10/10/2014 What Does Amen Mean in the Bible? Why Do Christians Say Amen?

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What Does Amen Mean in the Bible? Why Do Christians Say
Amen?
October 7, 2014 by Jack Wellman Leave a Comment
You read the word amen quite often in the Scriptures and hear it but what exactly does the
word amen mean?
What is the Hebrew Form of Amen?
The Hebrew word used for amen in the Old Testament is ei men and means so be it,
verily, true, or truly (literally truth) and is a declaration of your affirmation of what was
just spoken or written. It is like the pastor saying Jesus is God and some in the
congregation say amen or truly. Amen is frequently used at the end of a prayer or a
statement that is true. You could say The Word of God is the inspired Word of God and
those who agree would say amen or truly it is. In Psalm 41:13 is says Blessed be the
Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen. What David
concludes in this psalm about the graciousness of God is not only one amen but he repeats it
twice and in the Jewish literature, this is the greatest of emphasis possible. The only greater
emphasis that is possible in Jewish literature is to say it or write it three times and that is
only reserved for God where it is said that He is holy, holy, holy in Isaiah 6 and a few other
places. If we read it according to what this word means, we could read it as; Blessed be the
Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Truly and verily.
What is the Greek Form of Amen?
The Greek word for amen is which is very similar to what it means in Hebrew and
that is so it is or truly and even true and yes depending upon what the sentence
structure is. Paul uses it in Romans 1:25 in writing because they exchanged the truth about
God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed
forever! Amen. So you can literally translate amen in Romans 1:25 as because they
exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than
the Creator, who is blessed forever! And so it is or truly.
The Roots of Amen
The word amen has roots in the Semitic word truth so even today when amen is spoken, it
is like saying yes, true, or that is true. We should never say amen just because others are
saying it, instead we should only say amen if we are in personal agreement with what was just
said because we are acknowledging what was just spoken is absolutely true. More than that,
it is a willingness to submit oneself to that statement and believe the implications of what
preceded amen.
Jesus frequently used the word amen but He would sometimes do it at the beginning of His
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sentences like when He said truly, truly I say to you or most assuredly like
in John 5:24

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent
me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. What
Jesus is emphasizing is most certainly or truthfully, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has
passed from death to life. Since Jesus says it twice or repeats it, He is giving the greatest
emphasis possible to whatever He has said so that we can know for a certainty that what He
said is absolute truth. What He wants the listener and the reader to know is that Hey, listen
to this statement for it is very, very important. We know that everything Jesus said was
true and important since Jesus is God and we know that God cannot lie (Heb 6:18;
Num 23:19) but when Jesus precedes a statement by saying truly, truly or most
assuredly He is literally saying Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and
believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed
from death to life. The repeating of the word truly, truly or most assuredly (amen, amen) is
like an underlined statement or one that is in bold print if we wanted to make the same
emphasis. We might even put the sentence in italics or put an exclamation point at the end of
the sentence.
Conclusion
You should never say amen to anything that you are not certain about or are not in
complete agreement with because to do so is to be speaking with hypocrisy. If you have
repented and trusted in Christ, then you can say amen to this statement of Jesus: Truly,
truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life (John 6:47). To
this I can most certainly say amen and this is true because I believe this is an objective
10/10/2014 What Does Amen Mean in the Bible? Why Do Christians Say Amen?
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truth that cannot ever be wrong. Not only cant it be wrong because Jesus is God and God
cannot lie but I believe that everything Jesus said was true. If you believe this, then you
already possess eternal life and if indeed you believe this, then you shall never perish
(John 3:16). Amen and amen to that!
Another Reading on Patheos to Check Out: What Did Jesus Really Look Like: A Look at the
Bible Facts
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas.
Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose
mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address
questions about the believers daily walk with God and the Bible. You can
follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available
on Amazon