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NASB | Luke 12:20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?' |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 12:20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own all the things you have prepared?' [Job 27:8; Jer 17:11] |
Subject: What happens to our soul when we die? |
Bible Note: Hi SBoone, This will be the remainder of my answer to you regarding the eternal punishment of the undredeemed dead. I took a closer look at Matt 10:28 (which to me seemed the strongest verse promoting anihilation of the unredeemed), as well as some other passages. Let me know what you think. The common expression of "forever and ever", is (transliterated): Tous aionas (accusative plural) ton aionon (genitive plural). This is literally translated "to the ages of the ages". Aion, or "age" comes from the root "aei", meaning continued duration: "always", or "ever". Examples are 1 Peter 3:15 "be ready always to give an answer", and Acts 7:51 "ye do always resist the Holy Spirit." This is the phase used to describe God's eternal nature: Re 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore (tous aionas ton aionon), Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Rev 4:9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever (tous aionas ton aionon), This is the same phrase used to describe the torment of those who worship the beast: Rev 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever (tous aionas ton aionon): and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. This is also what describes the torment of the devil, the antichrist, and the false prophet: 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 (tous aionas ton aionon). Torment, from "basanismos", also appears in Rev 9:5, in the plague of "locusts" from the pit. They are given power to torment 5 months. During this time, people will not be able to die. This torment is not anihilation. It is torment. In the same way, the unredeemed will experience everlasting punishment. Regarding Matt 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell," the word translated "destroy" is from the Greek "apollumi". It is variously translated as perish, destroy, lose, and to be lost. Again going to Thayer's Lexicon, he defines this as "to destroy, to render useless, to kill, to perish, to be lost, to be ruined, destroyed." This is the word used in Luke 15:4 of a lost sheep. It is used in Luke 15:8 of a lost coin. It is used in Luke 15:24 of the prodigal son "he was lost, and is found." From these examples we know that apollumi is not neccessarily speaking of complete and total destruction, since in each of these instances that which was "apollumi - lost" was later found. As much as I would like to think that those who reject Jesus will one day no longer exist, will no longer be aware of the agonizing consequence of their choice, I do not believe that is what the Bible teaches. Just as the redeemed experience everlasting life, the unredeemed experience everlasting punishment. As the LORD lives forever and ever, so also the smoke of the torment of the unredeemed ascends forever and ever. Please feel free to email me directly if you wish. (see my profile) Love in Christ, Mark |