An Examination of the Words Used for Age, Forever, and Eternal

The word 'age’ is the translation of the Greek word aion and occurs also in the plural and in the progressive form 'the ages of the ages’. In the Authorized Version of the King James Bible (commonly known as the A.V.), the word aion is given the following renderings: age - twice, beginning of the world - twice, course - once, world - 32 times, eternal - twice, world began - once.

In conjunction with eis  (unto, or for): for ever - 27, for evermore - 2, ever - 1, while the world standeth - 1. Followed by genitive forever and ever - 21, for evermore - 1, besides ever, never and world without end. Aionios, the adjective, is translated as eternal - 42, everlasting - 25, and for ever - 1.

The Hebrew equivalent of aion is olam. This Hebrew word comes from a root meaning something hidden or secret (as in Psalms 19:12, ‘secret faults’) and indicates a period of undefined limits. Aion, the Greek word, is used by the translators of the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. Commonly referred to as LXX.) to render the Hebrew word olam into Greek.

Students of the purpose of the ages will often find themselves turning the pages of Ecclesiastes, realizing in the preacher one whose problems and experiences are often much like their own. In Ecclesiastes, the word olam occurs seven times and is translated by the A.V. as follows:

Here we have ‘forever', ‘old time', ‘world', and ‘long’ as translations of the one word olam. Such a variety of renderings gives no connected thought, and consequently, the evident relation of these passages is missed. Supposing we take the original word in each passage and translate it by the word ‘age’, we at once realize that seven such references may contain much helpful teaching. Their order and connection likewise are made apparent, and their claim upon our attention is emphasized.

Olam in Ecclesiastes

A Ecc. 1:4. The earth abideth to the age - The passing generation.

B Ecc. 1:10. It hath been already in or to the ages - Nothing new under the sun.

C Ecc. 2:16. No remembrance of the wise more than of the fool to the age - Forgotten in the days to come.

D Ecc. 3:11. He hath set the age in their heart - Beginning to end of God's work past finding out.

C Ecc. 3:14-15. Whatsoever God doeth it shall be to the age - God's work remains.

B Ecc. 9:6. Neither have they any more a portion to the age - No portion- under the sun.

A Ecc. 12:5. Man goeth to his age-home - The passing generation.

Leaving these passages until we are more prepared to consider their teaching in detail, we pass on to another cluster of seven, this time in the New Testament, namely, in the Epistle to Ephesians. There the word aion is translated as inconsistently as we found its parallel olam had been in Ecclesiastes.

 
Here we have a strange assortment. This world, which had a beginning, but which has no end, the course of this world, and the eternal purpose. Translate the word aion consistently, and order, light, and instruction take the place of human tradition and confusion.

Aion in Ephesians

A Ecc. 1:21. Rulers of this and the coming age. - Subject to Christ in the resurrection.

B Ecc. 2:2. The age of the world. - Satanic energy (energo).

C Ecc. 2:7. Ages to come. - Display of divine grace (future).

D Ecc. 3:9. Hid since the ages. - The mystery.

C Ecc. 3:11. The purpose of the ages. - Display of divine wisdom (now).

B Ecc. 3:21. The generations of the age of the ages. - Divine energy (energo).

A Ecc. 6:12. Rulers of the darkness of this age. - Withstood by believers in resurrection power.

All lovers of the Word must see how great the loss we have sustained through the traditional translation. ‘The eternal purpose’ sounds very grand, it gives a certain feeling of reality and indefectibility to the purpose of God, yet it is a double violation. The noun aion is translated as though it were the adjective aionion, which is a serious liberty to take with inspired Scripture apart from the mistake of putting eternity where age should have been. What we have to learn is that the Bible does not speak of eternity. It was not written to tell us of eternity. Such a consideration is entirely outside the scope of revelation. Many, many undreamed wonders will doubtless be unfolded when the ages are no more. What they will be and what they will involve is idle and profitless speculation. The Word of God, as it has been given, is a complete system of teaching for us; it does not fully treat the creation around us, much less the time before or after the Creation.

While we acknowledge that there is much that our curiosity would tempt us to ask, we do most heartily bow before the divine boundaries of our studies, realizing that by the repeated emphasis upon the teaching of the ages, and the absence of teaching concerning eternity, the Lord is still showing us (as is expressed in Ecclesiastes) that the time has not yet arrived when we may ‘find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.’ Accepting the fact of the ages and of the age-times, we shall have to inquire from the Scriptures an answer to the question, ‘When did they commence?’

As an added contribution to the subject, we place before the reader some of the most important expressions that are found in the New Testament dealing with the time factor of the ages. Such expressions as ‘the end of the world’; ‘since the world began’; 'this world’; ‘the world to come’ are known to all. We now propose to submit them to more careful scrutiny so that the Scriptural association of time with the ages shall be better seen. The reader will already know that aion is often translated as 'world’ in the A.V., and while it is a good rendering, meaning etymologically ‘the age of man’ (vir man, eld age), it simplifies the inquiry, if we agree to translate kosmos by ‘world’ and aion by ‘age,’ thereby preserving the distinction that must be maintained between words dealing with place and words dealing with time.

‘The end of the world.’ There are more words than one that can be translated as ‘end’; the word used in this phrase is sunteleia. In Matthew 13:39-40, Matt. 13:49; Matt. 24:3 and Matt. 28:20, aion is in the singular, but in the one remaining occurrence, namely in Hebrews 9:26, aion is used in the plural. What the significance of this change may be, we do not pause at the moment to consider but just make a note of the fact that nowhere else except in Matthew or Hebrews do we meet the expression sunteleia tou aionos. If there is a period that can be called ‘the end of the world,' there is also a period that speaks of a time ‘since the world began’ or ‘from the beginning of the world.' We should remember when reading this expression that the word arche 'beginning’ does not occur in this phrase, all that is found in the original being the two words ap’ aionos 'from (an) age’ when used in Luke 1:70, Acts 3:21 and Acts 15:18; and apo ton aionon the plural with the article, in Ephesians 3:9 and Colossians 1:26. We observe that in the last reference, the ages are coupled with generations, a term which we must consider separately.

'The world to come' translates two forms, one in which aion is spoken of as erchomeno 'coming,' Luke 18:30; and aion is spoken of as mello ‘about to be,' Matthew 12:32, Ephesians 1:21 and Hebrews 6:5. 'This world' and 'that world’ are contrasted, the former expression using toutou with aion, the latter using ekeinos. ‘That world’ occurs but once, namely in Luke 20:35, but ‘this world’ occurs some fourteen times, and these will be given in fuller detail when the occurrences are being examined in detail. Variations of this expression are found in Galatians 1:4, which adds the words 'present’ and ‘evil,’ and 1 Timothy 6:17, 2 Timothy 4:10, and Titus 2:12, where the word ‘now’ nun is added.

One passage contains the phrase ‘before the ages’ (plural) pro ton aionon, 1 Corinthians 2:7; the other passages which speak of ‘before the world’ contain the word kosmos, not aion. The word ‘generation’ is used in association with the ages. Genea has three meanings in the New Testament. It means the simple succession from father to son (Matt. 1:17); it means a company of men living at the same time and sharing similar characteristics; and thirdly, it means a mark of time, the successive lives of offspring being taken to indicate so many stages in the world's history.

Aion ‘age’ belongs to no one particular dispensation or line of teaching. Aion occurs in all but five of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. The epistles that contain no reference are 1 and 2 Thessalonians, James, Philemon, and 3 John. Aionios, the adjective, translated ‘eternal’ and ‘everlasting,’ occurs in nineteen books of the New Testament, being omitted from 1 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, James, and 2 and 3 John. The books, therefore, which contain both aion and aionios are the four Gospels, Acts, Galatians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, Jude, and Revelation. We must examine some of these occurrences in detail, and we shall have to consider the bearing of apo ‘from’ and ‘since’, pro ‘before,’ and eis ‘unto’ or ‘for’ before we can even begin to come to any conclusion as to when the age-times began.

What does the Scripture mean by ‘age-times’? Is such a term a correct translation of the original? What light do parallel constructions throw upon the phrase? Where does the expression occur? What light do we get from the context? Are there parallel - though different - expressions that should be considered? Let us address ourselves to examine these and any related questions that may occur during the investigation.

The rendering ‘age-times’ is not found in either the A.V. or the R.V. In the A.V., the translation reads 'before or since the world began,' and in the R.V., the rendering is ‘through’ or ‘before times eternal.’ ‘Before the world began' is at least understandable, but ‘before times eternal' cannot be understood without a very drastic revision of the meaning ascribed to ‘eternal'. If eternal things have neither beginning nor end, then it is impossible to speak of a ‘period' before times eternal - the translation is figurative and does not contribute to our understanding or add to our knowledge. The occurrences of the expression are three in number, and we give them first of all as they occur in the A.V.

‘Now to Him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: to God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen’ (Rom. 16:25-27).

‘Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ’ (2 Tim. 1:8-10).

‘In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; but hath in due times manifested His Word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour’ (Titus 1:2,3).

The Greek words translated as ‘since the world began’ are chronois aioniois in Romans 16:25, and ‘before the world began,' pro chronon aionion in 2 Timothy 1:9 and Titus 1:2. We observe that the expression in either form is exclusive to Paul and that such an exclusive character is emphasized in the context by such added terms as ‘my gospel’; ‘through the gospel where-unto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles’; ‘through preaching which is committed unto me’.

Our first note, therefore, is that ‘before the world began’ or ‘since the world began,’ however ultimately, we are obliged to translate the original, which belongs exclusively to the ministry of Paul.

Secondly, we note that there is a difference between the phrase found in Romans 16 and those found in 2 Timothy and Titus. The former speaks of a period ‘since’, the latter of a period ‘before’ the beginning of the world. We must be careful, therefore, to keep these two periods distinct, together with the revelations associated with them.

Ignoring for the time being the preposition pro ‘before,' or the dative case translated by the A.V ‘since,’ let us examine the words chronon aionion. It is not a matter of debate that aionos is an adjective derived from aion, the noun, or that chronos is a noun. If we read in Matthew 25:19 meta de chronon polun, we naturally translate 'but after a long time.’ If we find the order of the words reversed as in John 5:6 polun ... chronon, while the emphasis may be shifted, the translation must remain the same, polun still remains an adjective, and chronon still remains a noun. The word chronos ‘time’ is not of frequent use in the epistles, occurring only twelve times in the fourteen written by Paul, and when we turn to Romans, 2 Timothy and Titus in the hope of observing the usage of chronon in those three epistles which use the phrase since, or before ‘the world began’ we find but one passage, namely Romans 7:1, ‘the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth,’ literally ‘for a long time,’ eph hoson chronon.

Aionios, the adjective, is derived from aion and must retain whatever essential meaning pertains to the noun. It is impossible that the noun should be translated as ‘age,’ which most certainly had a beginning and will certainly have an end, and to translate the adjective ‘everlasting’ or ‘eternal.’ Keeping to Paul’s Epistles, we find aionion translated as eternal, everlasting, and forever, except in the three passages before us, Romans 16:25, 2 Timothy 1:9, and Titus 1:2, where we read ‘since, or before, the world began.' If chronos be translated as 'world,’ then aionios must have been translated as ‘began,’ or if chronos has been translated as ‘began’ because of its association with time, then aionios has been translated as ‘world'. In any case, the translation is exceedingly wide.

The Revisers were evidently unsatisfied with this rendering, for in the three passages, they substitute, ‘times eternal,’ which though it adheres more to the actual words so translated, is still too poetic to be of use, for ‘times’ belong to one category and ‘eternal’ to another. We can speak of 'a living death,’ but only in a figure; we can speak of ‘times eternal’ but only in a figure; for the purpose of discovering at what point in the outworking of the purpose of the ages, these ‘times eternal’ commence, such a translation is valueless. There is nothing for it but to adopt either the foreign-sounding phrase ‘aionian times’ or the cumbersome expression ‘age-times.’ This latter has the advantage of presenting to the eye the fact that we are still within the bounds of the ages and not dealing with either ‘the world’ as in the A.V. or ‘eternity’ as in the R.V.

We must now return to those passages that are under review to observe any particular features that will help us in our attempt to place them in the outworking of the Divine purpose. First, we will give Weymouth’s rendering of Romans 16:25-27, with our own emphasis on each occurrence of aion and aionios.

‘To Him Who has it in His power to make you strong, as declared in the Good News which I am spreading, and the proclamation concerning Jesus Christ, in harmony with the unveiling of the Truth which IN THE PERIODS OF PAST AGES remained unuttered, but has now been brought fully to light, and by the commandment of THE GOD OF THE AGES has been made known by the writings of the Prophets among the Gentiles to win them to the obedience to the faith - to God, the only wise, through Jesus Christ, even to Him be glory THROUGH ALL THE AGES’.

The words chronois aioniois, in Romans 16:25, are in the dative case. This case is used to denote ‘a space of time’, ‘for,’ as in Acts 13:20 and John 2:20. (The A.V. use of the word ‘since’ is without precedent; this demands the preposition apo, or it's equivalent). In the space of time known as the age times, a truth had been ‘kept secret.’ As the word musterion and its derivations express the idea of something ‘secret’ and as the word translated ‘kept secret’ in the original of Romans 16:25 is sigao ‘to keep silence’ (see 1 Cor. 14:28, 1 Cor. 14:34), the translation of the A.V. is misleading. The word does not indicate that the truth in view was never made known at all, or at any time, but that in the space of time known as the age-times, it was ‘hushed’, that period ending with the revelation found in the epistle to the Romans, and referring, not to ‘The Mystery’ of Ephesians, but to the inner portion of Romans, namely Romans 5:12 to 8:39, where instead of the law of Moses, and personal transgressions, being the dominant theme, Moses retires into the background, and Sinai is exchanged for ‘the law of sin and death,’ Adam takes the place of Moses, and the ruin of the creature is stressed rather than personal transgressions, ‘sin’ rather than ‘sins.’ Since the call of Abraham and during the period of Israel’s discipline, this inner teaching of Romans remained un-emphasized, but with the commission of the apostle, the hour struck for its proclamation. A comparison of Romans 1:1-7 with Romans 16:25-27 will reveal some things in common and some that differ.

The structure of the epistle to the Romans is exceedingly complex, as we can well believe of so mighty an epistle. Simplified to the extreme, it appears somewhat like this:

A Rom. 1:1 to 5:11. Sins, rather than sin.
                                (outer) Law of Sinai.
                                Abraham, Israel, Jew and Gentile.

B Rom. 5:12 to 8:39. Sin, rather than sins.
                                  (inner) Adam, not Abraham.
                                  Law of sin and death.

A Rom. 9:1 to 16:24. Dispensational and Practical problems.
                                  (outer) Abraham, Israel, Jew and Gentile.

B Rom. 16:25-27. The mystery that had been ‘hushed’.
                             (inner) No ‘doctrine’ of Adam outside of the
                             epistles of Paul.

The conclusion to which an examination of the word aion leads is that eternity is never in view, but that the word is employed to cover the period of time since Genesis 1:2 and reaching up to the day when God will be all in all when the Ages will have reached both their goal and their end.

The reader would find considerable help if the notes on ‘age’ given in the appendix of Rotherham’s Emphasized New Testament were consulted, Weymouth’s Translation of the New Testament in Modern Speech, and Appendix 129 and 151 of The Companion Bible.