Aidios--The Greek Word that DOES Mean Eternal
Previously I have discussed the words "aion" and it's adjective "aionios" which have been translated in most of our bibles as "eternal", "forever", "everlasting" and other such words, sometimes in passages that just cannot support the meaning "eternal". For example Jonah was NOT in the whale forever yet our Bibles say:
Jonah 2:6
To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you brought my life up from the pit,
O LORD my God.
There are many other instances where the word simply cannot mean forever or eternal ie. the land of Canaan was given to the Jews to be theirs forever yet there were some 1800+ years in which it was not theirs. The Levitical priesthood is said to be an everlasting priesthood, yet we know from scripture it ended, as did the old covenant which is also called and everlasting covenant, Sodom and Gommorah are no longer burning with fire today yet our bibles say it burned with everlasting fire, etc. See a previous writing on this subject "Olam", "Aion" and "Aionios"--Forever?.
So there is a word in Greek that does mean FOREVER and ALWAYS. Aidios (# 126 in Strong's) and it appears twice in the New Testament in the following places:
Romans 1:20
20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
And Jude 1:6
6And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.
The words that most of our Bibles have translated "eternal", "forever", and "everlasting" are: "aion" (#165) and the adjective "aionios" (# 166). Both mean an age, or age-time, the duration of which is indefinite and are used with those definitions in all other writings in Greek including Josephus, Philo, Plato, etc. Makes sense that Jesus would also speak using words that were commonly used and understood by the people of his day. No one hearing Jesus speak or reading His words in Greek would have misunderstood his meaning. Those reading the writings of the Bible in their own languages would have had NO reason to believe in "eternal torment". One has to wonder WHY the original words have been mistranslated? Seems veeeery fishy indeed!
Jesus spoke of an "age of pruning" or "temporary period of correction" (kolasin aionion) as opposed to pagan writers who wrote about "eternal punishment" (aidios timoria). Different words! Different meaning! The word used unanimously by Greek writers to signify "endlessness" is "aidios". Clearly Jesus would have used "aidos" had He meant 'endless'. There were however, sects in Jesus day who did believe in eternal punishment. See the following quote from chapter 3 The Origins of Endless Punishment by Hanson in 1899.
For example, the Pharisees, according to Josephus, regarded the penalty of sin as torment without end, and they stated the doctrine in unambiguous terms. They called it eirgmos aidios (eternal imprisonment) and timorion adialeipton (endless torment), while our Lord called the punishment of sin aionion kolasin (age-long chastisement).
By the way...the words "eirgmos aidios" or eternal imprisonment and "timorion adialeipton", endless torment, never appear anywhere in the Greek text of the New Testament. See also an earlier discussion called Punishment.
We have a redemptive God! No wonder He is called LOVE!
For another wonderful article on "the ages" check this one out...Eternity Explained
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I now have a good understanding of why there is no "eternal hell", but that leaves me confused as to why, then, there should be an "eternal heaven". Don't the same miss-translations for the words 'aion' and 'aionios' eliminate both???
Comment by Chuck Turner— 2008/07/17 @ 10:33 AM — (Reply)
So does this mean we can't have an eternal life?
Comment by Parish— 2009/03/30 @ 09:31 AM — (Reply)
Hi - I think you responded to a question I entered several months ago about whether we can disregard there being an "eternal hell" without also disregarding an "eternal heaven". This, of course, based on the translation of certain Greek and Hebrew words that we understand as "forever and ever" and "eternal".
Sounds like only things and people that are "in God" can enjoy eternity because God is the only One who is eternal. Outside of Him everything else will eventually pass away. Some say that those outside of God will just be annihilated to nothingness, others say that God will eventually reconcile everything and everyone to Himself. I'm not sure!
Comment by — 2009/03/30 @ 10:11 AM — (Reply)
Sorry I missed answering this question when it was posted. Let me answer with a quote from Thomas Allin's article 'Christ Triumphant' which can readily be found online if you want to read it in it's entirety.
Let us next consider the true meaning of the words "aion" and "aionios."*1 These are the originals of the terms rendered by our translators "everlasting," "for ever and ever:" and on this translations, so misleading, a vast portion of the popular dogma of endless torment is built up. I say, without hesitation, misleading and incorrect; for aion means "an age," a limited period, whether long or short, though often of indefinite length; and the adjective aionios means "of the age," "age-long," "aeonian," and never "everlasting" (of its own proper force), it is true that it may be applied as an epithet to things that are endless, but the idea of endlessness in all such cases comes not from the epithet, but only because it is inherent in the object to which the epithet is applied, as in the case of God. Much has been written on the import of the aeonian (eternal) life. Altogether to exclude, (with MAURICE) the notion of time seems impracticable, and opposed to the general usage of the New Testament (and of the Septuagint). But while this is so, we may fully recognize that the phrase "eternal life" (aeonian life) does at times pass into a region above time, a region wholly moral and spiritual. Thus, in S. John, the aeonian life (eternal life), of which he speaks, is a life not measured by duration, but a life in the unseen, life in God. Thus, e.g., God's commandment is life eternal. -- John 12:50. To know Him is life eternal, -- John. 17:3, and Christ is the eternal life. -- I John 1:2; 5:20. Admitting, then, the usual reference of aionios to time, we note in the word a tendency to rise above this idea, to denote quality, rather than quantity, to indicate the true, the spiritual, in opposition to the unreal, or the earthly. In this sense the eternal is now and here. Thus "eternal" punishment is one thing, and "everlasting" punishment a very different thing, and so it is that our Revisers have substituted for "everlasting" the word "eternal" in every passage in the New Testament, where aionios is the original word. Further, if we take the term strictly, eternal punishment is impossible, for the "eternal" in strictness has no beginning.
Comment by — 2009/03/30 @ 11:16 AM — (Reply)
Hi, I'm Nicolás from Argentina. I've recently found the truth regarding Universal Salvation. It made no sense to me that God, being omniscient, would create a bunch of people KNOWING that they would suffer eternal hell. Unluckily, there`s no church in Argentina that preaches Universal Salvation, and not even a website in Spanish languages. I found about the mistranslations in websites such us tentmaker, universalsalvation.org and godsplanforall. I would like to know if there's a site or a translation software (greek to english) to show people the real meaning of those words. Thank you. Blessings.
Comment by nicolás— 2009/09/25 @ 10:43 AM — (Reply)