Depends on the translation. If you use the faulty KJV it means "forever punishment". If you use a proper translation, such as the YLT, it means punishment for an age.
Matthew 25:46
Young's Literal Translation
46 And these shall go away to punishment age-during, but the righteous to life age-during.'
I think my explanation on Revelation 20:10 helps to clarify this discussion.
Explaining Revelation 20:10:
“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10).
First, the devil, the beast and the false prophet are demons. So even if one wanted to make this verse about eternal torment for faithless sinful mankind, the context in view here is in reference to demons and not wicked or faithless human beings.
Second, some suggest that the beast and the false prophet have been hanging down in the Lake of Fire for about 1,000 years before Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire (Suggesting that one remains alive while in the Lake of Fire for a very long time). While I do not discount the possibility that the beast and the false prophet may be alive down within the Lake of Fire, there is also the possibility that they are simply corpses by the time Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire, as well. How so? Well, Scripture can refer to the dead or the deceased with the word “
are.” Isaiah says,
“
They are dead, they shall not live;
they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.” (Isaiah 26:14).
Also, while God certainly may have many reasons to send Satan into the bottomless pit for 1,000 years before releasing him one last time at the end of the Millennium, why didn’t God just cast Satan into the Lake of Fire for 1,000 years along with the beast and the false prophet instead? Could it be that such a place is indeed a place of eventual destruction or annihilation? Fires in our real world teach us that they consume things.
But what about the part in Revelation 20:10 that says,
“the devil… shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever”
While I believe the KJV is the perfect Word of God for our day, and I prefer to simply look up words in older English dictionaries, I believe sometimes the original languages can on rare occasions give us a deeper and or expanded meaning.
The word “ever” repeated twice within Revelation 20:10 (in the KJV) is taken from the Greek word “aiōn.” According to Strong’s, this word is defined as a period or age (Which from our perspective can seem like an eternity).
In other words, Revelation 20:10 is saying that the devil, the beast, and the false prophet will be tormented day and night for... "ages, and ages."; Here are a few translations that express something similar:
"for the eons of the eons." ~ Concordant Literal New Testament
"for the ages of the ages." ~ Darby Bible Translation.
"for the aeons of the aeons." ~ The New Covenant by Dr. J.W. Hanson
In other words, Revelation 20:10 could be potentially saying that the devil, the beast, and the false prophet may be tormented day and night for the purpose of the Ages and Ages (or the Ages of Ages). Meaning the Ages and Ages that are past! They are being punished day and night for the evil that they committed during the past Ages and Ages here on this Earth. Fair justice. For the word "for" can also be defined as "because" (i.e. the purpose of) within the English language.
Revelation 20:10 Darby
"And the devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where [are] both the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for [the purpose of] the ages of ages."
For the devil, the beast, and the false prophet are all demons who have tormented mankind for ages and ages. So they will be cast into the Lake of Fire and brimstone and will be tormented day and night and not for all eternity.
So the "
ages and ages" could be talking about "
past ages" and not "
future ages."
This is further supported by the fact that Paul says the last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:26), which suggests that there were other enemies of God that the Lord destroyed before this last enemy. This then ties in nicely with Revelation 21:4 saying, "the former things have passed away." These former things that have passed away are: tears, sorrow, crying, death, and pain. For the first heaven and first earth will pass away and a new heaven and a new earth will take its place (Revelation 21:1). For Jesus says, "I make all things new." (Revelation 21:5).
Now, does this mean I do not believe the English words “for ever, and ever” in my King James Bible? Perish the thought. Most certainly not! I believe the Word of God.
I believe the devil will be tormented day and night for ever, and ever, but this is only within the context for as long as the Lake of Fire exists and it is only in context to how long the devil will exist as a conscious active being. Remember Philemon 1:15? Did Onesimus return to his master Philemon for all eternity or forever? Is Onesimus and Philemon still alive today? No, of course not. Onesimus returned forever to Philemon in context to while they were both alive on the Earth alone.
Furthermore, if we were to look again at Revelation 14:11 it says the smoke of their torment ascends
for ever, and ever. Smoke of torment ascending for ever and ever” is a metaphorical phrase from Isaiah 34:10 that says,
“It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.” (Isaiah 34:10).
Notice the words "
night nor day shall not be quenched” in the verse.
Surely the smoke of the city of Edom will not go up for all eternity because Jesus says Heaven and Earth will pass away (Matthew 24:35) and Revelation 21:1 says, “the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.” You cannot have eternal cities burning forever on a planet that passes away. It doesn’t make any sense. So this lets us know that the words "
for ever and ever" and “
night and day” is in reference to the language for destruction. This is how I believe that we are to interpret Scripture. We interpret Scripture with Scripture (Isaiah 28:10) (Acts of the Apostles 17:10-11). If we are to be consistent with how biblical language is used. When in reference to punishment, the words “
for ever and ever" is in reference to destruction from Isaiah 34:10. That is how these words are described and setting the tone of how we should understand these phrases or words. Yes, Scripture says in Revelation how God lives
for ever and ever, but this is not in context to punishment but to God. Take for example the word "know" in the Bible. It can mean "having knowledge" like in Genesis 3:5. But used in another context, it can refer to physical intimacy like in Genesis 19:5. The dictionary has several definitions for the word "ever." Besides the word "ever" meaning eternal, it also defines the word "ever" in this way, as well.
Ever:
(adverb):
To a great extent or degree.
Dictionary Source:
Ever dictionary definition | ever defined
So while this may not be 100% biblical fact, it may possibly mean in Revelation 20:10 as saying,
“...shall be tormented day and night for ever [a great extent] and ever [degree].”
Also, the beast and the false prophets are demons in Revelation 20:10, and not wicked men. The false prophet in Revelation 16:13-14 is implied to be the one who is the second beast who rose up out of the earth (Revelation 13:11-15). So even if one wanted to take the words
for ever and ever literally in Revelation 20:10, it is referring to demons and not wicked humans.
1 Corinthians 15:26 says,
“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”
If we believe the last enemy to be destroyed is death, this strongly implies that there are other previous enemies of God who will also be destroyed, as well.
This is EXACTLY what we see described of the devil in Ezekiel 28.
“By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and
I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.” (Ezekiel 28:16).
