Hello,<\/p>\n
My son has fallen into the web of denominational teachings, including some off-the-wall organizations with the typical anything-goes philosophies, premillennialism, rapture, etc. He and I have finally begun to discuss the truth with the myths he believes. I have sent him several of your articles on the “End of Times, Rapture, etc” he has begun to read. But he claims that he will only discuss the King James Version of the Bible as his reference.<\/p>\n
His first reply was, the KJV lists the accounts of Matthew 24:3 as the prediction of the end of the world. Personally, I understand that the end in this KJV predicts the end of the Jewish world via the Roman destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem. My problem is how to best explain to him the meaning of “end of the world” vs. “end of the age” so that he will understand and grasp the truth. I sent him the extensive scriptures that without question explain the reality and difference between the end of the world and the end of the Jewish age, but this one point he brings up at the onset, in my opinion, is very critical to start the conversation.<\/p>\n
I would appreciate your input or advice on how to best explain this matter in terms he would understand.<\/p>\n
Thanks in advance.<\/p>\n\t
If someone is determined to cling to an idea, no amount of evidence is going to persuade the person to change. Thus, this explanation will likely only lead to denial or finding something else to support his cause.<\/p>\n
The phrase in Matthew 24:3 is a part of the\u00a0disciples’<\/em> questions concerning Jesus’ statement that all the beautiful buildings they were admiring would be torn down (Matthew 24:2). They ask Jesus about three things:<\/p>\n In the disciples’ mind, the three questions are all in regard to the same thing. To a Jew, the destruction of Jerusalem would be the end of the age. Thus, even if you insist that the phrase is “end of the world,” it doesn’t support any premillennial doctrine. When Jesus answers their questions, he splits them into two questions. Matthew 24:4-35 discusses the warning signs of Jerusalem’s destruction and the certainty that Jesus’ prophecy would take place. Matthew 24:36-25:46 is Jesus’ answer to the question about the end of the age. Unlike the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus repeatedly states that when the end of the world happens is unknown (Matthew 24:36) and will have no advance warnings. For details see:<\/p>\n In regards to the question as to how the end of Matthew 24:3 should be translated into English, the Greek word\u00a0aionos<\/em> means an indefinitely long period of time, including eternity. Thus, it can be translated as “age” or “era.” The word can also designate the world in terms of the course of time on the world (as opposed to another Greek word,\u00a0kosmos<\/em>, which designates the world in terms of space). Thus, it can refer to the direction this world has gone or is heading over time.<\/p>\n “In which you formerly walked according to the course of this world<\/strong>, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience<\/em>” (Ephesians 2:2).<\/p>\n “so that in the ages<\/strong> to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus<\/em>” (Ephesians 2:7).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In the two passages above, both are in the same context, and both have the same word aion<\/em> but they are translated differently. (By the way, all the major English translations chose the same words in these two verses.) It just depends on how the translators saw the emphasis — whether eternal time or worldly time. Since Peter makes it clear that when Jesus returns, it will be the end of the physical world (II Peter 3:10-12) that also means it will be the end of the age.<\/p>\n The disciples thought that the destruction of Jerusalem marked the end of the world. They could not imagine the world continuing with the great city remaining. Jesus’ answers point out that the disciples really asked about two separate events. The end of Jerusalem had warning signs that needed to be heeded, but the world would continue to go on. The end of the world will have no warning signs.<\/p>\n The reason the newer translations use “age” instead of “world” in Matthew 24:3 is because Jesus talks about fleeing to the mountains (Matthew 24:16) and praying that the time to flee is not on a Sabbath day (Matthew 24:19-20). Neither of these is possible if Jesus was discussing the end of the physical world, so to avoid confusion, they chose “age” for the disciples’ question.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Hello, My son has fallen into the web of denominational teachings, including some off-the-wall organizations with the typical anything-goes philosophies, premillennialism, rapture, etc. He and I have finally begun to discuss the truth with the myths he believes. I have sent him several of your articles on the “End of Times, Rapture, etc” he…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1574,313,708,190],"class_list":["post-55090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-greek-language","tag-king-james-version","tag-matthew","tag-translation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15774,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-think-something-drastic-will-happen-this-year-do-you-think-the-rapture-will-happen-in-the-next-two-years\/","url_meta":{"origin":55090,"position":0},"title":"Do you think something drastic will happen this year? Do you think the rapture will happen in the next two years?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: To your knowledge, do you think something drastic will happen this year, 2008? And do you believe that the Rapture will possibly take place within the next year or two according to God's Word? Thank you. Answer: Neither the term nor the concept that is commonly called \"the rapture\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20610,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-any-evidence-of-the-rapture-being-written-or-spoken-of-prior-to-1909-and-scofield\/","url_meta":{"origin":55090,"position":1},"title":"Is there any evidence of the rapture being written or spoken of prior to 1909 and Scofield?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 23, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is there any evidence of the rapture being written or spoken of prior to 1909 and Scofield? Answer: It depends on which version of premillennialism you have in mind. At its root, premillennialism holds to the idea that Jesus reigns over an earthly kingdom. Such an idea originated among\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3555,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-ruse-of-the-rapture\/","url_meta":{"origin":55090,"position":2},"title":"The Ruse of the Rapture","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 16, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dudley Ross Spears Maybe you have seen the bumper sticker that reads, \"In case the Rapture occurs, this car will be driverless.\" With tensions building in the Middle East, expectations are being sharpened in those who believe that the Rapture is about to take place. The Rapture is an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1362,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-there-be-a-rapture\/","url_meta":{"origin":55090,"position":3},"title":"Will There be a Rapture?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: I Thessalonians 4:13-18 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0People have always been fascinated with the second coming of Christ \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0That fascination increased greatly as the 21st century approached. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A very popular series, called \u201cLeft Behind\u201d by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins claims to tell the events of Christ\u2019s return in fictional form.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3548,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-rapture\/","url_meta":{"origin":55090,"position":4},"title":"What Is the Rapture?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 16, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by V. Glenn McCoy \u00a0 A young Christian mother recently came into my office with her two children and said, \"Will you please explain to my children what the 'Rapture' is?\" Her children had been exposed to the \"Rapture\" through some of their friends and they were left confused. Most\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8308,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/since-jesus-returns-with-the-saints-doesnt-this-mean-there-will-be-a-rapture-first\/","url_meta":{"origin":55090,"position":5},"title":"Since Jesus returns with the saints, doesn’t this mean there will be a rapture first?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 28, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I studied on The Rapture for quite a long while (one or two-plus years!) seeking the truth about The Rapture.\u00a0 I sought my answers from God's inerrant and infallible Word. The Scripture says that Jesus will return to earth with His saints when He returns to lay down rule\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55090\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n