The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum Hell

How does one refute annihilationism? What about the words that refer to destruction of the wicked? I want lots of information because I LOVE studying the Bible by topic. Thank you in advance.

Lynda,

Go here: The Highway Website and type in "annihilation" in the Google search box and you will find some relevant articles that deal with this topic directly and indirectly.

So far, so good! I found an article by Arthur W. Pink called Eternal Punishment. It was referenced in an article at The Highway Website. Good stuff!

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It only makes sense that God's wrath for the unjust must be at least as limitless as His love for the righteous! If our fate is everlasting, so also must be that of the unrighteous.

The case in favor of annihilationism is very strong, even if one does not decide to personally embrace the doctrine. How can anyone take the stance that they are 100% sure that hell is endless conscious torment for eternity when these passages below are in the Bible:

[Hebrews 10:26-27, 39 ESV] 26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. ... 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

The author of Hebrews above is using the phrase "fire that will consume the adversaries" to intentionally contextualize his wording, "preserve their souls" in verse 39 above. Look below in Isaiah where the author of Hebrews is borrowing this fiery phrase from:

[Isaiah 26:11, 14, 19 CSB] 11 LORD, your hand is lifted up to take action, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame. Let fire consume your adversaries. ... 14 The dead do not live; departed spirits do not rise up. Indeed, you have punished and destroyed them; you have wiped out all memory of them. ... 19 Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For you will be covered with the morning dew, and the earth will bring out the departed spirits.

The content of Isaiah 26 above sounds a lot like Jesus in Matthew here:

[Matthew 10:28 NASB20] 28 "And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

And then here's the inspiration of God saying almost the same thing as Jesus above through Isaiah below in regard to those who side with antichrist during the tribulation:

[Isaiah 10:17-18 NASB20] 17 And the Light of Israel will become a fire and Israel's Holy One a flame, And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day. 18 And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body, And it will be as when a sick person wastes away.

And then considering the content of the passages I've just shown, is it possible that these Thessalonians verses below are translated properly, expressing the same concept? The Thessalonians verses below are about the day of the Lord, just as Isaiah 26 and Isaiah 10 above are:

[1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, 23 LSB] 2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman who is pregnant, and they will never escape. ... 23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Annihilationism is all over the Bible. These are just a few of the passages. Even those very few passages which seem to definitively support the endless conscious torment view can be shown to much better support annihilationism. Revelation 14:11 and Revelation 20:10 are of course the passages which seem to be impossible to reconcile to annihilationism. In spite of this, there is a very strong case that Revelation 14:11 and the "smoke of their torment going up forever and ever" is an intentional reference to the smoke of the Old Testament sacrificial system which carries the connotation of complete and utter destruction, not endless torment. Revelation 20:10 is balanced by the fact that there are eight Old Testament prophecies foretelling the killing of satan, and not his endless torment, as some would interpret Revelation 20:10. Isaiah 27 here is a prime example:

[Isaiah 27:1 NASB20] 1 On that day the LORD will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, With His fierce and great and mighty sword, Even Leviathan the twisted serpent; And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.

In Revelation, John even leaves us a very likely pointing device in Revelation 12:9 which directs us to the Septuagint version of the Isaiah 27 verse above. John does this by using the same two Greek word names for satan in Revelation 12:9 that we also find in the Septuagint version of Isaiah 27:1:

[Isaiah 27:1 LES2 Septuagint] 27 On that day God will bring the holy and great and mighty sword against the dragon (δράκων, G1404), a fleeing serpent (ὄφις, G3789), against the dragon (δράκων, G1404), a twisted serpent (ὄφις, G3789); he will slay the dragon (δράκων, G1404).

[Revelation 12:9 TLV] And the great dragon (δράκων, G1404) was thrown down—the ancient serpent, (ὄφις, G3789) called the devil and satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Please see my free online PDF book "Hell is Made Holy" for the rest of the supporting evidence regarding what I've said here about Revelation 14:11 and 20:10. The free PDF book can be downloaded from https://go.davidaaronbeaty.com/hellbook . There just aren't any passages in the Bible that cannot be countered with the same type of forceful evidence that I am showing here. This even applies to the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. I hope that those who continue to assert that the eternal conscious torment view of hell is the only option will at least consider the weight of the passages that I've shown and realize that their view cannot be confidently supported with all of scripture. Annihilationism is a valid view.

Sorry, but the 'evidence' for 'annihilationism' of the lost/wicked is unfortunately contrived at best. John R. Stott tried his best to defend his view but failed miserably. The overwhelming support for the biblical doctrine of eternal punishment is represented over hundreds of years by renowned scholars and laymen alike.

See, for example, J.I. Packer's article here: Evangelical Annihilationism in Review

Also see: The Positive and Explicit Nature of Christ's Teaching Concerning Eternal Punishment

See also the passage where it stated to us in the book of Revelation that both the Beast and False prophet were in torment past 1000 years and were still in there experiencing it

God destroyed the earth during the flood, but it was not annihilated. Destruction does not equal annihilation.