Editing Tower of Siloam (section)

==="Repent" and "perish" in the New Testament===
Whether due to persecution or misadventure, repentance is universally strongly and earnestly required by Jesus. The time is short, and therefore the time for repentance is now.<ref name=Bennett/> In his response to both tragedies, Jesus dismissed personal guilt or [[Causation (law)|causation]] as the reason they became victims. Instead, he turned the focus toward those wanting to hear "why".

Twice in this brief passage, Jesus declared, "...unless ''you'' repent, ''you'' too will all perish." Jesus's clear focus is on the need for everyone, individually, to "repent" of their sins before God. His answer cannot mean that all unrepentant people will die deservedly. Neither can it mean that people can escape physical death by repenting of their sins since eventually every living person dies. So ''perish'' here is something more than just to die a physical death.<ref name=Piper/>

The word "perish" in the New Testament very often refers to a terrible judgment following one's physical death. Since Jesus connects it directly to sin and says it can be escaped by repentance, "perish" here most logically refers to the final judgment. For example, in [[John 3:16]] Jesus says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Perishing is the biblical alternative to having everlasting life. Perishing is what happens to those who do not have eternal life. The same principle appears in John 10:28<ref>{{Bibleverse|John|10:28|KJV}}</ref> where Jesus says, "I give them eternal life, and they shall not ''perish'' for ever."<ref name=Piper/>