to help us to understand the meaning of the term. Mark's record clarifies our conception

somewhat as may be seen by the following slight variation from Matthew's record,

Mark 10: 17-31, "what shall I do that I may inherit aionion life?"

We have heard it said that the young man was very wrong to have boasted that he had

"kept all these things from his youth up," yet Mark tells us that when the young man had

made this statement, "Jesus beholding him, loved him, and said, One thing thou

lackest, etc."

Yet one other item is explained by Mark and Luke. Matt. 19: 29 leaves us with no

settled knowledge as to when the "hundredfold" should be received. The record in Mark

is very explicit, "he shall receive a hundred-fold now in this time . . . . . and in the coming

age life aionion." So also in Luke 18: 30. Luke records two occasions when the Lord

was definitely asked the way to obtain aionion life. In chapter 18: we read of the rich

young ruler as in Matthew and in Mark, and in Luke 10: 25-28 a certain lawyer asks the

question tempting Him, but to him also it was shown that inheriting aionion life is linked

with doing the commandments.

Many have felt how diametrically opposed to the way of justification and life these

passages are to the doctrine revealed through Paul, and, failing to discern the things that

differ, they have attempted to make the Lord teach the rich young ruler that aionion life

was to be attained only by faith and not by works. In no other branch of study would

such biased reading be tolerated. Nothing is clearer than that aionion life was connected

with doing, keeping, forsaking, and following. Matthew, writing with the kingdom of the

heavens before him, uses aionion life with special reference to that period. The Lord

Himself links it with the kingdom and the regeneration, and the time when He shall sit

upon the throne of His glory.

Once again, and only once, He refers to that throne, and it is there we find the next and

last reference in Matthew to aionion life.  Matt. 25: 31, 32, "He shall sit upon (the)

throne of His glory and before Him shall be gathered all the nations." The nations are

divided into two sections, the one section hear the words, "Come ye blessed of My

Father, INHERIT the kingdom prepared for you since the overthrow of the word . . . . .

the righteous into life aionion."  Here it will be seen that these nations "inherit a

kingdom," are "righteous," and enter into "aionion life." What is the basis of the entry?

We unhesitatingly say, with the scripture before us, Works! This is the Lord's own

explanation. "FOR I was an hungered . . . . . thirsty . . . . . Then shall the RIGHTEOUS

answer Him saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered . . . . . thirsty, etc.?" They had

done it unto His brethren, and were not conscious that it was received by the Lord as

being rendered unto Himself. This therefore rules out the idea often read into the passage

that it was an act of faith; faith does not enter into the passage. The rest of the nations

are addressed as "Ye cursed," and while the righteous inherit the prepared kingdom, they

enter the prepared fire, "aionion fire prepared for the devil and his angels." "These shall

go away into aionion punishment."