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For Ever and Ever
(and I can prove it)
The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and
he shall reign for ever and ever. (Rev. 11:15)
As a music major in college, I had to join at least two ensembles in addition to my
classes. One of those ensembles was a large chorus comprised mostly of nonvoice
majors. For a bunch of amateurs, we weren't so bad, especially that year when we
performed Handel's Messiah. It's a powerful and inspiring work of art. I still remember
the bass line of the chorus, "And He shall reign for ever and ever."
But will Christ really reign forever? I assure you that the title of this article is not
sarcastic. Jesus Christ will not reign forever. Does this mean there is a contradiction in
the Bible? Either there is a contradiction in the Bible, meaning God made a mistake, or
there is inaccurate translation, meaning man made a mistake. I'll let you decide who is
wrong.
The Book of Revelation is the last book in the New Testament. Many Christians assume
that since this is the last book, it's the end of the story and the beginning of eternity.
There are hints of eternity in Revelation, such as there being a new heaven and new
earth, and no more pain, sorrow, or death. But to get better picture of the end of the story
we need to go to 1 Corinthians, chapter 15. Below are some pertinent verses, but I
suggest you read the whole chapter several times.
For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a
man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own
turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end
will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all
dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under
his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he "has put everything under his
feet." Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this
does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this,
then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that
God may be all in all. (v. 2128)
Jesus will reign as long as it is necessary to subdue all his enemies, and the last enemy to
be destroyed is death. When there are no more enemies, there is no need for Christ to
continue to reign. Think of of this way. Suppose you work for a large corporation which
is going through a crisis which if not fixed will result in bankruptcy and loss of
thousands of jobs. So you call in a highly paid consultant, let's call him Mr. Jesus. Mr.
Jesus takes the helm and gets everything under control and brings the corporation away
from the brink of failure. He fixes every problem, big and small. Once everything is
fixed, you cut him a check and send him on his way. There is no need to keep the
consultant around once all the problems are solved.
So what will Jesus do after this? Will he retire and go fishing? We are not told. The truth
is that the Bible tells us very little about eternity and what happens when all the ages are
through. But not to worry, Jesus will still be Jesus. He's not going away. He will still be
our savior forever and for eternity.
How Long is Forever?
If forever is eternity, then how long is forever and ever? Can we add to or subtract from
eternity? There is no and in the original. The phrase is literally, into the ages of the ages,
not ages and ages, or ages upon ages, or ages after ages. Ages of the ages is a reference to
the ages to come, which include the millennial reign of Christ and the age that follows,
not eternity.
All the confusion stems from the Greek word aion, it's plural aions, and its adjective
form aionios. Aion is an age or eon. An age is an indefinite period of time which has a
beginning and end. Aions simply means ages, and aionios means pertaining to the age,
ageduring, or of the age. These terms appear some 190 times in the New Testament. Its
parallel term in the Old Testament is olam, which also means age.
If you check your Greek Lexicon, you will see that it defines aion as follows:
1. for ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity
2. the worlds, universe
3. period of time, age
Aionios is defined:
1. without beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be
2. without beginning
3. without end, never to cease, everlasting
These are the definitions given by the world's best scholars. But I prefer to allow the
Bible define its own terms.
Aion is translated as for ever, age, world, eternal, evermore, never, and other terms.
Aionios is translated everlasting, eternal, world, and others.
You don't have to be Greek scholar to understand something is wrong here. How can you
possibly translate a single word into seven or eight different words in English? Maybe
they can justify using two, or maybe three different English words to translate one Greek
word, but seven different words with different meanings is inexcusable and confusing.
Also, how can an adjective take on a completely different meaning than the noun from
which it is derived? Hourly means every hour, or once an hour, not endless hours. Yearly
means once a year, or every year, not endless years.
The issue isn't so much as to whether or not aionios can mean eternal, it's that the
translators of the King James have interpreted rather than translated this word based on
their own biases. It's true that words can have multiple meanings. With such words,
context is what determines the meaning, so let's examine some passages.
Achish trusted David and said to himself, "He has become so odious to his people, the
Israelites, that he will be my servant forever." (1 Sam 27:12)
Can any person be a servant for eternity?
This is what the wicked are likealways carefree, they increase in wealth. (Ps. 73:12)
always = olam
Will the wicked increase forever?
The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped
around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred
me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God. (Jonah 2:6)
I'm sure for Jonah, his time in the belly of the fish felt like eternity, but if you read the
whole story, forever means three days. Interestingly in the King James Version, Jonah
cried out to God from hell. So although he was in hell forever, the Lord heard his prayer
and he got out after three days.
The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is that man who hears the
word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it
unfruitful. (Matt. 13:22)
Life here is translated from aion. Obviously it cannot mean eternity.
As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.
(Matt. 13:40)
An age has an end. Eternity does not.
If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for
you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown
into the eternal fire. (Matt. 18:8)
eternal = aionios The fire is age lasting, not eternal. Like the unquenchable fire in
similar verses, it burns until it accomplishes its purpose.
And everyone who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children
or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.
(Matt. 19:29)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in
him shall not perish but have eternal life. (Jn. 3:16)
And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? (Jn. 11:26)
never = not die for the aion
Though many verses promise eternal life, a more correct translation would be age lasting
life. This does not mean that believers die after the ages are over. Believers don't die
because they are granted immortality through Christ, not because they have aionios life.
....as he said through his holy prophets of long ago. (Luke 1:70)
The fact that there are past aions proves that they do not last forever.
....will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal
life. (Luke 18:30)
This verse mentions the current aion and a future aion.
....but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of
the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him. (Rom. 16:26)
God is eternal, but this verse makes perfect sense if translated God of the ages. This in
no way limits God to the ages alone, it tells us that He is with us through the ages so all
peoples may believe in Him.
The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ; and
he will reign for ever and ever. (Rev. 11:15)
When you first read this, it sure sounds like eternity. But the Apostle Paul contradicts
this in 1 Corinthians as I've already explained.
And the devil who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the
beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for
ever and ever. (Rev. 20:10)
Now I don't feel sorry for the devil. But the expression here is exactly the same as in
11:15 literally the ages of the ages. So if Christ will not reign forever, then neither will
the devil be tormented forever. What happens after that we are not told.
Thus, we have three categories of passages containing these terms:
1. Verses which would make absolutely no sense if aionios is rendered eternal or forever.
2. Verses which would make sense if aionios is rendered eternal, but other scriptures
indicate that such things are not eternal.
3. Verses which may possibly mean eternal, but would still make sense if rendered "age
during".
There is no occurrence of aion, aionios, or olam which must mean eternal or everlasting
in order to make sense.
The next time you see any word in the Scriptures which indicates endless time, be aware
that it probably does not mean eternal. In fact, many scholars contend that the writers of
both Old and New Testaments had no word at all that expressed endless time. Either way,
the manner in which these words have been translated is highly suspect. In my opinion,
forever is a long time, but it is not eternity.