Attention Sinners: Eternal Life vs Eternal Punishment!
The two possible outcomes of one's life in the minds of most Christians are "eternal life" and "everlasting punishment." Most denominations teach that "eternal life" will be spent in heaven. Conversely, most think that unbelievers will go to hell, a place of fire and brimstone where sinners, along with Satan and the fallen angels, will be punished for eternity. Alternately, some Christians believe that sinners will be annihilated in the fires of hell, never again to exist.
The majority of believers are confident that they understand exactly what the Bible reveals regarding heaven and hell. But is the common belief what the Scriptures truly teach about the fate of people in the afterlife? To determine what the Bible really has to say about eternal life and everlasting punishment, we will closely examine both of these concepts in this article. The Bible teaches something much different than what most people currently believe.
Let's start by looking at a couple of passages found in Matthew's Gospel:
MATTHEW 18:8 "If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting [aionion] fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell [gehennan] fire." (NKJV)
MATTHEW 25:41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting [aionion] fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' 44 Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' 45 Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 And these will go away into everlasting [aionion] punishment, but the righteous into eternal [aionion] life." (NKJV)
So, we can assume that all you nasty sinners (Alliance) will spend eternity in hell burning etc whereas us nice people (Grand Moff Gav, JIA...😛) will have everlasting life in heaven!
Wait a second...how can an all loving God put people in pain for eternity...surely the Bible doesn't say that?!?!
The key to comprehending the biblical truth about "eternal life" and "everlasting punishment" is a proper understanding of the words translated "everlasting" and "eternal" in the Scriptures. These words are translated from various forms of the Greek adjective aionios. This adjective is derived from the Greek noun aion, which is generally translated as "ever," "forever," "evermore," or "eternity" in the New Testament. However, aion is also translated as "world" and "age" in several places. To fully understand the biblical teaching on "eternal life" and "eternal punishment," we must first comprehend what the words aionios and aion truly mean.
Dr. Marvin Vincent-
Αιων, transliterated aeon, is a period of time of longer or shorter duration, having a beginning and an end, and complete in itself. Aristotle (περι ουρανου, i.9, 15) says: "The period which includes the whole time of each one's life is called the aeon of each one." Hence, it often means the life of a man, as in Homer, where one's life (αιων ) is said to leave him or consume away (Il. v. 685; Od. v. 160). It is not, however, limited to human life; it signifies any period in the course of events, as the period or age before Christ; the period of the millennium; the mythological period before the beginnings of history. The word has not a "stationary and mechanical value" (De Quincey). It does not mean a period of a fixed length for all cases. There are as many aeons as entities, the respective durations of which are fixed by the normal conditions of the several entities. There is one aeon of a human life, another of the life of a nation, another of a crow's life, another of an oak's life. The length of the aeon depends on the subject to which it is attached.It is sometimes translated world; world representing a period or a series of periods of time. See Matt. xii.32; xiii.40, 49; L. i.70; 1 Cor. i.20; ii.6; Eph. i.21. Similarly οι αιωνες the worlds, the universe, the aggregate of the ages or periods, and their contents which are included in the duration of the world. 1 Cor. ii.7; x.11; Heb. i.2; ix.26; xi.3.
The word always carries the notion of time, and not of eternity. It always means a period of time. Otherwise it would be impossible to account for the plural, or for such qualifying expressions as this age, or the age to come. It does not mean something endless or everlasting. . . . The adjective αιωνιος in like manner carries the idea of time. Neither the noun nor the adjective, in themselves, carry the sense of endless or everlasting. (pp. 58-59, vol. IV, Vincent's Word Studies of the New Testament)
As Dr. Vincent explains, these words do not convey the concept of "eternity" or "endlessness" as we understand it. He is not the only one to hold this position; several other Greek scholars and writers have overcome theological tradition and recognized this also. The following information on the use, meaning, and origin of the word aionios comes from Greek language experts James H. Milligan and George Moulton:
Without pronouncing any opinion on the special meaning which theologians have found for this word, we must note that outside the NT, in the vernacular as in the classical Greek . . . it never loses the sense of perpetuus . . .In the Sanskrit ayu and its Zend equivalent the idea of life, and especially long life, predominates. So with the Germanic cognates (Gothic aiws). The word . . . is a primitive inheritance from Indo-Germanic days, when it may have meant "long life" or "old age" . . . In general, the word depicts that of which the horizon is not in view . . . (p. 16, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament)
Milligan and Moulton clearly state that, in contradiction to the "special meaning" which theologians seem to have found for aionios in the New Testament, this word in both common and classical Greek simply refers to an unspecified, but finite, period of time.
The idea of "eternity" or "endlessness" was not conveyed by these related Greek words until theologians assigned such meanings to them many centuries after the New Testament was written. Once we understand that aion denotes an indefinite "age" or "ages," and that aionios means "age-lasting,"
The Scriptures we will review below plainly show the true meaning of this word:
MATTHEW 13:37 He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age [aionos], and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age [aionos]. (NKJV)MATTHEW 13:49 "So it will be at the end of the age [aionos]. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, (NKJV)
MATTHEW 24:3 Now as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age [aionos]?" (NKJV)
LUKE 20:34 And Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age [aionos] marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are counted worthy to attain that age [aionos], and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection." (NKJV)
Other examples are found in, I CORINTHIANS 2:6; II CORINTHIANS 4:4; GALATIANS 1:4; I TIMOTHY 6:17 and many more.
The Scriptures conclusively prove that the Greek word aion and all its variations mean an "age" or "ages." Although an "age" can deviate in length, it is a finite period of time. It does NOT mean "endlessness."
In the New Testament, "eternal life" refers specifically to life during the AGE of the Messiah's rule over the nations of the earth. While the saints will experience this life as immortal spirit beings after being resurrected at the return of Yeshua, many others will live "eternal life" in the kingdom of God as mortal human beings. "Everlasting punishment" in "hell" is the opposite of "eternal life." Biblically, it refers to a person being executed for breaking the Law during the millennial rule of Christ and the subsequent disposal of their body in the official garbage dump of the kingdom, the Valley of Hinnom (located south of Jerusalem). The common beliefs about living "eternal life" in heaven or suffering "everlasting punishment" in hell are myths built on speculation and tradition, NOT Scripture.
Thus, in conclusion we are safe in the knowledge that we are all going to Heaven! Some will just have to go through Hell first. Anyway while to non-Christians this might not seem as that big a deal...chances are certain fundies now will be seeking my blood and immediate excommuniaction for posting this.
Oh and thanks Bryan T. Huie