Homer wrote:Paidion wrote:An adjective X may denote a noun which has quality Y without Y being the MEANING of X.
And adjective X may denote a noun which has a quality Y, with X and Y being synonomous, as are
eternal and
unending, which makes your statement, without explanation, appear to be contradictory.
I have given an example. In what way was it deficient? I am too lazy to look it up, but since there are thousands of examples, I will give another, and show that it is a complete analogy to the αἰωνιος (aiōnios) life we have in Christ.
1. Strawberries are red, and have the quality of being non-poisonous.
2. But "red" does not MEAN "non-poisonous". Indeed, it NEVER means "non-poisonous"
3. Yet "red" sometimes applies to that which is non-poisonous, in this case "strawberries".
1. The life we receive from Christ is αἰωνιος, and has the quality of being eternal.
2. But "αἰωνιος" does not MEAN "eternal". Indeed, it NEVER means "eternal".
3. Yet "αἰωνιος" sometimes applies to that which is eternal, in this case the life we receive in Christ.
And now I will show a quote from Chrystostum (347-407 A.D.) in which he clearly uses "αἰωνιος" to refer to that which
will cease. This is taken from homily on the letter of Paul to the Ephesians.
"According to the power," he says, "of the air, of the spirit."
Here again he means, that Satan occupies the space under Heaven, and that the incorporeal powers are spirits of the air, under his operation. For his kingdom is αἰωνιος, in other words, it will cease with the present age.
It would be self-contradictory for Chrystostum to say that Satan's kingdom is
eternal, and then go on to explain that this means it will cease with the present age. But try reading "For his kingdom pertains to an age", and his statement makes perfect sense.
Sometimes the "age" to which αἰωνιος refers can be rather short. Josephus in Wars of the Jews chapter 6, spoke of Jonathon being condemned to αἰωνιος imprisonment, which was, in fact, a three-year prison term.
Here is a quote from Diodorus Siculus (1st century B.C.) Library Book 17, chapter 71 (bolding mine)
I think that it is not inappropriate to speak briefly about the palace area of the city because of the richness of its buildings.The citadel is a noteworthy one, and is surrounded by a triple wall. The first part of this is built over an elaborate foundation. It is sixteen cubits in height and is topped by battlements. The second wall is in all other respects like the first but of twice the height. The third circuit is rectangular in plan, and is sixty cubits in height,41 built of a stone hard and naturally durable. Each of the sides contains a gate with bronze doors, beside each of which stand bronze poles twenty cubits high; these were intended to catch the eye of the beholder, but the gates were for security.
Guess what word was translated as "durable". Yep, none other than "αἰωνιος". I don't know whether or not "durable" is the best translation of the word in this context (it probably is), but what I do know is that "eternal" would never do.
You can look up this quote for yourself. It's the second paragraph of chapter 71
hard "eternal" stone
There is no way that I can prove that "αἰωνιος" never means "eternal" (though it doesn't), any more than I can prove that the word "red" never means "non-poisonous"(though it doesn't).
What we need to do is look at as many instances as possible in Hellenistic Greek literature (300 B.C. to 300 A.D.) and see how the word is used. From that, we should determine the meaning of the word, and not from the editor of some theologically biased lexicon.
