As Alex pointed out, there are some things in the Bible that are
supposed to be misleading.
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie... 2 Thessalonians 2:11.
The translations are one of the biggest weapons Satan uses to deceive the masses. Of course, it is part of God's plan for Satan to deceive. This deception wouldn't come as easily if all of the versions translated
kolasis aionios like Rotherham ("age-abiding correction") or the Concordant Literal ("chastening eonian"). But when you can influence the translators to put
everlasting punishment...why, with that, you can deceive billions! If it said plainly "This punishment will only be temporary, and eventually, every human being that's ever lived will be saved," then how would Satan deceive the world?
But God reveals to some that the punishment is indeed temporary--and He shows it to us from the Scriptures.
With the knowledge God has given us through Ray's teaching, we are able to discern where a verse may not be translated accurately. How can we know? If it does not confirm and support what we know from the Scriptures to be true. The Judas verse is one example. Another one is the "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit" verse (Matthew 12:32). Some translations, like the New Living Translation, say blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will
never be forgiven. Others, even if they say
not instead of
never, still imply that it's eternal, by saying it will not be forgiven in this world
or in the world to come. (Most modern translations in Mark's account call blasphemy against the Holy Spirit an
eternal sin...Mark 3:29) This cannot be true, because it contradicts what we know about God's plan for salvation: that He desires that none shall perish and all come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9), He will have all men be saved (1 Tim. 2:4), etc....plus the fact that there isn't a word for "eternal" in biblical Greek...
So if you do a little studying, sure enough, there is nothing about eternal consequences for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit:
Concordant Literal New Testament:
yet whoever may be saying aught against the holy spirit, it shall not be pardoned him, neither in this eon nor in that which is impending.I believe Ray used an analogy of a farmer. If he said "I will not plant corn this year or the next year," is that the same as saying "I will
never plant corn"?
If you have doubts about a verse and how it fits with the rest of Scripture, do a little digging and God will show you the truth. It's also helpful at times to consult the list of spurious passages in the N.T.
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,6638.0.html . A lot of them are minor, but some try to contradict the truth, like the famous Trinity passage of 1 John 5:7.