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Annihilationism
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Hi, I'm Dave DeWitt, and today I'd like to talk a little bit about the doctrine known
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as annihilationism.
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Annihilationism is the belief that after the final judgment, the human soul or spirit or
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consciousness of unbelievers will be totally extinguished in the sense of being destroyed
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so as to no longer exist.
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Some believe the soul of unbelievers ceases to exist immediately after death.
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Some say it's immediately after judgment.
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Others say it's after a time of suffering that justly pays for their sins.
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Forms of annihilationism has appeared throughout Christian history.
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It's taught by the Seventh-day Adventists, the Jehovah's Witnesses, but more recently
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brought to the mainstream Christianity by British Anglican theologian John Stott, who
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died in 2011.
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Stott wrote this, quote,
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The ultimate annihilation of the wicked should at least be accepted as a legitimate biblically
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founded alternative to their eternal consciousness of torment, close quote.
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I'd like to briefly say seven things about the Christian doctrine of annihilationism.
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First, annihilationists say the Hebrew and Greek words for forever do not always mean
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forever.
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Psalm 104, verse 5, he established the earth upon its foundation so that it will not totter
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forever and ever.
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But the earth will eventually be destroyed or annihilated, 2 Peter 3, 12, Revelation
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21, 1.
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Jeremiah 7, 7 says,
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Then I will let you dwell in this place in the land that I gave to your fathers forever
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and ever, close quote.
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But here, forever only lasts a thousand years after the second coming of Christ in Revelation
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20.
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And then Revelation 19, 3 says,
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Her smoke raises up forever and ever, close quote.
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But this is the smoke of the tribulation destruction.
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It's unlikely that it'll last throughout eternity.
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It's true.
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I actually think it's a good point that the Greek and Hebrew words for forever do not
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always have an eternal meaning, but they usually do.
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They usually have an eternal meaning.
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Most of the time, forever usually means eternally.
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For example, Psalm 33, 11, the counsel of the Lord stands forever.
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Psalm 45, verse 6,
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Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
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First Peter 1, 25,
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The word of the Lord endures forever.
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Matthew 25, 46,
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These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
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Number two.
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Annihilationists say hell is called the second death.
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They say that just as the first death means bodily life and consciousness end completely,
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at the second death, consciousness and soul will end completely.
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Verses 14 and 20 say then death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire.
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This is the second death, the lake of fire, close quote.
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However, the phrase second death is used four times in Revelation to refer to the lake of
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fire, the lake that burns with fire and brimstone.
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Nowhere in the Bible is bodily death connected to an end of human existence or consciousness.
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Death is the separation of the soul from the body, and according to Genesis 35, 18 and
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James 2, 26, not the end of consciousness.
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Every glimpse we get into the afterlife has people alive and conscious of their surroundings.
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Number three.
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Annihilationists say Peter and Paul call punishment of unbelievers destruction.
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Something that's destroyed goes out of existence and it's not conscious.
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Second Thessalonians 1, 9 and 20 says these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction
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away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power.
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Second Peter 3, 7 and 20 say, but by his word, the present heavens and earth are being preserved
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for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men, close quote.
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However, the New Testament concept of destruction, Paul's eternal destruction and Peter's day
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of judgment and destruction refer to the condemnation of unbelievers, not to their
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postmortem condition.
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Jesus described the condition of unbelievers as cast into the outer darkness and the place
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where they'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth and those who go into an unquenchable fire.
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These warnings would hardly be relevant if destruction was annihilation.
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The same is true of Satan in Revelation 20, 10, where they say Satan is annihilated.
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Number four.
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Annihilationists say the Psalms describe the Lord's enemies as vanishing like the smoke
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implying nothingness.
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Psalm 37, 20 says, but the wicked will perish and the enemies of the Lord will be like the
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glory of the pastures.
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They vanish like smoke.
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They vanish away.
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That's also in Psalm 68, 2 and 112, 10.
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However, the Old Testament statements of the Lord's enemies vanishing like smoke, as in
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Psalm 37, are about being eliminated from the land.
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Those blessed by him will inherit the land of Israel and those cursed by him will be
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cut off from the land of Israel.
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This is about living in the land of Israel, not their postmortem condition.
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Number five.
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Annihilationists say God is merciful.
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Exodus 20, verse 6, showing loving kindness.
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This is not merciful to allow people to suffer forever.
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However, the concept that it's merciful to terminate punishment does not understand the
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biblical concept of mercy.
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Mercy is unmerited compassion.
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It's for those who repent.
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It's not something we deserve after a certain amount of punishment.
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An argument that asks, would God release people from hell if after a time they repented might
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have some merit, but that's not the annihilationist argument.
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One might also ask, what if those in hell continue to blaspheme, rebel, and not repent?
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Would their ongoing sin require ongoing judgment from a holy God?
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Sin is a godless perspective, not an isolated act.
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The evidence from those suffering judgment from the tribulation period is that they continued
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in, if not increased their sin under judgment.
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Four times Revelation says they did not repent so as to give him glory, and they blasphemed
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the God of heaven because of their pain and their sores, and they did not repent of their deeds.
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That's Revelation 16, 9, and 11, also in chapter 9, 20 and 21.
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Number six, annihilationists say God is just, Genesis 18, 25 says, shall not the judge of
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all the earth deal justly.
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They say eternal punishment is not just for 70 to 80 years of sin.
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However, the idea that a just God would not eternally punish sin assumes we can judge
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the judgment of God.
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The whole motivation for annihilationism seems to defend a humanist perspective or an atheist
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perspective, but from the perspective of a holy God, his justice requires his wrath.
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Why would God send Jesus to pay for our sin, 2 Corinthians 5, 21, thus satisfying the wrath
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of God if the wrath of God could be satisfied by simply annihilating some people and not
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annihilating others?
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Number seven, annihilationists claim that saints could not be happy in heaven knowing
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their unbelieving friends were suffering eternally in hell.
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However, as to this idea that saints would not be happy in heaven if their unbelieving
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friends were suffering in hell, God said from Isaiah 65, 17, for behold, they create new
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heavens and new earth and former things will not be remembered or come to mind.
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Thank you for listening.
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A longer paper on this subject with footnotes for the quotes is available on our website
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relationalconcepts.org.
