His Mercy Endureth Forever

Let’s discuss how the Holy Spirit works. It was some time ago that a voice from within told me to look at the phrase that we are now working on. The voice did not use Elizabethan English, however the KJV uses the Textus Recptus as the base text. The phrase “His Mercy endureth forever” appears 41 times in the Bible. Please understand that I have been led to study the languages of the Bible, but I have no formal training in those languages. Also, I have the best reference material available. I did study Hebrew with Rabbi James Cone at Temple Israel. I was the only Gentile in the class. However, since that class was, for me of very short duration, my Hebrew is limited. And, I never did get used to reading backward.

As I said, the phrase, “His Mercy endureth forever” appears in the Old Testament 41 times. With all that repetition we may think that God is trying to tell us something.

The ancient languages (Hebrew and Greek) did not use punctuation. Repetition was the way they accentuated an idea or concept. Repetition was the ancient exclamation point.

That is the good news, but the bad news is that “His Mercy endureth forever” is not a literal translation! The word “endureth,” or “endures” has been added to the text. The Hebrew literal text says, (Heb. leolam-לְעוֹלָם hasedo-חַסְדּוֹ,” or “for the age, {godly} kindness”. I have added the word “godly” to my translation to indicate the source of the kindness or mercy. The Hebrew translation must have added words when brought into English because one Hebrew word contains many “English” thoughts.

As Carolyn and I were discussing the Hebrew, we turned to the Hebrew word Olam. That Hebrew word refers to an age. It, in no way, speaks of eternity. There is no single Hebrew word that may be correctly translated “eternal.”

The fact is that God’s mercy extended to mankind had a beginning and it shall have an end. Prior to the fall of mankind there was no need for His mercy. At the end of the age of ages all shall be completely filled with the presence of God, and His mercy shall have overwhelmed all that stands in opposition to God, and again His mercy shall not be needed.

1 Cor 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

 Eph 1:21-23

²² And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,

²³ which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (NKJV)

Those few verses take us far past Revelation to the consummation of God’s plan for the ages. In case you do not know, the millennium is NOT the end of the world or the end of all conflict.

Rev 20:7-10
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Many theologians twist the Scripture in an attempt to make Armageddon seem to be the last conflict, however when we actually read and believe the Bible we find that the War of Gog and Magog is at least 1,000 years past the return of Christ and Armageddon.

The return of Christ Jesus begins a millennium that has 1 thousand years that has no the open conflict.

During that millennium the sin-nature that is within human mankind and is unregenerateable shall lay dormant. However, it shall rise again prior to to the Great White Throne Judgment. The sin nature can, when confronted by the Holy spirit of God, but the only way to prevent the rise of the sin-nature is through the Lake of Fire and its complete destruction. Read Revelation 20 which must be read and understood as being a linear writing, and notice that the Gog and Magog war, and the Great White Throne Judgment resulting in death (Gr. thanatos-θάνατος) and hell (Gr. hades-ᾅδης) being cast into the lake of fire happens after the Millennium. The first death shall be consumed by the second death, and will cease to exist.

As you may have read, I believe that the second death is remedial and not punitive. But if God removes all rebellion within the sin-nature, Death and Hades, nothing shall remain.

The war of Gog and Magog indicates the the sin-nature was suppressed, but not eliminated during the millennium of peace.

The battle of Gog and Magog is the last open rebellion! The Lake of Fire shall consume all rebellion! There is no rebellion against God the Father, God the Son, or the Holy Spirit following the Great White Throne Judgment!

Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

It is the Holy Spirit that enforces the will of the Father. The Father and Son chose those whom they will to be called and the time of that calling. Then the Holy Spirit comes to indwell at the appointed moment and seals us from the punishment that the Son has already paid on the cross. It all works in concert according to His mercy!

God’s mercy endures forever.