Disclaimer:
I’m neither a theologian nor a scholar. In this this series I am merely sharing how, I, as a regular person, came to the understanding of what I am about to share. These posts are not exhaustive essays, but nutshells.
It is not written from a haughty and insecure "I'm right - you're wrong" position, something that is so prevalent in the fundamentalist religious circles. My hope is that, this will encourage someone to look beyond the obvious, to dig in, instead of blindly agreeing with the unquestioned answers.
This series is not about me pushing my thoughts down your throat; again, something that fundamentalism is infamous for. Truths are discovered by the seeker; not swallowed.
Based on the scriptures we know, it may be tempting to discard anything that we haven't heard before, while reading this series. I used to be a pro at that. I had all the scriptural points to prove why I was “right” regarding a particular belief. Little did I know then, that I was merely echoing one of the many interpretations out there, and that, the picture is much bigger than what I initially thought it was.
On to Part III of this series.
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"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." - John
3:16
The popular conclusion based on this verse says
that those who do not believe in Jesus will consciously be burned forever and
ever in a lake of fire.
I'll paste an excerpt from the book 'Raising Hell: Christianity's Most Controversial Doctrine Put Under Fire', that explains this mistranslated word below:
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[Quote begins]
Lose/Destroy/Perish. (Apollumi, Strong’s #622).
As far as I have found, all of the New Testament and Greek Old Testament
(Septuagint) verses that have to do with the destruction of people (some evil,
some not) use some form of the Greek word, “apollumi” or “ollumi.” Many verses
use this word while speaking simply of the death of mortals, and many others seem
to convey utter and final (eternal) destruction in hell.
So what does apollumi mean exactly? The best way to find out is to compare all
the various ways that apollumi is used. Consider the following verses (uses of
apollumi in italics):
Matt. 2:13: “Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to
Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to
Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the
Child [Jesus] to destroy Him.’”
Matt. 8:24–25: “And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the
boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they
came to Him and woke Him, saying, ‘Save us, Lord; we are perishing!’”
Matt. 10:28: “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the
soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy
both soul and body in hell (Gehenna).”
Matt. 10:39: “He who has found his soul will lose it, and he who has lost
his soul for My sake will find it” (MLT).
Matthew 27:20: “But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to
ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.”
Luke 15:4: “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the
ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?”
Luke 15:24: “ ‘…for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he
was lost and has been found.’ And
they began to celebrate.”
Luke 17:29: “…but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and
brimstone from heaven and destroyed
them all.”
Luke 19:10: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
1 Cor. 15:18: “Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ (died) have perished.”
What can we conclude? First of all, you can clearly see that apollumi can’t be
used to convey utter, final destruction in most of these verses, but only
temporary loss. Apollumi comes from two root words, “apo” and “ollumi.”
According to Strong’s Concordance, Apo means “of separation” or “away.” Ollumi
is from the root word “olethros” which translates roughly in ancient Greek to
“destruction,” but often with a positive connotation, as in the destruction
required for and preceding renewal.
According to Wikipedia: “A more enlightened translating of this word (olethros)
in these verses* would be punishment—the kind of punishment that relieves one
of guilt for a debt paid in full, enabling one to go on to share in the LORD’s
everlasting grace, continually receiving discipline as one of His beloved
sons.”
A good example of this idea is demonstrated in Scripture is 1 Corinthians 5:5:
“I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction (olethros)
of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
In his section on Word Studies from the New Testament, Marvin Vincent writes of
olethros: “But olethros does not always mean destruction or extinction. Take
the kindred verb apollumi, to destroy or put an end to, or in the middle voice,
to be lost, to perish. Peter says ‘…the world being deluged with water,
perished’ (apoleto, 2 Pet. 3:6); but the world did not become extinct, it was
renewed. In Heb. 1:11–12, quoted from Ps. 102, we read concerning the heavens
and the earth… ‘They shall perish (apolountai)…like and old garment they will
also be changed (allagesontai).’ The perishing is only preparatory to change
and renewal. Compare Isa. 51:6,16; 66:22; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1.”71
[*The Greek word olethros is found in 1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Thess. 5:3; 2 Thess. 1:9;
and 1 Tim. 6:9.]
Understood correctly, apollumi never implies a total, permanent loss, death, or
destruction of anything. In fact, throughout the New Testament, people or
things that have been “apollumi-ed” are found, saved, and restored. It’s a
temporary putting away of the old through a process of correction, renewal, and
restoration. Isn’t that wonderful news?”
[Quote Ends]
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So as we see, apollumi has nothing to do with the concept of eternal perishing.
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