Our Father does nothing as an end in itself: He is the end, (ta pante).
Aionios olethron
Marvin R. Vincent: Note on ‘eternal destruction’ (Olethron Aionion) – Mercy Upon All
Ah so some guy said that eternal destruction actually means temporary destruction. Only problem is that doesn’t line up with scripture because aionios is not the only indication that the punishment is eternal. There’s plenty of evidence outside of the word aionios that implies that the punishment is not temporal.
Look at Revelation 20:10
“And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night
forever and ever.”
Revelation 20:10 NASB1995
Now look at the specific usage of aion that is used in this verse (aiōnas aiōnōn)
Revelation 20:10 Lexicon: And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Now let’s compare that to Revelation 22:5.
“And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign
forever and ever.”
Revelation 22:5 NASB1995
Now notice that the same exact usage of aion is used in this verse that is used in Revelation 20:10. (aiōnas aiōnōn)
Revelation 22:5 Lexicon: And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.
Aionios isn’t used in Mark 9 where Jesus describes the punishment in hell.
“If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”
Mark 9:43-48 NASB1995
Then there’s Matthew 7:13-14 that says that few will find Jesus and many will not. Your saying that everyone will eventually find Jesus but that’s not what He said. Again no aionios here.
““Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Matthew 7:13-14 NASB1995
Then there’s Matthew 7:21
““Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”
Matthew 7:21 NASB1995
Again not everyone will enter the kingdom of Heaven and again no aionios in this passage.
So if everyone doesn’t find Jesus and everyone won’t enter the kingdom of Heaven then where do these people go? They go to the lake of fire to be tormented day and night forever and ever. The same forever and ever that the servants of God will reign for in the New Earth and the New Heaven as opposed to those who are immoral who will burn in the lake of fire.
“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.””
Revelation 21:8 NASB1995
So apparently according to the scriptures there is no repentance in the lake of fire.
So your friend’s commentary on the definition of aionios doesn’t line up with scripture because we don’t have to rely on the definition of any one particular word to determine whether or not the punishment of the condemned is eternal. There are numerous passages that clearly teach that their punishment is eternal that don’t use the word aionios.
I remember a similar discussion about aionios in Mark 3:28-29 where you said the same thing about the word aionios not meaning that it’s not an eternal sin.
““Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”
Mark 3:28-29 NASB1995
But when we read the parallel passage in Luke it doesn’t mention the word aionios. Let’s read what it says.
““And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God; but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.”
Luke 12:8-10 NASB1995
Luke doesn’t mention any length of time it simply says that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, period.
So you can say that aionios doesn’t always mean eternal and I agree with you but that doesn’t mean that when it’s used in describing the duration of the punishment of the condemned your wrong because we don’t have to get into a long drawn out debate about definitions to determine that. Thankfully the punishment of the condemned is described in so many different, irrefutable ways that were not forced to reply on the definition of one single word to base our decision on.
