A poster just said this:
Yes, it [Christ's sacrifice] is eternal...in its result, NOT ITS PROCESS.
Is Jesus' sacrifice eternal just in its result, or ALSO in its process?
What exactly does eternal mean?
This is a definition of the word:
eternal
[ih-tur-nl]
See more synonyms for eternal on Thesaurus.com
adjective
- without beginning or end; lasting forever; alwaysexisting (opposed to temporal):eternal life.
- perpetual; ceaseless; endless:eternal quarreling; eternal chatter.
- enduring; immutable:eternal principles.
We many times say that from the beginning, God had planned a Savior since He knew we would need one.
Right now I'm thinking Jesus' sacrifice IS eternal.
Was it??
Or was only its result eternal??
GodsGrace,
The conclusion revolves around the meaning of the NT Greek ,
aiwnios (eternal).
What's the meaning of 'eternal' destruction, for example, in 2 Thess 1:9?
Arndt & Gingrich’s Greek lexicon studied
aiwnios from the time of the Septuagint. It concluded that it means ‘eternal’ and in many passages, including Matt. 25:46, it means ‘without end … eternal life’ (Arndt & Gingrich 1957:28).
Exegete Richard Lenski explained further regarding 2 Thess 1:9:
Those who find annihilation in it [destruction] would thereby abolish hell, others misunderstand aiwnios and reduce it to a long term which, however, eventually ends. There is no time beyond the last day, either short or long, but only timelessness, eternity, "the eon to come"; this is what the adjective [aiwnios] means, which is true of the zwe or "life" of the blessed as it is true of the "destruction" of the damned. The destruction occurs "away from the Lord's face" and thus in the outer darkness (Lenski 1937:388-389).
Since the opportunity to take advantage of responding to the Gospel is only in this life on earth, the result of Jesus' sacrifice will be experienced in the timelessness of eternity - either in life or damnation.
Is this what you are driving at or are you addressing a different topic?
Oz
Works consulted
Arndt, W F & Gingrich, F W 1957.
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press (limited edition licensed to Zondervan Publishing House).
Lenski, R C H 1937/1946/1961/2001.
Commentary on the New Testament: The interpretation of St. Paul’s epistles to the Colossians, to the Thessalonians, to Timothy, to Titus, and to Philemon. [Lutheran Book Concern 1937; The Wartburg Press 1945; Augsburg Publishing House 1961; Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers Inc. 2001, limited edition].