The revelation of the Lord Jesus not only meant deliverance and vindication for the

saints of the Acts period, but judgment on their enemies, those who know not God and

obey not the gospel. `Taking vengeance' in verse 8 is literally giving vengeance. The

R.V. translates rendering vengeance. Ekdikesis, vengeance, is a late Greek word from

ekdikeo to vindicate, or give justice. This is not the action of a revengeful God, but a

God of justice bringing retribution upon those ensnared in the lie of Babylonianism at the

end time, so graphically described in the book of Revelation.  These shall `suffer

punishment', diken tisousin. Tisousin is the future of an old verb tino and occurs only

here in the N.T. It means literally to pay compensation for a wrong done, to pay penalty.

Dike is right or justice, and was the name of the heathen goddess of Justice or Nemesis.

The phrase is therefore `a penalty shall pay' and this is described as olethron aionion,

literally age-long ruin.

Olethros occurs three more times in the N.T. and wise are we if we let these

references colour our theology and not vice versa.

In none of these cases can eternal conscious suffering be substituted. In the first case

the `destruction' only applies to the flesh, but the spirit is saved in the day of the Lord

Jesus (I Cor. 5: 5). The verse in I Thessalonians does not teach that hell-fire suddenly

comes to those on the earth who say `peace and safety'. The eternal future of such is

settled later at the day of judgment. In the third reference Paul is warning believers

against seeking to be rich and the snares that come from such a course of action. Note

the figurative language used--drown not burn men in destruction. We must be careful to

understand olethros as a result and not a process, and consider it in the light of such

statements as "eternal judgment" (Heb. 6: 2 not eternal judging); eternal salvation

(Heb. 5: 9 not eternal saving). It is the eternal or better age-long effect of an act or state

that is stressed. Olethros aionios occurs nowhere else in the N.T. but it is found in

4Maccabees10:15 `the eternal destruction of the tyrant' i.e. Antiochus Epiphanes, which

likewise does not support the popular conception of hell.

Concerning aionios, Dr. A. T. Robertson says "aionios in itself only means age-long

and the papyri and inscriptions give it in the weakened sense of a Caesar's life (see

Milligan)" Word Pictures in the N.T. We believe Dr. Weymouth did the right thing in his

N.T. translation rendering aion and aionios as age and age-long, and this is in line with

the contemporary Greek of N.T. times. Much light can be gained by seeing the revelation

of the great span of time sub-divided into ages in the Bible, and all this is lost if eternal

and eternity is substituted. In no way is our future as believers jeopardized, for such a

future does not depend upon a word like aion, but rests on the glorious fact that the

redeemed are permanently united to the risen Saviour who can die no more. "Because I

live, ye shall live also", He said. "Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death