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

Languages change over time. In older Bible translations, some expressions do not mean the same things that they mean today. Hence, when using older Bible translations, we might wrongly understand Bible passages without even knowing it!

For example, let us consider Matthew 13:49 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,

We might think that the phrase “the end of the world” refers to the end of this physical creation. 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 not wrong 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 today are generally not aware that “world” previously had this older meaning. So, when we read Matthew 13:49 in the KJV, we would naturally think that the word “world” refers to this physical creation—and we would not even know that we have misunderstood the Bible passage!

Conclusion

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 our natural languages. This would help us correctly understand Bible passages more easily.