Refuting Anti-universalist Prooftexts

     There are many scriptural prooftexts which are often used by non-universalists to ‘refute’ universalism. In a particularly humorous exchange that I once engaged in on the internet, an infernalist quoted Matthew 25:46 (a favorite among anti-universalists) and Matthew 7:21-23 and simply replied, “Universalist debunked!”, to any attempted rebuttals. Unfortunately, the misapplication and misinterpretation of these texts have caused many to doubt the truth of universal salvation, and even to leave the faith because of the perceived injustice of God eternally tormenting unbelievers. This post will serve as a rebuttal to the anti-universalist prooftexts that often crop up in discussion, to prove that there is virtually no scriptural basis for the infernalist position.

    Matthew 25:46 and other ‘eternal’ texts

In two other posts, I already demonstrated that Matthew 25:46 does not refer to either the final judgment of believers or the Lake of Fire (and showed what it does actually refer to, based on its New and Old Testament context), and explained how neither the Greek descriptor αιωνιος (often translated ‘everlasting’ or ‘eternal’) nor εις τους αιωνας των αιωνων (often translated ‘for ever and ever’) truly mean ‘without end’. In fact, the words which do truly indicate everlastingness in Greek (αιδιος and ατελευτος) are conspicuously absent from passages dealing with judgment. This debunks the following anti-universalist ‘prooftexts’ which describe the punishment of unbelievers as αιωνιος or εις τους αιωνας των αιωνων: Matt. 18:8; 25:41, 46; Mk. 3:29; 2 Thess. 1:9; Heb. 6:2; Jude 7; Rev. 14:11; and 20:10.

    “Shall not enter the kingdom of the heavens”

“Not every one who is saying to me Lord, lord, shall come into the kingdom of the heavens; but he who is doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, lord, have we not in thy name prophesied? and in thy name cast out demons? and in thy name done many mighty things? and then I will acknowledge to them, that — I never knew you, depart from me ye who are working lawlessness.” (Matt. 7:21-23)

This passage, along with several others (Jn. 3:3-5; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5), states that not everyone (in fact, very few) people will enter the “kingdom of God” or the “kingdom of the heavens”. Unfortunately, most dynamic-equivalence translations obfuscate the nature of this kingdom by translating it as “the kingdom of Heaven”, which causes many Christians to conclude that it is referring to an ethereal, joyous realm of ‘Heaven’ in contrast to eternal torment in ‘Hell’. However, this is not what Jesus or His Jewish audience would have understood this phrase to be referring to. Instead, they would have understood it as referring to the literal, earthly Messianic kingdom which was prophesied by Daniel and other Old Testament prophets:

“And in the days of these kings raise up doth the God of the heavens a kingdom that is not destroyed to the age, and its kingdom to another people is not left: it beateth small and endeth all these kingdoms, and it standeth to the age.” (Dan. 2:44)

“I was seeing in the visions of the night, and lo, with the clouds of the heavens as a son of man was [one] coming, and unto the Ancient of Days he hath come, and before Him they have brought him near. And to him is given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, and all peoples, nations, and languages do serve him, his dominion [is] a dominion age-during, that passeth not away, and his kingdom that which is not destroyed... and the kingdom, and the dominion, even the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens, is given to the people — the saints of the Most High, His kingdom [is] a kingdom age-during, and all dominions do serve and obey Him.” (Dan. 7:13-14, 27)

Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s. (Obad. 21 NKJV)

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. (Hab. 2:14 NKJV)

And in that day [the coming of Messiah] it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; in both summer and winter it shall occur. And YHWH shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be - “YHWH is one,” and His name one. (Zech. 14:8-9 NKJV)

This fact, that the “kingdom of God” or “kingdom of the heavens” spoken of by Jesus refers to the earthly Messianic kingdom and not an ethereal realm of ‘Heaven’ is confirmed in multiple places in the New Testament:

Happy the poor in spirit — because theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. Happy the mourning — because they shall be comforted. Happy the meek — because they shall inherit the land [of Israel]. Happy those hungering and thirsting for righteousness — because they shall be filled. Happy the kind — because they shall find kindness. Happy the clean in heart — because they shall see God. Happy the peacemakers — because they shall be called Sons of God. Happy those persecuted for righteousness’ sake — because theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. (Matt. 5:3-10)

Notice, here, how “the kingdom of the heavens” is paralleled with “the land [of Israel]”.

to [the disciples] also [Jesus] did present himself alive after his suffering, in many certain proofs, through forty days being seen by them, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God. And being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, [saith he,] “Ye did hear of me; because John, indeed, baptized with water, and ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit — after not many days.” They, therefore, indeed, having come together, were questioning him, saying, “Lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?“ and he said unto them, “It is not yours to know times or seasons that the Father did appoint in His own authority” (Acts 1:3-7)

The disciples, after having been taught about the “kingdom of God” for forty days, ask Jesus whether the kingdom will be restored to Israel at this time or in the future. Notice what He does not say in response: “You fools, I just spent forty days teaching you about the spiritual kingdom of God in Heaven, and now you’re asking if it will come to Israel?” Instead, He simply responds that they are not supposed to know the time.

And then they shall see the Son of Man, coming in a cloud, with power and much glory; and these things beginning to happen bend yourselves back, and lift up your heads, because your redemption doth draw nigh... so also ye, when ye may see these things happening, ye know that near is the kingdom of God (Lk. 21:27-28, 31)

This passage and its parallels in the other synoptic gospels confirms that the “kingdom of God” is not something that currently exists, but will begin at the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Worthy art thou to take the scroll, and to open the seals of it, because thou wast slain, and didst redeem us to God in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and didst make us to our God kings and priests, and we shall reign upon the earth. (Rev. 5:10)

And the seventh messenger did sound, and there came great voices in the heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of the world did become [those] of our Lord and of His Christ, and he shall reign to the ages of the ages!” (Rev. 11:15)

Again, this confirms that the kingdom of God will appear at Christ’s second coming, and will be a physical polity on earth rather than an ethereal realm of ‘Heaven’.

    Thus, the “kingdom of God” or the “kingdom of the heavens” simply refers to the Messianic kingdom which will appear on earth at Christ’s second coming and be centered in Israel (in fact, Ezekiel 47:13 - 48:29 describes the boundaries of the kingdom in detail). Only true believers and a few Gentile unbelievers will inhabit this kingdom, so it is no surprise that very few people will be allowed to enter into the kingdom at this time. However, since this Messianic age will only last for about a thousand years (Rev. 20:4-6) and be followed by another age of the New Heaven and Earth, whereas scripture tells us that all people will be saved and reconciled only at the end of the ages when Christ’s redemptive work is fully manifested (1 Cor. 15:20-28; Heb. 9:26), there is no challenge to universal salvation in the fact that few will enter into the “kingdom of the heavens”.

    “Narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it”

“Go ye in through the strait gate, because wide [is] the gate, and broad the way that is leading to the destruction, and many are those going in through it; how strait [is] the gate, and compressed the way that is leading to the life, and few are those finding it!” (Matt. 7:13-14)

At first, this passage seems to suggest that few people will have life (that is, be vivified), which would contradict 1 Cor. 15:22. For this reason, it is often considered to be proof that universalism is false. However, the parallel passage in Luke proves that this saying only concerns those who enter the “kingdom of God” and has nothing to do with what happens after the Messianic age:

“Be striving to go in through the straight gate, because many, I say to you, will seek to go in, and shall not be able; from the time the master of the house may have risen up, and may have shut the door, and ye may begin without to stand, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, lord, open to us, and he answering shall say to you, I have not known you whence ye are, then ye may begin to say, We did eat before thee, and did drink, and in our broad places thou didst teach; and he shall say, I say to you, I have not known you whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of the unrighteousness. There shall be there the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth, when ye may see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and yourselves being cast out without; and they shall come from east and west, and from north and south, and shall recline in the reign of God, and lo, there are last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be last.” (Lk. 13:24-30)

The judgment spoken of here is the same as the ‘outer darkness’ or ‘furnace of fire’ judgment, by which unbelievers will be gathered and cast out of the kingdom (see below). As stated above, universalists have no problem with the clear testimony of scripture that very few people will enter the Messianic kingdom, as the final resurrection and salvation of all occurs at the end of the ages, after the Messianic age and the following age of the New Heaven and Earth (1 Cor. 15:20-28).

    The ‘outer darkness’ and ‘furnace of fire’

As an aside, the judgment described by Jesus as “outer darkness” and a “furnace of fire” (Matt. 8:11-12; 13:40-42, 49-50; Lk. 13:28-29) will now be considered. Like Matthew 25:31-46, these passages are often considered to describe the future punishment of unbelievers in ‘Hell’ (the Lake of Fire) following the final judgment. However, if these passages are considered by themselves without any presuppositions as to the nature of judgment, it is clear that they are referring to the same judgment and sentence as Matt. 25:46, that is, forcing unbelievers to live outside of the Messianic kingdom in Israel and be treated as slaves.

    Here are the passages in question:

“I say to you, that many from east and west shall come and recline with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of the heavens, but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth to the outer darkness — there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.” (Matt. 8:11-12)

“As, then, the darnel is gathered up, and is burned with fire, so shall it be in the full end of this age, the Son of Man shall send forth his messengers, and they shall gather up out of his kingdom all the stumbling-blocks, and those doing the lawlessness, and shall cast them to the furnace of the fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.” (Matt. 13:40-42)

“so shall it be in the full end of the age, the messengers shall come forth and separate the evil out of the midst of the righteous, and shall cast them to the furnace of the fire, there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.” (Matt. 13:49-50)

“There shall be there the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth, when ye may see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and yourselves being cast out without; and they shall come from east and west, and from north and south, and shall recline in the reign of God” (Lk. 13:28-29)

Notice that the timing of this judgment is the “full end of this age”, which is at the second coming of Christ (according to Matt. 24:3, He will come at the end of the age), the same time as the judgment of Matt. 25:31-46. This is just over a thousand years prior to the final judgment of unbelievers at the Great White Throne, and so the “furnace of fire” simply cannot be the same as the Lake of Fire.

    What, then, is the sentence of the wicked and lawless at this judgment? Well, Jesus says that at this judgment, (1) the evil will be separated out from the righteous and (2) cast out of the Messianic kingdom into “outer darkness” or a “furnace of fire”, where they will (3) weep and gnash their teeth as they see Abraham and the prophets in the kingdom and themselves cast out. This cannot be a literal furnace of fire, as it is clearly not fatal, and they are still able to see those inside the kingdom (while they themselves are cast out). Instead, their judgment is to simply be cast outside of the kingdom in Israel.

    This is confirmed by the fact that the sentence of the wicked is paralleled by the righteous “coming from east and west and north and south and reclining in the kingdom”. So while the righteous are entering the kingdom from the ‘corners of the earth’ (so to speak), the wicked are forced to leave the kingdom and disperse to the corners of the earth. Therefore, the judgment of “outer darkness” is the same as the one described in Matt. 25:31-46, by which wicked unbelievers will be cast out of the Messianic kingdom upon Jesus’ return and forced to live as servants of Israel. It is only called a “furnace of fire” in the same way that Matt. 25:41 calls the sentence of the ‘goats’ an “age-during fire”, using this term figuratively for a place of trials and afflictions (Deut. 4:20; 1 Kings 8:51; Jer. 11:4; Isa. 48:10; Ezek. 22:20).

    Unquenchable fire

“And if thy hand may cause thee to stumble, cut it off; it is better for thee maimed to enter into the life, than having the two hands, to go away to the Gehenna, to the fire — the unquenchable. And if thy foot may cause thee to stumble, cut it off; it is better for thee to enter into the life lame, than having the two feet to be cast to the Gehenna, to the fire — the unquenchable. And if thine eye may cause thee to stumble, cast it out; it is better for thee one-eyed to enter into the reign of God, than having two eyes, to be cast to the Gehenna of the fire — where ‘their worm is not dying, and the fire is not being quenched’” (Mk. 9:43-48)

I plan to write another post solely on the topic of Gehenna and what I believe it to be referring to (edit: this post is now online here). However, for now it will suffice to note that just because a fire is “unquenchable” or “not being quenched” simply means that it is not put out by human means, not that it will never stop burning, as several other examples from scripture demonstrate:

And the fire on the altar is burning on it, it is not quenched, and the priest hath burned on it wood morning by morning, and hath arranged on it the burnt-offering, and hath made perfume on it [with] the fat of the peace-offerings; fire is continually burning on the altar, it is not quenched. (Lev. 6:12-13)

By night and by day she [Edom] is not quenched, To the age go up doth her smoke, From generation to generation she is waste, For ever and ever, none is passing into her. (Isa. 34:10)

And if ye do not hearken unto me to sanctify the day of rest, And so as not to bear a burden, And to come in at the gates of Jerusalem on the day of rest, Then I have kindled a fire in its gates, And it hath consumed the high places of Jerusalem, And it is not quenched! (Jer. 17:27)

“Son of man, set thy face the way of Teman, and prophesy unto the south, and prophesy unto the forest of the field — the south; and thou hast said to the forest of the south: Hear a word of Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am kindling in thee a fire, And it hath devoured in thee every moist tree, and every dry tree, Not quenched is the glowing flames, And burnt by it have been all faces from south to north. And seen have all flesh, that I, Jehovah, have kindled it — it is not quenched.” (Ezek. 20:46-48)

All of the fires spoken of in these passages have long since gone out, so to say that a fire “is not quenched” does not mean that it will never go out, but merely that it will not be put out. The fire may yet go out if it runs out of fuel to burn. Thus, the fact that the fire in Mk. 9:43-48 is “unquenched” and “not being quenched” does not prove the reality of eternal torment or refute universalism.

    The Way, the Truth, and the Life

Jesus saith to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one doth come unto the Father, if not through me.” (Jn. 14:6)

The clear testimony of scripture is that Jesus is the only way to the Father, as this and many other passages demonstrate. However, many non-universalists erroneously associate scriptural universalism with pluralism (the belief that all religions are equally true and valid as ways to get to God). In fact, scriptural universalists do believe that Jesus is the only way to be saved, and as scripture also tells us, it is only in Him that all people are saved (Rom. 5:15-19; 1 Cor. 15:22; 2 Cor. 5:14-19).

    “Once to die, and after this judgment”

it is laid up to men once to die, and after this — judgment (Heb. 9:27)

This verse is often used to prove that it is impossible to be saved or reconciled to God after one’s death, because the only event of consequence after death is the judgment. However, this verse cannot be used to prove that, because although it does say that judgment comes after death (which was never in question), it doesn’t describe anything that comes after the judgment. Even if we assume that non-universalism is true, this passage still does not describe what happens after judgment, because although it says that “it is laid up to men once to die”, we know from elsewhere in scripture that some men will die twice:

and the sea did give up those dead in it, and the death and the hades did give up the dead in them, and they were judged, each one according to their works; and the death and the hades were cast to the lake of the fire — this [is] the second death; and if any one was not found written in the scroll of the life, he was cast to the lake of the fire... “and to fearful, and unstedfast, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all the liars, their part [is] in the lake that is burning with fire and brimstone, which is a second death.” (Rev. 20:13-15; 21:8)

Therefore, because this verse does not describe anything that happens after the judgment (for both non-universalists and universalists), it cannot be used as an argument against the eventual salvation of all.

    Destruction and punishment of unbelievers

There are a vast number of passages in scripture which state that many people will be judged, punished, destroyed, enter Gehenna and/or the Lake of Fire, etc. It should not even be necessary to say this at this point, but universalists agree that people will be judged and punished for their actions. Unfortunately, many non-universalists entirely misunderstand scriptural universalism, and think that we believe there will be no punishment for anybody, and all people will immediately go to an ethereal realm of ‘Heaven’ after death - this is not universalism, but religious pluralism (though the two are often confused).

    Conclusion

There is virtually no strong evidence against universal salvation; the traditional doctrine of infernalism is built upon a house of cards. All anti-universalist ‘prooftexts’ fall into one of three categories: either they (1) describe the punishment of the wicked as αιωνιος, which is literally ‘age-during’, not ‘everlasting’ which is αιδιος in Greek, (2) are referring to the thousand-year Messianic kingdom, which will come long before the end of the ages when scripture tells us that all people will be saved, or (3) stem from a misunderstanding of scriptural universalism as religious pluralism. 

The Judgment of the Nations in Matt. 25:31-46

     One verse which is often brought up as a prooftext against universalism is Matthew 25:46, which states that “these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal” (KJV). Doesn’t this demonstrate that unbelievers will be tormented eternally in hell? And if ‘eternal life’ is truly everlasting, then doesn’t that mean that the punishment of unbelievers must also be everlasting, because they are contrasted in this way?

    This post will exegete this verse in the larger context of Matthew 25:31-46 to demonstrate that, even ignoring the debate over whether αιωνιος means ‘everlasting’ or merely ‘age-lasting’, the judgment spoken of in this passage cannot be describing the condemnation of all unbelievers to the Lake of Fire. As with all other judgment passages, the timing of this judgment will be examined first, followed by the recipients of the judgment, and concluding with the consequences of the judgment.

    Matthew 25:31-46

“Now when the Son of Man may come in his glory, and all the messengers with him, then he will sit on [the] throne of his glory. And all the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the kids. And he will indeed set the sheep on his right hand, and the kids on [the] left. Then the King will say to the [ones] on his right hand, ‘Come, those blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from [the] foundation of [the] world. For I hungered, and you gave to me to eat; I thirsted, and you gave to me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.’

“Then the righteous will answer to him, saying, ‘Lord, when [did] we see you hungering, and fed [you]? Or thirsting, and gave drink? Now when [did] we see you a stranger, and took [you] in? Or naked, and clothed [you]? Now when [did] we see you sick or in prison, and came to you?’

“And answering, the King will say to them, ‘Verily I say to you, inasmuch as you did [it] to one of these - my brethren, the least - you did [it] to me.’ Then he will say to the [ones] on [the] left, ‘Go from me, those cursed, to the age-during fire prepared for the Adversary and his messengers. For I hungered, and you gave nothing to me to eat; I thirsted, and you gave no drink to me; 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 come to me.’

“And then [they] themselves will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when [did] we see you hungering, or thirsting, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not serve you?’

“Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Verily I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do [it] to one of these - the least - neither did you do [it] to me.’ And these will go away into age-during punishment, but the righteous into age-during life.”

    The Timing of the Judgment

This judgment is almost always associated with the Great White Throne judgment by infernalists and other non-universalists, because they believe that the judgment in Matt. 25:31-46 is the initiation of the final, everlasting punishment of unbelievers (whatever that may be). However, this goes against the explicit statement of Jesus that this judgment will occur “whenever the Son of Man may come in his glory”, that is, at the second coming of Christ. The context confirms this timing, as the three preceding parables also deal with judgment at the second coming of Christ (Matt. 24:45 - 25:30). His second coming will be just over a thousand years prior to the Great White Throne judgment (Rev. 20:5), which precludes the idea that this refers to the final judgment of unbelievers.

    Although premillennialists (or ‘chiliasts’) will agree that these events are just over a thousand years apart, amillennialists and postmillennialists argue that the second coming of Christ and the final judgment actually occur at the same time. This is clearly false, as a harmonization of scripture demonstrates: according to 1 Cor. 15:50-54 and 1 Thess. 4:13-18, the resurrection of believers will occur at the second coming of Christ, and yet 1 Cor. 15:23-24 and Rev. 20:5 state that there will be an intervening period between the resurrection of believers and the resurrection of unbelievers (regardless of whether the thousand years should be allegorized, there must be a gap of some length).

    Amillennialists argue against this by saying that the resurrection of believers in Rev. 20:5 refers to their ‘spiritual resurrection’, which occurs at their conversion prior to Christ’s second coming. Even ignoring the fact that a ‘spiritual resurrection’ is never spoken of in scripture in those terms, we are told explicitly that the saints will reign on the earth in Israel following their resurrection (Matt. 5:5; 19:28 cf. Rev. 20:4; Rev. 5:10), which obviously does not occur following the ‘spiritual resurrection’ or conversion of believers. Therefore, there can be no doubt that there will be a gap between the second coming of Christ and the Great White Throne judgment, most likely of a literal thousand years, and so the judgment in Matt. 25:31-46 cannot be the final judgment of unbelievers.

    The Recipients of the Judgment

Non-universalists believe that this judgment is a judging of individuals, by which every individual unbeliever will be condemned and every individual believer rewarded based on whether they had a saving faith. This ignores the fact that there is never a judgment spoken of in scripture that includes both believers and unbelievers; there is the tribunal seat of Christ at which believers will be judged for their good and evil works (2 Cor. 5:10) and the Great White Throne judgment at which unbelievers will be judged for their good and evil works (Rev. 20:11-15), but no judgment of both believers and unbelievers based on their faith.

    Instead, this judgment is explicitly said in this passage to be a judgment of “all the nations“ (regardless of whether each nation will be judged separately or whether it is a judgment on individuals from all the nations, this implies that it is only Gentiles who are being judged and not Israelites), and they are not judged on their faith, but rather on how they behaved toward “the least of [Jesus’] brethren”. The meaning of this can only be determined by looking at Joel 3:1-3, a passage which describes the same judgment of nations as Matt. 25:31-46:

For behold, in those days and at that time [the coming of Messiah and restoration of Israel], when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of my people, my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up my land. They have cast lots for my people, have given a boy as payment for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink. (Joel 3:1-3 NKJV)

This will be a judgment of the Gentile nations who have survived the battle of Armageddon, and they will be judged based on their treatment of the Israelite people who are “[Jesus’] brethren”. The ‘sheep’ are not believers, but are actually unbelievers, as they are clearly separate from the group called “[Jesus’] brethren” (a term describing Israelite believers, see Matt. 12:49-50). In fact, we know from elsewhere in scripture that there will be Gentile unbelievers who survive the battle and are allowed to live on earth during Jesus’ Messianic kingdom, as we are told in Zechariah 14:16 that “everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, YHWH of hosts”.

    Therefore, the subjects of the judgment in Matt. 25:31-46 are not every single individual believer and unbeliever; rather, they are very specifically the Gentile unbelievers who survived the battle of Armageddon. The ‘sheep’ are the Gentiles who helped the believing Israelites, Jesus’ brethren, when they were afflicted during the tribulation, whereas the ‘goats’ are the Gentiles who aided in the persecution of Israel. However, both the passage itself and the Old Testament context demonstrate that the judgment in view is not one of every individual, nor of both believers and unbelievers.

    The Consequences of the Judgment

The common interpretation of this passage is that the ‘goats’ are sent into the Lake of Fire at Jesus’ command to be tormented eternally, whereas the ‘sheep’ enter the New Heaven and Earth to enjoy everlasting life. However, as noted already, the punishment for the goats cannot be the Lake of Fire in Revelation 20, because this judgment will take place over a thousand years prior to the Great White Throne judgment. What, then, is the punishment of the goats and the reward of the sheep? Again, we need to take a look back at the prophecy in Joel 3 which refers to the same judgment:

Because you have taken My silver and My gold, and have carried into your temples My prized possessions. Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem you have sold to the Greeks, that you may remove them far from your borders. Behold, I will raise them out of the place to which you have sold them, and will return your retaliation upon your own head. I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a people afar off; for YHWH has spoken. (Joel 3:5-8 NKJV)

The punishment upon the ‘goats’, the Gentile unbelievers who persecuted Israel, is to send them far outside of Christ’s Messianic kingdom and treat them as slaves - certainly not to burn eternally in fire. This point cannot be stressed enough: the punishment of the ‘goats’ has nothing to do with literal burning in fire. As Joel goes on to say, “Egypt shall be a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, because of violence against the people of Judah” (3:19 NKJV). This is elaborated upon in a prophecy of Zechariah:

And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, YHWH of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, YHWH of hosts, on them there will be no rain. If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles (Zech. 14:17-19 NKJV)

Notice that the recipients of this punishment are the same as in Matt. 25:31-46 and Joel 3, the remaining Gentile unbelievers who came up against Jerusalem. And yet their punishment is not to burn in fire, but to be the slaves of Christ and the Israelites in nations outside of the Messianic kingdom, forced to keep obedience in all things or risk retribution. This punishment is only called “age-during fire” in Matt. 25:41 as a figure of speech, since ‘fire’ is often used in scripture figuratively to describe trials and afflictions (Deut. 4:20; Isa. 48:10; Ezek. 22:20; 1 Pet. 1:7; 4:12). It is not the fire itself which has been “prepared for the Adversary and his messengers”, but the unbelieving nations themselves, who will at the end of the Messianic kingdom be deceived by Satan into going to battle against Israel (Rev. 20:7-9).

    Likewise, the reward of the ‘sheep’ is not to go into the New Heaven and Earth everlastingly, as this judgment takes place over a thousand years before the creation of the New Heaven and Earth. Instead, as Jesus says, their reward is to “inherit the kingdom prepared for you”, that is, the Messianic kingdom in Israel (Acts 1:3-7). Within Ezekiel 47:13 - 48:29, a prophecy outlining the boundaries of the Messianic kingdom in detail, we are told that

“It shall be that you will divide it [the kingdom] by lot as an inheritance for yourselves, and for the strangers who dwell among you and who bear children among you. They shall be to you as native-born among the children of Israel; they shall have an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. And it shall be that in whatever tribe the stranger dwells, there you shall give him his inheritance,” says the Lord God. (47:22-23 NKJV)

Thus, there will be some Gentile unbelievers who will be allowed to live in the Messianic kingdom and treated as equals with the other Israelites, and this is almost certainly what Jesus had in mind when saying that the ‘sheep’ would go into the kingdom. (Also, note that in both Matt. 25:34 and Ezek. 47:23, the foreigner not only is allowed to own their own land, but actually inherits their land in the kingdom.) These ‘sheep’ will be given “age-during life” (more often translated ‘eternal life’), which simply means that they will receive benefits in the coming Messianic age (Mk. 10:29-31; Lk. 18:29-30).

    Therefore, the consequence of the judgment of nations in Matt. 25:31-46 will have nothing to do with the Lake of Fire, as an examination of the Old Testament context shows, and everything to do with where one is allowed to live during the coming Messianic age. The ‘goats’, unbelieving Gentiles who persecuted the Israelites during the tribulation, will be forced to live outside of the kingdom in Israel and treated as slaves, forced to obey or suffer retribution. In contrast, the ‘sheep’, unbelieving Gentiles who aided the Israelites during their time of trouble, will be given an inheritance within the kingdom itself and receive the benefits of “age-during life”.

    Conclusion

The judgment of the ‘sheep’ and the ‘goats’ in Matthew 25:41 and 25:46 is often used as a prooftext against universalism, as it describes the condemnation of the ‘goats’ as “αιωνιον fire” and “αιωνιον punishment” (αιωνιος typically being translated as ‘everlasting’). However, a close examination of the New and Old Testament contexts of this passage demonstrates that this judgment (1) takes place at the second coming of Jesus Christ, over a thousand years before the final judgment of unbelievers, (2) is not a judgment of every individual believer and unbelievers, but instead of the unbelieving Gentiles who survived the battle of Armageddon (the ‘sheep’ being those who aided the Israelites and the ‘goats’ those who persecuted them), and that (3) the sentence of the ‘goats’ has nothing to do with the Lake of Fire, but instead they will be forced to live outside of the Messianic kingdom in Israel and be treated as slaves. Therefore, there is no challenge to the doctrine of universal salvation in this passage.

Revelation is Not the End (and the Great White Throne Judgment)

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth did pass away, and the sea is not any more” (Rev. 21:1)

In my previous article about the terms ‘age-during’ (αιωνιος) and ‘the ages of the ages’ (τους αιωνας των αιωνων), I made a passing remark about how, based on a comparison of 1 Cor. 15:24-28 with Rev. 20 - 22, it is clear that the state at the end of Revelation (the New Heaven and Earth) is not the same as the final state seen by Paul. Unfortunately, I ran out of space to elaborate on this idea. So I would like to take this time to explain exactly why I think that Revelation 21-22 is not a depiction of the final, everlasting state, as well as to make a few remarks on the nature of the Great White Throne judgment of Rev. 20:11-15.

    Death and sin on the New Earth

According to Paul, at the consummation, all people will be resurrected and death and sin will be abolished (1 Cor. 15:24-28). Based on a superficial reading of Rev. 20:11-15, this seems to be exactly what is happening at the Great White Throne judgment, just prior to the creation of the New Heaven and Earth. John says that, at this time, all the dead will be given up and judged, and death itself will be cast into the Lake of Fire; then, “the death shall not be any more” (Rev. 21:4). Doesn’t this seem to be the end of the ages prophesied by Paul?

    However, contrary to popular opinion, there will still be mortal human beings and sin on the New Earth! This is prophesied by Isaiah in Isa. 65:20. Note the obvious parallels between this passage from Isaiah and Rev. 21:

For, lo, I am creating new heavens, and a new earth, And the former things are not remembered, Nor do they ascend on the heart. (Isa. 65:17)

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth did pass away, and the sea is not any more... “because the first things did go away.” (Rev. 21:1, 5)

But joy ye, and rejoice for ever, that I [am] Creator, For, lo, I am creating Jerusalem a rejoicing, And her people a joy. (Isa. 65:18)

and I, John, saw the holy city — new Jerusalem — coming down from God out of the heaven, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband (Rev. 21:2)

And I have rejoiced in Jerusalem, And have joyed in My people, And not heard in her any more Is the voice of weeping, and the voice of crying. (Isa. 65:19) 

“and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and the death shall not be any more, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor shall there be any more pain, because the first things did go away.” (Rev. 21:4)

There is not thence any more a suckling of days, And an aged man who doth not complete his days, For the youth a hundred years old dieth, And the sinner, a hundred years old, is lightly esteemed [alternate transl. ‘considered accursed’]. (Isa. 65:20)

Although this passage, Isa. 65:17-25, is often considered to be referring to the Messianic kingdom of Rev. 20:4-6, the common language between Isa. 65:17-19 and Rev. 21:1-5 makes absolutely clear the fact that these two passages refer to the same time period. However, in addition to the description of the New Heaven and Earth and the New Jerusalem, Isaiah adds the fact that there will still be mortal human beings (albeit with much longer lifespans) and sinners during this age. Furthermore, as he goes on to say in verse 23, there will still be child-bearing and offspring on the New Earth.

    With this in mind, the question must be asked, how can God have said in Rev. 21:4 that “the death shall not be any more”? Again, the answer is found in the parallel passage from Isaiah, which applies the promises of God from Rev. 21:4 specifically to those living in the New Jerusalem: “and not heard in her [Jerusalem] any more is the voice of weeping, and the voice of crying”.

    This also solves another mystery, in Rev. 22:2: “the leaves of the tree [of life are] for the healing of the nations”. These ‘nations’, per Rev. 21:24, are those who are living outside of the New Jerusalem, walking “in its light”. If all death and mortality had already been abolished, both inside and outside of the New Jerusalem, then there would be no need for healing; but if those outside of the New Jerusalem were still mortal, as Isaiah’s prophecy necessitates, then this passage suddenly makes sense. Likewise, Rev. 22:15 seems to indicate that these nations that live outside of the New Jerusalem still have the capacity to sin.

    Rule, authority, and power on the New Earth

Paul also tells us in 1 Cor. 15:24-28 that at the consummation, prior to the final resurrection, all rule, authority, and power will be abolished, and Jesus will voluntarily subject Himself to the Father. However, this clearly has not happened yet by the time of the New Heaven and Earth in Rev. 21 - 22. For one, the nations that live outside of the New Jerusalem will still be ruled by kings:

and the nations in its [the New Jerusalem’s] light shall walk, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it, and its gates shall not at all be shut by day, for night shall not be there; and they shall bring the glory and the honour of the nations into it (Rev. 21:24-26)

Even within the New Jerusalem, there will still be authority and rule, for the saints of the Lamb will reign alongside Him:

and any curse there shall not be any more, and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him, and they shall see His face, and His name [is] upon their foreheads, and night shall not be there, and they have no need of a lamp and light of a sun, because the Lord God doth give them light, and they [the servants] shall reign — to the ages of the ages. (Rev. 22:3-5)

Interestingly, this not only demonstrates that rule, authority, and power exist in the New Jerusalem, but it also applies the term “ages of the ages” (which will come to an end) to the age of the New Heaven and Earth.

    Furthermore, it is certain that Christ has not yet voluntarily subjected Himself to the Father by the time of the New Heaven and Earth, because He (as the Lamb) is still ruling alongside God within the New Jerusalem:

And a sanctuary I did not see in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, is its sanctuary, and the Lamb, and the city hath no need of the sun, nor of the moon, that they may shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamp of it [is] the Lamb... And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, bright as crystal, going forth out of the throne of God and of the Lamb... and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him (Rev. 21:22-23, 22:1, 3)

Therefore, the consummation cannot have already occurred at the creation of the New Heaven and Earth, because both inside and outside of the New Jerusalem there still exists authority, rule, and power, and Christ the Lamb still rules alongside the Father.

    The ‘nations’ and the Great White Throne judgment

Now that I have shown conclusively that the age of the New Heaven and Earth in Rev. 21 - 22 is prior to the end of the ages described in 1 Cor. 15:24-28, I will tackle the question of who exactly the ‘nations’ are and what this has to do with the Great White Throne judgment. As Isa. 65:20 and Rev. 21:24; 22:2, 15 state, there will be a number of people who live on the New Earth outside of the New Jerusalem who have not been made immortal and who will not be sinless, called the ‘nations’. Interestingly, this means that some unbelievers necessarily will pass the Great White Throne judgment and not be thrown into the Lake of Fire. This logical argument follows:

P1: All believers, those who are “of Christ”, will be resurrected to immortality at Christ’s second coming (1 Cor. 15:23, 50-54; cf. 1 Thess. 4:13-18)

P2: At the Great White Throne judgment, all unbelievers will be resurrected in the same manner (Rev. 20:12-13)

P3: After the Great White Throne judgment, some mortals will still exist (Isa. 65:20)

C1: Unbelievers at the Great White Throne judgment will be resurrected to mortality [P2 - P3].

C2: The only mortals after the Great White Throne judgment will be unbelievers [P1 - C1].

P4: The nations who will live on the New Earth after the Great White Throne judgment are mortal and sinful (Rev. 22:2, 15)

C3: The nations who will live on the New Earth are unbelievers [C2 - P4].

Interestingly, this means that the names of some unbelievers will be written in the “scroll of the life of the Lamb”, since the unbelievers of the ‘nations’ are not thrown in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:15). But if some unbelievers pass the Great White Throne judgment, what could that judgment possibly be about? And what about “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23)? These are very large topics that require a lot of detailed scriptural exegesis to cover, but for the purposes of this article, I will provide a short explanation.

    Essentially, yes, it is true that every person has fallen short of God’s glory by sinning. However, it is also true that all people have already been justified from their sins by Christ’s righteous declaration (Rom. 5:18), and so because all have died to sin with Christ, God no longer imputes our trespasses (either of believers or unbelievers; 2 Cor. 5:14-19). Therefore, the Great White Throne judgment can have nothing to do with sin; instead, it is explicitly a judgment of works (good and evil):

And I saw a great white throne, and Him who is sitting upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven did flee away, and place was not found for them; and I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and scrolls were opened, and another scroll was opened, which is that of the life, and the dead were judged out of the things written in the scrolls — according to their works (Rev. 20:11-12)

Paul also mentions this final judgment in Romans 2, which he calls “the day of... the righteous judgment of God”:

[God] shall render to each according to his works; to those, indeed, who in continuance of a good work, do seek glory, and honour, and incorruptibility — life age-during; and to those contentious, and disobedient, indeed, to the truth, and obeying the unrighteousness — indignation and wrath, tribulation and distress, upon every soul of man that is working the evil, both of Jew first, and of Greek; and glory, and honour, and peace, to every one who is working the good, both to Jew first, and to Greek. (Rom. 2:6-10)

Therefore, just as Christ did away with sin on the cross, the Great White Throne is where God will do away with evil by condemning those unbelievers who did evil during their lifetimes. However, and this is highly significant, God will also give ‘age-during life’ to those unbelievers who did good during their lifetimes, and allow them to live on the New Earth as the mortal ‘nations’.

    This analysis leaves only one question, which is, how does Rev. 21:8 fit into this scenario?

and to fearful, and unstedfast, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all the liars, their part [is] in the lake that is burning with fire and brimstone, which is a second death. (Rev. 21:8)

This passage certainly demonstrates that there will be some who are thrown into the Lake of Fire at the Great White Throne judgment, and that this includes those who are ‘unstedfast’ (απιστος, ‘unbelieving’). However, the existence of mortal nations on the New Earth also demonstrates that at least some unbelievers will indeed ‘pass’ this judgment. This shows that, in this case, απιστος means those who are actively opposed to the truth, rather than simply those who do not believe, as it does in a few other places in scripture. This also makes sense of why it is merely one of the groups condemned in this list, because if John meant to say that every unbeliever would go into the Lake of Fire, then he would have simply said “all unbelievers” rather than naming each specific group of evildoers.

    Conclusion

Based on an examination of Isaiah’s prophecy of the New Heaven and Earth (Isa. 65:17-25), it can be seen that there will still be death and sin during this final age. Likewise, John’s prophecy in Revelation 21 - 22 demonstrates that mortality, sin, power, authority, and rule are not yet fully abolished by the time of the creation of the New Heaven and Earth, and yet 1 Cor. 15:24-28 says that all these things will be abolished when all people are saved at the end of the ages. This demonstrates conclusively that the state at the end of Revelation is not actually the final state described by Paul in 1 Cor. 15:24-28, and is instead the final age before the end of the ages.

    The existence of mortal, sinful nations on the New Earth that live outside of the New Jerusalem also demonstrates that at least some unbelievers will pass the Great White Throne judgment. This judgment, rather than merely being a condemnation of all unbelievers, is specifically for the purpose of punishing evildoers and rewarding those who do good (Rom. 2:6-10). Because sin has already been done away with and is no longer imputed to either believers or unbelievers, this is not a judgment on sin but on good and evil.

The Ages of the Ages and Universal Reconciliation

“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.” (Matthew 25:46, KJV)

“And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” (Revelation 14:11, KJV)

“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10, KJV)

These verses, and many others which describe the punishment of unbelievers as αιωνιος, are often used as ultimate prooftexts against universalism. For, if unbelievers are to be punished eternally and for ever and ever, how could it be possible that all people will eventually be saved? However, as we have seen, both the very nature of God and the passage of 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, among other universalist passages, demonstrate that all people must eventually be saved, at the consummation during the final resurrection. How can these apparently contradictory passages be reconciled? This article will attempt to show that the characterization of punishment as αιωνιος and εις τους αιωνας των αιωνων is not only reconcilable with universalism, but demands that there will eventually be an end to punishment.

    The meaning of αιωνιος: everlasting or just lasting?

The Greek word αιωνιος, often translated ‘eternal’ or ‘everlasting’ in dynamic-equivalence translations, is repeatedly connected to the punishment of unbelievers in the New Testament. Its Hebrew equivalent, the word olam, is also used to describe the ‘shame’ which unbelievers will have after the general resurrection (Daniel 12:2). However, these words are actually not the Hebrew and Greek words that mean strictly ‘everlasting’, that is, without end. In Hebrew, only one word carried this meaning - netsach - and is never used of punishment of any sort; likewise, in Greek, the word αιδιος is the only one which means ‘eternal’, and is only used of God (in Romans 1:20), along with ατελευτος which means ‘without end’ [1].

    What, then, do olam and αιωνιος mean? Well, based on their usage in the Old and New Testaments, it’s clear that they do not mean strictly ‘everlasting’, without end, but rather carry a sense of ‘lastingness’. Here are a number of examples where these words, if translated as ‘everlasting’, would cause a contradiction:

“And [Aaron’s] sons thou dost bring near, and hast clothed them with coats, and anointed them as thou hast anointed their father, and they have acted as priests to Me, and their anointing hath been to be to them for a priesthood age-during [olam], to their generations.” (Exodus 40:14-15)

Here olam is explicitly glossed by ‘to their generations’, rather than ‘everlasting’. Furthermore, if this were taken to mean ‘without end’, it would contradict Hebrews 7:11-19, which says that the Levitical priesthood has been abolished and replaced by Jesus’ priesthood of Melchizedek.

And in the assembling of the assembly ye blow, and do not shout; and sons of Aaron, the priests, blow with the trumpets; and they have been to you for a statute age-during [olam] to your generations. (Num. 10:7-8)

Here, again, olam is explicitly glossed by ‘to your generations’.

And it hath been, when he saith unto thee, I go not out from thee — because he hath loved thee, and thy house, because [it is] good for him with thee — then thou hast taken the awl, and hast put [it] through his ear, and through the door, and he hath been to thee a servant age-during [olam]; and also to thy handmaid thou dost do so. (Deut. 15:16-17)

This law states that if a servant does not wish to leave during the ceremonial slave release at the end of seven years, then they will become a servant olam. Here olam is taken to mean ‘lifelong’, rather than strictly ‘without end’.

And Joshua saith unto all the people, “Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Beyond the river have your fathers dwelt of old [m’olam] — Terah father of Abraham and father of Nachor — and they serve other gods;” (Josh. 24:2)

Terah and his ancestors are said to have dwelt across the Euphrates m’olam, and yet the period in which they dwelt there had both a beginning and an end. See also Deut. 32:7; Josh. 4:7; 1 Sam. 27:8; Isa. 46:9; 51:9; 57:11; 63:9; Mal. 3:4 for other examples of m’olam.

And Hannah hath not gone up, for she said to her husband, “Till the youth [Samuel] is weaned — then I have brought him in, and he hath appeared before the face of Jehovah, and dwelt there — unto the age [olam]... and also I have caused him to be asked for Jehovah, all the days that he hath lived — he is asked for Jehovah;” and he boweth himself there before Jehovah. (1 Sam. 1:22, 28)

Here olam is glossed by “all the days that he hath lived”, therefore meaning ‘lifelong’ as in Deut. 15:17.

Then said Solomon, “Jehovah said — to dwell in thick darkness, and I — I have built a house of habitation for Thee, and a fixed place for Thy dwelling to the ages.” (2 Chron. 6:1-2)

YHWH is said to dwell in Solomon’s temple olam, but the book of Chronicles was written after YHWH’s glory left the temple prior to the its destruction (Ezek. 10:18).

The dead praise not Jah, Nor any going down to silence. And we, we bless Jah, From henceforth, and unto the age [olam]. Praise ye Jah! (Ps. 115:17-18)

David says that he will praise YHWH olam, and yet he had just said that the dead do not praise YHWH, meaning that olam in this context is merely ‘lifelong’.

Surely the palace hath been left, The multitude of the city forsaken, Fort and watch-tower hath been for dens unto the age [olam], A joy of wild asses — a pasture of herds; Till emptied out on us is the Spirit from on high, And a wilderness hath become a fruitful field, And the fruitful field for a forest is reckoned. (Isa. 32:14-15)

Jerusalem will be forsaken olam, that is, until the Spirit is emptied out from on high. Therefore, olam clearly cannot mean strictly ‘everlasting’ in this context.

And they have built the wastes of old [olam], The desolations of the ancients they raise up, And they have renewed waste cities, The desolations of generation and generation. (Isa. 61:4)

The olam waste of Israel is being rebuilt, which means that olam cannot be ‘without end’. See also Isa. 58:12.

And I have put on you reproach age-during [olam], And shame age-during [olam] that is not forgotten! (Jer. 23:40)

The olam shame and reproach of Israel will last for only seventy years (Jer. 25:12). Also, note the parallel with Daniel 12:2.

To the cuttings of mountains I have come down, The earth, her bars [are] behind me to the age [olam]. And Thou bringest up from the pit my life, O Jehovah my God. (Jonah 2:6)

Jonah is said to have been in the belly of the earth olam, and yet he was only there for three days (Jonah 1:17).

“and I say to you, Make to yourselves friends out of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when ye may fail, they may receive you to the age-during [αιωνιους] tabernacles.” (Lk. 16:9)

If this were referring to truly everlasting tabernacles, that is, those prepared for us in the New Heavens and Earth (Rev. 21 - 22), then it would seem that Jesus is saying here that it is possible to buy your way into salvation with “the mammon [money] of unrighteousness“. Clearly, this is referring to earthly (and thus not everlasting) dwellings.

And to Him who is able to establish you, according to my good news, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the secret, in the times of the ages [αιωνιοις] having been kept silent (Rom. 15:25)

This usage of αιωνιος, similar to m’olam in Hebrew, cannot mean ‘without beginning’ or ‘without end’ as it refers to past time since creation. See also 2 Tim. 1:9 and Titus 1:2.

[Jesus] only is having immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable, whom no one of men did see, nor is able to see, to whom [is] honour and dominion age-during [αιωνιον]! Amen. (1 Tim. 6:16)

Contrary to popular opinion, Jesus will not actually have dominion everlastingly, but will abolish all dominion and voluntarily subject Himself to the Father (1 Cor. 15:24-28). Therefore, in this case αιωνιος cannot mean ‘without end’.

for perhaps because of this [Onesimus] did depart for an hour, that age-duringly [αιωνιον] thou [Philemon] mayest have him (Phil. 15)

Onesimus’ αιωνιος servitude to Philemon will only last his lifetime at the most, and therefore it must mean ‘lifelong’ in this context. Note also the parallel with Deut. 15:17 above.

as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them, in like manner to these, having given themselves to whoredom, and gone after other flesh, have been set before — an example, of fire age-during [αιωνιου], justice suffering. (Jude 6)

This verse is especially significant because it uses αιωνιος in the context of punishment. However, even here, the αιωνιος fire cannot be taken as strictly everlasting, because Sodom and Gomorrah are no longer burning. Even more significantly, Ezekiel says that Sodom will eventually be restored (Ezek. 16:55). 

    From these passages, it is obvious that the equivalent terms olam and αιωνιος do not mean strictly ‘everlasting’, but rather denote a lastingness that is not without end. Given that this Greek adjective has the root αιων, meaning ‘age’, many literal, formal-equivalence translations have chosen to render it ‘lasting for an age’ or similar (including the YLT, my preferred translation, which renders it as ‘age-during’). The word αιωνιος was not considered to mean ‘eternal’ until it was translated into Latin Bibles as aeternum; however, it was still understood to mean ‘lasting for an age’ (or similar) until at least the end of the fourth century [2].

    A common objection to this translation of αιωνιος is that this means that the so-called ‘eternal life’ that believers are repeatedly promised throughout the New Testament (see especially Jn. 3:16) will end as well. As a matter of fact, this ‘αιωνιον life’ will indeed end, because it merely describes the life in the coming αιωνες (ages), according to Mk. 10:28-30 and Eph. 2:7! As my exegesis of 1 Cor. 15:20-28 showed, the final resurrection and salvation of unbelievers will occur at the consummation of the αιωνες, when Christ’s redemptive work will be fully manifested (Heb. 9:26). Believers will receive an early resurrection and salvation, after which they will experience ‘age-during life’, but both believers and (current) unbelievers will live together following the end of the ages. This idea will be further fleshed out in the section below.

    However, just because ‘age-during life’ will end, this does not mean that we will again die. Our life after the resurrection will indeed be everlasting, but not because it is αιωνιος; it will be everlasting because we will be immortal, incorruptible (1 Cor. 15:53-54), and indestructible (Heb. 7:16).

The ages of the ages, not “ever and ever”

Another descriptor of the punishment of unbelievers, in Rev. 14:11 and 20:10, is εις τους αιωνας των αιωνων. This phrase is commonly translated in the KJV and other dynamic-equivalence as “for ever and ever”, although the literal translation is “for the ages of the ages” (the word ‘and’, και, is not even present).

    As described already, there will eventually be an end to the ages, at which time Jesus’ redemptive work will be fully manifested and all people will be saved (1 Cor. 15:22-24; Heb. 9:26). Therefore, if unbelievers will not receive salvation until the end of the ages, it is natural that their punishment will last for the rest of the ages - “the ages of the ages”. The fact that there is an end to the ages means that there will be an end to “the ages of the ages”. This conclusion, that the phrase εις τους αιωνας των αιωνων refers to a specific, limited time period, is made clear when the scriptural use of this phrase is analyzed:

“and lo, thou shalt conceive in the womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and call his name Jesus; he shall be great, and Son of the Highest he shall be called, and the Lord God shall give him the throne of David his father, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob to the ages [εις τους αιωνας]; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (Lk. 1:31-33)

Although this passage does not include the complete phrase “for the ages of the ages”, but merely “for the ages”, it still does not carry the sense of ‘everlasting’, without end. Because Jesus will eventually hand over the kingdom to the Father and voluntarily submit Himself (1 Cor. 15:24-28), His reign over the house of Jacob will end as well, at the end of the ages.

and [it was said] unto the Son: “Thy throne, O God, [is] to the age of the age [εις τον αιωνα του αιωνος]; a scepter of righteousness [is] the scepter of thy reign” (Heb. 1:8)

Again, the throne of the Son of God will last only until the end of the ages. Therefore, the phrase “the age of the age” presumably refers to the final age, which Christ will reign “into” (but not past).

if any one doth speak — “as oracles of God;” if any one doth minister — “as of the ability which God doth supply;” that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory and the dominion — to the ages of the ages [εις τους αιωνας των αιωνων]. Amen. (1 Pet. 4:11)

The dominion of Jesus Christ will last “for the ages of the ages”, that is, until the end of the ages.

and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born out of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth; to him who did love us, and did bathe us from our sins in his blood, and did make us kings and priests to his God and Father, to him [is] the glory and the dominion to the ages of the ages [εις τους αιωνας των αιωνων]! Amen. (Rev. 1:5-6)

and every creature that is in the heaven, and in the earth, and under the earth, and the things that are upon the sea, and the all things in them, heard I saying, “To Him who is sitting upon the throne, and to the Lamb, [is] the blessing, and the honour, and the glory, and the might — to the ages of the ages [εις τους αιωνας των αιωνων]!” (Rev. 5:13)

The Lamb will rule alongside God for “the ages of the ages”, until the end of the ages when He voluntarily subjects Himself to the Father.

And the seventh messenger did sound, and there came great voices in the heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of the world did become [those] of our Lord and of His Christ, and he shall reign to the ages of the ages [εις τους αιωνας των αιωνων]!” (Rev. 11:15)

Likewise, if Christ will subject Himself to God at the end of the ages, then His reign alongside the Father “for the ages of the ages” must last only until the end of the ages.

    Therefore, the only way to harmonize these passages (among others) with 1 Cor. 15:24-28 is to conclude that “the ages of the ages” are a fixed period of time which will come to an end at the consummation of the ages, when all people will be justified, vivified, and made sinless. But what, exactly, does this phrase mean? Well, it’s common knowledge that in Hebrew and Greek, ‘[thing(s)] of [thing(s)]’ is an intensifier, such as the “holy of holies” (Exod. 26:33; Heb. 9:3),”holies of holies” (Heb. 9:25), “song of songs” (Song 1:1), “King of kings” and “Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:14; 19:16). In each of these cases, ‘[thing(s)] of [thing(s)]’ refers to the most preeminent of all [things], not an infinite number of [things]. Therefore, it is only logical that “the ages of the ages” refers to the most preeminent of all ages, not an infinite number of ages.

    Which ages are counted in the Ages of the Ages? Well, we know from Eph. 2:7 that there are multiple (at least two) oncoming ages in which we will experience ‘age-during life’. Therefore, this phrase must refer to the final two ages in Revelation 20 - 22, following the end of this age when Jesus returns (Matt. 24:3). These Ages of the Ages are the age of the Messianic kingdom, which lasts for a thousand years on earth (Rev. 20:4-6), and the age of the New Heaven and Earth (Rev. 21 - 22) [3]. Controversially, this means that the creation of the New Heaven and Earth is not the end of the ages, and that Paul saw further into the future than John did, to the final resurrection.

    Conclusion

Neither the characterization of punishment as αιωνιος nor as εις τους αιωνας των αιωνων demonstrates that punishment will last eternally, and the fact that it is never described in the New Testament as αιδιος nor ατελευτος (that is, truly ‘without end’) is highly significant. In fact, these terms are entirely compatible with the Pauline position that all unbelievers will be saved at the final resurrection, at the consummation of the ages. A comparison of Eph. 2:7 and 1 Cor. 15:24-28 with Rev. 20 - 22 demonstrates that “the ages of the ages” into which the punishment of unbelievers will last corresponds to the ages of the Messianic kingdom and the New Heaven and Earth.

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[1] Ramelli, Ilaria, and David Konstan. Terms for Eternity: Aiônios and Aïdios in Classical and Christian Texts. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2013.

[2] See De Principiis preface, 2 (keeping in mind that Origen believed in an end to punishment), among many other examples of early Christian universalists accepting the characterization of punishment as αιωνιος. Also see Orosius’ Commonitorium 3.3-7 and Solomon of Basra’s Book of the Bee 60.

[3] Although the amillennialist perspective is not represented here, it is clearly contradicted by a close comparison of 1 Thess. 4:13-18 with Rev. 20:5, among other passages.

1 Corinthians 15:20-28 as a Universalist Prooftext

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