His Holiness Pope Shenouda III addresses in this lecture the meaning of the word “Eternity” and “to eternity” as used in the Holy Bible, explaining that the word has more than one meaning depending on the context and intent: sometimes it denotes God’s infinity and His attributes, and sometimes it is used to indicate a long and limited duration within human life or history.

The meaning of eternity when speaking of God and Christ

He explains that the word eternity when applied to God means “to no end” — the stable attributes of God, His mercy and His kingdom that do not pass away, as in texts beyond human time.

Eternity in prayers and hymns

He points to the use of the expression in prayers and hymns (for example: “the kingdom and the power and the glory forever”) meaning no end, and it is an expression of glorifying God and the perpetuity of His might.

Eternity with human temporal meanings

He clarifies that the word is also used in the sense of “length of life” or “a long period” when speaking of humans or historical conditions — examples: a servant serving “to eternity” means serving for life, and the promise of the land to Abraham “to eternity” means a long duration and does not necessarily imply literal continuous possession of the land until the end of the world.

Biblical examples illustrating the variation

He provides examples from the Old and New Testaments (the story of the servant and his release, Samuel in Shiloh, David and the sword in his house, and God’s promises to Solomon) to show that “to eternity” may mean a long time in human terms and not an absolute eternity.

Eternity and intensified phrases (eternity of eternities)

He also mentions stronger terms like “to the eternity of eternities” in the context of praise — and these are used to affirm God’s eternity in a higher way but do not remove the need to distinguish between the uses of the word.

Spiritual conclusion

The general message of the lecture from the Coptic Orthodox faith perspective: one must differentiate between the true eternity of God and the symbolic or temporal language when “eternity” is said about persons or places; understanding this helps address incorrect interpretations such as claiming that every divine promise about the land means it will literally remain “forever” on earth without clarifying the biblical context.

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