evil God will so
use? We must conclude that all the evil we see about us in
every horrifying form and in all its vast amount comes under the
same category of part and parcel of the great plan that through
sin, corruption, chaos and death is moving on to holiness, purity,
order and life eternal.
Furthermore, thefinal outcome of God’s plan, so clearly revealed in the
scripture, fully confirms the foregoing view and, in fact,
irresistibly drives us to that view. All the details and every
particular of the plan in all its length and breadth are not
revealed, but the result is revealed. And that result, the final
outcome, is a perfect and absolute triumph for goodness,
truth, and justice. “Every knee shall bow and every tongue
shall give praise to God.” (Rom.
14;11; Is. 45:23).“The whole creation shall be delivered form the bondage of
corruption.” (Rom.
8:21). “All
things in heaven and earth shall be gathered together in
Christ.” (Eph.
1:10). “Death
shall be swallowed up in victory.” (I Cor. 15:54). “There shall be no more anything accursed.” (Rev.
22:3). “Every
created thing shall praise God.” (Ps.
102:18). This
is the outcome! Thank God, it is good
enough! To this
final result all things are tending. To such a universal victory
we are traveling on. We can see it by faith afar off.
I
cannot doubt that good shall fall
At
last – far off – at last to all.
If this is the outcome,
then all things, evil included, are to eventuate in good, and thus
we arrive at the same conclusion that we have reached in so many
other ways in this article. Evil must be done of God’s
servants for good. It must eventuate in good, for nothing
but good is the final result!
Thus does reason and
the Word set froth the purpose of evil. My feeble powers of expression are
altogether inadequate for the full presentation of the great truth, but these
thoughts will suggest the solution to the problem and will help the lover
of truth to a deeper and fuller apprehension of the unique and wonderful ways
of God; “Lo, these are parts of His ways; but how little a portion is
heard of Him, and the thunder of His power, who can understand!” (Job.
26:14).
Posted in Evil | Leave a comment
Eternal Punishment (Matthew 25:46) Is NOT Found In The Greek New Testament
Posted on December 3, 2010 by admin
By Tony Nungessor and Gary Amirault
The entire concept of eternal or everlasting punishment hinges primarily
on a single verse of Scripture–Matthew 25:46. This is the only
place in the entire Bible where we find these two words together
AND only in some Bibles. There are over a dozen English translations
which do NOT contain the concept of “eternal punishment” on ANY
of their pages, NOR the pagan concept of Hell.
The
Greek form for “everlasting punishment” in Matthew 25:46 is “kolasin
aionion.” Kolasin is a noun in the accusative form, singular voice,
feminine gender and means “punishment, chastening, correction,
to cut-off as in pruning a tree to bare more fruit.” “Aionion”
is the adjective form of “aion,” in the singular form and means
“pertaining to an eon or age, an indeterminate period of time.”
(Note: the two words in many, not all translations become reversed
when bringing the Greek into English, that is, “kolasin aionion”
literally punishment everlasting is reversed to everlasting punishment
so as to make better sense in English.)
“Aionion,”
as shown above, is the singular form of the adjective of the Greek
noun “aion.” Many people unfamiliar with the Greek do not realize
that the endings of the same word change (inflection) to indicate
its mood, case, gender, etc. Therefore, “aionion” may appear with
different endings. “Aionion, aioniou, aionios,” for example, are
all different inflections of the adjective form of the noun “aion.”
The
noun “aion” in Greek literature has always meant “an indeterminate
period of time. It could be as short as the time Jonah spent in
the belly of a fish (three days or nights), the length of a man’s
life, or as long as an age.
The
Bible speaks of at least 5 “aions” and perhaps many more. If there
were “aions” in the past. This must mean that each one of them
have ended for they are now past! The New Testament writers spoke
of “the present wicked aion” which ended during that very generation.
Obviously, it was followed by another “aion”– the “aion” in which
we presently live. If there are “aions” to come, it must mean
that this one we live in will also end.
There is a verse which says “the consummation of the aions” proving
that each “aion” ends. So how can they be eternal?
There is “the coming eon” (Matt.10:30, Luke 18:30
There is “the present wicked eon” (Gal.1:4)
There is “the oncoming eons (future)(Eph.2:7)
There is “the conclusion of the eon (present) (Mt.13:39,40)
There is “the secret concealed from the eons (past) (Eph.3:9)
Plainly, the Greek word “aion” transliterated “eon” cannot mean “eternal.”
A study into the Greek of the Biblical period and before will
bear this out.
“Aionion” is the adjective of the noun “aion.”
Since grammar rules mandate an adjective CANNOT take on a greater force
than its noun form, it is evident that “aionion” in any of its
adjective forms (ios, ou, on) CANNOT possible mean “everlasting”
or anything remotely indicating eternity or unending time.
For example, “hourly” cannot mean “pertaining to days, weeks, months,
or years. The word MUST mean “pertaining to an hour.” Therefore,
“aionion,” the adjective form of the noun “aion” which clearly
means a period of indeterminate TIME, CANNOT mean, “forever and
ever, eternal, everlasting, eternity, etc.” or other words which
connote timelessness or unending ages.
Therefore, those many Bibles which do NOT contain the teaching of everlasting
punishment or Hell are true to the original languages of Greek
and Hebrew. Those which teach everlasting punishment or Hell are
false. Scholars are just as easily subjected to the “traditions
of the elders” as the rest of us. It’s time to let the original
Greek and Hebrew languages of the Bible break down the traditions
of men. For a list of the many English translations of the Bible
that do NOT contain these pagan concepts and for an article explaining
why the punishment in Matthew 25:46 does NOT have to be the same
length as the life spoken of in that verse, search for: Matthew 25:46 Commentary and No-Hell Bibles
We have MANY articles and books on this single most important subject,
many of which may be downloaded for free at:
http://www.tentmaker.org
Posted in Eternal Punishment | Leave a comment
Aionole
Posted on December 3, 2010 by admin
from Word Studies in the New Testament
by Marvin R. Vincent
Note on
Olethron Aionion
(eternal destruction)
‘Aion, transliterated aeon, is a period of longer or shorter duration, having a beginning and an end, and complete in itself. Aristotle (peri ouravou, i. 9,15) says: “The period which includes the whole time of one’s life is called the aeon of each one.” Hence it often means the life of a man, as in Homer, where one’s life (aion) is said to leave him or to consume away (Iliad v. 685; Odyssey v. 160). It is not, however, limited to human life; it signifies any period in the course of events, as the period or age before Christ; the period of the millenium; the mythological period before the beginnings of history. The word has not “a stationary and mechanical value” (De Quincey). It does not mean a period of a fixed length for all cases. There are as many aeons as entities, the respective durations of which are fixed by the normal conditions of the several entities. There is one aeon of a human life, another of the life of a nation, another of a crow’s life, another of an oak’s life. The length of the aeon depends on the subject to which it is attached.
It is sometimes translated world; world represents a period or a series of periods of time. See Matt 12:32; 13:40,49; Luke 1:70; 1 Cor 1:20; 2:6; Eph 1:21. Similarly oi aiones, the worlds, the universe, the aggregate of the ages or periods, and their contents which are included in the duration of the world. 1 Cor 2:7; 10:11; Heb 1:2; 9:26; 11:3. The word always carries the notion of time, and not of eternity. It always means a period of time. Otherwise it would be impossible to account for the plural, or for such qualifying expressions as this age, or the age to come. It does not mean something endless or everlasting. To deduce that meaning from its relation to aei is absurd; for, apart from the fact that the meaning of a word is not definitely fixed by its derivation, aei does not signify endless duration. When the writer of the Pastoral Epistles quotes the saying that the Cretans are always (aei) liars (Tit. 1:12), he surely does not mean that the Cretans will go on lying to all eternity. See also Acts 7:51; 2 Cor. 4:11; 6:10; Heb 3:10; 1 Pet. 3:15. Aei means habitually or continually within the limit of the subject’s life. In our colloquial dialect everlastingly is used in the same way. “The boy is everlastingly tormenting me to buy him a drum.”
In the New Testament the history of the world is conceived as developed through a succession of aeons. A series of such aeons precedes the introduction of a new series inaugurated by the Christian dispensation, and the end of the world and the second coming of Christ are to mark the beginning of another series. Eph. 1:21; 2:7; 3:9,21; 1 Cor 10:11; compare Heb. 9:26. He includes the series of aeons in one great aeon, ‘o aion ton aionon, the aeon of the aeons (Eph. 3:21); and the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews describe the throne of God as enduring unto the aeon of the aeons (Heb 1:8). The plural is also used, aeons of the aeons, signifying all the successive periods which make up the sum total of the ages collectively. Rom. 16:27; Gal. 1:5; Philip. 4:20, etc. This plural phrase is applied by Paul to God only.
The adjective aionios in like manner carries the idea of time. Neither the noun nor the adjective, in themselves, carry the sense of endless or everlasting. They may acquire that sense by their connotation, as, on the other hand, aidios, which means everlasting, has its meaning limited to a given point of time in Jude 6. Aionios means enduring through or pertaining to a period of time. Both the noun and the adjective are applied to limited periods. Thus the phrase eis ton aiona, habitually rendered forever, is often used of duration which is limited in the very nature of the case. See, for a few out of many instances, LXX, Exod 21:6; 29:9; 32:13; Josh. 14:9 1 Sam 8:13; Lev. 25:46; Deut. 15:17; 1 Chron. 28:4;. See also Matt. 21:19; John 13:8 1 Cor. 8:13. The same is true of aionios. Out of 150 instances in LXX, four-fifths imply limited duration. For a few instances see Gen. 48:4; Num. 10:8; 15:15; Prov. 22:28; Jonah 2:6; Hab. 3:6; Isa. 61:17.
Words which are habitually applied to things temporal or material cannot carry in themselves the sense of endlessness. Even when applied to God, we are not forced to render aionios everlasting. Of course the life of God is endless; but the question is whether, in describing God as aionios, it was intended to describe the duration of his being, or whether some different and larger idea was not contemplated. That God lives longer then men, and lives on everlastingly, and has lived everlastingly, are, no doubt, great and significant facts; yet they are not the dominant or the most impressive facts in God’s relations to time. God’s eternity does not stand merely or chiefly for a scale of length. It is not primarily a mathematical but a moral fact. The relations of God to time include and imply far more than the bare fact of endless continuance. They carry with them the fact that God transcends time; works on different principles and on a vaster scale than the wisdom of time provides; oversteps the conditions and the motives of time; marshals the successive aeons from a point outside of time, on lines which run out into his own measureless cycles, and for sublime moral ends which the creature of threescore and ten years cannot grasp and does not even suspect.
There is a word for everlasting if that idea is demanded. That aiodios occurs rarely in the New Testament and in LXX does not prove that its place was taken by aionios. It rather goes to show that less importance was attached to the bare idea of everlastingness than later theological thought has given it. Paul uses the word once, in Rom. 1:20, where he speaks of “the everlasting power and divinity of God.” In Rom. 16:26 he speaks of the eternal God (tou aioniou theou); but that he does not mean the everlasting God is perfectly clear from the context. He has said that “the mystery” has been kept in silence in times eternal (chronois aioniois), by which he does not mean everlasting times, but the successive aeons which elapsed before Christ was proclaimed. God therefore is described as the God of the aeons, the God who pervaded and controlled those periods before the incarnation. To the same effect is the title ‘o basileus ton aionon, the King of the aeons, applied to God in 1 Tim. 1:17; Rev. 15:3; compare Tob. 13:6, 10. The phrase pro chronon aionion, before eternal times (2 Tim. 1:9; Tit. 1:2), cannot mean before everlasting times. To say that God bestowed grace on men, or promised them eternal life before endless times, would be absurd. The meaning is of old, as Luke 1:70. The grace and the promise were given in time, but far back in the ages, before the times of reckoning the aeons.
Zoe aionios eternal life, which occurs 42 times in N. T., but not in LXX, is not endless life, but life pertaining to a certain age or aeon, or continuing during that aeon. I repeat, life may be endless. The life in union with Christ is endless, but the fact is not expressed by aionios. Kolasis aionios, rendered everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46), is the punishment peculiar to an aeon other then that in which Christ is speaking. In some cases zoe aionios does not refer specifically to the life beyond time, but rather to the aeon or dispensation of Messiah which succeeds the legal dispensation. See Matt. 19:16; John 5:39. John says that zoe aionios is the present possession of those who believe on the Son of God, John 3:36; 5:24; 6:47,54. The Father’s commandment is zoe aionios, John 1250; to know the only true God and Jesus Christ is zoe aionios. John 17:3.
Bishop Westcott very justly says, commenting upon the terms used by John to describe life under different aspects: “In considering these phrases it is necessary to premise that in spiritual things we must guard against all conclusions which rest upon the notions of succession and duration. ‘Eternal life’ is that which St. Paul speaks of as ‘e outos Zoe the life which is life indeed, and ‘e zoe tou theou, the life of God. It is not an endless duration of being in time, but being of which time is not a measure. We have indeed no powers to grasp the idea except through forms and images of sense. These must be used, but we must not transfer them as realities to another order.”
Thus, while aionios carries the idea of time, though not of endlessness, there belongs to it also, more or less, a sense of quality. Its character is ethical rather than mathematical. The deepest significance of the life beyond time lies, not in endlessness, but in the moral quality of the aeon into which the life passes. It is comparatively unimportant whether or not the rich fool, when his soul was required of him (Luke 12:20), entered upon a state that was endless. The principal, the tremendous fact, as Christ unmistakably puts it, was that, in the new aeon, the motives, the aims, the conditions, the successes and awards of time counted for nothing. In time, his barns and their contents were everything; the soul was nothing. In the new life the soul was first and everything, and the barns and storehouses nothing. The bliss of the sanctified does not consist primarily in its endlessness, but in the nobler moral conditions of the new aeon, the years of the holy and eternal God. Duration is a secondary idea. When it enters it enters as an accompaniment and outgrowth of moral conditions.
In the present passage it is urged that olethron destruction points to an unchangeable, irremediable, and endless condition. If this be true, if olethros is extinction, then the passage teaches the annihilation of the wicked, in which case the adjective aionios is superfluous, since extinction is final, and excludes the idea of duration. But olethros does not always mean destruction or extinction. Take the kindred verb apollumi to destroy, put an end to, or in the middle voice, to be lost, to perish. Peter says “the world being deluged with water, perished (apoleto, 2 Pet. 3:6); but the world did not become extinct, it was renewed. In Heb. 1:11,12, quoted from Ps. 102, we read concerning the heavens and the earth as compared with the eternity of God, “they shall perish” (apolountai). But the perishing is only preparatory to change and renewal. “They shall be changed” (allagesontai). Compare Isa. 51:6,16; 65:22; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1. Similarly, “the Son of man came to save that which was lost” (apololos), Luke 19:10. Jesus charged his apostles to go to the lost (apololota) sheep of the house of Israel, Matt. 10:6, compare 15:24, “He that shall lose (apolese) his life for my sake shall find it,” Matt. 16:25. Compare Luke 15:6,9,32.
In this passage, the word destruction is qualified. It is “destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power,” at his second coming, in the new aeon. In other words, it is the severance, at a given point of time, of those who obey not the gospel from the presence and the glory of Christ. Aionios may therefore describe this severance as continuing during the millenial aeon between Christ’s coming and the final judgment; as being for the wicked prolonged throughout that aeon and characteristic of it, or it may describe the severance as characterising or enduring through a period or aeon succeeding the final judgment, the extent of which period is not defined. In neither case is aionios, to be interpreted as everlasting or endless.
Posted in Etymology/Meaning of Key Religious Words | Leave a comment
Tested in the Lake of Fire
Posted on October 31, 2010 by admin
The King James Bible and other leading selling translations state many people will be tormented or tortured in the lake of fire and brimstone. Is that really so? The Greek behind “tormented” reveals something entirely different.
Posted in Fire, Fire!, Lake of Fire, Lake of Fire, Mistranslated Words in SOME Bible Translations | 1 Comment
Who Is Your God?
Posted on October 22, 2010 by admin
Great tormentor, Great Annihilator, or Great Savior?
While many people are not aware of this fact, nevertheless, it is true that many leading selling Bibles contain passages which prove all three of the above concepts of the Creator of the Universe. All three groups base their teachings of the ultimate fate of the righteous and the wicked upon “What saith the Scriptures?”
Obviously, all three cannot be true. It is these seeming contradictions in “best selling” Bibles that have caused many honest seekers to look elsewhere for the truth. They came to the conclusion that the Bible contradicts itself. Today the largest camp is the Great Tormentor Camp. It may come as a surprise to many people, but the view of the early Church was the Great Savior camp. It wasn’t until the 5th and 6th century A.D. that the Great Tormentor camp began to be prevalent. Below are listed some of the main Scriptures used by each of the camps to prove their position. We will briefly attempt to show why two of these positions are false.
Early Believer’s View
Great Savior Great Annihilator Modern Majority View
Great Tormentor
1 Timothy 2:1-7 Everlasting destruction Everlasting punishment
1 Timothy 4:9-11 Greek-olethros Matthew 25:31-46
Romans 5:18-21 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 Gehenna
Romans 11:25-36 1 Thessalonians 5:3 Mark 9:38-48
1 Corinthians 15:20-28 1 Corinthians 5:5 Hades
Ephesians 1:7-11 Consume or perish Luke 16:19-31
Philippians 2:9-11 Greek-apollumi Unpardonable sin
Colossians 1:12-23 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 Matthew 12:24-32
Hebrews 2:5-10 Perpetual sleep Wrath abides
Hebrews 9:23-26 Jeremiah 51:39,57cf John 3:35,36
John 12:32,33 Jeremiah 18:13-17 Tormented in fire
1 John 3:8 Jeremiah 25:8-11 Revelation 14:9-12
Romans 8:20,21 Malachi 4:1-3 Revelation 19:19-21
Revelation 5:13 Obadiah 1:15,16 Revelation 20:7-10
Isaiah 25:6-8 Matthew 10:28 Everlasting destruction
Philippians 3:21 Second death 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10
John 12:47 Revelation 20:11-15 Lake of fire
Galatians 3:8 Miscellaneous Revelation 20:11-15
John 3:17 Judges 5:31 Revelation 21:8
Psalm 138:4 Psalms 37:20 Miscellaneous
2 Corinthians 5:14-20 Psalms 92:9 2 Peter 2:3-22
1 Corinthians Chapter 13 Luke 19:27 Jude 6,7
Psalm 22:27,29 1 Corinthians 15:25,26 2 Peter 3:10-12
Psalm 65:2-4 2 Peter 3:10-12 Hebrews 6:4-8
John 1:9-13 Hebrews 6:4-8 Luke 9:25
Psalm 66:3,4 Matthew 25:31-46 John 3:36
Genesis 18:18 John 3:36 Matthew 24:50,51
1 Timothy 4:9-11 1 Timothy 6:9 Luke 12:4,5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The preceding lists contain most of the leading Scriptures used to support these positions. Surely, not all three views are correct. If they are, then there must be passages in these leading Bibles that contradict one another. There are actually several reasons there are three different views all claiming to use the traditional Bibles of Christendom.
REASONS FOR THE DIFFERENT VIEWS
1.Failure to hold on to clear statements of God’s sovereignty, foreknowledge, power, omniscience, purpose of creation, and unconditional love.
2.Failure to believe direct statements of scripture declaring the ultimate salvation of all through the saving work of Jesus Christ.
3.Pulling scriptures out of context and putting them into an end-time scenario when, in fact, they deal with other ages. Scriptures speak of at least two other ages to come. (Eph. 2:7)
4.Inaccurate and misleading translations. Roman Catholic tradition strongly affected the first Protestant English Bibles which, in turn, adversely affected modern translations.
5.Injection of Roman\Greek concepts such as the immortality of the soul into the Bible. Adam was removed from the garden lest he eat from the tree of life. He was not immortal.
6.Bondage to the traditions and teachings of men rather than allowing the Spirit of Truth to lead us into all truth. (John 16:13)
7.Laziness.
8.A hidden desire in many of us to have our enemies get what we feel they deserve while we get off free and clear. (Luke 9:51-56)
9.The desire of religious and government leaders to use fear to maintain control. Love cannot be perfected with fear, therefore, the church has few members whose love is perfected. Perfect love casts out fear! (1 John 4:18)
10.Satan’s power and authority to deceive.
11.Failure to see that “Love never fails,” (1Cor. 13:8) His “mercy endures forever,” (1 Chron. 16:41) and “mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13)
12. Idolatry; we project our concepts of what God should be like into our reading of the Scriptures.
13. Unbelief; Jesus asked if there would be faith in the earth at His return. The Bible says He is the Savior of the whole world, yet most Christians don’t believe it.
14. God chose to save the best ?good news? for the end of time hiding this glorious truth from most Christians revealing it only to a ?remnant.?
For those of you who do not believe there are Bible translation errors, here are a few of hundreds of examples. The King James Bible has Jonah crying from the “belly of hell” while the New King James and others has him crying from “Sheol.” (Jonah 2:2) The KJV has Jonah there “forever” while Young’s Literal Translation has him there “to the age.” (Jonah 2:6) The KJV talks about the “end of the world” in Matthew 24:3, while the New International Version and the New American Standard talk about the “end of the age.”
Within the King James Bible itself there are many contradictions. A few examples should cause further study. Matt. 24:3 speaks about an “end of the world” while Ephesians 3:21 and Isaiah 45:17 talk about the “world without end.” We have “everlasting hills” in Genesis 49:26 and Deuteronomy 33:15 which don’t seem to be “everlasting” according to Isaiah 40:4 and 2 Peter 3:10. God would dwell in Solomon’s temple “forever” yet Solomon’s temple has long been destroyed. The Aaronic priesthood was an “everlasting” priesthood according to Exodus 40:15 and Numbers 25:13, yet the book of Hebrews makes it abundantly clear this priesthood would be replace by the Melchizedek priesthood. (Hebrews 7:14-18) The Mosaic covenant was “everlasting” while Hebrews 8:7-13 speaks of the end of that very covenant.
Review the 14 listed reasons. Somewhere in this list are the reasons why some people cannot see what is plainly written. “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all mankind unto myself.” (John 12:32)
Posted in Anti-Hell Tracts | Leave a comment
The Problem of Evil
Posted on October 22, 2010 by admin
ONE OF THE GREATEST PROBLEMS facing all believers is that of evil. Why does God, Whose name is love, permit evil? Why does He allow calamities to fall upon seemingly innocent people? And where, in any case, does evil come from. And what is its purpose?
Visit our Tentmaker.org site to read the full book.
Posted in Books | Leave a comment
What The Hell Is Hell Really?
Posted on October 22, 2010 by admin
Read about the opinions and findings of those who have studied the views of the Christian churches and who have analyzed the various Biblical references to Hell.
You may be surprised at what you will learn about Hell and the origins and stigmas which we have learned.
The Hell Test (Every Bible teacher should be required to take this test.)
Hell Phrases
A Poem – Just What the Hell is “Hell?” (5K)
A Long But Not Eternal Visit To Hell
(5K)
The Bible Hell (157K)
Hell – The Savior of the World Series (109K)
Jesus’ Teachings on Hell
Posted in Hell Articles | Leave a comment
Photos of Hell
Posted on October 14, 2010 by admin
As Bible translations become purer, we find that references to Hell vanish from the pages of the Bible. Most translations only contain the word “Hell” a dozen times or so and many do not contain the word at all. The primary word some Bibles translate “Hell” is the Greek word “Gehenna.”
This “Gehenna” is the valley in the Old Testament called “ga ben Hinnom” or “the valley of the son of Hinnom,” also called “Tophet,” a valley in which Israel burned their own children. (Note that it was God’s own people who did the burning, NOT God Himself, who thought such a deed was utterly detestable! Jer. 32:35)
The Scriptures also foretell that this abominable valley would one day become a garden. Below are some pictures of this very valley in Israel which many Christians believe is Hell. It’s rather ironic that the other valleys around it are barren and filled with graves, while the valley orthodox Christianity calls “Hell” has become a garden. Let God and His word be true and every man a liar.
Image 6: Just after crossing the road that bisects the valley looking south. The sign says ‘Hinnon Valley.’
Image 1: View at the top of the valley looking northwards. This area contains a new plaza, recently built, that will contain flower beds etc.
Image 4: You now descend a little to cross a path and through some trees to enter a more rocky yet still grassy area. This view is looking South East, the bank of the road that crosses the Hinnon Valley can be seen at the far end.
Image 8: Looking south down through the lovely grass parkland.
MAP OF PHOTOS: Photos 1,4,6, and 8 are shown on this page. Additional photos can be seen by clicking on the links below:
Image 2: This is a little lower down from the Plaza looking southwards. Tim is reacting to the heat and discomfort of Gehenna. This is a large flat grassy area.
Image 3: This is the same place as Hinnon2 looking northwards. Mark* is now
reacting to walking in Hell !
Image 5: Tim and Mum* exiting the area of Hinnon4. The ledges where ‘The worm never dies’ may been seen in the background.
Image 7: Looking south down the path that descends to the lower park area.
Image 9: Looking south a little further down. The music school can be seen on the left.
Image 10: Looking south down the valley from half way up the other side, opposite Mount Zion.
Image 11: Looking back up the valley from the Mount Zion Hotel.
Image 12: Looking at the music school down in the valley. Photo taken
from the Mount Zion Hotel.
* Photos courtesy Mark Hodge.
Arthur and Rosalind Eedle apparently received the following e-mail from Mark along with the photos:
We had a great time in Israel !!
I hope you received the email that I sent from a small internet cafe in a sort of attic room in the old city of Jerusalem. The whole trip was wonderful, I have too much to say via email. We spent some time investigating the Hinnon Valley area. It is really quite extraordinary because there is little or no grass or parkland anywhere except in Gehenna. It is a really tranquil spot as you already had been informed. The Kidron Valley on the other hand is just rock, dust and tombs!
The valley appears to be in four sections, an upper plaza area, a flat grassy area, a small bit of waste land, a road, and then a large grassy parkland. The music school that I mentioned in my last email is built on the northern edge of the large grassy area. I have included some photos with this email, I hope it doesn’t take too long to download.
The file Hinnon14.jpg (map photo above) contains a map of the old city area together with arrows indicating where I took each photo and a direction indicator, showing in which direction I was facing.
Posted in Hell Photos | Leave a comment
پیش ما سوختگان، مسجد و میخانه یكیست
حرم و دیر یكی، سبحه و پیمانه یكی است
اینهمه جنگ و جدل حاصل كوته‌نظریست
گر نظر پاك كنی، كعبه و بتخانه یكیست
هر كسی قصه شوقش به زبانی گوید
چون نكو می‌نگرم، حاصل افسانه یكیست
اینهمه قصه ز سودای گرفتارانست
ورنه از روز ازل، دام یكی، دانه یكیست
ره هركس به فسونی زده آن شوخ ار نه
گریه نیمه شب و خنده مستانه یكیست
گر زمن پرسی از آن لطف كه من می‌دانم
آشنا بر در این خانه و بیگانه یكیست
هیچ غم نیست كه نسبت به جنونم دادند
بهر این یك دو نفس، عاقل و فرزانه یكیست
عشق آتش بود و خانه خرابی دارد
پیش آتش، دل شمع و پر پروانه یكیست
گر به سرحد جنونت ببرد عشق عماد
بی‌وفایی و وفاداری جانانه یكیست
عماد خراسانی
