You'll find the RSTNE Bible version uses these exact Hebrew words.
Most of the New Testament was written in Aramaic or Hebrew and then soon after translated into Greek for Greek-speaking believers. Additionally, when the translators rendered New Testament citations from the Old Testament into Greek, they quoted from the Septuagint (LXX), the official Greek translation of the Tanakh during the time of Yah'shua asd the apostles. In Hebrews 1:8 the author quotes from Psalm 45:6. In this verse, olam is rendered aion in Greek. The same also with Hebrews 5:6 and Psalm 110:4. This was the closest Greek equivalent to olam and was used in the Septuagint. And so we can confidently say that aion has the same meaning as olam. But what about the Greek word itself? What does aion actually mean? Well, it does not carry the sense of 'obscurity' as olam does but it most definitely means an 'age' or eon. Since this is such a critically important matter, let's prove it conclusively. If you have your Bibles with you, turn with me to Matthew 13, starting at verse 38. In this famous passage Yah'shua interprets His own parables. Please note, as we read this, the contrast between the Greek words aion and kosmos:
"The field is the world (kosmos), and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age (aion), and the harvesters are angels (or messengers). As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age (aion)" (Matt.13:38-41, NIV).
Only the King James Version gets it wrong and says "the end of the world" but most KJV Reference Bibles have footnotes correcting it. How do they know? Simply because the Greek word is aion rather than kosmos. All translators know that aion refers to an age. It is a reference to a limited period of time. Ages, or dispensations, of course, have a beginning and an end. And now to an interesting passage in Hebrews which nearly all English translations get wrong. These two Bible versions are the only ones I know of that get it right:
"Through emunah (faith) we understand that the olamim (ages, aionas) were framed by the word of Elohim, so that all things that are seen were made by the invisible" (Heb.11:3, RSTNE).
"By faith we understand the ages to have been prepared by the spoken word (rhema) of God (Elohim), so that what is seen should not come into being out of things that appear" (MRC - Messianic Renewed Covenent, 2003 - a Messianic Jewish version).
Every English version otherwise wrongly translates the Greek aionas or the Hebrew olamim as 'worlds', for which a word already exists, namely kosmos. What's important here, though, is that the writer of Hebrews is telling us that these ages (not worlds) had a concrete beginning in time. The NASV says that these ages were "framed" - therefore ages had a beginning. Here's another typically mistranslated passage:
"In these last days He has spoken to us through His Son, Whom He appointed heir of all, through Whom He also made the ages (aionas)" (Heb.1:2, MRC).
Again, most English versions translate aionas as 'world'. And whilst it is perfectly true that Yah'shua as the Logos or Dabar (John 1:1) did indeed create the world, this is not what the author of Hebrews is telling us. He is telling us that the Messiah created the 'ages of time' or 'dispensations' because time did not exist before the physical creation. Time, like space, is a created thing. In fact, we are also told in scripture that Yahweh created the physical universe before He made time:
"Paulos (Paul), a slave of God (Elohim), and an apostle of Yeshua (Yah'shua) the Messiah, for the faith of those chosen of God (Elohim) and the knowledge of the truth which is according to piety, in the hope of eternal (age-enduring) life, which God (Elohim) Who does not lie, promised before time of ages" (Heb.1:1-2, MRC).
Rotheram's Emphasized Bible puts it this way:
"In hope of life age-abiding; which God (Elohim) who cannot lie promised before age-enduring times".
Now although these renditions are a little more difficult to read that your average English translation, because they are literal, they are much more accurate. And whilst easy-to-read versions have their place, serious Bible students need to invest some time and effort in digging out the truth. After all, it's the truth we are committed to, and it's the truth that sets us free (Jn.8:32), so if we are truly committed to spiritual freedom, we will do this.
So why is the translation of this word olam or aion so important to us? Well, apart from the fact that it tells us about the love and justice of Yahweh, correcting the lie that our Father in Heaven is some unjust sado-masochist who has no mercy who likes torturing sinners, it also explains how, after the Millennium, after the old heaven and earth have passed away, a new heaven and a new physical earth will appear in which there is no longer any time. This will be the glorified planet earth. It corrects the error that the only eternal sphere is that of the spirit and emphasises the importance of the physical resurrection and the fact that heaven and earth will become one or echad. There are other important doctrinal consequences to this truth that I don't have time to go into here but hopefully I can deal with another time.
Yahweh through Paul in this quotation from Titus makes this stupendous promise to us, and that is the hope of aionian life. Many have wrongly assumed that this is a reference to immortality itself, and that is why it is so commonly translated "eternal life". But strictly speaking, this is not so. Aionian life is a specific promise of immortality in the Tabernacles or SUKKOT age! It is given to those who inherit life at the first resurrection; but most believers will have to wait for the general or second resurrection. Paul makes reference to the first resurrection in his letter to the Philippians:
"I want to know Messiah and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection (exanastasis) from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Messiah Yah'shua took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which Elohim has called me heavenward (or "the upward call of Elohim") in Messiah Yah'shua" (Phil.3:10-14, NIV).
You all know this beautiful passage, pregnant with hope as it is. Now what is this "heavenward" or "upward call" of Elohim? It is the call to receive Life in the First Resurrection at the beginning of the Tabernacles or Sukkot Age, not at the General Resurrection at the end of the Millennium. How do we know this? Because in Philippians 3:11 Paul describes this higher calling as the (literally) "out-resurrection" or exanastasis. This is the only time in the entire New Testament that Paul puts an "ex" in front of the usual word for resurrection (anastasis). All the English translations I know miss it, including the Messianic ones. This is Paul's way of differentiating this greater resurrection from the general resurrection.
Now the Greek word we render "upward" or "heavenward" is ano. It means 'high', 'upward' or 'above'. When the word is used of countries, it means 'inland', or up from the coast. When the word is used of time, it meansd 'former', or formerly. And so, when Paul uses the term to describe the prize of the upward (high) calling of Yahweh-Elohim, he is most likely telling us that there are two resurrections: for former and the latter, or the first and the general resurrection. The prize is to attain to the former, or first resurrection.
Right the way through the New Testament you'll find countless references to "eternal life". And yes, we will inherit eternal life or immortality. But the thrust of this phrase is to show us a better resurrection, wherein we may inherit life during the Sukkot Age prior to the time of the new heavens and the new earth.
As we keep on encouraging you, it is important that you read the Scriptures through Hebrew eyes and not through English eyes. In the Hebrew concept, it was correctly believed that we would be resurrected at the beginning of the Tabernacles Age. The Messiah would come to rule that Kingdom and His people would rule with Him. In other words, they would be given aionian life, "Age-abiding life", or life pertaining specifically to the Tabernacles Age. What this means is, as I have already stated, that there are two kinds of "life" being given to believers currently and there is a veil of understanding between the two, though the higher may see through that veil like a two-way mirror and understand the lower, but not vice versa.
There is no evidence that the prophets knew clearly of more than one resurrection back in the Old Testament era, any more than they knew there would be a Pentecostal (Shavu'ot) Age before the Tabernacles (Sukkot) Age. This was something that was to be revealed with Yah'shua and the Apostles. And when they did reveal it, they made it clear (as I discussed earlier with you) that those who attain to that high calling would be given life 1,000 years before the rest of the believers.
Consequently, we find references like Luke 12:46 which appears to teach that believers ("servants") who do not watch for His coming will not inherit "eternal life". When in reality it merely says that such people will not inherit the first resurrection. They will not have the privilege of ruling with Yah'shua in immortality and incorruption during the Tabernacles or Sukkot Age. And so we are everywhere exhorted to strive to inherit aionian life, which is the real prize (Phil.3:14).
Why, then, don't all believers do that? Firstly, because they have been fed the lie that there is only one resurrection; Secondly, because they have been fed the aninomian anti-Torah lie that you don't have to obey the commandments because they have supposedly been "done away with" or "nailed to the cross"; Thirdly, because they have been fed the 'once saved, always saved' lie that teaches the sufficiency of passive faith; Fourthly, because they have not been taught the sevenfold process of salvation through the Seven Festivals with Seven Ruachs and sanctification that requires a struggle (Phil.2:12); Fifthly, because they have been taught the lie that passive faith makes them perfect, sinless and demon-free; Sixthy, because they have swallowed the lie of the rapture which will supposedly remove them from the tribulation so they make no preparation for it, and in any case don't want to suffer for their faith; Seventhly, because they have been taught that Yahweh is some sado-masochistic torturer who expects higher standards of forgiveness from us that he Himself shows in supposedly punishing sinners forever ... and so on. I am sure you could add to that list.
And now we come to an implication of these truths which will upset a lot of Christians. So grab your seats as we now take a close look at the Kingdom of Yah'shua. Turn with me first of all to Luke 1:33 - let's read what that says of the Messiah's Kingdom:
"And He (Yah'shua) will reign over the House of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end" (Luke 1:33, NIV).
That passage is taken from the New International Version and as it stands, it's a lie. Now if Luke had used the term aionian here, he would have been incorrect. The things of the Kingdom shall truly be everlasting, not age-lasting. But Yah'shua's reign lasts only until all enemies are subdued, including death itself, a passage we had better remind ourselves of because a lot of believers get 'theological blindness' when they read this:
"For He (Yah'shua) must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For He 'has put everything under his feet.' Now when it says that 'everything' has been put under Him, it is clear that this does not include Yahweh himself, who put everything under Messiah. When He has done this, then the Son Himself will be made subject to Him who put everything under Him, so that Yahweh may be all in all" (1 Cor 15:24-28, NIV).
What happens when all enemies have been subdued? The Kingdom is handed over by Yah'shua to Yahweh His Father, and then the perfected universe enters a timeless realm of which I have briefly spoken. It is, in actual fact, the Garden that we know, only this time it will be a resurrected, physical one too. The heart-world of which we've spoken so much becomes a physical reality!
These truths upset another foundation stone of 'orthodox' Christianity, name, the Trinity doctrine of the Catholic Creeds which claim that the Father and Son are co-equal. They're not, as these scriptures amply prove. But what these scriptures do not do is support the Arian heresy that Yah'shua is somehow a 'lesser god' or 'elohim' (as the Jehovah's Witnesses, some Messianics, and others claim), or any of the spinoffs which declare Him not to be divine at all. Yah'shua is Elohim - He is Deity, like the Father, and eternally so. We are totally and irrevocably committed to the doctrine of the divinity of the Son. Without it our faith is meaningless. But that does not make Him equal to the Father. He is subject to Yahweh and will hand back to Him the keys of the Kingdom that He was given for the Shavu'ot and Sukkot ages "so that Yahweh may be all in all".
In Hebrews 7:16 Yah'shua's coming is referred to as being "on the basis of the power of an indestructible life" (NIV). The Greek word translated 'indestructible' is akatalutos which means 'indissoluble, not subject to destruction'. The King James Version translates it "endless" which is also accurate. He would have been wrong if he had said Yah'shua only had aionian life. The Aramaic agrees (see HRV). In 1 Timothy 1:17 we are told that Yah'shua is the Sovereign or King of the Ages - meaning that He is the rightful ruler of the earth who shall reign during the final two ages of time. There is first the Tabernacles or Shavu'ot Age, which culminates the plan of Yahweh in the present world-order, followed by the Age of the New Heavens and the New Earth. These are the "ages of the ages" or the "ages to come".
After the 1,000 year-long Sabbath Millennium, Yahweh will kindle the lake of fire to purify the wicked. The disobedient believers will simply receive a "few stripes" or "many stripes", up to 40, according to Torah law (Dt.25:1-3). Yahweh prohibits beatings of more than 40 stripes. Why?
"When men have a dispute, they are to take it to court and the judges will decide the case, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty. If the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall make him lie down and have him flogged in his presence with the number of lashes his crime deserves, but he must not give him more than forty lashes. If he is flogged more than that, your brother will be degraded in your eyes" (Deut.25:1-3, NIV).
In other words, punishment is for correction, not destruction. Yahweh's judgments are carefully measured in order to prevent us from being "degraded". This is true for both believers and unbelievers, for it is the same Law that is used for all law-breakers. Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:17:
"Now to the King eternal (ton ainon, "of the ages"), immortal, invisible, the only Elohim, be honour and glory for ever and ever (aionas ton aionon, "ages of the ages"). Amen" (1 Tim.1:17, NIV).
The way this verse is translated leads most people to believe that Paul was informing us of Yahweh's "eternal" existence. Well, Yahweh-Elohim is, of course, eternal. No one disputes that, for it is always assumed. But Paul is bringing out another aspect of Yahweh's character and position. He is the "King of the Ages" and shall rule in the final glorious ages of the earth. It says that He shall reign "for the ages of the ages".
The Greek phrase is aionas ton aionos. The word ton means "of the" - it never means "and". Young's Literal Translation puts it this way:
"And to the King of the Ages, the incorruptible, the only wise God (Elohim), is honour and glory - to the ages of the ages! Amen".
The English phrase, "for ever and ever", actually makes no sense when you pause to think about it. 'For ever' is, by definition, eternal. So how can there be more than 'eternal'? Some translators do a song-and-dance routine, attempting to show that the phrase is an idiom meaning "forever and ever". They say it signifies ages tumbling upon ages. If that were the case, then the Holy of Holies ought to be idiomatic of "Holy and Holies" which is nonsense. The Song of Songs should then be idiomatic for "Song and Songs". Or perhaps they want us to believe that the Holy of Holies is a Holy Place tumbling upon countless other holy places. Then the Song of Songs would be a Song with an infinite number of stanzas which is just as absurd.
No, we have to dismiss this foolishness and call the translators to repent for trying to twist scripture to fit in with their traditions and preconceived doctrines. The Word of Yahweh must be allowed to speak itself through its own Hebraic lenses. Let's also stick to the principle of Occam's Razor which says that the simplest explanation is probably the correct one. So, the Bible talks about the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies) and the greatest Song and the greatest of the Ages. If we accept the plain truth, then everything harmonises, confusion vanishes, and we arrive at a state of echad - oneness. So how did this confusion arise in the first place?
The early Messianic Community outside of the Holy Land was mainly divided between Greek and Latin culture and language. The Romans had conquered the Greek-speaking world shortly before Yah'shua's birth. They borrowed a great deal from the Greeks but the language and cultural barrier always remained in place. Their thinking was totally different. This is the key to understanding how the doctrine of eternal punishment arose in the Western Church.
Now the Greek philosophers were mostly concerned with the perfect or ideal man. The Romans were mostly concerned with perfect government. The Greeks pursued the ideal man by studying virtue and beauty whereas the Romans pursued their perfect government by studying law and order. These differences surfaced in the early Messianic Community too. Both cultures had a tendency to interpret the Bible through the coloured lenses of their own cultures. As time went on, they grew farther and farther away from the Hebrew perspective. And so both Greeks and Romans had their own unique shortcomings and blind spots, even as we do today in our own cultures. Hence the vital importance in our time of restoring the Hebraic Roots of the Gospel.
The blind spot of the Latin or Roman Christians was their belief that in order to maintain law and order, it was necessary to threaten men with the worst possible tortures in both this life and the afterlife. Thus the Romans invented the horrible execution and torture known as crucifixion. This obsession with maintaining law and order appears to have been a motivating force behind the Roman idea of Yahweh's eternal retribution upon sinners.
At length a Western scholar called Jerome was called to translate the Scriptures into Latin in the fourth century. His 'Latin Vulgate' was actually a very good translation but in some aspects it was destructive. When Jerome came to the Greek word aionian ("age-lasting"), he had two Latin words to choose from in his translation: seculum and aeternum. Both of these words had already been used in the Old Latin version that he was correcting. And, in fact, these words were quite close in meaning to the Greek aionian. And so Jerome used both words interchangeably. But there was a problem. The Latin words had a double meaning. Augustine, who wrote the famous book, City of God, was aware of this and wrote:
"The words 'eternal' and 'eternity' from Latin aeternus, aeternitas, are related to aevum, which means both 'unending time' and 'a period of time'; for the second meaning, the commoner word is aetus" (XXII,I).
This footnote was put in by modern Latin scholars to clarify Latin terminology, because Augustine was attempting to prove that aeternus and aeternitas in his Latin Bible was unending time. And from this came the error that punishment in hellfire is eternal. I don't want to get into the history of this error as it is long and rather tedious. Suffice to say that our English translations are highly biased. Let's look at some passages which will be familiar to you. Let's start with Matthew 25:46 where Yah'shua says:
"Then they will go away to eternal (aeonian) punishment, but the righteous to eternal (aeonian) life" (Matt.25:46, NIV).
That is what the very popular New International Version would have us believe. Modern paraphrases like the Living Bible, which are very popular because they are highly readable, say exactly the same thing. But what is this passage actually teaching? It is saying that the wicked will go into divine chastisement that is aionian, that is, for or during that Age of time. The righteous, on the other hand, will be rewarded. Yah'shua confirms that this is the true meaning in John 5:28-29:
"Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment" (John 5:28-29, NASU).
Here you can see that both the just and the unjust are resurrected. Yah'shua taught two different resurrections. Luke 14:14 talks about "the resurrection of the just" where the righteous will be rewarded. The interim or 'space' between these two resurrections defines "the Age", i.e. Aionian life. It is a special reward for certain Christians called to rule with Yah'shua. They will receive life a thousand years before their fellow Christians. They are the firstborn of Yahweh - His firstfruits as it were. It does not mean that their reward will end with that Age. Yahweh does not plan to take back immortality from them.
Likewise, when Yah'shua speaks of the wicked or the unjust receiving aionian judgment, He is once again showing us that their judgment is limited to a specific age. It has both a beginning and an end. Judgment is not perpetual without hope of restoration. The Book of Revelation shows that this age of judgment follows the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the thousand-year Tabernacles or Sukkot age.
And so, the aionian life reward of those who rule with Messiah a thousand years will commence at the first resurrection and end with the second. The aionian judgment of the unjust will commence with the second resurrection and end with the great Jubilee at the end of time, after all things have been put under the feet of Messiah.
We conclude, with concrete and irrefutable proof, that in the original Hebrew and Greek languages, olam and aionian respectively refer to a limited period of time. That is why most of the early Messianic Community or Christian Church scholars understood the lake of fire to be only age-lasting. The Catholic Augustine was the first to actually argue against this, and he did so on a very flimsy basis (I don't have time to go into that now), because he did not understand the Doctrine of the Ages, and this because he refused to learn Greek. For centuries the Roman Catholic Church did not believe the need to learn Greek which had the effect of perpetuating the error with little chance of correction. The concept of eternal punishment became so deeply embedded in the Western psyche that it remains largely uncorrected today. Just pick up a Protestant Jack Chick tract and you'll see what I mean.
We can now confidently dismiss the eternal punishment whipping-boy as an unbiblical lie. Instead, we can focus more on the redemptive heart of our Father in Heaven and really start "judging righteous judgment" (Jn.7:24, KJV). We are freed to preach a gospel of love without fear of contradicting ourselves and coming across as hypocrites worshipping a terrible deity little worse than Satan himself. We can rejoice in Yahweh's fairness, perfect justice and Torah, overflowing love and divine mercy. In short, as believers we can have real hope and give unbelievers that same hope too. Amen.
Acknowledgements
Dr. Stephen E. Jones, Creation's Jubilee, 1991, Minnesota, USA.
Endnotes
1
Also see Ps.78:66; 79:13; 86:12; 89:1; 110:4; 112:6; 115:8
Click here for Part 3
Author: Lev-Tsiyon
Glossary of MLT Hebraic, Greek and English Terms For other terms and full details please see the Micropedia
A
Adon(ai) = Master, a pagan fertility god, Adonis; used by many Messianics but not MLT
(a)eon(ian) = 7 dispensation- or age-long time periods, not forever (see le-olam-va-ed)
Alef-Tav = Alpha-Omega, A-Z, first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet = Yah'shua
Amen = truly, let it be so, written Amein by some Messianics
Apocrypha = Hebraic Scriptures not a part of the Protestant canon (e.g. Baruch)
Anti-Messiah = Hebraic term for the end-time Antichrist or anyone opposed to the Messiah
antinomian = lawless Christian who disregards all or part of Torah/commandments
Ashkenazi Jew = East European Jew descended from the Turkic-Japhethite Khazars
Assembly = church, congregation, ekklesia, community, fellowship, koinonia, gathering
Azazel = the Yom Kippur scapegoat
B
Baal, Ba'al = any other master than Yahweh, usually demonic in MLT terminology
Bachor(im) = firstborn son(s)
Bar/Bat Mitzvah = Son/Daughter of Commandment, covenant to obey Torah at age 12
being = soul, the whole person (spirit and body), e.g. "my whole being"
Beit, bet, beth = house, e.g. Beit Yisrael (House of Israel), Beth Lechem (House of Bread)
Beit haMikdash = Yahweh's Temple in Yerushalayim
B'rit Chadashah = the New Covenant; B'rit Chadashah Scriptures = New Testament
B'rit Milah = circumcision - abolished in the B'rit Chadashah, replaced by Mikvah
C
canon = authoritative Scripture (Heb. qaneh, Gk. kanôn = measuring instrument)
Catechumen = a serious, covenanted investigator seeking Mikvah or Baptism in MLT
Chag haMatzah = Feast of Unleavened Bread, second of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Chavurat Bekorot = MLT's Priesthood Order, Holy Order and Assembly of the Firstborn
Cohen = priest; Cohen Gadol = High Priest (also spelled Kohen)
Council of Yah's elohim = the heavenly Assembly of the Firstborn or Chavurat Bekorot
D
demon = fallen malek or angel in rebellion against Yahweh (Heb. shad; see Êl-Shaddai)
derech = the Way, Path or Road - Yah'shua and the Gospel are the Way
Drash = moral or homiletic interpretation of Scripture - see PaRDeS
E
Echad = One, Union of two or more in one (as opposed to Yachid) - see Elohim
Echad Godhead Doctrine = Father Yahweh, Son Yah'shua and Sevenfold Ruach (Mother)
Êl, Eloah, Elah = God the Father, Yahweh
Êl-Elyon = Most High God, Yahweh
Êl-Shaddai = Master/Lord over all shads or demons
Elohim = God, the Godhead (Father, Son & Holy Spirit), lit. 'Mighty One(s)', 'Ruler(s)'
elohim = Israelite judges, rulers, angels or gods (false deities, idols, demons)
emunah = faith, actively trusting, clinging or adhering to (especially Yahweh or Yah'shua)
emet = truth, Yah'shua is the Emet
Ephraimite = descendant of the patriarch Ephraim and head of Messsianic Israel
F
Feasts of Yahweh = the 7 annual Moedim (Pesach, Chag haMatzah, Yom haBikkurim, Shavu'ot, Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot)
G
Gan-Eden = Garden of Eden, Paradise and state of the purified heart in Messiah
goy(im) = nation(s), Israelites or gentiles not born in or converted to the Covenant
H
hallelu-Yah = praise Yah(weh)!
Heylel = proper name of Satan or haSatan = the Adversary, the devil
Sabbath = Yom Shabbat (Friday to Saturday sunset, add 1 day in IDL Zone)
Hochmah = Wisdom, title of the 7-fold Ruach haQodesh
I
IDL = International Date Line, false man-made time division in Pacific Ocean
IDL Zone = Area between the true Divine Date Line (Lake Van/Eden) and the false one
Israeli = citizen of the modern Edomite-Khazar Republic of Israel (not Biblical Israel)
Israelite = citizen of biblical state of Israel or a modern follower of the Messiah
J
Jew = post-biblical term describing descendants of Edomite and Khazar converts to Judaism
Johannine = pertaining to the Apostle Yochanan (e.g. Gospel of John)
Josephite = descendant of the patriarch Joseph, the head of Messianic Israel
Judahite = a person in direct descent from the patriarch Judah, forefather of the Messiah
Judaism = a Talmudic-based religion rejecting Yah'shua the Messiah
Judean = a citizen of the Kingdom or Province of Judah until the 2nd Century diaspora
K
Kadosh la Yahweh = set-apart or dedicated to Yahweh, 'Holiness to the Lord', MLT motto
Karaites = Jews (from 700 AD) who reject the Talmud and accept only the Tanakh
kashrut = keeping kosher, food laws of Yahweh and correspinding lifestyle
Ketuvim = Writings or Hagiographa of the Tanakh
Khazar = a Turkic convert to Judaism ~700 AD forming the Ashkenazi Jewish community
kosher = clean foods authorised by Yahweh for human consumption
L
Lashon Hara = evil-speaking, gossip or slander
legalism = false route to salvation through works (self-salvation)
le-olam-va-ed = dispensation- or age-long, aeonian, not eternal, forever or for eternity
Lev = heart, as in Lev-Tsiyon = heart of Zion
Lev-Tsiyon = Heart of the Fortress [of Yahweh], Hebrew name of MLT's founder
M
Master = Lord, Sir, Adon(ai) - (one in authority, a ruler - a king, husband, prophet, judge)
Malak(im) = Angel(s), heavenly supernatural messenger(s)
manna = wafers of honey, bread from heaven (lit. 'what is this?')
matzah = unleavened bread, see Chag haMatzah
Menorah = 7-armed candlearbra = the 7 annual Moedim and 7-fold Ruach haQodesh
Messiah = Christ; Anti-Messiah = Antichrist
Messianic Community = Body of Christ, sum total of all true believers; all true fellowships
Messianic Israel = all who worship Yahweh, trust in Yah'shua, obey Torah and overcome
Messianic Jew = Messianic convert from Judaism still clinging to Talmudic traditions
Midrash = aggadic interpretation of scripture viâ Drash, a scriptural discussion
Mikvah = baptism by immersion of convert into Yah'shua or of wife into husband
Mishpachah = family: nuclear, congregational, tribal or the whole of Messianic Israel
MLT = Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon = family of the heart of the fortress [of Yahweh]
Mishpat = right-ruling or judgement
mitzvah/mitzvot = commandment(s)
moed(im) = appointment(s) of Yahweh, 7 Annual Feasts, Sabbath and Rosh Chodesh
N
Nefilim, Nephilim = giant offspring of materialised demons and human women
Nevi'im = prophetic writings of the Old Testament or Tanakh
New Birth = spiritual conversion in the Ruach haRishon, being 'born again' with new heart
Nidah = a woman's menstruation period during which no intercourse is permitted
O
Olive Branch = collection of revelations, prophecies and visions published by MLT
P
Paraclete = Comforter, Advocate (NEB), Counsellor, Ruach haQodesh (Gk. paraklêtos)
PaRDeS = method of textual interpretation (homiletics) - see P'shat, Remez, Drash, Sod
Patriarch = a father who is head of his family, clan or tribe (lit. 'father-ruler')
Pentateuch = first five books of the Tanakh (Genesis-Deuteronomy), also called Torah
peribolaion = headcovering worn by daughters/wives in submission to fathers/husbands
Pesach = Passover, first of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Peshitta = an Aramaic version of the Bible
Prototrinitarianism = early, simplified MLT formulation of the Echad Godhead Doctrine
Prush(im) = Pharisee(s)
Pseudepigrapha = Non-canonical Hebrew writings additional to the Apocrypha
P'shat = literal, contextual, philological, exoteric, outer meaning of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Q
Qadosh Qadoshim = Holy of Holies, most sacred set-apart room of the Beit haMikdash
Qodesh, Kodesh = set-apart, holy (see Ruach haQodesh)
R
Rabbi = Teacher, term used by Messianic Jews and some Messianic Israelites = Pastor
Refuge, the 12 Cities of = divinely protected MLT fortresses during the 7-year Tribulation
Remez = hint or allegorical level of Hebraic understanding of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Rosh Chodesh = monthly New Moon appointment of Yahweh
ruach = spirit of a person (lit.'breath')
Ruach Elohim = Spirit of God (the Spirit of the collective Godhead or Elohim)
Ruach haChamashee = 5th Ruach presides over Yom Teruah and Yom Chamashee
Ruach haQodesh = the Sevenfold Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost (lit. 'Set-Apart Breath')
Ruach haRevee = 4th Ruach presides over Shavu'ot, Yom Revee and Bar Mitzvah
Ruach haRishon = 1st Ruach presides over Pesach, Yom Rishon and the New Birth
Ruach haShanee = 2nd Ruach presides over Chag haMatzah and Yom Shanee
Ruach haSheshi = 6th Ruach presides over Yom Kippur and Yom Sheshi
Ruach haShleshi = 3rd Ruach presides over Yom haBikkurim, Yom Shleshi and Mikvah
S
Sabbath = Yom Shabbat (Friday to Saturday sunset, add 1 day in IDL Zone)
Satan = rebel archangel Heylel, father of lies, devil, chief demon (lit.'Adversary')
Sephardic Jew = West European Jew of mixed blood containing many Judahites
Septuagint = Greek translation of the Tanakh, LXX
Shegal haShabbat = 7th Ruach (Sabbath Queen) presides over Sukkot and Yom Shabbat
Shekinah = Divine Presence and Glory of Yahweh-Elohim
Set-apart = holy, sanctified, consecrated, dedicated, separated (to and by Yahweh)
Shabbat-Shabbaton = High Sabbath (e.g. Yom Kippur)
Shalom = heavenly peace, standard Hebraic greeting invoking Yahweh's peace
Shamash(im) = servant(s), deacon(s), attendant(s)
Shavu'ot = Pentecost or Weeks, fourth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Sheol = grave or pit, euphamism for Hades or hell - also see Tartarus
shofar = ram's horn, blown during Yahweh's Moedim
simcha = joy, keynote of Sukkot
Sod = mystical, anagogic, inner or esoteric understanding of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Sukkot = Tabernacles or Booths, seventh of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Synagogue = Greek word used by Jews and Messianics (but not MLT) for a meeting house
T
talmid(a) = male/female disciple or student
Talmud = scriptures, teachings and commentaries belonging to non-Messianic Judaism
Tanakh = acronym for Old Testament Scriptures - Torah, Nevi'im & Ketuvim
Tartarus = place of imprisonment under the earth for rebellious angels and Nephilim
teshuvah = repentance, remorse and contrition leading back to Torah obedience
Torah = Yahweh's teachings or Law; New Covenant Torah includes Yah'shua's teachings
Tribulation, the Great = the final 7 years of the present aeon when Anti-Messiah rules
Trinity = Catholic Godhead formula - see Echad Godhead Doctrine and Prototrinitarianism
Tsiyon = Zion, a fortress, a name of Jerusalem and a prominent hill
Tzitzit/Tizitziyot = tassel(s) worn by men in remembrance of Torah
U
Universalism = salvation of all at the cosmic Yovel, with different rewards and punishments
Y
Yachid = one, single person or item, as opposed to Echad (many in one, unity)
Yah'shua the Messiah = Jesus Christ (the Son)
Yahudah = Judah - see Judahite
Yahweh, Yah, YHWH = the true Name of our Heavenly Father, also carried by Yah'shua
Yahweh-Elohim = LORD God (the Father, Yahweh as Head of the Godhead or Elohim)
Yahweh haQatan = the sent Yahweh = Yah(weh)'shua, Malak of Yahweh's Presence
Yam Suf = Sea of Reeds, the true Israelite Exodus water crossing, not the Red Sea
Yarden = Jordan River (lit. 'meanderer')
Yerushalayim = Jerusalem
Yisrael = Israel (lit. 'ruling with Êl') = true believers under the New Covenant
Yom Chamashee = 5th day of the week (Thursday, Friday in IDL Zone)
Yom Din, Yom haDin = (the) Day of Judgement
Yom haBikkurim = Feast of Firstfruits, third of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yom Revee = 4th day of the week (Wednesday, Thursday in IDL Zone)
Yom Rishon = 1st day of the week (Sunday, Monday in IDL Zone)
Yom Kippur = Day of Atonement, sixth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yom Shabbat = 7th day of the week and Sabbath Rest (Saturday, Sunday in IDL Zone)
Yom Shanee = 2nd day of the week (Monday, Tuesday in IDL Zone)
Yom Sheshi = 6th day of the week (Friday, Saturday in IDL Zone)
Yom Shleshi = 3rd day of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday in IDL Zone)
Yom Teruah = Day of Trumpets, fifth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yosef = Joseph - see Josephite
Yovel = Jubilee or Year of Jubilee
Z
Zaqen(im) = elder(s) of an assembly or congregation, or senior members of a community
Zoë Life = Greek term for spiritual life in the Messiah
Commonly Used MLT Abbreviations
For additional abbreviations and explanations, please see the Micropedia
A
Amp.V(er). = Amplified Version of the Bible
Aram. = Aramaic
AV = Authorised Version of the Bible - see KJV
B
BCAY = B'rit Chadashah Assembly of Yahweh - see NCCG
BoA = Books of Abraham (e.g. 1Abr., 2Abr., etc.)
C
cp, cf = compare with
CB(Q) = Chavurat Bekorot
CEV = Contemporary English Version of the Bible
ch. = chapter
CJB = Complete Jewish Bible
CLNT = Concordant Literal New Testament
CYe = Council of Yah's elohim
E
Eng. = English
F
ff. = and onwards/forwards
fn = footnote
G
Gk. = Greek
GNB = Good News Bible - see TEV
H
Heb. = Hebrew, Hebraic
HEM = Holy Echad Marriage, eternal marriage
HO = Holy Order - see Chavurat Bekorot
HOC = Holy Order Collection of revelations - see OB
HRV = Hebraic-Roots Version of the Bible
I
ibid. = ibidem (lit. 'in the same place'), referring to a book previously cited
ICJC = Independent Church of Jesus Christ, earlier name of NCCF
ISRV = Institute for Scripture Research Version of the Bible
J
JB = Jerusalem Bible
JBP/Phillips = J.B.Phillips translation of the New Testament
JNT = Jewish New Testament
K
KJV = King James Version of the Bible - see AV
L
LB = Living Bible
lit. = literally or literature
LXX = Septuagint, Greek translation of the OT
M
MLT = Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon
Moff. = Moffatt translation of the Bible
MRC = Messianic Renewed Covenant Version of the NT
MS(S) = Manuscript(s)
N
NASB, NASV = New American Standard Bible/Version
NC&C = New Covenants & Commandments - see OB
NCCF = New Covenant Christian Fellowship, earlier name of NCCG
NCCG = New Covenant Church of God, earlier name of MLT - see BCAY
NCP = New Covenant Press, publishing arm of MLT
NCW = New Covenant Witness, MLT magazine
NEB = New English Bible
NIV = New International Version of the Bible
NKJV = New King James Version of the Bible
Nor. = Norwegian
NT = New Testament, B'rit Chadashah
NWT = New World Translation of the Bible, unreliable Jehovah's Witness version
O
OB = Olive Branch - see NC&C
op.cit. = opere citato (lit. in the work cited)
OT = Old Testament, Tanakh
P
p(p). = page(s)
pl. = plural - see s.
PWNC = Prophetic Words of the New Covenant, revelation cataloging system - see OB
Q
QED = quod erat demonstrandum (lit. which was shown to be proved)
R
RCF = Restoration Christian Fellowship, earlier name of ICJC
RhQ = Ruach haQodesh, Holy Spirit
RSTNE = Restoration Scriptures True Name Edition of the Bible
RSV = Revised Standard Version of the Bible
RV = Revised Version of the Bible
S
s. = singular - see pl.
S&G = Smith & Goodspeed Version of the Bible
T
TEV = Today's English Version of the Bible - see GNB
V
Vulg. = Biblia Vulgata, Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible
W
WEB = World English Bible
Glossary Copyright ©2007 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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This page was first created on 19 March 2007
Last updated on 19 March 2007
Copyright ©2006 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved