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Author Topic: Eternal?  (Read 5248 times)

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Craig

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Eternal?
« on: December 13, 2006, 08:34:35 AM »


     

    Dear Sir.

     

    As a Reader and Preacher in the Anglican Church in the United Kingdom, I congratulate you on the way you present the truth of the Gospel. I am most impressed with your objective view of a loving and competent God who is bringing the world to perfection in Christ, rather than a capricious and vengeful despot who threatens eternal torture. My sermons contain a similar message.

     

    However, (and here is where I sense you will go into defensive mode), I am puzzled by your assertion that, ‘the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures had no word that meant, "eternal," "forever," or "everlasting," or any word meaning "endless time."  (from your letter to James Kenedy, posted on your website).

     

    I have not yet checked out the validity of your claim but you might save me the time by answering a few of my (not too critical or hostile), questions.

     

    1)    What kind of ‘life’ did St. John proclaim for believers in (John 3:15; 4:36; 5:39; 6:54, 68; 10:28; 12:25; 17:2-3). What was the word used in Greek and what sense of enhancement over and above ordinary ‘life’ did it actually convey?

     

    2)    What was the Greek word used to describe the ‘life’ the person wanted when they asked Jesus if He would advise a strategy to obtain it. (Math.19:16; Mk. 10:17; Lu. 10:25, 18:18). If there was no Greek or Hebrew word for ‘eternal’, ‘forever’, ‘everlasting’ or ‘endless time’, what kind of enhancement to ‘life’ was being referred to?  In other words, what was the question?

     

    3)    A small amount of research in the Old Testament has revealed that ‘ad (eternity) is used once as a noun, (Job. 20:4); three times in the formula, ‘for ever and ever’, (Ex.15:18; 1 Chr. 28:9; Ps.18-19); four times in the formula, ‘of eternity’, (Isa. 9:6; 45:17; 57:15; Hab. 3:6).   Do you have therefore irrefutable evidence that the Hebrew ‘ad meant something completely different than my commentary suggests? Or that ‘ad is not a Hebrew word?  (J A Motyer – Inter Varsity Press – The Prophesy of Isaiah)

     

    I would really like you to clear this up for me as I would really like to able to trust your scholarship on the remaining general thrust of your theology.

     

    It would seem to me, that unless you have a really convincing answer to these questions, your assertion that,

     

     'This is a provable fact of history and etymology. This one marvelous fact alone exposes much of the depraved theology of modern Christendom',

     

     falls to the ground as being untrue. I agree that there is much depraved theology in the Church but there is also much sound theology and honest and principled preaching. Honesty should always entail checking our facts and not expecting others to believe our assertions just because we declare them with panache and confidence.

     

    Yours sincerely  C J  Rdr. (Church of England)


     Dear CJ:

    The only life promised by Jesus was "eonian" life from the Greek word "aionios" which is the adjective form of the Greek noun "aion" which means an age or indeterminate period of time with a beginning and an end. I do not, however, have twenty hours to prove this to you in an email. Read my 50 page paper on "Is EVERLASTING Scriptural?" found on our home page.   

    The Hebrew word AD means future. It certainly does not mean eternity or "for ever and ever." Have you ever wondered, if "for ever" means always, eternity, then what on earth does the second "AND EVER" mean? It is just another one of the totally unscriptural foolish heresies of the theologians who love the doctrine of eternal hell.

    Go to Hab. 3:6, and the King James will teach you about "the EVERLASTING [Heb: ad] mountains being SCATTERED."

    Now think for just a moment, CJ, if the mountains are "EVERLASTING," how pray tell, can they ever be "SCATTERED?"  I rest my case, and I'm not even a Hebrew scholar, imagine that.

    It's all "theology," CJ, all theology.

    God be with you,

    Ray
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