Forever’s a long time, but it’s not a catch-all phrase.

Modern English dictionaries define this word as an adverb used to describe time in perpetuity, or something that will never end. So, whenever we see it in our English translations of the Greek New Testament, we naturally apply that meaning to the context.

But the Biblical authors didn’t expect much of anything to last forever, except for their Creator.

That’s why they envisioned the distant future as something being in the next age rather than a continuation of this one. Hence, the phrase εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, meaning “in,” or “into the age,” was an effective way of communicating what was yet to come. There are at least 38 uses of this expression present in the texts of the over 5600 Greek manuscripts existing today:

Rev. 20:10; Rev. 22:5; Rev. 4:10; Rev. 10:6; Rev. 14:11; Rev. 15:7; Rev. 19:3; Rev. 4:9; Rev. 1:6; Jude 1:25; Jude 1:13; 2Jn. 1:2; 1Jn. 2:17; 1Pet. 5:11; 1Pet. 1:25; Heb. 7:21; Heb. 7:17; Heb. 6:20; Heb. 5:6; Heb. 1:8; 2Tim. 4:18; 1Tim 1:17; Phil. 4:20; Eph. 3:21; 2Cor. 11:31; 2Cor. 9:8; Rom. 16:27; Rom. 11:36; Rom. 9:5; Rom. 1:25; Jn. 14:16; Jn.12:34; Jn. 8:35; Jn. 11:26; Jn. 6:58; Jn. 6:51; Lk. 1:55; Lk. 1:33

So what’s the point?

In some of the passages noted above, the intended meaning of being given life [or living] again in the next age has been misconstrued to imply that even those who are faithful to Christ’s commands have no reason to experience a future resurrection but rather should expect to live forever!

In other words, the phrase which meant “in/into the age,” has been translated as “forever” in most cases. But, in doing so, Bible translators have corrupted the meaning of a concept that’s crucial for me to understand if I hope to live and reign with Jesus Christ in the next age.

Because I have to be raised back from the dead for that to happen.

At least that’s what Jesus said anyway. [see: Jn. 6:39-40]

I often use Jn. 11:23-26 as an example. When Jesus told Martha that her brother Lazarus would rise again, she confirmed a well-understood principle that she had no doubt been taught regarding the Jewish Scriptures—that is, that he would indeed be raised back to life “on the last day.”

Speaking about the “last day” was another way of talking about the first day in the next age. [see: Dan. 12:2; Ezek. 37:1-23]

Jesus was surely demonstrating His authority to raise the dead in the future by bringing Lazarus back to life at that particular time. However, by doing that, He also reaffirmed that no human life shall exist in perpetuity, but that it must be given back by the Only One who could give it in the first place.

That’s right. The hope of the Christian life is a resurrection, not a disembodied bliss in the clouds with Jesus.

[So where did this lie come from? see: Lyin’ ’bout dyin’]

Compare your translation of how Jesus responded to Martha with how the Greek New Testament actually reads:

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who is believing in Me shall live even though he [eventually] dies. And every [one] who is living and believing in Me shall never, ever die in the age. Do you believe this?” [vss. 25-26] [my emphasis]

In this particular example taken from the 38 given above, the words “in/into the age” are merely omitted from the text in most translations. But, by doing so, this passage is made inconsistent with the doctrine of a future resurrection.

Not only that, it simply doesn’t make sense.

See for yourself. Does Jesus actually contradict Himself in your translated version? Does He really tell Martha that death is inevitable, but then, in the next sentence, say that it isn’t?

I’m not suggesting that Biblical translating teams are deceitful by any means. I do, however, believe that deeply engrained religious convictions appear to sometimes influence the process of conveying the Word of God accurately.

The solution?

Learn Biblical Greek, or get to know someone who has.

Perhaps purchasing the NASB with Strong’s Bible Text translation [Lockman Edition] which is available with the free Olive Tree App would be the next best thing.

Jesus said I can put my boots in the oven but that don’t make ’em biscuits.

That’s right.

When He told His disciples that He would deny knowing certain people who claim to belong to Him on the day He returns, He was really saying that their good works would not be visible to Him:

“Not everyone who is saying to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens. But the one who is doing the will of My Father who is in the heavens [shall enter]. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me—all of you who are practicing lawlessness!’” [Matt. 7:21-23] [my emphasis]

[γινώσκω: (gînōskō) to know, come to know, recognize, understand]

He wasn’t referring to any negligence in seeking to know more about Him, nor was He suggesting that their words would be false. He was simply pointing out that the fruit which they might be claiming to have produced wouldn’t even actually exist—regardless of what they were saying or doing.

In other words, the proof of discipleship is in the produce, not the pudding.

The sentences prior to these verses reveal the perilous fate of a tree that does not produce fruit—something that is recognizable. If it doesn’t produce, it’s of no use to the owner. [see: Matt. 7:15-20] As a disciple of Christ, I’m a tree that must yield good fruit or I’m headed for the burn pile. [see: 1Cor. 3:11-15]

I also think it’s important to understand that my redemption [or the fact that I’m “saved”] does not exclude me from being paid back for my works on the basis of the quality of fruit they produce. [see: 2Cor. 5:10]

[What does it mean to be “saved?” see: Different Fruit…Same Good News]

A common understanding of some who claim to belong to Christ is that, if they are indeed saved, they would instinctively be doing the will of the Father who is in the heavens and therefore be assured of entering into the kingdom of the heavens on the day of His return.

I’d certainly hope so, but Jesus suggested that they need to actually act upon what they claim to believe—that is, if they want to be able to sustain that belief:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.” [Matt. 7:24] [my emphasis]

If I choose not to act on my faith, my faith has no foundation. I’m practicing lawlessness.

Guess what I’m not gonna’ enter into?

How often have you heard this?

“Yeah, we like the people and everything, but we’re just not gettin’ anything out of it. We’re lookin’ around for another church.”

Or maybe you’ve said it yourself because the social buzz is starting to wear off.

On the other hand, your congregation might be thriving as an institution where trained leadership is as skilled at drawing the crowds inside the walls as it is fishing money out of pocketbooks. The activities are fun and the food is good. You meet a lot of people. It’s a nice place where nice people go to do nice things.

And the more the merrier.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with developing social skills in a Christian fellowship setting. In fact, it’s crucial to growing as a disciple of Jesus Christ. But when did the apostle Paul ever encourage his apprentice Timothy to build membership in the assembly at Ephesus?

If he did, he would’ve had to done it in person because there’s no record of it in the Bible or any other historically relevant document. Instead, he urged him to stay in Ephesus primarily to “…instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines…”[1Tim. 1:3, 6:20; see also: 2Tim. 2:23, 4:1-4]

But what about spreading the Good News of the kingdom of God?

Perhaps that went without saying, because evangelism has always been an effective tool of discipleship given the right time and situation. Nevertheless, Paul wrote two different letters to Timothy instructing him to focus on rebuking, teaching, training and emboldening other men in the Body of Christ.

That’s because his mission to bring the Gospel to the outside world would have accomplished nothing without those things:

“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” [2Tim 2:1-2]

Our congregations are cells of His Body which, just like the human body, function on different levels with different purposes at different times. Coming together as a group helps the Body to grow in certain ways. [see: Acts 2:42]

But individual spiritual growth in Jesus Christ is rarely accomplished in a corporate setting—it has to be one on one.

Not only that, men who belong to Christ must become FAT men in order to grow spiritually. That is to say, faithful, available and teachable. There are plenty of faithful men who are eager to make themselves available with their gifts. Yet, too many of them are unwilling to be taught themselves.

The man who makes provisions to learn and grow is courageous, allowing himself to be challenged both intellectually and personally by his peers.

But the FAT man doesn’t gain Biblical insight looking in the rearview mirror.

He knows that learning is the chance of a lifetime.

Ignorance may very well be bliss, but I might want to consider where it actually leads me.

Perhaps I should be regarded as somewhat of an authority on this subject. Having grown up with a twin brother, I soon learned that, quite often, we were both disciplined equally for an offense committed by only one or the other.

I can also testify that, more than once, I was completely unaware of what he was up to.

It seems that, as we mature, we have a tendency to exchange our childish obsession with unfairness for ignorance on demand. If we can just get our heads buried in the sand at the right time, then it all becomes irrelevant.

Ignorance is always likely to get a pass. And sometimes it’s justifiable.

But, according to the Man, Jesus Christ, not realizing what His will for me in this age isn’t likely to be an acceptable excuse when He returns to repay me for my works in the next one. In Luke’s gospel account, a conversation between Jesus and His disciples eventually evolved into the topic of personal responsibility–a pattern of dialog often repeated.

In a parable, He described different scenarios of consequences for the servants of a master who trusted them to be faithful to his instructions while he was gone. As a result, when he returned, the evil servant was severely punished and then put into a place with the unfaithful. [Lk. 12:45-46] On the other hand, the servant who actually knew his Master’s will but didn’t do it received heavy punishment. [vs. 47]

But there were also the servants who did not know what their Master’s will was. [vs. 48] While their punishment was to be less severe than the others, I think it’s important for Jesus Christ’s disciples to understand that no one gets off the hook simply because he was unaware of his job description.

If I can’t read the Bible, I can learn to. If I’m too lazy to read it, I suppose I could ask someone what it says or listen to what others say about it. Good luck with that.

Either way, I can’t be Christ’s disciple and not know what He wants me to do.

But neither can I be a jet mechanic with limited knowledge about hydraulics and turbofan engines. No one would dare let me get away with that.

So why would He?

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.” [Lk. 12:48b]

When I was very young, I remember seeing a sign referring to a “Full Gospel Church.”

Now, having been raised in a Presbyterian congregation, I don’t remember much talk about a gospel. But even after I learned what it was, I was having a problem with certain adjectives.

I wondered…if a congregation defined its gospel competency in fullness, did it distinguish itself from others which chose to function only fractionally in that respect? Did half gospel or quarter gospel assemblies actually exist? More importantly, were they the rule rather than the exception?

This was before the internet, of course, so I had no idea who to ask.

While this observation is absurd on at least one level, many pastors today are indeed serving up the Gospel message on dessert size dishes, leaving only enough room for a sweet slice of God’s unmerited grace on the plate. In other words, the Good News of the Bible [εὐαγγέλιον: (yūôngālion) gospel, good news] is being preached with no relevance to the Bible story as a whole.

But dessert doesn’t begin in the middle of the meal.

The Gospel is a story that began at the creation of the heavens and the Earth and continues to this day. As it progresses, it revolves around the eminence of a just and loving Creator and how He used men and women over the ages to open a door to friendship with Him if they so desired.

Jesus Christ isn’t just a Savior to mankind. He’s also an integral part of a Divine process. As the apostle Paul explains in his letter to the churches of Galatia:

“The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations shall be blessed in You’...Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law...in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” [vs. 3:8, 13a-14] [my emphasis]

So what does “the blessing of Abraham” have to do with my salvation?

Everything.

[Watch the video “Who Was Abram” https://www.facebook.com/cjournal.me/videos/1901573210057028/]

The Lord God promised Abraham that, through his Seed, Jesus Christ, we Gentiles would also be blessed. That’s why Paul reminded the reader that if he belongs to Christ, then, through Christ, he would also inherit what God promised to Abraham. [vss. 3:27-29] [see also: Rom. 8:16-17]

So I can see that, because Jesus was born, lived and died, He fulfilled the promise given to Abraham. And I can also understand why a full course Gospel meal has to begin with the appetizers.

But if I’m a serious student of the Bible, I can’t help but notice that God’s promise to Abraham has always been the only basis for any hope ever expressed by any author in any of the texts—that is, His promise of inheritance.

[What’s inheritance? see: Birthright Through Redemption]

Any good news recorded in the Scriptures cannot alter that hope. Nor can it omit anything or add to it.

It’s only about who’s now included.