Aiōnios and Aïdios

The Aionian Bible republishes public domain and Creative Common Bible texts that are 100% free to copy and print. The original translation is unaltered and notes are added to help your study. The notes show the location of eleven special Greek and Hebrew Aionian Glossary words to help us better understand God’s love for individuals and for all mankind, and the nature of afterlife destinies. The first three words are aiōn, aiōnios, and aïdios, typically translated as eternal and also world or eon. Consider that researchers question if aiōn and aiōnios actually mean eternal. See below. Every quest for the truth must have the wisdom to eliminate what we prefer to be true and also the courage to eliminate what we fear to be true in order to discover what Christ says is actually true.


Life Time Entirety by Dr. Heleen KeizerDr. Heleen Keizer wrote Life Time Entirety to explain the meaning of the Greek word aiōn. She begins, "The Greek word aiōn has a wide ranging meaning as well as a wide ranging history: it is most commonly translated as ‘eternity’ but has as its first meaning ‘life’ or ‘lifetime’; it has its place in Greek literature and philosophy, but also in the Greek Bible, where it represents the Hebrew word ‘olâm." Her 315 page PhD dissertation shows that the Greek word aiōn originally denotes life time, duration, or complete life, but not eternal.  You can read her dissertation online or an abstract of her conclusions here.


Terms for Eternity: Aionios and Aidios in Classical and Christian Texts by Ilaria Ramelli and David KonstanIlaria Ramelli and David Konstan wrote Terms for Eternity: Aionios and Aidios in Classical and Christian Texts, available at Amazon.  This highly technical volume quotes hundreds of sources from classical literature, the Septuagint, early church fathers, and church fathers after Origen to determine the meaning and usage of Aiōnios and Aïdios.  They conclude that Aïdios nearly always means eternal in the absolute sense.  Aïdios is used twice in the Bible: Romans 1:20 concerning God and Jude 6 concerning the bonds on fallen angels.  Aiōnios, however, has a range of meanings including life, age, generation, and eon.  They argue that Aiōnios can also mean eternal, but only when God is the subject.  Ramelli and Konstan concur with Keizer and conclude saying, "Needless to say, the ethical implications of this question are profound."