Aïdios is often translated as “eternal” (or “everlasting”) in English Bibles, but the word itself does not inherently mean endless duration. Its core idea is that of something unbroken, enduring, or unrelenting.
Remarkably, aidios appears only twice in the New Testament. Epistle to the Romans uses it once to describe God’s power (Romans 1:20), and Epistle of Jude uses it once to describe the chains of the fallen angels (Jude 6).
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal [aïdios] power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Romans 1:20, ESV
And:
And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal [aïdios] chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day
Jude 1:6, ESV
In Romans, God’s power is aidios because nothing can limit, weaken, or overcome God. The emphasis is not primarily on duration but on the unbroken and inexhaustible nature of His power.
In Jude, the fallen angels are kept in aidios chains, yet the very same verse gives those chains a definite endpoint: they are held “until the judgment of the great day.” A chain that lasts until a specified day is not eternal in the modern/timeless sense. It is unbroken and inescapable for as long as it is meant to last, but it is still bounded by the purpose for which it exists.
In both occurrences, then, aidios describes the enduring nature (power) of a condition rather than creating the idea of endless duration by itself. God’s power is everlasting because there’s nothing more powerful than Him. The angels’ chains are aidios because they remain unbroken until the appointed day. Thus, not endless time.
This article was a copy-paste from my book on hell: HELL: A Jewish Perspective on a Christian Doctrine
