Bible Thesaurus: Everlasting

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Thesaurus

Everlasting (192 Occurrences)
... Eternal, applied to God (Genesis 21:33; Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 41:13; 90:2). We
also read of the "everlasting hills" (Genesis 49:26); an "everlasting...
/e/everlasting.htm - 68k

Lasting (40 Occurrences)
... color. 3. (n.) Continuance; endurance. 4. (n.) A species of very durable
woolen stuff, used for women's shoes; everlasting. 5. (n ...
/l/lasting.htm - 19k

Believeth (42 Occurrences)
... John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ...
/b/believeth.htm - 17k

Going (2561 Occurrences)
... the important prophetic passage, Micah 5:2, it is said of the Ruler from Bethlehem,
"whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting," the Revised ...
/g/going.htm - 10k

Perpetuity (5 Occurrences)
... the sand for the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it"
(Jeremiah 5:22, the Revised Version margin "an everlasting ordinance which it ...
/p/perpetuity.htm - 12k

Perpetually (10 Occurrences)
... the sand for the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it"
(Jeremiah 5:22, the Revised Version margin "an everlasting ordinance which it ...
/p/perpetually.htm - 13k

Damnation (11 Occurrences)
... 2. (n.) Condemnation to everlasting punishment in the future state, or the punishment
itself. 3. (n.) A sin deserving of everlasting punishment. Int. ...
/d/damnation.htm - 18k

Underneath (19 Occurrences)
... UNDERNEATH. un-der-neth' (tachath, "the bottom (as depressed)"): "Underneath are
the everlasting arms" (Deuteronomy 33:27). ... Underneath are the everlasting arms. ...
/u/underneath.htm - 12k

Perpetual (57 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (a.) Neverceasing; continuing forever or for an unlimited
time; unfailing; everlasting; continuous. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. ...
/p/perpetual.htm - 28k

Goings (42 Occurrences)
... the important prophetic passage, Micah 5:2, it is said of the Ruler from Bethlehem,
"whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting," the Revised ...
/g/goings.htm - 22k

Bible Concordance

Everlasting (192 Occurrences)

Matthew 18:8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
(KJV WBS)

Matthew 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
(KJV WBS)

Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
(KJV WBS)

Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
(KJV WBS)

Mark 3:29 but whosoever shall speak injuriously against the Holy Spirit, to eternity has no forgiveness; but lies under the guilt of an everlasting sin;
(DBY)

Luke 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
(KJV WBS)

Luke 18:30 Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
(KJV WBS)

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
(KJV WBS)

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
(KJV WBS)

John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
(KJV WBS)

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
(KJV WBS)

John 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
(KJV WBS)

John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
(KJV WBS)

John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
(KJV WBS NIV)

John 12:50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
(KJV WBS)

Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
(KJV WBS)

Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse.
(WEB ASV)

Romans 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
(KJV WBS)

Romans 16:26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
(KJV WBS)

Galatians 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
(KJV WBS)

2 Thessalonians 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
(KJV DBY WBS NIV)

2 Thessalonians 2:16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
(KJV WBS)

1 Timothy 1:16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
(KJV WBS)

1 Timothy 6:16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
(KJV WBS)

Hebrews 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
(KJV WBS)

2 Peter 1:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
(KJV DBY WBS)

Jude 1:6 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.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV WBS YLT NIV)

Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
(KJV DBY WBS)

Genesis 9:12 And God said, This is the sign of the covenant that I set between me and you and every living soul that is with you, for everlasting generations:
(DBY)

Genesis 9:16 The rainbow will be in the cloud. I will look at it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 17:7 I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your seed after you.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 17:8 I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 17:13 He who is born in your house, and he who is bought with your money, must be circumcised. My covenant will be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 17:19 God said, "No, but Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 21:33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS NAS RSV)

Genesis 48:4 and said to me,'Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your seed after you for an everlasting possession.'
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 49:26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
(KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV)

Exodus 28:43 And they shall be upon Aaron and his sons when they enter into the tent of meeting, or when they come near to the altar to serve in the sanctuary; that they may not bear iniquity and die an everlasting statute for him and his seed after him.
(DBY)

Exodus 29:9 And thou shalt gird them with the girdle Aaron and his sons, and bind the high caps on them; and the priesthood shall be theirs for an everlasting statute; and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.
(DBY)

Exodus 29:28 And they shall be for Aaron and his sons, as an everlasting statute, on the part of the children of Israel; for it is a heave-offering; and it shall be a heave-offering on the part of the children of Israel of the sacrifices of their peace-offerings, as their heave-offering to Jehovah.
(DBY)

Exodus 30:21 And they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they may not die; and it shall be an everlasting statute for them, for him and for his seed throughout their generations.
(DBY)

Exodus 31:16 And the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations it is an everlasting covenant.
(DBY)

Exodus 40:15 You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to me in the priest's office. Their anointing shall be to them for an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Leviticus 3:17 It is an everlasting statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings: no fat and no blood shall ye eat.
(DBY)

Leviticus 6:18 All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It is an everlasting statute in your generations, their portion of Jehovah's offerings by fire: whatever toucheth these shall be holy.
(DBY)

Leviticus 6:22 And the priest who is anointed of his sons in his stead shall prepare it: it is an everlasting statute; it shall be wholly burned to Jehovah.
(DBY)

Leviticus 7:34 For the breast of the wave-offering, and the shoulder of the heave-offering, have I taken of the children of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace-offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons from the children of Israel by an everlasting statute.
(DBY)

Leviticus 7:36 which Jehovah commanded to be given them by the children of Israel in the day that he anointed them: it is an everlasting statute, throughout their generations.
(DBY)

Leviticus 10:9 Thou shalt not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, and thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tent of meeting, lest ye die it is an everlasting statute throughout your generations,
(DBY)

Leviticus 10:15 The shoulder of the heave-offering and the breast of the wave-offering shall they bring, with the fire-offering of the pieces of fat, to wave them as a wave-offering before Jehovah; and they shall be thine, and thy sons' with thee, for an everlasting statute, as Jehovah has commanded.
(DBY)

Leviticus 16:29 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you. In the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, the home-born, and the stranger that sojourneth among you;
(DBY)

Leviticus 16:31 A sabbath of rest shall it be unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls: it is an everlasting statute.
(DBY)

Leviticus 16:34 "This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel once in the year because of all their sins." It was done as Yahweh commanded Moses.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS RSV)

Leviticus 17:7 And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices unto demons, after whom they go a whoring. This shall be an everlasting statute unto them for their generations.
(DBY)

Leviticus 23:14 And ye shall not eat bread, or roast corn, or green ears, until the same day that ye have brought the offering of your God: it is an everlasting statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
(DBY)

Leviticus 23:21 And ye shall make proclamation on that same day a holy convocation shall it be unto you: no manner of servile work shall ye do: it is an everlasting statute in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
(DBY)

Leviticus 23:31 No manner of work shall ye do: it is an everlasting statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
(DBY)

Leviticus 23:41 And ye shall celebrate it as a feast to Jehovah seven days in the year: it is an everlasting statute throughout your generations; in the seventh month shall ye celebrate it.
(DBY)

Leviticus 24:3 Outside the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, shall Aaron dress it from evening to morning before Jehovah continually: it is an everlasting statute throughout your generations.
(DBY)

Leviticus 24:8 Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before Yahweh continually. It is on the behalf of the children of Israel an everlasting covenant.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS)

Leviticus 24:9 And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy unto him of Jehovah's offerings by fire: it is an everlasting statute.
(DBY)

Numbers 10:8 the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an everlasting statute throughout your generations.
(DBY)

Numbers 15:15 As to the congregation, there shall be one statute for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an everlasting statute throughout your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be, before Jehovah.
(DBY)

Numbers 18:8 And Jehovah spoke to Aaron, And I, behold, I have given thee the charge of my heave-offerings, of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; to thee have I given them, because of the anointing, and to thy sons by an everlasting statute.
(DBY)

Numbers 18:11 And this shall be thine: the heave-offering of their gift, with all the wave-offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by an everlasting statute; every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.
(DBY)

Numbers 18:19 All the heave-offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to Jehovah, have I given thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by an everlasting statute: it shall be an everlasting covenant of salt before Jehovah unto thee and thy seed with thee.
(DBY JPS NAS NIV)

Numbers 18:23 But the Levite, he shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity: it is an everlasting statute throughout your generations. And among the children of Israel shall they possess no inheritance;
(DBY)

Numbers 19:10 And he that hath gathered the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. And it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, an everlasting statute.
(DBY)

Numbers 19:21 And it shall be an everlasting statute unto them. And he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his garments, and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.
(DBY)

Numbers 25:13 and it shall be to him, and to his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.'"
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Deuteronomy 33:15 for the chief things of the ancient mountains, for the precious things of the everlasting hills,
(WEB JPS ASV DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is your dwelling place. Underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrust out the enemy from before you, and said,'Destroy!'
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Joshua 8:28 And Joshua burned Ai, and made it an everlasting heap of desolation to this day.
(DBY)

2 Samuel 23:5 Most certainly my house is not so with God, yet he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure, for it is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he doesn't make it grow.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 16:17 He confirmed the same to Jacob for a statute, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 16:34 O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever.
(See NAS)

1 Chronicles 16:36 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting. All the people said, "Amen," and praised Yahweh.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 16:41 and with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were mentioned by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because His mercy endureth for ever;
(See NAS)

1 Chronicles 29:10 Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation; and David said: 'Blessed be Thou, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.
(See NIV)

2 Chronicles 5:13 it came even to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD: 'for He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever'; that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD,
(See NAS)

2 Chronicles 7:6 And the priests stood, according to their offices; the Levites also with instruments of music of the LORD, which David the king had made, to give thanks unto the LORD, for His mercy endureth for ever, with the praises of David by their hand; and the priests sounded trumpets over against them; and all Israel stood.
(See NAS)

2 Chronicles 20:21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto the LORD, and praise in the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and say: 'Give thanks unto the LORD, for His mercy endureth for ever.'
(See NAS)

Ezra 9:12 Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity for ever; that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.
(See NIV)

Nehemiah 9:5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless Yahweh your God from everlasting to everlasting; and blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.
(WEB JPS ASV RSV NIV)

Psalms 9:6 O thou enemy, the waste places are come to an end for ever; and the cities which thou didst uproot, their very memorial is perished.
(See RSV)

Psalms 24:7 Lift up your heads, you gates! Be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Psalms 24:9 Lift up your heads, you gates; yes, lift them up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Psalms 25:6 Remember, Jehovah, thy tender mercies and thy loving-kindnesses; for they are from everlasting.
(DBY)

Psalms 41:13 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting and to everlasting! Amen and amen.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 52:5 God will likewise break thee for ever, He will take thee up, and pluck thee out of thy tent, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah
(See NIV)

Psalms 74:3 Lift up Thy steps because of the perpetual ruins, even all the evil that the enemy hath done in the sanctuary.
(See NIV)

Psalms 76:4 Glorious are you, and excellent, more than mountains of game.
(See RSV)

Psalms 78:66 And he smote his adversaries in the hinder part, and put them to everlasting reproach.
(DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, before you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 93:2 Your throne is established from long ago. You are from everlasting.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS NAS RSV)

Psalms 100:5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
(KJV WBS NAS)

Psalms 103:17 But Yahweh's loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him, his righteousness to children's children;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 105:10 and confirmed the same to Jacob for a statute; to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 106:1 Hallelujah. O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever.
(See NAS)

Psalms 106:48 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting! Let all the people say, "Amen." Praise Yah!
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Eternal, applied to God (Genesis 21:33; Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 41:13; 90:2). We also read of the "everlasting hills" (Genesis 49:26); an "everlasting priesthood" (Exodus 40:15; Numbers 25:13). (see ETERNAL.)

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (a.) Lasting or enduring forever; existing or continuing without end; immoral; eternal.

2. (a.) Continuing indefinitely, or during a long period; perpetual; sometimes used, colloquially, as a strong intensive; as, this everlasting nonsense.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

EVERLASTING

ev-er-last'-ing (olam, `adh; aidios, aionios):

"Everlasting," in strictness, is that which endures forever; either that which has no beginning and will have no end (in which sense it is applicable to God only), or that which, having a beginning, will have no end, but henceforth will exist forever (thus of beings created for immortality; see IMMORTALITY). Figuratively also the term is applied to objects of impressive stability and long duration, as mountains, hills (eg. Genesis 49:26 Habakkuk 3:6).

Of the terms indicated as rendered by this word, `olam in the Old Testament and aionios in the New Testament, literally, "age-long," generally bear the full sense of "eternal" (always as applied to God, His mercy, His covenant, His kingdom and to the eternal life of believers). Hence, in the Revised Version (British and American) the rendering "everlasting" in the King James Version is, in the New Testament, uniformly changed to "eternal" (eg. Matthew 18:8; Matthew 25:41, 46 Luke 16:9; Luke 18:30 John 3:16, 36, etc.; Acts 13:46 Romans 6:22; Romans 16:26 Galatians 6:8 Hebrews 13:20). In the Old Testament the rendering "everlasting" is usually retained in the Revised Version (British and American), and sometimes takes the place of other words or phrases, as "lasting" (Deuteronomy 33:15), "ever," "forever" (1 Chronicles 16:36 Nehemiah 9:5), "perpetual" (Habakkuk 3:6 Jeremiah 50:5), "of old" (Habakkuk 3:6 margin). In Psalm 100:5; Psalm 119:144, on the other hand, the Revised Version (British and American) changes the word to "for ever." In much the larger number of places `olam is translated "ever" or "for ever."

The word `adh, in the two cases in which it is translated "everlasting" in the King James Version (more frequently "for ever"), is in the Revised Version (British and American), in Isaiah 9:6, retained, with margin, "Father of Eternity," and in Habakkuk 3:6 is changed into "eternal." Another word, qedhem, with the meaning "ancient time," is rendered "everlasting" in Habakkuk 1:12 ("Art not thou from everlasting?"). With the same meaning it occurs in Deuteronomy 33:27, "The eternal God is thy dwelling-place."

The word which strictly answers to "everlasting" in the New Testament is aidios (Romans 1:20 Jude 1:6), rendered by the King James Version in the former passages "eternal," but correctly by the Revised Version (British and American) in both passages, "everlasting." The sense of the word "everlasting," in application to future punishment, is considered in the article PUNISHMENT, EVERLASTING.

The term "everlasting" or "eternal," applied to God, describes Him as filling, or enduring through, all the "ages" of time. It is only thus that we can symbolically represent eternity. In reality, however, the eternity of God is not simply His filling of ever-flowing "ages," but rather that aspect of His being in which He is above time; for which time (the succession-form of existence) does not exist; to which the terms past, present and future do not apply. Yet, while God is not in time (rather holds time in Himself), time-sequence, as the form of existence of the world, is a reality for God.

See ETERNAL; ETERNITY.

James Orr

PUNISHMENT, EVERLASTING

pun'-ish-ment:

I. PRELIMINARY ASSUMPTIONS

1. Survival after Death

2. Retribution for Sin

3. Conscious Suffering in Future

II. SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT

1. Old Testament and Jewish Conceptions

2. New Testament Teaching

(1) "Eternal"

(2) Equivalent Expressions

(3) The Last Judgment

3. Teaching of Analogy

III. DIFFICULTIES AND OBJECTIONS-RIVAL HYPOTHESES

1. Universal Salvation

2. Annihilation

3. Second Probation

IV. NATURE, CONDITIONS AND ISSUES

1. Mystery of the Future

2. Nature of Punishment

3. Range of Divine Mercy

4. Gradation of Punishment

5. God "All in All"

LITERATURE

I. Preliminary Assumptions.

(For "everlasting," where used in the King James Version as the rendering of aionios, the Revised Version (British and American) substitutes "eternal.") It is assumed in this article that Scripture teaches the survival of the soul after death, the reality of retribution and of judgment to come, and a shorter or longer period of suffering for sin in the case of the unredeemed in the world beyond. Only a few words need be said, therefore, in preliminary remark on these assumptions.

1. Survival after Death:

Whatever view may be taken of the development of the doctrine of immortality in the Old Testament (see ESCHATOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT), it will scarcely be doubted that it is throughout assumed in the New Testament that the souls of men, good and bad, survive death (see IMMORTALITY). Two passages only need be referred to in proof: one, Christ's saying in Matthew 10:28: "Be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Gehenna); the other, the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31: Lazarus is carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom; the rich man lifts up his eyes in Hades, being in torments. The whole doctrine of the future judgment in the New Testament presupposes survival after death.

2. Retribution for Sin:

Retribution for sin is a cardinal point in the teaching of both the Old Testament and New Testament. The doctrine of judgment, again, in the New Testament, with Christ as judge, turns on this point. The following passages are decisive: Isaiah 3:10, 11 Matthew 11:22, 24; Matthew 12:41, 42 Romans 2:5, 12 2 Corinthians 5:10; Galatians 6:7, 8, etc.

See RETRIBUTION.

3. Conscious Suffering in Future:

The conscious endurance of punishment for sin in the future state is already implied in the preceding. The parable of the Rich Man speaks of it as following immediately on death in Hades; all the descriptions of the judgment imply pain and anguish as the result of condemnation (compare Romans 2:5, 12). This does not settle the nature or duration of the punishment; but it excludes the idea that physical death is the extinction of being, or that annihilation follows immediately upon death or judgment.

These things being assumed, the questions that remain are: Is the period of suffering for sin eternal, or is it terminable? May it be cut short by repentance or by annihilation? Is there any final solution of the discord it implies in the universe? It is maintained here that the punishment of sin, in the case of the finally impenitent, is everlasting.

II. Scriptural Support.

The doctrine that the punishment of sin is everlasting is sustained by many plain testimonies of Scripture.

1. Old Testament and Jewish Conceptions:

The doctrine of future punishment is not prominent in the Old Testament, where rewards and punishments are chiefly connected with the present life. In a few passages (Psalm 49:14, 15; Psalm 73:18, 19; compare Isaiah 24:21, 22; Isaiah 66:24), Dr. Charles thinks that "Sheol appears as the place of punishment of the wicked" (Eschatology, 73-76, 156). If so, there is no suggestion of escape from it. In Daniel 12:2, some that sleep in the dust are represented as awaking to "shame and everlasting contempt" (the word for "everlasting" is the usual one, `olam). In the Jewish literature of the century before Christ, "Sheol is regarded," says Dr. Charles, "as the place of final eternal punishment, that is, it has become hell" (op. cit., 236).

See ESCHATOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 2. New Testament Teaching:

In the New Testament, the strongest language is used by Jesus and the apostolic writers on the certainty and severity of the punishment of sin in the future state, and always in a manner which suggests that the doom is final.

(1) "Eternal."

The word "eternal" (aionios) is repeatedly applied to the punishment of sin, or to the fire which is its symbol. A principal example is Matthew 25:41, 46, "eternal fire," "eternal punishment" (kolasis aionios). Here precisely the same word is applied to the punishment of the wicked as to the blessedness of the righteous. Other instances are Matthew 18:8 Jude 1:7; compare Revelation 14:11; Revelation 19:3; Revelation 20:10. In 2 Thessalonians 1:9, we have, "eternal destruction." The kindred word aidios, "everlasting," is in Jude 1:6 applied to the punishment of the fallen angels.

The reply made by Maurice (Theological Essays, 442;) that aionios in such passages denotes quality, not duration, cannot be sustained. Whatever else the term includes, it connotes duration. More pertinent is the criticism of other writers (e.g. Cox, Salvator Mundi, 96;; Farrar, Eternal Hope, Pref., xxxiv, pp. 78;, 197;; compare his Mercy and Judgment, passim) that aionios does not necessarily mean "eternal" (according to Cox it does not mean this at all), but is strictly "age-long," is therefore compatible with, if it does not directly suggest, a terminable period. Cox allows that the term is "saturated through and through with the element of time" (p. 100,), but he denies its equivalence with "everlasting." The sense, no doubt, is to be determined by the context, but it can hardly be questioned that "the eons of the eons" and similar phrases are the practical New Testament equivalents for eternity, and that aionios in its application to God and to life ("eternal life") includes the idea of unending duration (compare John 10:28, 29 for express assertion of this). When, therefore, the term is applied in the same context to punishment and to life (Matthew 25:46), and no hint is given anywhere of limitation, the only reasonable exegesis is to take the word in its full sense of "eternal."

(2) Equivalent Expressions.

The meaning "eternal" is confirmed by the use of equivalent expressions and of forms of speech which convey in the strongest manner the idea of finality. Such are the expressions, "the unquenchable fire," the "worm" that "dieth not" (Matthew 3:12 Mark 9:43-48; compare Matthew 13:42, 50), with those numerous references to "death," "destruction," "second death," on which the advocates of conditional immortality build their arguments for final extinction. Such is the dictum of Jesus: "He that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth (remains) on him" (John 3:36; the opposite of "life" is "perishing," 3:16); or that in Revelation 22:11, "He that is unrighteous, let him do unrighteousness still: and he that is filthy, let him be made filthy still." Finality is the note in all Christ's warnings-"the outer darkness" (Matthew 8:12; Matthew 22:13); "The door was shut.... I know you not" (Matthew 25:10, 12; compare 7:23), as in those of the Epistles (e.g. Hebrews 2:3; Hebrews 6:6, 8; 10:27, 31; 12:25, 29). Jesus speaks of the blasphemy against the Spirit as a sin which shall not be forgiven, "neither in this world, nor in that which is to come" (Matthew 12:32; not as implying that other sins, unforgiven in this life, may be forgiven in the next), a passage which Mark gives in the remarkable form, "hath never forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" (Mark 3:29). The Rich Man in Hades found an impassable gulf fixed between himself and Lazarus (Luke 16:26). See GULF. It adds to the terribleness of these sayings that, as before remarked, there is nothing to put against them; no hint or indication of a termination of the doom. Why did Jesus not safeguard His words from misapprehension, if behind them there lay an assurance of restoration and mercy? One may ask with Oxenham, in a reply to Jukes, "whether if Christ had intended to teach the doctrine of eternal punishment, He could possibly have taught it in plainer terms."

(3) The Last Judgment.

The New Testament doctrine of the last judgment leads to the same conclusion. Two things seem plainly taught about this judgment: the first, that it proceeds on the matter of the present life-"the things done in the body" (Matthew 25:31-46 2 Corinthians 5:10 Revelation 20:12); and the second, that it is decisive in its issues. Not a single suggestion is given of a reversal of its decisions in any future age. Such silence is inexplicable if the Scriptures meant to teach what the opponents of this doctrine so confidently maintain.

3. Teaching of Analogy:

In corroboration of this Scriptural view analogy might be pleaded. How constantly even in this life is the law illustrated of the tendency of character to fixity! The present is the season of grace (2 Corinthians 6:2), yet what powers of resistance to God and goodness are seen to lie in human nature, and how effectually, often, does it harden itself under the influences that seem most fitted to break down its rebellion! What likelihood is there that eternity will alter this tendency, or make conversion more easy? Eternity can hardly be thought of as more really a scene of grace than time is for those to whom the gospel has already come. Its characteristic mark is said to be "judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). Like the photographer's bath, may its effect not be to develop and fix existing character, rather than to change it? If so, the state in which judgment finds the soul may be presumed to be one that will remain.

III. Difficulties and Objections-Rival Hypotheses.

What, it will now be asked, of the tremendous difficulties which inhere in this doctrine, with their undeniable effect in alienating many generous minds from it and from Christianity? The lurid rhetorical picturings of the sufferings of the lost, too frequent in the teaching of the past, may be discounted; it is not necessary to go beyond the inexpressibly solemn words of Christ Himself and His apostles. But even with this limitation, does it not seem as if, by this doctrine, a reflection was cast on the righteousness and mercy of God in creating such multitudes of the human race, as, on any showing, are outside the pale of Christ's salvation-the countless generations of the heathen, with the masses even in Christian lands who have not received or do not obey the light-only to doom them to endless misery? Before attempting a positive answer, it is proper that a glance be taken at the rival theories put forth in alleviation of the difficulty.

1. Universal Salvation:

The most comprehensive solution propounded is that of universal salvation-of a final restitution of all souls to God's favor and to blessedness. This tempting speculation-for it is no more-advocated by Origen in the early church, by Schleiermacher in the last century, has been urged by many writers in modern times. One of its best known advocates was Samuel Cox, in his book Salvator Mundi. It is noticeable that not a few who favor this theory (e.g. Maurice, Farrar) decline to commit themselves to it as more than a "hope," and admit the possibility of human souls continuing to resist God endlessly (Maurice, Theological Essays, 476; Farrar, Eternal Hope, Pref., xv, xvi; Mercy and Judgment, I, 485, "In this sense there may be for some souls an endless hell"). It must, however, be evident that, be the number greater or smaller-and who shall give assurance of its smallness?-if there are any such souls, the difficulty in principle remains, and the passages alleged as teaching universal restoration are equally contradicted. The deeper objection to this theory is that, springing, not from real knowledge, but from men's hopes and wishes, it has, as already shown, the tremendous stress of Scripture testimony against it; nor do the passages commonly adduced as favoring it really bear the weight put upon them. We read, e.g., of a restoration of all things"-the same that Christ calls the palingenesia-but, in the same breath, we are told of those who will not hearken, and will be destroyed (Matthew 19:28 Acts 3:21, 23). We read of Christ drawing all men unto Him (John 12:32); but we are not less clearly told that at His coming Christ will pronounce on some a tremendous condemnation (Matthew 7:23; Matthew 25:41); we read of all things being gathered, or summed up, in Christ, of Christ subduing all things to Himself, etc.; but representative exegetes like Meyer and Weiss show that it is far from Paul's view to teach an ultimate conversion or annihilation of the kingdom of evil (compare Meyer on 1 Corinthians 15:21, 28 and Ephesians 1:10; Weiss, Biblical Theology, II, 723, 107, 109, English translation). We confess, however, that the strain of these last passages does seem to point in the direction of some ultimate unity, be it through subjugation, or in some other way, in which active opposition to God's kingdom is no longer to be reckoned with.

2. Annihilation:

The view favored by another class is that of the annihilation of the finally impenitent. The type of doctrine called "conditional immortality" includes other elements which need not here be discussed (see IMMORTALITY). The annihilation theory takes different forms. So far as the annihilation is supposed to take place at death, it is contradicted by the Scriptures which support the soul's survival after death; so far as it is believed to take place after a longer or shorter period of conscious suffering (which is White's theory), it involves its advocates in difficulties with their own interpretations of "death," "destruction," "perishing," seeing that in Scripture this doom is uniformly represented as overtaking the ungodly at the day of judgment, and not at some indefinite period thereafter. The theory conflicts also with the idea of gradation of punishment, for which room has to be sought in the period of conscious suffering, and rests really on an unduly narrowed conception of the meaning of the Scriptural terms "life" and "death." Life is not bare existence, nor is "death" necessarily extinction of being. Assaid earlier, the language of many parts of Scripture implies the continued existence of the subjects of the divine wrath.

3. Second Probation:

It is significant that on the side alike of the advocates of restoration and of those of annihilation (e.g. E. White), refuge from the difficulties is frequently sought in the hypothesis of an extended probation and work of evangelization beyond death. This theory labors under the drawback that, in marked contrast with Scripture, it throws immensely the larger part of the work of salvation into the future state of being. It is, besides, apart from the dubious and limited support given to it by the passage on Christ's preaching to "the spirits in prison" (1 Peter 3:19, 20); destitute of Scriptural support. It has already been pointed out that the final judgment is uniformly represented as proceeding on the matter of this life. The theory is considered elsewhere.

See ESCHATOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, sec. X.

IV. Nature, Conditions and Issues.

1. Mystery of the Future:

While dogmatisms like the above, which seem opposed to Scripture, are to be avoided, it is equally necessary to guard against dogmatisms of an opposite kind, as if eternity must not, in the nature of the case, have its undisclosed mysteries of which we here in time can frame no conception. The difficulties connected with the ultimate destinies of mankind are truly enormous, and no serious thinker will minimize them. Scripture does not warrant it in negative, any more than in positive, dogmatisms; with its uniformly practical aim, it does not seek to satisfy an idle curiosity (compare Luke 13:23, 24). Its language is bold, popular, figurative, intense; the essential idea is to be held fast, but what is said cannot be taken as a directory to all that is to transpire in the ages upon ages of an unending duration. God's methods of dealing with sin in the eternities may prove to be as much above our present thoughts as His dealings now are with men in grace. In His hands we must be content to leave it, only using such light as His immediate revelation yields.

2. Nature of Punishment:

As respects the nature of the punishment of sin, it cannot be doubted that in its essence it is spiritual. Everything can be adopted here which is said by Maurice and others-"The eternal punishment is the punishment of being without the knowledge of God, who is love, and of Jesus Christ who has manifested it; even as eternal life is declared to be the having the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ" (Theological Essays, 450). The supreme penalty of sin is unquestionably the loss of God's life and love-the being sinful. Environment, indeed, may be expected to correspond with character, but the hell is one the sinner essentially makes for himself, and, like the kingdom of God, is within. The fire, the worm, the stripes, that figure its severity, are not physical. Even should the poena sensus (were that conceivable) be utterly removed, the poena damni would eternally remain.

3. Range of Divine Mercy:

It is a sound principle that, in His dealing with sin in the world to come, God's mercy will reach as far as ever it can reach. This follows from the whole Scriptural revelation of the character of God. What may be included in it, it is impossible for anyone to say. It should be noticed that those of whom it is said that they shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on them, are those who "obey not" the truth (John 3:36)-who actively and consciously disregard and oppose it. But all do not belong to this class. It may be assumed that none will be lost who can in consistency with holiness and love be saved. The most germinal goodness, which is the implantation of His own Spirit, God will acknowledge and develop. The problem of undeveloped character may receive a solution we do not wot of with the entrance into the eternal light-not in change of character, but rather, as said before, in the revelation of character's inmost bent. In this sense, the entrance into eternity may be to many the revelation of a love and grace which had not been understood or appreciated as it should have been on earth, but with which it is in essential kinship. There are at least many shades and degrees of character, and God may be entrusted to take the most just, yet most merciful, account of all.

4. Gradation of Punishment:

The fullest weight must further be given to what the Scripture so expressly says of gradation of punishment, even of the unsaved. It is not the case that the lot of all who fail of the eternal life in Christ is all of one grade. There are the "few stripes" and the "many stripes" (Luke 12:47, 48); those for whom it will be "more tolerable" than for others in the day of judgment (Matthew 11:20, 24). Even "Sodom and her daughters" will be mercifully dealt with in comparison with others (Ezekiel 16:48, 49, 53, 55, 61). There will be for everyone the most exact weighing of privilege, knowledge and opportunity. There is a vast area here for the divine administration on which no light at all is afforded us.

5. God "All in All":

There remain those passages already alluded to which do seem to speak, not, indeed, of conversion or admission into the light and fellowship of Christ's kingdom, but still of a final subjugation of the powers of evil, to the extent, at least, of a cessation of active opposition to God's will, of some form of ultimate unification and acknowledgment of Christ as Lord. Such passages are Ephesians 1:10 Philippians 2:9-11; above all, 1 Corinthians 15:24-28. God, in this final vision, has become "all in all." Here, again, dogmatism is entirely out of place, but it is permissible to believe that these texts foreshadow such a final persuasion of God's righteousness in His judgment and of the futility of further rebellion as shall bring about an outward pacification and restoration of order in the universe disturbed by sin, though it can never repair that eternal loss accruing from exclusion from Christ's kingdom and glory.

LITERATURE.

Against: Maurice, Theological Essays, "Eternal Life and Eternal Death"; S. Cox, Salvator Mundi; F. W. Farrar, Eternal Hope; Mercy and Judgment; A. Jukes, The Second Death and the Restitution of All Things; E. White, Life in Christ; H. Constable, Duration and Nature of Future Punishment. For: Pusey, What Is of Faith as to Everlasting Punishment, H. N. Oxenham, Catholic Eschatology; C. Clemance, Future Punishment; Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus, the Messiah, Appendix, xix, "On Eternal Punishment, according to the Rabbis and the New Testament "; The Future Life, A Defence of the Orthodox View, by the Most Eminent American Scholars; S. D. F. Salmond, The Christian Doctrine of Immortality, Book VI; Orr, Christian View of God, lecture ix; Luthardt, Saving Truths (English translations), lecture x. See also the various works on Dogmatic and Biblical Theology.

James Orr

Greek

126. aidios -- everlasting
... everlasting. Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: aidios Phonetic Spelling:
(ah-id'-ee-os) Short Definition: eternal Definition: eternal, everlasting. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/126.htm - 6k

166. aionios -- agelong, eternal
... "Eternal (166 ) life operates simultaneously of time, of time, and beyond time --
ie what gives time its everlasting meaning for ... eternal, forever, everlasting. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/166.htm - 8k

1067. geenna -- Gehenna, a valley W. and South of Jer., also a ...
... ("hell"), the place of - torment (judgment), refers strictly to the everlasting
abode of the redeemed where they experience divine judgment . ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1067.htm - 7k

5053. teleutao -- to complete, to come to an end, hence to die
... 5053 () focuses on reaching the . Figuratively, 5053 ("come to closure")
means reaching one's everlasting destiny (good or bad). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5053.htm - 7k

2917. krima -- a judgment
... This is everlasting damnation (torment) for the unredeemed (the usual implication
of 2319 ) -- or the eternal that come from the Lord's judgment in favor of ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2917.htm - 7k

Strong's Hebrew

5769. olam -- long duration, antiquity, futurity
... successive (1), always (1), ancient (13), ancient times (3), continual (1), days
of old (1), eternal (2), eternity (3), ever (10), Everlasting (2), everlasting ...
/hebrew/5769.htm - 7k

5957. alam -- perpetuity, antiquity
... Word Origin (Aramaic) corresponding to olam Definition perpetuity, antiquity NASB
Word Usage all ages (1), all ages to come (1), everlasting (4), forever (9 ...
/hebrew/5957.htm - 6k

6924. qedem -- front, east, formerly
... Short Definition: aforetime. aforetime, ancient time, before, east end,
part, side eternal, everlasting, forward, Or qedmah {kayd ...
/hebrew/6924.htm - 6k

5703. ad -- perpetuity
... forevermore* (2), old (1), perpetual (1). eternity, everlasting, old, perpetually,
world without end. From adah; properly, a (peremptory ...
/hebrew/5703.htm - 6k

6924a. qedem -- front, east, formerly
... times (3), before (1), before his of old (1), earliest times (1), East (1), east
(26), east side (1), eastward (1), eternal (1), everlasting (1), formerly (1 ...
/hebrew/6924a.htm - 5k

Library

The Saints' Everlasting Rest
The Saints' Everlasting Rest. <. The Saints' Everlasting Rest Richard
Baxter. Table of Contents. Title Page. PREFATORY NOTICE. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/baxter/the saints everlasting rest/

The Everlasting Arms
... HYMNS THE EVERLASTING ARMS. "His left hand is under my head, and His right hand
doth embrace me.""Cant. ii.6. JJ Winkler, 1722. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899. ...
/.../bevan/hymns of ter steegen and others second series/the everlasting arms.htm

The Angel of the Everlasting Gospel.
... EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. The Angel of the Everlasting Gospel. ... It is the
preaching of the everlasting gospel which is thus symbolized. ...
/.../bliss/a brief commentary on the apocalypse/the angel of the everlasting.htm

The Everlasting Arms
... XXXIII THE EVERLASTING ARMS. Deuteronomy xxxiii.27. "Underneath are the everlasting
arms,""that was the repeated burden of the great men of Israel. ...
/.../peabody/mornings in the college chapel/xxxiii the everlasting arms.htm

The Blood of the Everlasting Covenant
... The Blood of the Everlasting Covenant. A Sermon (No.273). ... at the Music Hall, Royal
Surrey Gardens. "The blood of the everlasting covenant.""Hebrews 13:20. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 5 1859/the blood of the everlasting.htm

"From Everlasting to Everlasting
... LIFE, DEATH AND FUTURITY. 514. " "From everlasting to everlasting. 514.
CM Watts. "From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.". ...
/.../adams/hymns for christian devotion/514 from everlasting to.htm

There is an Everlasting Home
... No. 69 There is an everlasting home. THE SACRED WOUNDS There is an
everlasting home. M. Bridges M. Mattoni. Slowly. 1. There is ...
/.../various/the st gregory hymnal and catholic choir book/no 69 there is an.htm

The Everlasting Harmony. January 6.
... The Everlasting Harmony. January 6. If thou art living a righteous and
useful life, doing thy duty orderly and cheerfully where ...
/.../kingsley/daily thoughts /the everlasting harmony january 6.htm

27TH DAY. Everlasting Espousals.
... 27TH DAY. Everlasting Espousals. "He is Faithful that Promised." "And I will betroth
thee unto Me for ever.""Hosea 2:19. Everlasting Espousals. ...
/.../macduff/the faithful promiser/27th day everlasting espousals.htm

The Everlasting Music. June 3.
... The Everlasting Music. June 3. All melody and all harmony upon earth, whether
in the song of birds, the whisper of the wind, the ...
/.../kingsley/daily thoughts /the everlasting music june 3.htm

Subtopics

Afterlife

Everlasting

Everlasting Life

Related Terms

Lasting (40 Occurrences)

Believeth (42 Occurrences)

Going (2561 Occurrences)

Perpetuity (5 Occurrences)

Perpetually (10 Occurrences)

Damnation (11 Occurrences)

Underneath (19 Occurrences)