He doesn’t state it, but he does imply it, doesn’t he? He speaks of each day having “an evening and a morning”
And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. (Gen. 1:13)
And so with each of the other days, except the seventh.
The Hebrew (literal) day began at sundown, continued throughout the evening and the next morning until the following sundown.
How can a thousand-year “day” or a million-year “day” have an evening and a morning?
How can a thousand-year “day” or a million-year “day” have an evening and a morning?
Like a lot of things in the bible it could be symbolic. Morning could be the birth or beginnings of some creation for example.
As to the thread title, there is no eternal punishment, and therefore no need for justification for what does not exist.
As for the two concepts of “eternity” which you propose:
#1 is incoherent. If there is no “succession, duration, or sequence”, then there are no events. For the occurence of events implies time. Indeed the very definition of time is the temporal space between events. Who wants “eternal life” if there are no events in that existence?
#2 is incoherent. How can there be an infinite regression of time? What was God doing during that infinite period prior to creation? Nothing?
The Bible doesn’t say time will have an end, in spite of the song “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” which contains the line, “When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more…”
This false idea is derived from this verse from the King James translation:
And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer. (Rev 10:6 AV)
Other translations, such as the New King James Version make clear what is actually meant:
The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets. (Rev 10:5-7 NKJV) (underlining mine)
In my opinion “eternal” is tantamount to “everlasting” and several translations so render the word “aionios.” The King James translates it as “everlasting” 26 times. Actually the Greek word “aionios” doesn’t mean either. It simply means “lasting” and has been used for events which last for 3 years or even for 3 days. The true Greek word for “eternal” or “everlasting” is “aidios”.
I fail to see how this a logical incoherence. Just because you don’t want a timeless eternity doesn’t make it incoherent.
I said nothing about a logical incoherence. I said it is incoherent—meaningless, just a collection of words strung together which convey no meaning.
Oh, people can imagine such an existence. But that’s all it is—imagination. It has no correspondence to reality.
I didn’t indicate that I don’t want a “timeless eternity”. For the phrase is meaningless. I don’t know what it is that you claim I don’t want.
Not wanting a “timeless holiday” would make just as much sense.
I think it’s more than imagination. It follows from the fact that time had a beginning. Whatever brought the universe into existence is outside time. Even propositional truth is outside time. 2+2=4. This stays true and doesn’t change. It’s eternal.
Michael, the Apostle Paul is not talking about love as it is experienced by God, just as he is not talking about faith and hope in God. He is talking about human love as perfected by the Spirit. Once again, we just can’t go around projecting ourselves onto the Godhead.
She probably would not feel loved, but that does not mean that the husband does not love her; in fact, his actions demonstrate his love, despite his emotional dislike for her!
Absolutely! That’s one reason why I am Eastern Orthodox.
Yes … but we are debating what that means. I certainly do not believe that God gets angry with our transgressions against his honor. The one who died on the cross for his enemies isn’t worried about honor or reputation or whatever, nor is he interested in retributively punishing the ungodly. He is absolutely committed to the cessation of injustice and the restoration of his good creation; but restorative justice is different from inflicting suffering and injury upon the wicked simply for the sake of making them suffer (an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth). I think Jesus had something to say about that …
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God is love
Where does the Bible that time will have an end?
Your views of eternity are Platonic not Bliblical, no offense but your first post is rather a philosophical than a scriptural argument not worthy to answer since I see your ideas nowhere backed up in the Bible.
Do you believe the soul to be immortal?
PS: You may want to read the file in the attachment concerning eternity in the Bible
eternity and the bible.pdf (248 KB)
I agree, Sven.