Here is an email response from Ray.
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http://www.bible-truths.com/email16.htmLet me make one more statement with regards to translating Greek words into English words that STILL maintain the statement is the verse as being a true statement. I specifically have reference to verses where God is referred to the "AIONIOS" God. Some insist that this MUST be translated "the ETERNAL God" of "the God of Eternity." Not so. That is unscriptural foolishness. Just because it is a true statement to say "the ETERNAL God" does not mean that that is how it SHOULD be translated, just because the statement is true. When translating this verse properly as "the EONIAN God" the statement is still true (that is, God really IS, the "GOD OF THE EONS--He made the eons and He is "the GOD of the eons"). And so why not translate properly and consistently according to what the Holy Spirit SAID, not what translators say is ALSO A TRUE STATEMENT, by CHANGING and ADDING TO the words inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Suppose that since I live in the South, that I want to translate Matt. 10:42 as follows: "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a GLASS OF ICE COLD TEA only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward."
I could play semantic games and say that in the South it is customary on a hot day to offer a "GLASS OF ICE COLD TEA" rather than "a cup of cold water." After all, the STATEMENT of our Lord's is still TRUE, is it not? Yes, that is correct, it does not change the meaning of the statement IN THIS VERSE. But the fact remains, that the Holy Spirit did NOT inspire the words "glass of ice cold tea!" It is a fallacious translation. It is ADDING TO the word of God. Now it does not apparent harm to call God "the ETERNAL God." That is a TRUE statement, but IT IS ;NOT A TRUE TRANSLATION! And when we make this SAME mistake of translating with reference to punishment for the ages, it becomes NEVER-ENDING, ETERNAL PUNISHMENT, which is a damnable heresy.
God be with you,
Ray
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Excerpt from
http://bible-truths.com/aeonion.htmI have argued this point for years. Just because a word translated WRONGLY can still make sense does NOT justify doing so. Perchance someone might wish to translate Mark 9:41 as follows: "For whosoever shall give you a GLASS OF ICE COLD LEMONADE to drink in my name… shall not lose his reward." Does not the verse make equal SENSE as when it is correctly translated "A CUP OF WATER?" Yes it does, but that is NOT what the Holy Spirit inspired to be preserved for us. Hence, "a glass of ice cold lemonade" is wrong, just as translating Rom. 16:26 as "the everlasting God," is wrong. The Holy Spirit inspired the word aionios, which translated to our English equivalent "eonian," and this is how it must be translated if we are to be faithful to God’s Word.
And so I will repeat this most important truth of translating:
"That the adjective is applied to some things which are ‘endless’ [as with ‘God’ in Rom. 16:26] does NOT, of course, for one moment prove that the word itself meant ‘endless;’ and to introduce this rendering into MANY PASSAGES [some of which we will look at later] WOULD BE UTTERLY IMPOSSIBLE AND ABSURD." (CAPS are mine).
It is both foolish and unscriptural to insist that any "adjective" applied to God, such as "aionios/eonian," must be of an "eternal" nature, or it cannot be applied to an "eternal God." Here is your whole unscriptural argument: Since aionios/eonian pertains to ages or eons which have a BEGINNING and have an ENDING, it absolutely according to your theories of grammar and your theories of interpretation, can NEVER be applied to God, unless we change the etymology, meaning, and Scriptural usage of this word to a totally DIFFERENT WORD, "eternal."
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So based on what Ray has told us, it seems ok to state God is an everlasting or an eternal God, because it is a true statement.
Hope this helps
Peace, G.Driggs