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

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

For example, let us consider Matthew 13:49 in the King James Version of the Bible (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 this world” might give us the idea that this physical creation will come to an end. However, 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.

Yet, 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” (cf. 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 meaning, “an age; a period of time”. So, if a person does not know the older meaning of the word “world”, then he would naturally think that in Matthew 13:49, the word “world” refers to this physical creation—even though that was not the meaning that was intended by the biblical writer or the KJV translators!

Conclusion

Older Bible translations like the KJV are excellent! However, if we are not careful, we might misinterpret Bible passages because we do not always correctly understand the older language. Alternatively, we may use Bible translations in more modern language in order to help us correctly understand Bible passages more easily.