The Connection of Olam and Aiōnios
Olam (H5769)
Strong – Definition: long duration, antiquity, futurity
Gesenius’s Lexicon: עוֺלָם – “what is hidden; specially hidden time, long; the beginning or end of which is either uncertain or else not defined; eternity, perpetuity. It is used -(1) of time long past, antiquity, in the following…Am. 9:11; Mic. 7:14; Isa. 63:9; Deu. 32:7…(2) It more often refers to future time, in such a manner, that what is called the terminus ad quem, is always defined from the nature of the thing itself…”
Olam is the Hebrew word which aiōnios translates in the Greek Septuagint. This is a vital connection, since the usage of olam in the Old Testament gives us insight into the true meaning of the term. The Hebrew tradition speaks of olam as “to the horizon and beyond,” or simply put; a long, unknown period of time into the past or future. Already we can see a clear connection to the Greek idiom “to the ages of the ages,” which is typically rendered “forever and ever” in the English. While both olam and aiōnios may portray a sense of enduring, it is just as easily a present, ongoing quality as much as any temporal quantity. This is shown explicitly, by Jesus no less, in John 17:3;
“Now this is eternal (aiōnios) life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You sent.”
Temporary Everlasting?
Even more, we see olam used by God to describe events that were, in fact, temporary. Genesis 17:13 establishes an olam covenant of circumcision, but in Galatians 5:6, Paul claims that has ended. Likewise, in Levi 16:34, God declares the sacrifice of atonement an olam statute, but that sacrifice was ended both historically by the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and doctrinally in Hebrews 10, since Jesus has become the perfect atonement.
In the most direct reference to Gehenna in the NT, the Lord declares in Jeremiah 25:9 that Israel will be left an “everlasting (olam) ruin,” right before saying they would be slaves for only 70 years. Of course, we know that Israel was rebuilt and restored; the covenant with God was continued because of God’s own faithfulness. This was neither physically nor spiritually an eternal destruction.
Connection to Gehenna
It may not be apparent, at first, how this verse is a direct reference to Gehenna, but a closer reading of Jeremiah shows it clearly. In chapters 7, 19, and 32, the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple carried out by Babylon, with the death and enslavement of the people, is called the punishment of “the valley of Hinnom.” Of course, we know that Gehenna is the Greek transliteration of Hinnom and a direct reference to that valley. So then, this “olam” punishment is the punishment of Gehenna and the aiōnios punishment that Jesus speaks of when he quotes Daniel 12:2 in Matthew 25:46. That quote comes immediately after speaking of the destruction of the second Temple in the previous chapter, which occurred in 70 AD and which the historian Josephus writes of first hand. It’s not hard to connect the dots when it’s just a straight line.
The reason that these dots are not connected, is because they’ve been hidden. You will not find anywhere a cross reference between the NT use of Gehenna and the OT use of Hinnom, even though it is a direct reference. Neither is the “olam devastation” referenced with “aiōnios punishment.” Traditionalist scholars and theologians who know of these connections will simply sweep them aside and refuse to answer questions over the issue. Just as they do all the many times that Scripture states that all shall be saved, such as the end of Romans 11. They assume that what the author really means is the entire group will kind of sort of be saved, in a corporate manor of speaking. Such weak equivocating is required by ECT, while ultimate reconciliation simply takes the Word at its word.
Destruction of the Temple
Part of the confusion here comes from the fact that the destruction of the second Temple is proceeded by talk of the return of Jesus. Which is again muddied by the mention of Jesus “coming on the clouds,” since this was a euphemism for the judgement of God (Isa 19:1). Clearly, both the final separation of the sheep and the goats and the last two chapters of John’s Revelation refer to a final judgment and restoration. Just as Jesus promised to return and establish his people in places such as John 14 and the angel reaffirms after the ascension.
This is something of a case of dual fulfillment, but also something that I think has been misconstrued to look towards a future moment instead of recognizing the present. The siege of Jerusalem and the destruction of the second Temple was a terrible event and one which Jesus said would happen to that very generation (Matt 24:34) and would be so terrible that nothing like it would be seen again (Matt 24:21). While there may be some future event that reflects this one, just as it reflected the destruction of the first Temple by Babylon, Jesus also made it clear that it would not be the same. We cannot, therefore, mistake his meaning for literal prophesy of some future Armageddon event.
Kingdom of Heaven
What we should be considering instead is the judgement that Matthew 25 speaks of and the establishment of the City of God in Revelation 22. While we are all waiting for the trumpet to sound and usher us to our mansions (1 Cor 15:52), we are missing out on the life and mission of right now. Jesus didn’t say the Kingdom of Heaven will come in another age, he said the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. What if, while we’re waiting on Jesus to return, he’s waiting on us to carry out the work he left us to do? What if the separation of the sheep from the goats is happening right now? What if the city of Zion has already been established, with the gates open and ready to usher in the “kings of the nations” once they’ve been made clean?
Jesus will certainly return. There will be a literal resurrection of the dead and the establishment of a “new Heaven and a new Earth,” (Rev 21). Sin and death will be done away with once and for all. Yet, if God was waiting for the Word to spread, it reached the four corners of the Earth long ago. I think that the idea of ECT has caused complacency in the Church. We sit and let the world go to hell, expecting God to sort it out at the end.
The doctrine of ultimate reconciliation insists that we move forward as a holy people, to be ministers to all the Earth and to every person and tribe. A preisthood anointing the people to prepare the way for the Lord, that when he returns they might be given into his glorious hands. Is God waiting for every knee to bow and every tongue to profess that Christ is Lord? Maybe. With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.