Introduction
[The content in this article may be found by some to be quite disturbing. But the importance of knowing and understanding this subject supersedes any sense of distress or alarm our spirits may temporarily experience.]
I recently had a rather unorthodox conversation with an individual, the context of which I felt compelled to share with the body of Christ. This person is obviously intelligent yet promotes a very dangerous teaching. This doctrine I have been privy to in a general way, but I never realized that a particular sect of this theology is linked to an understanding – or should I say a misunderstanding – of the original Greek language of the New Testament.
Due to space constraints, only the pertinent information in several email exchanges will be documented within this article.
How It All Began
This is the email I received a few months ago after I released my article, Time is the Essence.
Dear Mark:
I’ve just read your article, titled, “Time Is the Essence,” at [the] raptureready.com website. I’d like to bring to your attention that “aionios” doesn’t mean eternal. The root word is Aion, and it means AGE, or EON. The adjective cannot exceed in power and meaning the root word. Actually, there’s no word “eternal” in the New Testament in the original Greek. I’d recommend the literal translations, such as the YLT, The Diaglott, Rotherham, and the Concordant Literal New Testament. The main message of the scriptures is NOT about eternity or eternal life. Rather, the emphasis is on EONIAN LIFE. But this is not my main message for you now. I feel it’s more urgent to tell you about the topic of the Trinity:
If you believe in the Trinity, you are not saved and you will not go in the rapture! Here’s why.
“The only thing wrong with the teaching of the Trinity is that it is wrong. In fact, it is so wrong that it denies one of the basic tenets of the gospel of our salvation and disqualifies hundreds of millions of people from membership into Christ’s body. How odd that one of the worst deceptions of Satan (only the teaching of human free will eclipses it) has become a litmus test determining one’s dedication to God. If you even hint that you do not believe in the Trinity, you are labeled a heretic and given up to hell. How ironic that the doctrine of the Trinity is the heresy.”
The Trinity denies Christ’s death. Those who hold to the teaching of the Trinity do not and cannot believe that Jesus Christ truly died. Therefore, they do not and cannot believe that He was truly raised from the dead.
The below syllogism puts this truth clearly:
- No one in the body of Christ will deny the death of Christ. B. The doctrine of the Trinity denies the death of Christ. C. No one in the body of Christ will be found believing in the Trinity.
I hope you’ll think about this matter. I’m reminded of Bullinger, the author of the Companion Bible. Bullinger was a trinitarian for many years, as can be seen in that Bible. But he rejected the trinity dogma before he died. If one is designated beforehand as member of the body of Christ, sooner or later in his life he will be given realisation of the truth.
Yours for correct doctrine [Name Withheld]
[End]
I sent this individual the following response:
Hi [Name Withheld],
Thanks for your email and your thoughts.
1). Your definition for “aionios” is not correct. Here’s the link: Strong’s Greek: 166. αἰώνιος (aiónios) — agelong, eternal (biblehub.com)
According to Strong:
Eternal, forever, everlasting.
From aion; perpetual (also used of past time, or past and future as well) — eternal, for ever, everlasting, world (began).
According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon:
αἰώνιος, , and (in 2 Thessalonians 2:16; Hebrews 9:12; Numbers 25:13; Plato, Tim., p. 38 b. (see below); Diodorus 1:1; (cf. WHs Appendix, p. 157; Winers Grammar, 69 (67); Buttmann, 26 (23))) αἰώνιος, αἰώνια, αἰώνιον (αἰών);
- without beginning or end, that which always has been and always will be: Θεός, Romans 16:26(ὁ μόνος αἰώνιος, 2 Macc. 1:25); πνεῦμα, Hebrews 9:14.
- without beginning: χρόνοις αἰωνίοις, Romans 16:25; πρό χρόνων αἰωνίων, 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2; εὐαγγέλιον, a gospel whose subject-matter is eternal, i. e., the saving purpose of God adopted from eternity, Revelation 14:6.
(Please see Strong’s Greek: 166. αἰώνιος (aiónios) — agelong, eternal (biblehub.com) for item #3 in Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
2). The Trinity is Biblical, and without the doctrine of the Trinity, then we are unsaved. Only God can save human beings. And only God in human flesh could be that agent. Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”
3). No Trinitarian says that Christ didn’t die in His flesh. Where you have gotten this idea is very suspect. Never, ever, have I heard anyone who believes in the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity say that Christ didn’t die in the flesh…
[End]
Almost two months later, I heard back from this individual with the same thoughts expressed in what looked to be a Facebook post. Honestly, I had forgotten much of what we had talked about before, but I did remember the discussion of “aionios” and “aion” and just pointed this person back to what I had written earlier.
This individual wrote back with the following:
Dear Mark,
Strong’s Concordance
aiónios: agelong, eternal
Original Word: αἰώνιος, ία, ιον
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: aiónios
Phonetic Spelling: (ahee-o’-nee-os)
Definition: agelong, eternal
Usage: age-long, and therefore: practically eternal, unending; partaking of the character of that which lasts for an age, as contrasted with that which is brief and fleeting.
The above is from your last email. Notice that the definition given for aionios is self-contradicting: “agelong, eternal.” This is wrong, violating the law of non-contradiction. An age has a beginning and an end. The root word is Aion, that is, Age, or EON. The Bible itself shows this:
Matthew 13:39— “The harvest is the END of the age (aion), and the harvesters are angels.”
Matthew 13:40— “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the END of the age (aion).”
Matthew 13:49— “This is how it will be at the END of the age (aion).”
Matthew 24:3— “As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. ‘Tell us,’ they said, ‘when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the END of the age? (aion)”
Matthew 28:20— “And surely I will be with you always, to the very END of the age (aion).”
When aionios is translated “eternal” it becomes an INTERPRETATION, not a translation.
We should not worry that there’s no word “eternal” in the Bible because God works in eons/ages, as Hebrews 1 says:
“1 By many portions and many modes, of old, God, speaking to the fathers in the prophets,
2 in the last of these days speaks to us in a Son, Whom He appoints enjoyer of the allotment of all, through Whom He also makes the EONS.”
And in Ephesians 3:
“10 that now may be made known to the sovereignties and the authorities among the celestials, through the ecclesia, the multifarious wisdom of God,
11 in accord with the PURPOSE OF THE EONS [not “eternal purpose,” KJV], which He makes in Christ Jesus, our Lord;” (quotations are from Concordant Literal New Testament)
This knowledge is a great key to understanding the message of the scriptures.
[End]
Here was my reply:
Hi [Name Withheld],
Language isn’t difficult. Any word can mean several things, depending on context, in any language. This has nothing to do with Scripture, per se, it has to do with words and their meanings. So, no, this isn’t wrong.
In every verse you cited (except Ephesians 3:11), I’m in agreement, the word should be translated as age, not eternal. In other verses, like the one I gave you (and Ephesians 3:11), the word should be translated and thought of as eternal.
In Ephesians 3:11, the appropriate translation should be eternal.
Here’s John Gill’s commentary:
Ephesians 3:11 – according to his eternal purpose that he accomp… (biblestudytools.com)
Here are other translations:
The vast majority of translators use eternal, and the few translators who use “ages” for Ephesians 3:11 are lumping all of the ages (what you are so fixated on) together to form eternity. The truth is, Christ was slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8) and was foreordained before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20), in eternity past, to fulfill His eternal purposes on into eternity future – all of which encompass eternity.
Again, this is very simple language and word exegesis. I think we’ve talked this subject to death. I’m hoping you’ll understand what I have written here, but if you don’t, then we should just put it to rest because we just aren’t getting anywhere.
[End]
In my response, where I mentioned, “In other verses, like the one I gave you,” was from an earlier exchange where I said the following concerning both words:
In our case, “aionios” is derived from “aion.” But if you look at the definitions of “aion” and “aionios” they do, in fact, have similar, yet differing, definitions – although quite nuanced, and always based on context. That is, “aion” can mean either age, course, eternal, forever; while “aionios” is agelong, eternal, forever. Therefore, “aion” seems geared more toward “age” (although not always – see my examples below), and “aionios” seems to be almost exclusively geared toward “eternal.”
Below are the links to the two words and their definitions. Please take the time to read everything on these pages. So, while both words can mean an age, they can also mean forever or eternity; but the context will always determine which is meant.
The context is what determines what the word means. It’s no different in English. For instance, “love” can mean many things in English, always dependent on the context. Because of the context, we are able to determine what any author of Scripture means when they use “aion” and/or “aionios.”
Example of “aion” as an age:
“The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world [age]; and the reapers are the angels” (Matthew 13:39).
Example of “aion” as eternal:
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever [eternal]: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51).
It’s truly very simple…
Strong’s Greek: 165. αἰών (aión) — a space of time, an age (biblehub.com)
Strong’s Greek: 166. αἰώνιος (aiónios) — agelong, eternal (biblehub.com)
[End]
A synopsis of all of this could be summarized in the following way: All of the “eons” or “ages” going on into the ages of the Eternal Kingdom is eternity!
Doing Some Research
Toward the end of our conversations, what really caught my eye was this person’s citing of a passage from a translation that they had said was a “correct translation” called the CLNT. So, I did a little research on CLNT, and this is what I came up with.
A.E. Knoch wrote the Concordant Literal New Testament (CLNT) translation and the Concordant Literal Version (CLT) translation and was a firm Universalist and Unitarian.
For those who don’t know, a Universalist is someone who believes that everyone – and I mean everyone – will someday be in the presence of God, and a Unitarian is someone who doesn’t believe in the trinity — thus, those who believe in one God with three personages withing the One – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – are known as Trinitarians.
Both these attributes of a Universalist and a Unitarian were clearly presented by this individual in their emails, yet they never came out and admitted their affiliation. Up until this point, I thought I was dealing with a new believer who had come into some rather bizarre notions from an obscure source. This was not the case.
Note: These translations mentioned by the person in their first email – particularly A.E. Knoch’s Concordant Literal New Testament (CLNT) and Concordant Literal Version (CLT) – will always translate “aion” and “aionios” as eon or eons and never as eternity or forever, and will, in their minds, prove their Universalist doctrine. In my research, I was amazed at how successfully the Universalists have inundated the internet with this particular teaching.
This person’s exact words, when we were discussing 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 were:
Well, Mark, there was no error and it was intentional that I left out verses 27 and 28 BECAUSE those verses, as well as verses 24 and 26 (v. 25 should be put in parenthesis) pertain to another subject: the salvation/reconciliation of ALL MANKIND AND ALL CREATION, including Satan and his demons/messengers.
[End]
This person’s part of our discussion on this passage made no sense to me, although there’s enough information for the reader to get an idea of what they were trying to convey. What was important was this person’s belief that “salvation/reconciliation of ALL MANKIND AND ALL CREATION, including Satan and his demons/messengers” is more than disturbing! And, to prove this point, they sent me a video entitled God loves Satan and his messengers. They’ll live in bliss with God and Christ eventually!
Only because of this article did I hesitatingly watch this video. Below are a few notes on this video so that the reader, if they don’t want to watch the video for themselves (which I totally understand), can get an idea of what is being taught.
First, it’s important to note that this woman is quoting from A.E. Knoch’s Concordant Literal Version (CLT) to help justify her Universal Reconciliation beliefs.
Also, in her introduction, she points out that Jesus forgave those who crucified Him, but she fails to acknowledge that Christ’s exact Words were, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Those who crucified our Lord, “knew not what they [were doing].” A far cry from those who refuse the gift of the gospel, and Satan, who knew God intimately, seeking to dethrone and destroy his Creator – all of whom are aware of what they are doing.
Additionally, every verse this young lady quotes, she takes out of context. Each and every one of her points can easily be refuted with even a cursory knowledge of Scripture and the understanding of words and context.
She focuses on the word “all” and yet she doesn’t seem to understand who the target audience is – the body of Christ.
Notice also her disdain for churches and Christians who believe in the doctrines of the Trinity, man’s freewill, and an eternal destiny for all people in either the Lake of Fire separated from the presence of God or the Eternal Kingdom in the presence of the Father and the Son, in her concluding remarks.
Needless to say, I replied with these exact words: “Wow! I am speechless. Truly speechless. Well, nothing is ever going to transpire from any conversations we may have, so I’ve got to say goodbye for good.”
I wasn’t surprised to get a response:
LOL! Below is a song dedicated to you, my friend. (This person sent me a song entitled “Speechless” by City Boy).
But seriously, stopping our conversation you are running away from the truth. The day is coming when you will greatly REGRET it; this is the meaning of “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
“11 And therefore God will be sending them an operation of deception, for them to believe the falsehood,
12 that all may be judged who do not believe the truth, but delight in injustice [e.g., delight in the false doctrine of eternal torment]” (1 Thess. 2, insertion mine).
Bye for the eon,
[Name Withheld]
[End]
My final response:
How can I have regret when, according to you and your ilk, all will be saved?
The truth is, you worship a false god, a false ‘Christ,’ have a false teaching, and a false gospel. It is you who is danger – great danger – and this greatly troubles my spirit. I have more worry for people like you than I do for an agnostic or professing atheist.
You’re playing with words, with the Word of God, and, ultimately, playing with fire at your own demise. Because you do, I can no longer consider you a brother.
The fact that you hid your true agenda and true theology is quite telling. I pray that the Lord keep you and others like you from deceiving the body of Christ. And I have faith that He will, because those who truly know Him and His Word will see through your deception.
So, I’ll no longer be replying to any email you may send me, as you are obviously beyond the truth and head-first into a lie of Satan…
Praying for your soul. Use your freewill wisely — if you still can.
[End]
And this person’s final response to me went like this:
It’s my turn to reply. After this I’ll not email you unless you do first.
Mark the following:
You: “How can I have regret when, according to you and your ilk, all will be saved?”
My [her] Reply:
All will be saved, ULTIMATELY, but not all will be saved for EONIAN LIFE. Unbelievers do not have eonian life — life during the next eon which is the Messianic millennial kingdom and beyond. YOU will not have eonian life per your intransigence that I’m seeing.
You: “The truth is, you worship a false god, a false ‘Christ,’ have a false teaching, and a false gospel.”
My [her] Reply:
The reverse is true. You’re a part of the Christian religion which worships a god who torments people in hell fire for eternity. You are still not cognizant of a true gospel, either the gospel of the circumcision or the gospel of the uncircumcision (ref. Galatians 2:7).
You: “The fact that you hid your true agenda and true theology is quite telling.”
My [her] Reply:
I have barely scratched the surface of the true theology. You are quick to nip in the bud.
You: “Use your freewill wisely — if you still can.”
My [her] Reply:
Free Will is the number 1 false doctrine of Christendom. Free will is self-salvation, self-worship, you are your own god. Of course, you are yet to get it.
For your own benefit. 7.5 minutes:
[End]
Again, I only watched this video because of this article. I’m going to spend a little more time on this one than I did for the other video.
This gentleman in the video begins by sharing the Universalist’s belief that, again, “aion” and “aionios” are not interpreted correctly in most translations. Again, for them, it’s always eons and never eternity or forever. These “eons” are suspiciously similar to our “dispensations” and, as you can see, the modern Universalist seems to have a decent grasp of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ and the Eternal Kingdom.
Their overall eschatology, minus their Universal Reconciliation, seems to be in line with proper end-time teaching. This is what makes this Universal Reconciliation Unitarian sect so very dangerous to the young and inexperienced pre-Millennial Christian.
The rest of the video is quite sinister and makes God out to be a monster – basically the same monster that the Calvinist preaches. That is, God chooses who He will save. But for the Universalist, eventually, all will be saved.
While some may look at that statement and think, “Well, that’s a step up from the Calvinist,” the truth is, they both make God the decider of one’s destiny apart from any choice a person may have. There is no love involved for the God of either the Universalist or the Calvinist. None.
Why? Because love is based on freewill. It has to be. Human experience proves this. Does any man or woman desire to have a spouse that never loved them (nor will ever love them), and that spouse only stays with them because they were forced to and because that choice was made for them, devoid of freewill love? Of course not!
God is love. God is the originator of love. And love isn’t fulfilled if love isn’t experienced reciprocally by both God to mankind, and men and women who love Him back.
(Please see my article, God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Freewill, for more information on this topic).
Then this man accuses those of us who believe in man’s freewill, that we believe that salvation was entirely our work. This is demonstrably false and an outright slander! It is God who makes it possible for anyone to come to salvation through His Son’s work, but we still must make the freewill choice to come to that gracious invitation and receive that free and precious gift. A gift isn’t a gift unless it is received, and no person can receive this gift without a freewill choice. It’s very simple.
And, according to the Universalist – and this gentleman made this very clear – all of us who believe in our God-given gift of freewill “are disqualified as a believer and [we] will die… and [we] will have the same allotment as Adolf Hitler.” Isn’t that special? But we will eventually get eternal life – or should I say, eonian life – at the same time that Satan, the fallen angels, and mass-murderers such as Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot will. Thanks be to God?!?
The rest, as if it could be any worse, is worse. I honestly don’t recommend any believer watch either video – the doctrine is that dark. But for those who really need to understand these doctrines – especially pastors and church leaders – unfortunately, watching these videos would be a necessary exercise.
Why Did I Share This with the Body of Christ?
I sincerely hope you already know why. The Universalist Unitarians are deceiving fundamental Christians – who they abhor – and are attempting to lead them down a dark and sinister road. Therefore, I just had no alternative but to warn the church.
Universalism denies justice for God’s people – both Christians and Jews – who have been persecuted down through the centuries, not to mention justice as a whole. Here’s the latest report of persecuted Christians in Islamic nations. If all will eventually be saved and reconciled, then what is this life all about? What’s the point? Why would God put us through all of this if His ultimate intention was for the redemption of every soul – regardless of the evils committed and the rejection of His Son – including even Satan, the enemy of our souls, and his minions?
Satan and his fallen angel cohorts, along with unregenerate men and women who have rejected the gospel of Christ, hate God’s rule over their lives with a passion. Does it really make any logical sense that after an eon (or eons) of punishment that they would all change their minds concerning God? Of course, they wouldn’t. They hate God now; they would hate God then; and they would hate God afterward.
Universalism, in my mind – and, more importantly, according to the Scriptures – is an evil ideology promulgated by those who are offended by a Holy and just God consigning those who reject His free gift of salvation through His sacrificial death on the cross to an eternity apart from Him; a place they would rather be than under the authority of their Creator and Savior.
Unitarianism denies the Son of God His deity, as well as the Holy Spirit; both of which are an equal part of the eternally self-existing One true God, along with the Father.
The denial of man’s freewill, denies both God and man of unconditional and volitional love. For who would ever want anyone to love them if they were forced to? This isn’t the human experience, nor could it ever be the experience of God. We are free to love God and we are free to hate Him. For if we are forced to love God, then it is no longer love but coercion which is devoid of love.
How is it that people can get it so wrong? How can people read the same book, yet come to radically different conclusions? (Well, these faulty translations certainly don’t help). The answer can only be found in our inherent sin. This is why we need to be reborn, so we may have the indwelling Holy Spirit – the third member of the Trinity – guiding us into all truth and the knowledge of the Word of God and His will for our lives.
My prayer is that the body of Christ would share this information with each other as a warning to heed. My real concern is for new believers who may be easily swayed by this doctrine, not yet knowing how to look into the original languages for themselves to see whether these things are true. I also worry for our seasoned brothers and sisters who may, as of yet, be unable or might not know how to access these amazing tools to look into the original languages.
But God… I have faith that through Him and His Holy Spirit, and the circulating of this information to the church at large, that no one will be lost. After all, this is our promise from our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one” (John 10:27-30).
Thank you, Lord Jesus, and thank you Father!
Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!
➢ Email: mab10666@yahoo.com
➢ If you have not given your life to Jesus Christ and are seeking answers about God, Jesus Christ, the gospel, and salvation, please email me at mab10666@yahoo.com for information.
➢ I am still taking questions for the Questions from the Body of Christ series. If you or someone you know has a question pertaining to the Word of God – theology, difficult passages, eschatology, etc. – I would really like to hear from you.
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