“There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay, but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13: 1-3 KJV).
God has commanded all men everywhere in every age to repent (Acts 17: 30). To repent is not a suggestion or a request but a God-given command. Like all of God’s commands, man is free to choose not to obey it, but if he chooses not to obey it, the consequence of his choice is that he will perish.
What does it mean to “repent?” Repentance or to repent means “to feel pain, sorrow, or regret for something done or something left undone by one’s self; to experience such sorrow for sin as produces a change of heart and amendment of life.” Repentance is a change of mind. The literal meaning of repentance is “after-thought” or “reconsideration.” A “change of mind” is the substitution of a new mind for the old mind. True repentance is self-judgment, which leads to a change of mind, which will lead to a change of action. Repentance is absolutely necessary for salvation and necessary for restoration of our fellowship with God. Repentance is to confess and forsake our sins.
What does it mean to “perish?” To “perish” carries with it the idea “to die, expire, pass away; become extinct, cease to exist, wither away, decay, come to ruin, crumble, and be destroyed.” But that only applies to material things. Immaterial or spiritual things do not perish or cease to exist. Man’s corporeal mortal body will perish, but his spirit or immortal being will live eternally somewhere (2 Cor. 4: 16) in either Heaven of Hell.
There is no such thing as a dead person. There are only dead bodies. Everyone who has ever lived is still alive in either Heaven or Hell based on what they did with Jesus Christ; accepting Him as their Savior or rejecting Him.
Perish can not mean annihilation for the lost are said to suffer in Hell forever (Mt. 25: 41, 46) and to be conscious of their suffering. Our body dies, but the soul never dies, and to perish is to be eternally separated and eternally cut off from the presence of God (2 Thess. 1: 9). “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mt. 25: 41). These words that the lost exist coextensively with Satan and the fallen angels.
The Psalmist said, “The way of the ungodly shall perish” (Psalm 1: 6). That means that the way of disobedience and rebellion against God, the wickedness, and evil, and sinfulness as we see and know today will one day be put away and sin and sinners will no longer exist in the presence of God and His people. This happens after the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20: 11-15) when all sin and sinners are cast into the Lake of Fire, which is called the Second Death, where they will be eternally separated from God and His glory. There in the Lake of Fire, they will live forever, and they may be dying forever.
But God is not willing that anyone should perish (2 Peter 3: 9), and through repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ, they can be saved and won’t (Act 20: 21).
