What is Everlasting Punishment Matthew 25:46?

Questions 51, 52 (COD Page 212)

51. Explain what it means by “everlasting punishment,” in Matthew 25:46. “But the… ” That’s the question.

52. Then, the second question: “But the children of the kingdom shall be cast into outer darkness,” is that about the same as casting them out of the mind of God?

18  Well, now, get your first question, which is found in Saint Matthew, the twenty-… the 25th chapter. Now we’ll… Now, I’ve never studied these, just looked at them in the back there, and just tried my best to look them out the best that I-that I knew how. And my… You turn with me in your Bibles, as we study It. Now, I wanted to get this out of the Greek lexicon also, so you get the-the original of it. And I-I like that. So then we’ll have It in both-the in both the-the Greek and the other. And now this will be will be kinda slow, and studying, ’cause I have to reach out and grab the Scriptures just wherever I can find them, and get them into their place. All right.

19  Now, anybody want a Bible to study by? If you do, raise up your hand. And we… I think we got three or four back here. If you want to study by the Scripture, all right. Brother Cox, will you come here and get me these Bibles? And it-it’s good for you, if you can, to… (there’s one, and you just-you just take them on down if you want to, that many). And anybody that wants one, just hold up your hand, the boy will bring them right to you, see. And we want to study these together, and just…

20  Now, on this reading and the last chapters… the first seven chapters of the Book of Hebrews. After teaching, course, the boy who taken these down, these subjects, Brother Mercier and Brother Goad, has got them and now fixing to publish them in book form. And they got it. Now… and we have nothing like halfway combed, we just scratched the surface. And I think they’ve termed them… and have taken the-the nuggets out of the… and just polishing the nuggets, just a few of the nuggets of the teaching of Hebrews. Brother Mercier will have them pretty soon, in print, anybody that wants them.

21  Now this in here, it brings in… You can’t go through just…  in evangelistic church, which this is an evangelistic church. You can’t go through a-a teaching without arousing the suspicions and the thoughts of many of the people. You’ve got to. Now, I’m far from being a teacher, not a Bible expositor at all. But I never try to-to say anything, or to even do anything, but first-first asking or finding out my best thing for it.

22  It was asked of me by a dear brother, last night, he said, “Brother Branham, Brother Seward once said that you-you just can’t pin you down anywhere. See, that you always got some way around to get out of it or get away from it.”

23  I said, “Well, the reason of that, I always try to think before I do anything. See? And then if the people ask me, then I can tell them what my thoughts was. See?” But it’s if you think right. And before you do anything, try to take the side that God would have you to take, then it really would be hard to be pinned down.

24  You couldn’t imagine the time that-that Ahab tried to pin Elijah down. Could you imagine the time that the Pharisees tried to pin Jesus down? See, He had-He had the answer quickly, because everything He done, He did it by the will of God, and He… that’s the way He-He could get it. Now, that’s the way we want it by this. Now the question is asked, we’ll keep with the question:

Explain what it means by “everlasting punishment,” in Matthew 25:46.

25  Now listen real close. Everybody now, Matthew 25:46: And these shall go away into everlasting punishment:…

26  Now, the question is, “What… Explain… ” Now the word everlasting comes from the word from “ever and for ever,” and forever is “a space of time.” It only means “so much time,” as forever. Now if you’ll just read… I don’t know who wrote the questions, ’cause no one put their name on them; it didn’t have to be, I don’t want them, see. But

these shall go away into everlasting punishment:…  (now watch, that’s the wicked)

27  Now, dear-dear person that asked the question, just read the rest of It:

… but the righteous unto life eternal.

28  The wicked shall go into everlasting punishment (a certain space of time), but the righteous has Eternal Life. You’ll never find Eternal punishment, couldn’t be. See, if they got Eternal punishment, they got Eternal Life; they got Eternal Life, they’re saved. See, it can’t be. Now if you’ll watch, the-the question asked itself… answers itself. See?
And these…  Now watch, I’ll get before here:… and they…

29  In the 20th… 44th verse:

… and they also answered, said unto Him, Lord, when shall we be hungred, when with thirst, and a stranger, and naked,… and in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Then shall-then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Insomuch as you did it… unto one of the least of these, you did it… unto me.

And these shall go away into everlasting (everlasting) punishment: (that’s the wicked)… but the righteous into Eternal Life.

30  See the difference? The wicked has everlasting punishment, but everlasting is “a space of time.” Now, if it would have been the same, it would have been written, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, the other shall go away into everlasting life.” See? Or, “They shall go away into Eternal punishment, and the other one into Eternal life.” See, if there’s an Eternal punishment, to be punished forever and ever, then there’s an Eternal… he’s got Eternal Life; and the only one Eternal Life, and that comes from God. Everything without a beginning has no end, everything with a beginning has an end. See what I mean?

31  Now, the Scripture Itself that the-the dear person answered… Now if you’ll take it in the lexicon,

“And these shall go forth into ainion, cutting off, and into everla-… and to fire, the lake of fire.”

Now, the word a-i-n-i-o-n means “a space of punishment.” In the Greek lexicon, right here, “space of punishment,” or, “time of punishment.” See, “They shall go away into a time of punishment.” The word is used, a-i-n-i-o-n. Ainion, which means “times, a time, a limited time.” Then take it back into the-into the translation here, the English, everlasting is “a limited of time.” See, it comes from the Greek,
“a limit of time.” The word ainion, or a-i-n-i-o-n, ainion means
“a limited time of punishment.”

32  But then read the others, “But these shall go into Eternal.” That’s a different. See, Eternal Life. Eternal comes from the word of “Eternity,” and Eternity had neither beginning nor end. It’s forever and forever. Now that should answer that, see, because if you’ll just read the Scripture real close, you’ll see.

33  “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous… ”

The wicked shall go into everlasting punishment, be punished for a space of time; maybe a billion years, I don’t know, but you’ll certainly be punished for your sins. But as certain as sin had a beginning, sin has an end. Punishment had a beginning, and punishment has an end. And hell was created for the devil and his angels. See? All right. Now, I got another one down here to answer into that, just in a few minutes, which is a beautiful one, tie into it. Now, but these here:

“But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into darkness,” is that about the same as casting them out of the mind of God?

34  No, it wouldn’t be the same. Now, you’re referring here to the Wedding Supper. Now, “And the children of the kingdom,” as was asked here. The children of the kingdom are the Jews, and they were cast into outer darkness. And they-they have been cast into outer darkness, and they’ve went through the time of the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. They were cast into outer darkness because it would give you and I a space to repent, but they were never cast out of the mind of God. He’ll never forget Israel. And Israel, as any reader of the Bible knows, is referred to “the children of the kingdom.” See, it’s the kingdom, the promise. In other words, God dealing with the nation, when He dealt with Israel, which is the children of
the kingdom.

35  Now, you remember, He said there, “And Abraham and Isaac and Jacob,” in one place, “would come and set into the kingdom at the end time.” See, and that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would be in the kingdom; they were, they were the kingdom’s blessing people. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness.

36  Now, where the reference comes from here is the-is the Bridegroom. When the Bridegroom come, while they were…  Five of the virgins went out to meet the Lord, and-and they didn’t take any oil in their lamp. And the-the other five took oil in their lamp. Now, if you’ll notice, it’s a beautiful picture, both with the Jew and the Gentile, as the rejected. Keep in mind that, there’s three classes of people all the time: the Jew, the Gentile (the formal),… ; the Jew, Gentile, and the Church. If you get those mixed up, you’ll sure run into trouble when you hit Revelation. For if you don’t…

37  Like Mr. Bohanon said to me one time, said, “Billy, anybody would try to read the Revelation would have nightmares. Why,” he said, “here’s a Bride down here on earth, and the-and the dragon spurting water out of his mouth to make war with her.” And said, “Then the same time that the Bride is standing as the hundred and forty-four thousand” (Jehovah Witness doctrine) “on Mount Sinai. And at the same time the Bride’s in Heaven.” No, no, you’re mistaken.

38  There’s three classes of people. See, that is, the rejected Jew, and there is the sleeping virgin that the waters… It’s not the woman’s Seed, it’s the remnant of the woman’s Seed that the dragon spurted water out of his mouth… Revelation 11. And then, actually, the hundred and forty-four thousand Jews was absolutely not the Bride, they are the remnant of the Jewish church. And the Jehovah Witness doctrine which puts them as the Bride, I don’t see how you could do that, because, it’s not the Bride.

39  If you’ll notice over in Revelation there, It said, “And they are virgins.” And they are eunuchs. And what was a eunuch? They were… Eunuch was the temple guards that guarded the queen, because they were… be-… They were man that were made sterile. They had… Did you notice, said, “They had not defiled themselves with women”? They were temple eunuch. And it was a selected number that God had taken out of the elect of the Jews. Now, if you’ll notice… If we could just get that just a moment, so it’ll kinda settle it in your mind, where you can really…

40  Let’s get Revelation, the 7th chapter, and we’ll find out in here now, where… what It said. It’s a beautiful thing:

And after this… I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth,… (now, this parallels Ezekiel 9,where he saw the destructions of the Jews. And herehe sees the destructions of the Gentiles, Revelation, the7th chapter)…

And I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds (winds means “war and strife”)… that the wind should not blow upon the earth, nor on the sea,… or any tree. (andthat’s war, “holding”)

41  Oh, if we had time to go into detail on this question. That happened… That’s where Russell got mixed up. Russell prophesied, seeing this coming. He prophesied “it would be the coming of the Lord Jesus,” not knowing that it was the-the sealing away of the Church. See?

42  And they wonder how the world war… First World War. Look, it stopped on November the eleventh, at the eleven o’clock in the day; the eleventh month, the eleventh day, and the eleventh hour. And immediately after that, the water baptism in Jesus’ Name was revealed and the Baptism of the Holy Ghost to the Church. Exactly, immediately after that.

43  If you take it on over in Revelation, how we tied It together, and between the Philadelphian Age and the Laodicean. And the Methodists had the Philadelphian Age, the brotherly love. And the last age, church age, was the Laodicean Age, which was lukewarm age. And He said in there, “I have set a door (open door) before you.” An open door! And if you’ll refer those Scriptures back, it’ll tie the entire Message right into one place there, to show you exactly.

44  Watch! Here that everything had been Father, Son, Holy Ghost, in baptism, (which we’re to get into it directly) which was absolutely a Catholic creed and never a Christian doctrine. No, sir. I just… We got it right here, tonight, to come into it; with the lexicon, too. See? Yes, sir, and with history also. Never was anybody ever baptized like that in the Bible, or not for the first six hundred years after the Bible. And I can prove it right here by the Catholic’s own doctrine, that they’re the one who started it, and sprinkling and pouring.

45  They come out of there into the Wesleyan church, and to Methodist church, the Methodist brought it through to the Baptist, the Baptist brought it on through, and it’s still a false doctrine! And can come back in the Bible and prove to you that the Bible said that “you have a name that you live, but you’re dead.” That’s exactly right. And they had…

46  I can prove that the Bible taught that they would use His Name in baptism until the dark age, according to the-the fourth age… of the-the church age, the Pergamos church age. And He said, in, during that fifteen hundred years of dark ages, every one, said, “You have a little light left, ’cause you’ve not denied My Name.”

47  When it come to that other age over there, the Catholic age, He said, “You have a name that you ‘live,’ but you’re dead! And you’ve deny My Name.” There you are. See? It just all ties one big beautiful picture together, the entire Bible.

48  Now notice this: … holding the four winds…  And I saw another angel ascending from Heaven, having the seal of the living God:… (the Seal)

49  Now, what is the seal of the living God? Now, you Advent brethren are going to say, “Keep the sabbath day.” I want you to show me that in the Scripture. It’s not there. Not one place did it… is-is the seal…

50  If you’ll read Ephesians 4:30, right quick, you’ll find out what the Seal of the living God is. Ephesians 4:30 says, “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you’re sealed until the day of your redemption.” Not till the next revival, but’s got Eternal security (uh-huh). “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you are sealed until the day of your redemption.” See if Ephesians 4:30 doesn’t say that, then take your marginal readings and run it all the rest the way through the Scriptures there, and find out. Now, “Sealed until the day of your redemption. Having the seal of the living God.”

51  Now, remember, the Holy Ghost was not taught as the Baptism of the Holy Ghost until after World War I. We just celebrated our-our golden jubilee, forty years, or the fortieth year of the jubilee.

… and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth or the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, or any tree,until we have sealed the servants…

(now you’re gettingdown to your question, “the children,” see)… the servants of our God in their forehead. (don’t hurt, don’tdestroy the earth, don’t let an atomic bomb be bursted,don’t have a complete thing until the servants of ourGod is sealed)

52  Now, if we could take that back yonder and run back there, how that-that even on The Decline of the World’s War, in the second volume, when General Allenby had fought in till he hit the lines of Jerusalem, and he just wired back to the King of England, and said, “I don’t want to fire on the city, on the account of the sacredness of it.” He said, “What shall I do?”

53  He said, “Pray.”

54  And he flew over it again, and when they did, they said, “Allenby’s coming.” And there were Mohammedans in there, thought he said, “Allah’s coming.” And they hoisted the white flag and surrendered and Allenby marched into Jerusalem and took it without firing a shot, according to the prophecies. That’s right, and turned it back over to the Jews.

55  Then they raised up a Hitler to persecute the Jews, and all around over the world, and run them back in there.

56  And the Bible said He would “bring them back on the wings of an eagle.” And when they begin to come back… The Life Magazine and them packed it a few weeks ago, where they brought them back by the thousands, into Jerusalem, and they went to packing those old ones off on their back. They were interviewed. I’ve got it all on reel and picture. And he said… There hung the four-star flag of David, hanging there; the oldest flag in the world, the first time it’s been flown for two thousand years.

57  Jesus said, “When the fig tree puts forth its bud, this generation shall not pass.”

58  And here they was bringing them old ones in, and said, “What? Are you coming back to die in your homeland?”

59  Said, “No, we’ve come to see the Messiah.”

60  And, brother, I tell you, we’re at the door! There’s the servants, them who’s waiting down yonder. Not this bunch of Jews that would cheat you out of your false teeth if they could, that’s not the Jew He’s talking about. But it’s those down yonder who’s kept the-the laws and things, and never even knew there was a Messiah.

61  And Brother… at Stockholm, Brother Petrus, sent them down a million New Testaments, and when they got them they were reading them. They said, “Well, if this be the Messiah, let us see him do the sign of a prophet, and we’ll believe him.”

62  What a setup for my ministry! I was within two hours of the gates in Jerusalem, to go in, and I was at Cairo, Egypt. And I was walking along there, and the Holy Ghost said, “Don’t go now.”

63  I thought, “I was just imagination. My ticket’s done bought, I’m on my road. The man’s out there to meet me, the whole group, schools and so forth.”

64  I walked a little farther, and the Spirit said, “Don’t go! Don’t you go.”

65  I went back to the ticket agent, I said, “I cancel this ticket. I want to go up to Athens, Greece, to Mars Hill.

66  And he said, “Well, your ticket calls for Jerusalem, sir.”

67  I said, “I want to go to Athens instead of going to Jerusalem.” The Holy Spirit waiting, that hour hasn’t come just yet. It just isn’t just right.

68  Watch:
… sealed the servants of our God in their forehead, Saying, Hurt not the earth,… till we… seal the servants of our God in their forehead. (anyone knows that that’s the Seal of the Holy Spirit; watch)

And I heard the number of them that were sealed:…  (now, if they’re not Jews, watch this)… and there were sealed a hundred and forty-four thousand all of the tribes of the children of Israel. (not a Gentile in them. That’sat the end time)

69  Watch! The tribe of Juda, twelve thousand; the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand; and on down, Gad, twelve thousand; Nepthalim, and-and-and all the way down to the Aser, and-and Zabulon, and all these twelve tribes of Israel. And twelve times twelve is what? Hundred and forty-four thousand. There’s the hundred and forty-four thousand, Jews! Not Gentile, Jews! That’s not a thing to do with the Bride. So Jehovah Witness is wrong on their doctrine. The Bible
plainly says that they are “Jews,” and not Gentiles. They are the servants of God, and the Gentile never was considered a servant. We are sons and daughters, not servants.

70  Now read the rest of It. Like the man eating watermelon, said, “That’s good, but let’s have some more of it.” All right, God’s got plenty of It here. Now, just notice. Now, now we’re
on the 8th verse:

And of the tribe of Zabulon… seal twelve thousand. All the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin was sealed twelve thousand.

71  See, John, being a Jew, recognized every one of them, seen the twelve tribes of Israel; twelve thousand out of each tribe, twelve times twelve being a hundred and forty-four thousand. There they are, not the Church, the Jews. The Bible said here, they were all “the children of Israel,” every tribe named.

72  Now watch, 9th verse:
After this (now here comes the Bride)…  After this I beheld,… lo, a great multitude, which no man could number,…

73  There’s your temple eunuchs, they’re just a hundred and forty-four thousand, just a little spot, just a little temple guards that’s going to be with the Bride; just Her just Her escort. That’s the hundred and forty-four thousand, is the escort to the Bride; the temple eunuchs.

74  Watch! Course, I know you go back over here to the 14th, and say, “Why, they’re with the Bride wherever they… ” Absolutely! The eunuchs travel with the queen wherever she went. Truly! But what were they? They were nothing but escorts, and that’s just exactly what the Scripture declares it to be here.

75  Notice:
And after this… and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations,… kindreds,…  people, and tongue,… (there’s your Gentile Bridecoming up, all right)… these stood… before the Lamb, (there’s their Saviour, the Lamb, not the law; the Lamb,
Grace)… clothed with white robes,… (watch, in a few minutes, see if the white robes ain’t the righteousness of the saint)… and palms in their hand;

And they cried with a loud voice,… (if this ain’t a pentecostal revival, I never heard one)… saying, Salvation to our God which set upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

And all the angels stood around about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts,… fell upon the…  before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing,… glory,… wisdom,…  thanksgiving,… honour,… might, power, be to our God for ever and ever. Amen.

76  That sounds like a camp meeting time, doesn’t it? Going to be! Who was that? The hundred and forty-four thousand? Not at all! This great number that no man… of all kindred, tongues, and nations. Can’t you see, my dear friend?

77  Now watch, just read It. Now:
And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these and… which are arrayed in white robes? And whence cometh they?

78  The elder said to John, which was a Jew that recognized the hundred and forty-four thousand, said, “Now, you knew them, they’re all Jews. But who are these? Where’d they come from?” See what the elder said? “One of the elders answered,” (that’s the elders before the Throne) “answered me, saying, ‘What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence cometh they? Now, we all know the Jews and their covenant and so forth, but when did these come?’” Now watch:
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. (“I-I-I don’t,” John said, “it’s just past me. I don’t know.”) And he said unto me, These are they that came out of great tribulations, (“Through trials and many these dangers, toils and snares, I have already come.”

See?)… these come up out of great tribulations, and have washed their robe,… (in the church? Does thatsound right?)… have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

… they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night… (who serves me in my home? Mywife. Is that right?)… and in His temple:… (that’swho stays with me in my home and in my economy, ismy wife. She’s the one who sets with me, and washesmy clothes, and keeps things ready for me)… and he that setteth upon the throne shall dwell among them.
(Oh, my, listen!)

And they shall hunger no more,… (looked like they had missed a few meals coming along)… neither shall they thirst any more; nor shall the sun light on them no more, nor any heat.

For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of water: and God shall wipe… all tears from their eye. (there She is, there’s your Bride)

79  There’s your hundred and forty-four thousand, there’s your servants. So “the children of the Kingdom” here, dear person who asked the question, it’s a… who asked this notable question. I think I might have left it back here in a… somewhere, but “when they shall be cast out,” doesn’t mean that they will be cast out of God’s mind. They are cast out of the spiritual benefits for a season. See, just for a little season.

80  Because, when the prophet saw Israel in this day that she was coming to, he said, “Well, will Israel be when the Sabbath will be taken away, and-and they sell on the Sabbath the same as any other day, and all these things.” He said, “Well, will You-will You ever… Will Israel be completely forgotten?”

81  He said, “How high is it to the heaven? How deep is the earth? Measure it with that stick laying before you.” He said, “I can’t!”

82  He said, “Neither can I ever forget Israel.” Certainly not! Israel will never be forgotten.

83  So, you see, everlasting and Eternal is two different thing. Israel was cast out, but not out of God’s mind. And Paul speaks it over here, if I had a… had time to study, so I could quickly get to the Scripture that… I could refer to them to you, see, that comes on my mind.

84  Paul speaking over there, said that for we Gentiles to take heed, the way we walked and what we done. See? Cause if God spared not the first branch, see, and we being just grafted in, see,… And Israel, which was blinded for a season, he said. Just for a season, Israel was blinded. That’s right, but the veil will be lifted from their eye. And that is when the last Gentile is borned into the Kingdom of God, then their veil’s lifted from Israel’s eyes. And they’ll say, “This is the Messiah who we looked to see.” That’s right, but the Gentile door is closed (the ark is-is closed up), there’s no more-no more grace left for the Gentile at that time.

85  Now, I take a whole lot of time on one question. And somebody say, “Now you don’t get to mine.” Well, we’ll hurry up and see if we can’t get to it.

86  All right, here’s a-a long one. And every bit of it the woman asked or the man asked, or whoever it is, is right.

William Marrion Branham
57-0925 Questions And Answers On Hebrews 1