Study 8: Does "Forever" Mean Eternal? (New Testament) — Advanced Answer Key¶

The Greek Word Aionios (G166) and the Duration of Punishment

Evidence Tiers

This series uses a three-tier evidence classification to distinguish what Scripture says from what people claim it teaches:

Explicit (E) — The text directly says this. You can point to a verse and quote it.

Necessary Implication (N) — No single verse says this word-for-word, but it unavoidably follows from what the text does say. No interpretation is needed — every reader, regardless of theological position, must agree.

Inference (I) — Someone claims the Bible teaches this, but no verse says it and no combination of verses forces it. Something must be added beyond what the text contains: a concept, a framework, or a choice between possible readings.

The hierarchy matters: Explicit > Necessary Implication > Inference. An inference cannot override what the text explicitly states.

Section A: Word Study — Aionios (G166) and Aion (G165)¶

1. Aionios (G166) appears 71 times in the NT. It is derived from aion (G165), a noun meaning "properly, an age; by extension, perpetuity; by implication, the world; specially (Jewish) a Messianic period." Strong's defines aionios as "from G165; perpetual (also used of past time, or past and future as well)." The LXX translates Hebrew olam (H5769) as aionios 100 times (PMI 5.67 — the strongest association) and as aion 287 times. Given this vocabulary chain (olam -> aionios via the LXX), and given that Study 7 established that olam's duration is context-dependent across 50+ OT cases, what does this inheritance mean for the semantic range of aionios?

Aionios inherits olam's contextual flexibility through the verified LXX vocabulary chain. The LXX translators — pre-Christian Jewish scholars who understood both Hebrew and Greek — chose the age-related word (aionios, from aion "age") rather than the everduring word (aidios, from aei "always") to translate olam 100 times. This is a historical fact of translation, not an inference. Since olam's duration is determined by its subject (God = genuinely eternal; slave service = one lifetime; Jonah's confinement = three days), and since aionios is the LXX equivalent of olam, aionios carries the same contextual semantic range.

2. The KJV translates aion (G165) as "world" (i.e., an age or era) 30 times. "This world" means "this age"; "the world to come" means "the age to come" (Matt 12:32; Luke 20:34-35). "The end of the world" (Matt 24:3) is literally "the end of the age" (synteleia tou aionos). What does this pattern of translation reveal about the meaning of the root noun from which aionios derives?

The root noun aion means "an age" or "an era" — a bounded period of time — not "eternity." Even the KJV translators recognized this by rendering it "world" (in the sense of "this present world/age"). If the root noun means "an age," its adjective form (aionios) means "pertaining to an age" or "age-lasting." The derivative cannot carry a meaning larger than the root permits.

"The end of the world [literally: the end of the age — synteleia tou aionos]." — Matthew 24:3

3. The LXX also translates olam as other terms: genea (G1074, "generation") 51 times. Additionally, aionios in the LXX translates Hebrew dor ("generation," 23x), chuqqah ("statute," 20x), berith ("covenant," 20x), and choq ("enactment," 14x). None of these Hebrew words mean "eternal." What does this translation data reveal about the semantic range of aionios in pre-Christian Jewish usage?

The LXX translators used aionios to translate words meaning "generation," "statute," "covenant," and "enactment" — none of which are inherently eternal. A word used to translate "statute" and "covenant" is not a word that inherently means "infinite/endless." The pre-Christian Jewish understanding of aionios was broad and contextual, not rigidly fixed to "eternal."

Section B: Word Study — Aidios (G126)¶

4. Aidios (G126) derives from aei (G104, "always"). Strong's defines it as "everduring (forward and backward, or forward only)." It occurs only twice in the NT: Romans 1:20 (God's "eternal power and Godhead") and Jude 1:6 (angelic "everlasting chains"). Critically, aidios has no Hebrew source word in the LXX — it is a distinctly Greek word with no direct Hebrew equivalent. What does the existence of aidios alongside aionios tell you about whether the two words are synonymous?

Two words derived from different roots (aei "always" vs. aion "age") with different etymologies are not synonymous. This is basic lexicography. If aionios already meant "everduring," there would be no need for aidios to exist as a separate word. The fact that Greek has both — one for "everduring" (aidios) and one for "age-pertaining" (aionios) — is lexical evidence that they carry distinct meanings.

5. Paul uses aidios for God's "eternal power" (Rom 1:20) — the only Pauline use of aidios. For eschatological contexts (eternal life, eternal destruction, etc.), Paul consistently uses aionios. Why is this distinction significant? If Paul wanted to describe punishment as "everduring," which word did Greek provide for that purpose?

Greek provided aidios for "strictly everduring." Paul knew the word — he used it in Rom 1:20. But for eschatological punishment ("everlasting destruction," 2 Thess 1:9), he chose aionios instead. If Paul intended to convey that the punishment is strictly everduring/endless, aidios was available. He chose the age-pertaining word (aionios) instead.

"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal [aidios] power and Godhead." — Romans 1:20

6. Read Jude 1:6-7 in sequence. Jude writes: "the angels which kept not their first estate... he hath reserved in everlasting [aidios] chains... Even as Sodom and Gomorrah... suffering the vengeance of eternal [aionios] fire." Two different Greek words for "eternal" in adjacent verses by the same author. The aidios chains are an ongoing restraint (the angels are currently held). The aionios fire destroyed Sodom and went out. Document the lexical alternation and its implications for the meaning of each word.

The alternation is deliberate and visible in the text. Jude selects aidios for the chains because they are genuinely everduring — the angels are held in them from the time of their fall until the day of judgment (an ongoing process). He selects aionios for Sodom's fire because the fire completed its work of destruction; the result is permanent but the process ended. Sodom is not still burning.

This is the clearest single passage demonstrating the non-synonymy of aidios and aionios: the same author, in the same context, in adjacent verses, deliberately uses two different words for two different kinds of "eternal." Aidios = ongoing, everduring. Aionios = permanent in result.

"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting [aidios] chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal [aionios] fire." — Jude 1:6-7

Section C: The 71 Occurrences of Aionios — Usage Categories¶

Category 1: Life/salvation (~59% of occurrences)

7. Aionios modifies "life" (zoe) approximately 42 times — about 59% of all NT uses. Zoe aionios ("eternal life") is defined qualitatively in John 17:3: "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." What does it mean that the dominant definition of "eternal life" in the NT is relational/qualitative rather than purely durational?

The definition in John 17:3 indicates that "eternal life" is not merely "life that lasts forever" but "life that belongs to the coming age" — life characterized by knowing God and Christ. The qualitative dimension does not exclude duration, but it establishes that aionios life is defined by its nature (relationship with God) more than by its clock-time. This is consistent with aionios meaning "pertaining to the age" — the age to come, the age of God's kingdom.

"And this is life eternal [zoe aionios], that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." — John 17:3

Category 2: Past time (backward-looking)

8. Document the three passages where aionios refers to past time.

Romans 16:25: chronois aioniois — "in aionios times" — translated "since the world began." The mystery was hidden during the past ages. Aionios refers to a past period that has now ended (the mystery has been revealed).
2 Timothy 1:9: pro chronon aionion — "before aionios times" — translated "before the world began." God's purpose and grace were given before the ages began. "Before eternity" is logically impossible if aionios means "eternal." "Before the ages" is perfectly coherent.
Titus 1:2: aionios used for both "eternal life" (zoe aionios — future) and "before the world began" (pro chronon aionion — past) in the same verse by the same author. This is the most concentrated evidence that aionios does not mean "endless future." A word that can point in both temporal directions within a single sentence means "pertaining to the ages," not "infinite future."

These three passages constitute direct textual evidence that aionios does not inherently mean "endless." No interpretation is required — the word is used for past time, and the KJV translators recognized this by rendering it accordingly.

"In hope of eternal life [zoe aionios], which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began [pro chronon aionion]." — Titus 1:2

Category 3: God and divine attributes

9. When aionios modifies God or God's attributes — "the everlasting God" (Rom 16:26), "eternal Spirit" (Heb 9:14), "everlasting kingdom" of Christ (2 Pet 1:11) — it carries its maximal force. Why? Is this because the word inherently means "eternal," or because the subject (God) is genuinely eternal?

Because the subject is genuinely eternal. Aionios carries its maximal force when applied to God because God is by nature without beginning or end. The word does not impose eternity on its subject — it takes its force from the subject it modifies. The same pattern was documented for olam in Study 7: olam carries full eternal force when applied to God (Ps 90:2) but limited force when applied to mortal subjects (Exo 21:6; Jon 2:6).

Category 4: Permanent results of completed acts (Hebrews)

10. Document the Hebrews pattern.

Passage	Greek	English	Event	Aionios Describes
Heb 9:12	aionios lytrosis	eternal redemption	Christ entered "once" (hapax)	Permanent result of completed act
Heb 5:9	soteria aionios	eternal salvation	Salvation accomplished	Permanent result of completed act
Heb 9:15	aionios kleronomia	eternal inheritance	Inheritance received	Permanent result — does not expire
Heb 6:2	krima aionion	eternal judgment	Judgment rendered	Permanent result — verdict stands

In each case, the act is completed and aionios describes the permanence of the result, not the duration of the process. No one reads "eternal redemption" as meaning "the act of redeeming continues forever." Christ redeemed once; the result is permanent. The same pattern applies to "eternal judgment" — the verdict is rendered and the result stands permanently.

Category 5: Punishment/judgment (~10% of occurrences)

11. Aionios modifies punishment/judgment subjects only approximately 7 times (about 10% of occurrences).

Passage	Greek	English	Observations
Matt 18:8	to pur to aionion	everlasting fire	Parallels "gehenna fire" in v.9 — the two are synonymous
Matt 25:41	to pur to aionion	everlasting fire	Prepared for the devil and his angels
Matt 25:46	kolasin aionion	everlasting punishment	Same adjective as zoen aionion in same verse
Mark 3:29	aioniou hamartamatos	eternal sin	Adjective modifies the sin itself ("hath never forgiveness"), not a process of punishment
2 Thess 1:9	olethros aionios	everlasting destruction	Olethros = ruin, death — destruction vocabulary, not torment vocabulary
Heb 6:2	krima aionion	eternal judgment	Permanent verdict — documented in Category 4
Jude 1:7	puros aionios	eternal fire	Applied to Sodom — not still burning

In none of these passages does aionios unambiguously describe an ongoing conscious process. Mark 3:29 modifies the sin, not a process. 2 Thess 1:9 uses destruction vocabulary. Jude 1:7 applies to Sodom (fire ended). The Hebrews pattern (Category 4) treats aionios as permanent result. Matt 25:46 is the disputed passage — and the adjective does not resolve the dispute, since aionios demonstrably carries different force depending on subject.

Section D: The Matthew 25:46 Question¶

12. Read Matthew 25:46. Evaluate the "same adjective = same duration" claim.

The claim requires the assumption that a single adjective must impose identical duration on every noun it modifies. This assumption is falsified by aionios's own usage:

Titus 1:2: aionios for both future life and past time in the same verse. Two different temporal scopes for the same word in a single sentence.
Exodus 15:18 vs. 21:6: olam (which aionios translates) carries genuinely eternal force for God's reign and one-lifetime force for slave service in the same book.
Hebrews pattern: aionios describes permanent results (redemption, judgment, salvation). "Eternal redemption" is a permanent result of a completed act, not an act that takes forever. "Eternal punishment" follows the same pattern — a punishment whose result is permanent.

The subject determines the duration, not the adjective. "Eternal life" is genuinely unending because its source (God) is unending. "Eternal punishment" is permanent in result because the punishment (destruction/cutting off from God) is irreversible.

"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment [kolasin aionion]: but the righteous into life eternal [zoen aionion]." — Matthew 25:46

13. The word kolasis (G2851, "punishment") in Matt 25:46 occurs only twice in the entire NT — here and in 1 John 4:18 ("fear hath torment/punishment"). The standard lexical meaning is "punishment," "correction," or "pruning" (from kolazo, "to curtail, to prune"). Kolasis is not basanismos (G929, "torment"). What is the significance of the specific punishment vocabulary used?

The choice of kolasis rather than basanismos is significant. Kolasis denotes punishment that corrects or curtails — its etymological root is pruning/cutting off. Basanismos denotes torment or torture. If Jesus intended to describe eternal torment, basanismos was available. He chose the word for corrective punishment or cutting off instead. The text says kolasin aionion — "age-lasting punishment/cutting off" — not basanismon aionion ("age-lasting torment").

14. Read John 3:16, Romans 6:23, and Galatians 6:8. In each passage, aionios life is contrasted with the fate of the wicked. What is the wicked's fate in each contrast?

Passage	Righteous	Wicked
John 3:16	Everlasting life (zoe aionios)	Perish (apollymi)
Romans 6:23	Eternal life (zoe aionios)	Death (thanatos)
Galatians 6:8	Life everlasting (zoe aionios)	Corruption (phthora)

In every contrast, the wicked's fate is perishing, death, or corruption — never "eternal torment." These are the clearest, most direct NT statements about the fate of the wicked in relation to eternal life, and all three use destruction/death vocabulary.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish [apollymi], but have everlasting life [zoe aionios]." — John 3:16

"For the wages of sin is death [thanatos]; but the gift of God is eternal life [zoe aionios] through Jesus Christ our Lord." — Romans 6:23

Section E: The "Ages of Ages" Formula¶

15. The phrase eis tous aionas ton aionon ("unto the ages of the ages," translated "for ever and ever") occurs approximately 22 times in the NT. Map its distribution.

The formula appears ~19 times in doxological/liturgical contexts (praising God and Christ) and only 3 times in judgment contexts — all within Revelation (14:11; 19:3; 20:10). The 3 judgment uses all occur in apocalyptic vision language, the least literal genre in the NT. This distribution means the judgment uses are a small minority, confined to a single apocalyptic book. Clear didactic teaching (epistles, gospels) consistently uses destruction/death vocabulary for the wicked's fate.

16. Read Revelation 14:11 and compare with Isaiah 34:10.

The verbal formula is identical: "smoke ascending for ever." The LXX vocabulary chain connects them directly (olam -> aion). In Isaiah 34:10, the "forever" smoke describes Edom's judgment — and Isaiah 34:11-17 describes animals inhabiting the territory afterward. The judgment is completed; the result is permanent; the fire/smoke is not literally ongoing.

This is the OT precedent: in every verifiable case, "smoke ascending forever" describes a completed, irreversible judgment. Rev 14:11 uses the same formula from the same vocabulary tradition. The OT precedent establishes the meaning of the formula — permanent result, not ongoing process.

"The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever [eis tous aionas ton aionon]." — Revelation 14:11

"It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever [le-olam]: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever [le-netsach netsachim]." — Isaiah 34:10

17. Read Revelation 19:3. "Her smoke rose up for ever and ever." The subject is Babylon — explicitly identified as a symbolic entity ("MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT," Rev 17:5). What does it mean when "smoke ascending for ever and ever" is applied to a symbolic entity?

It confirms that the "smoke ascending" formula functions as judgment imagery describing the completeness and finality of destruction, not as a literal description of an ongoing physical process. Babylon is a symbol — it is not a literal city that will literally burn and literally produce smoke for all eternity. The formula signifies total, irrevocable judgment.

18. Read Revelation 20:9-10 carefully.

The text distinguishes between two groups and two fates: - Verse 9 — Human enemies: Fire came down from God and "devoured" (katesthion) them. Katesthion means "to eat up, to consume, to devour." This is destruction vocabulary. - Verse 10 — The devil, the beast, and the false prophet: Tormented day and night for ever and ever. The beast and false prophet are symbolic entities (Rev 19:20 — "the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet"). The devil is a non-human spirit being.

The text does not say that all the wicked are tormented for ever and ever. It says the human enemies are devoured (destruction), and the devil and symbolic entities are tormented. Extending the devil's fate to all humans requires adding something the text does not state.

"And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." — Revelation 20:9

"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." — Revelation 20:10

Section F: Counter-Arguments¶

19. "The 'ages of ages' formula is the strongest possible expression of duration in Greek — used for God's own eternity. When the same formula appears in judgment passages, it must carry the same force."

This argument has the same structure as the olam argument addressed in Study 7: because olam is used for God's genuinely eternal reign (Exo 15:18), it must carry the same force for slave service (Exo 21:6). But it does not — the slave serves for a lifetime, not for eternity. The formula's application to God proves that it can express genuine eternity when the subject is genuinely eternal. It does not prove that it always does, regardless of subject. The formula takes its force from the subject it describes, just as olam and aionios do.

Additionally, the three judgment uses are all in apocalyptic genre, while the doxological uses span multiple genres. Genre affects how language functions — apocalyptic imagery is not read the same way as didactic teaching.

20. "The past-time uses of aionios (Rom 16:25; 2 Tim 1:9; Tit 1:2) are idiomatic exceptions that don't affect the word's 'true' meaning in eschatological contexts."

The text provides no basis for this distinction. There is no grammatical marker, no lexical indicator, and no contextual signal that aionios activates a different semantic range in eschatological contexts versus non-eschatological contexts. The claim that three passages are "idiomatic exceptions" requires adding a rule from outside the text — namely, that the "true" meaning of aionios is "eternal" and any deviation is an exception. But the text does not state this rule. The word is used for past time in three passages, for divine attributes in several, for permanent results in Hebrews, and for future life in ~42 occurrences. All of these are genuine uses, not exceptions.

21. "Even if aionios can mean 'age-pertaining,' the context of Matt 25:46 and Rev 20:10 demands the 'eternal' meaning because of the gravity of the subject."

Word meaning is determined by usage, etymology, and context — not by the interpreter's assessment of how serious the topic is. There is no lexical principle that says "gravity activates the maximal meaning of a word." The OT fires described with olam were grave subjects (the judgment of nations), and the language still described completed judgments. The gravity argument is an appeal to emotion, not a textual argument. The text must determine the meaning, not the interpreter's expectation.

Section G: Evidence Classification Exercise — Answers¶

1. "Aionios (G166) is derived from aion (G165, 'an age'); Strong's defines it as 'perpetual (also used of past time, or past and future as well).'" - Classification: Explicit (E) - This is a lexical fact from standard reference works. The etymology and definition are directly verifiable.

2. "Paul uses aionios for past time in Romans 16:25 ('in aionios times') and 2 Timothy 1:9 ('before aionios times')." - Classification: Explicit (E) - The Greek text reads chronois aioniois (Rom 16:25) and pro chronon aionion (2 Tim 1:9). The KJV translators rendered these as past-time references. Observable textual fact.

3. "Jude uses aidios (v.6) and aionios (v.7) in adjacent verses, treating them as distinct words." - Classification: Explicit (E) - The Greek text of Jude 1:6 reads aidios and Jude 1:7 reads aionios. The lexical alternation is directly observable in the text.

4. "Aionios inherently means 'eternal/endless' in the NT, regardless of its OT/LXX background. The past-time uses are idiomatic exceptions." - Classification: Inference (I) - What is added: (a) the claim that aionios "inherently" means "eternal" is not stated in any text; (b) the claim that past-time uses are "idiomatic exceptions" requires a rule distinguishing "real" uses from "exceptions" — no such rule is in the text; (c) dismissing the OT/LXX background requires assuming that the NT changed the word's meaning — no text states this.

5. "The same adjective (aionios) modifies both 'punishment' and 'life' in Matt 25:46; therefore both must have identical duration." - Classification: Inference (I) - What is added: the rule "same adjective = same duration for every noun." This rule is not stated in any text and is falsified by Titus 1:2 (same word, two temporal directions, same verse) and by olam usage (same word, different durations depending on subject, same book).

6. "The 'ages of ages' formula in Rev 14:11 and 20:10 teaches literal endless conscious torment of all the wicked." - Classification: Inference (I) - What is added: (a) reading apocalyptic vision language as literal didactic teaching; (b) extending the fate described for the devil, beast, and false prophet (non-human/symbolic entities) to all humans — the text does not make this extension; (c) ignoring the OT precedent where identical "smoke ascending forever" language describes completed judgments; (d) ignoring Rev 20:9, which uses "devoured" (destruction vocabulary) for human enemies.

7. "In Hebrews, aionios describes permanent results of completed acts: redemption obtained 'once' (9:12), salvation accomplished (5:9), judgment rendered (6:2)." - Classification: Explicit (E) — Each passage can be directly quoted. The observation that the acts are completed is stated in the text (Christ entered "once"; salvation is accomplished; judgment is rendered). - The pattern that aionios describes permanent results across multiple Hebrews passages is a Necessary Implication (N) — it follows unavoidably from the individual explicit statements.

Section H: What CAN Be Said / What CANNOT Be Said — Answers¶

What CAN be said (the Bible explicitly states or necessarily implies):

Aionios (G166) is derived from aion (G165), a noun meaning "an age." Strong's defines aionios as "perpetual (also used of past time, or past and future as well)." The word etymologically means "pertaining to an age."
Aionios is the primary LXX translation of Hebrew olam (H5769), translating it 100 times with the strongest association (PMI 5.67). Since olam's duration is context-dependent (demonstrated by 50+ OT cases in Study 7), aionios inherits this contextual flexibility through the verified LXX vocabulary chain.
Aionios is used for past time in three NT passages: "in aionios times" (Rom 16:25), "before aionios times" (2 Tim 1:9), and Titus 1:2 uses aionios for both future life and past time in the same verse. A word used for past time does not inherently mean "endless future."
Greek has a separate word, aidios (G126), derived from aei ("always"), meaning "everduring." Aidios occurs only twice (Rom 1:20; Jude 1:6). Jude uses aidios (v.6) and aionios (v.7) in adjacent verses, treating them as distinct words with distinct meanings.
Aionios modifies "life" approximately 42 times (~59% of occurrences) and punishment/judgment subjects only ~7 times (~10%). The word is overwhelmingly used for the positive eschatological outcome.
When aionios life is contrasted with the fate of the wicked, the contrast is consistently "perish" or "death" or "corruption" — not "eternal torment" (John 3:16; Rom 6:23; Gal 6:8).
In Hebrews, aionios describes permanent results of completed acts: redemption obtained "once" (9:12), salvation accomplished (5:9), inheritance received (9:15), judgment rendered (6:2).
The "ages of ages" formula is used ~19 times for God/Christ and only 3 times in judgment contexts (Rev 14:11; 19:3; 20:10) — all in Revelation's apocalyptic framework. Rev 14:11 echoes Isa 34:10 (Edom's ended judgment). Rev 19:3 describes symbolic Babylon. Rev 20:10 names the devil and symbolic entities, while Rev 20:9 uses "devoured" for human enemies.
"Everlasting destruction" (2 Thess 1:9) uses destruction vocabulary (olethros = ruin, death), not torment vocabulary. Sodom's "eternal fire" (Jude 1:7) is not still burning — the result is permanent but the fire ended.
"Eternal life" is defined relationally/qualitatively — "that they might know thee" (John 17:3) — as life belonging to the coming age, not merely life of infinite duration.

What CANNOT be said (not stated or necessarily implied — requires adding something):

It cannot be said that aionios inherently means "eternal/endless." The word is derived from aion ("age"), translates olam 100 times in the LXX, and is used for past time in three NT passages. A word used for past time does not inherently mean "infinite future."
It cannot be said that aidios and aionios are synonymous. They derive from different roots (aei vs. aion), and Jude uses both in adjacent verses for different subjects with different outcomes. The existence of aidios for "strictly everduring" alongside aionios for "age-pertaining" is a lexical fact.
It cannot be said that the Matt 25:46 symmetry requires identical duration for both outcomes. Aionios is used in both temporal directions in the same verse (Tit 1:2), and olam carries different durations for different subjects in the same book (Exo 15:18 vs. 21:6). The adjective does not determine identical duration for every noun it modifies.
It cannot be said that the "ages of ages" formula in Revelation teaches literal endless torment of all humans. The three judgment uses are in apocalyptic genre, echo OT olam/netsach smoke language for demonstrably ended judgments (Isa 34:10), and name non-human/symbolic subjects. Rev 20:9 uses "devoured" for human enemies.
It cannot be said that the past-time uses of aionios are "idiomatic exceptions." The text provides no basis for distinguishing "past-time aionios" from "future-time aionios" as different in semantic kind. The word means "pertaining to the ages" in all directions.
It cannot be said that the NT has changed the meaning of aionios from its LXX/OT background. The LXX translation data (olam -> aionios 100x) is a historical fact. No NT passage redefines aionios as "strictly eternal" or narrows its semantic range from what the LXX established.