Annihilation Refuted

• Introduction:

          -The teaching of annihilationism stands in stark contrast to the traditional Christian teaching of hell, which is eternal condemnation. The orthodox teaching is that the souls of unbelievers are sentenced to an eternity of misery and humiliation. They are separated from God because He is holy. They will be made to confess that He is Lord out of subjugation, not submission.
          -Annihilationism is the teaching that lost souls, fallen angels, and even Satan himself will eventually get destroyed or cease to exist. As for the duration of punishment in this view, the specifics are not known. It is usually taught that unconverted souls cease to exist after the moment of physical death. Thus, there is no conscious afterlife for these people. Only the righteous will experience immortality.

• Annihilationism Minimizes The Seriousness Of Sin And Its Consequences:

          -If a person desires to continue acting in a sinful manner and dies in an unrepentant and unbelieving state, then he will have no serious concerns about any sort of future punishments. After all, a non-existent being cannot face judgment for sin by God. So there will ultimately be no punishment for any sins in this theological framework.

• Exegetical Problems For The Doctrine Of Annihilationism:

          -If annihilation is true, then why not also believe that our comfort and existence in heaven will last only for a short period of time? The word "eternal" is used to describe both "life" and "punishment" in Matthew 25:46, which puts advocates of annihilationism in a pickle. The same comments are equally applicable to Daniel 12:2.

          -In Revelation 14:9-11, the emphasis is on eternal torment, with the phrase “the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever.” This language suggests a continuous, ongoing state of suffering rather than a one-time act of destruction.

          -In Revelation 20:10, the imagery is of perpetual torment. The devil, the beast, and the false prophet are subjected to continuous suffering “day and night for ever and ever,” implying no end to their punishment.

          -Jude said that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah suffer "eternal fire" (Jude 7) which lasts "forever" (Jude 13) as an object lesson for the ungodly. That language has very specific implications, which do not sit well with annihilationism. The people of those cities were still suffering divine judgment at the time of this epistle being written.

• The Story Of The Rich Man And Lazarus Serves As Biblical Evidence That Souls Remain Conscious After Physical Death And That Unbelievers Do Not Cease To Exist (Luke 16:19-31):

           -Even if one does not interpret this story to be literal history, plenty of details exist to indicate conscious life after death with the moral lesson that unrighteous people will face judgment by God.

• On The Greek Term Kolasis In Matthew 25:26:

          -"κόλασις kólasis; gen. koláseōs, fem. noun from kolázō (2849), to punish. Punishment (Matt. 25:46), torment (1 John 4:18), distinguished from timōría (5098), punishment, which in Class. Gr. has the predominating thought of the vindictive character of the punishment which satisfies the inflicter’s sense of outraged justice in defending his own honor or that of the violated law. Kólasis, on the other hand, conveys the notion of punishment for the correction and bettering of the offender. It does not always, however, have this strict meaning in the NT. In Matt. 25:46, kólasis aiṓnios (166), eternal, does not refer to temporary corrective punishment and discipline, but has rather the meaning of timōría, punishment because of the violation of the eternal law of God." (Excerpt taken from the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible, edited by Spiros Zodhiates)

• On The Greek Term Aionion:

          -Proponents of annihilationism correctly point out that the Greek word "aionion," which is translated into English as "eternal," does not always mean eternal. However, the New Testament clearly uses that word to describe the length of God's reign (Revelation 11:15), the nature of God (Romans 16:26, 1 Timothy 1:17), and our salvation (John 3:16). Those are things for which there is no end. Further, there is no better word in New Testament Greek to denote an eternal length of time than aionion itself. The concept of eternal conscious punishment in hell is indeed terrifying to hear about. Attempting to deny its existence is foolish to the utmost.