FOR FAIR USE AND EDUCATION AND DISCUSSION PURPOSES



WILL PEOPLE BURN IN HELLFIRE "FOREVER", or will it only be for a CORRECTIVE AGE? One word can change the whole meaning....and it has!

The symbolism in the OT of the "molten sea" (vs.23, and vs.3 was for cleansing and purifying oneself before being allowed to enter into the Temple built by Solomon. Read I Kings chapter 7....(which includes vs. twenty three and vs. thirty eight).

The "Lake of Fire" in the NT (Rev. chapter 20)is the spiritual fulfillment for "cleansing and purifying" of those who will enter the Kingdom of God, for those who have not been saved by grace through the Blood of Jesus Christ in this age.

J. Preston Eby explains this well:


http://www.kingdombiblestudies.org/savior/SOW1.htm


It was the false doctrines of the apostate Greek Orthodox Church that caused the meaning eternal to be placed upon the modern Greek phrase "the ages of the ages." And don't think for one moment, dear friend, that religion doesn't influence language! The English word "hell" once meant "a dark hidden place" but Church dogma has through the years caused the word to take on an altogether different connotation. Word meanings do change! And religious dogma has effected many such changes!

So usage is the fundamental key to unlocking the meanings of ancient Greek words. That the expression "the ages of the ages" cannot mean an endless succession of ages, or eternity, is clearly revealed by comparing Rev. 11:15 with I Cor. 15:24-28. In Rev. 11:15 our Lord is said, in the Greek text, to reign "for the ages of the ages" but in I Cor. 15 His reign is said to end.

He does not reign "for ever and ever" though He does reign "for the ages of the ages." As the Son, God reigns unto the ages of the ages through a process of subjecting, subduing all things unto Himself. When that work is completed and there is nothing more in all God's vast universe to subdue and reconcile unto Himself, God reigns no longer as the Son, but as Father He shall finally and eternally be ALL IN ALL.

Endlessness is expressed in the Scriptures by the simple phrase "no end" (Lk. 1:33; Dan. 7:14; Isa. 9:7). The thought of permanence is also expressed in Heb. 7:16, "the power of an endless (or indissoluble) life," and in I Pet. 1:4, "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away." Now had the Holy Spirit wished to indicate true unendingness or true eternity as the time issue in the punishment and suffering of the lost, He could have used the word that He used in Rom. 1:20 to describe God's "eternal power and Godhead, " literally God's "perpetual" or "imperceptable" power and Godhead, one being unable to see to the end of it!

You see, had the Holy Spirit wanted to convey unendingness in reference to the punishment of the enemies of God, He could have used words that plainly denoted that, rather than the words "to the age...... to the ages," "to the age of the ages "to the ages of the ages, " etc., all which plainly denote SPANS OF TIME.

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The difference in the interpretation of this one word (AION) means the difference in believing God is all merciful, kind, and loving to ALL; or believing that God is like Nebuchnezzar or Moloch, who will throw people into fire for not worshiping in the demanded way.

I choose the God of "LOVE"....always!

Arlene

Arlene, how would you reconcile Eby's teaching with 2 Thessalonians 1:9? In context verses 5-10. I'm not sure which translation you are using so I will not post the verse to avoid conflict with your translation. Please also consider what Steven Wohlberg has to say regarding God's love and justice in the video about 17:00-19:30 minutes in.

For "Walknbyfaith"...

I do not believe ANY punishment is "everlasting"...it is "age lasting" until it accomplishes its purpose, which is to cleanse and purify.

That's why I'm showing this type of error. "Forever" or "everlasting" are mistranslations of the word "age" or "ages"...

It makes one heck of a difference! In Rev. 21:8, it says "they shall have THEIR PART in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone..". It says nothing about forever. This is the "second death". A "second death" doesn't last forever. God is going to put an end to hell, and and end to death...see Revelation 20:14:

"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."

When this is completed after the "ages of ages", or however long it may take, there will be no more "hell" or "death".

So, if there will be no more hell or death, then how on earth can ANYONE be burned in "everlasting torment"???? That's cruel and unusual punishment, and our loving God would not do that. See Jeremiah 32:35. God calls this type of thing "an abomination"!! Would He do anything that He, Himself calls an "abomination"??? Hardly!!

A really good google search would be one on "brimstone"....it's a purifying agent made with sulpher. It's used in medicine for urinary tract infections because it's purifying, and it causes no distress or pain in its use. It ENHANCES cleansing....and that's the use God has for it as well...

BTW...I use the KJV, but I have a Rotherham's Emphasized Bible as well. The word "hell" isn't even in it. Translators added it later to promote the scaring of people into salvation. But that's not what God wants....he wants us to be saved though love of Him, and not become saved just because we fear "hell".

I read Eby's teachings because I see things more "spiritually" in them. I've learned a lot. Yet, I always measure things by the Bible, FIRST...and those then become doctrine for me. I follow no man...

I couldn't watch the Wohlberg video, however, because my computer has some kind of a glitch which keeps buffering every few seconds. It takes me an hour to watch a 15-minute video. So, I don't even try, or I'll end up throwing my computer out the window!!


Arlene