"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is. If the--if he--if 'is' means is and never has been, that is not--that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement....Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Lewinsky, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true."

Bill Clinton

There's an unusual way to start a topic on hermeneutics! What I want to talk about is the much misunderstood and frankly mistranslated word world.

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

Matthew 24:3 (KJV)

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Matthew 24:14 (KJV)

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Matthew 24:21 (KJV)

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Matthew 24:30 (KJV)

Okay, here are four verses within the same chapter to illustrate my point. (Okay, so the last one is earth, but in English we would consider earth and world to be synonymous.) On to my point - these are four different words in the Greek.

1. Aion (v. 3) means an age or eon. The end of the age is a very different concept than the end of the world! Here are some other examples of this: Matthew 12:32; 13:22, 39, 40, 49; 28:20; Mark 4:19; 10:30; Luke 1:70; 16:8; 18:30; 20:34, 35; John 6:51; Acts 3:21; 15:18; Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 1:20; 2:7, 8; 3:18; 8:13; 10:11; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 1:21; 2:2; 3:9, 21; 6:12; 1 Timothy 6:17; 2 Timothy 4:10; Titus 2:12; Hebrews 6:5; 9:26; 1 John 2:17; Revelation 11:15. These are all instances where aion was translated world.
2. Oikoumene (v. 14) means the inhabited world. This often refers to the Roman Empire, but can be as specific as Palestine. Here are the other instances of oikoumene: Luke 2:1; 4:5; 21:26; Acts 11:28; 17:6, 31; 19:27; 24:5; Romans 10:18; Hebrews 1:6; 2:5; Revelation 3:10; 12:9; 16:14.
3. Kosmos (v. 21) means cosmos, world, or universe. This is the "real" word for world, but it can also refer to the moral world. This one appears 187 times in the New Testament and is all but once translated world.
4. Last but not least, is Ge (v. 30), which means earth, land, ground. This is usually the land of Israel. The KJV translates it earth 188 times, but only 42 times translates it land. Take it more in the agricultural sense. You might note that the Greek earth goddess was Gaea. Its sod as opposed to sky or sea (which comes out in phrases such as "heaven and ge"). Here in verse 30, it means the "tribes of the land", that is, of Israel. In 1 Corinthians 15:47, "the first man is of the ge, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven." James 5:7, "the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the ge." Revelation 1:7, "all the kindreds of the ge shall wail because of him" would signify the "kindreds of the land" or Israel.

I hope this is helpful for you. I also hope it shows how important using tools such as a Concordance and a Lexicon can be. The more I use study tools, well, frankly the more discouraged I become with English translations. I intend to get a good interlinear so I can see the Greek and not miss such significant differences.