Matthew 25:46 - “Aionian” or
“Eternal”
by Ken Eckerty
Most Christians who believe in the doctrine of never-ending punishments base
this on several passages in the New Testament that seem to speak of punishment
in terms of “eternity.” Some of these
passages include 2 Thes. 1:9, Rev. 14:11, and Rev. 20:10-15. However, the conclusion that God will torment
most men forever is primarily based on a faulty understanding of the meaning of
the Greek words “aion” and “aionios.”
Unfortunately, most of our English Bibles do not accurately translate
these words, and as a result, the doctrine of “eternal” hell continues to
thrive in the midst of the organized church.
Let’s take a look at both of these words and see how most Christians
have misapplied them.
The
Greek noun “aion” literally means “an age” or “an indeterminate period of
time.” Hebrews 1:2 tells us that “God
made the ages,” and the Apostle Paul tells us that there was a state of
existence BEFORE the ages (1 Cor. 2:7) and that the ages will END. (1 Cor.
10:11) Clearly, if something begins
and ends, it cannot be unending.
Strong’s
Concordance gives this definition for the word “aion:”
1) for ever, an
unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity
2) the worlds, universe 3) period
of time, age.
According
to Strong, this little four-letter Greek word can mean both “eternity” and “a
period of time.” Huh? How can something mean both a period of time
which clearly has a beginning and ending AND a state of existence that has
neither beginning nor end? The simple
answer is it can’t! The Greek language
is not like English. It is much more
precise which is why I’m sure God chose this as the language of the New
Testament. While some English words can
carry two different meanings totally separate from context, the Greek language
is not so. While there can be different
usages for a Greek word based on context, there is no one Greek word, that I am
aware of, that can have two totally opposite meanings.
Let’s look at one of the verses that is commonly used to prove the doctrine of never-ending punishment.
And
the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor
night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of
his name. (Rev. 14:11)
The Greek word translated “forever and ever” is the word “aion” (used twice). There are three problems with the way the King James translates this verse.
First, if something is “for ever,” why bother adding another “ever?” Are we to think that there is more than one “for ever” or that we have to have an extra “ever” added so we get the point?
Secondly, both uses of the word “aion” are in the plural form. The problem with this should be obvious to anyone who is honest. Are we to somehow think that there is more than one (plural) eternity? No theologian teaches that and yet there is no doubt that the plural form of “aion” is used in this verse. If the King James translators looked at the tense a bit more carefully, they would have written the above phrase to read “for evers and evers.” This, of course, makes absolutely no sense. However, if we properly interpret “aion” to mean “an indeterminate period of time,” then the verse makes perfect sense. Here is how it should be translated:
And
the smoke of their torment ascendeth up unto ages of ages; and they have no rest day
nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the
mark of his name. (Rev. 14:11)
This
interpretation helps us understand that “an age” can be a very long time – the
length of which is known only to God.
However, “a very long time” is NOT “forever and ever.”
Thirdly,
it’s very interesting to note that those who are tormented will have no rest
DAY or NIGHT. If this is an eternal
state of punishment, why are the terms “day” and “night” used? Day and night were created by God as recorded
in the Genesis account. (Eternity is not
created – it has always existed). These
are terms that designate time, not eternity, and since eternity contains no
“day” or “night,” I think it is clear that the word “aion” in Rev. 14:11 cannot
mean eternal. The punishment (torment)
will continue as long as it takes for God to accomplish His purpose—no more, no
less. It does not go on “forever and
ever” as boasted by theologians, but it lasts only for the ages.
The
adjective “aionios” comes from the noun “aion” and means “age-abiding” or
“age-lasting.” It is a common rule of
language that an adjective can have no more force than the noun from which it
is derived. For example, if I say that
my grandfather is my elder, I mean to say that he is older than myself,
and therefore, is to be respected. However, if I change this noun to its
adjective form, this, in no way, changes the meaning of the word. By using the word elderly, I am still
saying that my grandfather is old. It’s
the same meaning—all that has changed is the form. The same is true with “aionios.” If “aion” (the noun) means “an indeterminate
period of time” then it goes to follow that “aionios” (the adjective) will also
have the same basic meaning.
This adjective is never found until the
writings of Plato (427 BC - 347 BC) who only used the word five times, and while he did use
this word in the context of eternity, he never used it by itself to mean
such. Why? Because the word, in and of itself does not
mean “eternity.” Whenever he wanted to
convey the idea of eternity, he always combined a stronger forced word with it
(such as “aidios”), but not once did he ever use “aionios” by itself to mean
“endless.” However, both Plato and
Aristotle did use the word “aionios” by itself to mean temporary. Here is an excerpt by J. W. Hanson from his
book Bible Threatenings Explained:
Plato, referrring to certain souls in
Hades, describes them as being in “aionian” intoxication. But that he does not use the word in the
sense of endless is evident from the Phaedon, where he says, “It is a
very ancient opinion that souls quitting the world, repair to the infernal
reigions, and return after that, to live in this world.” After the “aionian” intoxication is over,
they return to earth, which demonstrates that the word was not used by him as
meaning endless.
Aristotle uses the
word in the same sense. He says of the
earth, “All these things seem to be done for her good, in order to maintain
safety during her aionos,” duration, or life.
And still more to the purpose is this quotation concerning God's
existence: "Life and 'an aion continuous and eternal, zoe kai aion sunekes
kai aidios.'" Here the word aidios,
(eternal) is employed to qualify aion and impart to it what it had not of
itself, the sense of eternal.
So
we can see from classic Greek usage that the word “aionios” meant a temporal
period of time and was not used to convey the idea of eternity. But does the Bible use the same grammatical
rules as the ancient Greeks did? Titus
1:2 is a good place to answer that. It
is also a good example of how much difficulty the King James translators had in
translating this word.
Here
is the verse as found in our King James Bibles:
In hope of eternal (aionios) life, which God, that cannot lie,
promised before the world (aionios) began;
The words “eternal” and “world” are both the exact same Greek
word—“aionios.” So the natural question is why didn't the King James
translators translate it the same in both cases? Simply because it
wouldn’t make any sense! Let's try it.
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before
the eternity began.
What does “before the eternity” mean?
We know now, just what the translators knew back then, that is,
that there is no such thing as “before eternity,” so in order to make the verse
work, they had to change the meaning of the word to mean something that was
temporal, and in this case they used the word “world.” There is a word in the Greek language for
“world” and it is the noun “kosmos,” but that is not the word that Paul (under
the inspiration of God’s Spirit) chose to use.
Clearly, we cannot translate the second “aionios” to mean “eternal”
because to do so, we would have to admit that there was something BEFORE the
eternity. So in this one little verse,
we have clearly shown that you cannot always translate “aionios” to mean “eternal,”
and this being the case, what does this do to the idea of “eternal (aionios)
punishment?”
We have dealt a crushing blow to the idea that “aionios” must always be
translated “eternal,” and in doing so, we have opened the door to the
possibility that God’s punishment does not continue endlessly, but lasts only
for the ages. In this short essay, we
will not discuss the specific passages that address God’s universal salvation,
but are simply showing the possibility that God’s punishment does not last
forever as most Christians teach. (See the article titled, "The Work of the
Cross").
NOTE: There are two other instances in the New
Testament where the King James version translates “aionios” to mean world. (
The Argument
Neither the noun (“aion”) nor the adjective
(“aionios”) etymologically mean “eternal” and yet theologians and translators
have improperly defined both of these words to support the idea that God will
punish men “forever and ever.” To prove
this, proponents of “eternal” punishment will find try to find examples in the
New Testament where “aionios” is used with either God or the life He gives
through Jesus Christ. They tell us that
if “aionios” is used to speak of God (who is obviously eternal), then this
proves that “aionios” should also mean eternal when used in conjunction with
punishment. The “golden” text that
Christians use to prove that “aionios” must mean “eternal” is found in Matt.
25:46.
And
these shall go away into everlasting (“aionios”) punishment: but the righteous
into life (“aionios”) eternal. (KJV)
Their argument goes something
like this:
If the punishment for the wicked is temporary (“aionian”), then the life for
the righteous must also be temporary (“aionian”). In other words, you are saying that God (and
the life He imparts) is not eternal but will only last for the ages; and when
the ages are complete, then God (and His life) ceases to be.
Or to quote a staunch proponent
of the doctrine of never-ending punishment, Eric Landstrom,
The exact same word “aionion” is used to describe the duration
of punishment as well as of the life of the righteous—those who are saved. The same word describes both conditions. If it means one thing in the first part of
this sentence, then it means the same thing in the second part since they are
both in the same context and both are describing time—duration of the states of
the unsaved and the saved. If the
punishment is eternal, then so is the life.
Likewise, if, as the universalist says, the punishment is not eternal,
then neither is the life. You can’t pick
and choose how the word is applied in this verse to suit your own theology.
For those who use this argument, it may seem like they make a valid point. Are we really picking and choosing as accused by Mr. Landstrom? The truth of the matter is that Mr. Landstrom fails to consider two very important scriptural points: one, he does not differentiate between the two states (time and eternity) in which God can and does operate in, and two, he does not distinguish the difference between the nature of God and the nature of man.
As we answer the cynics charge, keep in mind that we have already clearly shown in the New Testament where “aionios” absolutely cannot mean “eternal.”
The Answer
As already
stated, the meaning of the word “aionios” is “age-lasting,” not “eternal.”
And
these shall go away into age-abiding correction: but the righteous into
age-abiding life.
To address Mr. Landstrom’s accusation
that we are somehow limiting the life of God by our translation of the word
“aionios,” we most confidently declare that God’s life never had a beginning,
nor will have an end. This life can be
found nowhere except in God. This life
fills both time and eternity. It existed before the ages (1 Cor. 2:7),
and it will continue after the ages (1 Cor. 15:28 ). God is eternal (Rom.
1:20--Gk. word “aidios”), indissoluble (Heb. 7:16), and immortal (1 Tim. 6:16),
and therefore, His life is also eternal, indissoluble, and immortal.
Man, on the other hand, is both temporal and mortal. He is not born with
this God-life. The Bible says, “Only God hath immortality.” (1 Tim.
6:16) Man exists wholly in the realm of time (ages). He has never
known anything but the realm of time. He lives and he dies. He is
born and goes back to the dust whence he came. So when God imparts His
life, it is imparted to mortal man who is “aionian.” In other words, man has
been given life which pertains to the ages.
This does not mean that the essence of God’s life is somehow temporary
(or that God is temporary), it simply means that the life of God is imparted to
man who is bound to the ages and who is NOT immortal. The ancient
Egyptian and Greek teaching that says that man has an immortal soul (now
embraced by the Church) is not scriptural. The only reason man has any
life at all is because God (who is life) chooses to impart it to His creatures.
When the Bible speaks of the “aionian God” (1 Tim. 1:17), it does not mean that
God is less than eternal. It simply means that He manifests Himself
within the framework of time. That which is seen is temporal; that which
is unseen is eternal. When the Bible says that God is “aionian,” it means
He is “aionian” in the sense that He can move and manifest Himself in the realm
of sight. When the Bible speaks of the
“eternal” God (Rom. 1:20), this means that God transcends all time, and He
manifests Himself in that which is unseen. God is the only One who can
exist in both the state of time and timelessness. Jesus, after His
resurrection, possessed the fullness of God’s life allowing Him to manifest
Himself in both the “aionian” realm (when He showed Himself to the disciples)
and the “eternal” realm (being with the Father).
“Aionian” life is that life
which is applicable to the ages (time). “Immortality” is that life which
is applicable to the state of timelessness. Both emanate from God who is indissoluble,
unchangeable, immortal, and the One who NEVER dies. Again, it is not
“aionian” in that its quality is somehow temporary, but in that it is given to
man who is temporary. Since I am limited in my flesh, I cannot experience
anything other than “aionian” life. I cannot move through walls and appear
and disappear as Christ did. When I lay down this mortality, and put on
immortality, then I will be able to minister both to God (eternal) and to my
brethren who are still limited by temporal time (aionian).
No one who believes in universal reconciliation teaches that God is
temporary. This is a twisting of our words that those who oppose the
truth of universal reconciliation use to try and discredit the glorious
gospel. While we in no way deny God’s “eternal” nature, we do believe
that the nature of man is temporary. If God doesn’t give His life to us,
then we would all perish forever going back to the “dust from whence we came.”
As to man’s reward and punishment, man is both rewarded and punished according
to the life lived IN THE AGES. If he has done well (while living in the realm
of time), he will receive the life of God, which manifests itself in the
ages. If he has done badly (while living in the realm of time), he will
receive punishment which will manifest itself in the ages. And when the
time of the end shall come and God has become “all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28), all
rewards and punishments, which are only applicable during the ages, will cease.
To teach that God will punish eternally (that is, outside of time) for deeds
committed in a temporal body in temporal time is doing injustice to the Word of
God and frankly, is not using a “pattern of sound words.” It is not JUST
(fair) to put man (who did not ask to be born) into a world totally blind to
his own sin, with a tempter who seeks to deceive him, who inherits a body of
death which constantly opposes God’s law, with many voices in the world saying
“this is truth” or “that is truth,” with divisions and strife among the very
people (the Church) who are supposed to have the truth, and then give this man
maybe twenty, fifty, or seventy years, and burn him in hell for all eternity if
he doesn’t make the right “choice.” People who believe this, and
unfortunately it is most Christians, frankly do not understand the depravity of
their own sin. They have forgotten that it was GOD WHO SAVED THEM, and
they did nothing but simply respond to God’s “dragging” them to Himself.
If God had not opened their eyes, they would still be in darkness.
While “aionios” does not (in and of itself) mean “eternal,” the Greek word
“aidios,” as used in Romans 1:20, comes about as close to the definition of
“eternity” as any Greek word can. While God is spoken of in terms that
describe His eternal state (eternal, indissoluble, and immortal), these words
are NEVER used in the scriptures when speaking of man’s future
punishment. If God wanted to teach the idea of never-ending punishments,
He certainly would have chosen a word with much more force than
“aionios.”
Lastly, it will also help us if we understand that God’s purposes are not
completed in this current age, but worked out in successive ages. (Eph.
2:7) The message of God’s saving work through Christ is glorious, and it
is not limited to this lifetime as the orthodox church would have us believe.
It is not in God’s plan “to save as many as He can before this life ends” only
to throw the rest of His precious creation in the dumper for all
eternity. Jesus did not pray for the world, but for those whom the Father
gave Him (the disciples). (John 17) Those who are Calvinists will twist
this prayer of Jesus to say that God only has intentions to save the
elect, while the rest are reserved for never-ending punishment, but they make
the same critical mistake that most of Christendom does in that they do not see
that God’s purposes for mankind do not end with this life. Everything
will be accomplished in GOD’S TIME, not ours. God’s purpose in this age is to bring a people to Himself
(elect) in order to reach the non-elect in the ages to come. He is
calling US in order to show forth His kindness to OTHERS in the ages to come. Once you see this truth, you will then understand
why most people will never come to Christ in this age. This does not mean
God has forsaken the many and given them up to suffer never-ending
punishments. The mercy, love, and compassion of our God will never fail
and the Good Shepherd will keep on seeking and saving until each and every last
sheep (good and bad) is brought into the fold.
As in Adam all
die, so in Christ all will be made alive.