"THE GREAT COMMISSION", AN ADDITIONAL TRANSLATION

Matthew 28: 18 - 20 has been frequently referred to as "The Great Commission".

For your consideration, I would like to give you an additional possible translation that I have drawn from the word choices in the original Greek.  This could enable you to see some of the potential richness, greater accuracy, greater depth, and greater correlation to other scriptures that may be found in a scripture by drawing on the original languages.

Matthew 28: 18 - 20 NIV (New International Version): "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'"

Matthew 28: 18, 19, 20 Alternate translation for your consideration: "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Going then, taught by practice with all the nations, immersing them [as in a dye to change a fabric's color] in the nature/character/identity of the Father and the Son and of The Set Apart/Unique Breath/Spirit, teaching/directing/admonishing them to keep watch over/guard/protect/preserve everything that I have commissioned you to proclaim. And lo!  I am with you all of the days until the completion of the age.'"

Comment: The word "age" above is "aeonos" in Greek.  It is very commonly mistranslated "eternity" or "eternal" in many scriptures used to support the horrendous concept of "eternal punishment" or "eternal damnation", which is accurately translated from kolasin aionion as "pruning [which produces greater productivity in a vine] for an age" (Matthew 25:46)

June

The "Holy Spirit"/ the "Breath of Life" - the Feminine in the Trinity

For those of you who enjoy and are open to thinking "out of the box" and imagining the amazing possibilities that are/may be within our Creator's nature:

 

I was having some fun yesterday morning with my studies:

 

I had learned previously that the words for "Holy Spirit" in Greek were: Hagios: Set apart for special use/Unique; Pneuma: Wind/Air in motion/Breath) and were feminine. 

 

But I got into the Old Testament Hebrew yesterday and the word for the "Breath of life" that God breathed into Adam "neshamah" is also feminine AND the word for God's personal "Spirit" (Breath) is "ruwach"  is also feminine.

 

So, we've got the Father, the Son and the ?"Mum"?:) that emanates from the Father and Son - the action force (air in motion/ spirit in motion/breath in motion) used by them to do the creating!?!  Imagine all the fun thoughts about "life"/"creation" being "delivered" via the female aspect of the Godhead!

 

Lots of imagination fun for some unique (holy/hagios:) and creative minds!

WHICH AGENDA AND WHOSE?: HAPPINESS IN THIS LIFE VERSUS ULTIMATE HAPPINESS IN THE FUTURE LIFE

*As Ordained:

So many individuals read the Bible with the perspective of thinking it will provide a better life in THIS world.  This leads to 1) failure of attempting to use Biblical/Spiritual principles in reaching their material/physical goals/existence, 2) disillusionment in the spiritual due to failure in this faulty application 3) perpetuation of the false teaching of being able to "have it now" materially and physically (by attempting to use spiritual principles), a lure to which we humans are very susceptible 4) failure in understanding God's nature and true ultimate agenda, 5) being robbed of the comfort that is available with accurate understanding of God's agenda (our future existence beyond this life) when life/God does not meet their material-world expectations. 6) negative judgment of others.

YOU ARE PERFECT, SINCE YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN IS PERFECT

I will reiterate that I am not a Greek "scholar" but this is what I have been given in my studies for your consideration.  June

Matthew 5:48 "You will be [Greek - esesthe] [are- as His ongoing Work] Perfect since/just as [Greek - osper] your Father in Heaven is Perfect."

This is quite a departure from the daunting sound of command of the traditional translation "BE YE Perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect." that has caused much concern and confusion.  This uses both the legalistic prejudices of the translators and the King James English of the time to give the phrase this "flavor".