Regarding the words translated âforever and everâ
From AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS â Louis Abbott
âAs mentioned previously, there are several analogous expressions in the Scriptures which should show the meaning of the words under discussion. In Ex. 26:33 (LXX), tou hagiou ton hagion, âin the holy of the holies.â This is similar to the âeon of the eonsâ of Eph. 3:21. In IKings 8:6 (LXX) we see, eis ta hagia ton hagion, âfor the holies of the holiesâ-similar to âeons of the eons.â The âholy of the holiesâ and âholies of the holiesâ refer to the tabernacle. Psalm 44:7 says, ho thronos sou ho theos, eis ton aiona tou aionos, âThy throne, O God, is for the eon of eonâ-similar to Heb. 1:8. Daniel 7:18: âuntil eon of the eonsâ and similar to that of Eph. 3:21, where a singular is followed by a plural, âeon of the eons.â In these expressions we see the eons corresponding to the holies in the tabernacle.
While there are many different teachings on the types in the Tabernacle of Moses, it should not be too difficult to see that there were at least five divisions: (1) without the camp; (2) in the camp; (3) in the court; (4) in the holy place; and (5) in the holy of holies. These may be likened to the five eons we find in the Scriptures (past eons, present eon, future eons). The last eon is called the âeon of the eons,â because it, like the âholy of holies,â is the climax of the others. In Hebrews chapter 9, the Greek text of Nestle reads (margin v. 25), eis ta hagia ton hagion, âinto the holies of the holies,â and (v. 3), hagia hagion, âholies of holies.â Just as the two holy places in the tabernacle are called the holies of holies, so the last two eons are often called the eons of the eons.
As the tabernacle illustrated manâs approach to God, it corresponds closely with the eonian times, which also brings man to God. The âholy of holiesâ was a single holy place. The âeon of eons,â a single eon. It was the pre-eminence of the âholy of holies,â in relation to the other holy places, which caused it to be so designated. So the pre-eminence of the âeon of the eonsâ lies in its being the fruitage and harvest of previous eons. The same is true of the âholies of the holiesâ of Heb. 9:25. They may be likened to the âeons of the eonsâ of Rev. 11:15; 22:5.â
Quoted from AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF WORDS â Louis Abbott