PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--THE LASTING BIBLE, published by CR Ministries, corrects mistranslations of olam (Hebrew) and aionios (Greek). Many English translations err, leading to confusion regarding hell’s duration, the land of Israel, etc. Jesus taught that true worship would not be connected to real estate (cf. John 4:21). He also taught proportional punishment (Lk 12:47-48) with eventual cessation (Mt 10:28). Immortal life is not something inherent in man, as per Plato. It comes as a gift from Creator Christ. Both words are indeterminate as to duration and are equivalent to the English, lasting. The Holy Spirit used these indeterminate words to describe such things as the duration of Solomon’s Temple, Day of Atonement observance, circumcision, Passover observance, slavery, Aaronic priesthood, Jonah’s stay in the aquatic animal, life, punishment, God, sabbath observance, earth, etc. Scholars should translate with equivalency and not try to discern when to use a temporal word and when to use an eternal one. Free PDF copies of THE LASTING BIBLE are available to the world on the CR Ministries website (https://www.cr-ministries.org/the-lasting-bible), and paperback copies are available by contacting CEO Paul G. Humber, 215-483-9846, paulhumber@verizon.net.
Two examples of concern follow: 1) The ESV translation for Jonah 2:6 says, “I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever [olam]; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God,” but Jesus said Jonah was three days/nights in the belly of the animal. How is that “forever” and not “lasting”? 2) Using “lasting” rather than “everlasting” in Matt 25:46 [aionios is used twice] is much better because it preserves the durational indeterminacy of the original Greek word. Lasting can refer both to things eternal as well as temporal. There are many other examples, and the Director has written two books about this, Leaven in the Lump (all 439 uses of olam in the OT) and Terminal Hell-Eternal Paradise (all uses of aionios in the NT).
About CR Ministries: CR Ministries is directed by Paul G. Humber, but there have been many volunteer helpers over the years. With two degrees from UPenn and one from Westminster Seminary, Humber has spearheaded CRT (Christian Released Time) in Philadelphia for about 15 years and has written much in the area of Creation Research. Books of his are listed both in the CR Bookstore and on Amazon.com.