📖 Biblical Definition
The Aramaic plea Our Lord, come (or, parsed differently, Our Lord has come), preserved untranslated by Paul in 1 Corinthians 16:22 to retain the heartbeat of the early persecuted Aramaic-speaking church. And if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema. Maran-atha. The word's preservation in Aramaic alongside Greek anathema (let him be cursed) is theologically loaded: the church's anticipatory cry of Lord, come stands directly against any merely-cultural Christian affiliation that does not love the Lord Jesus. The Didache (an early second-century church manual) ends its eucharistic prayer with the same word, suggesting it was used liturgically in the earliest Christian gatherings. Revelation 22:20 closes the entire biblical canon with the Greek equivalent: even so, come, Lord Jesus. The Christian who has tasted enough of this age to know its insufficiency joins the church across twenty centuries in the same prayer the first generation prayed: Maranatha — our Lord, come.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
The Lord comes, or has come.
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A Syriac word signifying the Lord comes, or has come. It was used by the apostle Paul as a form of solemn anathema or warning, declaring the coming of the Lord in judgment.
📖 Key Scripture
1 Corinthians 16:22 — "If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!"
Revelation 22:20 — "He who testifies to these things says, Surely I am coming quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"
Philippians 4:5 — "Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand."
James 5:8 — "You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Forgotten outside seminaries; the church has lost its longing for Christ's return.
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Maranatha was the password of a persecuted church. Today the word is curiosity at best and unknown at worst. A bride who has stopped saying Maranatha has stopped longing for the Bridegroom. The word must return to our lips before He returns to the clouds.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Aramaic mar (lord) joined with athah (come) compresses the church's last prayer.
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G3134 — maranatha — our Lord, come
H857 — athah — to come, to arrive
Usage
"Maranatha was the bride's morning prayer."
"When suffering pressed in, the saints whispered Maranatha."
"Lose Maranatha and you lose the blessed hope."