Ransom Paid

"...when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power." (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 NLT)

Dang Robert, what's that "eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord" all about? I
 thought you said God will save all people, not eternally destroy and separated some of them from Him.

I did not say it, God said He is "the Savior of all people"...

"This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people..." (1 Timothy 4:9-10 NLT)

OK, so how are we supposed to reconcile the two passages. They seem to contradict each other?  You are right, the above English New Living Translation (NLT) of 2 Thessalonians 2:7-9 does contradict its translation of 1 Timothy 4:9-10.


But there is a mistranslation of one Greek word, which is mistranslated in many places in well known English translations. It is the word "ETERNAL" in the 2 Thessalonians passage above. The Greek word is "aiōnion" and does not mean "eternal". It means "age-during", or "eonian". Note Young's Literal Translation (YLT), and the Concordant Literal New Testament (CLNT), two of the few translations that get it right...

"...who shall suffer justice -- destruction age-during -- from the face of the Lord, and from the glory of his strength..." (YLT)


"...who shall incur the justice of eonian extermination from the face of the Lord, and from the glory of his strength..." (CLNT)

NOTE:  The "eonian extermination" is a reference to the fact that during the 1000 year future reign of Christ on earth those Jews who rejected Jesus as their Messiah will not be raised to reign with him during that Millennial Age. They will be raised to life afterwards.  (See Revelation 20:4-5)

So why do most versions refuse to correct the mistranslation?

Because, as I have said before, "age-during" - or "eonian" does not fit into the man-made dogma of the Church which was well established before Tyndale completed the first English translation of the New Testament in the year 1526.


The Jews had done the same with the Scriptures which had been around for decades when Jesus walked the earth.  In referring to the dogma of the Jewish religious leaders Jesus said...

“in vain are they revering Me, teaching for teachings the directions of men” (Matthew 15:9 CLNT)

Why do I continue to bring this up from time to time? 
Good question, I ask myself this often considering few seem to care, especially among those who think of themselves as teachers and preachers of the Word of God. 

Nevertheless, I want my family, and anyone else who may care to read this blog, to have a place to go when they have a question about the "directions of men" and perhaps it will encourage them to start their own study of the Scripture for the truth...the glorious truth of the eventual salvation of mankind and the reconciliation of all creation to God, the secret truth that, at the proper time, was revealed to the Apostle Paul.

"...for this is ideal and welcome in the sight of our Savior, God, who WILLS THAT ALL MANKIND BE SAVED and to come into a realization of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator of God and mankind, a man, Christ Jesus, who is giving himself as a correspondent RANSOM FOR ALL (the testimony in its own eras), for which I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) a teacher of the nations in knowledge and truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-7)


One day all mankind will come to know that God "wills all mankind be saved" and that Christ Jesus gave himself as a "ransom for all".

Popular posts from this blog

Open Your Mind

I Am Not Ashamed

Gun to My Head Prediction