The life without end promised those who believe in Jesus Christ and receive His saving grace ( John 3:15 , 16 ; Titus 1:2 ; 1 John 5:11 ). The Hebrew word ‘ôlam , commonly translated “eternal,” or “everlasting,” means, basically, “something hidden,” and thus designates a long time whose limits are unknown, or “hidden.” The duration of ‘ôlam is always relative to, and determined by, that to which it is applied. Thus ‘ôlam may refer to a lifetime ( Ex. 21:6 ), or a period the beginning of which is lost in antiquity ( Gen. 6:4 ; Joshua 24:2 ; Prov. 22:28 ). When used with the figure of sleep it means death ( Jer. 51:39 ); when applied to God ( Ps. 90:2 ; Isa. 40:28 ) its designation is limitless. The expression “everlasting life” ( chayyê ‘ôlam ) occurs in the OT only in Dan. 12:2 . Compare v. 7 , where God is characterized as chê ha-‘ôlam , “he who lives eternally.” The contextual implication is thus that eternal life is a sharing in the life of God. The Hebrew mind conceived of God as living in limitless time, and not abstractly in the sense of being beyond time. The same mind also conceived of those whom God resurrects as living this way.
The Greek term corresponding to ‘ôlam is aioµn , also designating a long but relative extent of time, and thus an adequate translation of ‘ôlam in the LXX . However, with Plato aioµn came also to stand for the abstract, qualitative concept of “eternity” in contradistinction to time—a timeless situation to which the limitations of time do not apply. It has been suggested that the NT gives to aioøn both quantitative and qualitative dimensions, and that particularly in the Johannine writings, where the expression “eternal life” recurs frequently ( John 3:16 ; 5:24 ; 17:2 ; 1 John 1:2 ; etc.), is this qualitative aspect salient.
Often eternal life is referred to simply as “life” ( zoµeµ ), or “the life” (Gr. heµ zoµeµ ) . Eternal life is granted to those who “believe,” that is, to those who have faith ( John 3:16 ; 11:25 , 26 ); to make it available to humanity is the particular object for which Christ came ( John 6:51 , 57 , 58 ; 14:6 , 19 ); to know God and His Son, Jesus Christ, is eternal life ( John 17:3 ).
In John two dimensions of eternal life are especially intertwined: eternal life as a gift, in principle, when a person believes in Christ ( John 5:24 , that individual has eternal life), and as a literal possession to be bestowed in actuality at the Parousia ( John 5:28 , 29 ). Commenting on these two dimensions, Ellen White said: “‘ This is the record, that God hath given unto us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life.’ And Jesus said, ‘I will raise him up at the last day.’ Christ became one flesh with us, in order that we might become one spirit with Him. It is by virtue of this union that we are to come forth from the grave—not merely as a manifestation of the power of Christ, but because, through faith, His life has become ours. Those who see Christ in His true character, and receive Him into the heart, have everlasting life. It is through the Spirit that Christ dwells in us; and the Spirit of God, received into the heart by faith, is the beginning of the life eternal” ( DA 388).
The Seventh-day Adventist point of view considers eternal life as “exclusively the property of God” (Ellen G. White, in SDACom 5:1130). It was given to Adam conditionally and mediated to him by the tree of life ( Gen. 2:9 ; 3:22 ; PP 60). He forfeited eternal life by his sin, but it is restored by Christ on condition of “perfect righteousness, harmony with God, perfect conformity to the principles of His law” ( MB 76). It is ours now if we are in Christ ( 1 John 5:11 , 12 ). We possess it now on condition of maintaining our relationship to Christ.
In a sense, eternal life is a reward to the obedient, but it is not earned, for it is a “free gift” to those who believe in Christ as their personal Saviour ( 1SM 297). SDA s emphasize the literalness of the eternal life bestowed in the resurrection. Eternity is conceived of as endless time in which the saved will have ample opportunity to learn ever more concerning God’s infinite purpose for them, to enjoy and study the wonders of the universe, and to realize their highest ambitions. See Immortality .