AMEN, AMEN
Amen means acceptance or affirmation. The Bible uses amen at the end of a prayer, blessing, curse, or statement expressing one’s endorsement or truthfulness of it. For example, when Ezra opened the scroll and blessed the LORD, all people raised their hands high and pronounced, “Amen, amen!” (Neh 8:5-6). In Deuteronomy 27:14-26, God asked the Israelites to answer “amen” to the twelve curses the Levites pronounced at Mount Ebal. By that, they were accepting the curses that would fall on them if they would violate the laws that God gave them through Moses.
Amen stands for truth, and the Bible uses it as a title of God. One of God’s titles is “The God of Amen” or “The God of Truth” (Isa 65:16). Revelation 3:14 presents Jesus as: “The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the source of God’s creation.” The Holy Bible ends with “Amen” that Saint John expresses as the author of Revelation (Rev 22:20-21).
Jesus used the Hebrew word, “Amen” at the beginning of a statement, or even twice as “Amen, Amen, I say to you” (Jn 3:3). The meaning is “truly, truly, I say to you” or “I solemnly tell you the truth.” By these statements, Jesus affirmed the truthfulness of what followed in his discourse. He was the only one who knew all the truth because he came down from Heaven and he was one with the Father.
In John’s gospel, Jesus used the double amen 25 times, followed by important messages. Repetition of the word “amen” or “truly” emphasized the authenticity of the truth compared to ordinary statements. Jesus was the only one who knew all the truth because he came down from Heaven and he was one with the Father. He is the “Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14).
REFLECTION
Because of human limitations, we know only partial truth. Though science can reveal the truth of the material world, it cannot deal with the ultimate truth beyond its scope. Jesus is the truth (Jn 14:6), and he said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Jn 8:31-32). Let us stick with Jesus the truth and avoid devil who is “a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44).