As a practical, house-bound shut-in, I am limited to this blog and the phone calls and e-mails I receive in response, both in agreement and disagreement. That’s not a substitute for church, but it’s the best I can do. I deeply appreciate your participation with me. 
In last week’s blog posting, I related my fitful, reluctant 5-year journey to become an Evangelical Universalist (EU). Yes, I now believe that Hell is TEMPORARY, REDEMPTIVE DISCIPLINE, rather than PERMANENT, PUNITIVE PUNISHMENT! All of God’s wrath and judgement was poured out on Jesus at the cross, as He died for the sins of all mankind. I mentioned several supporting verses in passing, but today I would like to share in more detail what I believe is the foundation stone of Evangelical Universalism.
I believe that understanding the meaning of the Greek word aion is the key to understanding EU. This word is translated “everlasting,” or “eternal,” in verses referring to Hell. However, the word generally is used in sentences like the following that are not referring to Hell but to a distinct period of time:
“Now all these things happened unto them for examples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages (aion – OF THE ETERNITIES) are come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). Here the “eternities” have an end!
“That in the ages (aion− ETERNITIES) to come (not yet here) he might show the exceeding riches of his grace” (Ephesians 2:7).
”The mystery which has been hidden from ages (aion−ETERNITIES) and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.” (Colossians 1:26). What was hidden for eternity was not “hidden forever,” because it has now been revealed.
“But now once in the end of the ages (aion−ETERNITIES), hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Eternity has an end (Hebrews 9:26)..
“The harvest is the end of the age” (aion – ETERNITY) …”So shall it be in the end of this age” (ETERNITY)…”’Tell us when shall these things be, and what the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the age’” (ETERNITY – Matthew 13:39, 40; 24:3)
These verses make no sense unless the Greek word for “eternity” is translated “age-long,” because our normal understanding of the word “eternity” is that it has no beginning and no end. Generally, this word as a noun in the Bible, is translated “age,” or the adjective form (aionian), as “age-long.” There is a beginning and an end.
However, “age” is not always the preferred translation for the word aion. Sometimes, from the context, it would seem that, yes, the age is “eternal” or “forever.” For example, 2 Corinthians 4:18:
“We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
So, how do you know if the word means the traditional view that we have of the word “eternal” (everlasting) or should be seen as “age-long?” Incidentally, the majority of its uses in the Bible are “age-long.”
For example, in Matthew 25:46, the adjective form of aion is mentioned twice, once referring to aionian judgment and once to aionian life:
“And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Augustine, (the 4th/5th century scholar who led the majority of the early church into the view of “Hell as punitive and everlasting”), said of this verse that if God’s life is eternal, then His punishment must be also. He was much more eager to equate the parallel phrases here in Matthew 25:46 than he was in 1 Corinthians 15:22, where it is stated that “all in Adam” are also the same people who are now “all in Christ!”
I can distinguish these two meanings of aion by realizing that God Himself is the only thing that is really eternal or outside of time. Everything else is “age-long,” including the mountains, this earth and even this universe. They all had a beginning and will have an end. Only God Himself is eternal, completely outside the framework of time. Other things are everlasting only as they pertain specifically to Him.
For example, look at the following verse: “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).
In this verse, eternal life is “eternal,” not because it is forever in time, but
because it is God’s life, outside of time! His ways are also said to be everlasting, not because they last forever, but because they are God’s ways: “His ways are everlasting” (Habakkuk 3:6).
So, what then is “eternal punishment?” We have seen that it is not “eternal,” but neither is it “punishment.” All of God’s punishment for sin was poured out on His Son Jesus at the cross. His judgment was permanently satisfied there. God is now no longer a GOD OF JUDGMENT, but only a GOD OF LOVE! He will deal with our rebellion against His rule in our lives with HIS LOVING DISCIPLINE in Hell—His divine “woodshed”—the perfect blend of firmness and compassion! In this fearsome discipline of Hell, our knees will eventually bow, and our tongues will ultimately confess—“Jesus is my Lord” (Philippians 2:10, 11)!
My 63-page booklet that presents a much more complete summary is available, free of charge, in PDF format: Limitless Grace – A New Look at Hell (1).pdf
