Is Salvation "Eternal"?

Is life in heaven "eternal"? One may wonder if "salvation" is "eternal" why should not hell be "eternal" as well. The quick answer is: neither salvation nor hell are eternal but are "eonian"... which means they are of an indefinite but limited time.

Rather than "eternity", followers of Jesus will experience TIME in heaven. Heaven, as we know from scripture, is a created place. It did not exist in God before the beginning when He created heavens and earth. As we experience time on earth, we shall also experience time in heaven.

To experience the passage of time "while the ages roll!" Won't that make it so much more fun than "eternity"?

To begin looking at translation of Greek and Hebrew words, we should look at Strong's Concordance.

Aion versus "Forever"

We see from the Strong's numbers referenced, that the word which was translated "eternal" was Greek word #166. That is aion (or eon) which means an era or a time of unspecified duration.

Strong's Numbers are given here below for Hebrews 5:9

And [G2532] being made perfect [G5048] (5685), he became [G1096] (5633) the author [G159] of eternal [G166] salvation [G4991] unto all [G3956] them that obey [G5219] (5723) him [G846];

The Greek word G166 is AION. The King James Version translated in as "eternal". Therefore people think that salvation is eternal, but the Greek word #166...is not "eternal" it is "eonian" ... which is to say... it goes on for an indefinite time.

It should be obvious to someone who uses the Strong's concordance that AION means an indefinite period of time. Use the concordance to see how it is used in Matthew 24. This is the word which in Matthew 24 the disciples used to ask Jesus, "What will be the sign of ... the end of the eon." KJV translated that as "the end of the world." We can all readily see that something which has an end is not eternal.

Hebrews 5:9 is speaking of our salvation as something which is age-lasting (eonian), something which goes on as long as heaven and earth remain.



Remedialist