What does Matthew 25:46 mean by “everlasting punishment?”
Let’s look carefully at this text:
“And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:46
Notice that is says “punishment,” and not “punishing.” One communicates a definite period of time, and the other doesn’t. People subject to capital punishment do not continue to be punished for all ceaseless ages. The same is true for the wicked at the end of the world (Matthew 13:40).
Remember, the reward of the righteous is eternal life, but the reward of the wicked is an eternal destruction that results in the wicked perishing (John 3:16).
Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages (results or payment) of sin is death. This means that the wicked cease to live. So, what is this eternal or everlasting punishment for sin?
“These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” 2 Thessalonians 1:9 (emphasis supplied)
The everlasting punishment is destruction—and it is eternal in duration. This means the results of the destruction are eternal. The wicked can never return because they are brought to ashes upon the face of the earth as a result of the lake of fire (Revelation 20:9; Ezekiel 28:18–19; Malachi 4:1, 3). So, the punishment will be for a definite period of time and will cease once the wicked have been destroyed. Then “…they shall be as though they had never been.” Obadiah 1:16.