On Fri, 3 Dec 1999, Ps. Jim ------- wrote:
> 1. Please comment on these verses from 2nd Thess. 1:6-10.
"6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to
them that trouble you;
7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be
revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that
obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from
the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired
in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed)
in that day."
Thanks for writing. I assume that your major concern with the above
passage is the words "eternal destruction" used by this particular
translation. The word "eternal" in the version you quote is
a translation of the word "aionion" in the Greek and means "age-lasting".
The punishment was to be age-lasting, and not to go on without ending as
it is commonly translated by many.
Below are some quotes from "A Pocket Cyclopedia" concerning the words Aion, aions, aionian:
> 2. Do you believe that in the 2nd resurrction(Rev 20)everyone will be
reconciled to God?
I believe, according to the Bible, that everyone will be eventually
reconciled to God. That is the purpose of the eons (aions, ages), some
reconciled now (in this age or eon), some at his coming (in that age or
eon), and some at the end (at the consummation of the ages or eons).
Notice what is said in this passage from Philippians 2:9-11: Every knee and every tongue! Also, notice this passage from 1 Tim. 4:10-11,
God is the SAVIOR OF ALL MEN, and this, we are to command and teach!
Also, read the passage from 1 Cor. 15:20-28 in which I have inserted comments in
brackets:
[note the "all" in the passage.]
[note the orders in the resurrection in the passage above: (1) Christ the
first fruits, (2) those who are his at his coming, (3) the end. Note
also, below, what happens at "the end."]
God ALL in ALL!
This has been a fairly brief answer to your questions, but I will be happy
to help you with more info if desired.
In Christ,
Questions about 2 Thess. 1:6-10
and ReconciliationEdited for the web
Hello Jim,
The word rendered "everlasting," "eternal," "world" (often) in the New
Testament, is some form of aion; that is, "age," "era," "epoch," etc. It
never denotes, of itself, endless duration. It is applied, among other
things, to the Jewish, Christian, and other future dispensations. "This
world" (aion), "the world to come" (aion), mean the Jewish and Christian
dispensations, and "eternal," "everlasting" (aionian) mean pertaining to
those dispensations; that is, aion--lasting, or pertaining to the aion
referred to. As "daily" cannot mean endless because its limit is defined
by the noun "day," whence it is derived, so aionian cannot mean
everlasting, inasmuch as no aion is without end. The worst possible
rendering of aionian is everlasting. Every form of the word must denote a
limited period, unless some term is associated with it to extend its
meaning, as the aionian God. In that case the word is qualified by the
noun, as the word "great" would be.
(My quotations are from the World English Bible)
"Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which
is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, and
that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father."
"For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we have set
our trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of
those who believe. Command and teach these things."
"But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first
fruits of those who are asleep. For since death came by man, the
resurrection of the dead also came by man. For as in Adam all die, so
also in Christ all will be made alive."
"But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who
are Christ's, at his coming. Then the end comes, when he will
deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have
abolished all rule and all authority and power."
"For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For, 'He put all
things in subjection under his feet.' But when he says, 'All things are
put in subjection,' it is evident that he is excepted who subjected all
things to him. When all things have been subjected to him, then the
Son will also himself be subjected to him who subjected all things to him,
that God may be all in all."
Bro. Ken