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OLAM - EVERLASTING, FOREVER
- Petra Hadžidaova
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Psalm 90: 2 (NIV)
(1)
INTRODUCTION
These earthly bodies will fade. All the money, cars, and material will too. Even this worldly love has a limit. But not God’s. God’s love is everlating as is He. The Hebrew word for everlasting is olam. While often translated as world or universe nowadays, it always spoke of time when used in the Bible. Let us take a look.
THE HEBREW WORD OLAM
“Till death do us part,” say the groom and bride on their fateful day. They enter a new chapter of their lives, one of mutual love and joy. Marriage is meant to be a great blessing and a tool to promote the kingdom of God. As much as we wish it would last forever, even the best of them come to an end in this world.
But there is one that will go on forever and ever, as will the love that sustains it. Do you know which one I am speaking of? God loves us as a husband loves his wife, and His love will never run out. It is everlasting.
The Hebrew word for forever, everlasting, eternity, and unending is olam (עוֹלָם, oh-LAHM). It is one of the most profound words in the Bible. Nowadays, it is often translated as world or universe, but in the Bible, it almost always speaks of time and not space. (2, 3)
The word Olam is not just talking about “a very long time.” It is talking about foreverness — the kind of time that has no horizon, no expiration date, no end. (2, 3)
THE ORIGIN OF OLAM
The origin of the word olam is still under debate. Some claim it is derived from the verb alam, meaning hidden, concealed, and unknown time. Others point to the Akkadian word ullu, meaning remote time, as the origin of the Hebrew concept. This further supports the claim that olam is the Hebraic conceptualization of time, not of space or location. (3)
EL OLAM
Whenever the Word speaks of God as “El Olam” (The Everlasting God), it is reminding us that He stands outside of time. He has no beginning or end. He is not bound by beginnings or endings, by clocks or calendars. He is the God who was, who is, and who is to come. (2)
YESHUA AND HIS ETERNAL RULE
After Yeshua rose back from the dead and ascended into Heaven, He took His rightful position at the right hand of God. All of Earth will be given to Him at his second coming. All people will bow before His throne. And as promised to King David, His rule will be forever and ever.
The righteous will rise with Yeshua and co-rule and co-reign with Him forever and ever too.
CONCLUSION
Worldly love may be limited by time, but God’s love will last forever and ever. So will also His rule. The best way to describe this concept in Hebrew is by using the word olam. Nowadays, it is often translated as universe or world, but in the Bible, it almost always speaks about time and not space. It means forever, everlasting, eternity, and unending. When using it as a title for God, it reveals to us the truth about God having no beginnings or end and being outside of time altogether.
Application
Document any experience of God’s everlasting love shown to you during the upcoming week.
SOURCES
Image created via canva.com.
Vice of Judah Israel. Hebrew Word of the Week Olam (עוֹלָם) – The Everlasting God. Available at https://vojisrael.org/hebrew-word-of-the-week-olam-the-everlasting-god/
Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin. Olam: time and space. January 24, 2014. Available at https://daytonjewishobserver.org/2014/01/14414/
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