The Christian Church declares that those who do not accept the religious creed resolved at their Council of Nicaea are utterly and unconditionally condemned to hell, where they will be tortured for an infinite period of time. However, it is clear that this interpretation deviates significantly from the original intent of the Hebrew and Greek words “olam” and “aion.”
About Oram and Aion
The former is Hebrew and the latter is Greek, but while both could be translated as “eternal,” they carry connotations of finiteness. First, I will list examples from the Old Testament.
Jonah 2:6 I went down to the foundations of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God.
Jude 1:7 As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
I could go on endlessly, but I'll cut it short for now. While the Hebrew term ‘olam’ and the Greek term ‘aion’ are often translated as “eternity,” their original meaning is more commonly used to denote a “finite, indefinite period.” Countless Hebrew scriptures emphasize that the Old Testament law, the Kingdom of Israel under the Davidic dynasty, and the priestly system were eternal (olam) covenants. However, the coming of Christ brought an end to them.
In other words, it may sound contradictory, but there is an end to what is called “eternity.” In fact, Jonah is said to have been confined in the belly of the fish for eternity (olam), but it was only three days, and thus an infinite period of eternity is easily overturned. The Greek word “aion,” corresponding to “eternity,” is used in the following scripture:
Matthew 24:3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’
The world corresponds to the Hebrew term “Olam,” which is expressed as having an end. That is to say, both Olam and Aion have an end. Therefore, the Bible states that through the judgment of Aion, it will undergo the second death (the end).
If, as Christianity claims, everyone has already fallen into hell and is being tortured, then there is no need for a resurrection for judgment leading to destruction in the first place. Because they have already been judged and are in hell. There is no reason to resurrect them to be judged again when they have already been judged in hell.
Just as in human society, those who commit evil deeds, harm others, and take lives are detained for a set period and ultimately face death through the execution of their sentence. It can be understood that the eternal judgment of Aion signifies complete annihilation. Both humans and fallen angels and evil spirits alike undergo judgment during the period of Aion and perish.
Jehovah's Witnesses teach that all wicked people will simply fall into eternal death without any punishment whatsoever, but the Bible tells wicked individuals—such as false prophets who harm and deceive people, commit mass murder worldwide through pharmakeia (pharmaceutical sorcery), spread false doctrines, and persecute and abuse sincere people; or sadistic murderers and sadists who harm animals and nature without a second thought—will still face the death-bringing aion, a period of judgment commensurate with their deeds.
Thus, before God they are always guilty and unforgiven, remembered forever; their condemnation never fades away. In this sense, we can say the wicked will suffer the torment of condemnation day and night for eternity. The correct translation and interpretation of the relevant passage in Revelation is: “They will be punished day and night until the end, suffering the judgment of the Aeon until death.” Simply put, each wicked person undergoes a fitting period of judgment before vanishing, while their unconscious souls remain remembered by God for eternity, unforgiven, and metaphorically damned.
Though these sports-minded Christians twist the Bible to elevate their own authority, expel righteous people, and silence dissent—thus committing spiritual murder—claiming they are destined for heaven before the tribulation through the rapture to sit on the thrones of the twenty-four elders, while teaching that sincere unbelievers will be judged and tortured eternally in hell without question, it will not be so.
Those who particularly deserve the judgment of Aion can be called bad Christians who have inherited the Pharisee mindset. The nature of those who know Christ yet refuse to correct their teachings, show no mercy to others, and flaunt righteousness—a mass of self-aggrandizement—is the spirit of the Pharisees. The Bible prophesies that the same spiritual phenomenon as in the first century will occur. Since the judgment of the Aion (translated as “eternity”) period can be extremely long, if it spans nearly a millennium or more, one must indeed prepare for eternal torment.
However, ordinary compassionate unbelievers and pagans are not immediately subjected to eternal judgment in hell. The righteous fall asleep after death, and these compassionate, conscientious individuals will be resurrected during or at the end of the millennial reign to come to know Christ. This is as stated in Ezekiel 16:53-55, where the sinners of Sodom, who still had room for forgiveness, were resurrected and prospered.
To attain the life of the eternal Aion
This is a frequently asked question: if aion is finite, it is difficult to understand how Christians possess eternal life in aion. This is said to be literally eternal. While aion could indeed be translated as “eternal” depending on the context, its original meaning is “a finite, long, indefinite period.” Since the righteous attain aion life that is imperishable and never ends, in that sense, it can be said to mean literally eternal life within the context. (1 Corinthians 15:53)
The difference lies in the fact that there are villains who receive the punishment for their sins, undergo Aion's judgment, and meet Aion's death, and there are righteous people who possess Aion's life that does not lead to death—that is, people who possess eternal life.
- Immortal and incorruptible > Aeon ≒ Eternal life without end
- Leading to death > Aeon ≒ Extinction after a finite period of judgment
The flexibility of Hebrew and Greek lies in how word combinations, sentences, and overall context dynamically alter meaning. Or rather, this is a structural feature of all languages, including Japanese. Therefore, the majority of Christians who claim that Aion means eternal, infinite judgment and torture, and that everyone who didn't know Jesus will suffer eternal judgment in hell, likely possess reading comprehension skills below elementary school , as they fail to grasp the nuances of word strength, the intent of the biblical authors, or the characteristic use of figurative language. Their thought processes are completely disjointed.
About the Original Term “Apolmy” (Bonus)
Some people claim that apolmy isn't a word meaning destruction or disappearance, going on about Greek this and that. However, apolmy is a root word explicitly used with the connotation of destruction or being wiped out. Some people nitpick, insisting on some infinite period of torture not found in the original text, claiming “apolmy” doesn't mean disappearance, that it means “to lose,” and that the blessed are separated and live on. But if you click the link above, it clearly states “to perish.” The scripture uses “apolmy” to describe King Herod destroying many infants when Jesus was a baby. (Matthew 2:13)
When one considers being separated from God as having lost something, it means losing the “immortal life of Aion” and being cut off from its blessings. Consequently, as the punishment for sin, one faces the judgment of Aion, leading to the death of Aion—that is, to vanishing.
To begin with, if Protestants claim that both the good and the wicked—those who neither knew nor believed in Christ—are lumped together to suffer torment in hell, this completely negates the Bible's teaching that “each will be judged according to their deeds.” First, unbelievers or pagans who did not know Christ or, due to circumstances, did not embrace faith—if they possess a merciful disposition—will not suffer torment in hell. Instead, they will live eternally in bliss in the Garden of Eden while accepting Christ. Conversely, Christians with evil hearts, who remain arrogant and incorrigible even after receiving instruction and spread falsehoods, will suffer torment in hell. This is because they have committed the greater sin of blaspheming God's name, worse than ordinary unbelievers or pagans.
And since judgment against the wicked is expected to span a considerable period—though finite, it is a bewilderingly long span, potentially exceeding a thousand years—it can be interpreted as eternal.
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