The End of the World? (Matthew 13:40)

When using older Bible translations, it is important to remember that languages change over time. Hence, some expressions that are used in these older Bible translations do not mean the same things that they mean today.

For example, let us consider how Matthew 13:49 is rendered in the KJV:

So it shall be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,

The phrase “the end of the world” might give us the idea that this physical creation will come to an end. However, this is not a correct understanding of the phrase. The Greek word for “world” here is aiōn (αἰών), which means “an age; a period of time”. It does not refer to the physical creation.

Now, the KJV translators did not make a mistake! The KJV was produced more than 400 years ago. During that time, the English word “world” could mean “an age; a period of time”. Hence, the KJV translators were right to render aiōn as “world” (also in Matt. 13:39–40; 24:3; 28:20; 1 Cor. 10:11; Eph. 3:21; Heb. 9:26).

However, in English today, the word “world” no longer has this older meaning, “an age; a period of time”. Unfortunately, people are generally not aware about this older meaning of the word “world”. So, when a person today reads Matthew 13:49 in the KJV, he would likely think that the word “world” refers to this physical creation—even though that was not intended by the biblical writer or the KJV translators!

Conclusion

The KJV is an excellent Bible translation! However, when using the KJV, we are prone to misinterpreting Bible passages because we do not always correctly understand its older language.

Therefore, if we want to use an older Bible translation, then we should learn its older language. Of course, this is not easy, and requires additional effort. Alternatively, we may use Bible translations that are written in more modern language. This would help us correctly understand Bible passages more easily.