How Long Is Forever? Does It Always Mean Eternity?
Rober L. Odom
The town had been stirred by the sermon preached the night before on the
subject of hell. Now, on the following day, a small group had gathered to
listen to a neighborhood argument over the matter.
"But doesn't Revelation 20:9 say that 'fire came down
from God out of heaven, and devoured
them'?" asked George Brewster, as he argued with Joseph Blevins.
"Yes," retorted Joe, "but doesn't the tenth
verse of that same chapter of Revelation say that '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'?"
And so they argued, and neither of them knew the way out of the
dilemma.
There are expressions in the Bible, it can not be denied,
that puzzle and perplex, and at times even appear to contradict each other. Of
course, the Holy Scriptures could not be relied upon if they should teach one
thing in one place and the contrary in another. What shall we do in this case?
In His word God has spoken to us in human speech. Instead of
giving the Written Word to us in the language that we speak today, He gave it
in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, tongues no longer spoken among men and seldom
used among us except in special fields of study. Over a period of nearly 1,600
years, from Moses to John the apostle, holy men of God were inspired to pen the
Sacred Writings in those ancient tongues. And that we might have them to read today,
learned men have translated the Holy Scriptures into the English language. The
Authorized (King James') Version is the most widely used Bible text among
English-speaking peoples. This translation was made in A.D. 1611, over 300
years ago. As we read it, we see that its beautiful English is very different
from that which we use today. It is an example of how a language can change in
the course of the centuries.
In a few instances it has been very difficult for the
translators to find words and phrases in English that exactly express the
meaning of the original words of the Bible text. There are a few places in the
Bible where the original wording has not been accurately translated, as we have
noted in the case of tartaroo,
the Greek verb used in 2 Peter 2:4. But taken as a whole, the Authorized
Version of the Good Book is a very dependable translation.
Words Sometimes Change
in Meaning
Some English words used in the Bible do not now have the same meaning that they
had when the translation was made in 1611. For example, the word
"let" is generally used today to mean "to permit, to
allow," whereas 300 years ago it commonly meant "to hinder." And
the term "quick" meant "alive, living," back there, while
now it is more frequently used to mean "sudden, fast, and rapid." The
word "conversation" then referred to the whole conduct of life, but
now it is mostly limited to talk.
Therefore, instead of allowing ourselves to become either
discouraged or led to hasty conclusions in the study of difficult Bible
subjects, we need to dig more deeply into the Sacred Word and to pray more
earnestly for divine enlightenment concerning it. The safest rule to follow when in doubt, is to seek the
meaning of terms as they are used by the Scriptures themselves,
instead of depending solely on encyclopedias and dictionaries, which generally
give the meaning of terms according to the best modern usage. Do not take a
single instance as the basis for important conclusions, but gather a number of
them from various places in the Sacred Writings. If these instances agree with
each other and with the teachings of the Scriptures in general on the subject,
then there is safety in stating what a word or a phrase means.
Now let us take the expression "for ever," and
apply this rule to the study of it.
When Moses gave
Naaman's Leprosy
When Naaman, the Syrian leper, had been healed, he desired to give to Elisha a
costly gift as a token of his appreciation of the prophet's kindness. Elisha
refused to accept pay for what God had done for Naaman. But his covetous servant,
Gehazi, slipped away from the house after the man had gone, and overtaking him
on the way, obtained the gift by telling him a lie. Returning to Elisha after
hiding the present, Gehazi lied to the prophet, saying that he had been
nowhere. Thereupon the seer reproved the wicked servant, and added: "The
leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out of
his presence a leper as white as snow."[2] This took place
nearly 900 years before Christ. Is Gehazi a leper today? The only reasonable
meaning that "for ever" can have here is that Gehazi would be a leper
until death.
The Promise to David
David, in delivering his charge to
Of Aaron's separation to the priesthood, it was written
"that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense
before the Lord, to minister unto Him, and to bless in His name for ever."[7]
Aaron died on Mount Hor about 1400 B.C.[8] He "died there,
in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of
Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month. And Aaron was an hundred and twenty
and three years old when he died in
The Case of the House
In ancient times the buyer of a house within a walled city was not permitted by
law to have a clear title to the property until one year had elapsed after the
sale was made. During the year the seller could present the purchase price to
the buyer and demand the return of the house. But if the seller should fail to
do this ere the 12 months should expire, the buyer would have the house with a
clear title. The law said: "Then the house that is in the walled city
shall be established for ever
to him that bought it throughout his generations."[11]
How long was the title good? Obviously as long as the
buyer should keep the property. There was no law forbidding him to sell it to
another party. And could he still own the house if it should be burned up or
destroyed? Would it still be his after he should die? This law was issued about
1,400 years before Christ was born. Are those houses standing yet? The meaning
of "for ever" in this case is that the buyer would have a good title
to the house for himself and his heirs against the world as long as the
property should stand and as long as they should desire to keep it.
A remarkable use of the term "for ever" is found
in the Book of Jonah. "Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and
three nights."[12] Jesus confirmed the accuracy of this
statement.[13] But when Jonah described the experience that he had
in the fish, he said: "I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the
earth with her bars was about me for
ever; yet has Thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my
God."[14] How could Jonah be in that condition "for
ever" and tell the truth when he said, "Yet Thou hast brought me
up"? In this case "for ever" means as long as Jonah was inside
the fish, which was three days and three nights. As long as he was confined
there, that was the miserable condition in which he lived.
Our Conclusion
Having carefully considered these passages, we conclude that the term "for
ever" as used in the Holy Scriptures denotes continuity (without a break) of action, being,
or state of being. It may mean either a long or a short period of time, either
definite or indefinite. The length of time involved depends on the nature of
the person or thing to which the word is applied. When we read of God that
"His mercy endureth for ever,"[15] it means that as long
as God shall exist, His mercy will exist. Because He is eternal in His nature,
His attributes are eternal also.
But when the word "for ever" is applied to things
of this world, it can mean only as long as they endure. Because the righteous
will be given eternal life, an immortal nature, many things spoken of their
future existence as lasting "for ever" mean for eternity, for the
expression "for ever" means as long as a thing shall exist. Many
Bible scholars have given the original Hebrew and Greek words translated as
"for ever" their more precise meaning, which is
"age-lasting."
Our English word "always" has a similar meaning.
It may mean eternity or it may denote a short period of time. When a person
says, "I have always
lived in New York City," he does not mean that he has lived there during
all the eternity of the past, but that during all his past life he has lived
there, which may be only 20 years, depending on his age at the time. When a
young man promises his bride that he will always
love her and cherish her, he means that he will do that as long as they both
are alive. But when we say, "God has always
existed," we mean that He has lived during all the eternity of the past.
Because His nature is eternal, by reason of the fact that He is immortal, He
has existence without end.
Revelation 20:10 does not say, "And shall be tormented
for eternity, for ever and ever." If the word "eternity" had
been used in the text, there could be no question about the length of time
denoted. But the passage really says, "And shall be tormented day and night for ever and
ever." Thus it is a matter of days and nights, and not eternity. The
suffering of some sinners in the lake of fire undoubtedly will last over a
period of many days and nights. Every man will be rewarded "according as
his work shall be."[16] Therefore, some will suffer longer than
others, for some have been more wicked than others. Prior to his dying the
second death[17] in the lake of fire, each sinner will suffer the
torment proportionate to his guilt. This being so, the devil certainly will
suffer long after all other sinners shall have expired in the flames, because
he is the author and instigator of all evil.
"Everlasting
Punishment"
Jesus said of sinners in the judgment, that "these shall go away into
everlasting punishment."[18] Some have interpreted this to mean
eternal torment. But this passage does not speak of everlasting punishing; it speaks of
"everlasting punishmen."
"The wages of sin is death,"[19] says Paul. "The soul
that sinneth, it shall die,"[20] says Ezekiel. That means that
the sinner will suffer everlasting
death, from which there will be no recovery whatever. No
resurrection from the second death is promised to any one.
Paul makes clear what is meant by everlasting punishment
when he says that "the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His
mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and
obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord."[21] The everlasting punishment
to be meted out to the ungodly will be eternal destruction.
Some have inquired about the "everlasting fire"
spoken of in Matthew 25:41. This means a fire that will constantly burn until
it shall consume everything upon which it feeds, and none shall be able to
hinder its destructive work until it is finished.
The annihilation of those cities is an example of the
fate-eternal destruction by fire-that awaits those who shall be turned to ashes
in the lake of fire.
How Long is Forever?
________
[1].
Exodus 21:1-6
[2]. 2 Kings 5:27
[3]. 1 Chronicles 28:4
[4]. 1 Kings 2:10, 11; 1 Chronicles 29:27, 28
[5]. Acts 2:29, 34
[6]. Acts 13:36
[7]. 1 Chronicles 23:13
[8]. Numbers 20:28, 29
[9]. Numbers 33:38, 39
[10]. Exodus 40:17
[11]. Leviticus 25:29, 30
[12]. Jonah 1:17
[13]. Matthew 12:40
[14]. Jonah 2:1, 2, 6
[15]. Psalm 106:1; 107:1
[16]. Revelation 22:12; 20:12, 13; Romans 2:6; Matthew 16:27
[17]. Revelation 21:8
[18]. Matthew 25:46
[19]. Romans 6:23
[20]. Ezekiel 18:4, 20
[21]. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9
[22]. Jude 7
[23]. 2 Peter 2:6.
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