Eternal - αἰώνιος (aionios, pronounced ai-OE-nee-os)

Literal meaning : pertaining to an age/eon, lasting for an age

Word breakdown : an adjective formed from the noun “aion” (an age/era/period/span/epoch/eon)



One acceptable translation of the word “aionios” is “lasting for or having to do with an age (a long, yet distinctly finite period of time)”. Since it is an adjective built on the noun “aion”, it need not convey something beyond the meaning of the noun from which it was derived. Since “aion” refers to a finite span of time, rather than an unending span of time, “aionios” can refer to something with a similarly finite span of time. For example, if we take the noun “day”, and build from it the adjective “daily”, then the adjective refers to the same time-frame as the noun. A “daily shower” is thus a shower taken each day, not a shower taken every minute or every year.



The renowned New Testament scholar, William Barclay, in his book William Barclay: A Spiritual Autobiography, says that something can be “eternal“ without being "aionios". He tells us that Plato, who may have created the word, saw it as a word strictly referencing God. According to Barclay, “aionios” denotes something that pertains to God, and can only rightfully be used of something having to do with God.





Jesus was quoted in the canonical gospels defining "eternal life" as having an intimate knowledge of God, which is to say a personal relationship with God (John 17:3). Jesus did not say that such a relationship would lead to eternal life, but that such a relationship is eternal life. Thus, he defined "eternal life", not as an endless duration of life, but as a quality of life. Namely, it was the quality of a life lived in fellowship with God. This definition is uncannily reminiscent of Plato's and Barclay's. Eternal life is "eternal" because it emanates from the only thing that is truly eternal: God.

From that perspective, whatever is the opposite of "eternal life" is neither transient life nor a punishment with eternal duration. It is the quality of a life lived without fellowship with God (keeping in mind that "God is Love"). By divine providence, the quality of life lived without love always ends up in misery at some point. In this sense, "eternal punishment" is "eternal" in the sense that it also, like "eternal life", is a loving emanation of the only thing that is eternal: God.

This misery, after it has been endured for as long as an individual can endure it (perhaps multiple eons/aions or lifetimes for some souls), always drives the soul to seek something better. And that search can only end in the discovery of Love/God. It ends in the quality of life known as "eternal life".