Matthew 25:46 “And these shall be coming away into chastening eonian, yet the just into life eonian.” (CLNT)
We Universalists often comment re Matthew 25:46 that kolasis refers to corrective punishment or chastening.
To give an idea of the basis for that, the following is from a review of the Ilaria Ramelli tome:
“…in a passage in Origen in which he speaks of “life after aionios life” (160). As a native speaker of Greek he does not see a contradiction in such phrasing; that is because aionios life does not mean “unending, eternal life,” but rather “life of the next age.” Likewise the Bible uses the word kolasis to describe the punishment of the age to come. Aristotle distinguished kolasis from timoria, the latter referring to punishment inflicted “in the interest of him who inflicts it, that he may obtain satisfaction.” On the other hand, kolasis refers to correction, it “is inflicted in the interest of the sufferer” (quoted at 32). Thus Plato can affirm that it is good to be punished (to undergo kolasis), because in this way a person is made better (ibid.). This distinction survived even past the time of the writing of the New Testament, since Clement of Alexandria affirms that God does not timoreitai, punish for retribution, but he does kolazei, correct sinners (127).”
journalofanalytictheology.com/ja … 30418a/271
However can the word in ancient usage also refer to purely non corrective vindictive punishment?
Consider the following comment, for example:
“Ramelli and company indulge in a lot of verbal sleight of hand. The word kolazo/ kolasis is used to indicate punishing retribution as well as correction. Thus its use in Wisdom 19:4 where it describes the punishment of drowning the Egyptians in the Red Sea, and in 2 Maccabees 4:38 where it describes the final vengeance due to Andronicus. We see in Ramelli and others like her ideology triumphing over scholarship.”
blogs.ancientfaith.com/nootherf … nion-mean/
There is also the following alleged quote, not mentioned by Ramelli above, to be considered:
“St. Justin Martyr repeatedly used the word aionios as in the Apol. (p. 57), aionion kolasin …all ouchi chiliontaetê periodon, “eonian chastening …but a period, not a thousand years.” Or, as some translate the last clause: “but a period of a thousand years only.” He limits the eonian chastening to a period of a thousand years, rather than to endlessness.”
tentmaker.org/books/asw/Chapter9.html
Was J.M. not a believer in annihilation? In lists i’ve seen by Ramelli of those who were universalists, J.M. was not included.
What does her book have to say, if anything, about his beliefs?
For additional reading/comments on this subject:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2961
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=926
tentmaker.org/forum/arguments-a … r-timoria/