Recently we discussed the meaning of Jesus’ words “this generation” in Matthew 24:34 here. Are there more texts in the Greek Scriptures that would seem to indicate that the end, conclusion of the system of things, coming of Jesus etc. would happen in the first century? I have made a partial list of a few of […]
A friend of mine pointed out to me the importance of this word, “enlightened”. Here are some of the meanings I found for the word:
en·light·en [en-lahyt-n]
Having knowledge and spiritual insight; education that results in understanding and the spread of knowledge; tending to increase knowledge or dissipate ignorance.
Is it arrogance to take this word upon oneself? To say “I am enlightened”? Well if you asked me a year or two ago I would have responded differently than I do today.
Jargon is often used to obfuscate the intended meaning of something to those outside of a particular club or group. This is the stock-in-trade of lawyers, politicians, and orators. They manipulate the words and symbols of speech to persuade and to convince. It is their hammer and their wrench, and they use these tools with aplomb. Likewise, the auto mechanic and the computer repairman has been known to use the jargon of their trade to exert their influence and superior knowledge over the average person.
And this brings us to the “theocratic language”, a term coined and employed by Jehovah’s Witnesses. The scripture in Zephaniah 3:9 is used as the origin of the term. It contains the expression “pure language” and reads this way in the New World Translation:
“Then I shall give to peoples the change to a pure language, in order for them all to call upon the name of Jehovah, in order to serve him shoulder to shoulder.” (Zeph. 3:9)
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