Charles B.

[maegercb]

Hi,
I’m a brand new member to the Ask an Apologist’s website.

I believe I asked a previous question, on scripture, in the wrong forum.

My question regards the scripture which states, " The Lamb that was slain before the

foundation of the world".

My question is when did the “foundation of the world” occurr in Genesis?

Apparently, the term “world” can have differnt meanings in scripture.

Could you also advise me how to best submit a scriptural question and then track it

to see if it has been answered.?

It would be great if a number were assigned to the question.

(removed personal information as per CAF privacy policy.)

Thank you very much for help.

 

[QNDNNDQDCE]

Hi Charles. This is a public message board, and anyone can register and reply to your posts. There is a special Ask an Apologist forum (at the top of the forum list). If you post a question there, a Catholic Answers employee will answer it. The rest of the forums are open to the general public to answer.

To check up on threads you have created, you can click “Profile” at the top of the page, then click “Control Panel.” When you create or post in a thread, you also subscribe to that thread automatically. If anyone has made any new posts, the thread should appear in there. If you want to receieve emails for new replies, when you post in a thread, you can scroll to the Additional Options panel under the submit button, and select “Instant email notification” under thread subscription. You should also be able to edit your existing subscriptions if you go to Profile > Your Subscriptions.

Hope that helps.

 

[Sirach2]

My question regards the scripture which states, " The Lamb that was slain before the
foundation of the world".

My question is when did the “foundation of the world” occurr in Genesis?
Apparently, the term “world” can have different meanings in scripture.

This website lists two different translations in various bible versions. One reads as you stated here. The other simply ends with “the Lamb that was slain.” It is not a matter of faith to hold either option. The Book of Revelations is full of symbolism and imagery, as we find in this particular chapter.

To coin an old adage, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Sometimes when we have an unanswered and puzzling question, the Holy Spirit will cause us to come upon the answer later in life, and you will remember having wondered about it.

Here’s an example. Do you believe a “rooster” crowed twice prior to Peter’s denial of Our Lord? We can get mixed up when we don’t know the culture surrounding the written word. It was not a rooster, since the Holy City would consider it profanation to keep these fowl in the city (which was urban, and not rural.).

The Romans and the Jews divided the night into four watches—6 p.m.to 9 p.m.; 9 p.m. to midnight; midnight to 3 a.m.; 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. It was between the third and fourth watch that the cock was supposed to crow. The third period gained its name from the fact that roosters began to crow about the end of that period and continued to crow periodically until after daybreak. The hour of 3 a.m. was called “cock-crow” for this reason. **At that hour the Roman guard was changed in the Castle of Antonia; and the sign of the changing of the guard was a trumpet call. The Latin for that trumpet call was galliciniuim, which meant, “cock-crow.” **

 

[Todd977]

My question regards the scripture which states, " The Lamb that was slain before the

foundation of the world".

My question is when did the “foundation of the world” occurr in Genesis?

Apparently, the term “world” can have differnt meanings in scripture.

Revelation 13:8, right?

The original Greek word is kosmos, or orderly arrangement, and indeed has various meanings. The most general meaning of the word refers to the heavens and the earth. It is this most general meaning that is usually understood in Revelation 13:8. Thus, the phrase “the foundation of the world” is usually understood to refer to the creation of the heavens and the earth, talked about in Genesis 1:1 and the following verses.

It should be noted that the original Greek of Revelation 13:8 is ambiguous enough so that other translations are possible. Here’s a link to a number of different English translations of Revelation 13:8 at Biblegateway.com.

As mentioned in the Expanded Bible at that site,
Some commentators link the phrase “since the beginning/foundation of the world” with “all who live on the earth”; others link it with “written in the Lamb’s book of life”; and still others with “the Lamb who was slain.”

Linking the phrase “from the foundation of the world” to the slaying of the Lamb is problematic since the world was obviously in existence long before the Lamb (Jesus Christ) was actually slain.

Haydock’s Commentary on the 1859 Douay-Rheims translation, which links the phrase to the Lamb (Jesus Christ) who was slain, says:
Ver. 8. Slain from the beginning. In the foreknowledge of God; and in as much as all mercy and grace, from the beginning, were given in view of his death and passion. (source)