1 John 2v25

25 And this is the promise which he MDpromise-a us: the life, the age-lasting one.

  • Age-lasting life/eternal life appears in 44 verses in the NT;
  • 6 of which are in 1 John.

Why have I translated this phrase as the life, the age-lasting one or in other verses as age-lasting life rather than eternal life?

  • I am unconvinced that the New Testament writers, when they use the Greek word for age-lasting, actually meant eternal;
  • The reasons will be set out below;
  • However, I am not opposed to the use of eternal life, but that is for an indirect reason which I will explain at the end.

Some definitions:

Eternal = having infinite duration, without beginning or end.

Everlasting = lasting or enduring through all time, never coming to an end.

Understanding age-lasting life:

There are 3 Greek words which have been translated as life:

  1. Zōē (x134): life (mainly spiritual)
  2. Psychē (x105): life (soul)
  3. Bios (x11): life (material)
  • Age-lasting/eternal never appears with psychē or bios;
  • Age-lasting always appears with zōē;
  • Notice the comparison with how man is made up – spirit (zōē), soul (psychē) and body (bios).

There are 3 Greek words to consider when understanding age-lasting:

  1. Aiōn (x128): age (noun) – undefined period of time
  2. Aiōnios (x71): age-lasting (adjective)
  3. Aidios (x2): ever-lasting (adjective) Jude 1v6 & Rom 1v20

1. Aiōn/Age

  • When it comes to time, the Bible speaks of ages;
  • Unfortunately age has often been translated into English as world, forever, ever or eternal in the NT.

List of uses of age when translated consistently with example references:

  • Age (Mat 12v32, Mat 13v39)
  • Into the age (1 John 2v17)
  • Into ages (Mat 6v13)
  • Into the ages (Rom 11v36)
  • Before the ages (1 Cor 2v7, Eph 3v9)
  • Into the age of the age (Heb 1v9)
  • Into all the generations of the age of the ages (Eph 3v21)
  • Into the ages of the ages (Gal 1v5, 1 Peter 5v11, Rev 1v6)
  • In the ages, the ones coming (Eph 2v7)
  • To the king of the ages…into the ages of the ages (1 Tim 1v17)
  • He make-a the ages (Heb 1v2)

3 examples:

Mat 12v32:

“Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come… (NKJV)

  • Age translated correctly as ‘age.’
  • Latin Vulgate: saeculo – century, age or generation

1 John 2v17:

And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (NKJV)

  • Forever should be translated ‘into the age.’
  • Latin Vulgate: aeternum – eternally

Gal 1v5

to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (NKJV)

  • Forever and ever should be translated ‘into the ages of the ages.’
  • Latin Vulgate: saecula saeculorum – ages of ages

  • Into the age is not the same as into the ages of the ages;
  • Both however are often translated as forever;
  • The Bible speaks of ages;
  • Time continues after the millennial age in the ages of the ages.

2. Aiōnios/Age-lasting

  • If aiōn means an age which is a period of time how can its adjective aiōnios describe infinite duration and be translated eternal?
  • Age-lasting was often used to convey the length of a person’s life;
  • The NT does not have a word for eternal.  The closest is everlasting which only occurs twice.

3 examples:

Philemon 1v15:

For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, (NKJV)

  • Forever should be translated as ‘age-lasting.’
  • Latin Vulgate: aeternum – eternally

Titus 1v2 (Rom 16v25 similar):

in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, (NKJV)

  • Began should be translated as ‘age-lasting.’
  • Latin Vulgate: saecularia – belonging to an age (adjective)

Mark 10v30:

“who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life… (NKJV)

  • Eternal should be translated as ‘age-lasting.’
  • Latin Vulgate: aeternam – eternal

How did the phrase eternal life come about?

Jerome translated the Greek New Testament into the Latin Vulgate in the 4th century.  This is what he said about the Millennium in his commentary on Daniel:

But the saints shall never possess an earthly kingdom, but only a heavenly.  Away, then, with the fable about a millennium!

(Jerome’s commentary on Daniel p81)

Jerome has used the Latin ‘aeternum’ in places rather than ‘saeculo’ and it would appear he has done so based upon his theological position of the Millennium i.e. he believed there would be no literal Millennial kingdom age upon the return of Jesus.  This theology and translation has permeated both Roman Catholicism and many denominations within Protestantism and hides the truth of the literal Millennial age to come.

Aiōnios has been translated as eternal or everlasting rather than age-lasting in nearly all English translations.  When the Bible speaks about age-lasting life we need to work out which age the verse is speaking about – the length of a person’s life, this age, the age to come or one of the ages in the ages of the ages.

The 44 verses containing age-lasting are below.

I have attempted to categorise each verse using the following 3 columns:

  1. Does age-lasting life have a definite article and if so how many;
  2. Does the verse relate to faith or works;
  3. Does the verse relate to the present or Millennial age or perhaps both.
Age-lasting life versesDownload

3 Observations:

Observation 1 – Definite Article usage:

τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον (x2)

the life, the age-lasting one

ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή (x4)

the age-lasting life

ἥ ζωὴ αἶώνιος (x1)

the life age-lasting

ζωὴν αἰώνιον (x37)

life age-lasting

How to tell present or Millennium:

  1. Definite article once or twice is likely to be Millennium;
  2. Type of verb;
  3. Context of verse and passage.

Observation 2&3 – Faith or Works and Present or Millennium:

In general terms there is a fairly even split for age-lasting life verses between faith and works.  Most faith verses are concerned with present age-lasting life and most works verses are concerned with Millennial age-lasting life.

Conclusions:

How do we receive age-lasting life? Faith or works?

  • Present age-lasting life is through faith in Jesus;
  • Millennial kingdom age-lasting life is through continuing faith and rewarded or lost according to our works.

Is age-lasting life a gift or a prize?

  • Present age-lasting life and age-lasting life after the Millennial age (to those who do not obtain the prize) is a gift;
  • Millennial kingdom age-lasting life is a superior life to what we can experience presently;
  • Millennial kingdom age-lasting life is a prize to be won.

When does age-lasting life begin?

  • Present age-lasting life begins when one first believes in Jesus;
  • Millennial kingdom age-lasting life begins at the 2nd coming of Jesus at the time of the 1st Resurrection.

Can we lose age-lasting life?

  • The gift of present age-lasting life can be lost during a believer’s lifetime but regained after the Millennial age;
  • The prize/firstborn inheritance of Millennial kingdom age-lasting life can be lost but the gift regained after the Millennial age.

Additional conclusions:

  • None of the 44 verses speak directly of eternity, forever or even the ages of the ages;
  • Age-lasting life is connected to having indwelling spirit of God (not identical to spirit of Christ/holy spirit – see Romans 8v9);
  • It could therefore be said that the one who has spirit of God has eternal life, as spirit of God is eternal.

1 John 2v25

  • This verse has 2 definite articles and speaks of the life, as the bride of Christ, in the Millennial kingdom age;
  • This promise is conditional as the word ‘if’ is used in v24;
  • This promise is for a believer who abides in the light.