Tradition versus truth
If Psalm 25:6 is rightly translated, why do we not teach that the giants of Genesis 6 are "from
everlasting"? How do we know that Joshua did not affirm that Israel's "fathers dwelt on the other side of
the flood from eternity" (Josh. 24:2)?" If it is God's truth to say that the ungodly shall be punished for
ever, why do we not read in Psalm 73:12, "These are the ungodly that prosper for ever (olam)"? If the
one rendering is impossible, who is there, with divine warrant, to assure us that the other is true? There is
but one sure means of arriving at the meaning of any word, either in Scripture or in secular literature, and
that is by its usage.
The usage of olam in the Old Testament
"If the servant shall say ... I will not go out free ... he shall serve him for ever (olam)" (Exod. 21:5,6). Yet
of the same class of servant Leviticus 25:40 says: "He shall serve him unto the year of jubile".
Hannah, speaking of the infant Samuel, said: "I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and
there abide for ever (olam)" (1 Sam. 1:22), yet in verse 11 she said: "I will give him unto the LORD all the
days of his life".
Revelation 21:22 tells us that a time is coming when there shall be no more temple, yet Ezekiel 37:26;
Exodus 40:15 and Numbers 18:8 tell us that temple, priesthood, and sacrifice were to be for ever.
The phrase "for ever and ever" in the A.V. is, in many instances, the translation of the words le olam va
ed, which the Greek version renders: "unto the age and yet", and "unto the age and beyond". These
translators showed a truly humble spirit. They did not say that because they could not see the end of the
age they were dealing with, therefore there was no end, and so translate these words in terms of eternity.
They have given us the true and the literal meaning and thereby opened our eyes to a wonderful fact.
The Old Testament prophets did not see much beyond the Millennium, but they knew that there was much
"beyond". This is enlightening and helpful, but "for ever and ever" can only be dealt with casually; it
defies exegesis. If ever means never-ending eternity, what sense is there in "for ever and ever"? If olam
means eternity, what did God intend when He followed it by the words "and yet further"? If olam means
eternity, what are olams? And what are "eternities of eternities"? If we will but keep to the one word
"age", we shall find a true and proper translation for every expression. We shall find some things are
"for, or unto, the age"; others are "for, or unto, the ages". We shall learn that there are not only "ages",
but "ages of ages", and not one expression will be redundant or unwanted.
Psalm 145:13 is translated in the A.V.:
"Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations".
All generations, be they never so long, are a drop in the ocean of eternity, and the balance is not true. The
margin tells us that the Hebrew reads, "a kingdom of all ages", and that is what we should have read, not
man's fancied version.
"Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages, and Thy dominion in every generation and generation".
Here we see the character of Hebrew poetry, where thought rhymes with thought rather than sound with
sound, and this feature is most helpful in the true understanding of the poetic sections, such as the Psalms
and Proverbs. However, all this is sacrificed by tradition in order to retain the doctrine of eternal
conscious punishment. It may be as well to say here why we persist in saying "eternal conscious
punishment". The reason is that "everlasting punishment" is a Biblical term, and, rightly understood, is
part of our own creed. What tradition intends by the expression is everlasting punishing of the immortal
and conscious souls of men. This we repudiate, and so indicate where we differ in this way. Do these
20