Wormwood
Chaps
Jiggy,
First, lets examine the phrase. This phrase "into ages of ages" is used 12x in the book of Revelation and it always deals with eternity. Here are some examples of where this phrase is used elsewhere.
Revelation 1:6
Revelation 1:18
Revelation 4:9
Revelation 4:10
Revelation 5:13
Revelation 7:12
Revelation 10:6
Revelation 15:7
Revelation 19:3
Revelation 20:10
Revelation 22:5
So, if your translation here is accurate, God should recieve glory and power only for an age, Jesus was dead and is alive only for an age, and Christ will reign only for an age. Let me share some of the details of the Greek in this phrase and then look at the one word in particular.
It's important to understand that words are always defined by context. The word "stud" could be referring to a board, a horse, or a person. Also, the word could be figurative or literal. "This traffic is taking forever" and "Jesus lives forever and ever" have very different meaning with the word. In this phrase, there are three words to consider. Eis means into or toward. Aionias is accusative plural and can be translated as "ages." Aionion is also plural but is genitive and shows possession. It could be translated as "of ages." So this is not the simple noun aion - "age." It's into ages of ages. So how do we understand an "age?"
Essentially this word refers to a long period of time without reference to beginning or end. So, it could be understood as a time in the past or a present age that is certainly a limited amount of time (not eternal) but one that is expansive and has no clear start or end. However, when referring to a future age, often, eternity is in mind. The future age of perfection noted in the Bible and other literature is understood to be a perpetual age and therefore an eternal one. I think this is undeniable in lots of Biblical passages as well as extra biblical literature. To translate otherwise would be to turn sentences of praise and blessing into an insult. Rob Bell has tried to oversimplify this because of his own theological agenda in some of his writings and has been taken to task by scholars on the issue. It's simply a major error to suggest aion is always referring to a temporal period. The age to come as pictured in the Bible is an everlasting age. Thus to refer to it is akin to speaking of eternity.
First, lets examine the phrase. This phrase "into ages of ages" is used 12x in the book of Revelation and it always deals with eternity. Here are some examples of where this phrase is used elsewhere.
Revelation 1:6
Revelation 1:18
Revelation 4:9
Revelation 4:10
Revelation 5:13
Revelation 7:12
Revelation 10:6
Revelation 15:7
Revelation 19:3
Revelation 20:10
Revelation 22:5
So, if your translation here is accurate, God should recieve glory and power only for an age, Jesus was dead and is alive only for an age, and Christ will reign only for an age. Let me share some of the details of the Greek in this phrase and then look at the one word in particular.
It's important to understand that words are always defined by context. The word "stud" could be referring to a board, a horse, or a person. Also, the word could be figurative or literal. "This traffic is taking forever" and "Jesus lives forever and ever" have very different meaning with the word. In this phrase, there are three words to consider. Eis means into or toward. Aionias is accusative plural and can be translated as "ages." Aionion is also plural but is genitive and shows possession. It could be translated as "of ages." So this is not the simple noun aion - "age." It's into ages of ages. So how do we understand an "age?"
Essentially this word refers to a long period of time without reference to beginning or end. So, it could be understood as a time in the past or a present age that is certainly a limited amount of time (not eternal) but one that is expansive and has no clear start or end. However, when referring to a future age, often, eternity is in mind. The future age of perfection noted in the Bible and other literature is understood to be a perpetual age and therefore an eternal one. I think this is undeniable in lots of Biblical passages as well as extra biblical literature. To translate otherwise would be to turn sentences of praise and blessing into an insult. Rob Bell has tried to oversimplify this because of his own theological agenda in some of his writings and has been taken to task by scholars on the issue. It's simply a major error to suggest aion is always referring to a temporal period. The age to come as pictured in the Bible is an everlasting age. Thus to refer to it is akin to speaking of eternity.