Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

The particular English translation of the Gloria Patri that speaks of "world without end" apparently traces to Thomas Cranmer, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury in England who wrote the English Book of Common Prayer at the time that England originally broke away from the Roman Catholic Church during the reign of Henry VIII in the sixteenth century. (The phrase in its Latin wording was "in saecula saeculorum", which means literally "to ages of ages", expressing the idea of "forever" or "eternally".)

I would agree that the English phrase "world without end" does not clearly express this concept, especially in giving the impression that this present world will last forever. (Perhaps there was a consideration of having to word the phrase in English so that it fit an established liturgical tune to which the Gloria Patri was sung.) More modern versions address this by changing the wording to agree with the concepts mentioned above (that is, "forever", "eternally", or "for ages of ages").

June 27 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Grant Abbott Child of Father, Follower of Son, Student of Spirit

The world as we know it, began with God's creation of a physical earth as a dwelling place for human beings, while God's sovereignty ruled from his dwelling place in heaven.

With the coming of Jesus Christ, as a human being, God began to rule upon the earth. Jesus birth, life, suffering, death and resurrection defeated sin, death and all the powers of evil. Through Jesus life and ministry he established the Christian church on earth. Then after his ascension, the Holy Spirit was poured out to guide and empower the church to be the kingdom of God on earth.

When Jesus comes for the second time to judge the living and the dead, this present earth will be destroyed by fire and he will create a new heaven and earth. All human beings who have rejected God's love and salvation will face their judgment and eternal punishment. All human beings dead or alive who, by faith in God's promises and the finished work of Jesus on the cross, will receive their complete salvation. Jesus will provide them with new heavenly bodies, like those of the angels, and will reward their faithfulness in his new earth. 

God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit will all dwell in this new earth forever, with every believing human being who ever lived, and in this world there will be no sin, no death, no evil, no sorrow or crying or pain. It will be the paradise that God intended with his first creation.

This is the "world without end" that is acknowledged in the prayer you have referenced. This is the world that God created, sustained, transformed, and will renew and personally dwell in forever and ever, for all eternity, without end.

June 28 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report