You mean God can't give someone eternal life unless they eat from the tree of life?
Yet, we read this towards the end of God’s story involving His people:
Revelation 22:14
“Blessed
are they that do his commandments,
that they may have right to the tree of life,
and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
DavidPT said:
One would still have to get around the fact that the wages of sin is death, not living forever instead.
Do the words of Paul supersede the words of Jesus, Himself? c.f. Matt 7:21-23.
Matthew 7:21-23 in no way supports ECT and neither does it explain away what Paul meant by the wages of sin is death.
Obviously
most everybody dies (Whether they are righteous or unrighteous). So when Paul says “the wages of sin is death” he is referring to the Second Death (Which is a place of destruction because the last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:26), and death and hell are cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:14)).
That was said in the context of a son being put to death for the sins of the father or vice versa not the eternal fate of the son or father.
While this is referring to physical death or the first death, it is a mirror reflection of one’s status in the afterlife because it talks about how sin will lead a person to surely die. Sure, a person can repent, but the point here is that sin leads a person not only to physically die, but it will lead them to face the second death (Which is related to the first death in that it causes one to perish). Just as there was a physical temple on the Earth, there is one in Heaven, etcetera.
But this second death can be referred to while one is alive.
1 Timothy 5:6 says,
”But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.”
Meaning, they are spiritually dead and their judgment at that present moment is the second death (Revelation 21:8), where Jesus will destroy the soul (Matthew 10:28).
What God created He could certainly destroy but I am not aware of a single vs. which states that anything/anyone is thrown into the LOF then they die.
Matthew 10:28.
Revelation 20:14, and 1 Corinthians 15:26.
c.f.
Rev 20:10 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.
But Revelation 20:10 that uses the words ”
day” “
night” and “
for ever and ever” in Isaiah 34:10 gives us the code key or meaning behind these same words used in Revelation 20:10. Isaiah is referring to a city is on fire night and day and a smoke that will go up for ever. However, the city is not going to burn and put off smoke for all eternity because Jesus said Heaven and Earth shall pass away (Matthew 24:35).
In Revelation 19:1-3 (Just one chapter away from Revelation 20:10) talks about how the city of Mystery Babylon and her smoke will go up, “
for ever, and ever.” Revelation 19:1-3 sets the stage of meaning for the words used in Revelation 20:10. Again, you cannot have a city going up in smoke for all eternity if the Earth will pass away according to Jesus words in Matthew 24:35 (cf. Revelation 21:1). So this lets us know that the words in Revelation 20:10 “
night” “
day” and “
for ever and ever” are not to be read as meaning ”
for all eternity.” We compare Scripture with Scripture to get the meaning or definition of those words and it cannot mean “for all eternity.”
One, the false prophet, is a person, all 3 are in the LOF which is called the 2nd death twice.
We read the following in Revelation 13 about the second beast who causes the people to worship the first beast by working great miracles.
Revelation 13:11-15
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by
the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”
Then three chapters away, we read the following in Revelation 16.
Revelation 16:13
”And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs
come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.“.
So we see here that the second beast is replaced with the false prophet. For where did the second beast go?
Clearly Revelation 13:11 describes this beast coming up out of the Earth.
This is clearly a demon, and not a human.
We take the words of Jesus, Himself, as true c.f. Matthew 25:46.
Matthew 25:46 compares “everlasting punishment“ with “life eternal.” At first glance, this sounds like a slam dunk for the ECT camp, but again, we have to compare Scripture with Scripture to get the entire truth here. We know that there are good verses for Conditional Immortality (Revelation 21:8 compared with Revelation 20:14, and 1 Corinthians 15:26, and there is Matthew 10:28, Romans 6:23, etcetera). We also know that the words like “everlasting” used elsewhere in the Bible can be used metaphorically or used in context to something that is temporary.
Habakkuk tells us of mountains that were "
everlasting" until -- they “were
scattered” (
Habakkuk 3:6).
Other translations say the mountains were “
shattered“ (NASB), or “
crushed to pieces” (DRB).
So these mountains were not “
everlasting” in the sense that it means “
for all eternity.”
This has to be the case because Heaven and Earth will pass away, too (Matthew 24:35) (Revelation 21:1).
We see also in Hebrews 9:15 about how faithful believers will have an “
eternal inheritance.”
But that does not mean that they will go through a perpetual unending daily state of receiving their inheritance for all eternity.
What Hebrews 9:15 is saying is that they receive their inheritance once from God, and that one time event has everlasting consequences. This is the same concept that is going on in Mathew 25:46. It is a one-time punishment of being destroyed in the Lake of Fire that has everlasting consequences.
Most Christians (even in the ECT camp) will not use Revelation 22:11 as saying that this is strictly chronological (as if it was speaking during the times of the New Earth). It is clearly talking in the present tense to all people in all points in time. Verse 10 says, “And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.” (Revelation 22:10). This clearly sets the stage and or context for verse 11.
Again, it’s not strictly chronological in that it is talking about the sequence of events of the New Earth.
In context it says:
Revelation 22:12-15
12 “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward
is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
14 Blessed
are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
15 For without
are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”
Obviously verse 12 is not talking about how Jesus will come quickly on the New Earth. So this lets us know that the rest of the following words have changed. It is an admonishment about how those who keep God’s commandments have right to the tree of life and outside are sinners. It does not mean that this is speaking in a strict chronological sequence of events from before. The book of Revelation is not written in chronological order.
For example:
Revelation 6-10 appears to be sequential and it begins Daniel’s 70th Week.
Revelation 11 appears to rewind back in time in the chronology at the final last 42 months (picking back up from sometime after the Middle of the Tribulation), and it ends with Jesus Christ coming in Revelation 19. Revelation 20-22 are the next epochs and important events in time (After the Tribulation and Christ’s return).
We take the words of Jesus, Himself, as true c.f. Matthew 25:46. c.f. Rev 22:11 and Rev 22:15
We take the words of Jesus, Himself, as true cf. Matthew 10:28 (destroy both soul and body), Matthew 3:12 (burn up the chaff), John 6:51 (if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever).
Side Note 1.
As for your implication that Jesus is speaking in Revelation 22:11:
Well, I do not see it as Jesus speaking in Revelation 22:11.
Revelation 22:9-11 is the angel speaking, and not Jesus.
Revelation 22:12 switches to Jesus speaking (and continues on to verse 16).
Side Note 2:
You said, c.f.
I believe the proper usage is cf.