The Greek word αἰώνιος, aionios occurs 71 times in the New Testament. It is important to examine concerning the topic of both annihilationism and universalism since both philosophies use the word in support of their perspectives. In the case of 
annihilationists, words like ‘eternal destruction’ are interpreted to mean the eternal nonexistence. In the case of universalism, where proponents teach everyone is saved, ‘eternal destruction’ cannot mean eternal condemnation. They take the word eternal and say it is an age. Therefore they conclude that eternal destruction only occurs for a while and then the wicked are redeemed.
Nevertheless, the word obtains its semantic domain through the entire usage of the New Testament. In the context of annihilationism, ‘eternal destruction’ (2 Thess. 1:9) must mean eternal nonexistence after the final judgment. Likewise, ‘eternal judgment’ (Heb. 6:2) must also mean eternal nonexistence. But, these conclusions are read into the texts. Nothing in them necessitates the conditionalist interpretation.
- Greek phrase: αἰώνιος, aionios
- Meaning: eternal
- Strong’s #: G166
Frequency: 71 occurrences
Summary of the usage of “eternal” as it occurs in every verse in the New Testament, alphabetical order. The list contains the use of the Greek word αἰώνιος, aionios as it occurs in every verse in the New Testament. What we find is that it is most commonly used with a direct object. In other words, the word “eternal” is modifying another word. Therefore we get eternal comfort, eternal destruction, eternal God, eternal life, etc.
- Eternal, 2 Cor. 4:18; 5:1
- Eternal Comfort, 2 Thess. 2:16
- Eternal Covenant, Heb. 13:20
- Eternal Destruction, 2 Thess. 1:9
- Eternal Dominion, 1 Tim. 6:16
- Eternal Dwellings, Luke 16:9
- Eternal Fire, Matt. 18:8; 25:41; Jude 7
- Eternal Glory, 2 Tim. 2:10; 1 Pet. 5:10
- Eternal God, Rom. 16:26
- Eternal Gospel, Rev. 14:6
- Eternal Inheritance, Heb. 9:15
- Eternal Judgment, Heb. 6:2
- Eternal Kingdom, 2 Pet. 1:11
- Eternal Life, Matt. 19:16; 19:29; 25:46; Mark 10:17; 10:30; Luke 10:25; Luke 18:18; 18:30; John 3:15-16, 36, 4:14; 5:24, 39; 6:27, 40, 47, 54, 68; 10:28; 12:50; 17:2-3; Acts 13:46, 48; Rom. 2:7; 5:21; 6:22-23; Gal. 6:8;1 Tim. 1:16; 6:12; Tit. 1:2; 3:7; 1 John 1:2; 2:25; 3:15; 5:11, 13, 20; Jude 21
- Eternal Redemption, Heb. 9:12
- Eternal Salvation, Heb. 5:9
- Eternal Sin, Mark 3:29
- Eternal Spirit, Heb. 9:14
- Eternal Weight, 2 Cor. 4:17
- Eternity, 2 Tim. 1:9
- Forever, Phm 1:5
- Life eternal, John 4:36; 12:25
- Long ages, Romans 16:25; Titus 1:2
| TABLE OF ALL NEW TESTAMENT USAGES OF αἰώνιος, ETERNAL | ||
| Address | Verse | Reference |
| Matt. 18:8 |
“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. | Fire |
| Matt. 19:16 | And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” | Life |
| Matt. 19:29 | “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. | Life |
| Matt. 25:41 | “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; | Life |
| Matt. 25:46 | “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” | Life |
| Mark 3:29 |
but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— | Sin |
| Mark 10:17 | As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” | Life |
| Mark 10:30 | but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. | Life |
| Luke 10:25 | And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” | Life |
| Luke 16:9 |
“And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings. | Dwellings |
| Luke 18:18 | A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” | Life |
| Luke 18:30 | who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life.” | Life |
| John 3:15 |
so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. | Life |
| John 3:16 |
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. | Life |
| John 3:36 |
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” | Life |
| John 4:14 |
but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” | Life |
| John 4:36 |
“Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. | Life |
| John 5:24 |
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. | Life |
| John 5:39 |
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; | Life |
| John 6:27 |
“Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” | Life |
| John 6:40 |
“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” | Life |
| John 6:47 |
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. | Life |
| John 6:54 |
“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. | Life |
| John 6:68 |
Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. | Life |
| John 10:28 | and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. | Life |
| John 12:25 | “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. | Life |
| John 12:50 | “I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.” | Life |
| John 17:2 |
even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. | Life |
| John 17:3 |
“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. | Life |
| Acts 13:46 | Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. | Life |
| Acts 13:48 | When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. | Life |
| Rom. 2:7 |
to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; | Life |
| Rom. 5:21 |
so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. | Life |
| Rom. 6:22 |
But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. | Life |
| Rom. 6:23 |
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. | Life |
| Rom. 16:25 | Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, | Long ages |
| Rom. 16:26 | but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; | God |
| 2 Cor. 4:17 | For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, | Glory |
| 2 Cor. 4:18 | while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. | Eternal |
| 2 Cor. 5:1 |
For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. | Eternal |
| Gal. 6:8 |
For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. | Life |
| 2 Thess. 1:9 | These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, | Destruction |
| 2 Thess. 2:16 | Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, | Comfort |
| 1 Tim. 1:16 | Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. | Life |
| 1 Tim. 6:12 | Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. | Life |
| 1 Tim. 6:16 | who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. | Dominion |
| 2 Tim. 1:9 |
who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, | Eternity |
| 2 Tim. 2:10 | For this reason, I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. | Glory |
| Tit. 1:2 |
in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, | Life, Long ages |
| Tit. 3:7 |
so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. | Life |
| Phm 15 |
For perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, | Forever |
| Heb. 5:9 |
And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, | Salvation |
| Heb. 6:2 |
of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. | Judgment |
| Heb. 9:12 |
and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. | Redemption |
| Heb. 9:14 |
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? | Spirit |
| Heb. 9:15 |
For this reason, He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. | Inheritance |
| Heb. 13:20 | Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, | Covenant |
| 1 Pet. 5:10 | After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. | Glory |
| 2 Pet. 1:11 | for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. | Kingdom |
| 1 John 1:2 |
and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— | Life |
| 1 John 2:25 | This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life. | Life |
| 1 John 3:15 | Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. | Life |
| 1 John 5:11 | And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. | Life |
| 1 John 5:13 | These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. | Life |
| 1 John 5:20 | And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. | Life |
| Jude 7 |
just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. | Fire |
| Jude 21 |
keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. | Life |
| Rev. 14:6 |
And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; | Gospel |
Dictionaries and Lexicons consulted on eternal, αἰώνιος
- “αἰώνιος aiṓnios; gen. aiōníou, masc.–fem., neut. aiṓnion, adj., also fem. aiōnía, neut. aiṓnion, from aiṓn (165), age. eternal, perpetual, belonging to the aiṓn (165), to time in its duration, constant, abiding. When referring to eternal life, it means the life which is God’s, and hence it is not affected by the limitations of time. Aiṓnios is especially predicated on the saving blessings of divine revelation, denoting those things which are not transitory
- Zodhiates, Spiros. The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000
- ‘pertaining to an unlimited duration of time—‘eternal.’ ἀί̈διος: ἥ τε ἀί̈διος αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης ‘his eternal power and divine nature’ Ro 1:20. αἰώνιος: βληθῆναι εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον ‘be thrown into the eternal fire’ Mt 18:8; τοῦ αἰωνίου θεοῦ ‘of the eternal God’ Ro 16:26. The most frequent use of αἰώνιος in the NT is with ζωή ‘life,’ for example, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ἐν αὐτῷ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον ‘so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life’ Jn 3:15.
- Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. New York: United Bible Societies, 1996.
- “αἰώνιος [aionios /ahee·o·nee·os/] adj. From 165; TDNT 1:208; TDNTA 31; GK 173; 71 occurrences; AV translates as “eternal” 42 times, “everlasting” 25 times, “the world began + 5550” twice, “since the world began + 5550” once, and “for ever” once. 1 without beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be. 2 without beginning. 3 without end, never to cease, everlasting. Additional Information: For synonyms see entry 126, aidos. See entry 5801 for comparison of synonyms.”
- Strong, James. Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1995.
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