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[Eph 3:21 KJV] 21 Unto him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

[Eph 3:21 mGNT] αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ εἰς πάσας τὰς γενεὰς τοῦ αἰῶνος τῶν αἰώνων ἀμήν

In concept, this may be an allusion to:

[Isa 45:17 KJV] 17 [But] Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.

Isa 45:17 Masoretic: יִשְׂרָאֵל נֹושַׁע בַּיהוָה תְּשׁוּעַת עֹולָמִים לֹא־תֵבֹשׁוּ וְלֹא־תִכָּלְמוּ עַד־עֹולְמֵי עַֽד׃ פ

Isa 45:17 mGNT: Ισραηλ σῴζεται ὑπὸ κυρίου σωτηρίαν αἰώνιον οὐκ αἰσχυνθήσονται οὐδὲ μὴ ἐντραπῶσιν ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος

Isa 45:17 Brenton LXX: Israel is saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation: they shall not be ashamed nor confounded for evermore.

However, Paul may be alluding to a more specific reference, though again the wording is pretty different:

[Psa 119:90 NLT] 90 Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth you created.

WLCלְדֹ֣ר וָ֭דֹר אֱמֽוּנָתֶ֑ךָ כֹּונַ֥נְתָּ אֶ֝֗רֶץ וַֽתַּעֲמֹֽד**׃**

LXX εἰς γενεὰν καὶ γενεὰν ἡ ἀλήθειά σου ἐθεμελίωσας τὴν γῆν καὶ διαμένει

Is he saying that the physical heaven and earth will go on forever or something else?

Possibly related:

[Ecc 1:4 KJV] 4 [One] generation passeth away, and [another] generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

1:4 דֹּור הֹלֵךְ וְדֹור בָּא וְהָאָרֶץ לְעֹולָם עֹמָֽדֶת׃

1:4 γενεὰ πορεύεται καὶ γενεὰ ἔρχεται καὶ ἡ γῆ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ἕστηκεν

[Gen 8:22 KJV] 22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

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    Both the Greek aeon and the Hebrew olam can mean both age and world.
    – Lucian
    Commented Feb 5, 2019 at 2:39

5 Answers 5

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First, there is no significant variation in the underlying Greek here. The TR is the same as NA28, etc.

The phrase, "world without end" is a most unfortunate translation and a quirk of the KJV and its progeny (KJ2000, American KJV).

A good representative translation of the Greek is given by almost all other versions of which the NIV and ESV are typical: "to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

That is, Paul is simply hoping for eternal praise of Jesus by all peoples in all time. Nothing could be more Christian.

The translation issue here is how to translate, εἰς πάσας τὰς γενεὰς τοῦ αἰῶνος τῶν αἰώνων ἀμήν. YLT renders this (correctly), "to all the generations of the age of the ages. Amen." I have always been mystified how the KJV translators got "world" from the Greek "ainos" (eg, Matt 28:20). But that is another matter.

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  • Does it seem that Paul expects the world to end? Or to continue for endless generations?
    – Ruminator
    Commented Feb 5, 2019 at 21:44
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    I do not believe he says either. What I believe he says is simple - He is expecting praise from all people in all times. All times must include this life and the next. There is no statement here about how long or short our world will be.
    – user25930
    Commented Feb 5, 2019 at 21:54
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    Soooo, throughout all generations for ever for ever... doesn't that suggest and unending world?
    – Ruminator
    Commented May 14, 2021 at 1:01
  • @Ruminator. Depends on the definition of World
    – Faith Mendel
    Commented Mar 29, 2022 at 8:50
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In Ephesians what does Paul mean by “world without end”?

Answer: The word "forever" is often used symbolically "until the end of time and the destruction of the physical world."

The NASB renders these verses from the OP as follows:

Ephesians 3:21: "[To the Father] be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations [of human beings] forever and ever. Amen."

Here, Paul is simply stating that the glory in the church and in Christ will endure until the material universe is annihilated (2 Peter 3:10). "All generations" is a human term. And the "forever" used in this passage is restricted to the material Creation.

I believe the reference to Israel in Isaiah is correct in the sense that Israel, whether the physical nation or the spiritual Israel of Christ will receive an enduing salvation throughout world history by the will of God.

Isaiah 45:17: Israel has been saved by the LORD With an everlasting salvation; You will not be put to shame or humiliated To all eternity.

Question: "Is [Paul] saying that the physical heaven and earth will go on [forever]?"

No, Paul is not saying that. The physical heaven and earth will not go on forever, as I alluded to earlier in reference to Peter's pronouncement above. He is very explicit in his description of the annihilation of everything physical:

2 Peter 3:10, 12: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens [cosmos] will pass away with a roar and the elements [atomic elements?] will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up [no more earth]."

While it is certainly true that "forever" often means just that, eternal, that is not the sense in which the words are applied by Paul in these verses.

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  • For an alternate view of 2 Peter 3:10ff, please see: quora.com/…
    – Ruminator
    Commented May 13, 2021 at 23:39
  • It seems to me that your answer is entirely circular. Your definition "The word "forever" is often used symbolically "until the end of time and the destruction of the physical world." is entirely fabricated, based entirely on the notion that there is a destruction of the physical world. In other words, you are making assertions without evidence.
    – Ruminator
    Commented May 14, 2021 at 1:00
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    @Ruminator I'm afraid I disagree that 2 Peter 3:10-12 is merely symbolic. I do understand symbolism when I read it. Above, I neglected to include verses 11-12: "Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!" I see absolutely no symbolism in this at all, but rather a literal description of God's destruction of the entire material Creation.
    – Xeno
    Commented May 14, 2021 at 1:44
  • Isaiah 34: (10) This judgment on Edom will never end; the smoke of its burning will rise forever. The land will lie deserted from generation to generation. No one will live there anymore.
    – Ruminator
    Commented May 14, 2021 at 1:51
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    I read your conversation in chat and a point that can be made is that “world without end” is not the same as “earth without end”. Two different words are used for world and earth. The Greek word for “world” is “aion”, while the Greek word for “earth” is “ge”.
    – Constantthin
    Commented Oct 17, 2021 at 11:26
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"World without end" is literal. When Jesus returns to the earth he will set up His kingdom in Jerusalem and will reign forever!

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    – Community Bot
    Commented Oct 14, 2021 at 13:43
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Q. Is he saying that the physical heaven and earth will go on forever or something else?

A.

As @user25930 pointed out, the KJV deviated from its strict formal equivalence and rendered the passage very dynamically.The NASB20 more directly reflects the underlying Greek:

[Ephesians 3:21 NASB20] (21) to Him [be] the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

He is not speaking of the physical world directly but rather the endless generations of humans, from which we can infer the endless continuation of the physical world, though I suppose humanity will eventually have to find another home.

That there is no end to history is, of course, not the popular understanding. It seems every generation of Christians understand their own generation to be the final generation, and contemporary events warn us that the end is near:

The End Is Near sign

But the apocalyptic eschatology of the scriptures was all referring to the end of the previous age. It referred to the calamitous ending of Jerusalem, the Temple and the Sinai covenant based Judean theocracy. The current age, Paul is telling us, has no end. See also:

[Isaiah 9:6-7 NASB20] (6) For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (7) There will be no end to the increase of [His] government or of peace On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of armies will accomplish this.

For more detail on this, please see;

https://www.quora.com/Where-is-the-everlasting-Father-in-the-Bible/answer/Bill-Ross-22

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  • This would mean that the Kingdom of God and the Reign of His Messiah have Begun. How did you arrive at that
    – Faith Mendel
    Commented Mar 29, 2022 at 8:51
  • It became clear to me when I realized that the Kingdom of God, the Body/Bride of Christ, the True Vine and its Branches, the New Jerusalem, the Good Shepherd and His Sheep, etc. were metaphors for the same thing: The fusing together of Christ and the People of God in the New Covenant.
    – Ruminator
    Commented Mar 30, 2022 at 9:47
  • This dosen't answer my questions. If so How do you interpret rev 21. ? And many other verses. That proves beyond that. That Gods Reign Starts at the end of this World.
    – Faith Mendel
    Commented Mar 31, 2022 at 10:15
  • The description of the New Jerusalem is very idealized, but Paul says that it is a metaphor of the New Covenant. Please see Galatians 4:21ff. And notice that the New Jerusalem descends to a high mountain. That is Zion, the City of the Great King. Outside are the unbelievers, the dogs. It is in the world but not of it. The saints comprise the City On A Hill. The Light of the World. The Holy City has twelve gates, and the Spirit and the Bride call to sinners from within, to come, get washed, enter the gates and share in the Tree of Life, etc.
    – Ruminator
    Commented Apr 1, 2022 at 12:05
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Like others have pointed, A very accurate to the Greek translation kf that Verse would read,

Eph 3:21 BIB αὐτῷ (to Him be) ἡ (the) δόξα (glory) ἐν (in) τῇ (the) ἐκκλησίᾳ (church) καὶ (and) ἐν (in) Χριστῷ (Christ) Ἰησοῦ (Jesus) εἰς (to) πάσας (all) τὰς (the) γενεὰς (generations) τοῦ (of the) αἰῶνος (age) τῶν (of the) αἰώνων (ages). ἀμήν (Amen).

Generations of the Age of the Ages.

There is nothing like World there.

The Earth isnt going to remain Peter by the Inspiration of the Spirit gave to us a Clear description of what happens to the earth and its Heaven.

Generations of Men will continue to exist even after Jesus has returned and restored all things.

So Praise will continue throughout all generations of all Ages.

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