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The Bible describes Aionic Life - Not Eternal Life

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John 3:16 - Nestle 1904

16 Οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν Υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλ’ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.

Breakdown

  • Οὕτως — “thus, in this way”
  • γὰρ — “for” (explanatory particle)
  • ἠγάπησεν — “loved” (aorist of ἀγαπάω)
  • ὁ Θεὸς — “the god” (nominative subject)
  • τὸν κόσμον — “the structure / order of the mental realm” (accusative object)
  • ὥστε — “so that”
  • τὸν Υἱὸν — “the Son” (accusative, object of ἔδωκεν)
  • τὸν μονογενῆ — “the only-begotten / unique-born” (accusative, in apposition to τὸν Υἱὸν)
  • ἔδωκεν — “he gave” (aorist of δίδωμι)
  • ἵνα — “in order that / so that”
  • πᾶς — “every / all”
  • ὁ πιστεύων — “the one trusting / believing” (present participle, nominative, functioning substantively)
  • εἰς αὐτὸν — “into him” (εἰς = into, toward; accusative object αὐτόν)
  • μὴ ἀπόληται — “may not perish / be destroyed” (aorist middle subjunctive of ἀπόλλυμι, negated with μή)
  • ἀλλ’ — “but”
  • ἔχῃ — “may have / hold” (present subjunctive of ἔχω)
  • ζωὴν — “life” (accusative object of ἔχῃ)
  • αἰώνιον — “of the timeless” (adjective modifying ζωήν).

Final Translation:

For in this way the god loved the (kosmos) structure and order of everything and the inner mind: he gave the unique-born son, so that everyone who trusts him may not be destroyed (have a hellish experience), but may have (aionic life) life in the timeless mental state.

Key Term:

  • αἰώνιον (aionic) - timeless; Note that eternal (ἀΐδιος / ἀΐδιον / adiodic) does not appear here
  • Aionic life. A mental state Outside of time (Kronos).

Over time, in biblical writings and translations, the term αἰώνιον (timeless mental state) was reframed as eternal. Why? Probably it was easy to confuse perception of time (what's in the mind) with real absolute time (similar yet different concepts), and an easy way for a priestly order to gain followers hoping for their life to continue forever. So we see those LSJ Victorians putting the word eternal into their lexicon. However historically, in the literature before the New and Old Testaments, in other Hellenic classical literature, aἰώνιον referred to a timeless state of mind, rather than something eternal.

Overall, it's a confusion about what exactly Jesus was offering to his followers. Mental states is harder to talk about, more ephemeral or ineffable to describe. The original Greek language bibles were the original (much evidence that the NT authors not only spoke and wrote Greek, but also relied on the Greek Old Testament).

Lexicon

aion - from Heyschius Lexicon 400-500CE

<αἰών>

ὁ βίος τῶν ἀνθρώπων, [ὁ τῆς ζωῆς χρόνος n ἆνερ, ἀπ' αἰῶνος νέος ὤλεο (Ω 725) Τινὲς δὲ τῶν νεωτέρων [τὸν νωτιαῖον <μυελὸν> ἀπέδωκαν, ὡς ἱπποκράτης· "<τὸν αἰῶνά τις νοσήσας ἑβδομαῖος ἀπέθανε>" d. ποτὲ δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ μακροῦ χρόνου νοεῖται. καὶ ὁ ἐν παντὶ τῷ σώματι μυελός. Εὐριπίδης δὲ Φιλοκτήτῃ (fr. 801) <αἰῶνα> τὴν ψυχὴν λέγει· ἀπέπνευσεν αἰῶνα.

αἰών:
– The life of men; the span of life. (e.g. “Man, you perished young from your aion,” Iliad 24.725).
– Some later writers explained it as the spinal marrow, as in Hippocrates: “One who fell ill in the aion died on the seventh day.”
– Sometimes also it is understood in reference to long time in thought or perception (timeless mental state).
– Also, the marrow throughout the whole body.
– Euripides in Philoctetes (fr. 801) uses the word aion for the soul: “He breathed out his aion.”

So Aionic life would be living a soulful or timeless life, taking time to understand your soul, or psyche, or to enter those mental realms of transcendence.

Some more context:

To make this all crystal clear.

(paraphrased from Dr Hillman's Hamilton Morris Interview )

"In the Ancient Greek sources, the "Water of Life" comes from a bio-pharmacological substance (ejaculate from member of the priesthood who's subjected to venom pharmakon/drugs). We'd have to have a priestess, see that's the magic of the Mysteries. It is an Incarnation that Priestess is able to give “that which gives you Aionic life”, right? there is no such thing as “eternal life”, people have not read the Bible."

  • Aionic Life (Ἀϊονικὴ ζωή) - Aion outside of time, timeless or divine dimension of consciousness. And life - Zoe denotes a more profound form of life.
    • Aionic Life, in the context of pre-Christian mystery cults, can be understood as living life with conciousness in union with the divine, as promised to the initiates who underwent rites of initiation. These rites, often involving symbolic death and rebirth (as seen in the Eleusinian Mysteries), were designed to liberate the initiate's psyche from the confines of mortal existence (fear), offering the initiates an experience of life (without fear) that was beyond human time where times stands still (living in the present, constructive, creative, as a god would).
    • experiences or rituals involving symbolic death (such as initiations where one "dies" and is reborn) creates a profound spiritual rebirth during the initiate’s lifetime, where the initiate gains access to a divine realm (level of consciousness) or cosmic order (structure of thinking) that transcends mortality and earthly suffering (fears). The initiate afterwards is now able to live without fear. This discovery of yourself is the cosmos. Learning to live in the present without anxiety of that future or depression of the past, without suffering.

  • Aion (αἰών) - an experiential or transcendent state in which an individual steps outside the normal flow of time, often through altered states of consciousness (induced by pharmakon or other means). It is a timeless, mystical realm or condition where the individual gains access to knowledge or wisdom beyond the limitations of ordinary perception. Aion in this sense is not just a period of time (like an age or era) but a realm of existence that transcends chronological time. It represents a divine or otherworldly experience, where one can receive visions, insights, or revelations from outside the constraints of normal time. In the context of a pharmakomantis (drug seer), to be “in the Aion” is to enter a state of heightened perception or spiritual ecstasy, where one may perceive visions of the past, present, or future, often with the guidance or influence of substances that alter the mind. This state is seen as being outside of normal, linear time and offers a broader, cosmic perspective on existence. Aion is a key concept in mystical and prophetic traditions, where time becomes fluid, and the individual attains access to divine or cosmic wisdom, often experienced as a direct, non-linear insight into the nature of existence. See also Aion
  • Zoe - (Ζωή) - pronounced like Zoë. Eve—life. Everything in the mystery revolves around dzoh-way. The Septuagint calls Eve life. Her name was a Bacchic shout—life! The devil gave her the fruit and said, "God’s a liar."