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Scripture, etc.), but with points of difference (e.g., the hope set before any
particular company, the sphere in which it will be enjoyed, etc.).
The interested reader will find fuller notes in the following Volumes:
Dispensation, its Meaning . . . . .
Vol. 12: 23; 18: 105.
Dispensation and the Ages; Dispensation and Doctrine . . . . .
Vol. 10: 113, 127; 12: 12.
See also "Dispensational Truth" . . . . . pages 30-32.
#7.
The Ages.
pp. 182, 183
We remarked in No.6 of this series that the word "dispensation" is often confused
with the word "age", and it may therefore be helpful if we now consider the meaning of
this second word. The meaning and importance of the "ages" in Scriptural teaching has
been obscured by the fact that in most places the words olam, aionios, and aion are
translated in terms of eternity--"for ever" or "everlasting"--instead of in terms of time.
The purpose of the ages in one complete whole but the dispensational sub-divisions in its
outworking are many. While the sphere of blessing of the Church of the Mystery differs
most essentially from that of earthly Israel, both callings are an essential part of the one
purpose of the ages. This is not the place to discuss the varying translations of olam and
aion. In this article we are simply stating our conclusions as clearly as possible. The
references given to articles in The Berean Expositor will, however, supply the reader with
a fairly comprehensive survey of the usage and meaning of the words concerned.
The words OLAM, AION and AIONIOS, usually translated "for ever" and
"everlasting" in the A.V., do not refer, either in themselves or in their usage,
to eternity, but to time. The one word "age", with its variants, "age-long",
"age-abiding", "ages of ages", etc., gives a complete presentation of the truth
of Scripture. It is therefore important to discover whether any particular
reference in the A.V. is a translation of these words, before any doctrine is
deduced involving the idea of eternity as distinct from that of the ages.
For a fuller treatment of this subject and allied themes, the reader is referred to the
following pages in The Berean Expositor:
THE AGES (Aion and Olam) . . . . .
Vol. 1: 89 (1: 83); 6: 38, 69-72; 10: 62-64;
13: 44; 14: 120; 15: 41.