Greek Grammar
by John W. White
Summary
This is a very short one chapter overview of Greek Grammar, and the word “eternal.”
Note: Grammar information obtained from William H. Davis, Beginner’s Grammar of the Greek New Testament and H. E. Dana and J. R. Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament.
There is a place on the Internet that will give you some help. http://www.bible-researcher.com/index.html
Check http://www.gracebiblechurch.us/bible.html for parsed verses of the New Testament.
It has a section on the Verbs (defining what each tense, voice, and mood is), another on nouns and the cases and articles.
White also adds some helpful books, and then a short section on “Don’t Outgreek the Greek”, Watch your words, don’t be more tense than tense, be cautious with the conditional sentences.
Study on Aiwnios (eternal).
AIWNIOS
by S. S. Craig 1916
Dualism of Eternal life.
The Latin Vulgate translated the Greek adjective aijw>niov to the Latin aeternus in which we get the English word eternal and eternity.
The KJV translators instead of going back to the original Greek and translating the Greek adjective aijw>niov, went to the Latin Vulgate and translated the Latin aeternus. This is why the word eternal has been misunderstood by the English reader. If they would have gone to the Greek they for sure would have translated it as many translators such as Rotherham and Young, namely, age lasting or life for the age (eijs ton aijw>niov).
It is equally a fact that the theology of the West was not that of the Greek Church but that of Roman Catholicism. It was Latin theology. And just as it is beyond doubt that the revisers, translators, and lexicographers, were chiefly influenced by the Latin language and Latin translations. It is admitted that the theology of Calvin was derived from Saint Augustine, modernized and extended.
“It was absolutely essential to Augustinian theology with its blightening emphasis on the doctrine of predestinarianism to mistranslate the Greek adjective aijw>niov, and put on it a meaning which the Greek will not for a moment allow in its respective applications to salvation and judgment.
And that was essential to Augustinian theology was equally essential to Latin Christianity from the days of Augustine to those of Calvin and Luther. And the same exists in the Reformed Theology from then till the present.
To say nothing of other words, the Calvinist simply cannot, dare not, face an honest and truthful interpretation of the two frequently occurring words with which we are now dealing with, namely “eternal life.”