Some observations on 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 [they] shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

The KJV is not completely clear on who it is who is tormented. Is it the devil, or is it the devil, the beast, and the false prophet? The particple "tormented" in the greek is the future indicative passive, third person plural. Thus the devil, the beast, and false prophet (Satan and unsaved men) are all in view as subject to the torment.

The phrase "for ever and ever" is not as simple as it might seem. If you consult your interlinear, you will see that this phrase is translated from the greek

eis tous aionas ton aionon

which is literally rendered,

"into the ages of the ages"

Now, the phrase "the ages of the ages" in the New Testament is a figure for eternity, that is, beyond the end of time. A quick check of your concordance software will confirm that.

The question now is, when the Bible talks about "INTO the ages of the ages", or to paraphrase, "INTO" eternity, how are we to understand the "INTO"? Does this mean "into and throughtout eternity", or does it mean, "into (right up against) the starting point of eternity, but not throughout eternity"?

Let me explain in english. In english, I can say

"I dived into the water"

We understand that to mean that I not only dived and came into contact with the surface of the water, but I in fact entered into the depth of the water.

However, if I say, "I ran into a brick wall", we correctly do not understand this to mean that I collided with the brick wall such that I penetrated the surface of the brick wall and ended up inside or through it.

The greek word, "into" in the New Testament works the same way. Depending on the context, it can mean "into and throughor throughout" OR it can mean "into (right up against) the starting point or edge of something but not inside of or through the thing itself".

Here are some examples:

"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him:" Matthew 2:11

We understand correctly that they entered into the inside of the house. They did not just smack into the outer wall of the house and stop.

On the other hand,

"And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven,
but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." Luke 18:13

"smote upon" is actually "smote into". Now in the historical context when the man smote himself, his hands did not penetrate and enter into his chest cavity, his hands struck the surface of his breast. Yet the Bible speaks of him smiting "into" his breast. Thus here is a use of the greek preposition "into" that refers to reaching a point, but not reaching a point and entering into that which lies beyond the point.

Thus, I have to admit that, looking carefully and strictly at the biblical grammar of Revelation 20:10, this verse could refer to a temporal torment that ends at but does not include eternity. I have to admit this is something I did not expect to find.