Conditional Immortality - Biblical Proof of Annihaliation in Hell by Douglas B. - HTML preview

chapter and verse for it? Is there any word

God could have used that they would not say

"it does not mean what it says"? No, not one if

it would conflict with their theology.

"My mind fails to conceive a grosser misinter-

pretation of language then when the five or six

strongest words which the Greek tongue pos-

sesses, signifying 'destroy,' or 'destruction,' are

explained to mean maintaining an everlasting

but wretched existence. To translate black as

white is nothing to this" (R. F. Weymouth, Life

In Christ, page 365, translator of "The New

Testament in Modern Speech.")

 

Those who wrongly believe in immortality for

all from birth must reinterpret the Bible to say:

1. Those who are destroyed are really not de-

stroyed. [James 4:12; 2 Peter 2:12; 2 Peter

3:7].

2. Those who perish do not perish. [1

Corinthians 1:8: John 3:16].

 

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3. Those who die do not die. [Romans 6:23]

[Death is not death].

4. The end of the wicked is not really their

end. [Philippians 3:19; Hebrews 6:8].

5. Those who are consumed are not con-

sumed [Hebrews 10:27].

6. Mortals are born immortal; [1 Timothy

6:16] therefore, how can there be any such

thing as being mortal? There are no mortals

and could never be a mortal if all men are cre-

ated immortal.

7. The second death is not a death; it is eter-

nal life with torment [Revelation 21:8].

. Are they really teaching the Bible when they

corrupt it into saying the opposite of what it re-

ally says, or teaching what they want the Bible

to say? (The Resurrection and Immortality,

William West, Xulon Press, 2006, various ex-

cerpts from chapter two. Visit

www.jewishnotgreek.com/Robertwr.pdf for a

free download of this book.)

4) We gain "immortality" only from the gospel.

There is a gift we get from believing the gospel; it is called "everlasting life." (John 3:16) Paul calls this gift (immortality) an integral part of the gospel message. who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: (2 Timothy 1:10).

If all souls are born immortal, then why are we encouraged to seek it? "To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life:" (Romans 2:7) Why would Jesus offer us an opportunity to "live forever, if we all live forever? …"if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever:" (John 6:51)

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The truth is, the abundant life Jesus (Yeshua) promises us is in eternity, it is immortal life, everlasting life. "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) We (believers) will live forever. How much more abundant can you get?

In 1 Timothy 6:15-16 Paul says that God alone possesses immortality. And 1 Corinthians 15:53 teaches that the redeemed will not become immortal until the time of their resurrection.

5) If eternal torment is true, then where is this plain

teaching in the Tanach (Old Testament)?

Isn't it hard to believe that such an important teaching as eternal torment has no clear verses stating this fate in the Old Testament? Virtually every important doctrine has its roots in the Old Testament and is taught in typology (or symbols) there. Where is this taught in symbols? Was the lamb of Exodus tortured forever? Were any of the sacrifices tortured forever? No, the sacrifices were eventually turned to ashes. "And they shall take away the ashes from the altar" (Numbers 4:13) If this was the fate of all the offerings (including the sin offerings), then why should the fate of the sinner be any different?

It would be unreasonable that God would give them such detail of what would happen to Israel (Deut 28:15) in this lifetime and then say nothing of the eternal torment facing them. And if it be as important as it is supposed to be now, it was equally important then. Yet no single indication of it is discoverable in the writings of Moses. How could God have warned Israel in detail about punishments in this life, droughts, plagues, and other punishments and not say one word about the most important issue of eternal torment?

The New Testament writers used the Old Testament types to show how the destruction of sinners in the hands of an angry God happens. It was turning them into ashes, not tormenting

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them for long periods of time. Sodom and Gomorrah are a supreme type given by Peter and he says "And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example...." (2 Peter 2:6) Notice, Peter says two things about the fate of the ungodly... 1) They are an example for us to see what awaits the ungodly 2) They eventually became ashes – cremated! (see also Malachi 4:3) William West states more of these thoughts most forcefully....

ADAM: God told Adam in the day he ate he

would die. He was not told that after his death

he would be

subjected to endless torment…,

CAIN: His sin was the first murder, which, by

most, is believed to be the greatest of all sins.

What was his punishment? ..... his punishment

was that he was to be a fugitive and

a vagabond in his lifetime on the earth. Not

one word about any punishment after his

death.

The punishment for anyone who killed Cain

would be SEVEN TIMES GREATER than the

punishment of Cain. How could anything be

seven times greater than [eternal torture]?

SODOM AND GOMORRAH: Genesis 13 and

14: These cities

were literally burnt up [Psalms 11:6; Isaiah

34:9], not still burning with the people walking

around in torment.. Peter states that they are

an example (2 Peter 2:6) of what will happen

to the unsaved.

ALL THE CURSES of the Law, if they did not

keep it, were in this lifetime [Deuteronomy

 

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28:18-19]. NOT ONE WORD WAS SAID

ABOUT A CURSE AFTER THIS LIFETIME.

It would be past comprehension that God

would give them such detail of what would

happen to them in

this lifetime and say nothing of the unending

pain He was going to forever heap on them….

(The Resurrection and Immortality, William

West, Xulon Press, 2006, various excerpts

from chapter seven – A strange and unex-

plainable silence. Visit

www.jewishnotgreek.com/Robertwr.pdf for a

free download of this book.)

 

Again, the same thing is said in another evangelical commentary:

There is no doctrine of hell [i.e. eternal

torment] in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 66:24,

at one time a much quoted verse, the

reference is not to the continuing personality

(nephesh) of the rebels, but to their corpses.

(The International Bible Commentary, second

edition, Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan Publishing

House, 1986, p.64 column 1)

If eternal torment is the fate of most of mankind, then why is no single indication of it discoverable in the writings of Moses? If there was such a thing as eternal torment taught in the Tanach (Old Testament), then how could the Apostle Paul proclaim to the unsaved idol worshippers in Athens, "In the past God overlooked such ignorance…" (Acts 17:30). How could this statement be true if God was planning to torture them eternally?

Did God really overlook this then? Paul said the wicked would be destroyed, "Whose end is destruction" (Philippians

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3:19) not eternally tormented. Moses said nothing of eternal torture. Jesus said the human soul would be destroyed – not preserved (Matthew 10:28).

 

6) Jesus (Yeshua) paid our debt, but the debt was

death, not being eternally tormented.

Edward Fudge brings up this excellent point.

For the New Testament is quite clear that

Jesus not only died but that He died because

of sin and in the place of sinners. More than

that, the death He died was in some true and

real sense the sinner's death – the death

required by sin – the death we should have

died... The Old Testament prophets spoke of

"the sufferings of Christ" and the "glories that

would follow" (1 Peter 1:11),... Yet what is this

suffering and glory if not the eschatological

judgment of God....the cross of Christ was no

mere example of divine judgment; it was God's

judgment par excellence – the judgment

withheld already for centuries from many to

whom it was due (Romans 3:25, Hebrews

9:15,26-28)....

Jesus not only died "for sin"; He died in the

very place of sinners. That is what Peter meant

in saying that Jesus "bare our sins in His own

body." This is what is meant that Christ's

death was vicarious… To use familiar

language, Jesus suffered hell for His people –

the very hell they would have suffered had He

not taken their place. From the very first the

wages of sin was death, and Jesus underwent

the very same sentence pronounced in the

primal Garden. (Edward W. Fudge, The Fire That

Consumes. A Biblical and Historical Study of the

 

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Final Punishment (Houston, 1982), chapter 12,

various pages excerpted)

Since Jesus was fully God, He was resurrected from the dead. Had He not been divine, His body would have remained dead. But certainly this is unthinkable for a sinless one. Therefore Paul states triumphantly, "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:" (Philippians 2:8-9).

The point being, Jesus was sinless, and therefore God raised Him from the dead. His body's death was not eternal. The sinners at the end of time will undergo their personal "crosses," and they will suffer in proportion to their sins and then die (cease to function) eternally in body and soul (Matthew 10:28). It is called the "second death" in scripture. (Revelation 2:11) The death of the body is called the first death. After the Resurrection, the death of the body and soul together is called the second death.

Again, Dr. David Regan (who changed to conditional immor-tality after studying it) correctly notes....

Finally, to me personally, the most convincing

of all arguments against the traditionalist view-

point relates to what Jesus Himself suffered on

the Cross. Our sins were placed upon Him. He

took the punishment we deserve.

And what was that punishment? It was ex-

treme suffering followed by death. If Jesus did

not suffer the full penalty for our sins, then our

debt has not been paid. But the Scriptures

say that He paid the full debt, and it was not

eternal torment, but death. (Dr. David R.

Reagan, Lamplighter magazine March 2006

Lamb & Lion Ministries - McKinney, TX)

 

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7) How can the word 'perish' mean eternal torment?

It doesn't, period.

John 3:16—"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

This is the most quoted verse in the Bible and also one of the clearest accounts on the destruction of the wicked. "...Whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John did not write that "...whoever believes in Him shall not have everlasting life in torment...." Remember, the wicked will not have immortality at all. Immortality is reserved only through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:10). The way most churches interpret John 3:16, they mentally replace the very clear word "perish" with something that means nearly the opposite - "never per-ish."

There is a clear word for "torment" in the Greek - so why did John not use it? Because he was NOT teaching it at all. In John 3:16, the word 'perish' in the Greek is "apollumi". It is correctly translated many other times as 'destroy' throughout the New Testament. When something is "destroyed" it means something that no longer functions at all. That is the common usage of "apollumi" as 'destroy' in the New Covenant writings.

When Yeshua (Jesus) states in Matthew 10:28 that the soul will be destroyed (not preserved), He is telling us that the lost soul will no longer function. It will not be conscious. It will be destroyed. John 3:16 and Matthew 10:28 are in perfect har-mony when you understand the truth of conditional immortal-ity.

8) Even Joshua – who declared the burning of the

sinner, slew them first – then burnt their bodies.

Joshua 7:15—" And it shall be, that he that is taken

 

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with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he

and all that he hath:"

Joshua 7:25—" And Joshua said, Why hast thou

troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day.

And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned

them with fire, after they had stoned them with

stones."

It is clear here. Joshua takes Achan, who had sinned and had been warned of burning, and first he has them stoned – then, after they are dead, he burns their carcasses. This is exactly what is said in the chapter above entitled "Why rarely cited

Isaiah 66:24 is a key." Isaiah tells us that the lost are slain and their dead bodies are burned as well. Jesus, when speaking of Gehennah (hell) quotes this verse in Isaiah. Peter tells us the lost will become ashes (2 Peter 2:6). Malachi tells us the same (Malachi 4:3).

9) Why did Paul never proclaim this doctrine of

eternal torture? Or did Paul correctly understand

Yeshua (Jesus) in Matthew 10:28... that the souls of

the unsaved will be destroyed.

Paul fully proclaimed the whole counsel of God by plainly declaring:

That those who live a lifestyle of unrepentant

sin "deserve death" – Romans 1:32

That "all who sin apart from the law will also

perish apart from the law" – Romans 2:12

That sin "leads to death" – Romans 6:16 That sin "results in death" – Romans 6:21 That "the wages of sin is death" – Romans 6:23 That those who live according to the sinful nature "will die" – Romans 8:13

That the gospel is foolishness "to those who are

perishing" – 1Corinthians 1:18

That those who preach the gospel are "the smell

 

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of death" "to those who are perishing" – 2Corinthians

2:15-16

That the Old Testament law "kills" and

ultimately brings "death" – 2Corinthians 3:6-7

That the gospel is "veiled to those who are

perishing" – 2Corinthians 4:3

That those who please the sinful nature "from

that nature will reap destruction" – Galatians 6:8

That "they will be destroyed" – Philippians

1:28

That "their destiny is destruction" –

Philippians 3:19

That "they will be punished with everlasting

destruction" – 2Thessalonians 1:9

That they "are perishing" – 2 Thessalonians

2:10

That "they perish because they refused to love

the truth and so be saved" – 2Thessalonians 2:10

That "Christ Jesus… has destroyed death" –

2Timothy 1:10

That they are like worthless land that will "in

the end… be burned" – Hebrews 6:8

That sins are "acts that lead to death" –

Hebrews 9:14

That raging fire "will consume the enemies of

God" – Hebrews 10:27

That those who "shrink back" in unbelief will

be "destroyed" Hebrews 10:39

In various ways with various words, the Apostle Paul was sure to repeatedly declare precisely what would happen to those who foolishly reject the gospel. He was sure to do this because God appointed him to fully proclaim the whole counsel of God. Paul didn't hide any aspect of the truth – including the awful truth that those who reject the Messiah will be utterly destroyed by the raging, consuming fire of the Lord. If words have any meaning at all, then this is what we must conclude.

Allow me to add that if Jesus supposedly preached eternal

 

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torture, as many contend, then Paul would have certainly backed it up. Yet Paul taught no such thing because Jesus taught no such thing, not to mention the Bible they taught from – the Old Testament – teaches no such thing. (This entire section is taken from "Hell Know – Dispelling the eternal torture myth" (found on Amazon) with special thanks to its author, Dirk Waren.)

 

10) Paul said he was innocent of "the blood of all men"

(Acts 20:26)

This phrase is always used in scripture when people are in danger of facing death, not eternal torture. Paul declared he was "innocent of the blood of all men." Paul didn't hesitate to share the whole counsel of God, including the unfortunate news of what would ultimately happen to those who reject the gospel. The very fact that Paul says he's innocent of the blood of all people is a sure indication that people will actually die (not live – suffering in immortality) when they suffer the sec-ond death.

11) John says in Revelation that there will be "no more

death".

If "death" really means "living eternally separated" from God (and it does not), then death really will exist forever. However, in Revelation 21:4 – John specifically states that there will be "no more death". Think about that for a moment or two.

12) Jeremiah 7:30-33 speaks of this place called the

Valley of Hinnom (Gehennah) – not as a place of

eternal torment.

In speaking of this place, Jeremiah said (actually, God is speaking in this section of scripture) that it will be called the "Valley of Slaughter", not the "Valley of everlasting torment" as modern mainstream Christianity suggests.

 

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13) Jesus (Yeshua) states of His betrayer, "It would

have been better had he not been born." (Mark 14:21)

However, if most human beings are facing eternal torment, then how ridiculous of a statement is this? Should not the Messiah rather have said (if eternal torment was true) that it would be better if all unbelievers had never been born! If eter-nal torment is true, then clearly it would have been better for most everyone not to have been born (since the majority will not be saved) (Matthew 7:14). Yet Yeshua (Jesus) reserves this statement for only the most vile of sinners. This seems to indicate that even for the lost, (whom God would rather have saved, had they come to Him), it is still better to have been born and then lost to life than to never have been born at all. In other words, God is so good, that at least they got a chance to live a short period of time! While He is saddened that they will not live forever.

Ruminate on this argument in your mind over and over again, and it will clearly show the goodness of God.

14) God's fire always consumes His enemies, not

preserving them in torment.

According to Hebrews 10:26-27, notice clearly that, on Judgment Day, raging fire will utterly consume God’s enemies, not sadistically torture them without end. (...and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.) The Greek word translated as “consume” here literally means “to eat” (Strong 33) and is translated as “devour” in the King James Version. We can soundly conclude that raging fire will literally devour God’s enemies when they’re cast into the lake of fire – consuming them wholly.

The following excerpt is taken from the website www.hellhadesafterlife.com on this topic:

Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censors,

put fire in them and added incense; and they offered

 

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unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his

command. (2) So fire came out from the presence of

the LORD and consumed them, and they died

before the LORD. (Leviticus 10:1-2)

We see here that Nadab and Abihu ignored God’s

commands and attempted to approach Him on their

own terms. As a result “fire came out from the

presence of the LORD and consumed them, and

they died before the LORD.” Their disregard of the

LORD’s will and attempt to approach Him on their

own terms represents religion as opposed to

Christianity. Religion is the human attempt to

connect with God, whereas Christianity is God

connecting with humanity through Christ. We can

either do it our way or God’s way, it’s our choice.

The fiery consumption of Nadab and Abihu is a

biblical example of what will happen on Judgment

Day to people who disregard God’s Word and live

their lives with little or no concern of their Creator;

these proud rebels are only willing to approach God

on their own terms. On Judgment Day such people

can expect a fire to come out from the presence of

the LORD and consume them. They will die before

the LORD, just as assuredly as Nadab and Abihu

did.

Here are a few more examples:

NUMBERS 16:35

And fire came out from the LORD and

consumed the 210 men (Korah’s followers) who

were offering the incense.

2KINGS 1:10

Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man

of God, may fire come down from heaven and

consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell

 

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from heaven and consumed the captain and his

men.

PSALM 97:2b-3

… righteousness and justice are the

foundation of his throne. (3) Fire goes before him

and consumes his foes on every side.

PSALM 106:18

Fire blazed among their followers (Dathan’s

rebellious followers); a flame consumed the wicked.

EZEKIEL 22:31

“So I will pour out my wrath on them (the

sinful people of Judah) and consume them with my

fiery anger , bringing down on their own heads all

they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD.”

ZEPHANIAH 1:18

“Neither their silver nor their gold will be

able to save them on the day of the LORD’s wrath.

In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be

consumed for he will make a sudden end of all who

live on the earth.”

REVELATION 18:8-9

Therefore in one day her plagues will

overtake her (“Babylon”): death, mourning and

famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is

the Lord God who judges her. (9) When the kings

of the earth who committed adultery with her and

shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning,

they will weep and mourn over her.

 

As you can plainly see, the biblical fact that God is going to destroy his human enemies by a consuming fire at the second death perfectly coincides with how God has dealt with his human enemies throughout history. This is testimony to the

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unchanging, consistent character of God (see Psalm 102:26-27; James 1:17 and Hebrews 13:8). After all, would it not be strange and totally inconsistent with God’s just, merciful character as revealed throughout history if, on Judgment Day, he sentenced his human enemies to never-ending conscious torment – a sadistic, unjust, merciless sentence diametrically opposed to his consistent, unchanging character? Of course it would.

 

Notice clearly in all the above texts that God does not sadistically torture these people perpetually with fire. No, the fire consumes them. No doubt there’s an amount of terror and conscious pain to this type of execution, but it’s not sadistically never-ending – it mercifully results in death.

Is this unjust on God’s part? Not at all. Notice Psalm 97:2-3 above: before stating that God will judge and destroy his enemies with consuming fire, it assuredly states that “righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.” You see, we can always be absolutely confident of the fact that God’s judgments are completely righteous and just; and God is not quick in making a judgment; he is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger abounding in love” (Psalm 103:8); “he is patient… not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2Peter 3:9b).

Yet, there’s a limit to God’s patience and mercy if a stubborn person continually chooses to resist and rebel against him; and when his patience and mercy end, his judgment begins. Yet even God’s judgments are balanced by his mercy and justice. (This entire section is taken from "Hell Know – Dispelling the eternal torture myth" with special thanks to its author, Dirk Waren.)

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