“And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, ‘Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe [“Aman”] in the LORD your God, and you will be established [“aman”]; believe [“aman”] His prophets, and you will succeed.’” (2 Chronicles 20:20)
“Truly [“Amen”], I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 18:18)
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Every Christian I know speaks both Hebrew and Greek, although most of them don’t realize it. They all say, “Amen”.
Hebrew, Greek and English have very different alphabets, but the spoken word, “amen”, in Hebrew became the spoken word, “amen”, in Greek and later became the spoken word, “amen” in English. In other words, the Greeks adopted the Hebrew word, “amen”, as their own word, and then we did likewise. As a result, when we speak “amen” in English, we are also speaking it in Hebrew and Greek. Amen!
“Amen” is a word used frequently in Scripture. The Hebrew and Greek versions of the word appear over 220 times even though they are only translated into English as “amen” about 50 times. The last word in the Bible is “Amen”, and we all know how significant last words can be. (Revelation 22:21)
What makes “amen” extraordinarily important, however, is not how frequently the word is used, but what it means.
The most well-known meaning comes into play when a person says “amen” at the end of a proclamation or a prayer, such as Ephesians 3:21 or Psalm 72:19. Here it means, “Surely it is trustworthy and true”, or “I completely agree to the truth of that”, or “So be it”.
A lesser known but more frequent use of the Greek “amen” is when Jesus says what we translate into English, “Verily” or “Truly”, at the beginning of an important proclamation such as Matthew 18:18. Here it means, “This has been divinely established as trustworthy and true”. The New Testament reports Jesus doing this about 90 times. Every phrase that followed such a “Verily” had blockbuster significance for God’s people.
Finally, the least known use of the Hebrew “amen” comes in the word’s root form, “aman”, which, depending on the context, means “to trust and believe with certainty” or “to confirm, establish or support”. Abraham’s “aman” of God was treated by God as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6; Galatians 3:5-9) Likewise, we are told at 2 Chronicles 20:20 that if we will “aman” God, God will see us like He saw Abraham and establish or “aman” us! If we will “aman” His prophets, that is, His Word both written and truly spoken, then we will succeed.
For me, “amen” is ultimately a belief in my heart and confession from my mouth that I have come into agreement and alignment with a person or proclamation. My amen to Jesus as risen Lord is what brings me salvation. (Romans 10:9) My amen to God’s Word and Holy Spirit opens the door for me to receive all of His promises, for they are all established as “Yes” in Jesus. (2 Corinthians 1:20)
Why is it so important for Christians today to understand “amen”? It is because far too many of us are giving our amen to the wrong people and the wrong proclamations.
Some of us are giving our amen to arrogance and grandstanding. Others are giving their amen to fear, or to the coveting of what others have, or to materialism and greed, or to proclamations that are un-loving, condemning, judgmental and divisive.
Many of us are giving our amen to both political half-truths in the world and theological half-truths in our sanctuaries: doctrines based on man’s limited intellect that are directly opposed to Scripture.
What we fail to understand is how we become aligned with what we “amen”, and how we come out of alignment with God when we align with that which is not godly. Romans 1:32 indicates that those who approve of ungodly practices are, in the eyes of God, very much like those who actually perform those ungodly practices. Our criminal laws would use the term, “accomplice” or “aiding and abetting”. The last thing in the world we want to do is aid and abet the enemy. (Ephesians 6:10-20; 2 Corinthians 11:14-15)
Dear friends, I urge us all to give our unqualified AMEN to God. Amen to the Father! Amen to Jesus the only begotten Son! Amen to Holy Spirit! Amen to Scripture, from cover to cover! Amen to all our brothers and sisters who have joined with the great “Amen”! (Revelation 3:14)
As more and more of us on earth amen the God of heaven, we will see more and more of heaven established in the earth. (Revelation 22:17) Can I get an “Amen”?
God bless you, and God bless our community.