Matthew 25:41

Ye cursed] but not of My Father. Ye are the authors of your own ruin. Prepared] not for men, but for the devil and his angels.

46. Everlasting] RV 'eternal,' as also in Matthew 25:41. 'Woe to all sinners, and especially to those who have no pity. It is the man who had no pity who is banished to the fire, for instead of love he put in his heart hatred. This is the sum of all vices, and its chief manifestation is inhumanity' (Euthymius).

In the view of the present writer, the eternity of future punishment, as of future reward, is a necessary deduction from the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, and is expressly affirmed in this passage. The nature of it seems by no means so certain. Probably an essential part of it will be the loss of freewill, the abuse of this faculty being punished by its loss. Future punishment will in any case exhibit God's mercy and benevolence, as well as His justice.