Matthew 25:46, Kolasin and "Cutting Off"

From Bible Vs. Tradition By Aaron Ellis & Thomas Read 1853:

Mat. 25: 46, "And these apeleusontai will go eis kolasin aionion to the cutting off [that takes place] at the age; but the righteous [will go] eis zoen aionion, to life at the age." Common version, "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous [shall go away] into life eternal." The word apeleusontai applies to both members of the antithesis, and might be translated will come, for strange to say, the word means either. Will come would seem more applicable to the righteous, but then we must say that the wicked will come to the cutting off. Kolasin is a noun from the verb kolaso, the radical meaning of which is to cut off. Gen. 8:2, "And the rain from heaven was cut off."— Surely the rain was not "punished." It is used likewise in the sense of pruning, lopping off superfluous branches. It has as a secondary meaning to restrain. The Greeks write. "The charioteer kolaso, restrains his fiery steeds." Now as the cutting off, or even restraining, when applied to men is often a punishment, so a third and metaphorical use of the word may be punishment; though we think punishment, as a meaning of the word kolaso, would never have found its way into the Greek Lexicons, had it not been first used by our translators. The word in some of its forms, occurs Acts 4:21, "Finding nothing how they might cut them off." They had already punished them, by putting them in hold, but they feared to cut them off, because of the people. 2 Pet. 2:9, "The Lord knoweth how....to reserve the unjust unto a day of judgment to be cut off," as were the antediluvians and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. 1 John 4: 18, "In love there is no fear, therefore perfect love casteth off fear; because fear (echei) is to be (kolasin) cut off." Echei often bears the sense of to be. These are all the places where kolaso occurs in the N.T., and there exists not the slightest necessity, in any case, of departing from its radical meaning. Mat. 25:46, is considered the strongest text in the Bible in favor of "eternal torments." But after seeing a correct and literal translation, we cannot perceive how even the most reckless can extract even an inference from it to favor torture of any kind. 

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