Triumphant Love

Many readers of the Bible are willing to admit that the scriptures present the teaching of mankind’s ultimate reconciliation to his Creator, but are disheartened to find so many seemingly contradictory statements concerning the “destruction” or "perishing" of all unbelievers .

That these verses exist cannot be denied. The pertinent question being: What is meant by the term “destruction”, and how can men be both “destroyed” AND reconciled? To put it bluntly, does the Scripture contradict itself concerning the lost of mankind?
Plainly, both outcomes for unbelievers cannot be true, if we rely on the common English understanding of the words “Destroy” and “Destruction”.

However, the “New Testament” was not penned in English, but in Greek. So what is the meaning of these original Greek words, translated consistently to give the reader the idea of a horrible outcome? It appears from these verses that the unbeliever will be subjected to an end from which there is no possibility of recovery, but of a perpetual hopeless condition. Let’s take some verses that employ these words to see if we can gain a better understanding of the original meaning and intent of these texts.

The best way to determine the meaning of a Greek word is to trace its use throughout the rest of the Scriptures. By far, the most common word rendered “destroy” is the Greek word ‘apollymi’. It is also often translated by the old English word “perish”. The most famous verse employing it, being {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 ( Gk. aionios, age-pertaining) life.”

We understand this word to mean something that will decay and rot, such as food that is “perishable”. Here, as in other passages, “perish” is perceived by the reader to indicate a state from which no return is possible; a permanent, irretrievable condition of destruction and separation from God. This deduction is due in large part to the teaching of “eternal punishment” which all of us have been exposed to in our varied church experiences.

However, when we see that “apollymi” is used in other passages that also clearly indicate the RESTORATION of the person or thing, it forces us to rethink our previous conclusions concerning the intent of the use of this word. For example, from Luke chapter 15, Jesus’ parable of the woman’s “LOST” (‘apollymi’) coin, we know that after a thorough search of her house, her previously lost or perished coin is found, and restored to her possession.

 The same is true in the companion parables of the “LOST” (‘apollymi’) sheep, retrieved from its lost condition, and restored to safety within the shepherd’s fold. And most notably, the “LOST” (‘apollymi’) son, who, after living a foolish, self- indulgent life, and reaping its harvest, is ultimately restored to his rejoicing father, even after his father considered him DEAD, and lost to him permanently.
“For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was LOST (‘apollymi’), and is found. And they began to be merry.” {Luke 15:24} 

In Paul’s writings, we find “apollymi” being employed in the case of a believer’s behavior toward another believer with a weak conscience. Paul exhorts believers in Corinth not to “sin against your brothers” and “wound their weak consciences”, and asks: 

 “And through thy knowledge, shall the weak brother PERISH (‘apollymi’), for whom Christ died?”

Similarly, Paul addresses the Roman assembly with this same issue;

“For if because of meat thy brother is grieved, thou walkest no longer in love. DESTROY (apollymi) not with thy meat him for whom Christ died.” {Rom. 14:15}

Are we willing to believe that a brother in Christ can cause another brother to become eternally lost or destroyed? Can a believer “undo” the work of God in another believer’s life, and put him in danger of eternal punishment? Of course not! The “destruction” in view is in callously offending a brother weak in his faith, so as to send him “off course” in his walk with Christ, and setting back his spiritual progress toward maturity.

 Apollymi sometimes gives the idea of being marred or ruined. “And no man putteth new wine into old wine-skins; else the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will PERISH (‘apollymi’).” {Luke 5:37}

The danger in this verse is the loss of the wine, through the ruination of the wine containers. The containers are not lost, destroyed, or annihilated, but simply flawed, marred to the point of no longer being suitable to function for which they were designed. It may be possible for them to be repaired so that they again could contain wine, but in their present condition, they are unfit for their intended purpose, they are useless to their owner.

Similarly, the idea of being ruined or useless is in the account of Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the multitude with only a boy’s lunch. We read: “When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be LOST (‘apollymi’).” If the leftover food was not gathered, it would spoil, therefore being ruined and being of use to no one. Only by collecting the leftovers could they be rescued from certain “loss”.

In many passages, ‘apollymi’ clearly refers to the death of an individual. An example is found in {Luke 13: 2-5} “And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? ³ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise PERISH (‘apollymi’). ⁴ Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise PERISH (‘apollymi’).”

However, it is totally unwarranted to project these or any other “perished” persons, into a state from which it is impossible for them to be recalled. They may be temporarily “ruined” by physical death, but this does not mean that they are irreparably destroyed or lost to God.

Would  the reader believe that Jesus Christ PERISHED upon His death? Yet, that is exactly what the Scriptures aver:
“Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’ ³³ Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should PERISH (‘apollymi’) outside of Jerusalem.” {Luke 13:32,33}

Jesus "perished" when He breathed His last breath on the cross, and for 3 days He seemed hopelessly lost to the grave. But, the "destroyed" Christ, emerged triumphantly over death as The Firstfruit of all who remain there, securing their future resurrection and restoration to The Father.

Does the death of any person create an insurmountable difficulty for their Creator? Does not the Scripture plainly state that ALL persons will be resurrected at some point in God’s future timetable? Far from being God’s purpose for never ending torment, each resurrected person will receive a just sentence which will conclude in his repentence and reconciliation to God.

Another Greek word always translated “destruction” is ‘olethros’. A passage that some point to, which seemingly supports their concept of eternal punishment is {2 Thes. 1:7-9} which says:
 “Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;⁷ And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:⁹ Who shall be punished with EVERLASTING (aionios) DESTRUCTION (‘olethros’) from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power."

 It is clear that these who will experience “destruction” at the 2^nd advent of the Lord will be shut out from Christ’s presence when He returns in glory to establish His earthly righteous kingdom. Two words must be defined for the truth of this passage to become clear. The first is “everlasting”. As many will recognize from our previous studies, this is the Greek word ‘aionios’. Although mis-translated consistently by the KJV translators as ‘eternal’ and ‘everlasting’, this is a TIME RELATED word meaning “age pertaining”, which has both a beginning and an end, which is not the case for something truly ‘eternal’ or ‘everlasting’.

The second word which we must define in this passage is “destruction”. Once again, we will get a clearer meaning of this Greek word by tracing its use in other passages. This word ‘olethros’ is used only 3 other times in the Bible. The first is in reference to a believer refusing to turn away from a disgraceful, public sin in the assembly at Corinth. Paul admonishes them:

“For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,⁴ In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,⁵ To deliver such an one unto Satan for the DESTRUCTION (‘olethros’) of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” {1 Cor. 5: 3-5} 

Whatever this “destruction” is, Paul is not threatening this believer with a bodily destruction that cannot be reversed, for we know from this same letter to the Corinthians, that all believers will receive a resurrected, vivified body at the Rapture {15: 50-55}. This fleshly “destruction” being threatened is therefore temporary, not permanent. It has no lasting effects on his future state of perfection or presence with Christ.

The next occurrence of ‘olethros’ is in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian assembly. “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.³ For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden DESTRUCTION (‘olethros’) cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” {1 Thes. 5:2, 3}

It is interesting that Paul likens this “destruction” of unbelievers, to the labor of a pregnant woman. Once begun, there is no deliverance from the fear and pain UNTIL the child is born, then the woman finds relief for her mind and body. This gives us a strong indication that this “destruction” of these unprepared people is also of a temporal nature. Their destruction comes suddenly, without warning, and with no present escape to be found UNTIL God’s purpose for them has been accomplished.

The last occurrence of ‘olethros’ is found in {1 Tim. 6: 9}:

“But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in DESTRUCTION (‘olethros’) and PERDITION (‘apoleia’).”

It should be noted that the word ‘perdition’ in this verse, is the noun form of ‘apollymi’, which we discussed previously, and indicates "RUIN". We learn from this verse that it is due to the desire to become rich in material things that leads a believer into this “destruction” and “perdition”. We refer to certain individuals that partake in “destructive behavior”. We are not intimating that they are being annihilated, or destroyed beyond the realm of hope, but only that their actions are RUINING their lives!

Is it not plain to see, after our consideration of all these passages with ‘olethros’, that Paul is speaking of RUIN, MARRING, and a general CHAOS enveloping foolish individuals to their harm? But in none of these cases must we deduce that their condition is beyond remedy. Even the passage which seems so ominous, translated as “everlasting destruction” by the KJV translators, means simply “age-related ruin”.

Does not Paul clearly teach that every knee will bow before Christ, and every tongue give praise to Him {Phil. 2: 10, 11}? Does Paul not teach by the Spirit of God that it pleased The Father to unite ALL beings in heaven and earth in His Son, and to reconcile ALL to Himself through Christ’s Cross sacrifice?

Are we not told specifically that although, at present, God has taken up residence in the hearts of  only believers, a time is coming at the consummation of His Plan when He will become All in all His creatures? {1 Cor. 15: 22-28} Yes, He is able to elicit the heart-felt devotion of every one of His creatures, so that none remains ruined, useless, and lost, but all are restored, blessed, and found, by the omnipotent Lover of souls, and Seeker of the destroyed.

It is high time that church leaders put an end to the false teaching of eternal torment. Letting go of vain tradition is difficult for all of us. However, we must allow the pure sunlight of God’s truth to illuminate our hearts to the true character of our Creator and Savior. Let us rejoice together in His overwhelming and eternal Love for ALL His creatures. Then, we will be enabled to jettison man’s false and devilish doctrines of hate, and to grow in the grace of our Lord of Love, and be conformed to His image.