I read in Isaiah 45:17 But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
Ephesians 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Can you share your knowledge on the subject? Thank you.
In Isaiah 45:17, the last few words, which the version of the Bible you selected (KJV?) translated as "... world without end", are comprised of two Hebrew words. The first word is "
ad", which literally means terminus (usually in a time sense), and the second word is "
o-lawm', which literally means vanishing point. What these two words together mean would literally be "beyond the vanishing point". It is a Jewish idiom, which in this context is more accurately translated by the New American Standard Bible: "to all eternity".
In context, it is not speaking of the world or the land, but the Jewish people who would be blessed by God forever. And those who were faithful will be.
In Ephesians 3:21, the words "world without end" are a translation of one Greek word repeated twice. This Greek word is "
aeon", which refers to an age of time. It can mean the world system of the time, or it can also mean a long period of time (past or future). We see the second usage still used on occasion in literature, such as "an aeon of time". It is unclear exactly how this should be translated when used back to back like it is here... the NASB (and most other translations) renders it "forever and ever", while a few others think it should be translated "to the age of the ages", specifically indicating the summation of all history in the eternal state. Regardless, Ephesians 3:21 is speaking of the church here, not the physical earth.
As you can see, it is just an older translation that renders it "world without end"... whether this is just a poor translation, or there has been a change in usage of the word "world" since the King James era, I really don't know. Anyways, after this present world is dissolved by God, we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth that will exist forever (see Revelation 20-22).
Hope this helps;
Mike
