The Eternal False Translation: How Aionios Was Corrupted Into Eternal

Eternal False Translation

There has never been a greater distortion of divine truth than the false translation of the Greek word aionios, falsely rendered as eternal. This single mistranslation has done more to slander the character of God and twist the message of the gospel than any other in history. From it came doctrines of endless torment and annihilationism, doctrines that have terrified the world and misrepresented the very heart of the Father for millennia.

Biased translators took a word that means “age-lasting” and inflated it into infinity. They turned an age, a measured span of time, into an endless nightmare, and in doing so, built an empire on fear. In this chapter, we will expose how translators ignored the laws of language, inflated an adjective beyond its root, and how this one deception became the cornerstone of a theology built on fear instead of linguistic truth and divine love.

Understanding Adjectives

To understand the false translation of eternal, we must begin with a simple linguistic lesson. An adjective is a word that describes a noun. It gives more detail or color to the noun it modifies. However, there are two main types of adjectives: descriptive adjectives and denominal adjectives.

A descriptive adjective describes any aspect of the noun without limit. It can vary in meaning and isn’t bound to the word it modifies. A denominal adjective, on the other hand, is derived directly from the root noun it describes and remains bound to its meaning. It shares its root name and cannot exceed or distort the definition of that noun.

For example, in English, the phrase “a blue sky” uses the adjective blue to describe sky. “A tall mountain” uses tall to describe mountain, and “a hot day” uses hot to describe day. These are all descriptive adjectives.

But when we turn to denominal adjectives, we find something very different. A circle is circular, not triangular. The adjective circular is bound to the noun circle by its root. Likewise, national comes from nation, famous from fame, and glorious from glory. None of these adjectives inflate the meaning of their root nouns. They simply describe them in their proper form.

This rule is fundamental in both English and Greek. Denominal adjectives do not exceed the meaning of their noun. They cannot be inflated beyond the scope of their root or they cease to be adjectives altogether.

Greek Examples

In Greek, this linguistic integrity holds just as true. Let’s look at a few examples.

Chronos means time or a span of time. Its denominal adjective is chronios, meaning lasting through time or time-enduring. It never becomes timeless or infinite.
Sarx means flesh. Its adjective sarkikos means fleshly or pertaining to the flesh. It does not mean spiritual.
Pneuma means spirit. Its adjective pneumatikos means spiritual or pertaining to spirit. It does not become something beyond the spirit.
Kosmos means world. Its adjective kosmikos means worldly. It does not mean cosmic or universal infinity.

Each of these adjectives remains true to its noun. None are inflated into concepts beyond their root.

Now we come to the word aion. In Greek, aion means an age, a span of time with a beginning and an end. Its adjective form aionios is simply of the age, age-lasting, or age-long. But translators took this adjective and inflated it into eternal, violating every linguistic law that governs denominal adjectives.

Does eternal describe an age? Absolutely not.

The Inflation of Meaning

To translate aionios as eternal is not just careless. It is intellectual fraud. Aion is a finite word that means a defined period of time. Aionios must therefore mean “age-long,” not “infinite.” Translating it otherwise is as absurd as saying hourly means forever-hourly.

Strong’s Concordance defines aion as a space of time, an age, or one of a series of ages. It is consistently used to describe a generation, a world-age, or a lifetime. It never denotes infinity. Yet in modern lexicons, you will find notes claiming that aion refers to one of a series of ages “stretching to infinity.”

That small phrase, “stretching to infinity,” is one of the most deceitful insertions ever smuggled into biblical interpretation. There is no Greek or biblical basis for it whatsoever. Every time aion appears in Greek literature—biblical or classical—it denotes a bounded period of time, never infinity.

The Greeks had words for infinity, such as apeiron, meaning unbounded or without limit. If the biblical authors wanted to convey infinity, they would have used apeiron, but they didn’t. To insert “stretching to infinity” into the meaning of aion is linguistic manipulation, not translation.

Even when Scripture says the ages “stretch,” that still implies length, not limitlessness. Anything that stretches has a beginning and an end.

The Created and Ending Ages

The Bible clearly teaches that the ages were created and that they will end. Hebrews 1:2 says that God “made the ages,” and Hebrews 11:3 affirms that “the ages were formed.” Jude 1:25 says, “To God our Savior be glory before all ages.”

If the ages were created, they cannot be eternal. Eternity was never created. It always existed. The ages, however, are temporal frameworks within creation.

Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:26, and Romans 16:25 all speak of “past ages.” Luke 20:34-35 and Ephesians 1:21 speak of “the present age” and “the age to come.” And Matthew 13:39, 13:40, and 28:20 all refer to “the end of the age.”

Finally, 1 Corinthians 10:11 and Hebrews 9:26 both declare “the end of the ages.” The Greek term for “consummation” literally means “completion” or “fulfillment.” The ages were formed and will end when God becomes “all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28).

If the ages begin, continue, and end, they are not infinite. They are not eternal. They are created stages of time designed for God’s redemptive plan, each with a purpose and a conclusion.

The Manipulation in Modern Lexicons

Strong’s #166 defines aionios first as age-long, which is accurate, but then adds “eternal.” This addition contradicts both Scripture and linguistic reason. An age cannot be eternal, and a series of ages cannot become eternal simply by being numerous.

Even more telling, Strong’s admits that aionios means age-long but then claims it is “practically eternal.” Practically? By what authority? Not by Scripture, and certainly not by language. This phrase exposes the manipulation at play—a theological bias forcing language to serve dogma rather than truth.

When the same scholars who admit that aion means age then insist that aionios means eternal, they are defying the very structure of the language they claim to translate.

The Logic of Adjectives

If something happens every day, we call it daily. Every week, weekly. Every month, monthly. Every year, yearly. Each of these adjectives accurately describes its root noun.

So why do translators insist that age can somehow become eternal, timeless, or infinite when turned into an adjective? That is linguistic insanity. The adjective must remain faithful to its noun. Aionios cannot mean anything beyond age-lasting.

Honest Translations

There are a few translators who maintained this linguistic honesty.

The Concordant Literal New Testament (CLNT): “eonian”
Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible (1902): “age-abiding”
Young’s Literal Translation: “age-during”
Weymouth New Testament (1903): “of the ages”
Restoration of Original Sacred Name Bible: “age-lasting”
The Emphatic Diaglott: “age-lasting”

These translators remained faithful to the language and did not distort the meaning of aion or aionios. They understood that faithfulness to God’s Word requires faithfulness to His words.

Conclusion

The false translation of aionios as eternal has built an empire of fear and confusion, concealing the truth of God’s love and the purpose of the ages. Scripture presents a God who created time, who reigns through the ages, and who will bring them all to a glorious completion when He is “all in all.”

To turn “age-lasting” into “eternal” is to turn divine justice into everlasting torment, and divine love into everlasting cruelty. It is to slander the Father’s heart and replace linguistic logic with theological fear.

If you’ve been blessed by this revelation, continue the journey deeper. My book God WILL Save ALL People explores these truths across more than eighty chapters, exposing every mistranslation and misinterpretation that has hidden the true gospel of reconciliation. This message is only the beginning.