Chapter 1

¹ Paul, a slave of Jesus the Anointed One, who is called an Apostle, and who was set aside for the good news of God, ² which He promised through His Prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ that tell about His Son, who came in the flesh from the seed of David, ⁴ and who proved to be God’s Son in a powerful way, when he (by the Holy Breath [of God]) was resurrected from the dead. Yes, Jesus the Anointed One, our Lord, ⁵ through whom we received caring and a commission that we have obeyed, so that all the nations might have faith in his name, ⁶ from which you’ve also become called ones who belong to Jesus the Anointed One. ⁷ To all in Rome, God’s loved ones who were called to be holy; may you have favor and peace from God our Father, and [the Father] of the Lord Jesus the Anointed One.

⁸ First, I thank my God for all of you, through Jesus the Anointed One, because your faith is being announced throughout the whole world. ⁹ For my God (who I worship and serve in the good news about His Son with my whole self) is my Witness that I never fail to remember you in my prayers. ¹⁰ I keep begging that I can find a way sometime in the will of God to come to you, ¹¹ for I long to see you, so I can give you some spiritual gift to help make you unshakable. ¹² Or perhaps we can encourage each other through our faith, both yours and mine.

¹³ I don’t want you to fail to recognize this, brothers; that I planned to come to you many times, but I’ve been prevented from doing so until now, so that I could find the same type of fruitage that I have in you among the rest of the nations. ¹⁴ I’m in debt to Greeks and to barbarians, and to the wise and to the ignorant; ¹⁵ so I’m eager to preach the good news to you there in Rome also. ¹⁶ I’m not ashamed of the good news, because it’s the power that God uses to save everyone who has faith… first the Jew, and then the Greek. ¹⁷ This is how God’s righteousness is being demonstrated [to those who are] out of the faith and [to those] who are in the faith, for it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’

¹⁸ God’s fury is being displayed from heaven against all the ungodliness and the badness of men who unrighteously try to resist the truth, ¹⁹ because, whatever can be known about God already shines among them, for God made it shine to them. ²⁰ And His invisible things (which include His eternal power and might) are known and can be clearly seen in everything He has made from the creation of the cosmos onward, and this leaves [them] without any defense. ²¹ Although they knew God, they didn’t glorify Him as God or thank Him. But their thinking was wasted and their unintelligent hearts became dark; ²² and while claiming to be wise, they became morons. ²³ Why, they turned the glory of the incorruptible God into images of corruptible men, flying things, four-footed creatures, and things that slither. ²⁴ So God gave them the thing that their hearts desired… uncleanness to dishonor their bodies. ²⁵ Yes, they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and they started worshiping and serving things that were created rather than the One who created them, who is praised through the ages. May it be.

²⁶ And this is why God abandoned them to their dishonorable passions, for their females changed the natural use of themselves into something that’s unnatural, ²⁷ and the same is true of their males; for they left the natural use of females and started burning in their lust toward each other – males with males – doing what is indecent and receiving the type of reward they deserve for such wrongdoing. ²⁸ And because they didn’t like the idea of having an accurate knowledge of God, He gave them an unrighteous mind, which makes them do wrong things. ²⁹ They are filled with unrighteousness, wickedness, greediness, badness, envy, murder, arguments, deceit, rudeness, and gossip. ³⁰ [They are] slanderers, God haters, insolent, proud, braggers, inventors of badness, disobedient to parents, ³¹ without any understanding, agreement breakers, without any love of their families, and merciless. ³² And although they know the righteous ways of God very well – and that those who do such things deserve death – they not only keep on doing them, but they also approve of others who do such things.

Chapter 2

¹ So you are defenseless, O man, if you’re someone who judges others. Because, when you judge someone else you’re condemning yourself, since you’re doing the very things that you judge [to be wrong in others]. ² And we know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is just.

³ So, when you judge those who do these things that you are doing yourself, do you believe that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or do you have contempt for the wealth of His caring, patience, and endurance, because you don’t realize that these qualities of God are trying to lead you to repent?

⁵ It’s because of your hard and unrepentant hearts that you’re saving up a treasure of rage for yourselves on that Day of fury when the righteous judgments of God will be seen. ⁶ Then He will pay everyone back for the things they’ve done. ⁷ But for those who’ve [tried to] do good things and who are searching for life through the ages there is glory, honor, and never having to see corruption. ⁸ However, those who like to argue and disobey the truth by being unrighteous will receive [God’s] wrath, anger, ⁹ and some very difficult hard times. This will come into the life of every man who works at doing bad things – for the Jew first, then for the Greek. ¹⁰ But there is glory, honor, and peace for everyone who works at doing what’s good – for the Jew first, then for the Greek – ¹¹ because God doesn’t discriminate.

¹² All those who are without Law and who sin, destroy themselves without the Law. But the Law judges all those who are under Law and who sin. ¹³ You see; those who just listen to the Law aren’t righteous before God; only those who obey the Law will be called righteous. ¹⁴ But, whenever people of the nations who don’t have the Law naturally obey things in the Law, they not only have the Law, they are the Law. ¹⁵ For when they obey the Law, they show that it’s written in their hearts, and it works with their consciences there and examines their thoughts. Then it will either accuse them or defend them ¹⁶ in the Day when God judges the hidden things of men by this good news that I’m preaching (through the Anointed Jesus).

¹⁷ Now, if you are called a Jew and you’re resting on the Law and take pride in your God; ¹⁸ and if you know what He wants and of all the excellent instructions of the Law; ¹⁹ and if you think that you’re a guide to the blind and a light for those who are in darkness ²⁰ (someone who can instruct the unreasonable and teach virtual babies); and if you fully grasp the knowledge and truth in the Law; ²¹ then, do you, [the one] who teaches others also teach yourselves? And you who preach do not steal… do you steal? ²² And you who teach not to commit adultery… do you commit adultery? And you who [tell others] to hate idols… do you rob temples? ²³ And you who take pride in [God’s] Law… do you dishonor God by breaking the Law? ²⁴ For it is written: ‘God’s Name is being blasphemed among the nations on account of you people!’

²⁵ Circumcision does some good… if you obey the Law. But if you’re a person who breaks the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. ²⁶ And if an uncircumcised person obeys the righteous requirements of the Law, won’t his uncircumcision be considered circumcision? ²⁷ So, if those who are uncircumcised naturally obey the Law (except for what it says about being circumcised), they are really judging those of you who break the Law.

²⁸ Thus; A Jew isn’t what you are on the outside, nor is circumcision something that’s outside on the flesh. ²⁹ So it isn’t easy to tell who a real Jew is, because his circumcision is in his heart, by [God’s] Breath. No, it isn’t something that’s written, because each person’s praise comes from God, not from men.

Chapter 3

¹ In what way then, is a Jew superior; or what benefit is circumcision? ² It’s a huge benefit in every way, for God entrusted His Word to the hands [of the circumcised]. ³ Why? Well, if some [of them] don’t believe, does their lack of faith prove that faith in God is worthless? ⁴ May that never happen! Let God be proven true even if it makes every man a liar! For it is written: ‘Your words can prove you righteous, and you can win when you’re being judged.’

⁵ However, if the bad things we do turn God’s righteousness against us, what can we say? Then God won’t be wrong when He brings His wrath, will He? So I’m saying this to [all] men: ⁶ May that never happen! Otherwise, how could God judge the world?

⁷ Now, if I tell a lie and that makes the truth of God and His glory grow, then why should I be judged a sinner? ⁸ Well, that’s why people are saying so many bad things about us. They claim that some of us are saying, ‘Let’s do bad things so good things can happen.’ This is why such a judgment is righteous.

⁹ So, is there anything that makes us better than them? Not at all; for we have proven to you that both Jews and Greeks are sinners! ¹⁰ Why, it’s written that ‘Nobody is righteous… no one! ¹¹ Nobody really understands, nor is anyone really searching for God. ¹² Everyone has strayed and become useless. And no one is really being kind… no one!’ ¹³ ‘They have all opened their mouths like graves and deceived [others] with their tongues.’ ‘The poison of asps is behind their lips.’ ¹⁴ ‘Their mouths are full of cursing and angry shouting.’ ¹⁵ ‘Their feet are ready to spill blood.’ ¹⁶ ‘They’re on the road to ruin and misery ¹⁷ and they’ve never known the road to peace.’ ¹⁸ ‘There is no fear of God in their eyes.’

¹⁹ Now, we know that everything the Law says was meant for those who were under the Law… it stopped every mouth and made the whole world deserve God’s punishment. ²⁰ So, no flesh will be called righteous before Him by obeying the Law, since the Law is just the understanding of sin.

²¹ But now, the righteousness of God can be seen without the Law, and the Law and the Prophets are witnesses to this. For the Law and the Prophets testified ²² that God’s righteousness comes to all who believe and show their faith in Jesus the Anointed One… so there’s really no difference between us, ²³ because we all sin and fall short of God’s glory! ²⁴ Thus, being called righteous is a gift that He kindly gives through the ransom that was paid by the Anointed One, Jesus. ²⁵ For God sent him here as a gift, so that when we have faith in his blood, we can be forgiven for the sins we’ve committed in the past… ²⁶ back when God was just putting up with us. And this is what allows us to look into His righteous ways today. Yes, He proves Himself righteous by calling [all] those who have faith in Jesus righteous!

²⁷ So, where is our reason to brag? It’s gone! Does it come from our doing the things of the Law? No, it comes through the Law of Faith, ²⁸ because we believe that a man is called righteous due to his faith, so he doesn’t have to follow the Law.

²⁹ [Do you think that God] is just the God of the Jews… isn’t He also [the God of] of people of all nations? Yes! [He’s the God] of people of the nations also! ³⁰ So God is really the One who calls both the circumcised and the uncircumcised righteous because of their faith.

³¹ Then, does our faith make the Law worthless? Never may that happen! Rather, we give it an equal standing.

Chapter 4

¹ Now, what about our fleshly ancestor Abraham?

² If [God] called Abraham righteous because of the things he did, he might have had a reason to brag… but not to God. ³ Because, what do the Scriptures say? ‘Abraham showed faith in Jehovah and he was considered righteous.’

⁴ Now, when a man works [for a living], his pay isn’t thought of as kindness… it’s something he’s owed. ⁵ But for those who don’t actually do anything other than having faith in the One who calls the ungodly ones righteous, his faith is counted as righteousness.

⁶ David also talked about the happiness of a man who God considers to be righteous despite [the things] that he’s done, [when he said], ⁷ ‘Those who have been pardoned for their Lawbreaking and whose sins have been covered are blest. ⁸ All those whose sins are overlooked by Jehovah are blest.’

⁹ So, does this blessing come to both the circumcised and the uncircumcised? Well, as we said, ‘Abraham was considered righteous because of his faith.’

¹⁰ Now, just what was [Abraham’s] situation when [God] thought of him this way? Was this before he was circumcised, or after he was circumcised? It wasn’t after he was circumcised; it was when he was uncircumcised! ¹¹ The sign that he received was circumcision… and this seal showed that the faith he had was righteous even when he was uncircumcised. As the result, he became the father of all those who have faith – even if they are uncircumcised – and that’s why they can be thought of as righteous.

¹² Yes, he did become the father of circumcised offspring. However, not just of those who are circumcised [in the flesh], but also of those who obediently walk in the footsteps of that faith while they are uncircumcised, as was true of our father Abraham.

¹³ Abraham and his seed weren’t given the promise of inheriting the world because of the Law; it was because of his righteousness, which came from his faith. ¹⁴ Because, if those who hang onto the Law are the heirs, then there’s no need for faith, and the promise is worthless; ¹⁵ for all the Law brings is [God’s] wrath. Because, where there’s no law, there’s nothing to break.

¹⁶ It’s only because of [God’s] faithfulness and caring that we can be sure of His promise of a seed. [This promise] wasn’t made to those who are just under the Law, but also to all those who have the same faith as Abraham, the father of us all.

¹⁷ It was written: ‘I’ve appointed you to be the father of many nations.’ [And at the time], he was standing before the God who he believed in… [the One] who makes the dead alive and calls the things that aren’t and makes them exist. ¹⁸ And although [Abraham] had no reason for hope, he put faith in the hope that he would become the father of many nations, because he was told, ‘These will be your seed.’

¹⁹ And his faith wasn’t weakened by the facts that he knew [to be true]… that his body was almost dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and that the womb of Sarah was dead. ²⁰ But because God promised this, his faith didn’t waver. And by giving glory to God, his faith made him strong, ²¹ for he was completely convinced that He could do whatever He promised… ²² and that’s why he was thought of as righteous.

²³ Now the words, ‘he was thought of as,’ weren’t just written for his sake, ²⁴ but for the sake of all of us who [God] thinks of in that very same way… because we believe in the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead ²⁵ (after he was offered up for our errors and then raised); so we too can be thought of as righteous!

Chapter 5

¹ So, now that we’ve been called righteous because of our faith, let’s enjoy the peace that we have with God through our Lord Jesus the Anointed One. ² For it’s through him that we have this faith and are able to bask in His care. So, let’s brag about the hope [we have in] the Glory of God. ³ And not only that; let’s also brag about the difficulties we suffer, because we know that they give us the strength to endure; ⁴ for that strength to endure proves that we’ve past the tests; and passing the tests gives us hope! ⁵ For hope will never embarrass us, because it pours God’s love into our hearts through the Holy Breath that He gives us.

⁶ For a fact; The Anointed One came right on time and died for ungodly men back when we were still weak! ⁷ Why, hardly anyone would be willing to die for the righteous, and even fewer who would be willing to die for the good. ⁸ But God showed His love for us while we were still sinners, through the Anointed One who died for us.

⁹ Now, since we’ve been called righteous by his blood, isn’t it even more likely that he will save us from [God’s] wrath? ¹⁰ Because, if we found God’s favor through the death of His Son while we were His enemies, how much more so will we be saved by His [son’s] life, now that He cares for us! ¹¹ And not only that; but now (through our Lord Jesus the Anointed One) we’re also glorifying the God who has granted us this privilege.

¹² Why, sin entered the world through one man, and this sin resulted in death. So, death spread to all men and everyone has sinned. ¹³ Thus there was sin in the world before the Law, and sin is never held against anyone when there is no law. ¹⁴ Yet, death reigned from [the time of] Adam down to Moses, even over those who didn’t sin in the same way that Adam did… but [Adam] was a prototype of the one who was to come.

¹⁵ Yet, the error [of Adam] isn’t like the gift [from God], because; if many died due to the error of one man, then how much more so the care of God and His gift (the caring of one man; Jesus the Anointed One) has helped many. ¹⁶ So the gift didn’t come from the one that sinned, for all he brought was condemnation; but the gift counts us as righteous [despite our] many sins. ¹⁷ And if (because of that one error) death started its reign through [Adam]; then those who receive His caring and the gift of righteousness during this life will even be more sure to rule as kings through Jesus the Anointed One.

¹⁸ Really then; Since the result of one error was to condemn all men, through this one righteous act all men can be counted righteous to life… ¹⁹ and as the disobedience of one man caused many to become sinners (because of his disobedience), many will also be made righteous!

²⁰ Now, the Law came along so there would be many errors. And where there are many errors, even more kindness can be shown. ²¹ So, as sin has ruled and brought death, [God’s] caring will rule in righteousness and bring life in the age through Jesus the Anointed One, our Lord.

Chapter 6

¹ So, what can we say? Should we stay sinners so there can be more caring? ² May that never happen! Since we’ve died to sin, then how can we live in it any longer? ³ Don’t you realize that all who were baptized into the Anointed Jesus were also baptized into his death? ⁴ So we were buried along with him by our baptism into death. And just as the Anointed One was raised from the dead to the glory of the Father, we should be walking in a new way of life.

⁵ Now, if we’ve been buried with him in the same type of death, then [like him] we will also be resurrected. ⁶ So we must recognize that the person we used to be was hung on a pole with [him] to end our sinful bodies… and this means that we won’t be slaves to sin anymore, ⁷ because those who have died are acquitted of sin.

⁸ And if we died along with the Anointed One, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ For we know that the Anointed One has been raised from the dead and he won’t die again, so death isn’t his master anymore. ¹⁰ And when he died, he died for sins just once… but now he’s alive and he’s living for God. ¹¹ So, you too should consider yourselves dead when it comes to sin, but living to God through the Anointed Jesus.

¹² As the result; don’t allow sin to rule your mortal bodies and don’t obey its desires. ¹³ Nor should you offer your body parts as unrighteous weapons of sin. Rather, offer yourselves to God as people who’ve been raised from the dead; and [offer] your body parts to God as weapons of righteousness! ¹⁴ So, sin must not be your master, because you aren’t under Law, you’re under [God’s] care.

¹⁵ So, what then… should we commit a sin because we aren’t under the Law but under [God’s] care? May that never happen! ¹⁶ Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to obey someone as a slave, you’re really the slave of whomever you obey? [So, you’re] either [a slave] to sin, which results in death, or to obedience, which results in righteousness. ¹⁷ Thank God that although you used to be slaves to sin, your hearts started to obey this teaching that you were given, ¹⁸ and this is what freed you from sin and made you slaves to righteousness!

¹⁹ I’m going to put this in simple terms because of your fleshly weaknesses: Just as you once offered your body parts as unclean slaves to immorality and Law breaking, you must now offer your body parts as slaves to righteousness and holiness. ²⁰ Because, [back] when you were slaves to sin, you were also free from righteousness.

²¹ And what was the result of the things [you did] back then… aren’t these the very things that you’re ashamed of now? For such things end in death! ²² However, now that you’ve been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the result is holiness and life in the age. ²³ For the wage of sin is death; but God’s gift is life in the age by the Anointed One, Jesus our Lord.

Chapter 7

¹ Brothers, recognize that I’m telling those [of you] who know the Law that the Law is a man’s master for as long as he lives. ² Why, it’s the same situation as with a wife; she must obey her husband throughout his life, but after he dies, she’s no longer under his law. ³ And while her husband was alive, she would have been condemned as an adulteress if she ever became the wife of another man. However; after her husband dies, she’s free from his law and she isn’t an adulteress if she marries someone else.

⁴ So my brothers; you died to the Law through the body of the Anointed One. And now you can belong to someone else – the one who was raised from the dead – so we can produce fruitage for God. ⁵ Because, while we were fleshly, what the Law labels as sinful passions were working inside us, and the fruitage that it produced was death. ⁶ But now that we’ve been freed from the Law (because we’re dying to the thing that oppressed us), we can become slaves to something new… not to just some old writings, but to [God’s] Breath!

⁷ So what should we say? Is the Law sinful? May that never be true! Why, I wouldn’t have known what sin was if it weren’t for the Law. And I wouldn’t have known what lust was if the Law hadn’t said, ‘You must not lust.’ ⁸ Yet, when I learned about this sin from the Commandment, it created every sort of lust. So when there was no Law, sin was dead.

⁹ Why, I once lived without the Law. However, when the Commandments came along, sin came to life… but I died. ¹⁰ So I found that the Commandments that were supposed to lead to life really led to death, ¹¹ for the sins that I learned about in the Commandments seduced and killed me. ¹² Yet, the Law and the Commandments are holy, righteous, and good.

¹³ So, did the thing that was good for me bring death? May that never happen! Rather, sin (when it was shown to be sin by the thing that’s good for me) is what caused my death… so the Commandments make sin a lot more sinful!

¹⁴ You see; the Law comes from the Breath [of God], but I am fleshly and I was sold into sin, ¹⁵ so I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t do the things that I want to do, and I don’t like the things that I’m doing. ¹⁶ However; despite the fact that I do things I don’t want to do, I say that the Law is good. ¹⁷ And I’m not obeying it yet, because sin still lives within me.

¹⁸ I know that nothing in my living flesh is any good, because I want to do what’s right, but I don’t actually have the will to do it. ¹⁹ So, I don’t do the good things that I want to do and I practice what’s bad. ²⁰ And if I’m doing things that I don’t want to do, I’m not in charge [of my body], the sin that lives there is!

²¹ So, I find that I want to obey the Law and do good things, but badness is here with me. ²² And though the man that I am on the inside really enjoys the Law of God, ²³ my body parts obey a different law and they’re at war with the law of my mind… they carry me off as a captive to the law of sin that’s in my body parts.

²⁴ O what a miserable man I am! Who will save me from this dying body? ²⁵ Thanks to God (through Jesus the Anointed One, our Lord) that I’m a slave to God’s Law in my mind, even if I am a slave to sin’s law in my flesh.

Chapter 8

¹ So, nothing can condemn those who are one with the Anointed Jesus… those who are walking in the ways of [God’s] Breath, not [in the ways of] the flesh, ² because the law of the Breath of life (through the Anointed Jesus) doesn’t come from the Law of sin and death. ³ So, the weakness of the Law is just the weakness of the flesh. And by sending His own Son over the matter of sin (in what appeared to be sinful flesh), God condemned fleshly sin. ⁴ [And He did this] so that the righteous requirements of the Law could be fulfilled in those of us who aren’t obeying the flesh, but the Breath [of God]. ⁵ For those who obey their flesh just think about fleshly things; but those who obey [God’s] Breath must obey the things that come from His Breath.

⁶ Why, thinking in a fleshly way results in death; but thinking in a spiritual way brings life and peace. ⁷ So, obedience to the flesh brings God’s hatred, because [the flesh] isn’t under God’s Law, nor can it ever be! ⁸ Therefore, those who follow fleshly ways can’t please God. ⁹ However, if God’s Breath lives in us, we aren’t fleshly but spiritual… and whoever doesn’t have the spirit of the Anointed One doesn’t belong to him. ¹⁰ So if the Anointed One is in you, your body is dead to sin and the person you are on the inside is alive to the Breath of life through righteousness.

¹¹ Now, if the Breath of the One who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised the Anointed Jesus from the dead will also make your dying bodies alive through His Breath that’s in you.

¹² So brothers; It’s our duty not to follow the ways of the flesh while we’re in the flesh, ¹³ for if we follow fleshly ways, we’ll be [counted among] the dead. So we must use [God’s] Breath to kill the practices of the body, so we can have life. ¹⁴ For, all who are led by God’s Breath are God’s sons!

¹⁵ You didn’t receive His Breath to make you slaves to fear again, for when you received it, it adopted you as His sons… so by this Breath we can call out, ‘Papa… Father!’ ¹⁶ And it’s the same Breath that testifies to the spirit within us that we’re God’s children… ¹⁷ and if we’re [His] children, we’re also [His] heirs… yes, heirs of God and heirs with the Anointed One! However, we’ll have to suffer together so we can be glorified together.

¹⁸ I don’t believe that the sufferings we currently must endure amount to anything when they’re compared to the glory that’s going to be shown about us. ¹⁹ For [all] creation has been eagerly expecting and awaiting the revealing of the Sons of God. ²⁰ Why, the things that were created didn’t have a choice when it comes their not having hope… for it was only because of Him that they had any hope at all. ²¹ But creation will be set free from slavery to corruption through the glorious liberation of the children of God.

²² We know that all creation has been in pain and groaning until now. ²³ And it isn’t alone, since even we who have received the first fruitage of [God’s] Breath groan inside ourselves as we anticipate being adopted as sons… awaiting the ransom release of our bodies. ²⁴ Yes, this is the hope that’s saving us!

Now, when you hope for something that you can already see, that really isn’t hope, because people don’t hope for something they can see. ²⁵ However, if we keep hoping for something we can’t see, we’ll keep waiting for it patiently.

²⁶ The Breath [of God] also helps us with our weaknesses, because we don’t always know what to pray for. However, [His] Breath is there, groaning the words [that we haven’t spoken]. ²⁷ And the One who searches hearts understands the Breath, so that God’s Will can be done for the Holy Ones.

²⁸ Why, we know that God makes everything work together for the good of those who love Him (those who have been called to do His Will). ²⁹ For He recognized them ahead of time and chose them to become like His Son… who was to be the firstborn from among many brothers! ³⁰ So He calls all those who He selected; then He makes all those who He calls, righteous; and He glorifies those who He makes righteous.

³¹ So, what can we say about all this? If God is over us, then who can come down on us? ³² Why, He didn’t even spare His own Son, but handed him over for all our sakes… so why won’t He also give us everything else?

³³ Who can accuse those who were selected by God? For if it’s God who calls [them] righteous, ³⁴ who can condemn them? Why, the Anointed Jesus (who died, was raised from the dead, and who is at God’s right hand) also pleads for us. ³⁵ So, who can remove us from the love of the Anointed One… not hard times, difficulties, distress, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, or swords. ³⁶ For as it was written, ‘We’re being killed for Your sake all day long… we are thought of as sheep to be slaughtered!’

³⁷ But [now] we’re winners in all these things, through the One who loved us. ³⁸ For I’m convinced that neither death, nor life, nor messengers, nor governments, nor things that are happening, nor things that will happen, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to take us from God’s love that is in the Anointed One, Jesus our Lord!

Chapter 9

¹ I’m telling the truth in the name of the Anointed One (I’m not lying, since my conscience testifies with me in [God’s] Holy Breath); ² for I’m extremely sad and constantly sick at heart, ³ because I wish that I could be the one who is cursed by being separated from the Anointed One instead of my brothers and fleshly relatives, ⁴ the Israelites. They’re the ones to whom the adoption as sons, the glory, the Sacred Agreement, the Law, the worship, and the promises belong. ⁵ They’re the ones who descended from the forefathers and from whom the Anointed One descended in the flesh… praise God who’s over everything through the ages, may it be! ⁶ But God’s word didn’t fail, because not all who came from Israel are really Israel, ⁷ nor are all of Abraham’s seed his children. For [it’s written]: ‘That which will be called your seed will come through Isaac.’ ⁸ However, [Isaac’s] fleshly children aren’t the children of God… the children of the promise are that seed.

⁹ This is what was promised: ‘I will return at this time and Sarah will have a son.’ ¹⁰ And that isn’t the only instance; for when Rebecca was pregnant with twins from our forefather Isaac, ¹¹ and before they were born or did anything good or bad (just to show that God’s purpose doesn’t dependent on the things we do, but on the One who does the choosing), ¹² she was told, ‘The older will be the younger [one’s] slave.’ ¹³ And it was written, ‘I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau.’

¹⁴ So what can we say? Is God unjust? May that never be true! ¹⁵ But he told Moses, ‘I will be merciful with whomever I feel mercy for, and I will be compassionate with whomever I feel compassion for.’ ¹⁶ So it doesn’t depend on the one who does the wishing, or on the one who runs [the race], but on the mercy of God!

¹⁷ In the Scriptures [we read that] Pharaoh was told: ‘This is the reason why I’ve allowed you to remain; so I can show My power over you, and to have My Name announced throughout the earth!’

¹⁸ So the [point is]; He shows mercy on whomever He wishes, and He hardens [the heart] of whomever He wishes.

¹⁹ Now, you might ask: ‘Then, why does [God] blame anyone? For who can resist whatever He says that He wants to do?’

²⁰ O man; Who are you to question God? Will the thing that is made ask its maker, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ²¹ For, isn’t the one who makes pottery in charge of his clay; and can’t he make one pot for an honorable use and another for a dishonorable use from the same lump [of clay]? ²² Why, God can choose to show His rage or to make His power known to pottery that He’s had to endure – which was made for His rage and is only fit to be destroyed – ²³ so that He can show the richness of His glory on pots of mercy that He prepared ahead of time for glory… ²⁴ those of us who He called not just from the Jews, but also from the nations!

²⁵ It’s as He said in Hosea: ‘I will call those who aren’t My people, My people; and her who I didn’t love, My loved one; ²⁶ and in the place that they were told you aren’t My people, is where they will be called sons of the living God.’

²⁷ Why, IsaiJah shouted this about Israel: ‘Although the sons of Israel may become as many as the sands of the sea, only a few will be saved. ²⁸ For Jehovah will call the earth in to settle accounts, and then He will cut it short and end it.’ ²⁹ And as IsaiJah also prophesied, ‘If Jehovah of armies hadn’t left us a seed, we would have become just like Sodom and the same as GomorRah.’

³⁰ So, what can we say… that people of the nations became righteous (although they weren’t trying to become righteous) with the [type of] righteousness that comes from faith, ³¹ while Israel (that was following a righteous Law) just didn’t make it? ³² And why was that so? Because [Israel] didn’t look for it in faith; [they looked for it] in the things that they were doing… they tripped over the ‘stumbling stone.’ ³³ For as it is written, ‘{Look!} I’m putting a stumbling stone and a rock to trip over in Zion. But whoever has faith in him will never be shamed.’

Chapter 10

¹ Brothers; The goodwill that I have in my heart for [the Jews] and the thing that I beg of God, is for them to be saved.

² Now, I can testify to the fact that they have a zeal for God, but they just don’t know [Him]. ³ And since they don’t understand God’s righteous ways and they’re always trying to prove their own ways [as righteous], they don’t submit to God’s righteousness. ⁴ But the Anointed One perfected the Law into righteousness for all who are believers.

5 Why, Moses wrote this about the righteousness of the Law: ‘If a man obeys it, he must also live by it.’ ⁶ And the righteousness that comes from faith says, ‘Don’t ask in your hearts, Who will go up to heaven in order to bring the Anointed down, ⁷ or, Who will descend into the abyss to bring the Anointed up from the dead?’ ⁸ What does it say? ‘The words are close to you… in your mouths and in your hearts.’ And these are the words of faith that we are preaching!

⁹ So, if you confess and say the words in your mouths that Jesus is [our] Lord; and if you have faith in your hearts that God raised him from the dead, you’ll be saved. ¹⁰ For it’s this belief in your hearts that makes you righteous; and it’s your mouths (when they confesses this) that bring salvation.

¹¹ The Scripture says: ‘No one who believes in him will ever be shamed.’ ¹² So there’s really no difference between Jews and Greeks, because they all have the same Lord… and He provides abundantly for those who call on him, ¹³ so everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved! ¹⁴ However; How will they call on someone they don’t believe in; How will they believe in someone they’ve never heard of; How will they hear without someone to preach; ¹⁵ How will they preach if they aren’t sent? This is why it was written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news about good things!’

¹⁶ But not everyone will obey the good news, for as IsaiJah asked, ‘Who believed our message about the Lord?’ ¹⁷ For faith comes from hearing, and hearing comes through the words of the Anointed One.

¹⁸ So I ask: Why didn’t they hear, for it’s a fact that the call went out to the whole earth… why, their words went to the ends of the earth! ¹⁹ So, I again ask: Why doesn’t Israel know?

It was Moses who first told [them], ‘I will make you jealous over those who aren’t a people, and I will make you angry over a stupid nation.’ ²⁰ Then IsaiJah dared to [write]: ‘I was found by those who weren’t looking for Me, and I showed Myself to those who weren’t asking for Me.’ ²¹ And he [went on to] say regarding Israel, ‘I have stretched out My hands to a people who disobey and talk back all day long!’

Chapter 11

¹ So, let me ask; Did God push His people away? May that never happen… because I’m also an Israelite, the seed of Abraham, and of the tribe of BenJamin; ² and God didn’t reject these people who He knew first! Why, don’t you remember what the scripture said about EliJah, as he was pleading with God against Israel? ³ [He said], ‘O Jehovah; They’ve killed Your Prophets; they’ve dug up Your Altars; now I’m the only one left and they’re looking for my life!’

⁴ And what was [God’s] reply? ‘I still have seven thousand men left over for Myself who haven’t bent a knee to Baal.’

⁵ And in the same way, there are still a few who are left over right now, and these were chosen because [He] cares. ⁶ And if [they were chosen] because He cares, then it doesn’t have anything to do with the things that they’re doing… otherwise, the care is no longer caring.

⁷ So, what happened? Well, Israel didn’t receive the things they were searching for. Rather, some were chosen, while the rest just became even harder. ⁸ As it is written, ‘God moved them to sleep deeply so their eyes wouldn’t see and their ears wouldn’t hear, down to this day.’ ⁹ David also said, ‘Let their table become a snare, a trap, a trip lever, and a payback for them. ¹⁰ Let their eyes grow dim so they can’t see, and [let] their backs be bent over through all time.’

¹¹ So I ask; did they stumble and fall? May that never happen! However, they’ve missed out on the saving of the nations in order to make them jealous, ¹² So, if their shortcomings enrich the world, and if lowering them means riches to the nations, how much more would that be true if they were strong?

¹³ Now, I want to address those of you who are people of the nations: Since I’m really an Apostle to the nations, I can glorify my service ¹⁴ if I can somehow make those of my own flesh jealous and save some of them. ¹⁵ Because, if throwing them away brought the world into a restored relationship [with God], what will taking them back mean, other than life for those who are dead? ¹⁶ For, if the first fruit is holy, so is all the rest! And if the roots are holy, so are the branches!

¹⁷ So when some of the branches were broken off, you wild olives were grafted in and you became sharers of the fatness of the olive [tree’s] roots. ¹⁸ But, don’t cheer because those branches [were removed], for if you find yourself cheering over that, remember that you don’t support the roots, they support you!

¹⁹ Yet you can say, ‘Branches were broken off so I could be grafted in.’ ²⁰ …and that’s right! They were broken off because of a lack of faith; and you are there instead, because of your faith. But don’t think too much of yourselves… be afraid. ²¹ For if God didn’t spare the natural branches, He won’t spare you either.

²² So, recognize God’s kindness, as well as [His] willingness to remove. For a fact; those who stumbled were cut off, while you received God’s care… but only for as long as you stay in that [good relationship]! Otherwise, you will be pruned off too! ²³ And if [the Jews] don’t continue in their disbelief, they will be grafted back in, because God can graft them back in again!

²⁴ So, if you were cut off of an olive tree that’s wild by nature and then (contrary to nature) grafted into the garden olive tree, how much easier it will be for those who are natural branches to be grafted back into their own olive tree again!

²⁵ I don’t want you brothers to ignore this mystery, so that you don’t become too wise in your own eyes: Israel was allowed to become calloused until the full number of people of the nations came in… ²⁶ and yet, this is how all Israel is going to be saved. For it is written, ‘The One who calls others to Him will come out of Zion and turn Jacob away from ungodliness. ²⁷ Yes, this is My part of the Sacred Agreement that I will make with them when I take their sins away.’

²⁸ So, when it comes to the good news; they are enemies for your sakes, but they were chosen as loved ones because of their fathers. ²⁹ As the result, don’t ever regret the gifts and the calling of God. ³⁰ For, just as you were once disobedient to God, but have now been shown mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹ they are now being disobedient. Yet, because of the mercy that was shown to you, they may also be shown mercy… ³² God has locked them all up together in disobedience, so he could show them all mercy.

³³ O the depths of God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge! His decisions are mysterious and His ways can’t be figured out! ³⁴ ‘Who has come to know Jehovah’s mind and who can give Him advice?’ ³⁵ And, ‘Who has given Him something that has to be repaid?’ ³⁶ Why, everything is from Him, by Him, and for Him, so may He be glorified through the ages. May it be.

Chapter 12

¹ So, I beg you by the compassion of God, brothers, to offer your bodies as living, holy sacrifices that please God, and to serve Him in a way that makes sense. ² Don’t allow the age we’re living in mold you, but remold yourselves by making your minds over, so you can prove what the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God is.

³ And by the caring that was shown to me, I’m telling all of you there not to think more of yourselves than you should. Rather, think clearly, as God has given each of you your own share of faith.

⁴ Why, bodies have many parts, and none of them have the same function. ⁵ And although there are many of us, we are just one body in the Anointed One. So, starting from him (then on down), each of us are parts [of that body], and we all belong to each other. ⁶ Each of us also have different gifts that we were kindly given, whether it’s prophesying to build up faith, ⁷ or serving in some position, or teaching the [faith], ⁸ or offering encouraging council, or sharing what we have, or earnestly taking the lead, or cheerfully showing mercy.

⁹ So, love [each other] without being judgmental; hate what is wicked, and stick to the good things; ¹⁰ let your brotherly love make you tender and caring to each other; take the lead when it comes to showing honor for one another. ¹¹ And do your best; don’t be lazy; slave for the Lord and bubble over with his Breath; ¹² let your hope fill you with joy; put up with difficulties and persecution; keep on praying; ¹³ share whatever you have with the Holy Ones; be hospitable; ¹⁴ say nice things to those who persecute [you] (don’t curse them praise them); ¹⁵ rejoice with people who are rejoicing and cry with people who are crying; ¹⁶ be aware of each other’s needs; don’t spend too much time thinking about high ideas, but deal with each other humbly; don’t think too much of yourselves; ¹⁷ don’t be rude to people who treat you poorly, but plan to do good things in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If possible (whenever you can), be peaceable with everyone… ¹⁹ don’t get even loved ones, but put anger in its place, because it’s written, ‘Allow Me to get even… I will pay them back, says Jehovah.’ ²⁰ But, ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he’s thirsty, give him something to drink; for when you do this, you’ll pile burning coals on his head.’ ²¹ Don’t allow evil to conquer you, but keep conquering evil with good.

Chapter 13

¹ Everyone should obey those who have power over them, because there really isn’t any power unless it comes from God. For God is the One who set up the arrangement of government. ² So, whoever opposes the rulers also opposes the arrangement of God. And those who take such a position will be judged, ³ because the rulers shouldn’t be feared when we’re doing good things, but when we do bad things. So, shouldn’t we be afraid of those who are in power?

Keep doing good things and they’ll praise you, ⁴ because they are God’s servants for your own good. But if you’re doing something that’s wrong, be afraid; for there’s a reason why they carry swords… they are God’s servants and His avengers to show His anger on those who do what is bad.

⁵ So, it’s necessary for you to obey, not just for [fear of] angering them, but also because of [your] consciences. ⁶ This is why you pay taxes, because as public servants they are serving God’s purposes. ⁷ So, pay everyone whatever they are owed… to the tax assessor [pay] the property tax; to the toll collector [pay] the toll; fear the police and honor those [who require] honor.

⁸ Don’t owe anything to any one, except your love for each other, because the one who loves others has fulfilled [the] Law. ⁹ For [the Laws], ‘You must not commit adultery; you must not murder; you must not steal; you must not lust;’ (and whatever other Commandments there are) are summed up in the words, ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ ¹⁰ Love doesn’t do bad things to one’s neighbor; so love is the Law’s fulfillment.

¹¹ And for those of you who are aware of the season; it’s time to wake up, because our salvation is closer than it was when we first became believers. ¹² The night is almost over and the Day is near, so we should remove the things that belong to darkness and put on the weapons of the light. ¹³ Let’s behave as we would in the daytime… not in wild parties and drunkenness; not in immoral sex and lacking of principles; not in arguing and jealousy; ¹⁴ but put on the Lord Jesus the Anointed One, and don’t plan ahead for things that your flesh desires.

Chapter 14

¹ Welcome those who are weak in faith and don’t try to judge their reasoning. ² For those who have faith can eat anything, but those who are weak just eat vegetables. ³ So, the one who eats [everything] shouldn’t look down on the one who doesn’t; and the one who doesn’t eat [everything] shouldn’t judge the one who does, because God has accepted them both. ⁴ So, who are you to judge the house servant of another? Why, he stands or falls before his own master… and he can stand, for the Lord can make him stand!

⁵ One considers a day as more important than other days, while another considers each day as all the rest… but each one should be sure in his own mind! ⁶ Those who observe a certain day [as holy] should observe it to the Lord. And those who eat [whatever they wish] should eat it to the Lord, because they thank God for it. Likewise, those who don’t eat [everything] abstain to the Lord, because [they] also give thanks to God.

⁷ None of us lives just for ourselves, and nobody dies just for just himself. ⁸ So if we live, we live for the Lord. And if we die, we die to the Lord. Thus, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹ And the reason why the Anointed One died and came to life again, was so that he could be the Lord of the living and the dead.

¹⁰ So, why do you judge your brother or why do you look down on him? Why, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God, ¹¹ for it’s written: ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bend before me and every tongue will confess before God.’

¹² So, each of us must answer for ourselves before God. ¹³ Therefore, let’s stop judging each other. Rather, let’s make the decision not to set anything before a brother that will cause him to stumble or fall.

¹⁴ Now, I know (and I’ve been persuaded by the Lord Jesus) that nothing is unclean; it’s only when a man considers something to be unclean that it’s unclean to him. ¹⁵ So, if your brother is being bothered by what you eat, you aren’t following the path of love yet. Don’t allow someone who the Anointed One died for to be destroyed over the food that you eat… ¹⁶ nor should anyone talk badly about the good things that you’re doing. ¹⁷ Because, the Kingdom of God doesn’t have anything to do with eating or drinking, but with righteousness, peace, and joy in [God’s] Holy Breath. ¹⁸ And whoever [makes himself] a slave in matters such as this [for the sake of] the Anointed One, is acceptable to God and will be approved by men.

¹⁹ Really then, we should try to do the things that promote peace and build each other up. ²⁰ So, stop tearing down the work of God over food! It’s true that everything is clean, but it can still be bad for those who stumble over what others are eating. ²¹ It isn’t good to eat meat, or to drink wine, or to do anything that would be a snare to your brother. ²² So make sure that the things you believe [to be right] also look good in the eyes of God.

Why, any man who isn’t judged over things that he approves of should be praised. ²³ But his lack of faith condemns him if he eats something that he’s unsure of; because, if you do something that you don’t believe in, that’s sin.

Chapter 15

¹ So, we who are strong must handle the weaknesses of those who aren’t strong, and not just satisfy ourselves. ² Rather, let each of us please our neighbors with good things that build them up. ³ Why, even the Anointed One didn’t just satisfy himself. For it’s written, ‘The insults of those who were insulting you have fallen upon me.’

⁴ Why, everything that was written until now was written to teach us, so that through our endurance and through the comfort that comes from the Scriptures, we could have hope. ⁵ So; may the endurance and comfort that comes from God supply these to you, in order that you will pay attention to each other’s needs, as does the Anointed Jesus. ⁶ Then, together as one [person] who has just one mouth, you can glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One.

⁷ So, welcome each other as the Anointed One welcomed us (to the glory of God). ⁸ Because, the Anointed One became a servant of those who are circumcised for the sake of the truth of God. He verified the promises that were made to their ancestors, ⁹ while he allowed the nations to glorify God for all His mercy. As it’s written: ‘That’s why I’ll praise You to the nations and sing to Your Name.’ ¹⁰ And again it says, ‘You nations; rejoice over His people.’ ¹¹ And again, ‘Praise Jehovah all you nations, and let all the people praise Him.’ ¹² Then IsaiJah says, ‘From the root of Jesse one will arise who will rule the nations; and the nations will put their hope in him.’

¹³ So, may the God who gives hope fill you with all joy and peace in the belief that you’ll have more than enough hope through the power of [God’s] Holy Breath.

¹⁴ I’m sure of this about you, my brothers: You are full of goodness, because you’ve been filled with all knowledge so you can strengthen each other.

¹⁵ Now, I’m writing you in plain words to remind you of this: Because of a gift that God kindly gave me, ¹⁶ I was made Jesus the Anointed One’s Temple Servant to the nations. And I’m a Temple Servant of the good news of God, so that the offering – the nations – can be made worthy and clean through the Holy Breath [of God].

¹⁷ So, the Anointed Jesus gives me a reason to cheer when it comes to the things of God. ¹⁸ For, I wouldn’t dare tell of anything that the Anointed One might have failed to accomplish on behalf the nations through me, because I’ve obediently followed his instructions in the things that I said and did, ¹⁹ with the power of signs and omens, and with the power of [God’s] Holy Breath. I’ve thoroughly preached the good news about the Anointed One in a circuit from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.

²⁰ I made it my goal not to preach the good news where they had already heard about the Anointed One, so I wouldn’t be building on another man’s foundation. ²¹ As it’s written: ‘Those to whom no announcement has been made will see him, and those who haven’t heard will understand.’

²² So, it was because of this that I was prevented from getting to you several times before. ²³ However, now that I no longer have such a territory, and because I’ve wanted to come to you for several years, ²⁴ it’s my hope to get to see you along the way as I travel to Spain. Then, perhaps you can come to the place where I will be stopping over.

²⁵ However, right now I have to travel to Jerusalem to serve the needs of the Holy Ones, ²⁶ because those in Macedonia and Achaia were happy to share their things by contributing to the poor among the Holy Ones in Jerusalem. ²⁷ True, they were happy to do so, but they also owed them. Because; if the nations have shared in their [God-breathed] things, they owed it [to the Holy Ones] as part of a public service to share things for the fleshly body.

²⁸ So, after I finish this and deliver these things to them safely, I’ll visit you on the way to Spain. ²⁹ And I know that when I do come to you, I’ll come with a full measure of blessings from Anointed One.

³⁰ Now, I beg you brothers, through our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, and through the love of the Breath [of God], that you share in praying to God for me ³¹ that I may be saved from the unbelievers in Judea… and that my service [of the things that I’m bringing to] Jerusalem may prove to be what the Holy Ones need, ³² so that when I have the joy of getting to you, by God’s will, I can spend some time resting up with you. ³³ May the God who gives peace be with all of you. May it be.

Chapter 16

¹ I recommend our sister Phoebe to you, who is also a servant in the congregation at Cenchreae. ² Welcome her in the Lord in a way that’s due Holy Ones, and help her in any matter where she may have needs, because she has protected me many times… yes, me personally.

³ Give my greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in the Anointed Jesus, ⁴ who risked their necks for my life. For not only I, but also all those who are called [from among] the gentiles offer them thanks. ⁵ And [greet] the called ones in their house.

Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is one of the first fruits of the Anointed One in [the province of] Asia. ⁶ Greet Mary, who has done so many things for you. ⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives and fellow captives, who are notable ones among the Apostles, and who’ve been in the Anointed One longer than I.

⁸ Give my greetings to Ampliatus, my loved one in the Lord. ⁹ Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in the Anointed One, and my beloved Stachys. ¹⁰ Greet Apelles, he who is approved in the Anointed One. Greet those from the household of AristoBulus. ¹¹ Greet my relative Herodion. Greet those in the Lord from the household of Narcissus. ¹² Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, [women] who are working hard in the Lord. Greet our beloved Persis, because she has done so many things in the Lord.

¹³ Greet Rufus, the Lord’s chosen one, as well as his mother and mine. ¹⁴ Greet AsynCritus, Phlegon, Hermes, PatroBas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. ¹⁵ Greet PhiloLogus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, Olympas, and all the Holy Ones with them.

¹⁶ Greet each other with a holy kiss. All who are called by the Anointed One send you their greetings.

¹⁷ Now, I beg you brothers; keep an eye on those who are creating divisions and setting traps by going against the teachings that you’ve learned… avoid them! ¹⁸ Because, such men aren’t slaving for our Lord the Anointed One, but for their own bellies. They’re seducing the hearts of people who aren’t really bad with their kind words and praises.

¹⁹ However, everyone has noticed your obedience, so I rejoice over you. I just want you to be wise as to what’s good and not to get mixed up in what’s evil, ²⁰ for the God of peace will crush the Opposer under your feet shortly. So, may the care of our Lord Jesus be with you.

²¹ Timothy, my fellow worker, sends his greetings, as do Lucius, Jason, and SosiPater, my relatives.

²² I Tertius (who wrote this letter) greet you in [the] Lord.

²³ Gaius, our host, and all in his congregation greet you. Erastus, the housekeeper of the city greets you, as does Quartus his brother. ²⁴ ——

²⁵ Now, to Him who can make you strong in the good news that I declare, and the preaching of Jesus the Anointed One, according to the revelation of the mystery that has been kept a secret through the ages, ²⁶ but which, through the prophetic scriptures have now been made known and seen among all the nations by the command of the God of ageless time to promote obedience by faith… ²⁷ to God who is the only truly wise One, be the glory through Jesus the Anointed One through the ages. May it be.

Notes

Forever, Long Ago, of The Age?

The Greek word aionos (pronounced ai-on-oss) is what the English word eon is derived from. It means an indefinite period. However, there is no exact English word to translate it. The best equivalents are age(s) or era(s). Please note that where the plural form of the word (ages) is used, it refers to a long time, at least multiple generations. However, where the singular form is used (age or era), this appears to mean a much shorter period, such as a lifetime, generation, or era. And where the term ages of ages is used (such as at Ephesians 3:21), which is usually said in reference to God, we would assume that this truly means forever.

It is noteworthy that aionos is the word that is used in the Greek Septuagint in place of the Hebrew word ohlam, which is also translated as forever and time indefinite in popular versions of the Hebrew Scriptures. So this one word (aionos) is translated as forever, everlasting, eternal, system of things, time indefinite, [end of] the world, long ago, from of old, etc. Obviously, something is very wrong here, because the word can’t mean a period having a definite end in one place and infinity in another.

Take for example, the unique way that aionos is used in the question that Jesus’ Apostles asked him, which is found at Matthew 24:3, ‘What will be the signs when you are near and this age will come to its conclusion?’

You can see that the word aionos obviously doesn’t mean forever, everlasting, or eternal in this case, nor did it mean world or system of things. It simply meant the age or the time before the end would come. And for them, that meant the age when the Temple at Jerusalem would be destroyed, because that’s what Jesus had just told them.

The word aionos (which we have translated as age here) is also translated as world (KJ) and as system of things (NW) in other Bibles. However, if the Apostles had meant any of those words, they would have used the Greek word cosmos, not aionos, for world or system of things.

The ancient Hebrews viewed everything (and rightly so) as having a beginning and an end. For that reason, you will only find three places in the Bible where words are used that imply no end and none that imply no beginning. An interesting possible insight on the reason for this can be found at Hebrews 1:10-12, which says:

‘Long ago, O Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and your hands made the heavens. They will destroy themselves, but you will remain. They will grow old just like clothes do. Then, as [you would do to] a robe, you will wrap them up and repair them like clothes. Yes, you are the one, and your years will never run out.’

The problem with most Bible translations is that when they encounter the word aionos in all its different tenses, they interpret it according to accepted doctrine, not according to the way that Jesus and his disciples used it. So the common renderings forever, eternal, and everlasting are used even when the word is in its singular form (aioni, aiona, aionos, aionion, aionian, ), and this totally distorts the meaning of the text.

Take for example, the scripture at John 5:24, where Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth; the one who hears what I say and believes in the One that sent me will have life in this age. He won’t have to be judged, but has crossed over from death to life.’

Most Bibles translate Jesus as saying that those who believe in the One who sent him will have everlasting life (or the equivalent). However, the words that Jesus used there were, zoe aionos (life age – singular), not zoe aionion (life ages – plural).

Notice how Jesus explained the meaning of these words with his next statement, ‘He won’t have to be judged, but has crossed over from death to life.’

So, what Jesus was saying here, wasn’t that they would have everlasting life, but that they would (in their current life) be considered among the living, not among the dead (see Revelation 20:12). This doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t live forever; it’s just that Jesus wasn’t really saying that.

From consideration of the evidence found in the bulk of Jesus’ words about life, the conclusion might be logically reached that he never taught the hope of ‘life eternal,’ ‘everlasting life,’ or ‘immortality,’ in those specific words. However, the concept is still there. What he taught was that (unlike those whom God considers to be ‘dead’) living people will receive ‘life in the age,’ meaning, they will be considered worthy of life by God during their lifetimes.

Two words imply infinity in the Bible. One is the Greek word athanasia (undying), which is only found in two places, 1 Corinthians15:53, where it mentions resurrected ones as clothing themselves with immortality, and at 1 Timothy 6:16, where Paul speaks of Jesus as having received it. The other Greek word, aidios, which is found at Romans 1:20 and at Jude 6, is used to describe God’s Power and Might as eternal.

For more information, select the linked documents, The Hereafter and Does the Bible Promise Everlasting Life?

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Soul or?

The Greek word psyche (as in psychology) has been translated many ways, including soul, life, etc. However, psyche actually means something that breathes. It is used in the Bible to describe both breathing animals and breathing humans. So by definition, a soul cannot leave the body, because a soul is what the living body (whether human or animal) is (see Genesis 2:7).

In ancient Greece, philosophers eventually added another meaning to psyche: The inner person (as opposed to the person that others see and come to know). And with time, the pagan religion of Greece started to teach that this inner person is its own entity and can never die (is immortal). Over the centuries, this pagan Greek doctrine crept into the Christian religions. Please see the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul for more history of the word.

However, such Greek philosophical thought never influenced Jesus and his Apostles. So, they consistently used psyche to indicate a living person or animal. The teaching that the soul is immortal stands in direct conflict with Jesus’ promise of a resurrection, because, if a person is immortal (can never die) he/she can never be resurrected (brought back to life).

In addition, the teaching of the immortality of the human soul is totally without support from the Bible. The word immortal(ity) (Gr: athanasia or undying) is only mentioned in the Bible in two places, and it isn’t used with or applied to the word soul in either case. Both of these scriptures show that immortality is only given by God as a reward for righteousness. And as Ezekiel 18:4 says, ‘The person (gr. psyche or ‘soul’) that is sinning will die (gr. apothaneitai).’

Of course, there are places in the Bible where the word soul means more than just a living, fleshly body. For example, God is recorded to have spoken of ‘My Soul’ in several places. Obviously, God is much more than just a ‘soul’ as most people think of that term, and He surely wasn’t talking about His having a human body. So we must conclude that what He was referring to is His life.

Then there are Jesus’ words found at Matthew 10:28, which read, ‘Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the person (psyche). Rather, be afraid of him who can destroy both the person and the body in the garbage dump.’ Here, Jesus is using the word psyche (soul) to refer to the value of life that remains with God until the resurrection. And he obviously isn’t referring the soul as immortal here, because he says God will destroy (gr. apolesai) the [unrighteous] soul or person.

Unfortunately, no single word can be used to translate psyche in every possible Bible application, so various terms are used herein, depending on the circumstances, but always in an attempt to harmonize with the meaning.

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Breath

The Greek word pneuma (as in pneumonia, a breathing disease) means breath or wind – the movement of air. In other Bible translations, this word is often translated as spirit or ghost – as in Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. However, spirit is just a shortened form of the Latin word spiritu, which just means breath in Latin. And ghost conveys another meaning altogether.

The most common use of the word pneuma in the Bible is to imply an unseen force (such as breath or wind). And the problem with translating it as spirit or ghost is that many people have started believing that the unseen force that is called [God’s] Holy Breath herein, is another God-like person and part of a Divine ‘Trinity.’ This can’t be true, because the only scripture that can be used to support this theory (that is, where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Breath are supposed to be ‘one’) is found at Matthew 28:19, which simply says that baptism should be done ‘in the name of’ (or, in recognition of) these three. All other scriptures that are used to prove the Trinity theory fail to mention the Holy Breath as part of that group. And the King James wording of 1 John 5:7 (which was used for years to attempt to prove the Trinity) is spurious (something that was added to the Bible). In fact, the reference to the Holy Breath at Matthew 28:19 may also be spurious, and if so, then there are no actual Bible references that mention God’s Holy Breath along with the Father and the Son.

So to prevent confusion, the Greek word pneuma is frequently translated as breath herein. However, there are exceptions, as in instances where the Bible refers to demons as ‘spirits.’ Translating pneuma as breath in these cases, although correct, might just be confusing. There are also places where we have left pneuma translated as spirit, when the word implies a person's tendency (or spirit). And, since the nuance implied by the word Spirit in the English language (an unseen power) is correct, we recently changed back to translating pneuma as Spirit in several places, when referring to God’s Holy Spirit. However, recognize that pneuma is often best defined by calling it [God’s] Holy Breath. For an example, see the Note Worshiping God In Spirit and Truth.

Another important use of the word pneuma is in the phrase, ‘Breath of Life.’ This phrase means more than just breathing; it refers to the entire mechanics of life itself. It’s the unseen force of life for all creatures… it’s what makes each cell alive. However, nowhere does the Bible describe the ‘pneuma’ as immortal, nor is it the same as the soul (a breathing thing), so it can (figuratively) ‘return to God’ at death,’ because all hope of future life depends on God and His promise of a resurrection.

Note in particular how the term Breath is used at Job 27:3, where Job spoke of God’s Breath or Spirit. For there he asked, ‘Does the Breath of the Divine One remain in my nose?’ As you can see from his application of this word, pneuma obviously referred to God’s Breath in this case, not to a person or to an unseen force. He was talking about that which comes from God and caused him to breathe… the Breath of Life.

It is interesting that at Genesis 6:3 God says, ‘I won’t allow My Breath to stay with these men through the the age, for they are fleshly.’ In Greek that reads, ‘Ou me katameine to pneuma mou en tois anthropois toutoiseis ton aiona, dia ai einai autous sarka,’ or, ‘Not not should stay the Breath Mine with these men the age through, their being flesh.’

While the words Breath Mine (pneuma mou) here can refer to God’s Holy Breath, it seems more likely that He is referring to the breath of life that he gave Adam. So it appears as though what He was saying here is that the breath of life (of the people of that age) would be removed prematurely. However, since God referred to it as ‘My Breath,’ there may be a link implied between God’s Holy Breath and the breath of life. For more information, see the attached link ‘The Powers of God’s Holy Spirit.’

However, when Jesus died (as the words recorded at John 19:30 say), ‘he hung his head and quit breathing’ (gr. kai klinas ten kephalen paredoken to pneuma, or, and inclined his head giving/up the breath).

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Fool, Foolish, Moron, or Uncaring?

The Greek word μωραι (pronounced, moe-ra-ai) is often translated foolish or fool in other Bibles. However, μωραι is the word that the English word moron is derived from. The term moron, as used by Jesus and his Apostles, doesn’t imply to someone who has no comprehension, as the medical term moron does today. Rather, it meant someone who knows right from wrong but just doesn’t care to do what is right.

The ten virgins of Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25 weren’t just ‘foolish’ girls; they knew what to do and didn’t care enough to do it.

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Demons

2 Peter 2:4 speaks of ‘messengers’ who were put into ‘Tartarus’ for bad acts they committed during the time of Noah. Genesis 6:3 speaks of these as ‘sons of God’ (gr. uioi tou Theou) and it tells of their coming to earth to marry ‘the daughters of men’ (gr. thygateras ton anthropon). However, these ‘sons of God’ don’t appear to be quite the same as the ‘messengers’ who are to be thrown out of heaven during ‘the Lord’s Day,’ mentioned at Revelation 12:7-9. Since the ‘sons of God’ who came to earth and assumed human bodies in Noah’s day couldn’t be destroyed by the downpour (flood) and they had forsaken heaven, they were apparently put into a prison-like state here on the earth, where they are no longer able to roam. This group is specifically referred to as the demons in the Bible.

It is interesting that, except among modern materialistic and scientific societies, demons are recognized as real throughout the world and by almost all of its religions, both modern and primitive. Such universal acknowledgement by diverse people with no cultural ties is one of the strongest arguments for their existence.

Demon is a Greek word that seems to be derived from diameno, which means fixed in one place. From other Bible accounts about demons, it appears that this ‘fixing in one place’ means that they must be associated with either living or non-living things, which is referred to as ‘possession.’

At Acts 17:18 the Epicureans and Stoic Philosophers of Greece asked about Paul’s teaching a ‘foreign demon.’ And although most translations render his words as ‘foreign god,’ they truly said ‘demon’ (gr. daimonion). This is also true of Paul’s reply found at Acts 17: 22, ‘Men of Athens, I see that you’re a lot more afraid of the demons than others are.’

The reason why this term was used is obvious. The many pagan idols and Gods of Athens, although made of metal and stone, had the backing of demons. And the people recognized the power that was given to lifeless objects through ‘possession’ by their gods.

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Judging Your Brothers

At Romans 2:1 Paul wrote ‘So you are defenseless, O man, if you’re someone who judges others. Because, when you judge someone else you’re condemning yourself, since you’re doing the very things that you judge [to be wrong in others].’

Then he wrote at Romans 10-14, ‘So, why do you judge your brother or why do you look down on him? Why, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God, for it is written: As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bend before me and every tongue will confess before God.’ So, each of us must answer for ourselves before God. Therefore, let’s stop judging each other. Rather, let’s make the decision not to set anything before a brother that will cause him to stumble or fall.’

Therefore, being too judgmental is a very serious flaw, which is common to those who think of themselves as being more righteous than others. It is reported that the Pharisees especially thought of themselves in this way, and it was their opinion that they would be the only ones to be found righteous by God. Notice what Jesus said would happen to those who are judgmental (Matthew 7:1), ‘Don’t judge [others] so that you won’t be judged. Because, the things you are judging others over will be the things you are judged by. And the standards you set for them are the standards that will be set for you.’

We find the same type of warning at James 2:13, which says, ‘Those who aren’t merciful will be judged without mercy, since justice takes a lot of pride in mercy.’

However, the Bible also shows that it is necessary for Christians to judge their brothers when they are guilty of flagrant, open sins, as was the case of a brother in Corinth, Greece. At 1 Corinthians 5:1, Paul wrote, ‘I’ve actually heard that there is sexual immorality among you. And it’s a type of immorality that isn’t even [heard of] among the nations – that someone has taken the wife of his father.’

Now, we don’t know exactly what this sin entailed (whether it was incest or a relationship with a woman who wasn’t his natural mother), but we do know that it was something scandalous. Thus, Paul’s conclusions were that the elders in the congregation should judge the man’s actions. Notice his reasoning as found at 1 Corinthians 5:12, ‘Why should I judge those on the outside? Don’t you judge those on the inside, while God judges those on the outside? Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.’

So, the conclusion we reach from the Scriptures is that judging the openly-wrong actions of others is the responsibility of Christians, to protect the good name of the Congregation. However, it is wrong to judge the motives of others, because we can’t look into their hearts.

So, if we look down on our brothers and consider ourselves to be better Christians than they are, then the high standards that we set for them will be the minimum standards that will be set for our own judgment before God. And if we aren’t merciful in our judgments of others, God won’t be merciful in His judgment of us.

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Stumble or Trap?

The Greek word scandalon means the trip lever of a trap. And while it is often translated as stumble, the meaning has more to do with stumbling into a trap.

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Who Wrote Paul’s Letters?

We find the entire flap about who wrote Paul’s letters – by both scholars and critics alike – funny. Much has been made of the fact that the writing styles of Paul’s letters vary so much that it is improbable that he wrote them all, and he obviously didn’t, as the words of Romans 16:22 testify, ‘I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in [the] Lord.’

Paul, as several of his letters indicate, had very poor eyesight (see Galatians 4:13-15). Why? Was this caused by the brightness of his vision of Jesus, as some say? Well, it could have been, but we doubt it. Remember that there were no eyeglasses at the time when Paul wrote, he was likely over forty, and many of us who are beyond that age couldn’t see to write letters today if it weren’t for our eyeglasses. And there are several other natural causes for poor eyesight – other than miraculous visions.

A further indication of Paul’s poor eyesight is found at Galatians 6:11, where he wrote, ‘Look at these large letters that I wrote with my own hand!’ This can indicate that either Paul wrote the book of Galatians by himself, or that he had written just those few words of the letter. However, the mentioning of ‘large letters’ shows that he could barely see his own handwriting. That he could have written this letter himself is seen by the relatively short and less ‘flowery’ introductory words (Galatians 1:1-5).

Obviously, a man named Tertius wrote the book of Romans letter for Paul. Then, if you look at the headings or conclusions of other letters, you will find references to those who likely did the writing. For example, First Corinthians starts with the words, ‘Paul … and Sosthenes our brother.’ Then Second Corinthians starts out the same way, ‘Paul … and our brother Timothy.’

So, there are obviously different writing styles in Paul’s letters, because (as the letters themselves indicate), different people did the writing. This may be quite a revelation to critics and college professors, but they obviously haven’t actually read the letters.

For more information, see the attached link, The Bible’s Internal Proofs of Its Authentic History.

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Adoption as God’s Sons

Throughout the Christian Era Scriptures, we read of the hope that certain humans have of being adopted as sons of God and ruling with Jesus. When does this ‘choosing’ actually happen; what are its results; and how does one know that he/she has been so adopted by God?

Well, notice Paul’s words at Romans 8:15, ‘You received His Breath and it adopted you as sons. And it is by this Breath that we call out, ‘Abba Father!’ So from this we can see that such individuals first receive God’s Breath, and then it ‘adopts’ them as God’s sons. And, as was true in the days of the Apostles, receiving God’s Breath must have some sort of visible manifestation. What might that be?

Since the ‘gifts of the Breath’ were prophesied to end, perhaps this manifestation could be seen in the form of extraordinary love. This was prophesied at 1 Corinthians 13: 8-11, which says, ‘However, the [gift of] prophesying will be done away with, the [gift of] speaking in [foreign] languages will stop, and the [gift of miraculous] knowledge will be done away with. Because, now we only have partial knowledge and we only prophesy partially. But when the perfect thing arrives, the partial thing will be done away with. When I was a baby, I used to talk like a baby, think like a baby, and reason like a baby. But, now that I’ve become a man, I’m finished with the things of babies.’

Of course, manifestations of God’s breath could also take the form of special abilities. As Ephesians 4:11 says, ‘Then he gave [the gifts]: Some are Apostles, some are prophets, some are messengers of the good news, and some are shepherds and teachers.’

So, adoption imparts the value of a spiritual life to the individual. Notice that Paul also referred to such individuals as a ‘new creation’ at Galatians 6:15, ‘However, a new creation [is something].’

And, once a person has received this adoption, he/she is said to become joint ‘heirs’ with Jesus. As Romans 8:17 says, ‘So, if we are [His] children, we are also [His] heirs. Yes, heirs of God and heirs with the Anointed One.’

Heirs of what? You will find this discussed in the linked document, God’s Promise of an Inheritance.

Are there any special requirements for receiving spiritual adoption? Notice that Paul adds at Romans 8:17, ‘However, we have to suffer together so we can also be glorified together.’ And suffering a violent death or being greatly persecuted for their faith was true of the Apostles, and many (if not all) the rest of the adopted sons from the First Century through the middle ages.

Is such violent physical suffering required for all who have this hope? Well, consider what Revelation 6:11 says, ‘Then they were each given a white robe and they were told to take it easy just a little while longer, until the full number of their fellow slaves and brothers was filled (who were going to be killed, as they were).’

However, nobody can say for sure that all who are adopted as sons must suffer greatly, for the ‘choosing’ and its qualifications are in the hands of God.

It appears as though the choosing and adoption of sons of God doesn’t necessarily happen at the time of their baptism. For example, in the case of the first gentile converts to Christianity (Cornelius and his family), such selection happened even before baptism, because, that’s when God’s Breath manifested itself. So, ‘baptism in the Holy Breath’ happens whenever God selects such individuals, which doesn’t necessarily come at baptism. This was also true of those baptized individuals who received God’s Breath on Pentecost of 33-C.E.

However, Galatians 3:26, 27, says, ‘The fact is, you are all sons of God, because of your faith in the Anointed One, Jesus. All who were baptized into the Anointed One have put on the Anointed One.’

So, it appears as though ‘becoming one’ with Jesus occurs to all when they are baptized. However, whether this refers to water baptism or baptism by God’s Breath, isn’t made clear here.

And although the sons of God receive the value of spiritual life when God selects them, their actual adoption comes upon the death of their fleshly bodies. Paul points this out at Romans 8:23, 24, ‘Even we who have the first fruit of [God’s] Breath; yes, we also groan inside ourselves while we anticipate being adopted as sons when the ransom payment frees our bodies. This is the hope that saves us.’

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The Ransom

Throughout the Bible, we read of ‘the ransom’ (gr. lytron) that Jesus paid. Exactly what does this term refer to?

At Matthew 20:28, Jesus said, ‘This is how the Son of Man came, not to be served, but to serve and to give his living body as a ransom for many.’

Romans 5:12, 14 says, ‘Sin entered this world through one man and this sin resulted in death. So, death spread to all men because everyone has sinned. However, death reigned from [the time of] Adam down to Moses, even over those who didn’t sin in the same way that Adam did. And [Adam] was a prototype of the one who would come.

1 Corinthians 15:21, 22 says, ‘Since death came through a man, resurrection from the dead also comes through a man. And as all are dying because of Adam, all will be made alive in the Anointed One.’

So, from the above, we must conclude that Adam lost the hope of ‘life’ for himself and all his descendents, because of his sin in Eden. However, Jesus came and paid the ‘ransom price’ to God, to redeem us from the sin of Adam, so that we could once again have the hope of ‘life in the age’ and a resurrection of the living.

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The Day of the Lord

Throughout the Bible, we find references to ‘the Day of Jehovah,’ and ‘the Day of the Lord.’ Are both of these references to the same time, and if so, how do we know?

There is no conflict between the two Days; in fact, they appear to be the same. Notice what we are told in the Revelation, when it is speaking of the beginning of that Day (at Revelation 12:10), ‘This is the moment when the salvation, the power, the Kingdom of our God, and the authorization of his Anointed One began.’

As you can see, the purposes of that Day are tied together. For, the establishment of God’s Kingdom (with the battle in heaven and the ouster of the Opposer and his messengers) and the authorization for Jesus (the Lord) to rule appear to begin at the same time.

So, does the Lord’s Day begin when the things spoken of in the Revelation start to happen? It appears to be so, because it starts out with John’s words (at Revelation 1:10), ‘Through the Breath [of God] I found myself in the Lord’s Day.’

What are some of the features of that Day? Well, they appear to start with the ouster of the Opposer and his messengers from heaven (See Revelation 12), which is followed by the destruction of ‘Babylon the Great’ (See Revelation 17, 18). Then in rapid succession there comes the ‘marriage of the Lamb’ (acceptance of the rest of the Anointed ones to heaven?), the Battle of Armageddon, the abyssing of the Opposer and his messengers, and the resurrection (see Revelation 19, 20). And finally, the Opposer is released for a short time, which precipitates the battle against Gog of Magog, and which is thereafter followed by the descent of ‘New Jerusalem’ to the earth, and the making of the ‘new earth and sky’ (see Revelation 21).

Also, in the prophecy found at Joel 2:1-12, ‘the Day of the Lord’ appears to start with the destruction of Jerusalem by worldly armies (the destruction of Babylon the Great?), and this is followed by the destruction of the worldly armies, in Joel Chapter Three (Armageddon?). And in between these two events, we read of the marvelous outpouring of God’s Breath upon His faithful servants (Joel 2:28-32).

Peter wrote in length about this period, and at 2 Peter 3:7 he wrote: ‘It was also promised that; What’s [now] in store for the earth and sky is fire, which [will come] during the Judgment Day, when godless men will be destroyed.’ And although many misinterpret these words as describing just the destruction of the wicked at Armageddon, the context shows that he was looking at a much longer period of time, the total ‘Lord’s Day’ or ‘Judgment Day’… the ‘thousand-year’ period spoken of at Revelation Chapter Twenty. For what he said about the burning of the earth and sky and of the ‘new earth and sky’ corresponds exactly with the end of the thousand years and the promises found at Revelation 21:1.

So, from the periods described in the Revelation, near the end of Jesus’ thousand-year reign there will be a judgment of the wicked (those who join with Gog of Magog) and they will be destroyed. Then there will be a ‘new earth and sky.’ What does that really mean? Perhaps we’ll all have to live to see it to be sure.

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Removing the Wicked from the Congregation

In Matthew the Eighteenth Chapter, Jesus spoke of how Jews should deal with each other when one was guilty of harming another, and Jesus outlined three steps that they should take, ending with the words (verse 17), ‘If he refuses to listen even to the congregation, then let him become as a man of the nations, or as a tax collector to you.’.

Now, although many have concluded that Jesus was discussing how to handle such matters within the Christian Congregation, we have to realize that the Christian Congregation hadn’t been formed yet, and that Jesus wasn’t giving these instructions just to Christians. Rather, he was speaking to Jews in general and referring to what the Bible calls ‘the congregation of Israel.’ So, his instructions here were to be kind to each other and to try to work thing out among themselves rather than taking matters before their religious court (the Sanhedrin).

However, in First Corinthians, Paul laid out some procedural guidelines on how to deal with ‘those called brothers’ in the Christian Congregation who are guilty of serious and un-repented sins. This matter was raised when a brother in Corinth was said to be guilty of ‘taking his father’s wife’ as his own. Such a thing, even if the wife was widowed, was considered a serious thing in God’s eyes, for the Old Law shows that it is the same as uncovering the nakedness of one’s father (see Leviticus 18:7, 8). And if he was having sex with the wife of his living father, that was even worse and creating a public scandal. So, Paul’s instructions were for Christians to ‘judge such matters’ and to ‘remove the wicked man from among yourselves.’ What did this entail?

Thereafter, notice that Paul said should be done (at 1 Corinthians 5:11), ‘However, now I’m writing you to quit associating with anyone called a brother who is immoral, greedy, an idol worshiper, an insulter, a drunkard, or an extortionist. Don’t even eat with a person like that.’

You’ll see that he didn’t say to stop talking to the person, just not to treat the person as a friend who you would ‘eat with.’ Of course, in those early days of Christianity, most of their congregational meetings were held in private homes (not ‘synagogues’ or public meeting places), so exclusion from the congregation likely meant that the offender was no longer welcome at their (private) meetings.

The total list of offenses that Paul implied qualified for such congregational removal, include:

· Sexually immorality

· Idol worshiping

· Adultery

· Homosexual behavior (gays and men who have sex with men)

· Thievery

· Greed

· Drunkenness

· Insulting

· Extortion.

Then John (the Apostle) gave similar instructions a 2 John 7, when he was talking about people in the Christian Congregation who ‘have strayed [back] into the world and won’t admit that Jesus the Anointed One came in the flesh.’ He referred to them as the ‘Antichrists.’ He then instructed (at 2 John 10, 11), ‘If anyone comes to you and doesn’t bring this teaching (of the Anointed One), don’t welcome him into your homes or even greet him; because, whoever greets him shares in the wicked things he does.’

So, in the case of someone who denies that there was a Jesus (the Antichrists), such individuals shouldn’t even be greeted on the street. However, these instructions don’t seem to be added to what was said by Jesus and Paul, because the circumstances were different. Also, notice that these added directions from John were penned almost sixty years after what Jesus said on the matter, and about forty years after the writings of Paul. So, as you can see, there were no instructions that forbade talking to errant Christians during most of the First Century.

Would this same action (not to welcome him or even greet him) be taken against anyone who disagrees on doctrinal matters? No, because notice what Paul wrote about this at Romans 16: 17, ‘Now, I beg you brothers; keep an eye on those who are creating divisions and setting traps by going against the teachings that you’ve learned. Avoid them.’ So, Paul’s instructions were to ‘keep and eye on’ (gr. scopein) them and to ‘avoid’ them (gr. ecclenete ap auton – incline away from them), not cut them off from the congregation.

Through the years, such expulsions of notorious members from the Christian congregation have taken many forms. Catholics, for example, call such removal excommunication. However, they limit these disciplines to just those that offend their Church. Yet, other groups may disfellowship or expel unrepentant sinners for reasons that are closer to those outlined by Paul, while many other religions just ignore Paul’s instructions altogether and object to any such action against members who sin in vile and notorious ways.

In certain cases, religious groups have taken the extreme view that the sanctions recommended by Jesus, Paul, and John are cumulative and that they must take all the actions listed above against those who are guilty of any of the practices listed in those combined verses, including even those who may disagree over doctrinal points. These religions forbid associating with or even talking to persons who they judge to be violators in matters of business, morality, or doctrines. And even after such wrongdoers are returned to good standing, such religions may impose further disciplinary sanctions on them. Such views and actions, of course, can’t be supported from Bible texts.

In addition, some religions have gone so far as to ban normal conversations with ones’ own family members when they are guilty of any of the offenses listed above. Is this a correct understanding?

It would seem that whenever there are no clear written Biblical guidelines (as in the case of how to treat erring family members), Christians should turn to basic Scriptural law. And God’s Law requires wives to respect their husbands, husbands to love their wives, children to obey their parents, for everyone to respect their mothers and fathers, and for each one to provide for those who are in their own households. Anything less than that would fit the description that Paul gave of how Godless people would act in ‘the last days’ (at 2 Timothy 3:3), which says, ‘They won’t love their families (gr. astorge) or be willing to agree on anything.’

Such sanctions obviously go beyond Paul’s instructions at First Corinthians the Fifth Chapter, and they stray into conflict with Jesus’ words to the Pharisees as found at Matthew 15:6-9, which say, ‘So, [you are really saying] that [you] shouldn’t honor [your] parents at all. And when you do this, you are nullifying the Word of God with your traditions. You hypocrites! How well Isaiah prophesied about you when he said, These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me. It’s a waste for them to keep worshiping me, because they preach the teachings of men as commandments.’

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Getting ‘Saved’

Although the term ‘getting saved’ is used throughout the Bible, we gain a real sense of the meaning of this term from Acts 16:29, where we read of a jailer who was unfamiliar with Christianity and its terms, when he asked Paul and Silas, ‘Lords, what do I have to do to get saved?’ That’s when Paul and Silas told him, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved.’

Was simple ‘belief in Jesus’ all that was required for salvation? In this case, there was a lot more that he needed to understand, because, as a virtual pagan (Roman or Greek), there was a world of things for him to learn about monotheism, Christian conduct, the resurrection, and of God’s Kingdom. So, much more than just belief in Jesus was required for salvation. This is why the account continues with the words, ‘Then they told him and all those in his house about the Word of God.’

Unfortunately, many people profess to believe in Jesus today, but they don’t understand Christian living – Jesus’ instructions on morality and love, for example. So, notice what Jesus himself said at Matthew 7:22, 23, ‘In that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and perform many great works in your name? Then I’ll admit to them: I never knew you! Get away from me you lawbreakers.’

So, more than simple belief is required. To keep from being a ‘lawbreaker’ and in order to be ‘known’ by Jesus, a person must believe in him and everything he taught, including his instructions on how to live a life as one of his followers.

And who will actually be saved? Jesus answered this question himself when he said what was recorded at Matthew 24:13, ‘But he who endures to the end will be saved.’

So, from the above, we must conclude that while belief in Jesus is required for salvation, knowledge of how to live a Christian life is also required. And to continue in this saved condition, one must maintain a clean relationship with God until ‘the end.’ That is, until the end of their lives or until the coming of Jesus.

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Amen

Amen is a Hebrew word that was never really translated into English; it was just Anglicized. In Greek it is pronounced, ah-main. The reason why it was never translated is that ancient scholars were afraid to change this supposed ‘magical’ word that ensures God will listen to the prayer. There is no record in the Bible of anyone ending prayers with amen, although it was likely said. And the fact that others who were present said amen at the end of prayers to show that they agree, is indicated by Paul’s words at 1 Corinthians 14:6.

In addition, amen isn’t said in the Bible just at the end of a Prayer. Paul used the word frequently in his writings to affirm that what he was writing was, or would be, true. And that’s the literal meaning of amen as it is rendered here, ‘may it be.’

So, should Christians end their prayers with the word amen, or with the phrase, may it be? It really makes no difference. In fact, neither really has to be said for God to hear the prayer, or for Him to understand that it is concluded.

The problem with saying amen is that most people really don’t know what it means today. They think of it as just a word that you end prayers with. However, saying amen (or may it be) at the conclusion of a prayer indicates that the one praying assumes the things that were asked are as good as done – and he or she should also believe that.

In several places we have left the word amen unchanged, for example, at Revelation 3:14, where Jesus was referred to symbolically as ‘the Amen,’ or, he who ‘causes things to be’ (under the direction of God).

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Undeserved Kindness or Caring?

The Greek word caris is where we derive the English word care or caring. However, the Greek word carries a slightly different meaning. Old English Bible translations have rendered caris as grace. However, the nuance that grace implies (smooth and flowing) totally distorts the meaning of this term in contemporary American English.

Most Bible dictionaries prefer to see caris translated as undeserved kindness. However, this phrase, which may or may not make some minor technical difference in the meaning, adds wordiness, and that distracts from the ease of reading. So you will find it translated as care, caring, or kindness herein, depending on the setting.

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Zeal

At Psalm 37:8 we read, ‘Stop being angry and abandon your rage. Don’t allow zeal to make you act wicked’ (yes we know, the word should be wickedly, but this is poetic license). However, those words could also be translated as, ‘Do not allow jealously to cause you to act wickedly,’ because the Greek word zelos can be translated zealous or jealous, depending on the circumstances, for both words mean the same thing. Yet, the two words imply different things in English.

Zeal is usually thought of as something good… something all Christians should have, as in zeal for God and righteousness. And jealously is thought of as something bad… as wanting something another has. Yet, God may be spoken of, as being jealous over His Name and His position as God, so jealously isn’t always a bad thing. We can have zeal (a burning desire to own) for things that are ours and we are proud of, and be jealous of things that belong to others. So, one may be translated as zeal and the other as jealously, depending on the setting.

Then, is it proper for a man to be jealous of his wife or a wife to be jealous of her husband? No, we should never be jealous of each other, but for each other. We shouldn’t want what the other has, but we should have a burning zeal for each other. Yet we often hear of the bad acts or a jealous husband or wife, which may or may not be zeal or jealously. For if one has good reason to worry about losing the love of the other that is zeal. However, if such concern is baseless, that is wicked suspicion, not jealously.

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Messengers

Most Bible translations render the Greek word aggelos (pronounced ahn-gel-ose – with a hard g) as angel wherever it is found. However, aggelos is just the Greek word for messenger. True, in most cases where the Bible speaks of angels, it is referring to spirit messengers from God. However, this may not be the meaning in every instance, and always translating it as angel may distort what was said in certain instances.

For example, consider the words at Acts 12:15, where Peter had just been released from prison and had appeared at the door of some faithful Christians. In Greek, the latter part of this verse reads, ‘oi de elegon Ho aggelos estin autou,’ and is often translated as, ‘They began to say, It is his angel.’

This rendering doesn’t sound reasonable, for it would have been bizarre for Christians to assume that an angel from God (who looked like Peter) was standing and knocking at their door. Rather, the rendering we have used herein makes more sense, ‘So they said, It’s his messenger.’

Another good example of why aggelos shouldn’t always be translated as angel can be found at Genesis 32:3, which reads in Greek, ‘Apasteile de Iakob aggelous emprosthen autou pros Hesau ton adelphon autou,’ or, ‘Sent of Jacob angels ahead of him toward Esau the brother of him.’ Here Jacob was obviously sending human messengers to his brother, not heavenly ones.

And consider the words at Numbers 20:14, where we read that Moses sent messengers (gr. aggelous – messengers, plural) from Cades to the king of Edom.’ Then in verse 16, it says that ‘Jehovah … heard our voice and sent His messenger (gr. aggelon – messenger, singular) who brought us out of Egypt.’

Also, consider the words of Haggai 1:13, where we read: ‘Then the Messenger (or angel) of Jehovah Haggai, one of the [many] messengers (or angels) of Jehovah, said to the people, Jehovah says I am with you!’

Yet, Haggai was just a man not a spirit.

Obviously, although the same word (with only conjugated variations) is used to speak of two different types of messengers here… those who are human and those who were sent from heaven by God. As the result, most Bibles translate the first instance as messengers, but the second as angel. We have not chosen to make this distinction, and we have rendered the word as messenger or messengers in each instance, because this proper translation of the word provides readers a better look at what position these heavenly sons of God held. For angel isn’t a heavenly rank it’s a duty.

Also, translating aggelos as messenger (when it truly means an ‘angel’) helps to provide readers a better, deeper understanding of the actual role that such spiritual sons of God play in His dealings with mankind. And it helps us to understand why the Bible never speaks of female or baby angels.

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God’s Chosen People

The idea that the Jews are still God’s chosen people and that they will eventually rule over the earth from the City of Jerusalem is becoming popular among many fundamentalist religions today. However, such this concept appears to disregard the promises and teachings of the Bible.

For instance, notice Jesus’ words to the people of that city as found at Matthew 23:37, 38, ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem: The killer of Prophets and the one who stoned those who were sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings! But you didn’t want it. Look: Your house has been taken from you.’

So, their ‘house’ (the position of special favor with God) was removed from them due to their repeated rejection of God’s ways and His Prophets, and for murdering His Son.

Notice how Jesus pictures this rejection of the Jews as God’s chosen people in his parable of the king who hired laborers to work in his vineyard at Matthew 21:33-41. The story ends when the cultivators killed the king’s son. And what was the result? Verse 41 says, ‘Then he will hire others to cultivate the vineyard who will give him the fruit when it’s due.’

In Chapter 22 (verses 1-10) Jesus repeats this theme with the parable of the king who invited guests to a grand meal, but none of those who were invited (the Jews) showed up. In fact, they killed his messengers. The account says, ‘So, he sent his army to destroy the murderers and burned their city.’ Then he sends his attendants out to invite ‘others’ to this great feast.

Who are these ‘others?’ Well, out of respect for His Sacred Agreement with Abraham, God continued to offer the opportunity to be ‘kings and Priests’ in the Kingdom exclusively to the Jews (and the related Samaritans) for the next 3-1/2 years. Then the opportunity to become ‘Spiritual Jews’ was offered to the first ‘Gentile’ converts, Cornelius and his family. Thereafter, the Bible speaks of growing numbers of Gentile converts, as Paul was appointed the ‘Apostle to the Nations.’

Also, notice Jesus’ words found at Matthew 8:12, where he foretold, ‘However, the Sons of the Kingdom will be thrown into the darkness outside. There they will cry and grind their teeth.’ Since the Jews were ‘the sons of the kingdom’ or the sons of the Abrahamic promise, the indication here is that they as a nation were being rejected.

Then in the letters of Paul, we read scripture after scripture that shows these Gentiles were thereafter included in the promise to Abraham, and that they comprised a ‘New Jerusalem.’ Notice what Paul wrote at Romans 2:28, ‘So, a Jew isn’t what you are on the outside, nor is circumcision something that’s outside on the flesh.’

In other words, the faithful Gentiles had become ‘spiritual Jews,’ or the symbolic ‘twelve tribes of Israel.’ So, it was to this ‘new nation’ that all the promises and Sacred Agreements apply, not to the earthly city of Jerusalem, for the earthly city of Jerusalem had been rejected. Why? Well notice what the people in that city replied to Pilate’s question when they were calling for the murder of God’s Son (at Matthew 27: 25), ‘At that, all the people said, ‘May we and our children be responsible for his blood.’ And (at John 19:15), ‘We have no king but Caesar.’
So, the Jews were not only rejected by God, they verbally rejected God and asked for the blood of Jesus to be on them and their children (all future generations). This is why the prophecies regarding Jerusalem appear to have nothing to do with a literal city in Palestine today.

But what of Paul’s statement, found at Romans 11:25, 26, ‘Israel was allowed to become calloused until the full number of people from the nations came in. This is how all Israel is going to be saved.’

Doesn’t this mean that the entire nation will eventually be saved? No, for notice what Paul said at Romans 9:6-8 ‘Now, the word of God didn’t fail, because, not all who came from Israel are really Israel, nor are all of Abraham’s seed his children. For [it’s written], That which will be called your seed will come through Isaac. However, [Isaac’s] fleshly children aren’t the children of God. The children of the promise are that seed.’

Then he added at Romans 9:27, ‘Isaiah shouted this, about Israel, Although the sons of Israel may become as many as the sands of the sea, only a few will be saved.’

So, it appears as though Israel will be saved mostly through those ‘ethnics’ who have become Israel by accepting Israel’s God as their God.

And the fact is; Those who believe that all of Israel will be saved also believe that this hope applies just to the Jews. However, ‘all of Israel’ covers all twelve of the tribes that are now scattered and intermarried throughout the nations of the world, whereas the Jews represent just two of the tribes (plus some of the Priestly tribe of Levi). So, for ‘all of Israel’ to be saved, countless millions – or even billions – who have traces of bloodlines to the other ten tribes of Israel would have to be included in this number, for such pure bloodlines no longer exist – even among the Jews.

But, couldn’t ‘all of Israel’ just refer to the Jews and/or to those who still practice Judaism? Notice what Paul wrote at Romans 9:30-33, ‘So, what can we say? That people of the nations (although they weren’t trying to become righteous) became righteous with the [type of] righteousness that comes from faith, while Israel (who was following a righteous Law) just didn’t make it. And why was that so? Because [Israel] didn’t look for it in faith, but in the things that they were doing. They tripped over the ‘stumbling stone. As it is written, {Look!} I’m putting a stumbling stone and a rock to trip over in Zion. But he who has faith in Him will never be ashamed.’

So, the Jews (those who practice Judaism) can never be considered righteous as long as they continue to trip over the ‘stumbling stone,’ their promised Messiah, Jesus.

For more information, see the linked document, Jerusalem and the Israel of God.

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Jehovah

Although there are no existing ancient Christian Era Scripture (New Testament) manuscripts that contain the full name Jehovah, there are four reasons why we (and other Bible scholars and translators) believe that it existed in the original text. They are:

1. The Name is found in many of the Hebrew Scripture texts that are quoted by Jesus and his disciples

2. Jesus mentioned God’s having a Name in ‘The Lord’s Prayer,’ and at John 5:43, 10:25, 12:13, 17:26, and in numerous other places

3. The Name still appears in a combined form in Revelation where the word hallelujah is used (Hallel means praise, u implies second person, and Jah is a shortened form of Jehovah.)

4. The fact that Christians who lived in Jerusalem were still worshiping at the Temple of Jehovah late in Paul’s ministry proves that they still viewed Jehovah as their God (see Acts 21:20-26).

So, this Bible is one of two that we are aware of that uses God’s Name in the Christian Era Scriptures, which makes it quite unique. However, you will see that we have avoided using it in places where the Greek words ho Kyrios could have been speaking of Jesus, using the Name Jehovah mostly in quotations from Hebrew texts which were clearly speaking of The God.

That the Name Jehovah (which means, He who Causes to Be, or, The Creator) was originally in the Bible, is documented in all ancient Hebrew texts. And it is most likely that the Septuagint translation which Jesus and his Apostles used (most quotations they gave seem to have come from an ancient Septuagint) carried that Name, but probably in the four Hebrew characters that represent the English consonants YHWH.

Notice this comment by Robert Hanhart, who contributed the Introduction to ‘The Septuagint as Christian Scripture.’ He stated therein that, ‘All Greek biblical texts of Jewish origin found to date, whether from pre-Christian or Christian times, transmit the name יהוה Jehovah not in the form κύριος [Lord] encountered in all the LXX [Septuagint] manuscripts of Christian origin, but in some form of the Tetragrammaton.’ (See: ‘The Septuagint as Christian Scripture,’ 2002, book, p.7, by Martin Hengel. Introduction by Robert Hanhart, published by Baker Academic. ISBN 0-8010-2790-X).

You will see how in the book of Isaiah, for example, God is often referred to in Greek as Kyrios ho Kyrios, or, Lord the Lord (see Isaiah 48:16 LXX). And these are obvious examples of texts where God’s Name was omitted, for such sentences should clearly read Jehovah the Lord, or Lord Jehovah.

Since the words God and Lord both seem to have been substituted in the text wherever God’s Name originally appeared, it is difficult to know where to reinsert the Name in place of the titles. We could refer to the Hebrew texts and insert it wherever the Name appears there, but that would be out of harmony with the purpose of presenting this translation of the Septuagint on its own merit. So, wherever the term the Lord appears in obvious reference to God, we have decided to insert the Name Jehovah.

The rule that other translators have adopted for inserting God’s Name is to simply use it wherever the Tetragrammaton (יהוה) appears in the oldest existing Hebrew texts (which aren’t that old). However, it can be proven that these texts and such insertions are unreliable. For example, there is the instance when Abraham was talking to three ‘men,’ one of whom he referred to as the Lord (יהוה). In this case, Abraham was obviously speaking to a messenger from God (likely His representative, Michael), because, as God told Moses, ‘No man can see God and live.’ So in such instances we have left the term ‘Lord’ unchanged, because that is likely the actual word Abraham used.

Also, in the writings of many of the Prophets, you will notice that they were often spoken to by God’s messengers, who the Prophets referred to as the Lord. And these messengers (angels) thereafter went on to give them messages from Jehovah. For example, notice the wording of Jeremiah 2:1: ‘Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, Go and yell in the ears of Jerusalem! Tell them that thus says Jehovah …’ So in this Bible you’ll see an interspersing of the term the Lord, when it appears to be referring to the angel messenger, and as Jehovah, when it appears to be referring to God.

Notice again the wording of Amos 4:13, where the one who gave the message to that Prophet (the Lord) definitely put Jehovah in the third person (though he is apparently saying that he did much of the work of creating) for there he said: ‘{Look!} I brought the thunder and I made the wind; and I report to men of His caring. For He produces the dawn and the fog, and is mounted on the heights of the earth… His Name is Jehovah God the Almighty!’

Then look at the words of Zephaniah 1:9, where the Prophet wrote: ‘And I asked, What are these, O Lord? And [God’s] messenger replied (he who was speaking to me), I will show you what all these things mean.’

So, it appears as though the Greek word kyrios should be translated as Lord or the Lord when it is referring to the angel who was speaking, and as Jehovah in many cases when it is speaking of God… regardless of how modern Hebrew texts may read, for from the context you can clearly see that these verses are quoting someone other than God.

However, the Lord (kyrios) would also have been used by Hebrew writers when speaking of God in poetry, where the previous or following verse uses the Name Jehovah; for the rule for a following verses is to use a simile.

Another important place where it appears as though the term the Lord should be used instead of the name Jehovah, is where people do something in His Name, as in James 5:10, which speaks of ‘Prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.’ For, since Jehovah is God’s Name (in English), they would not be speaking in the Name of Jehovah (which is His Name), but in the Name of the Lord (Jehovah). Yes, this could be an arguable point, but where there is some question and the understanding isn't changed, we believe it is better to take a cautious approach.

Probably the most striking and confusing reference to the Lord is found at Hebrews 1:10-12, which says: ‘Long ago, O Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth, and you made the heavens with your hands. But they’ll pass away while you still remain. For like clothes they will grow old. Then, as [you would do to] a robe, you will wrap them up and repair them. Yes, you’re the one and your years will never expire.’

As you can see, the reference to the Lord here appears to be speaking of God (Jehovah). And if you go back to the scripture Paul was quoting (Psalm 102:25-27), you’ll see (from the context of the surrounding verses) that it appears to be speaking of Jehovah there also, and this is the conclusion of many, because the Tetragrammaton (יהוה) appears there in both the ancient Hebrew and Greek texts. Yet, the entire First Chapter of Hebrews is discussing Jesus and his special position before God. And Paul is clearly quoting Psalm 102:25-27 to make the point that Jesus made the heavens and the earth, that he will remain through the ages, and that he will eventually rebuild (repair) them after they grow old.

So, either Paul misapplied this scripture, which seems unlikely, or both Hebrew and Greek versions of Psalm 102 have been badly corrupted through the years, which our research proves is possible. As the result (because the answers are unclear), we have deviated from our rule of capitalizing the first letter of the words You and Your in many places in Psalm 102 and Hebrews 1, and from inserting the Name Jehovah where its use may be in doubt. However, this opens another can of worms, for it brings into question the accuracy of major portions of the Hebrew text and the use of the Tetragrammaton rule altogether.

It has also been suggested that since Jesus ‘shines with the same glory, is the exact image of His (God’s) being, and is responsible for everything that’s said through His power,’ as we were told at Hebrews 1:3, anything that is said about God also applies to Jesus… perhaps.

Of course, the easy answer to why Paul used Psalm 102 in reference to Jesus, is because Jesus is actually Jehovah, as many theologians claim. But this is proven untrue by the other words in the same First Chapter of Hebrews. For notice the following verses:

• Hebrews 1:3 ‘He sat down at the right hand of the Great One in the highest places.’
• Hebrews 1:4 ‘He has become so much greater than the [other] messengers [of God] and so different, that he has inherited a [special] name among them.’
• Hebrews 1:5 ‘For example, to which of His [other] messengers did He ever say, You’re my son. Today I’ve become your Father. Or, I will become his Father and he will become My son.’
• Hebrews 1:9 ‘You loved righteousness and hated wickedness. That’s why God (your God) anointed you with the oil of great joy among those who are your partners.’
• Hebrews 1:13 ‘And to which one of His messengers did He ever say, Sit here on My right until I set your enemies as a stool for your feet?’

(For more information on this subject, please see the linked document Who Was Jesus?)

The word that is translated lord (gr. kyrios) is found throughout the Bible in Greek texts and is usually used as a term of respect for men, such as a king, governor, or homeowner… and it is also frequently translated as master. So, whenever you see the term master used in the Bible, recognize that it is translated from the same Greek word as lord. And as translators, it’s easy to see how inappropriate it is to always refer to God as ‘the Lord.’ This was something that was started by later Jewish copyists, and the custom was adopted in English Bibles in the Fifteenth Century. Yet, even then the translators showed where God’s name once appeared in the Hebrew text by capitalizing all the letters, as in LORD (see Exodus 6:1). And in the King James Bible, the name Jehovah still does appear in four texts (see Exodus 6:3).

Some have objected to putting the name Jehovah in the Greek text, for they say that that use of the Name would have been offensive – and might have resulted in stoning – if Jesus and his disciples had actually spoken it. Yet, the Name had to be used when preaching to the Gentiles, or they simply wouldn’t have known which Lord the disciples were talking about (remember, they were polytheistic). And to call God the Lord when most gods (and many men) were also called lord, would have been very confusing to everyone that Jesus’ disciples preached to, both Jews and Gentiles. So we question whether the use of God’s Name was considered as offensive prior to Jerusalem’s destruction by the Roman armies (70-C.E.).

The reason why the Name was removed from later copies of the Ancient Scriptures of Israel was because Jewish Scribes had become so awed with God’s Name that they refused to write it or say it, so, they started substituting the term ‘the Lord’ (the Master) wherever His Name was found. And since all existing versions of the Septuagint come from the Second Century or later, it isn’t surprising that God’s Name has been omitted from such modern texts. The fact that the name Jehovah was once there is well substantiated from ancient Bible manuscripts, both Hebrew and Greek. In fact, a verse in the Jewish Talmud claims that Jesus received his miraculous powers because he had sewn the Holy Name (Jehovah) into his skin, which indicates both their (his enemy’s) recognition of Jesus’ miraculous powers and the common view of God’s Name.

Forgetting God’s Name is a practice that has had a long history with the Jews, for apparently they were trying to do this during the time of the Prophet Jeremiah (sometime in the early Seventh Century B.C.E.), for we read at Jeremiah 23:27: ‘They’ve devised ways to forget My Name, then they use their dreams to describe to their neighbors, how their fathers were the ones who’ve forgotten My Name, and turned to the service of Baal.’

What about the Christian Era Scriptures? Recognize that most early Christian Congregations (and especially those in Judea) were predominantly made up of Jews, and their traditions seemed to have had a strong negative effect on Christian conduct and doctrine throughout the world. For example; almost all of Paul’s letters (Romans through Hebrews) contain strong references to Judaizers in the congregations, and this influence likely led to substituting Lord for God’s Name in Christian writings after the deaths of the Apostles.

Perhaps Christians would more deeply appreciate the need to use the name Jehovah, rather than the title ‘Lord,’ when referring to God, if they understood that the term ‘the Lord’ in the language of the Canaanites was ‘Baal’ or ‘Beel.’ And the same term in modern-day Arabic is ‘Allah.’

Then, what of those who prefer a more exact Hebrew pronunciation of the Name, which can be Yahweh (yah-h’-Wĕh), Yahwah (yah-h’-Wah), or Yehwah (yĕh-h’-Wah)? That is commendable if their reasons are consistent. For, if their concern is to properly pronounce Bible names (not a hatred for God’s name as it is pronounced in English), they will also be found promoting the proper Hebrew pronunciation of His son’s name, Ieshuah (Ye-Shuah), or Iehoshuah (Yĕ-h’-shuah)… or at least the proper pronunciation of his name in Greek, Iesous (Yay-sous).

But then they would also have to start changing hundreds of other Bible name containing a J (such as John, Jeremiah, Jonah, Jerusalem, etc.), and they would find that almost every other Bible name is currently mispronounced in the English language.

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The Hope of All Creation

Romans 8:19-21 says, ‘For [all] creation has been eagerly expecting and waiting the revealing of the Sons of God. Why, the things that were created didn’t choose not to have a reason [for living], and it was only because of Him that they had hope. For creation will be set free from slavery to decay through the glorious liberation of the children of God.’

What is Paul really saying here? One religious authority wrote, ‘Do beasts and plants hope to attain the glorious freedom of the children of God? No. All creation, then, can refer only to mankind.’

Are the above words correct? If so, then Paul just didn’t use the right words. Why would he have said creation (gr. ktisis) when he really meant men (gr. anthropois)? Is it difficult to believe that Paul really knew what he was talking about?

Let’s pretend that Paul meant the words he wrote, that ‘all creation will be set free from being slaves to decay,’ and see if this promise can come true for something other than just mankind.

First, what is the freedom of the sons of God? From numerous other scriptures, we conclude that this freedom will come as the result of the new heavens – the rulership of Jesus and the called and chosen sons of God. Will such a righteous rule be a blessing to more than mankind? We think so.

For example, will animals benefit from this Kingdom rule? At Genesis 1:28, God gave men the following commission, ‘And God blest them, saying, Reproduce, multiply, fill the earth and control it. Rule over the fish of the seas, the winged creatures of the skies, all the herding animals of the ground, all the slithering animals that crawl on the ground, and the whole earth.’

The implications of this scripture are staggering if you just think about it. However, it appears as though the first humans (Adam and Eve) relinquished this privilege of rulership over the earth and its animals when they sinned and submitted to the Slanderer, effectively handing their commission over to him. The net effect of this is that for the past six thousand years, men have lost their right to rule over the earth and its creatures in the way that God intended.

This is why Paul wrote (at Hebrews 2:8), ‘So, when [God] puts everything under [his feet], He doesn’t leave anything that [men] aren’t in charge of. However, we don’t see everything obeying us yet.’

No, as Paul said, ‘We don’t see everything obeying us yet.’ Nor do we see this world in general, responding to Jesus’ righteous rule. In fact, conditions in the world are deteriorating as they reflect the power of the Slanderer and his messengers in the last throws of evil acts before their destruction. However, that will all change under the rulership of the sons of God.

Thereafter, we can scarcely imagine what powers will be returned to man, when the commission that God gave us over this earth and its creatures is fully restored. With no opposition, and each man endowed with a full measure of the power of God’s Breath, the blessings to this earth, its creatures, and ALL CREATION are virtually limitless.

See the linked contributed poem Animals Our Wards.

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Anointed

Notice that in this Bible translation, 2 Corinthians 1:21, 22 (for example) says, ‘The One who guarantees that we all belong to the Anointed One, and He who anointed us, is God.’

So, why didn’t these translators just go ahead and render the word (Anointed) as Christ – as countless other translators have done? For two reasons:

1. Because Christ has almost totally lost its meaning to most Bible readers today, and most have come to believe that ‘Christ’ was part of Jesus’ name. It wasn’t.

2. Because Christ is word that was made up by early Bible translators and is only used in that form when they think that the Bible was speaking of Jesus. In other places it is correctly translated as anointed.

If you look at the above verse in Greek, you’ll see that it reads, ‘Ho de bebaion hemas syn hymin eis Christon kai chrisas hemas Theos,’ or, ‘The of stabilizing us with you into Anointed and anointing us God.’

You will notice here that Christon (Christ or Anointed) and chrisas (anointed) are both derived from the same root word, which by the way, is Greek for olive oil. Why olive oil? Because, that substance was traditionally poured over the heads of those who God chose to be kings over Israel. For example, David and Solomon were both anointed (oil was poured over their heads) in proof of the fact that they had been chosen by God to be kings over Israel.

So, the word means anointed. But if you prefer the word Christ, then David and Solomon were Christs, for you can’t have it both ways.

Such a physical anointing with oil appeared to picture receiving God’s Holy Breath, which happened to Jesus at his baptism, to 120 of Jesus’ disciples at Pentecost of 33-C.E., and to other First-century Christians. So Jesus didn’t really become the Christon (Christ, Anointed, or Chosen One) until he was anointed with Holy Breath at his baptism (when the ‘dove’ came down on him).

If you understand this nuance, you get the true meaning of the word Christ (Anointed) as it applies to Jesus; it means that he was the one who God chose to be king over His people. Also, Paul was telling the Christians in Corinth that they too would be anointed… become ‘christs.’ For when they were ‘anointed’ and sealed in their hearts by God’s Holy Breath, they were selected to be ‘kings over the earth’ (Revelation 5:10).

Also, notice what can be learned from a proper understanding of the Greek words by looking at Matthew 24:24. For what he actually said was, ‘Because false Anointed ones and false prophets (gr. pseudo christon kai pseudo prophetai) will arise and they will perform great signs and omens to mislead (if possible) even the elected.’

So, Jesus wasn't necessarily saying that people would come claiming to be him, but people would come falsely claiming to be the anointed and prophets.

At Exodus 29:29 we find that Aaron and his sons were to be ‘anointed’ as Priests to Jehovah, and that this action would make them ‘holy,’ or clean. It also signified that had been ‘chosen’ to this office by God. And in Leviticus, when we read of the ‘anointed’ Priest, the reference seems to be to the one who had been chosen for the special office of what later became known as the High Priest, which gives credence to our translating Christos as Anointed One, rather than Christ, in the Christian Era Scripture (NT) portion of this Bible. However, at least in the case of Aaron and his sons, fragrant herbs were added to the oil to give it a pleasing odor. This is implied at Exodus 25:7 where the Israelites were asked to donate ‘fragrances for anointing oil.’ And we find the exact formula for the anointing oil at Exodus 30:34, where we read that it was to be made of ‘sixteen pounds of choice myrrh flowers, eight pounds of sweet-smelling cinnamon, eight pounds of sweet-smelling calamus, sixteen pounds of cassia (for the Holy Place), and a gallon of olive oil.’

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Cosmos or World?

In Jesus’ discussion about the sheep and goats found at Matthew 25:34, he said, ‘Then the king will tell those on his right, Come, you who have been praised by my Father, inherit the Kingdom that has been prepared for you from the founding of the world.’

In Greek, the words we have translated as founding of the world are katabole cosmou, or down-throw arrangement. You may recognize that the English word cosmos is a derivative of cosmou. And cosmos (which we pronounce as cas-mose, but the Greeks pronounces as cas-mas) is the word that modern peoples usually use when referring to the universe today (thank you Mr. Sagan). So, why have we translated it as world, and what is meant by the term, founding of the world?

Actually, cosmos is used many times in the Bible and in many different ways. For example, when Paul urged Christian women to dress modestly, he used the word cosmos to describe well-arranged clothing, and arrangement is probably the closest English meaning of the word. So, it isn’t always translated as world.

And although it has been said that the word world doesn’t appear at all in the Hebrew texts of the Ancient Scriptures of Israel (Old Testament), it really does appear there several times in the Greek Septuagint. And the reason why they say that world doesn’t appear there is because the equivalent Hebrew word is translated (in different Bibles and in different places) as arrangement, ornamentation, honor, delight, universe, earth, army, etc.

Yet, in the Christian Era Scriptures (NT), where cosmos appears several times, it is usually translated as world… such as the world of Noah, the light of the world, the field is the world, etc. So, the term doesn’t seem to apply to the earth, but rather to the arrangement of human society on the earth.

Actually, two different Greek words are often translated as world in the Septuagint, cosmos and oichonomeo; and oichonomeo does appear to refer to the earth, because it means the habitation, or, the place where [man] dwells. So the Septuagint (OT) clearly delineates these two words (that are both commonly translated as world).

But notice how the word cosmos was used by Paul at Romans 5:12, ‘Sin entered the world (cosmos) through one man, and this sin resulted in death. So, death spread to all men and everyone has sinned.’

So, it seems likely that the arrangement we call ‘the world’ started around the time of Adam’s sin in Paradise, when man created for himself and all life on earth a new arrangement or set of circumstances (which was something other than what God had planned). We have come to this conclusion based on the many scriptures that refer to the world in a negative context, and the fact that it (the current set of negative circumstances) will soon be done away with.

Yet, the Scriptures also indicate that the present world (arrangement) began after the Downpour of Noah’s day, and Noah inherited the world prior to that time. For, notice what we are told at Hebrews 11:7 ‘Because of his faith, Noah (after being given a divine warning of things he hadn’t seen yet) trusted in God and built a large chest to save his family. And due to this righteous faith, he condemned the world and became its heir.’

Also notice what was said at 2 Peter 2:4, 5, ‘Why, God didn’t spare the messengers who sinned, but by threw them into the dark pits of Tartarus, where they are awaiting His justice. And He didn’t spare the first world. Yet, He guarded Noah (who was a preacher of righteousness) along with seven others, when He brought a downpour on a world of godless people.’

So, apparently there have been two different worlds or arrangements; the one that Noah inherited that started before the Downpour, and the second one that we are now living in, and which the righteous will inherit at its destruction. For we read at 1 John 2:17, ‘And the world with all its desires is passing away, but the one who does what God wants remains through the age.’ And Romans 4:13 says, ‘Abraham and his seed weren’t given the promise of inheriting the world because of the Law; it was because of his righteousness, which came from his faith.’

Thus from the above, we have concluded that what Jesus said about the Kingdom having been prepared for the sheep since the founding of the world must mean that the Kingdom was God’s plan for the righteous since at least the time of the Downpour, and possibly since the time of Adam’s sin in Paradise.

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