Eternity is not timelessness

That eternity is not a contradiction to time has already been shown in a previous article. Rather, the eons in the Bible are recognized as periods of time. This corresponds to our term “age”. Ages each have their own coinage, but it is this coinage that is central, and there is no definition of duration in the term itself. According to the biblical use of the word, there are different eons, which together represent the “eonian times”. The apostle Paul writes of “his” gospel, for example:

“But to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the herald message of Christ Jesus, according to the revelation of a mystery that was kept secret in eonian times, but has now been revealed …”
Rom 16:25

To Timothy he writes later:

“God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before eonian times…”
2Tim 1:9

What is amazing here is that the grace we received is already given to us “in Christ Jesus” “before aeonian times”. This sentence should be left to soak in for a while. It is an extraordinary statement. So there was something “before” the aeonic times. Paul is speaking here about God’s purpose and grace, which He has already recognized in Christ Jesus there and apparently also destined to bless. Before aeonian times, that is, before the aeons began, before the time known to us began, even before the creation of the world, before Adam and Eve and the Fall. The aeonic times will begin at some point, but this is not the beginning. Earlier, God had already prepared some things. This is what the apostle is talking about here.

Regarding our calling, Paul writes almost identically in Ephesians:

“… just as He [Gott] chose us in Him [Christus] before the casting down of the world, that we might be holy and without blemish before His face.”
Eph 1:4

To Titus the apostle writes:

“in anticipation of aeonian life, which the infallible God promised before aeonian times.”
Tit 1,2

The Aeonic Times

The “eternal time” is a misconstruction. There is no such thing as “endless time.” The Bible knows “aeonian times”. These are the times of the eons. They are ages with a specific and each with its own character. The Bible writers had in mind very large periods of time in which God’s action takes place. It’s more of a reference after how time relates to our world:

“… Also you, who are dead to your offenses and sins, in which you once walked, according to the aeon (gr. aion) of this world (gr. kosmos) …”
Eph 2:2

All these indications do not deprive us now of an endless eternity. It is true that an endless eternity is not a theme of the Bible. However, this does not mean that they do not exist, nor that there are no indications of them.

What is selectively translated as “eternity” or “everlasting” in the Bible has nothing to do with an endless duration, but with several eons. The eons may be embedded in a much larger “eternity” concept. This can only be cautiously deduced from the remarks we have just read up here. From this it is clear that something already happened “before” the aeonic times. Likewise, there are indications in the Bible about the conclusion of all the eons and about the situation that will then be reached. There is a view beyond the eons. But more on that in a later article.

In the next article, various expressions will be brought up that suggest how these aeonic times are constructed.