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by
Francis Chan
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July 8 - August 7, 2023
Second, this “everlasting punishment” (aionios kolasis) is the same place as the “everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” from verse 41.
I checked ten commentators from different theological backgrounds and fifteen Bible translations in five different languages on the word kolasis.
Translators and commentators are not infallible, but such a diverse and worldwide consensus should raise serious caution. It seems clear that Jesus was referring to an “aionios punishment” in Matthew 25:46, and not an “aionios correction.”
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It’s important to note that however we translate aionios, the passage still refers to punishment for the wicked, which is something that Universalists deny.
Think about it: Because the life in this age will never end, given the parallel, it also seems that the punishment in this age will never end.
We know from other passages in Scripture that the Devil and his angels will suffer never-ending punishment (Rev. 20:10). Therefore, when Jesus says that unbelievers will go to the same place and suffer the same punishment, it logically follows that their punishment will also never end.16
Jesus chose strong and terrifying language when He spoke of hell. I believe He chose to speak this way because He loves us and wanted to warn us.
The One who invented justice and knows perfectly what the unbeliever deserves.
Don’t get so lost in deciphering that you forget to tremble.
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The parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31) says that the rich man goes to “Hades” while Lazarus goes to “Abraham’s bosom” (NASB). Hades here should not be confused with hell. Hades is where the wicked go to await their judgment, after which they are thrown into hell—their final state. Lazarus is also in some sort of intermediate state where he is waiting for his resurrection. Significantly, the rich man, who’s in hades, is “in agony in this flame” (16:24 NASB), and he’s very aware of it. Moreover, Jesus says that there is a chasm that separates the wicked from the righteous and
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Now, it’s true that this is a parable, and so we shouldn’t press the details too far. Jesus uses the parable in this context of Luke to confront the social structures of the day, not to teach us about the afterlife. On the flip side, parables do convey truth—real things about real life for real people. And given the fact that at least some first-century Jewish people believed that there would be real pain and torment in hades (and not just in gehenna or “hell”), Jesus was probably assuming this view here as well. According to Josephus, the Pharisees believed that the righteous receive rewards
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The noun is used in 1 John 4:18. Here, John says that “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment (kolasis).” The context here is “the day of judgment” (v. 17), and John is contrasting love with fear. Love enables one to be confident on the day of judgment (v. 17), while fear instills that nagging sense that one will receive punishment (kolasis) on the day of judgment. The sense of “correction” wouldn’t make sense. The verb form of kolasis (kolazo) is used two times in the New Testament: Acts 4:21 and 2 Peter 2:9. Both of these contexts demand
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Of course, Jesus would have used the Aramaic equivalent to this word, but this is the Greek word that Matthew (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) used to translate Jesus’ word.
The Greek word aionios is an adjective, and it’s used seventy times in the New Testament. The noun, aion, is used over one hundred times in the New Testament. The noun can mean various things such as “an age” or “era” (Matt. 13:39; 28:20; Heb. 9:26; 1 Cor. 10:11), “the world” (Mark 4:19), and the never-ending “age” to come, as it does so often in John’s gospel (John 4:14; 6:51, 58; 8:35, 51; 10:28; 11:26; 12:34; 14:16). The adjective aionios frequently means “everlasting,” denoting never-ending time. We see this sense in the phrase “everlasting life” (aionios zoe) used so often in the New
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"Ages of ages"???
The way the Greek words are used here suggests a never-ending punishment. The word aionios modifies the nature of the punishment, not the results of the punishment. This is an important distinction, because some people say that it’s only the results of the punishment that never end.
Greek nouns that end with –sis (rather than –ma) tend to focus on the action of the noun rather than its results.
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Greek nouns that end with –sis (rather than –ma) tend to focus on the action of the noun rather than its results.
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2 Thess...
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Here again, it is the never-ending act of comforting that is in view.
Paul never in all of his thirteen letters used the word hell. If you only focused on that one truth, you might conclude that Paul avoided the issue.
And yet, Paul referred to the fate of the wicked more than any other New Testament writer did.
Paul described the fate of the wicked with words such as “perish, destroy, wrath, punish,” and others more than eighty times in his thirteen letters.1 To put this in perspective, Paul made reference to the fate of the wicked more times in his letters than he mentioned God’s forgiveness, mercy, or heaven combined.2
One would have to be creative and work hard to erase all notions of wrath and punishment from the letters of Paul.
Could it be that his drive to reach the lost was directly related to his willingness to ponder their fate if he didn’t reach them at all? It sure appears so.
He speaks of judgment.
There’s no cross, no atonement, no forgiveness, no conversion testimony, and no God-loves-you-and-has-a-wonderful-plan-for-your-life. Not that these things are unnecessary—Paul himself will talk about these on other occasions. But what these people needed to hear most was that Jesus has been raised from the dead and was going to judge them if they didn’t repent.
get annoyed at those street preachers who carry on about wrath and judgment—I wish they’d talk more about grace and love. Sometimes I wonder if they do more harm than good. Yet as I sit back and arrogantly judge their effectiveness, I must admit that Paul’s sermon in Acts 17 sounds an awful lot like the preacher I heard screaming at the beach last week!
While much of our church culture believes that talk of wrath and judgment is toxic and unloving, Paul didn’t seem to have a problem with these things. In fact, Pa...
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Similar to John the Baptist and Jesus, Paul believed that warning people of the wrath to...
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If my two-year-old son runs out into the street, is it unloving to warn him of the destruction comin...
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The Bible paints a much bigger picture of God, life, and the gospel than mere judgment and the need for repentance. Remember, it’s “good” news.
But just because some have swung the pendulum so far in the direction of wrath and judgment, let’s not swing it back too far the other direction and do away with what Scripture emphasizes.
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God is compassionate and just, loving and holy, wrathful and forgiving.
the wrath is an act of—dare I say—vengeance. In fact, this is the exact word that Paul uses.
As I read those verses, I am struck by how allergic I am to repeating the very words that Paul wrote. Affliction, vengeance, punishment, destruction—for all who don’t follow Jesus.
I’m not sure if I have ever used the term vengeance in describing the fate of unbelievers.
Refusing to teach a passage of Scripture is just as wrong as abusing it. I really believe it’s time for some of us to stop apologizing for God and start apologizing to Him for being embarrassed by the ways He has chosen to reveal Himself.
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these books emphasize that hell is reserved for evil angels and false teachers, who indulge in fleshly desires and distort the gospel for financial gain (2 Peter 2:1, 4, 15–16). But both authors affirm that the same punishment is in store for all unrighteous people (2 Peter 2:9; Jude 14–15).
they do capture an important part of the Christian message: God will severely punish those who don’t bow the knee to King Jesus.
in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence … of the Lamb.
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it’s very easy to get caught up in arguments and word studies and theological views, and yet miss the main point. This is real.
“how could a good God create someone and then torment that person forever?” Yet few people deny that He does this to Satan.
according to what they had done.
Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
death itself could suggest finality, it is often used throughout the New Testament in a more metaphorical (nonliteral) sense.
For instance, New Testament writers often refer to unbelievers as “dead” (referring to their spiritual state), even though they are physically alive (Luke 15:24, 32; Eph. 2:1, 12; Col. 2:13).
A view of God that takes Him at His word and doesn’t try to make Him fit our own moral standards and human sentimentality. A view of God that believes what He says, even when it doesn’t make perfect sense to us.
(Greek: anathema, katara; Rom. 9:3; Gal. 1:8, 9; 3:10, 13; 1 Cor. 12:3; 16:22);
