It may at first seem strange that I would question the meaning of the words "for ever." Surely, "for ever" means for all time to come! Indeed, this is true if one relies on its meaning in the English language. But in English Bible translations, there is a great deal of trouble (and even error) in the words "for ever" (or their equivalents).

The truth is, the original Bible was written in Hebrew (or a cognate language called Aramaic) and Greek. In these early languages there are words that could reasonably be translated with the English "for ever." But in the vast majority of cases when we meet with ''forever", the Bible does not mean "everlasting." This is where a big problem arises concerning the duration of God's judgments in "hell."

The Hebrew word most often translated "for ever" is olam. Its Greek equivalent is aion. These terms never mean, of themselves, "forever" or "everlasting." They actually signify an indefinite time period that only the contexts in which they are found can determine.

In the Book of Jonah, for example, the Hebrew word olam (translated by the words "for ever" in the King James Version) is limited to the three days and nights that Jonah was in the belly of the fish - Jon.2:6. At other timer it refers only to the life span of a human being - Exod.21:6. The word actually refers to an indefinite period of time--but a period having a clear beginning and an end! An English word that satisfies the meaning of the Hebrew most consistently is the word" "age" or "age-lasting." This is how Rotherham in his excellent translation of the Bible usually renders the word.

Though this is readily admitted by most scholars to be the real meaning, there are a number who will still render it by the English words "for ever," "everlasting," or "eternal." The main reason for doing this is a theological one, not by the grammatical rules of language. They force this meaning because olam and aion are at times associated with God in human affairs or His divine existence in heaven. Since it is theologically certain [from various passages of scripture] that God has an eternal existence, it is felt by some that the words olam and aion may satisfactorily be rendered "for ever."

While this may appear reasonable on the surface, this explanation is not a proper one. God entered into an "everlasting" (olam) circumcision covenant with Abraham as a standard of holiness, but we are told that the "everlasting" covenant only lasted until the time of the apostles, according to the New Testament revelation - Gal.5:6. The fact is, God has entered into various olam associations with individuals or nations on this earth, but in no sense were the olam agreements intended to last for all eternity. They are all governed by "beginnings" and "ends."

In the New Testament the word aion means the same as olam. At no time does it refer in a precise sense to "eternity." This especially applies to matters concerning judgments on all evildoers. Though the King James Version says the smoke of their torment ascends "for ever and ever," the original only means "for the ages of the ages." Those "ages" have an end. "Behold, I make all things new." Rev.21:5.

1) BEFORE THE AGES (or AGE) - 1Cor.2:7; 2Tim.1:9; Titus 1:2; Rom.16:25.

It would be absurd to speak about times before eternity (or eternities], but it makes good sense to speak of times before an age (or ages).

2) PRESENT AGE (singular) - Gal.1:4; I Tim. 6:17; 2Tim.4:10; Titus 2:12.

3) THIS AGE (singular) - Luke 16:8; 1Cor.1:20; 2:6-8; Rom.12:2; Eph.2:2.

4) END OF AGE (singular) - Matt.13:39,40; 24:3 [The end of an age is clearly shown in these verses.]

5) END OF THE AGES (i.e. relative to the existence of SIN) - Heb.9:26 [Ages, in the plural come to an end.]

6) THE COMING AGE (singular) - Matt.12:32: Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30; Eph.1:21; Heb.6:5 [The coming age will begin at the Second Coming of Christ.]

7) AGES (plural) TO COME - Eph.2:7 [More ages are to begin in the future.]

8) FUTURE AGES (plural) - Luke 1:33; Heb.13:8.

9) PLAN OF THE AGES (plural) - Eph.3:11; Heb.1:2; 11:3.

10) AGE OF THE AGE - Heb.1:8 (Also the rendering of the LXX) [Note that both words are in the singular here.]

11) AGE OF THE AGES - Eph.3:21 (Note that the first ward is singular followed by a plural.)

12) AGES OF THE AGES (not eternal when all Bible contexts compared) - Rev.14:11; 19:3 [Note the plural of both words.]

13) THERE WILL BE FUTURE AGES - Jude25.

14) THE DISPENSATION OF THE FULLNESS OF TIMES - Eph.1:10 [This describes the final period for salvation.