Now, however, we should also consider some arguments that are listed against this view of “ages.” One of the arguments that is almost always used is like this: “God is eternal, therefore eternity is endless”. This is circular reasoning. This begins by first interpreting endlessness into the Bible (or more specifically: into the words olam and aion), and then reading it back out of the Bible. Of course, this is not a justification.

The king of the eons

One of the biblical passages with which one tries to prove the “eternity of God and of eternity itself” is read in the First Epistle to Timothy. In the translation “Hope for All” the passage is rendered as follows:

“But God, the eternal King, who is immortal and invisible, this only true God may be praised and honored for all eternity. Amen!”
1Tim 1,17

It is a vivid example of how assumptions about biblical statements are already interpreted into the Bible during translation. It is a paraphrase. In its wording, it tries to tie in with what people already understand. Whether the understanding is correct, however, seems secondary here. Whoever reads this without further examination concludes what tradition teaches: God is eternal, namely endless, and He is praised forever. Everything points to the understanding of “endlessness”. However, the fact that this passage has been translated less than literally becomes immediately apparent when a comparison is made. In the Elberfelder translation, the passage reads as follows:

“But to the King of the ages , to the incorruptible, invisible, only God, be honor and glory forever and ever ! Amen.”
1Tim 1,17

This already reads quite differently from the previously mentioned translation. The Elberfelder translation is much closer to the basic text. It is a remarkable translation because the word “aion” occurs three times here. Once it is translated as “age”, and twice as “eternity”. All in a single sentence. But it is confusing when the word is translated once this way and once differently.

The question is how one can study the Bible here without bias if one has only this translation. It is interpreted suggestively and contradictorily, and the uninitiated reader cannot see that the same word is always used in the basic text.

However, the Elberfelder translation offers many references to the basic text. As footnote at “age” is written “eons”. The expression “from eternity to eternity” is described in the footnote as “w. into the ages of the ages.” While it may sound unfamiliar to some ears, this rendition is clearly closer to the basic text. Literally, then, it is a matter of ages, and not of an endless eternity. To determine this is a great asset.

The Concordant New Testament reads uniformly here:

” But to the King of the eons, to the incorruptible, invisible, only, wise God be glory and glorification for the eons of the eons! Amen!”

Here the connection of all three occurrences of “aion” is memorable and clear. Aeon is a foreign word, just as amen is a foreign word at the end of the line. Do not be irritated by the fact that the word eon sounds somewhat foreign. It is a well naturalized word and is used repeatedly in philosophical as well as theological literature. Ages is a good comparison for Eon. If we translate “eon” neutrally everywhere, we are very close to the original wording and can better recognize the meaning from the respective own context.

God stands above the eons

God is the “King of the Aeons. That is, He rules over all the eons. It does not mean that He is limited to the eons. But the fact that He is King of all eons has significance. Satan, in fact, is called the “God of this eon”(2 Cor. 4:4). Even though the Adversary is undeniably putting a stamp on this current eon, and many seem at the mercy of his rule, the Most High God is above all. He is the king of all eons. Or in other words, He alone is truly God.

There is further evidence that the eons are not a limitation for God. God made the eons through the Son(Heb. 1:2). He has made a purpose of the eons in Christ Jesus(Eph. 3:11). This resolution is not endless, but will come to a conclusion because the eons are finite. It’s a plan with a clear goal. These are the ages during which God unfolds world history, fulfilling this purpose. Paul says that there is a purpose that will be carried out in such and such a way, namely in eons.

Wisdom among the matured

“But wisdom we speak among the mature, yet not wisdom of this aeon, nor of the chiefs of this aeon who are dismissed. But we speak of God’s wisdom in a mystery, of that which has been hidden, which God predestined before the eons for our glory.”
1Cor 2,6-7

Various things can be seen from this passage: Already before the eons God has grasped a mystery in his wisdom. From this it is clear, on the one hand, that God is not limited to the eons, but on the other hand, that He overlooks all eons and acts sovereignly in them according to His free will. God is greater than the eons. Then, however, there is again a clear difference between this eon, in which we live, and several eons altogether. God’s work in relation to this world began before, before the eons, and is now unfolding during the eons. He acts with vision. Then Paul writes more details about this:

“This wisdom has not been recognized by any of the rulers of this eon. For if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
1Cor 2,8

The superiors of this aeon could be understood to be the rulers of this world, at most also the spiritual powers behind them (cf . Eph. 1:20-22). Whoever was meant by this, they knew nothing of God’s wisdom. If you tried to thwart God’s work by crucifying Jesus, God still chose it as the basis of His action. The superiors were – in God’s wisdom, and not recognized by themselves – handmaidens for salvation. God’s wisdom was much deeper. Only God Himself can turn a death on the cross into something completely different.

These thoughts that Paul formulates here he quite deliberately places in a temporal framework. What looks foolish in our time is of the greatest importance in God’s wisdom – which spans all time. “For the seeming foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the seeming weakness of God is stronger than men”(1 Cor. 1:25), Paul wrote just before. In this passage, he enlightens the church at Corinth that the Jews were demanding signs while the Greeks were seeking wisdom. Paul, however, proclaims Christ as crucified, something offensive to the Jews, foolishness to the nations. So far, most people can understand that.

But to them, the called, both Jews and Greeks, Paul proclaims “Christ as God’s power and God’s wisdom”(1 Cor. 1:22-24). That this is the case is completely at odds with what is in front of us: A crucified Christ – who can expect salvation from this? What is a well-known cultural asset for our ears was unheard of at that time. He had to show this not only from Scripture, but also put it in a framework that was different from the findings of Jews and Greeks. This frame was a mystery. “…we speak of God’s wisdom in a mystery, of that which has been hidden…”. God’s wisdom was different. God’s wisdom was hidden. God’s wisdom did not only have in mind what happened there in Jerusalem when Jesus was killed.

The Eternity of God

Let us return to the verse mentioned at the beginning, in which God was described as the “King of the Aeons”. Is this now the eternity of God? The answer is a resounding no. But this does not deny that God should be “eternal”, but it only removes the inauthentic link with the Greek “aion”. God is greater than the eons, we have found.

If we absolutely want to imagine a kind of eternity, then this is the time in which the eons only represent an appearance. The eons would be embedded in an eternity, so to speak. The Bible deals exclusively with the times of the eons. There is hardly any information about what lies outside. Strictly speaking, there is also no information whether the time outside of the eons is “endless”. Certainly, however, we can say that God is much greater than anything we can imagine here in this time and in this world.

Just as God has already acted before the eons(1 Cor. 2:7), we know from Scripture that one day sin will be completely put away, namely at the closing period of the eons(Heb. 9:26). We know that one day the last enemy will be cast off, death(1Cor 15:26), and the Son will submit to the Father so that God can be all in all(1Cor 15:28). This is the moment when the purpose of the eons in Christ Jesus(Eph. 3:11) has been successfully completed. That God will now be all in all is both the conclusion of the eons and the beginning of what may come after.

This gives us a glimpse of eternity as God foresees it according to the Bible.