Regarding "Annihilationism"
By Ed Stevens
There are a few Preterists
who have been influenced by Annihilationist into believing that when the
wicked die, they either immediately, or after a brief period of punishment,
cease to exist. They simply do not want to believe that God will make the
wicked endure eternal conscious punishment. They prefer to believe that
God will only give them some temporary limited punishment (or maybe none at
all), and then snuff them out of existence permanently. This false
doctrine is labeled "Annihilationism" by those of us who believe in
the Biblical doctrine of "eternal conscious punishment." The
Annihilationists prefer to soften this scary sounding label by calling it
"Conditionalism" or "Conditional Immortality." While
the gift of IMMORTALITY (a new kind of body to dwell in God's presence with
forever) is certainly "CONDITIONAL" upon one's faith in Christ that
is not the same as saying that one's "CONSCIOUSNESS" beyond death is
"CONDITIONAL" upon one's faith in Christ. "CONSCIOUSNESS"
of a disembodied soul is automatic for both the wicked and the righteous after
death. But "CONSCIOUSNESS" of the soul after death is something
different than an already conscious soul being given a new IMMORTAL body.
The Annihilationists can't seem to understand that difference, or else they
intentionally want to keep us ignorant of the difference so that we will think
that as soon as a person dies, he loses consciousness. And since only
believers get IMMORTALITY (which they define as mere soul CONSCIOUSNESS, not as
an IMMORTAL body), they think only believers will be CONSCIOUS in the
afterlife, while the wicked will be annihilated into eternal
UNCONSCIOUSNESS. You can see how it is their faulty definition of
"immortality" (as mere soul consciousness rather than a new immortal
body) which gets them into trouble here. Souls can be conscious after
physical death without having "immortality." There are several
Biblical examples of it (Samuel at Endor, and Moses at the transfiguration,
besides Luke 16:19ff and Rev. 6:9-11). All of these were before the AD 70
resurrection. "Immortality" had not been given yet, yet these
souls that had already died physically were still conscious in the spiritual
realm.
Another idea that Annihilationists use to their advantage is the word "destroy"
which is found in many scriptures that talk about the destiny of the
wicked. Since Annihilationists need this word to mean
"annihilate" exclusively (and not "conquer, subdue, or
punish"), they pick out a few of the places where it does seem to mean
"annihilate" and apply that definition to all the texts which speak
of the destiny of the wicked. This is a classic scripture twister's
tactic, preying upon the grammatical weaknesses and gullibility of most
Christians.
In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus relates the story about Lazarus and a rich man (whose
name was supposedly "Dives," according to tradition). Some
interpreters, perhaps even most, consider this story to be a parable.
However, it is highly (if not exclusively) unusual for Jesus to mention specific
names of individuals in a parable. Admittedly, that does not prove that
this is not a parable, but it does at least suggest the "possibility"
that it is not a parable. So those who want to assert dogmatically that
this has to be a parable, will simply have to back off their dogmatism and
allow for the "possibility" that it is instead a factual story about
two real men whose destinies in Hades were diametrically opposite.
Personally, it doesn't matter to me either way whether it is a parable or
not. Jesus is always "true to life" in all of His teaching,
whether it was a parable or adidactic discourse. Jesus never paints a
word picture that distorts or misrepresents reality. But that is what the
Annihilationists are forced to do with this story here in Luke 16.
Because Jesus paints a very real picture of a conscious existence in Hades for
both the righteous and wicked (until the resurrection and judgment), the
Annihilationists are forced to try to discredit this story and say that it is
only a parable (as if that solves their problem). What that implies,
although they seldom will honestly come right out and say it, is that Jesus
literally painted a picture of Hades that was totally false and
misleading. They put Jesus in the position of purposely misleading folks,
teaching us that Hades was a place of CONSCIOUS souls waiting for the
resurrection, when in fact (acc. to Annihilationists) Hades is not like that at
all. Annihilationists are attacking the credibility and integrity of
Christ Himself on this point. And they are teaching new and weak
Christians to reject this story and believe that it is NOT a "TRUE"
representation of Hades. I don't envy their position, in light of what
Jesus said about false teachers just two verses after the story about the Rich
Man and Lazarus in Hades (Luke 17:2), “It would be better for him if a
millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that
he would cause one of these little ones to stumble."
And, by the way, think about the long-term implications of what Jesus said
about death by a millstone. If the wicked and false teachers were merely
going to be annihilated, why would a millstone death be better? If they
are going to be annihilated after death anyway, why wouldn't it better to live
longer here before annihilation? Why is dying earlier better than facing
the eternal consequences of mistreating one of these little ones? If
there are no eternal consequences to face, and the consequences will be
annihilation no matter how long they live on earth, why would dying earlier be
better? It would only be better if there was a choice between eternal
conscious punishment and temporary physical suffering. In other words, it
would be far better to die a martyr's millstone death for teaching the
truth and suffer temporarily in the flesh (but have an everlasting
spiritual reward in the afterlife), than to enjoy a long comfortable and
prosperous life as a false teacher and end up in eternal conscious
punishment. The way Jesus poses this threat against the false teachers
implies that any kind of physical suffering for the truth's sake would be a far
better trade any day than to have what the false teachers will get when this
life is over. Let them do whatever they want against this physical body
(as long as it is because of our righteousness), because he who has suffered in
the flesh has ceased from sin. He is on his way to the heavenly
realm. But if we teach falsehood in order to gain material benefits here
and have a prosperous and pleasant life here, watch out! The next life
will not be a picnic. "Not even when one has an
abundance does his life consist in the things possessed." "What
does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and yet forfeits his
soul?" It would be better to suffer the worst this life has to offer
(in righteousness), than to face what the next life will bring to the false
teacher. If that next life would only bring the false teacher
annihilation, why would the false teacher fear Jesus' threat here? Jesus
clearly implies that something very fearful awaits the wicked after physical
death. No man fears annihilation, not even if there is a finite
punishment preceding it. But all men fear eternal conscious
punishment. Jesus says there is something to fear after death if you are
a false teacher. Paul said it this way," Therefore knowing the FEAR of the
Lord, we persuade men..." (2 Corinthians 5:11) How could an
unbeliever be motivated to reconsider his ways and be persuaded to believe if
there is nothing eternally to fear after death? He would laugh in the
face of the evangelist. But true eternal FEAR is very persuasive.
Jesus said not to fear the one who can take your physical life away from you,
but rather fear the One who can punish your spirit/soul forever in Gehenna.
There are many more logical and Biblical fallacies inherent in the
Annihilationist doctrine, but these are some of their most common and
fundamental errors. A Preterist who happens to be an Annihilationist just
emailed me the following list of Scriptures, asking me to comment on them in
light of my "consciousness in Hades" interpretation of Luke 16 (see
above comments about it). Here is what he said. My comments are
down below each scripture:
[QUESTION BY AN ANNIHILATIONIST] If you insist that the rich man and
Lazarus is more than a story (a parable) and that the setting is TRUE, then how
do you reconcile that position with the following verses??????
(Job 24:19 NASB) "Drought and heat consume the snow waters, so does
Sheol those who have sinned."
[ED'S COMMENT] This is part of Job's response to Eliphaz, who had
suggested that the reason Job was suffering these great calamities was because
Job must have been guilty of great wickedness and endless iniquity (Job
22:5.) This is Job's defense (chapters 23-24). Job shows that not
all the wicked get their punishment in this life, nor do all the righteous get
their rewards in this life. Back in Job 19:25-27 he had already affirmed
a belief in an afterlife with God "after my skin is flayed...without my
flesh I shall see God." This particular text is affirming that just like
the snow is melted and vaporized (not annihilated, but changed into a different
disembodied form) by the drought and heat, so will the wicked be consumed
by Sheol (Hades). They are not annihilated by Sheol, their disembodied
spirits/souls are merely "consumed by" or cast into Satan's prison of
Sheol until the resurrection/judgment day. There is no unconscious
"soul sleep until the resurrection" taught here. If anything,
this verse is affirming the CONSCIOUS punishment of the wicked who are
"consumed" by Sheol at their physical death. That is one of
Job's points here, to show that the wicked who enjoy an unpunished life here
will not escape punishment in the next life. Job's argument here would be
meaningless if the wicked are, in fact, annihilated without punishment.
The heat and lack of water to cool their tongues in Sheol would certainly
consume them with thirst and agony, just like the picture we see in Luke 16.
(Psa 6:5 NASB) For there is no mention of Thee in death; In Sheol who
will give Thee thanks?
[ED'S COMMENT] Read the whole psalm and notice what David is saying
here. vv.2, 3 - "I am pining away...my bones are dismayed...my soul
is greatly dismayed. He had a lot of adversaries giving him grief and it
was stressing him emotionally as well as physically. He prays for
grace, healing, rescue, and salvation out of this crisis, and shame, great
dismay and sudden destruction against his adversaries while he and they are
still alive to see it. If the vengeance does not come until after he has
died, he will not be still around in this world to boast about God's loving-kindness,
nor be able to express his thanks publicly in more psalms of praise. Once
he dies and enters Sheol, he won't be writing any more psalms of praise and
thanksgiving. He asks God to bring his adversaries to shame while he is
still alive to see it and praise God for it. That is all David is
saying. He is NOT saying anything about what is going on in Sheol, nor
whether there is consciousness there. He is merely asking God to judge
his enemies while he is still alive to see it.
(Psa 31:17 NASB) Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I call upon
Thee; Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol.
[ED'S COMMENT] Same thing as above. Read the whole psalm. It
is not clear which crisis in David's life is in the background of this
psalm. Both 1 Sam. 23 and 2 Sam. 15 have been suggested. However, I
suspect this psalm is more likely speaking of another occasion when David was
being challenged by enemies who were not in his family (like Saul or Absalom
were). At least some of his enemies here were evidently idol-worshippers
(Ps. 31:6). It is probably against that group that he prays this
imprecatory prayer. In Ps. 31:17, he asks God to bring shame upon the
wicked, and to kill them and put their souls in Sheol, where their evil,
arrogant, scheming, lying tongues would no longer be heard on the earth by
David or anyone else. This is a classic example of one of David's
imprecatory prayers. He is praying for the death of these particular
idol-worshipping enemies. He is not saying that there is no consciousness
or voices heard in Sheol. He is instead merely saying that their voice
will no longer be heard on earth because they have died and are in Sheol.
(Isaiah 38:18 NASB) "For Sheol cannot thank Thee, Death cannot
praise Thee; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Thy faithfulness.
[ED'S COMMENT] Same as above. Expressions of thankfulness and
praise cannot be heard anymore from the lifeless corpse. Those who have
died can no longer experience the hope that all the living enjoy. While
we are still alive, there is always hope for repentance so that they can see and
experience God's blessings both here and in the afterlife. But once they
died, hope of any change of their destiny was gone forever. Their fate
was sealed at that point. Those who have descended into the pit (in
obvious judgment because of their wickedness) dare not hope that they will
thereby escape God's judgment. There is no hope for them in Sheol
either. No praise and thanksgiving can be heard out of a dead corpse, and
those who go down to the pit (the bad part of the netherworld) in judgment are
beyond hope. Hope is for the living.
(Eccl
[ED'S COMMENT] Excellent motivation for doing what is right while we are
in this life on earth. After we die, there is no more opportunity to
prepare, train, discipline and develop our character after that. The
training is over at that point. We go into eternity with what we have.
So live life to its fullest while you've got it. Take advantage of every
opportunity to do what is right here in this life while you are still alive,
because the day will too soon come when there will be no more opportunities
like that. Once you die your degree of punishment or reward is
fixed. Earlier in this chapter (Eccl. 9) Solomon talked about the same
fate (physical death) awaiting everyone. And it comes too soon for most
people, and far sooner than we think it will or want it to. Therefore,
make the most of the opportunity while you still have life. Live it to
the fullest, because the day of death will come and all your plans and
activities that you had scheduled will come to a screeching halt. It's
over. Once we are dead, all our plans for this life on earth will be
impossible to pursue any longer, and we will begin following the plan that God
has for us in the next life. That's all Solomon is saying here.
There is nothing here defining what happens to us in Sheol after we physically
die. Consciousness or unconsciousness neither one are clearly affirmed or
denied here in this text. It is merely dealing with how we should live
our life on earth while we have it. Make the most of it, don't squander
it, because it will too soon be over and there is no chance for improvement or
change after that (as the rich man in Luke 16 discovered).
I really don't see any disparity at all between Luke 16:19-31 and these other
texts. Seems to me that the message is the same. Get your life in
order now in this life while you have a chance, because a day is soon coming
when we will pass out of this life and there will be no second chances after
that. Like Luke
I might also add here that some Preterists are prone to take an annihilationist
position because they think that all the references to "Gehenna" in
our NT were completely fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 when
the dead bodies of the Jewish rebels were thrown without burial over into the
Valley of Hinnom (the city dump) and consumed by the continually burning fires,
the ever munching maggots, or by the vultures, wild animals, and rodents that
were there. That may sound like a reasonable approach to these scriptures
until we look further at the texts which use the word "Gehenna," or
its same concept of fiery punishment. There are actually 12 passages
which use the Greek word "Gehenna" (the
Eleven of them are used by Jesus and found only in the synoptic gospels.
The other occurrence is in James. Here's the whole list.
Matt. 5:22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall
be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, You
good-for-nothing, shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says,
You fool, shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
Matt. 5:29 If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from
you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for
your whole body to be thrown into hell.
Matt. 5:30 If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from
you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for
your whole body to go into hell.
Matt.
Matt. 18:9 If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from
you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and
be cast into the fiery hell.
Matt.
travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one,
you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
Matt.
Mark 9:43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you
to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the
unquenchable fire,
Mark 9:45 If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you
to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell,
Mark 9:47 If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you
to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast
into hell,
Luke 12:5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has
killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!
James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is
set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire
the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.
Notice Matthew
And the first half of this
verse (Mt.
"Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed
ones, into THE ETERNAL FIRE which has been prepared for the devil and his
angels ... "These will go away into ETERNAL PUNISHMENT, but the
righteous into ETERNAL LIFE."
These two verses about the final judgment (between the sheep and the goats)
also passes judgment upon the Annihilationist view. Notice the use of the
word "eternal" here in reference to both the length of the life that
the righteous would receive, as well as the length of the punishment that the wicked
would receive. So if we say that the punishment of the wicked is not
really eternal, then the reward of the righteous is not eternal either.
The same Greek word for "eternal" is used in reference to both the
reward of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked. It does NOT say
merely that their shame would live on forever after their death, but rather
that their "punishment" would last forever, just like the reward for
the righteous would last forever. Very significant point! But that
is not all that annihilates the Annihilationist position here. Notice
also that the FIRE will be "ETERNAL" (see Mark
Question: How do you
punish "the devil and his angels" FOREVER in a physically burning
trash heap outside
Look at the reference to "Gehenna" in James 3:6, "And the tongue
is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as
that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life,
and is set on fire by hell." Question: Is James talking about
our literal physical tongue being a literal physical fire? If the
Annihilationists are right, James would have to be talking about a literal
physical fire being taken from the literal physical
Lastly, in this examination of the Annihilationist doctrine, we come to the
"
1. Literal wine of the wrath of God in a literal cup of His anger
2. Literal conscious physical torment with literal fire and brimstone in the
literal presence of the holy angels and in the literal presence of the Lamb
3. Literal smoke of literal conscious physical torment rising up into the
literal sky over
4. This literal conscious burning torment with literal fire and brimstone lasts
at least a literal "day and night," since it says "they have no
rest day and night" -- they are literally and consciously not able to get
any rest from this literal physical torment. It lasts day and night forever
and ever.
All four of these points involve physical or historical impossibilities, which
every hermeneutics book would assert is a red flag to alert us to possible
figurative language. Without God intervening to keep the physical bodies
alive, they could not endure that kind of endless physical burning torment
without being completely consumed and taken out of physical
consciousness. But it clearly says "they have no rest day and
night" as the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. Questions:
Can smoke rise forever if there is nothing to burn? Is
"torment" really "torment" if the folks whose physical
bodies were being tormented are not conscious to feel the torment? The
smoke implies there is something there to burn, and the torment implies there
are conscious folks there to experience the torment. Hermeneutics would
force us to interpret this figuratively as a description of the
Look finally at Rev. 20:10 -- "And the devil who deceived them was thrown
into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are
also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." If
there was any doubt in the Rev. 14 text about what it was referring to, this
text clears it up once and for all. This text is very similar to Matthew
25:41 which say that the devil and his angels would be cast into an eternal fire
along with human beings. Question: Can the devil and demons be
affected by the physical fire in the physical