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Footnote:
The Bible actually never really speaks of "eternal" damnation. I want to explore this by quickly telling the parable of Lazarus first.
There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus (meaning: "He whom God loves", not to be confused with the real Lazarus Jesus allegedly raised from the dead,) covered with wounds and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'
Is there everlasting, conscious torment for the wicked? This story would suggest so; it tells us that lost people in Hell never have a second chance to be saved. If they did, Abraham would have surely told him to just be patient and wait until he had served his time. This verse not only says there is no way to pass from Hell to Heaven, but it is also very clear that there is no way to pass from Heaven to Hell.
The doctrine of eternal damnation mainly revolves around the meaning of the Greek word "aionios", usually translated into English by "eternal" or "everlasting"--just as the English word "aeon" means age. The question now before us: does "aionios" definitely mean eternal? Or might it mean "age-lasting" as one would expect from its derivation? Revelation 14: 10,11 speaks of those who 'will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever ... '. The phrase "eis tous aionas ton aionon" in Greek is literally "through ages of ages".
Hebrews chapter 1 verse 2 says, 'in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the ages (aions)'. The Greek word "aion" can mean either "age" or "world". And this is interesting, for "aionios" may not just mean "as long as time lasts" or "time-lasting", but also: "world-lasting". And when will the world end then? There is no mention of that, of course, except that it will indeed end, right after the White Throne Judgment is completed. First Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire where he will be tormented forever (Rev. 20:10). Immediately after Satan is thrown into the lake of fire, the present heaven (universe) and earth disappear. Then the Great White Throne Judgment begins. After the Great White Throne Judgment, a new heaven (universe) and earth will be created (Rev. 21:1). The Great White Throne Judgment is when those who do not belong to Jesus are said to be judged to determine where they will spend eternity (Rev. 20:11-15): "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books." The Book of Life, according to Orthodox Christianity, records all those persons who have accepted God's mercy and salvation provided by faith through the sacrifice of Jesus. If a person's name is recorded in the Book of Life, his sin debt is paid in full through faith in Jesus' death and resurrection. Only those persons whose names are recorded in the Book of Life can enter the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:10, 27). If a person's name is not recorded in the Book of Life, that means that he has failed to accept Jesus' provisions for paying his sin debt. All those whose names are not recorded in the Book of Life are thrown into the lake of fire where Satan, the Beast, and the False Prophet are, to suffer there for eternity, cut off from God.
Herein lies the problem. Going back to the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, apparently the rich man will not serve a true eternity in Hell; at least not consecutively. He is currently in Hell, yes, but even the rich man is promised a formal judgement: at The Great White Throne Judgment all those who do not belong to God are judged by their works (Rev. 20:12-13). Interesting detail is, that since the rich man had failed to accept Jesus' provisions for paying his sin debt (John 12:48; Rom. 10:3), he will afterwards be thrown into the lake of fire again. There seems to be a kind of immediate Judgment (Lazarus instantly finding himself in Hell upon death,) and a later Judgment when the world ends.
And so, the parable of Lazarus and the rich man clearly illustrates that the term "aionios" must mean something like "age-lasting", and not "ever-lasting". Ever-lasting precludes the possibility of a moment to follow it. And The Bible clearly states that after having spent an 'eternity' in Hell, the rich man will be brought before God, where he will be judged and sentenced to spend 'another' eternity in the lake of fire. If we then examine the etymology of the word "ever" (as in everlasting,) we see that it stems from the Latin word "aevum", also meaning "age". And surprise, surprise, "aevum" in turn comes from the Greek word "aion". We came full circle. :) So, if you look up "eternal" in the dictionary, and it tells you "everlasting", it basically just tells you "age-lasting".
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