What is an Aeon?

When considering the Vocabulary of Jesus, we noted that the parables in Matthew 13:24-50 relating to ‘the end of the age/world’ could potentially be rendered as ‘end of the aeon.’ Our English word, ‘aeon,’ was originally a transliteration of the Greek ‘aion‘ (G165) via the Latin; and remains very close to it in meaning. But aion‘ is itself a translation of the Hebrew word, ‘olam‘(H5769); and, although the concepts are very similar we must be wary of reading too much subtlety of meaning back into the original Hebrew term, because all 3 languages have undergone changes of meaning over the years.

• The original meaning of ‘olam‘ was of ‘an unknowably remote period in the past or future’ or ‘in perpetuity.’¹ This is the sense in which it is used throughout the Old Testament; (with the possible exception of a very few texts in the last O.T. books to be written). But in later Rabbinic discussions and liturgy, dating from the middle or late Second Temple period (c.300BC or later), it began to be used in the sense of ‘the age’ or ‘world’ (such as ‘Olam Ha-Ba‘ (‘The World to Come’) and ‘Adon Olam‘ (‘Master of the World’)).²

• The English ‘aeon’ (US/Canadian ‘eon’) has remained focussed on the meaning of ‘an extremely long (though ultimately finite) period of time;’ with some more specific definitions in the fields of geology and astronomy.

• The Greek ‘aion‘ originally meant ‘life,’in the sense of ‘vitality’ or ‘life-force;’ but from Homer (c.700BC) onwards, its meaning broadened to include ideas of ‘lifetime’ and ‘lifestyle’, ‘generation’ and ‘age;’ though it tended to be translated as ‘age’ in the sense of ‘ages’, ‘forever’, ‘timeless’ or ‘for eternity’; or else as ‘world’ in the sense of ‘all that is perceptible to us in a particular aeon’ (such as the span of human history). Plato (c.350BC) used ‘aion‘ to denote ‘the eternal world of ideas,’ and Aristotle (c.330BC) as the ‘immortal and divine’ life of Heaven. Thus the word began to acquire new shades of philosophical and theological meaning; though by no means universally.

The question that concerns us here is how these gradual semantic shifts should affect our understanding of the New Testament texts.

If we examine the use of ‘aion‘ in the New Testament, we find it occurs 128 times. In 60 of these it is used in an expression of the form, ‘into the aeon(s),’ or sometimes, ‘into the aeons of the aeons.’ The colloquial meaning of this expression appears to be ‘forever,’ or ‘for as long as the world as we know it lasts:’ but it is noticeable that the multiplied forms are normally reserved for the ‘forever-ness’ of God himself. (E.g. In Mt. 6:13, Jesus concludes the Lord’s prayer with, ‘… yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory into the aeons;’ whilst Paul typically ends by blessing God ‘into the aeons of the aeons.’) In 6 of the above 60 cases the expression is paired with an emphatic negative to give the meaning of ‘never.’ Of the remaining 68 cases, a brief examination of the contexts shows that a translation of ‘world’ or ‘age’ makes little difference to the overall meaning.

But further important evidence of the intended meaning of ‘aion‘ may also be adduced from the Septuagint Greek translation of the Old Testament. The Torah (the famous version of the 5 books of Moses from which the Septuagint gets its name) was translated about 250BC, and the remainder of the Old Testament by 132BC. These translations were the foundational ‘Scriptures’ used by Jesus, most Greek-speaking Jews and members of the early church. The work had been undertaken by people who were necessarily expert in their understanding of both the original Hebrew text and the Greek vocabulary of their time; thus giving an ideal opportunity to cross-check the meaning of ‘aion‘ as actually used in Scripture.

In fact, ‘olam‘ appears 438 times in 413 verses of the Hebrew OT and is translated as ‘aion‘ (or its adjective, ‘aionios‘) 543 times in 351 verses of the Septuagint. We have already noted that the meaning of ‘olam‘ in the Hebrew OT is, almost without exception, ‘a very remote period in the past or future’ or ‘in perpetuity.’ In all but 12 verses ‘olam‘ is directly translated as ‘aion‘ or ‘aionios.’ Of the remainder, 7 are rendered in the sense of ‘continual/everlasting/from the beginning’ and 5 are variant readings of uncertain meaning. Other verses containing Hebrew words or expressions which are rendered as ‘aion‘ or ‘aionios‘ also appear to have similar meanings.³

What about ‘aionios?’

While we are on the subject of the Old Testament, it is also very illuminating to take a closer look at the adjective ‘aionios‘ (G166) in the Greek Septuagint version. If we look specifically at ‘aionios,’ we find it appears 119 times in 113 verses; and all but 9 of these are translations of ‘olam.’ Of this remainder, 4 are translations of ‘alam‘ (the Chaldean equivalent of ‘olam‘) while the remaining 5 are variant readings (one of which can with reasonable certainty be determined to mean ‘eternal’ or ‘immortal’).⁴

We noted earlier that, where Mark 9:43-46 speaks of fire that ‘is not quenched,’ and is ‘unquenchable,’ Matthew 18:8 uses ‘aionios‘; which is normally translated as ‘eternal,’ ‘everlasting’ or ‘forever.’ But some argue strongly that this should instead be rendered as ‘aeonian,’ in the sense of ‘pertaining to’ a particular aeon, rather than as having the indefinitely long-term or eternal properties of ‘olam.’ The reason why this is important is that, if it could be shown that the primary thought behind the use of the adjective ‘aionios‘ is not that of its duration, then it becomes possible to argue that an ‘aeonian’ penalty may be a relatively short period that will then be terminated, or even reversed.

Now it is true that some, but by no means all, secular Greek writers had begun to use ‘aeonian’ in this more specialized sense – as also did some Christian theologians – from about the 3rd century AD onwards. But the above examination of the Septuagint shows quite plainly that the intended meaning of both ‘aion‘ and ‘aionios‘ was in the Old Testament sense of ‘olam‘ – ‘a very remote period in the past or future’ or ‘in perpetuity.’

Since the New Testament writers were using the Hebrew and Greek Testaments as their scriptures, we would expect them to adopt the same definitions. But to check further we should look at the New Testament itself; where ‘aionios‘ appears 71 times. In 45 of these (nearly two thirds!) it is used in the expression, ‘eternal life.’ This is the standard expression used to describe the never-ending life of those who follow Jesus! So it would be difficult to think of any expression less appropriate for conveying the idea of something that was not expected to last forever! Furthermore, three of these references make an illuminating link to the Old Testament. Mt 19:6, Mk 10:17 & Lk 10:30 all cite the question of the rich young ruler, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” But where does this expression come from? Its first Biblical use is in Dan 12:2; where the Septuagint renders it exactly as in the New Testament when translating the Hebrew, ‘olam chay.’

Of the remaining 26 cases, another 18 also undoubtedly make best sense when understood as meaning ‘eternal’ or ‘forever.’ These include the expression, ‘pro chronon aionion;’ (‘before the world began’ – literally, ‘before aeonian time’), in Rom 16:25, 2Tim 1:9 & Tit 1:2, and ‘pneumatos aioniou‘ (‘the eternal Spirit’) in Heb 9:14.

One reference (Philemon 1:15-16) might be interpreted in either sense: ‘For perhaps he was therefore separated from you for a while, that you would have him forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother.’ Paul might have been thinking only of having this slave back as a brother in this life: but, given the context, it is more probable that he is thinking in terms of the eternal life that they now share.

This just leaves 7 other expressions where this word is used: eternal ‘fire’ (3 times), ‘punishment,’ ‘damnation,’ ‘destruction,’ and ‘judgment.’

We pointed out earlier that Mat 18:6-9 is an abbreviated version of Mark 9:43-48. But what Matthew calls ‘eternal (G166) fire’, Mark 9:42-48 describes as fire that is ‘unquenchable (G762)’ and ‘not extinguished (G4570).’ Thus it is clear that both writers agree that Jesus was describing the unquenchable, eternal characteristics of this fire.

Finally, look at Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats; noting particularly verses 41 and 46:

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal (G166) fire (G4442) prepared for the devil and his angels. … These will go away into eternal (G166) punishment (G2851)*, but the righteous into eternal (G166) life (G2222). (Mat 25:41,46)

Here we have the expression ‘eternal punishment.’ Even in the context of v.46 alone, the claim that this is describing a temporary punishment whilst the same word is used in the same sentence to describe the everlasting reward of the righteous, seems decidedly questionable. But what was the punishment to which they were assigned? Eternal fire (v. 41). It is difficult enough to claim that ‘eternal punishment’ is a temporary state when considered in the immediate context of v.46: but when we consider the fact that this same expression, ‘eternal fire’ is used by the same author in Mt 18:6-9, where it equates to the fire that is ‘unquenchable’ and ‘not extinguished’ in Mk 9:42-48, this argument becomes extremely difficult to sustain.

So proponents of the view that ‘eternal punishment’ is really of limited duration have an obvious linguistic problem. In seeking to counter this they generally utilize 2 arguments. On the one hand, they suggest that the correct Greek word for ‘eternal’ is not ‘aionios‘: but ‘aidios.’ On the other hand, they try to claim that ‘kolasis‘ (G2851) in Mat 25:46 actually means corrective punishment; and, if so, it must be temporary.

It is very common to see proponents of the view that ‘aionios‘ does not mean ‘eternal’ attempt to justify their claim by arguing that the correct Greek word for ‘eternal’ would be ‘aidios‘ (G126). But in practice the two words are almost synonymous and frequently interchanged, depending on a particular author’s personal preference. This word ‘aidios‘ is also used in the NT – though only twice. In Rom 1:20, a translation of ‘eternal’ makes obvious sense. But in Jude 1:6 it refers to chains which, although evidently intended to be indestructible, are only meant to be used for a specific period (until the day of judgement). Such usage directly contradicts the claim that ‘aidios,’ rather than ‘aionios,’ is the correct word for ‘eternal’.

Is ‘kolasis‘ Corrective?

It is also argued that ‘kolasis‘ (G2851) comes from the verb ‘koladzo‘ (G2849), meaning ‘to curtail’; and originally referred to the pruning of trees. It is often pointed out that, in the 4th century BC, Aristotle made a distinction between ‘kolasis‘ as punishment ‘inflicted in the interest of the sufferer:’ and ‘timoria,’ which is ‘in the interest of him who inflicts it, that he may obtain satisfaction.’ But is there such a distinction in the Koine Greek of the New Testament period?

First of all, we have just seen that the ‘eternal punishment’ to which the goats are sent in Mt 25:46 is none other than the ‘eternal fire’ of Mt 25:41. This strongly implies a non-corrective outcome. In order to overcome this implication we would need very strong evidence that ‘kolasis‘ was habitually understood to mean corrective punishment. But the only other place where ‘kolasis‘ appears in the NT is in 1Jn 4:18; and that is capable of being interpreted in either sense. However, there are also two instances of the verb, ‘koladzo.’ The first, Acts 4:21, is also ambiguous. But the second, 2Pe 2:9, is not; because if we read on we discover that the eventual outcome being envisaged, in 2Pe 2:12, is that some would be ‘entirely destroyed.’

But ‘kolasis‘ is also found 7 times in the Septuagint. 5 times in Ezekiel it translates the Hebrew ‘mikshole‘ (H4383 ‘stumbling-block’ or ‘ruin’). 3 of these, in Eze 14:3-8, have the consequence that the offender is ‘cut off’ from among his people; in Eze 18:30-31 the consequence is death. Only in Eze 44:12 does ‘mikshole‘ include a partial restoration; though with a permanent loss of status. Of the other 2 occurrences, the Septuagint rendering of Eze 43:10-11 reads, ‘they shall take their punishment’, using (‘kolasis‘) in a restorative sense: but this is not a translation of ‘mikshole‘. The original Hebrew doesn’t mention punishment at all; instead saying, ‘if they are ashamed of all they have done.’ Finally, Jer 18:20 contains a phrase using ‘kolasis:’ but as this phrase is completely absent from the Hebrew text, nothing can be safely deduced as to its meaning.

Those wishing to promote one idea over another will naturally seize on the examples that best suit their case: but, as can be seen, the scriptural usage is context-dependent. Likewise, in secular Greek literature of this period there are also plenty of non-restorative examples of ‘kolasis.’⁵

Consequently, it is misleading to impose one’s own preferred meaning of ‘kolasis‘ in order to override the far better-documented Biblical meaning of ‘aionios.’

This effectively leaves us with 2 main reasons for questioning the ‘forever’ interpretation of ‘aionios‘ when considering Jesus’ descriptions of God’s judgment:

1. We don’t like the implications.

2. In what sense can destruction be said to be eternal?

We will look more closely at these kind of considerations in the next section…

Footnotes

1. It has been suggested that ‘olam‘ may have originally been derived from the Hebrew, ‘alam‘ (H5956), meaning ‘veil from sight.’ See the Hebrew and Septuagint renderings of Ps 90:8, for example.
2. See here for example: What Is the Meaning of the Word ‘Olam’?.
3. The other Greek renderings of ‘olam‘ (with Strong’s numbers) are:

   G1275 Lev 25:32; Ez 46:14; ‘always/continual’

   G104.1 Deu 33:15; 33:27; ‘everlasting’

   G746 Jos 24:2; Isa 63:16; Isa 63:19; ‘beginning’

   Variant readings are: 1Sa 27:8; Isa 57:11; Isa 64:5; Jer 10:10; Jer 51:57.

   Verses containing other Hebrew words or expressions that are rendered as ‘aion‘ or ‘aionos‘, are listed below. The Strong’s number of the original Hebrew word (where known) is followed by the verse references; and then by an English rendering of the equivalent Hebrew and Greek* words, so that the meaning and usage may be more clearly understood. Surrounding words are included where necessary: but not within quotes.

   H314 Is 48:12; ‘last’=’into the eon’

   H1973 Is 18:7; from their beginning ‘onward’=from the present ‘and into the eon of time.’

   H5331 Ps 49:19; Is 13:20; Is 33:20; Jer 50:39; ‘ever’=’into the eon’ (N.B. Is 33:20 + ‘of time’ stresses temporal meaning)

   H5703 Ps 21:6; 22:26; 37:29; 61:8; 89:29; 111:3; 111:10; 112:3; 112:9; ‘for ever’=’into the eon of the eon)’. Is 9:6 has variant readings; Is 57:15 =inhabiting ‘the eon.’

   H5704+H5703 Ps 83:17; 92:7; 132:14; ‘for ever’=’into the eon of the eon’. Ps 132:12=’into the eon.’

   H5704+H1988 1Ch 17:16; ‘thus far’=’unto the eon’

   H5750 Ps 84:4; ‘always’=’into the eons of the eons.’

   H5865 2Ch 33:7; ‘forever’=’into the eon’

   H5956 Ps 90:8; ‘hidden things’=’eon’ (thought by many to be the root from which ‘olam’ and ‘alam’ are derived).

   H5957 Ezr 4:15; 4:19; Dan 2:4; 2:20; 2:44; 3:9; 4:3; 4:34; 5:10; 6:6; 6:21; 6:26; 7:14; 7:18; 7:27; ‘alam‘ (Chaldean)=’olam‘(Hebrew)=’eon’

   H6924 Ps 55:19; 74:12; ‘of old’=’before the eon(s).’

   H6965 Pro 19:21; ‘stand/prevail’=’abides into the eon’

   Variant Readings Est 9:32; Job 10:22; 19:18; 19:23; 21:11; 33:12; 34:17; Ps 25:2; 76:4; 102:28; Pro 6:33; 8:21; Is 17:2; 19:20; 28:28; Jer 50:39; Ez 32:27.

   *Greek translations are from the ‘Apostolic Bible Polyglot‘ and use the American spelling of ‘eon.’

4. Verses containing Hebrew words or expressions other than ‘olam‘ that are rendered as ‘aionos‘, are listed below.

   H5957 Dan 4:3; 4:34; 7:14; 7:27; ‘alam‘ (This is the Chaldean equivalent of ‘olam.’

   Variant Readings Job 10:22; 21:11; 33:12*; 34:17; Ps 76:4.

   *The Septuagint version of Job 33:12 reads, ‘… For the one above mortals is ‘aionios.’

5. For detailed examples, see the third or later edition of ‘A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature’ (commonly known as ‘BDAG’ or ‘BADG’, ISBN no. 0226039331 or 978-0226039336). This is generally recognized as the most comprehensive and up-to-date lexicon of the Greek language of this period. Unfortunately, it is very expensive and not generally accessible online; so try a theological library. Another useful source is this article from Reddit, under the heading, ‘On the Word Kolasis and Its Relatives.’ But be aware that its author writes from a strictly linguistic, secular, viewpoint; and is therefore not predisposed to seek a more time-limited understanding of Jesus’ words.