Matthew 25:46

Matthew 25:46. Into eternal punishment. The opposite is eternal life, both never ending, the Greek word being the same. In the New Testament it is used fifty-nine times of the happiness of the righteous, of God's existence, or of the Church and the Messiah's kingdom, in seven of the future punishment of the wicked. If the former end, then the latter may. The word ‘punishment' expresses positive misery, not ‘ annihilation;' especially ‘life,' the contrasted expression, means here far more than mere continued existence. Endless and boundless life is contrasted with endless and boundless misery. The two facts, one transcendently glorious, the other unspeakably awful, are revealed: the details, blissful and terrible alike, are wisely withheld. Enough is known to enforce all needed practical lessons.