God is everlasting. Without beginning or end. He always has been and always will be. God is endless, infinite and transcends temporal limits. God is immeasurable and He is perpetual. God is eternal. In Romans 16:26, Paul writes that the mystery of Christ has been “revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God,” with the Greek word Aionios (αἰώνιος) translated as “eternal.”
Aionios by definition means eternal or everlasting, signifying endless duration. This context sets the standard for the use of the term throughout the New Testament. In Titus 1:2, we read of, “the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.” In 2 Timothy 1:9, Paul says that “grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.”
ETERNAL LIFE
John 3:16 teaches us that “whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” The KJV renders this truth as “everlasting life.” And 1 John 2:25 echoes, “And this is what He promised us – eternal life.” Additionally in John 5:24, Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”
Paul admonishes believers in Galatians 6:8 to sow to please the Spirit and reap eternal life. This is further reinforced in Romans 6:22, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” And again in 1 Corinthians 15:19 which states, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
Peter declares in 2 Peter 1:10-11, “Therefore my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Our hope in Christ is for an inheritance in His kingdom which has no end and His dominion is an everlasting dominion (Daniel 7:14; Luke 1:33).
Jesus proclaims in John 12:25, “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Jesus is speaking of letting go of one’s self centeredness and embracing the selfless servitude that comes through His example. It is a higher purpose that can be immediately experienced. Much more than a simple biological existence and with richer quality and duration directly connected to God’s eternal presence.
Some suggest that Aionios simply refers to an “age” or indefinite period rather than an infinite period of time. Based on this premise, eternal life is rendered as the life that belongs to the age to come and eternal punishment as punishment characteristic of the age to come, as opposed to lasting forever. This application of the term is counterintuitive considering that God is never described in this manner.
Interpreting Aionios as an “age” is nonsensical when reading 1 John 2:17, for example. “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” This verse doesn’t make sense when rendered as, “but whoever does the will of God lives to the next age.” or “whoever does the will of God lives to the future age.”
Christ’s sacrifice “once for all” (Hebrews 9:12), means that believers have received an eternal inheritance (Hebrews 9:15) that will never fade away. The gospel itself is eternal (Revelation 14:6), transcending ages, generations and cultures. What God decreed in eternity past (before the beginning of time) will stand into eternity future.
ETERNAL PUNISHMENT
The very same adjective (Aionios) describes irreversible judgement upon the unrepentant. In Matthew 25:46, Jesus declares, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” The symmetry between these two destinations indicates that eternal punishment means forever and ever. Jesus taught, “It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where ‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.”
In 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Paul adds, “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might…” And Revelation 14:11 proclaims, “And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”
Another interpretation that is gaining in popularity is the belief that eternal punishment or eternal destruction means that the unrepentant are utterly destroyed and cease to exist for eternity (annihilationism). However, this notion contradicts scripture. Consider Revelation 14:11 that illustrates it is the torment that is eternal, not the cessation of existence. Having no rest day or night infers that they have not ceased to exist but consciously experience stress or punishment.
Jesus confirms this in Matthew 13:41-42 with the comment, “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” They weep because of regret over their unrepentance and those who gnash their teeth do so in anger against the justice of God. This constitutes constant conscious regret and anger.
Furthermore, the eternal lake of fire is the destination for everyone whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life (Revelation 20:15). Revelation 21:8 elaborates on the people groups that are included: “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars – they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” And the Bible illustrates that death is not an end.
Eternal conscious torment is conveyed by Jesus in the parable of the rich man and the beggar named Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). In verse twenty-three, Jesus states, “In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.” This is unequivocal evidence supporting conscious torment. The rich man calls out to Abraham to “send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.” (Luke 16:14).
SCRIPTURE SETS LIFE AND PUNISHMENT IN SYMMETRICAL PERMANENCE
Because both destinies are marked by Aionios, scripture sets life and punishment in symmetrical permanence. One is the antithesis of the other. They cannot be explained away using a narrow linguistic comprehension of Greek. Scripture interprets scripture and the context of the passages listed above conveys that Aionios must be interpreted as everlasting when describing heaven and hell.
Every human being faces an everlasting outcome. Hebrews 9:27-28a says, “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many;” Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
Isaiah 9:6 predicts the birth of Jesus and His eternal qualities. “For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” In Revelation 1:17-18, Jesus declares “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!”
In Deuteronomy 33:27 we read, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” The Psalmist wrote, “But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear Him,”. And in Hebrews 13:8, the writer asserts, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
The Topical Encyclopedia on Biblehub.com states, “The term ‘everlasting’ in the Bible is often used to describe the eternal nature of God, His covenant, His kingdom, and the life He offers to believers. It conveys the idea of perpetuity, without beginning or end, and is a key attribute of the divine nature.”
In Genesis 21:33, Abraham calls on “El Olam” the everlasting God. “Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Eternal God.” In Psalm 90:2, we find, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
Whether expressed as Olam or Aionios, everlasting means forever and ever. From eternity past to eternity future. Isaiah 40:28 proclaims, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.” Everlasting truth, concepts, covenants and comprehension, revealed to us by an everlasting God.
