ANNIHILATIONISM

In this section I will once again try to look at some of the reasons why This is NOT so & some of the scriptures that are used by few to support their own views that once we die of spirit of the wicked will be snuffed out by God & there will be NO punishment in hell after physical death for REJECTING JESUS NOW!!

The existence of the unrepentant will be extinguished, while the righteous will enter everlasting bliss.

Annihilationists point to the Bible references to the fate of the wicked as "the second death" {Rev. 20: 14} in support of their view. SInce a person loses consciousness of  THIS WORLD at the first death {physical death}, it is argued that the "Second death" will involve unconsciousness in the world to come.

Everlasting Destruction - Scripture speaks of wicked being "destroyed." Paul said: "This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angles. He will punish those who do not know God & do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

They will be punished with EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION & Shut Out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power" {2 Thess. 1: 7b - 9}.

Annihilationists insist that the figure of "destruction" is incompatible with a continued conscious existence.

"Perdition." The Wicked are said to go into "perdition" {KJV} or "destruction" {NIV} {2 Peter 3:7}, & Judas is called the "son of perdition {John 17: 12}.

The word perdition {apoleia} means to perish. This, annihilationist argue, indicates that the lost will perish or go out of existence.

Like NOT Having Been Born. Jesus said of Judas, who was sent to perdition, that "It would be better for him if he had not been born" {Mark 14: 21}. before one is conceived they do not exist. Thus, for hell to be like pre birth condition must be a state of non - existence. Then the question comes to mind - WHY did Jesus say that hell does exist? - {see my section on Hell}

The Wicked Will Perish.  Repeatedly, the OT speaks of the wicked perishing. The psalmist wrote: "But the wicked will perish: The Lord's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields, they will vanish - vanish like smoke" {Ps. 37: 20; cf 68: 2; 112: 10}. But to perish implies state of nothingness.

When examined carefully in context, none of the above passages proves annihilationism. At some palmist language may permit such a construction, but nowhere does the text demand annihilationists. In context and comparison with other Scriptures, the concept must be rejected in every case.

Adam & Eve did die spiritually the moment they sinned, yet they did not die physically as they could & did hear God's voice in the Garden of Eden {Gen 3: 10}.

Before any human being is saved by the work of Jesus on the Cross we are Spiritually dead in our trespasses & sins {Ephesians 2: 1}, and yet we still carry God's image {Genesis 1: 27; cf, 9: 27 - please note that ONLY one part of Gen. 1: 27 is left in gen 9:6; see also James 3: 9}. Though unable to come to Christ without the intervention of God, the "spiritually dead" are sufficiently aware that Scripture holds them accountable to believe {Acts 16: 31} & we are called TO REPENT {Acts 17: 30}.

Continued awareness, but without Separation from God & the inability to save oneself - these constitute Scripture vision of the second death.

Destruction, Not Non - existence. Everlasting destruction would NOT be annihilation, which only takes an instant & is over.

If someone undergoes destruction, then they have to have everlasting existence. the cars in a junk yard have been destroyed, but they are not annihilated. They are simply beyond repair or un - redeemable. SO are the people in hell, as God is NOT with them like He is with US in our Human Form. {Luke 17: 21c}

Since the word perdition means to die, perish, or to come to ruin, the same objections apply. In 2 Peter 3:7 perdition is used in the context of judgement, clearly implying consciousness. In our junkyard analogy, ruined cars have perished, but they are still junkyard cars. In this connection, Jesus spoke of hell as a dump where the fire would not cease & where a person's resurrected body would not be consumed {Mark 9: 48}.

In addition to comments of death & perdition above, it should be noted that the Hebrew word used to describe the wicked perishing in the OT is {abad} - this same word is used to describe the Righteous Perishing {See isaiah 57: 1; Micah 7:2 }.

But even annihilationist, ADMIT that the righteous are NOT SNUFFED OUT of existence. That being the case, they should NOT conclude that the wicked will cease to exist based on this term.

The same word {abad} is used to describe things that are merely LOST but then later Found {Deut. 22:3}, which proves that lost does not mean non - existent.

When Jesus It would Have been better if Judas had not been born, Jesus is NOT comparing Judas's perdition to his NON existence before conception but to his existence before birth.. This hyperbolic figure of speech would almost certainly indicate the severity of non - being over being. In a parallel condemnation on the Pharisees, jesus said Sodom & Gomorrah would have repented had they seen his miracles {Matthew 11: 23 - 24}. This does not mean that they actually would have repented or God would surely have shown them these miracles - 2 Peter 3:9.

It is simply a powerful figure of speech indicating that their sin was so great that "it would be more tolerable" in the day of judgement for Sodom than for them {vs 24}.

Further, nothing cannot be better than something, since they have nothing in common to compare them. So non - being cannot be actually better than being. To assume otherwise is a category mistake. Or being more blunt - we would make an ASS {out of} U & ME :-(((((

In addition to the lack of any definitive passages in favor of annihilationism, numerous texts support the doctrine of eternal conscious punishment. A brief summary includes these:

The Rich Man In Hell: Unlike parables which  have NO real persons in them, Jesus told a story {teaching story at that} of an actual beggar named Lazarus who went to heaven & of a rich man who died & went to hell & was IN CONSCIOUS Torment {Luke 16: 22 - 28}.

He cried out, "Father Abraham, have pity on me & send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water & cool my tongue, because I AM IN AGONY IN THIS FIRE."  But abraham replied. 'Son, remember that IN YOUR LIFE TIME you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now HE IS Comforted here and you are in agony" {Vss. 24 - 25}.

The rich man then BEGGED that his brothers be warned "so that they will not also come to this place of torment in this passage: he IS suffering constant & Conscious torment. Not a place to be in, hey!!

Jesus repeatedly said the people IN HELL are in Continual Agony. He declared that "the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown thrown OUTSIDE, into the darkness, where there  will be weeping & gnashing of teeth" {Matthew 8: 12; cf. 22: 13; 24: 51; 25:30}.

But a place OF weeping IS obviously a place OF Conscious sorrow. Those who are not conscious do NOT weep!!  Would Jesus Lie to us?? NOT in my books  - considering what He went through to offer us a FREE Gift OF Salvation upon His Shoulders. How about yours??

John the apostle described hell as a place of eternal torment. he declared tat "the devil, who deceived them, was thrown in to the lake of burning sulphur; where the beats & the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day & night for ever & ever." {Rev. 20: 10}. Eternal torment indicates that the everlasting state of woe is conscious.

In a clear example of beings who were still conscious after a thousand years of conscious torment in hell, the Bible says of the beast & false prophet that "The two were thrown ALIVE into the fiery lake of burning sulphur" {Rev. 19: 20} before the "thousand years" {Rev. 20:2}.

Yet after this period the devil, who deceived them, was cast into lake of fire & brimstone where the beast & the false prophet {still} ARE {Rev. 20: 10, emphasis added}.

Not  only were they "ALIVE" when they entered, but they were still alive after a thousand years of conscious torment.

The fact that the wicked are "punished with everlasting destruction" {2 Thess 1:9} strongly implies that they must be conscious. One cannot suffer to beat a dead corpse. An unconscious person feels NO pain.

Annihilation would not be a punishment but a something from all punishment. Job can suffer something worse that annihilation in this life. The punishment of evil men in afterlife would have to be conscious. If not, then God is not just, since he would have given less punishment to to some wicked than to some righteous people. For not all wicked people suffer as much as some righteous  people do in this life.

Hell is said to be of the same duration as heaven. "everlasting" {Matt. 25 41}. As the saints in heaven are said to be in conscious bliss {Luke 23: 43; 2 Cor. 5: 8; Phil. 1: 23}, so the sinners in hell are in conscious woe {cf. Luke 16}.

In addition to biblical arguments many annihilationists offer philosophical reasons for rejecting everlasting  conscious punishment. Granting a theistic perceptive, most of them however, are a variation on the one them of God's mercy. Arguments by those who deny theism or human immortality are covered in those representative articles.

Annihilationists reason that GOd is a God of mercy {Exod. 20: 6} & it is merciless to allow people to suffer consciously forever. We kill trapped horses if we cannot rescue them from burning buildings. We put other suffering creatures out of their misery. Annihilationists argue that a merciful God would surely do as much for his creatures.

Against Annihilationism

The very concept of an ultimately merciful God supposes that he is the absolute standard for what is merciful & morally right. Indeed the loral argument for God's existence demonstrates this. But if God is the ultimate standard for moral righteousness, we cannot impose our concept of justice upon him. The very idea of injustice presupposes an ultimate standard, which theist claim for God.

Annihilation  would demean both the love of God & the nature of human beings as free moral creatures. It would be as if God said to them, "I will allow you to be free only if you do what I say. If you don't, then I will snuff out your very freedom & existence!"

This would be like a father telling his son he wanted him to be a doctor, but when the son insisted to be a park ranger the father shot him.

Eternal suffering is eternal testament to freedom  & dignity of humans, even unrepentant humans.

It would be contrary to the created nature of human beings to annihilate them, since they are made in God's image and likeness, which is everlasting {gen 1: 27}.

Animals are often killed to alleviate their pain. But {the euthanasia movement notwithstanding} we do not do the same for humans precisely because they are not animals.

We are created in THE IMAGE & LIKENESS of God &, hence, our dignity as God's image bearers. Not to allow destiny, painful as it may be, is to SNUFF OUT GOD'S IMAGE IN US.

Since free choice is morally good, being part of the image of God, then it would be a moral evil to take it away. But this is what annihilation does: It destroys human freedom forever.

Further, to stomp out the existence of a creature in God's immortal image is to renege on what God gave them - IMMORTALITY. It is to ATTACK himself in effigy by destroying his image - bearers. But God does NOT act against God.

To punish the crime of telling a half - truth with the same ferocity as the crime of genocide is unjust. Hitler should receive a greater punishment than a petty thief, though BOTH crimes affront God's infinite holiness. Certainly not all judgements proportionate to the sin is meted out in this life.

The Bible speaks of degrees of punishment in hell {Matthew 5: 22; Rev 20: 12 - 14}. But there can be no degrees of annihilation. NON EXISTENCE is the same for all persons.

Conclusion

The doctrine of annihilation rests more on SENTIMENTAL than Scriptural bases. Although, there are some biblical expressions that can be construed to support annihilationism, there are NONE that MUST be Understood this way. Furthermore, numerous passages clearly state that the wicked will suffer consciously and eternally in hell {see Hell, Universalism, Salvation} [Last 2 are still under construction]

Again I would like to thank may authors like Edwards, Fudge, Froom,  Gerstner,, C. S. Lewis & of course Norman L. Geisler for his book 'baker Encyclopaedia of Christina Apologetics. Hope you enjoyed read the material above.