THE
DOCTRINE OF THE ANNIHILATION OF THE WICKED
"Everlasting torment is intolerable from a moral point of view
because it makes God into a bloodthirsty monster who maintains an everlasting
"Well, emotionally, I find the concept intolerable and do not
understand how people can live with it without either cauterizing their
feelings or cracking under the strain." -- John R. W. Stott,
Rector of All Soul's church in London
And now, who is responsible for this God-dishonoring doctrine? And
what is his purpose? The promulgator of it is Satan himself; and his purpose in
introducing it has been to frighten the people away from studying the Bible and
to make them hate God. -- Joseph Franklin Rutherford,
Watchtower Society's Second President
It is precisely feelings such as these that have led many good Christian believers to reject the fundamentalist’s teaching concerning everlasting punishment in hell, and rightfully so! The desire for a kinder, gentler theology has driven many to seek refuge elsewhere. The doctrine of the annihilation of the wicked provides a satisfactory explanation to those who wish to see God as a merciful Father, and at the same time as a stern Executioner of justice.
The doctrine of annihilation
teaches that all who have either rejected Christ, or who have not had the
opportunity to make a decision for Christ, who is admittedly the only Savior of the world, will
eventually be blotted out of existence. Groups that teach this doctrine in one
form or another include Seventh-Day
Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christadelphians,
Mormons, and Herbert Armstrong’s
Worldwide Church of God. Although I will wholeheartedly agree that this
form of “punishment” is a billion times more merciful than the doctrine of
eternal torment, there is nothing in Scripture to support its validity. In
order to clearly show this, I can do no better than to post the following
excerpt from Andrew Jukes’ The
Restitution of All Things.
Scripture Use of the Words "Death" and
"Destruction."
The opinion of the annihilation of the wicked, which has at different times been held by some as a refuge from the doctrine of never-ending punishment, is not only opposed to the whole analogy of our regeneration which shows how death and judgment are the only way of life and deliverance for a fallen creature, but also so directly contradicts what is said of "death" in Scripture that it is difficult to conceive how it could ever have been accepted by believers. Even before the reason of the Cross is seen, the very letter of Scripture, one might have thought, would have kept men from concluding that the "death," "destruction," and "perishing," of the wicked means their non-existence or annihilation. For what is "death"? What is "destruction"? How are these words invariably used in Holy Scripture?
First, as to "death,"
are any of the varied deaths, which Scripture speaks of as incident to man, his
non-existence or annihilation? Take as examples the deaths referred to by St.
Paul, in the sixth, seventh, and eighth chapters of the Epistle to the Romans.
We read (Romans 6:7): "He that is
dead is freed from sin." Is this "death," which is freedom
from sin, non-existence or annihilation? Again, where the Apostle says (Romans
7:9): "I was alive without the law
once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died," was
this "death," wrought in him by the law, annihilation? Again, where
he says (Romans 8:6): "To be
carnally minded is death," is this death non-existence or
annihilation? And again, when he says (Romans 8:38): "Neither death nor life shall separate us," is the
"death" here referred to annihilation? When Adam died on the day he
sinned (Genesis 2:17), was this annihilation? When his body died and turned to
dust (Genesis 5:5), was this annihilation? Is our "death in trespasses and sins," (Ephesians 2:1,2)
annihilation? Is our "death to
sin," (Romans 6:11) annihilation? When the "corn of wheat falls into the ground and dies," (John
12:24) is it annihilated; or is St. Paul right in saying (I Corinthians 15:37): "That which thou sowest
is not quickened except it die?" Do not these and similar uses of the
word prove beyond all question, that whatever else these deaths may be, not one
of them is non-existence or annihilation? On what grounds, I ask, are we to
assign a sense to this particular death which admittedly the word
"death" has not and cannot have elsewhere? Where is the proof that
there is and can be no resurrection from the second death?
The truth is, death for man is
simply an end to, and separation from, some given form of life in which he has
lived. Death to God is separation from His world of light, by the destruction,
through the lie of the serpent, of the divine life of light and love in us.
Death to sin, the exact converse of this, is the separation from the world of
darkness, by the destruction, through the truth, of the dark life of unbelief
and self-love. The death wrought by the law is the end of, and separation from,
our fallen carnal life of self-sufficiency; while what is commonly called
death, namely the death of the body, is simply our separation from the outward
world, in which we live, as partakers of its outward life, while we are in the
body.
Once let us see that there are
three worlds, each having its own life -- a light world, a dark world, and this
outward seen world -- and then what is said in Scripture of the new birth, or
of the varied deaths we pass through, becomes at once self-evident. For the
only way into any world is by a birth into it, even as the only way out of any
world is by a death to it. We have by sin died to God’s light-world, to fall
into and live in a spirit-world of darkness. We must by the truth, that is by
Christ, die to this dark spirit-world, to return to live in God’s light-world.
The outward birth and death of the body, and its life, have only to do with the
outward seen world.
For this reason it is that the
word "destruction," as used in Scripture, never means annihilation.
Take for instance the words of the 90th Psalm, "Thou turnest man to destruction: again
Thou sayest, Come again, ye children of men."
Can "destruction" here be annihilation? Is it not rather that
dissolution which must take place if fallen creatures are ever to be brought
back perfectly to God’s kingdom? So again, Job says (Job 19:10): "He hath destroyed me on every side,
and I am gone"; and again, (Job 9: 22): "This one thing I said, He destroyeth
the perfect and the wicked." But does he mean to say that he is
brought to non-existence, or that the "perfect" will be so destroyed,
that they will exist no longer? So, again, St. Peter says (2 Peter 3:6): "The world that then was perished."
So, again, of the present heavens and earth it is said (Hebrews 1:11,12): "They shall perish, . . . and be
changed." So, again, both of Israel and Jerusalem it is said
(Deuteronomy 30:18; Jeremiah 12:17, 15:6) that they shall be
"destroyed" and "perish." But does any one suppose that
therefore they will be annihilated? So, again, as to the expression, "them
that perish," sometimes translated "the lost" (see I Corinthians
1:18; II Corinthians 2:15, 4:3); do we not know that these "lost,"
though they "perish," still exist, and exist both as "lost"
ones and "saved" ones, as text upon text will abundantly testify? So
as to the righteous, in the well-known passage of Isaiah 57:1: "The righteous "perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart"-- is
this "perishing" non-existence? So, again, where we read in Psalm
83:13-18:
“O my God, make them like the whirling dust; as
stubble before the wind. As the fire that burneth the forest, and as the flame
that setteth the mountains on fire. So pursue them with thy tempest, and
terrify them with thy storm. Fill their faces with confusion, THAT
THEY MAY SEEK THY NAME, O
Jehovah. Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever (Septuagint:
aion); yea, let them be confounded and perish, THAT THEY MAY KNOW that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah, art
the Most High over all the earth.” (Psalm 83:13-18; 1901 American Standard Version)
[Judgment in the lake of fire,
which I strongly believe is vividly described here in Psalm 83, awaits all of
those who have not been judged while yet in this body of sin. But God’s
righteous judgment will accomplish the purpose: “THAT THEY MAY KNOW that Thou alone, whose Name is the Lord.
And at that Name EVERY knee shall bow, and EVERY tongue WILL CONFESS that Jesus
Christ is LORD, to the GLORY of God the Father!” – GC]
So as to the question (Psalm 88:10,11): "Wilt Thou shew wonders to the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise Thee? Shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave, or Thy faithfulness in destruction?" is the true answer Yes, or No? Is not the "losing" or "destruction" of our fallen life the only way to a better one? Does not our Lord Himself say more than once (Matthew 10:39, 16:25; John 12:25) that the way to "save our life," or "soul," is to "lose it," or "have it destroyed," in its fallen form, that it may be re-created?
These last words should of
themselves settle this question, for in one place (Matthew 10:39) they occur in
immediate connection (see verse 28) with those other well-known words, as to "fearing him who can destroy both body
and soul in hell," which are constantly quoted by some to prove, as
they think, that "destruction" must be non-existence. And yet, in the
very closest connection with these words, our Lord repeats the self-same word
"destroy" (in our Authorized Version translated "lose" it
is the word apollumi, on which some build so much) to
express that death and dissolution of the soul, which, so far from bringing it
to non-existence, is the appointed way to save it. Christ saves it, as we have
seen, by death; for being fallen into sin, what is needed is "that the body of sin should be
destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin" (Romans 6:6). The
elect, that is the first-fruits, are the living proof of this. A "new
man" is created in them, and the "old man" dies and is
destroyed, while yet he in whom all this is done remains through all the same
person. It may be, and is, a riddle, like "dying,
and behold we live: having nothing, and yet possessing all things"; yet
it is only the riddle of the Cross, that "by
death God destroys him that has the power of death." Therefore, though
destruction, like death, may be, and is, a ceasing from some particular form of
life in which man has lived, yet it is never non-existence absolutely; rather
it is the means to bring the fallen creature into a new life, a chaos being
ever the necessary condition for a new creation.
As for the argument, founded by
some on the word apollumi,
that because it is one of the strongest in the Greek language to express
destruction, therefore that destruction must be irremediable, the simple answer
is, that the question is not whether the destruction is great, but whether God
is not still greater, and therefore whether He is not able even out of the
destruction to bring forth better things. It is certain that in the New
Testament, the word in question is used of those who though
"destroyed" are yet "saved."
"The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke
19:10)
[Now, which segment of mankind
was lost and in need of salvation? Was it the Baptists? Pentecostals?
Methodists? Mormons? Jehovah’s Witnesses? Buddhists? Muslims? Atheists?
Agnostics? Don’t the Scriptures declare that “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God?” Therefore,
ALL mankind was in fact LOST and in need of a Savior. And according to Christ,
His work on the cross was complete when He triumphantly exclaimed, “It is finished!” Will Christ prove to
be an utter failure in His attempt to
save that which was lost? – GC]
The New Testament use of the
word apollumi
proves that it describes, not so much preservation from future or threatened
judgment (in which case tereo
would be used, as in John 17:15, I Thessalonians 5:23, Jude
1:1, Revelation 3:10, etc.), but rather deliverance out of some present and
oppressing evil. So we read (Matthew 9:21,22) "And the woman said within herself, if I may but touch His
garment, I shall be made whole," that is restored to health; "and the woman was made whole,"
that is restored to health, "from
that hour." So again (Mark 5:23): "And
Jairus besought Him greatly, saying, I pray Thee, lay
Thy hands upon her, that she may be healed." So too (Mark 6:56): "And as many as touched Him were made
whole." So too, in reference to Lazarus (John 11:12): "Lord, if he sleep, he shall do
well," that is, he shall be restored to health (See also Luke 8:36,
18:42; Acts 4:9, James 5:15 etc). See also what is said of our Lord (Hebrews
5:7) that "in the days of His flesh,
when He had offered up prayers unto Him that was able to save Him from
death" (literally "out of
death"), "He was heard in that
He feared." But He was not preserved from death, but delivered out
of it. Our salvation, like our Lord’s, for we are His members, is not from death, but by it, and out of it.
[I will close now with a couple
of excerpts from J. Preston Eby’s insightful article:
The Wages of Sin is Death.]
Here is a fact. The Word says, "The
wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Wherever one goes he finds
someone quoting that plain declaration of fact. But the remarkable thing is
that no one believes it; not even the ones who continually preach it. The
hell-fire-and-brimstone enthusiast loudly proclaims that verse of Scripture to
be true, and then abruptly and shamefully contradicts himself by maintaining that
the wages of sin is ETERNAL TORMENT! But if eternal torment were the
penalty for sin, then Jesus never atoned for sin. He did not suffer eternal
torment. And if that is the price that God demands as punishment for sin, then
Jesus paid nothing at all. If my punishment were eternal torment, and Jesus
took my place, receiving the full judgment for my sin, then it should be clear
to any thinking person that He would have had to suffer eternally in hell.
That is the only way the debt could be paid!
In like manner, if the wages of
sin were utter annihilation, or eternal death, then there is no hope for
anyone. For Jesus was not annihilated! He did not stay dead for ever! If
annihilation is the penalty for sin, then every son of Adam, saved or lost,
must yet suffer his own penalty and be blotted out of existence forevermore.
Then Jesus never saved anyone from anything. And then we all might as well
enjoy this world to the full; for it is the only life and existence that any of
us will ever know!
To the annihilationist
the wages of sin is ETERNAL DEATH. But that is not what the Word says! The
Bible nowhere speaks of "eternal death." Oh, that men might begin
to read, and to heed what is written! "The wages of sin is death,"
says the Lord. And it is true, even though the majority of men [Christians]
still think that the wages of sin is eternal torment, one of the most abominable
and notorious lies ever told, a product of popish fraud and deception and
greed. The wages of sin is actually death. And Jesus died! He met
the full demands of law. He paid the debt of sin in full, blessed be His wonderful
name!
*****
Comments/Questions?