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To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But
you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God. (Jonah 2:6)
The New Testament Greek word anonios in its various forms, and its Hebrew equivalent
olam are often translated forever, evermore, everlasting, eternal, and other such terms
which imply endlessness. Whether or not these words are appropriately translated is a
hotly debated topic. On the one side, the traditional view insists that these words truly
mean eternal. On the other side, some have noticed that in many contexts where these
words appear, eternal or forever simply doesn't make sense. But let's put that aside for
the moment. I want to show a principle at work in the scriptures. The principle is simply
this: God does everything to fulfill His will and purpose. If you agree with that last
sentence, say "Amen"! Maybe your kid looks in the refrigerator and takes out nothing,
for no reason. Maybe your dog walks around in circles 15 times before laying down for a
nap, for no reason. But God always has a reason and purpose for everything, and this
includes his judgments and punishments. Another way to say this is that when God sets
something in motion, it is sometimes called "forever". And forever means until God
fulfills his purpose. Thus, even if anonios and olam literally mean eternal, the principle
of forever until negates the idea of unending punishment.
Let me elaborate. No one can explain the purpose of a punishment that never ends. If
you ask someone what is the purpose of eternal hell, you will probably get some weak
sounding response such as "it satisfies God's eternal justice" or "it somehow glorifies
God" or "Jesus talked more about hell than heaven, so it must be true" or "we just can't
understand it now, I'm sure the Lord will explain it to us when we all get the heaven" But
does not the endlessness of hell assure that God's justice will never be satisfied? Not
only that but if God hates sin so much, why would he allow it to exist for eternity, rather
than overcome it completely?
Here is quote on the matter from Vladimir M. Gelesnoff:
The current Evangelical Theology involves in its system belief in the deathlessness
of sin, the indestructibility of error, and permanence of evil. That though there was
a time in the history of the universe when sin in any shape or form did not exist,
when no cry of pain or sense of guilt darkened the allextensive bliss and holiness of
creation, yet since sin has once effected an entrance into such a scene, it has come in
never to go out again, indestructible, unconquerable, ineradicable, endless.
Absolute happiness and sinlessness have forever vanished like the phantom of a
dream. The 'eternal state' is a universe endlessly finding room for myriads of souls
rolling and writhing in the burning agonies of ceaseless flame, eternally sinful, vile
and morally hideous. It pictures the "final perfection" yet to be attained as having
room for a vast cesspool of immoral and degraded beings, continually existing in
opposition to God. (end quote)
What Mr. Gelensnoff is saying is that the current theology makes sin something so big
and powerful that God just doesn't know how to deal with it. Sure, Jesus died to forgive
us our sins, but sin continues to exist in opposition to God for eternity. Is that the God we
believe in? A God who hates sin but cannot destroy it? There is just no way imaginable
how unending punishment would glorify God or even satisfy His justice. Thus, his
punishments and judgments must be temporary with a purpose of correcting the sinner
and making the sinner worthy of the Kingdom of God. With that in mind, below are
several examples where forever comes to end.
Jonah's three day and three night stay and the Hotel "Fish Gut":
To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But
you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God. (Jonah 3:6)
forever = three days
A rule of exclusion:
An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to
their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever:
(Deut. 23:3)
forever = ten generations
About the priesthood:
And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto
me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood
throughout their generations. (Ex. 40:15)
forever = until Christ came (see Hebrews 7:1418)
Solomon's Temple:
I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.
(1 Kings 8:13)
forever = until the temple was destroyed
The everlasting sabbath:
Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath
throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. (Ex. 31:16)
forever = until Christ came (see Hebrew 4:89)
Everlasting fire:
And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest
shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he
shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. The fire shall ever be burning upon the
altar; it shall never go out. (Lev. 6:1213)
forever = until the fire had nothing left to burn
Israel's judgment:
Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses
of joy in the joyous city: Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city
shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture
of flocks; Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a
fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. (Isa. 32:1315)
forever = until the spirit is poured out
A slave forever:
Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or
unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall
serve him for ever. (Ex. 21:6)
forever = until death
The Reign of Christ:
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he
shall reign for ever and ever. (Rev. 11:15)
forever = until he puts all his enemies under his feet (see 1st Corinthians 15:25)
As you can see, forever may be a long time, but we have yet to see where it means a
literal eternity. The Old Testament also speaks of the "everlasting hills" and other such
things. But in Revelation we read of a new heaven and a new earth, which we can
assume means new hills as well.
Finally, there is no need to argue endlessly about the original meanings of the Hebrew
and Greek words. In plain English, we can see that forever is not eternity.
For further study, I recommend this article:
Temporarily Forever
http://flyinabove.bloghi.com/2005/12/01/temporarilyforever.html