Two words, life and death are contrasted with each other throughout the scriptures. Just as God gave the way for eternal life and the behavior that would bring death, Jesus spoke to both of the subjects in Matthew. He addressed them by explaining what would bring life and what would bring death. He also told them the events that would occur and depending on their belief, they would either live or suffer punishment. That brings us to the words everlasting aionios--pronounced: ahee-o'-nee-os (G0166) and punishment kolasis--pronounced: kol'-as-is (G2851). Note that the same Greek word translated eternal is translated everlasting. There is no reason linguistically, grammatically and contextually to use everlasting instead of eternal (Review the definitions of eternal in the last paragraph of Part XVIII.) The word is an adjective that modifies punishment, a noun, and as such, it has no action.

It is commonly taught that unbelievers will go to a place where they are punished in the fires of Hell. But that isn’t the message of the scriptures though many will disagree. Since everlasting is defined by the same words as eternal, then punishment must be compared to life since it is the opposite; using that criteria, punishment is actually referring to death. A better word to translate the Greek word would be retribution (death) which lasts forever. Thus it is forever and lasts eternally.  

God gave life, the most precious gift he could give to his creation. Adam and Eve let that gift escape them by their disobedience, but God sent Jesus to make it possible for anyone to become a child of God by following the instructions of Jesus and the apostles. There is no doubt that the Jews of the time and beyond of Jesus wanted salvation. But when they saw the destruction of Jerusalem begin, they knew it was too late to change; thus the weeping and gnashing of teeth that came with realization that they had forfeited the eternal life they so earnestly sought.

All the time Jesus was on earth, he spoke of the opposites, life and death. He gave the Jews the way to avoid death but many didn’t believe him; they refused to believe that God would send retribution upon them for not believing he was God’s son and their way to salvation.

Jesus warned them to look and be ready so they had no excuse when the siege of Jerusalem began. He warned them and told them to watch in chapter 24:27, 31, 37, 39, 42, 44 and 50. Then in chapter 25 he repeated his message with parables. Verses 31 and 32 are similar to 24:30 and 31. The people of that day had no excuse for losing the s                                                                                                       alvation and eternal life they attempted to claim.

 Based on the various chapters, verses, and words of the Old Testament and the harmony of the verses of the New Testament that correspond to the Old Testament, the study shows that Matthew 24 cannot refer to any period of time other than the years preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and the destruction itself. When Jesus said only his father knew the day and hour of his representative return in 24:36, he spoke of the time that Jerusalem would be destroyed. There was a reason for that destruction and the death which came upon the unbelievers. The reason will be shown in the next parts when the letters to the various churches and individuals are examined. The message in the letters on the subject is in harmony with gospels. After the day of Pentecost, the members of the body of Christ had to be reminded of the truth and were given more warnings to be ready for what was going to occur.

  If the events of which Jesus spoke in Matthew 24 and other chapters did not apply to the people of that day, then they had no reason to do anything that Jesus told them to do to be saved from the carnage coming their way. In addition, if those events are yet in the future, then the Bible is not a book of history in which past events are recorded; and to take it one step further, the events have not yet occurred. That position destroys the message of the scriptures by promoting a false doctrine.

Part XX will begin the examination of the letters which contain the complimentary verses to the subject in Matthew 24.

© 09-18-2012 DEC