Fr. Lawrence - a BRIEF response

NOTE:  father Lawrence text in BLUE, and my reply is in BLACK text.

Also, I mean no personal disrespect by choosing a lowercase "f" in Lawrence's title... my intent and convictions lie in the command of Jesus:

Mat 23:8-8  But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in Heaven.
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What Does “Aionion” Mean?
Fr. Lawrence Farley

In the debate about the theological validity of Christian universalism one sometimes finds discussion about the meaning of the word “eternal” in Matthew 25:46. Christ there says plainly that the unrighteous “will go away into eternal punishment”, and the word here rendered “eternal” is the Greek aionion [αιωνιον]. Some suggest that the word simply means “age-long”,

Most of the reason behind using such terms as "age-long", "age-during", "age-abiding", etc., is because "age" doesn't have an equally expressive adjective form in the English.

The closest English word is "eon".  It's adjective form is "eonian".

aion and aionion should be translated as eon and eonian. 

"eonian" simply describes, or pertains the "eon" in which it's describing.

Examples:  hourly pertains to hour... or, heavenly pertains to those things of heaven.

The English word "age" doesn't really have an existing equivalent.

... indicating that the punishment of the unrighteous will endure for an age and then come to an end, and they point out that the root of the word is aeon [αιων], meaning “age”. What are we to make of this?

What are we to make of this?

How about, exactly what it says as our first option?

Why not trust in the inspiration?

At the conclusion of the Millennium, the dead (Spiritually dead) will be resurrected to the Great White Throne Judgment where they will be chastised by God for the duration of that aion... hence, "aionion punishment".

Seems pretty simple and clear to me.

Sometimes the word αιων does indeed mean “age”

Sometimes?

Does the word "white" sometimes mean "black" or does it always mean "white"?

... in the sense of a limited duration of time which comes to an end. Thus St. Paul in Romans 16:25: “God…is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages [Greek αιωνιοις] and has now been manifested”.  We see here that the word αιων means a limited duration of time, since the ages of time when the mystery had been kept secret came to an end when Christ appeared and was proclaimed by the apostles.

Thanks for bringing this verse up... it's a clear reference to point out that aion and it's adjective form aionion, cannot refer to an infinite period of time... 

Does not the definition of eternity command no beginning and no end?  An infinite period?  Some prefer it mean a period which has only no end.  The Greek has a word for endless as you know.  Would that mean that it had a beginning though?  Perhaps, the best definition of eternity is one of timelessness, or outside of the realm of time?

None of which apply to aion or aionion.

Accordingly, one of the meanings of αιων in the Arndt-Gingrich lexicon is “a segment of time, age”. It can also mean “a world” as a spatial concept.

The Greek language has a word for "world"... as you're well aware, it's kosmos.

Also, we don't need to understand the inspired Word of God through "spatial concepts".  In other words, why inject something into the discussion that is unnecessary?

Thus Hebrews 11:3: “By faith we understand that the worlds [Greek αιωνας] were created by the Word of God”.

And, if this were translated correctly, we would properly understand that "the ages" were created by the Word of God.

There are at least 5 major aions (ages) spoken of in Scripture.

There was a time before God made any eons (1 Cor 2:7). Then God made the eons (Heb 1:2). There were eons in the past (Col 1:26). We are living in this present wicked eon (Gal 1:4). Satan is the god of this eon (2 Cor 4:4). Christ, not Satan, will reign a thousand years in the next eon (Luk 1:33). The thousand years will come to an end (Rev 20:3). Christ will reign in the eon that follows the thousand years (Rev 22:5 and Luk 1:33) which is the New Heaven and New Earth eon.

Hence, He reigns for the "eons" (the next two) "of the eons" (all eons)... 

Not "forever and ever"!

What does that even mean?  Is there more than one eternity, or "ever".  If forever means "forever", how can an "ever" be added to "forever"?

No... Jesus reigns for the eons of the eons.  Simple... no more confusion in forever and ever.

Also, not to mention - "forever and ever" contradicts Scripture.

Jesus does NOT reign forever and ever (1 Cor 15:28).

But it can also mean everlasting, and as such it is applied to God and His dominion and power over all the cosmos, such as in 1 Timothy 6:16:

No... it is not applied to "God the Father" in 1 Ti 6:16... which is exactly why aionion is used!

Immortality is never used in reference to the Father throughout the entirety of Scripture.

Why would it?

The Father has never been subject to "mortality".

This passage speaks of the subject, Jesus, and where He currently dwells... "in the Light".  Jesus dwells in the Light!

The Father does not dwell "in the Light" - He IS the Light!

1 Jn 1:5  ... and declare unto you, that God IS Light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

1 Timothy 6:16 is clearly speaking of Jesus as the subject.

“To Him [i.e. God] be honour and eternal [Greek αιωνιον] dominion”. Presumably God’s dominion is unending and everlasting. The debate about the precise meaning of aionion therefore cannot be solved simply by consulting a lexicon. The word varies in its meaning according to its usage.

1 Tim 6:16 is no mystery once the Subject is realized. Jesus does not reign forever... His dominion truly is aionion and comes to an END:

1 Co 15:28 ... then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him [the Father]...

aionion is the perfect, inspired Word to use for Christ's dominion as that is exactly what the entirety of Scripture proclaims.

The two coming aions are the [1] Millennial Reign and the [2] New Heaven and New Earth aions.

It is at the conclusion of those aions when 1 Co 15:28 will be realized and Jesus' dominion will cease.

Christ, of course, did not speak in Greek to His disciples but rather Aramaic, and the thought forms He used were those of first century Judaism, and it is to this culture therefore that we must look if we are to understand His words in their original context.

While I somewhat agree with you, I do not have a problem understanding His Words outside of first century Judaism's perception.  Where I disagree, is in your statement that "we must look".

The importance of your statement lies in the fact that Jesus often used those "thought forms" when teaching in parables.  He used those ideals in which they (Judaism, Pharisees, Sadducees, etc.) understood at that time, to symbolically teach of a much higher, Spiritual message.

In that conceptual universe, we find reference to “the age to come”. The world and its epochs were divided into this age and, after a decisive intervention by God, the age to come. Thus in the Pirke Aboth, the Sayings of the Fathers, we read, “Great is Torah for it gives to those that practise it life in this age and in the age to come” (6.7), and the saying of Hillel, “He who has acquired words of Torah has acquired for himself the life of the age to come” (2.8).

The above is true as evidenced in Ezekial 37... the "whole house of Israel" will be resurrected to physical life in the age to come... 

Rev 20:5  ...blessed and holy is he who has part in the FIRST resurrection.

This resurrection will be evidenced on day 1,335 according to Daniel (75 days after the conclusion of the Great Tribulation).

Dan 12:12  Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.

It is also this time that the Millennial Kingdom will have its inauguration!

We see the same division into the two ages in the Book of Enoch: “And he [an angel] said to me: ‘This is the Son of Man who is born unto righteousness…He proclaims to you peace in the name of the age to come” (chapter 71). For Christians the decisive divine intervention separating the two ages is the Second Coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead—Christ’s return will divide everything into two unequal parts: this present age which is under the sway of death and injustice, and the age to come which will be under the rule of God.

Again - apparently, we have differing views concerning the events leading up to,  and surrounding the coming aions.

Christians are caught up (harpazo) to meet Jesus in the air BEFORE the conclusion of this present aion... before the seventh seal of Revelation 8 is broken which in turn leads to the conclusion of the Great Tribulation period.

This present aion, in which we are currently living will come to an end at the conclusion of the Great Tribulation period.

Believers will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air prior to this conclusion... this is His appearance in which His Body (the Church, believers) will experience their harpazo and change to our Spiritual bodies and immortality.

Jesus does not set foot on the earth at this time.

His Second Coming will occur after this harpazo.

The next aion will begin when Jesus physically returns to earth (Second Coming).

The only resurrection at that point in time will be the "whole house of Israel" (Ezek 37) and those martyrs, etc. of Rev 20:4.

Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived NOT again UNTIL the thousand years were finished.

When the Millennial aion comes to a conclusion, the Spiritually dead will be resurrected (second resurrection) to the Great White Throne Judgment which will inaugurate the next aion which is:

The New Heaven and New Earth aion.

It is during this aion that those of the second resurrection will suffer aionion punishment and the second death - which is the Lake of Fire.

This New Heaven and New Earth aion will also come to an end... it's referred to as the consummation found in 1 Corinthians 15.

It is the conclusion of ALL aions in which Jesus Himself shall be placed into subjection of the Father, that the Father may become ALL in ALL.

Note though, that when Jesus hands it all over to the Father (including Himself), the Kingdom does not cease... it continues on - beyond the aions!

Placed in this context, we can see that the word aionion in Matthew 25:46 means “age” in the sense of “the age to come”. Existence in that age to come will be qualitatively different than existence in this present age, for there will be a profound asymmetry between the two ages. For one thing, at the start of the age to come all the dead will be raised and restored to their bodies, so that life and death as we understand and experience them will be qualitatively different.

And the above is where we disagree again... Scripture quite clearly tells us when each group will be raised and that the coming TWO resurrections are at different times.

Both of which do NOT include believers.

We are caught up to meet Jesus in the air (both dead and living) before either of the following two resurrections occur.

Existence then will not simply be a prolonged version of existence as we experience it now.

You've got that right... believers will be transfigured into our Spiritual bodies at His first appearance when we meet Him in the air.

The next two resurrections will be resurrections to physical bodies... both the whole house of Israel and those as described in Rev 20:4 (first resurrection), and the second group - unbelieving dead to the resurrection in which they find themselves at the Great White Throne Judgment.

The aionion life of the righteous will not be simply unending. It will not be like our present mode of existence with the only difference that it will stretch on forever. As the life of the αιων to come, existence will indeed be unending, but for the righteous it will also partake of the immortal joy which will then fill that transfigured cosmos. And, says Christ, for the unrighteous existence will involve punishment—punishment that also partakes of the quality of the age to come. Like the life of the righteous, it will be unending.

Our deathlessness (immortality) is not dependent on "aionion life"... life aionion is a "benefit", a "perk" for believers. Which is how this verse is explained:

1 Ti 4:10  For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who IS the Savior of ALL MEN, specially of those that believe.

We are gifted with aionion life through the coming two aions.

Unbelievers are NOT gifted with that promise.

However, just as the verse above states - the Living God, through Jesus "IS the Savior of ALL MEN".

Which is exactly what His Father commissioned Him to accomplish:

1 Jn 4:14  And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son TO BE the Savior of THE WORLD.

How can Jesus claim such a title as "Savior of ALL MEN" if He indeed fails in that mission by only saving a few?

Again, it's not the promise of "aionion life" that extends life beyond the consummation of the aions, but rather the immortality that extends said "life"... it is life beyond the reach of death.

In fact, ALL forms of death will be abolished at the conclusion of the aions (consummation).

In the same manner as "aionion life", the "aionion punishment" is also administered... pertaining to their respective aions... no more, no less.

But it will be unending because it occurs in the age to come, and partakes of the coming age’s transfigured and eschatological quality. Note: both the life of the righteous and the punishment of the unrighteous are described with the same word aionion. The fates of both groups culminate in the age to come, and both groups partake of that age’s intensity and eternity.

Yes - see my explanation above... both are administered as according to those specific aions - both of which come to an end, therefore NOT eternal in nature.

In the ongoing debate about the eternity of hell, this parallelism between the two groups must be given its due weight.

I'm not sure if I even want to get started on the comment above... there's no such thing as "hell" in all of Scripture as defined by Christendom, let alone an "eternal hell".

As you're likely aware, "hell" is translated into English from one of three Greek words:

hades (and it's inspired Hebrew equivalent: sheol), gehenna (an actual geographical location south of Jerusalem), and tartaroo (abyss, used once in reference to "angels").

None of which are Christendom's "hell".

For now, I'll only ask you this... how can "hell" (hades) be cast into itself (the Lake of Fire which is the second death)?

Rev 20:14   And death and hell [hades] were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death.

We may see now why the Greek word aidos [αιδως], “unending”, was not used to describe either the life of the righteous or the punishment of the unrighteous.

Without being dogmatic, I might argue that aperantos and akatalutos are both stronger Greek terms used to denote "duration" while aiodios pertains moreso to "perpetual", or "unchanging".

For example, see aidios used in Romans 1:20.

It should go without saying that God's Power and Divinity are interminable (endless)... however, both of those attributes are also unchanging.

This is exactly the distinction being drawn in this passage... the topic is not so much one of the unseen things of God, but moreso the seen, or visible expressions as witnessed from the creation.

If the word αιδως were used, one might imagine that the issue was simply one of duration, and that our Lord was saying that that the righteous will live unendingly and the unrighteous will be punished unendingly.

Both of which (life and chastisement) ARE an issue of duration... an aionion duration.

The stakes are higher than that. The righteous will not simply live without end, but will live with all the joy which will characterize the age to come. And the unrighteous will not simply be punished without end, but punished with all the immortal severity which will characterize the age to come. It is the quality of the age to come—with its intensity both of punishment and joy—that is stressed, not simply its endless duration.

The above is a real stretch... Scripture says absolutely nothing similar to the above... not even close.  Those are your words and you appear to be wrestling with it to come to you conclusions (2 Pet 3:16).

Another look into the conceptual and apocalyptic world of that time will confirm this. Scholars may debate the lexical roots of words and the ways in which the Fathers used certain terms, but the first and main question is how the disciples and the other original hearers would have understood our Lord’s words.

First, Jesus never spoke to the multitudes without speaking in parable form (Mat 13:34)... and why?

It was not for them to know (Mat 13:11).

The parables are symbolic messages directing us to a higher, Spiritual lesson.

Second, even the Disciples didn't understand the parables of Jesus (see Mat 13:35 for one of many examples of the Disciples not understanding).

How would Jesus explain those parables to the Disciples?  Often with another parable!

They would have heard Him to some degree through the prism of their culture and informed by its literature. Thus, for example, when Christ spoke of the unrighteous being “bound hand and foot and cast into the outer darkness” (Matthew 8:12, 22:13, 25:30), these words would have been heard in same way as the words in the Book of Enoch 10:4: “The Lord said to Raphael, ‘Bind Azazel [a fallen angel] hand and foot and cast him into the darkness…And cover him with darkness and let him abide there forever and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of the great judgment he shall be cast into the fire.’”

The comments above concerning the unrighteous have absolutely nothing to do with Scripture's proclamation of their final fate.

Your example of the angels however, is a perfect time for me to point out that not even the fate above was eternal in nature.

You state so yourself above, which agrees with Scripture:

Jud 1:6  And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting [aidios] chains under darkness UNTO the judgment of the great day.

Those "reserved" are only reserved until the Judgment... NOT eternal in nature.

Or consider the contrasting fates of the righteous and the unrighteous from chapter 103 of the same Book of Enoch: “And the spirits of you who have died in righteousness shall live and rejoice and their spirits shall not perish, nor their memorial from before the face of the Great One unto all the generations of the world…Woe to you, you sinners, when you have died if you die in the wealth of your sins…Into darkness and chains and a burning flame where there is grievous judgment shall your spirits enter and the great judgment shall be for all the generations of the world”. This kind of apocalyptic literature formed the conceptual prism through which our Lord’s words would have been understood. There is no hint of a final salvation for sinners present in such literature. Christ therefore would have been understood as offering no such final hope to sinners either.

No hint of final salvation for sinners?

How many passages from Scripture would you like?

There's "no hint", throughout the entirety of Scripture, which states that the unrighteous can never obtain salvation.

In fact, there are many Scriptures which state that they will!  Just a quick example:

Isa 26:9 ...when Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world WILL LEARN RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Isa 45:23 I have sworn by Myself, the Word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto Me EVERY knee shall bow, EVERY tongue shall swear.

By Whose Name does salvation come?

Php 2:10-11 That at the Name of Jesus EVERY knee WILL bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that EVERY tongue WILL confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Also, please choose your words a little more carefully... no hope for "sinners"?

I'm sure you're probably referring to unbelievers rather than "sinners", for ALL of mankind are "sinners" and we do indeed have hope as I'm sure you're aware.

The Greek word aionion means “partaking of the age to come”, both that age’s intensity and eternity. The stakes are very high, for both immortal joy or immortal horror await us children of men in the age to come.

First - your own sentence above contradicts... "age to come" disqualifies "and eternity".

Second - technically, there's not a single Scripture in which unbelievers are promised any form of "immortality".

Any time you read that word in Scripture, you'll find it only pertains to Jesus, and believers.   Not once is it applied to the unbeliever throughout Scripture.

However, at the consummation, when all death is abolished, they will be zoopoieo - made alive and since no form of death exists, they will remain beyond the reach of death (which at this point - death is non-existent as Jesus has abolished all known forms of death).

Reducing those stakes by introducing a hope not offered by Christ does not simply violate the meaning of this passage. It may also prove dangerous. Christ spoke in such a way as to motivate our run to righteousness and our avoidance of impending danger. We have no right to blunt His urgent warning.

Your article has taken several liberties itself.   It seems you prefer to "read between the lines" rather just simply accept the pure Words of Inspiration... personally, I would be more worried about that "dangerous" situation.

God's Word does not contradict.

It makes sense in the Words God chose and Inspired...

Christ warns against "adding to" or "taking away from" this Word (Rev 22:18-19).

When teaching God's Word, which I think is safe to assume you're attempting to accomplish, we are to "rightly divide" (or cut) His Word (2 Tim 2:15-18).

We are to "distinguish the things that differ" (Phi 1:10).

We are to have a "pattern of sound words" (2 Tim 1:13-14).

In addition to these we are to "shun the traditions of men" (Col 2:8) and the "wisdom of this world" (1 Cor 1:20 & 1 Cor 3:19).

And... "expose those who contradict" (Tit 1:9)