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Delusional people who don't think hell is an eternal place of punishment.
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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This thread was actually started for "Christians" who do not think Hell is a literal place where spirits go. This thread was not necessarily for people who do not believe that Christ was born of a virgin, died for our sins, rose from the dead, and is alive today and forever
(Please don't bite my face off!)
Remember, folks:
People go to hell only because they reject God's salvation in Christ alone.
Everlasting - G166
aionios
ahee-o'-nee-os
From G165; perpetual (also used of past time, or past and future as well): - eternal, for ever, everlasting, world (began).
Strong's G166 - aionios
1) without beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be
2) without beginning
3) without end, never to cease, everlasting
AV — eternal 42, everlasting 25, the world began + 5550 2, since the world began + 5550 1, for ever 1
[link to www.blueletterbible.org]
Matthew 25:45, 46
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting [G166 AIONIOS] punishment: but the righteous into life eternal [G166 AIONIOS].
The Duration of Hell: Aion, Aionios
Eternal fire for the unregenerate is a biblical reality. Jesus said it was. It was for this reason that Jesus died (cf. Rom. 5:8-10). Those who are not imputed with the righteousness of Christ through faith in Him, will be cast out into hell where they will endure eternal punishment: “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matt. 25:46). Here the word “eternal” (aionion) is used BOTH to describe the DURATION of life that believers will have and the “punishment” (kolasin) that the unregenerate will undergo—thus, the punishment is endless just as the “eternal life” is endless for believers. Commenting on this passage (viz. on the phrase, kolasin aionion, “eternal punishment”), renowned Greek scholar A. T. Robertson states: “[aionios] comes as near to the idea of eternal as the Greek can put it in one word.”[1] Those that deny the never-ending duration of God’s wrath (hell) do so primarily on emotional grounds (e.g., distorting the love of God) and a faulty understanding of the Greek terms aion (“age”) and aionios[2] (“eternal”/“everlasting”). The Greek word aionios is from the root word aion meaning “age.” The Universalists and others who deny the never-ending duration of hell point out that the term aionios does not always mean “eternal,” but can refer to a temporary or finite period of time.
However, note the following details:
1. CONTEXT determines meaning. Words are defined by their context. It is a great error in hermeneutics to limit words to one meaning when they may have multiple meanings as with the majority of Greeks words—it always depends on the context. It is true that the term aionios can be used to indicate a temporary non-eternal state (as in Rom. 16:25). However, just because the root (aion) of the term aionios means “age” it does not mean that every time the term is used it indicates temporality. For example, Paul uses aionios to describe God’s eternal nature: “who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal [aionion] dominion! Amen” (1 Tim. 6:16). It would be heresy to translate aionion here in a temporal sense making God’s dominion temporary—for His sovereignty is everlasting.
2. Lexical Support. The lexical support for aionios as denoting the concept of eternal/everlasting life for the believer in passages such as John 3:16; 6:47; 10:28; etc. is unquestionable. Equally, the lexical support for aionios as denoting the concept of eternal/everlasting damnation in passages such as Matthew 25:41, 46; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 14:11; 21:10; etc. is indisputable. Aside from passages where aionios means “eternal” life (as seen above) and denoting God’s eternal nature (e.g., Rom. 16:26), Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words (1985) states: “Aionios is also used . . . of the judgment of God, from which there is no appeal, Heb. 6:2, and of the fire, which is one of its instruments, Matt. 18:8; 25:41; Jude 7, and which is elsewhere said to be ‘unquenchable,’ Mark 9:43. The use of aionios here shows that the punishment referred to in 2 Thes. 1:9, is not is not temporary, but final. . . .”
Below are brief excerpts taken from one of the most utilized and scholarly lexicons, Walter Bauer’s, A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament (BDAG), which provides a most comprehensive analysis of aionios regarding the “everlasting” duration of both life and damnation (hell): “aion formulaically=eternal [Rev.] 14:11; 19:3; 20:10; 22:5. . . . aionios “without beginning or end; of God (Gen 21:33; Is 26:4). . . . Very often of God’s judgment [Jer 23:40; Da 12:2; Ps 76:6; Mt 18:8; 25:46; Mk 3:29; 2 Co 6:7; 2 Th 1:9; Jd 7]. . . . pert. to a period of unending duration, without end. . . .” (32-33). Therefore, besides the passages that clearly (from the context) denote a temporary significance (e.g., Rom. 16:25), the lexical support (e.g., Thayer; Louw and Nida; Liddell and Scott; BDAG, et al) for aionios as denoting eternal, endless duration is conclusive.
[link to www.christiandefense.org]
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Is Universalism Biblical?
Short answer: No.
Long answer:
Universalism states that sooner or later all people will be saved. This position holds that the concepts of hell and punishment are inconsistent with a loving God.
The older form of universalism, originating in the second century, taught that salvation would come after a temporary period of punishment. The newer form of universalism declares that all men are now saved, though all do not realize it. Therefore the job of the preacher and the missionary is to tell people they are already saved. Certain passages--John 12:32, Philippians 2:11, and 1 Timothy 2:4--are typically twisted out of context in support of universalism.
Such passages, interpreted properly, do not support universalism:
John 12:32 says that Christ's work on the cross makes possible the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles. Notice, however, that the Lord--in the same passage--warned of judgment of those who reject Christ (v. 48).
Philippians 2:10-11 assures us that someday all people will acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, but not necessarily as Savior. (Even those in hell will have to acknowledge Christ's Lordship.)
First Timothy 2:4 expresses God's desire that all be saved, but does not promise that all will be. This divine desire is only realized in those who exercise faith in Christ.
The Scriptures consistently categorize people into one of two classes (saved/unsaved, also called believers/unbelievers), and portray the final destiny of every person as being one of two realities (heaven or hell).
In Matthew 13:30 Jesus in a parable said, "Let both [tares and wheat] grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn." Here unbelievers and believers are spoken of as tares and wheat. Two classes!
In Matthew 13:49 Jesus said, "This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous." Again, two classes are mentioned--unbelievers and believers spoken of as the wicked and the righteous.
In Matthew 25:32 Jesus said that following His second coming, "All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." Here believers and unbelievers are differentiated by the terms "sheep" and "goats." The sheep will enter into God's kingdom (vs. 34) and inherit eternal life (vs. 46). The goats go into eternal punishment (vs. 46).
In Luke 16:26 we find Abraham in the afterlife telling the unsaved rich man: "Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us." Hades apparently had two compartments: "paradise" for the saved, and "torments" for the unsaved--and these compartments were separated by a great chasm or gulf.
Clearly, then, the Scriptures speak of two classes of people (the saved and the unsaved) and two possible destinies (heaven for the saved; hell for the unsaved). And each respective person ends up in one of these places based upon whether or not he or she placed saving faith in Christ during his or her time on earth (Acts 16:31).
[link to www.ronrhodes.org]
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---
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AMAZING AUTHENTICITY CODES OF THE BIBLE!
Thread: AUTHENTICITY CODES OF THE BIBLE. AMAZING!
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