The giant philosophical elephant in annihilationism’s room is its appeal to the sinful nature. The wicked want it to be true. There is a certain appeal to it. Culpability is annihilated and accountability ceases to exist. That works nicely for the truth suppressor. God isn’t as holy and righteous as their conscious testifies. Annihilationism quiets the smoke alarm of the soul as they near eternity. But it’s too good to be true. Better yet, God is too good for annihilationism to be true. 

One of the most difficult truths to grasp is the eternality of hell. The misery of it all is simply unfathomable. It is one that must move us to the deepest reverence before God and compassion towards sinners.

In yesterday’s post, the miseries of hell were briefly described. When the unredeemed enter, there will be a shock as the magnitude of hell sets in. One of the greatest miseries of hell will be the eternality of it: there will be no end to the conscious torment.

However, there have been questions as to the eternality of hell. The biblical teaching of unending punishment in hell has often been under attack. Do those in hell suffer forever? Or will they experience annihilation at some point and cease to exist? Annihilationism teaches that those in hell will eventually cease to exist. They will not be punished forever, but for a length of time, culminating in their annihilation.

Today’s post examines the teaching of annihilationism, demonstrating that it is biblically untenable. Several arguments are put forth.

1. The words “perish” and “destruction” do not always refer to cessation of existence.

Some annihilationists argue that the words translated “perish” or “destruction” imply the cessation of existence. For example, the use of the words translated “perish” in John 3:16and “destruction” in Philippians 3:19 and 2 Thessalonians 1:9 are said to indicate annihilation.

This is a case where some texts taken on their own might appear to teach a doctrine. But, we must examine the whole counsel of God from the 66 books of Scripture to understand a doctrine.

Regarding the terms “perish” and “destruction,” both terms are often used in the NT in ways which do not mean cessation of existence. For example, the word translated “destruction” in Philippians 3:19 is used elsewhere to describe the idea of wasting something of value (Matt. 26:8).

interestingly, the same word is also used in Revelation 17:8 to describe the punishment of the beast. Then, in Revelation 20:10, the beast is said to be “tormented day and night forever and ever.” Clearly, though the beast is said to be destroyed, that does not mean he ceases to exist, since his torment is unending. Therefore, the word translated “destroy” need not speak of annihilationism. In fact, in the context of hell as in Revelation 17 and 20, it is consistent with the eternal punishment.

In the case of John 3:16, the word translated “perish” often does not refer to cessation of existence. For example, in Johannine literature, the word frequently refers to loss, in the sense of no longer in one’s possession (e.g. John 6:12, 39; 17:12; 18:9). In Matthew 9:17, for example, the word is used to describe damage (“the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined”).

The word translated “destruction” in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 is a different NT word. Elsewhere, for example in 1 Corinthians 5:5, Paul uses the word to describe the destruction of an individual’s body in the case of church discipline. The purpose of that destruction is repentance and restoration. Thus, the meaning cannot mean annihilation of the individual’s body, for then, he would be unable to repent and be restored. There is no repentance and restoration in the next life. The meaning of “destruction” there has the idea of damage. Paul desires that the disciplined experience physical suffering in order that they might be moved to repentance.

Further, we should step back for a moment and allow plain sense to speak. If cessation of existence was meant in places like 2 Thessalonians 1:9, then the modifier, “eternal,” would be useless. To paraphrase, the rendering would be, “eternal ceasing to exist.” If NT writers wanted to communicate cessation of existence, they would have not included the term “eternal” to describe hell.

Thus, to conclude annihilationism from the NT words “perish” and “destruction” is a forced interpretation which imposes upon the greater context of the respective passages and additional verses which speak of the eternality of hell.

2. When describing hell, the word “eternal” refers to duration.

One of the biggest problems for annihilationism is Matthew 25:46, which reads, “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Annihilationists often teach that the NT words translated, “eternal” or “everlasting” do not refer to endless duration but “pertaining to the age to come” or “having eternal consequences.”

There are serious problems with this view, however. First, the assertion that “eternal” refers to “pertaining/belonging to the age to come” is an imposed rendering of the word αἰώνιον in the context of Matthew 25:46. If NT writers wanted to communicate “pertaining/belonging to the age to come,” they would have used a different phrase in Greek; something along the lines of phrase ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι μέλλοντι and not the adjective, αἰώνιον, as Jesus did.

Second, even if the word is taken as “pertaining to the age to come,” that does not further the annihilationist position. Scripture always refers to the age to come as one of unceasing duration. Thus, the age to come, whether for the redeemed or unredeemed, will be unending.

Third, Greek references predominantly render the word αἰώνιον as “eternal” and/or “unlimited duration” (e.g. DBL, Louw-Nida, TDNT).

Fourth, rendering the word “having eternal consequences” does not serve in favor of annihilationism. If the damned ceased to exist, there would not be eternal consequences. Instead, the consequences of their unredeemed state are finite: they cease to exist, therefore, the consequences cease with their annihilation.

Fifth, the parallel description of heaven and hell with the word “eternal” invalidates the annihilationist position.

Read More