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"And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come." |
"And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the [world] to come." |
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WHAT IS "AGE?"
The dictionary defines age as: "The period of existence of a person, thing, nation, etc., particularly as measured by the time past; the entire span of life of any being or thing; any distinct stage of life; etcetera, etcetera."We see that time invariably enters into the definition of age. In times past the world has seen the Stone Age, the Iron Age, the Industrial Age, the Atomic Age, the Space Age, and so forth. Computers seem to dominate the present time so we are now in the Computer Age, and, before it all ends, who knows what "ages" the future will bring. As modern scholarship progresses toward it's questionable goal, we may soon find ourselves in the Age of Confusion. WHAT IS "WORLD?" Modern geniuses may be surprised to learn that the term "world" encompasses all time periods, all ages. The present, visible world is the time and place where all those different ages exist. While ages come and go, the world remains. There is, however, another world. It is the invisible, spiritual, eternal world. In this other world time does not exist. It is not another "age"; it transcends all ages. It is another world entirely. Jesus referred to it as "the world to come," not that it doesn't yet exist, but only that, as far as we mortals are concerned, it is coming. In the KJV, this other world is rendered "world," whereas modern translators have changed it to "age." Matthew 12:32, quoted above, is only one of many such Bible verses. "The world to come" is clearly not another "age," but the world that will be when all ages end. In the New King James Version, the NKJV, as well as the NRSV, the NIV, and others, "world" is often incorrectly rendered "age," which can be correct only if the world to come is not eternal. But the world to come IS eternal and timeless. And if "age" requires the passage of time, as we have seen, then the world to come is not another "age." |
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