Important Bible Verses – Important Interpretations
A few words to start
I selected this set of Bible verses from my many articles. When reading these articles you will find that interpretation is not always easy. Originally, I thought I would just write down the ten most important verses, but I soon noticed, I wasn’t able to settle for just ten. The word of God is important throughout. Some of the verses, when you study them more closely, lead to very significant conclusions.
Doctrinally important change in my thinking brought these verses: Who [God] will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim 2:4) … ” My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure; … yes, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.” (Isa 46:10-11). Have you yourself thought what God means here?
First of all, I realized that God had an advance plan to act. God does not only hope that it would be nice if everyone were saved. God works to fulfill his will. Nothing can prevent the will of God. What was the doctrinal problem I had to study? For two thousand years, the teaching of the churches (which helped the Church to keep the members under control and in the right faith) has been: if you do not believe rightly, you will go to hell, which is eternal and endless torture in the lake of fire. Is it right that our Creator would send his children to eternal torture? God’s fire will purify us of the filth of sin, but is it an eternal torture for some?
In my writings, I show that the Greek word for aion and aionius and aïdios and Hebrew owlam do not mean eternal, endless time. See the reasoning at the end of this article. I feel that God has set a ‘trap’ in the Scriptures to the Bible scholars to see if we can identify the verses by which God reveals that the literal interpretation of the Bible is not the best or even possible.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isa 55:9)
If you have read all my articles in the Bible Concealed, you have noticed that in many places I ask: Why God? In my recent update on the Last Judgment, I write about God’s Advanced Plan. God has planned everything in advance. He had even planned to have his Son crucified as part of his solution for the future of mankind. We humans do not understand everything God has done and will do in the future. If only we admit it and would try to live every day according to God’s will.
For we are God’s co-workers; (1 Cor 3:9)
Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is very significant. Paul tells us how he has, like a skillful builder, laid the foundation, and another man builds on that foundation, but this builder should look at what kind of house he is building. 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” People’s works will be revealed because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is.
3:14 If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward.
15 If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.”.
– Here is the description of human salvation; the foundation of life must be built upon Christ. The evil deeds of men and, of course, the good ones, will come to light when the fire will test him after judgment. However, man is saved as if through fire.
Before that, however, there is a verse that has been missed by many. And if anyone has noticed, he has not figured out its significance. 3:9 ” For we are God’s co-workers; You are God’s farming, God’s building.” Who does Paul say we are God’s co-workers? And who are the “Farmland of God” and “God’s Buildings”?
Let’s start from the very beginning. God created man in His own image. Surely it wasn’t God’s idea that it would be nice just to watch people walk in paradise. Something more important he had reserved for man. Then followed the Fall. As a result of it, God gave His only Son to redeem mankind from the power of Satan. Then in the near future: The Son of God will come and establish the Millennial kingdom.
Then the last judgment will be read to each resurrected person. People will be purified of all sin. They are ready to act in the role God gives for them. Think! They will be God’s co-workers. Paul (who originally was the greatest enemy of Christendom) and the apostles were already in his lifetime such co-workers. The participants of the first resurrection will receive the gift of eternal life at their resurrection, and they will be God’s and Jesus’ co-workers in the same way the apostles once did. However, I made a bold interpretation that the saved ones of the second resurrection, who will also receive eternal life, will join the other God’s co-workers to carry out the tasks given them by God.
The devil said to him [Jesus], “I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want. (Luk 4:6)
The Bible calls Satan “King of this world” (or prince). For example, John 16:11 “about judgment, because the prince of this world has been judged”. Why has God given all the authority of the Earth to Satan? Why didn’t God destroy Satan as soon as his disobedience to God became clear? We don’t always understand God’s far-sighted thoughts. Isaiah has written to us the message of God: For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isa 55:9).
I reasoned: To become God’s co-worker in the kingdom of God, man must prove that he has made the right choice. Most choose to live the worldly way yearning to the pleasures it offers, everything that Satan can offer. One who chooses to obey the kingdom of God and the gospel of Christ is acceptable to God.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, (1 Tim 2:5)
This is the Bible verse that the Catholics do not seem to have read. In their opinion, Virgin Mary, except being the Eternal Virgin and the Mother of God, is also the Mediator between man and God. The Catholic doctrine says that “at the end of her earthly life her body was raised directly into Heaven; this is known in the Christian West as the Assumption. Pope John Paul II‘s 1987 encyclical Redemptoris Mater began with the sentence: “The Mother of the Redeemer has a precise place in the plan of salvation.” It does not seem to matter that the Bible states that no one except Jesus has ascended in heaven. The Third Ecumenical Ecclesiastical Assembly has raised Mary to the title of the Divine Mother in 431.
According to the Catholic Church, Mary was taken to heaven with her body, which in 1950 was declared a dogma (Assumtion Mariae). The Catholic Church meetings, unlike the Bible, interpreting the Bible in their own way, have raised Jesus Christ to God while God the Father made Jesus as ‘merely’ Lord and Christ.
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Jesus Christ – the Man
There are two important things in the Bible verse above: There is only one mediator between God and man. He is Jesus Christ. Catholics are confident that the mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary, is also an important mediator in heaven. She is being given prayer requests even though they should be addressed to Jesus. Mary is lying dead in her grave, waiting for the resurrection.
Another, perhaps even more significant, observation: Jesus Christ is a human being in heaven. He was born as a human, he lived a human life, died as a human being and ascended in heaven as a human.
For you have made him [man] a little lower than God, and crowned him with glory and honor; (Psa 8:5)
Who is this, which is spoken of almost a god? It is the man God created in his own image. Man has had to experience a long course of development from almost a God to almost an outcast. When God’s plan is realized, man will regain his role as God’s co-worker and Son of God, the brother of Christ.
For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. (1 Cor 15:21).
So then as through one trespass, all men were condemned; even so through one act of righteousness, all men were justified to life. For as through the one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one [man] will many be made righteous (Rom 5:18-19).
No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven. (Joh 3:13).
The common misconception is that, upon death, good people will enter heaven and the evil ones will go to hell. The dead are looking at their relatives on Earth from heaven. If people had common sense and power of deduction, they could wonder: 1) How is it possible that some get to heaven and others go to hell without any judgment 2) How is it possible that those who have come to heaven will stay there when Jesus returns to the Earth in accordance with his promise to rule the Millennial kingdom. 3) When the last judgment is given, do people in heaven then have to return to Earth for judgment?
The most famous person who should be in heaven is the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the Eternal Virgin and the Mother of God. More than a billion people believe this and direct their prayers to Mary in heaven. However, Mary has not ascended in heaven because “no one” has risen there except Jesus Christ. Not even Abraham, whom God called his friend. Nor has King David who was a man in God’s liking. NO ONE!
who [God] desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth. (1Tim. 2:4) … My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure; … I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. (Isa 46:10-11)
So God wants all people to be saved. According to the next verse, God assures that he will do what he has spoken. “For God so loved the world, that he gave one His only Son [to be crucified]” (John 3:16). Is this God’s solution by which God will save the whole world?
As Jesus resurrected and ascended into heaven, he appeared to the Pharisee Saul who was a persecutor of Christians. Saul was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians and deliver them to Jerusalem for judgment. What did Jesus do? He appeared to Saul in a bright light that blinded Saul and converted him to Christianity by force, totally against his will. Saul became the most prolific writer of the New Testament and the apostle of the nations, especially in the eastern part of the Roman Empire.
In my writings in the chapter the Last Judgment, I ponder God’s punishment; at its extremes, it could be annihilation i.e. the eternal destruction and separation from the presence of God, and universalism, according to which everyone will eventually be saved. How could God’s punishment be possible in the light of this Bible verse, that those who receive the judgment will suffer forever in the torment of the fiery lake?
For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (Joh 3:16)
Although the death of the innocent man on the cross is a dramatic event, we know that it did not bring repentance to the whole world and turn people to faith. Only a small part of humanity are devout believers. So how will God fulfill his will to save everyone? Has God given all people equal opportunities for salvation? How could it even be possible as God gave people a different amount of faith for each one?
Universalists believe that God also loves those who do not believe in Christ. An example of such people is Paul, who at first was a cruel persecutor of Christians. He was forced to convert into Christianity.
The question that the universalists are asking is: doesn’t God love all people enough that he would convert also those who do not believe? Throughout the existence of Christianity, it has been believed that salvation requires faith in Christ, even if the conversion takes place at the last minute when the destruction of the Lord’s day is swallowing a large part of humanity. The question is specifically about the part of mankind that has not even had the opportunity to choose.
The Bible does offer the possibility of salvation for those who have not heard of Christ, but whose conscience defends the human being on the basis that man follows a similar law of neighbor’s love as Christians. However, there are billions of people who have not been given the opportunity to choose Christ and whom their community has forced to act contrary to the word of the Bible.
As God has predetermined certain people to be Christ’s own, one can ask whether God has chosen some people for destruction i.e. the people to whom God has not given faith or even the possibility of knowing the Bible.
Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love; having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire, (Eph 1:4-5)
But he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other cities also. For this reason, I have been sent.” (Luk 4:43)
Whom does Jesus save? Does Jesus only save those who believe in him, as John says in the verse 3:16?
The Apostle Paul considered it important to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God so vigorously that he warned: “But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any gospel other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed”. (Gal 1:8)
The contents of the gospel are explained by the three evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke in almost identical terms and John added his own perspective. And yet, the content and meaning of the kingdom of God is unknown to many. At the moment, in the Kingdom of God, there is a multitude of angels as well as one man, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. There will soon be new members in the Kingdom of God as the participants of the first resurrection are joined to it.
These Saints will rule under Christ’s control of the Millennium kingdom of Christ on Earth and after the last judgment condemns with the Saints all the new resurrected. When Christ has brought all people in his kingdom under his authority, he gives back all power to God the Father. Until then, the kingdom of God is the heavenly administration under Christ. Those who have received a positive verdict will not only be subordinate to the Kingdom of God, they will be Christ’s brothers and sisters, and God’s co-workers.
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God’s definition is that He is eternal – without beginning and without end. God is not born, nor has anyone created him. He is the only one who is eternal.
I am Jehovah, and there is none else; besides me there is no God. (Isa 45:5)
This is what God spoke through Isaiah. God Jehovah does not speak anything of a triune godhead. Not a word that his Son and the Holy Spirit would also be part of the divinity. Christ was found to be one person of the Triune God only in the 300’s. Similarly, the Holy Spirit was joined to the divinity a few decades later. The Triune God is rooted in paganism; Jesus did not speak of it, nor did his disciples. As for Christianity, the entire Triune God is the invention of the Catholic Church.
”yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.” (1 Cor 8:6).
Paul clearly defines God: We have only one God, the Father. Paul continues: and (we have) one Lord Jesus Christ. In this way, there is no way that God can be understood this way: We have one God who consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Paul had the opportunity to define God this way if he was of this opinion. Neither did Jesus Christ himself say he was God, but the Shema “God is one” was confirmed by the early Israelis. Deu 6:4: “Shema Jisrael, Adonai Elohenu Adonai Echad” – Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
”before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me”. (Isa 43:10)
This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ. (Joh 17:3)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ; (Eph 1:3)
The three Bible verses above confirm God as one, the Father. The Ephesian letter still states that God the Father is the God of Jesus Christ. Can God Have God? God the Father made his son Jesus, not to be God, but Lord and Christ.
Everything that happens in the world takes place according to God’s advance plan:
that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me: I am Jehovah, and there is no one forming light, and creating darkness; making peace, and creating evil. I am Jehovah, who does all these things. (Isa 45:6-7)
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For as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself. (Joh 5:26)
Most Christians believe in the Triune God. According to it the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are equal in divinity. The mathematical testimony of the triune divinity is: 1 + 1 + 1 = 1, not 3. The fact that Jesus Christ himself testified that God is one, i.e. the Father, has no importance. There are three god persons. To prove this, verses from the Bible have been presented, which when examined in more detail, prove something quite different. For example Joh 20:28
Thomas answered him [Jesus], “My Lord and my God!” If you read only this verse, one may well conclude that Thomas says to Jesus that Jesus is his Lord and God. But if you read three verses forward, the truth is revealed: (John 20:31) but these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake. (Joh 14:10-11)
John seems to attach importance to this assurance of Jesus because he uses two verses. Jesus does not want to prove his own divinity, but to explain that God the Father is behind his deeds. Jesus explains: ”For I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. I know that his commandment is eternal life. The things therefore which I speak, even as the Father has said to me, so I speak.” (Joh 12:49-50) And these too: ”For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.” “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me”. (Joh 6:38, 7:16)
Isn’t Jesus part of the Almighty Triune God? If he were God himself, he would probably have had words and deeds of his own, and he would not have to rely on God the Father. At the Church synod, Jesus was found to be not only a human being, but also a God. In fact, I am not a supporter of such doctrine, but I have said that Jesus is definitely a human being. The humanity of Jesus is also found in the following verse: For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, (1 Tim 2:5)
having become so much better than the angels, as he has inherited a more excellent name than they have. Heb 1:4
Hebrews (2: 9) states that Jesus states that he was made “a little lower than the Angels.” That’s the way we humans are. When Jesus ascended in heaven after his resurrection, God raised him to “much better than the angels”. I was once reflecting on the problems related to this issue and the question arose: if Jesus was God in heaven before he was born on Earth, why did God have to raise Jesus when he returned to heaven? Why did not God (the Father) and Holy Spirit just say “welcome back and take your place as a member of the Triune God”. On the whole, how can God be raised? – Hope you didn’t get upset about what I said. My intention was not to make a mockery of the Triune God. If you read my writings related to this topic, you will understand why I believe God is just one. This is also what Jesus believed.
No one can come to me [Jesus] unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day. (Joh 6:44)
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn’t fade away, reserved in heaven for you, (1 Pet 1:3-4)
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Word of God
I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to them, may God add to him the plagues which are written in this book. If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, may God take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book. (Rev 22:18-19).
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”We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (1 Joh 5:19).
even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (2 The 2:9-11)
The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The devil said to him, “I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want. If you therefore will worship before me, it will all be yours.” (Luk 4:5-7)
Why has God given the Earth and its nations to Satan? God wants all people to know Him and be saved. Wouldn’t it have been better for God to destroy Satan? But remember: Isa 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
in whom the god of this world [i.e. Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them. (2 Cor 4:4)
Satan is still the “god of this world.” Satan is called by many names that describe his many attempts to prevent people from believing in Jesus Christ. God has allowed him to act almost without limit, but it will end when Jesus comes the second time and establishes his Millennial Kingdom. Then Satan will be bound and his assistant Antichrist and the false prophet will be thrown into the lake of fire.
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The man
Most assuredly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these will he do; because I am going to my Father. (Joh 14:12)
Jesus testified that God the Father was behind all the miracles of Jesus. When Jesus promises that the people who believe in him will have the power to make more significant works than Jesus did, it means that the power of God will be available to members of the Kingdom of heaven. That power comes from faith. Jesus said in Matthew 21:21: ”Most assuredly I tell you, if you have faith, and don’t doubt, you will not only do what is done to the fig tree, but even if you told this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it would be done.”
For what purpose someone in God’s kingdom might need such forces, I still can’t say.
“For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Mat 12:50)
Man was created in the image of God as Christ is at the moment, but man is not yet. Those people who are doing the will of God, Christ recognizes his brothers and sisters, or his mother. It can happen either after the first resurrection, or else after the second resurrection after the promulgation of the judgment of God.
”For whom the Lord loves, he chastens, And scourges every son whom he receives.” (Heb 12:6)
Chastisement is instructive and educating. It educates man mentally and prepares him to join the kingdom of God. Those reproached in this way will not be condemned with the world at the final judgment.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. (2 Kor 5:17)
When man is in faith, he has become a new creation. He has received the seal of God, which protects him from tribulations of the last times.
Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ For after all these things the nations seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. (Mat 6:31-33)
Today, people agonize with livelihood and having money enough is their greatest concern. Jesus also sent his disciples to preach the Kingdom of God. The journey was made without suitcases and a big bag of money, trusting that God would take care of their daily needs. When the rich young man asked Jesus what he should do to enter the Kingdom of God, Jesus urged him to sell everything and give the money to the poor. The young man did not have enough faith that God would take care of him and he went away sorrowful.
… but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God. (Rom 2:29)
At the time of the early church, there were uncertainties about the correct attitude towards the new converts from paganism to Christianity and also Jewish Christians. Do you need to do circumcision for those who are converted, many of whom were old people? What food was it good to eat? To what extent should the converts comply with the Jewish regulations? And so on. Paul did not require the hundreds of rules and ordinances of the Jews to be followed by the converts. They would be Jewish internally. Israel thus became “Israel of God”. Israel of God is made up of all those believers who are in Christ and recognize Him as Lord and Christ.
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.. in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed (1 Cor 15:52)
… It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. (1 Cor. 15:44 )
In the first resurrection, the believers who have died in Christ during the first two millennia will rise first. Immediately after these, Christ’s own who are alive, will change and ascend in the clouds to meet Christ who is coming. If faith is strong enough, such a person can have a share in the first resurrection; these resurrected will not have to participate in the Last Judgment.
The second resurrection takes place a thousand years after the first one. It is also called the resurrection of judgment because all, who are dead, are judged according to their deeds.
”For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like God’s angels in heaven.” (Mat 22:30)
The Creed talks about ‘resurrection of the body’, but the human physical body does not resurrect. The resurrection body is spiritual, not flesh and blood. After the death of man, the spirit has been with God in heaven. I cannot answer the question whether the spirit in heaven with God waiting for the final judgment is in a conscious state or unconscious.
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Jesus answered him, “Most assuredly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, [again, from above] he can’t see the Kingdom of God.” (Joh 3:3)
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Mat 7:21)
Most assuredly I tell you, among those who are born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptizer; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. (Mat 11:11)
“The Kingdom of God doesn’t come with observation;” (Luk 17:20)
At present, the Kingdom of God is in heaven, and there are God, a great number of angels, and Jesus Christ, the only man. They are all in the spirit body. The kingdom of heaven can only be accessed through the resurrection. The above Matthew 11:11 shows how tough the requirements are in accessing the kingdom of heaven. According to our measure, John the Baptist who made the way to Jesus is a commendable believer. However, Matthew says that even the least in the kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist. John the Baptist is according to my interpretation, still waiting for the resurrection and access to the Kingdom of God.
Getting in the Kingdom of God is much more difficult than achieving salvation. Those who enter the kingdom of God form a small group and are involved in the first resurrection. A much larger group will be saved in the last judgment given after the second resurrection. This small crowd, the so-called saints, reign with Christ in the Millennial kingdom. After the resurrection, this group of saints will receive the gift of eternal life and membership in the Kingdom of God (or Heaven).
What does it mean that the Kingdom of God is not visible, or as Luke (17:20) says, comes not with observation? First, there is a group of saints, who are part of the Kingdom of God, reigning over the Millennial kingdom with Christ. They are in the spirit and, according to my interpretation, that means they are invisible. They can also take the physical body as Jesus did after his resurrection. Instead, the subjects of Christ’s Millennial kingdom are all in the physical body, and they are mortal, unlike the leadership of the kingdom who have received eternal life.
The Kingdom of God is described in Romans 14:17 for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
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“Most assuredly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (Joh 5:24)
”For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.” (Jam 2:26)
He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most assuredly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly I tell you, if you have faith, and don’t doubt, you will not only do what is done to the fig tree, but even if you told this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it would be done. (Mat 17:20,21:21)
Most assuredly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these will he do; because I am going to my Father. (Joh 14:12).
It will happen that whoever will call on the name of Jehovah shall be saved; For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, As Jehovah has said, And among the remnant, those whom Jehovah calls. (Joel 2:32).
But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any gospel other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed. (Gal 1:8)
For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith. (Rom 12:3)
It is notable in this verse of the Romans, that God has given to each human being a measure of faith; for some a little and plenty for some others. God is also like a potter who makes vessels for various uses; some vessels for everyday use, others for special occasions. Some people are attracted to God, but not all. Why does God not treat all his creatures in the same way? I thought that at the last judgment God would take into account the different starting points of people, and that God would be merciful to those to whom he has given faith just a little.
The disciples came, and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them. For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand. In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, And will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, And will in no way perceive: (Mat 13:10-14)
Even the disciples did not understand what Jesus meant by the parables he told them. Jesus explained to them, but not to the great crowds. Why didn’t Jesus even want the ordinary people to understand his parables? Generally, parables are used to make it easier to understand things. I’m thinking that God has wanted people to make some effort and make an effort to understand. Not that everything would be offered pre-chewed. Matthew 7:7 indicates to this: ”Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.”
”For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men-the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things. “He said to them, “Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. (Mark. 7:8-9)
This was written two millennia ago, and I can only say that the world has not changed much since then. Faith is accompanied by a lot of religious customs that steal a large part of the true worship of God. Particularly in the Catholic world, there is worship and processions of saints to honor especially the Virgin Mary. The worship of the Virgin Mary is very common around the world. A few years ago, the worship and celebration of the Virgin Mary in South America was shown on television. At the same time, there was a local, old pagan-god feast celebrated.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God. (1 Joh 4:7)
”for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,” (Eph 2:8)
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Salvation
The starting point for God’s plan of salvation is that God wants all people to be saved. In another passage of the Bible, God still assures that he will complete what he wants. When you read these verses, you may wonder why one verse promises salvation without greater effort, but another verse seems to make it very difficult to reach salvation.
[God] who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth. (1Tim 2:4)
It will happen that whoever will call on the name of Jehovah shall be saved; For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, As Jehovah has said, And among the remnant, those whom Jehovah calls. (Joel 2:32)
In the day of the Lord, much of mankind will be destroyed when God’s wrath and revenge erupts on us. In this turmoil of destruction, many will still curse God, but many will call Jehovah or Jesus – and will be saved. They are saved at that time, but the final salvation is still some way off.
… For you [Jesus Christ] were killed, And bought us for God with your blood, Out of every tribe, language, people, and nation, (Rev 5:9)
There are some saved from all languages and tribes. However, it is not said here that Jesus, with his blood, has bought all men from all tribes and tongues and nations. In other words, here is no promise of salvation to every human being.
“Most assuredly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (Joh 5:24)
This verse above has an important promise to the believer: eternal life without being involved in the last judgment. The believer actually is promised a part in the first resurrection. This is how I interpret this promise of Jesus. When a man is born again, he receives the seal of God, which helps the angels to recognize him and guard him in the coming tribulations. The sealed people are also gathered together by the angels.
that if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom 10:9 )
The recognition of the mouth given in church with others is not enough. God also needs the faith of the heart.
For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble; each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test (δοκιμάζω dokimázō: to test, examine, prove, scrutinize, to see whether a thing is genuine or not, as metals) what sort of work each man’s work is. If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire. (1 Cor 3:11-15)
No other basis of faith than faith in Jesus Christ guarantees to man the salvation and access to the Kingdom of God. At its best, human faith is weak and shaky. In the Ephesians, it is assured that ”for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast.” (2:8-9)
The building of faith that man has built during his life is tested in the final judgment. 1 Cor tells you what can happen: if the fire finds a “building” durable, the man will be paid. If, on the other hand, the building of faith is done poorly, it will burn, but the man himself will be saved “as if through fire.”
How is the verse about the final judgment possible? ”… They were judged, each one according to his works.” (Rev 20:13)
”What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith but has no works? Can faith save him? And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you tells them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled;” and yet you didn’t give them the things the body needs, what good is it? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself. Yes, a man will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.” (Jam 2:14-18)
James seems to get to the essence of the matter: a faith that does not give man a desire to do the works of faith to his neighbors is useless and in fact dead. The right faith is manifested as loving deeds. How many believers are there who fulfill the words of Jesus, “what have you not done to one of these least, you have not done to me”?
”For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.” (Jam 2:26).
… a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. (Rom 3:28) But to him who doesn’t work [works of the law], but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. (Rom 4:5)
but if any man’s work [‘house of faith’] is burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Paul explains salvation this way: on the last day the fire of God will test each man’s works; If someone’s work burns, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, as through fire (1 Cor 3:15). The prerequisite is that man has sought to build the foundation of his faith in Christ.
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Is salvation easy or difficult?
“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will happen to the ungodly and the sinner?” (1 Pet 4:18)
“Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it. For narrow is the gate, and constricted is the way that leads away into life, and few are the ones who find it (Mat 7:13-14).
I would say it’s easy for a believer. The fire of God, which tests the man’s works may be painful, but the man is saved – as if through fire.
When a man becomes a believer: Eph 1:13 in whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,-in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, And also: [God] who also sealed us, and gave us the down payment of the Spirit in our hearts. (2 Kor 1:22).
Faith in Christ also manifests itself in the expectation of his coming. Paul says:
” From now on, there is stored up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day; and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing.” (2 Tim 4:8).
For when nations not having Law do by nature the things of the Law, they not having Law are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience witnessing with them, and the thoughts between one another accusing or even excusing, (Rom 2:14-15)
Even the Gentiles can be saved even if they have no faith in our God at all. The Romans shows that if the Gentiles are like “good Christians”, they can be saved by the testimony of their conscience. If the Gentiles act according to their hearts to their neighbors the way Christians are called to act, i.e. to love their fellow men as themselves, they have the deeds of the law in their hearts.
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For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman; and they will in no way escape. (1 The 5:3). For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, (Rom. 1:18).
Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, because that Day will not come unless first comes the falling away, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, the one opposing and exalting himself over everything being called God, or object of worship, so as for him “to sit in the temple of God” as God, proclaiming that he himself is God (2 Tes 2:3-4).
Behold, the day of Jehovah comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger; to make the land a desolation, and to destroy the sinners of it out of it. (Isa 13:9)
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (2 Pet. 3:10)
And immediately after the affliction of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in the heavens. And then all the tribes of the land will wail. And they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the heavens to their ends. (Mat 24:29-31)
The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from the sky which had fallen to the earth. The key to the pit of the abyss was given to him. He opened the pit of the abyss, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke from a burning furnace. The sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke from the pit. Then out of the smoke came forth locusts on the earth, and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were told that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only those people who don’t have God’s seal on their foreheads. (Rev 9:1-4)
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God’s wrath through him. (Rom 5:9)and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead- Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. (1 The 1:10)
For God didn’t appoint us to wrath, but to the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, (1 Tes. 5:9)
God has not destined believers to suffer the wrath of God on the day of the Lord. Believers receive salvation through Christ. Salvation is in two parts; salvation from the destruction of the Lord’s day and salvation to eternal life by the last judgment.
since it is a just thing with God to pay back tribulation to the ones troubling you, and to give you, those being troubled, relief with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from Heaven with angels of His power, in flaming fire giving full vengeance to those not knowing God, and to those not obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will pay the penalty: eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, (2 Tes 1:6-9)
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For the time will come when they will not listen to the sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside to fables. (2 Tim 4:3)
This verse tells how people are looking for teachers whose teaching tickles their ears. People want to hear only pleasant things. The teaching that all will enter heaven is to their liking.
Because of this, God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie; (2 The 2:11). For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones. (Mat 24:24)
Satan is the one who always and everywhere tries to mislead people out of the truth. In the end, God will also test the faith of the people by sending a “strong deception”. The deception is so convincing that even the chosen ones are mistaken to accept it. At the end times, Satan’s nearest aide, the Antichrist, will come forth; even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (2 Tes 2:9-10)
I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, that you have no participation in her sins, and that you don’t receive of her plagues, (Ilm 18:4)
What is the fate of God’s own people in these difficult times?
They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luk 21:24) (Jerusalem was released in 1967)
For I am with you, says Jehovah, to save you: for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not make a full end of you; but I will correct you in measure, and will in no way leave you unpunished. (Jer 30:11)
For Jehovah will have pity on Jacob, and will yet choose among Israel, and set them in their own land. And the foreigner shall be joined to them; and they shall cling to the house of Jacob. (Jes 14:1)
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“that they all might be judged who didn’t believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Tes 2:12)
For these people, the word of the cross is foolishness, but for those who are saved, it is the power of God.
But for the cowardly and unbelieving, and those having become foul, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all the lying ones, their part will be in the Lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Rev 21:8)
The Book of Revelation lists a number of different people who have to suffer the judgment in the lake of fire. I have greatly wondered what the cowards are doing on this list. In English, the Word the Greek word deilos δειλός G1169 (coward) is translated into fearful or timid, and the Greek word has been translated correctly, and the few times it has been used in NT the word should be translated like this. For example Mat 8:26 “And he [Jesus] saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the lake, and the wind became perfectly calm. Mark uses the same word for fearful deilos: “And they said to them, why are you so fearful?” – The only explanation I can find is that the word is used for cowardice when there is no faith left.
However, it is inconceivable that cowards would be punished by being thrown into the lake of fire to be tortured there forever. Jesus no longer returned to the above-mentioned event, so it was not very significant. Peter was also a coward and denied Jesus three times. Nevertheless, Peter retained his position in connection with the Apostles and the Church of Jerusalem. He and the other apostles are expected to lead the twelve tribes of Israel in the Millennial kingdom. For the moment I can’t explain why cowards have been included in Revelation 21:8 to be thrown into the lake of fire.
For if we discerned ourselves, we wouldn’t be judged. But being judged, we are corrected by the Lord, that we not be condemned with the world. – “We” refers to believers, the called and chosen ones. (1 Cor 11:31-32)
For those who are the Lord’s own, believers, judgment is the Lord’s punishment, which means teaching, correction, healing, etc. during the lifetime of a believer. Those who belong to the world are much more than the above-mentioned Lord’s own people, will be condemned much more severely.
– The word for judgment is in Greek κρίνω krinō. When the Church of God is being judged, it includes the Lord’s punishment. The consequence of punishment, on the other hand, is chastening reproach of wrong behavior. The punishment is in Greek παιδεitusωv paideuo, which according to Strongs contains the following qualities: educate, Discipline (by punishment): chasten, instruct, learn (to cause one to learn), teach. Further, God stretches out by producing suffering, pain, or even great economic losses. The church is not included in the same set with the rest of the world. Further, God chastises by producing suffering, pain, or even great economic losses. God’s Church is not included in the same group with the rest of the world.
The fact that the called and chosen have to experience the chastening of God already in their lifetime, allows them to participate in the first resurrection and rule in the Millennial kingdom with Christ. They will not be condemned in the last judgment, but have already received eternal life in their resurrection.
As many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent. (Rev 3:19)
Here is a part of the words given by Jesus to the Church of Laodicea. Today’s society and its churches are considered the modern Laodicean church. This world’s churches are lukewarm, rich in their own eyes, but are neither cold nor hot. Jesus says he is vomiting them out of his mouth. Jesus urges you to buy eye salve so that people can see the true reality.
Part of the churches are on the right track. Jesus loves them and therefore they are chastised and instructed to repent.
“The King [Jesus] will answer them, ‘Most assuredly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Mat 25:40)
In the last judgment, our deeds are examined. An example of this, the verse above, tells us how we should deal with our underprivileged brothers in our lives. What we do or leave undone for them, we do to Christ himself.
Don’t judge, And you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, And you won’t be condemned. Set free, And you will be set free. (Luk 6:37)
The history of churches and other denominations is full of examples of judgmental attitudes towards other believers. The code of conduct is derived from the doctrine that if one does not act according to the doctrine, such a person will receive a severe punishment. In the Middle Ages, the punishment could even have been burning at the stake. Today, punishment can be separation from the church and shunning the person so that even relatives or friends are not allowed to be in contact with the person.
It is not for us to pronounce condemnation, which simply means that the person is deemed to hell i.e. the lake of fire.
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When the Lord Jesus appears from heaven with his angels in flaming fire giving full vengeance to those not knowing God, and to those not obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will pay the penalty: eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, (2 Tes 1:8-9)
2 Thessalonians is written to comfort those who are waiting for Christ, to be rewarded with access to the Kingdom of God and those who persecute them would be punished in the fire of Christ with eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and the glory of his power. In my view, this is not the last judgment; Here the judgment is directed at the coming of Christ to the living sinners on Earth, and only the last judgment condemns the resurrected dead.
“These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Mat 25:46)
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Sodom and Gomorrah
“Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them, having, in the same way as these, given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the punishment (dikē) of eternal (aiōnios) fire (pyr)”. (Jud 1:7)
The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah committed the filthy deeds spoken in Revelation 21:8. These cities have been destroyed and the destruction is eternal. The fire itself that the Bible says is burning, is extinct for Sodom and Gomorrah. Does it mean that city dwellers will be punished at the last judgment. The punishment is said to be the suffering of the eternal fire.
This interpretation is supported by the verse in 1:6 above: …Angels who didn’t keep their first domain, but deserted their own dwelling place, he has kept in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.
In verse 1:6 Jude speaks of the angels who, contrary to God’s prohibition, left their heavenly dwellings and came to the Earth and took the women they considered beautiful. These angels are placed in the “eternal” bonds to wait for the final judgment. The Book of Revelation uses the phrase to eternal bonds unthinkingly: God’s purpose is not to keep them in chains always and forever. For this, I am sure you will agree. Instead, disagreement arises from the punishment itself. Is this an eternal punishment in the fiery lake? It is quite possible that the Bible equates the judgment of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah with the judgment of the angels. The Saints will also condemn the angels.
The fire of Sodom and Gomorrah might not have been meant to be eternal, but the punishment was to be eternal after the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorra were awakened to the last judgment. Is the judgment truly endless forever? At least we know from the Bible that it can be very long; The Antichrist and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire when Jesus comes and overcomes them. Rev 19:20 “The beast i.e. the Antichrist was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur”.
The fire of Sodom and Gomorrah might not have been meant to be eternal, but the punishment was to be eternal after the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorra were awakened to the last judgment. Is the judgment truly endless forever? At least we know from the Bible that it can be very long; The Antichrist and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire when Jesus comes and overcomes them. Rev 19:20 “The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur”.
The following chapter tells of Satan’s fate when he and his troops lose the battle; The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented (G928 βασανίζω basanizō) day and night forever and ever. (Rev 20:10)
– The Antichrist and false prophet are still in the fiery lake when Satan is thrown there. They have been in the lake of fire a thousand years. This shows that the punishment can be long-lasting. When the Antichrist and the false prophet were thrown into the lake of fire a thousand years before Satan, where they have been throughout the millennial reign of Christ, we can deduce from this that the fiery lake is a figurative expression. Or do you believe that somewhere in the Millennial kingdom there is a huge lake of fire when everything else in the Kingdom is developing into a paradise?
Satan is an angel and angels are spirits. However, the Antichrist and the false prophet are human. Is the same fire an appropriate punishment for both angels and humans?
The Beast i.e. the Antichrist and his partner, the false prophet will be thrown into the lake of fire at the Second Coming of Jesus. Satan is tied for a thousand years, after which he is let go. Satan gathers a huge army and attacks the Saints, but this army is destroyed. Satan himself is thrown into the lake of fire, where the Antichrist and the false prophet have already been for a thousand years. The punishment of the fiery lake, has been long, at least for these two, but will it continue forever and ever?
Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev 20:14-15)
“Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire”. KJV: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire”. – The last destroyed is death. No one needs to die anymore, so death can be figuratively cast into the fiery lake. KJV says that “hell” is also thrown into destruction. Like many others, NASB translates that Hades is being destroyed. Hell, or place of torture, is not a good choice of words, because it means that the torture site is thrown into the lake of fire.
Throwing Death and the grave (Hades) of mankind into the fiery lake is a completely figurative expression; it does not include eternal punishment. Death has not broken God’s commandments. Rather, it is an eternal annihilation, the complete destruction of death. Does this mean that the large crowds in the fiery lake will remain there forever because they can no longer die as death no longer exists, but is also destroyed?
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Eternal chains Jude 1:6
aïdios – a synonym for aionios
Jde 1:6 – And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day
7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them, having, in the same way as these, given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire.
Eternal = aïdios G126 – covers the complete philosophical idea — without beginning and without end; also either without beginning or without end; as respects to the past it is applied to what has existed time out of mind
Rom 1:20: For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal (ἀΐδιος G126) power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
In this verse of Judah 6, the word aïdios G126 is used to describe eternity. Strongs describes it as: aïdios G126 – covers the complete philosophical idea – without beginning and without end; Is this word, if possible, even more powerful than aion the common word in the NT? At least it is in no way weaker. The definition of Strongs for aïdios is badly wrong at least for this verse in the Bible; “Without beginning and without end”, we know that the sins of the angels had a clear beginning and a clear end when they were removed from the angelic corps and were put in (figurative) chains!
Is it right to talk about eternal chains? Every reader of the Bible knows that God’s purpose has been to shackle these angels just to wait for judgment. It is certain that the day of God’s judgment will come after the Millennium of Christ. We do not know the exact timing, but in no case, it is the question of eternity. We are waiting for the kingdom to start any time in the near future.
When the angels are given judgment in time, is it truly an eternal punishment in the fiery lake? The Bible doesn’t tell that with absolute certainty. Maybe so if you compare the known judgments to Satan, Antichrist, and the wrong prophet, and others.
αἰώνιος, -ον Strong’s G166:
1. without beginning or end, that which always has been and always will be: θεός, Romans 16:26 (ὁ μόνος αἰώνιος, 2 Macc. 1:25); πνεῦμα, Hebrews 9:14. 2. without beginning: χρόνοις αἰωνίοις, Romans 16:25; πρὸ χρόνων αἰωνίων, 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2; εὐαγγέλιον, a gospel whose subject-matter is eternal, i. e., the saving purpose of God adopted from eternity, Revelation 14:6.
3. without end, never to cease, everlasting: 2 Corinthians 4:18 (opposed to πρόσκαιρος);
Conclusion; Without stating, whether the eternal punishment is really God’s punishment for these sinners, at least the two words that the Bible uses to describe the eternal (ἀΐδιος) chains and the eternal (αινιος) punishment, do not prove this, but leave strong doubt about the correctness of the translation.