Eternity
Summary
The timeless, unending mode of existence that characterizes God alone, distinguished from mere endless duration by its absence of succession, change, or limitation.
☩Definition and Character
Eternity, as an attribute of God, is a duration without beginning or end—a mode of existence that excludes all number and computation. Boethius defined it classically as 'the complete, simultaneous, and perfect possession of interminable life,' a definition adopted by medieval theologians. This means eternity is not merely time extended infinitely in both directions, but existence without succession, without past or future—what philosophers called the 'eternal now.' Unlike creatures who experience duration as a continuous flow from moment to moment, God's existence is a never-changing instant, unchangeable and perfect. The self-existent Being must of necessity be eternal, for self-existence implies existence by absolute necessity in the nature of the thing itself—a necessity that must be unalterable because it depends on nothing external.
☩Biblical Terminology
Neither Old Testament Hebrew nor New Testament Greek possesses a word corresponding precisely to the abstract idea of eternity as understood in philosophy. The Hebrew 'olam' denotes 'remote time' and is used of God's existence 'from everlasting to everlasting,' but also applies to more limited durations such as a slave's lifelong service or a king's reign. The Hebrew 'ad' connotes permanence and is used poetically of God who 'inhabiteth eternity.' Similar expressions include 'netsach' (perpetuity) and 'orek yamim' (length of days). The Greek 'aion' (from which 'eternal' derives) likewise denotes an age or indefinitely long time, applied both to things very old and to that which will endure forever. When Scripture speaks of God as 'from everlasting to everlasting,' it expresses the truth that His existence stretches backward and forward without limit.
☩Eternity and Time
God is not limited by time, and therefore sees time differently from the way human beings experience it—'a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday.' An illustration may help: time is like a rod suspended horizontally, with beginning and end; eternity is like an infinite room extending endlessly in all directions, from any point of which the entire rod is visible at once. Human beings, moving along the rod like an ant, know the past, experience the present, but cannot see ahead; God, from the viewpoint of eternity, sees the whole of time as eternally present before Him. This understanding helps resolve difficulties regarding divine foreknowledge—in God there is properly no 'fore'-knowledge, since all events stand equally present to His eternal consciousness. Yet eternity and time are not without connection: the temporal presupposes the eternal, which is its positive ground and perpetual possibility.
☩Eternal Life
Jesus' teaching revealed that eternal life is more than merely existence stretched out forever—it is life of an entirely different order from the normal life of this world. The age to come, contrasted with the present evil age, would bring the establishment of God's kingdom with its endless blessings. Those who believe in Christ receive this life of the coming age even now, sharing in some way the nature of God Himself. Divine actions—salvation and judgment alike—are called eternal because they originate from the eternal God. The hope of eternal life that Scripture holds before believers is thus not simply endless duration but participation in the very life of God, which transcends all temporal limitation.
Related Verses8 mentions
References
- 1.James Orr (ed.), "Eternity," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. II (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 2.Charles G. Herbermann et al. (ed.), "Eternity," in The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. V (Robert Appleton Company, 1907–1912).
- 3.Richard Watson, "Eternity," in A Biblical and Theological Dictionary (John Mason, 1831).
- 4.James Hastings (ed.), "Eternity," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).
- 5.Don Fleming, "Eternity," in Bridgeway Bible Dictionary (Bridgeway Publications, 1990).