Annihilationism Simplified

[Rachel Rachel]

I'll admit I didn't read all of your post but you and I agree on the basic question: "Torturing is completely out of Gods character of love." When we see something that does not fit God's character, we should question it! I don't think there is any other issue found in God's word that does not seem to fit with His character! Sincere Bible students should take a hard look at the history of this theology that says an unbeliever suffers eternally in Hell!

Not only is it out of character for God to torment eternally but God demonstrated in the past how He would want to handle sinful man.. by destroying man, not torturing him eternally.

Genesis 6:
6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

 

[Gentlemantech48]

Not only is it out of character for God to torment eternally but God demonstrated in the past how He would want to handle sinful man.. by destroying man, not torturing him eternally.

Genesis 6:
6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

Yes, again we see scripture in the Old Testament that talks of destruction, not eternal punishment.

 

[eleos1954]

Agree and our human bodies can die and so did Jesus as a human. When we die, our physical body dies yet our soul and spirit remain. Our souls are eternal and they never die. To be absent from our bodies is to be present with the Lord declared the Apostle Paul. The same is true of Jesus Christ. His physical body died, but his person/soul is eternal and did not die. Jesus proclaimed to the thief on the cross that after his death he would be with Jesus in Paradise that very day.

hope this helps !!!

Disagree ...

ONE INDIVISIBLE WHOLE. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (Gen. 2:7, NKJV).

Scripture gives us a simple equation for understanding the nature of humans:
Body (dust of the ground; the earth's elements) plus
Breath of life ("spirit" of life from God) equals
A living person (a soul).

Nowhere does the Bible speak of the soul as an immortal entity capable of living apart from our body. Neither does it speak of the spirit as an entity which can exist independent of our physical nature. We are not made of independent parts temporarily connected, but of body, soul, and spirit in one indivisible whole.

 

[Der Alte]

Find alternative meaning for these scriptures:
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 37:20 "But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away." (KJV)
And
Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

The usual copy/pastes from some "hell no" website. You challenge me to do what you should have been doing all along i.e. checking the proof texts you quote to ensure they say what you think they say and are not capable of a different interpretation.
While I am doing what you should be doing do me favor, go back to my post [#3], this thread, where I quote about 35 verses which clearly speak of "eternal punishment." And Yes I can show from scripture alone that "eternal punishment" means exactly that.
Rom 6:23 the wages of sin is death.
Rom 3:23 For all [100%] have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men [100%] once to die, but after this the judgment:
What God created He certainly can destroy. Where does Mat 10:28 say that God has or will destroy any souls anywhere?
Psalms 37 has nothing to do with man's eternal fate.

Psa 37:1 A Psalm of David. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
Psa 37:2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. ​

The evildoers are cut down like grass and wither like flowers, that is not annihilationism!

Psa 37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.​

Evildoers will be cut off, i.e. cut down like grass see vs. 2

Psa 37:10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.​

The Israelites will not be looking for the place of the evildoers in paradise. The evildoers place in this world will be empty, not annihilationism.

Psa 37:14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
Psa 37:15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. ​

Evildoers have drawn their words and bent their bows, to attack Israel, but their bows will be broken, in this world, their own swords will enter their own hearts, in this world, not annihilationism!

Psa 37:20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.​

The wicked perish and their smoke consumes away, in this world. See previous verses.

Psa 37:22 For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.​

Those that curse God shall be cut off, i.e. cut down like grass and wither like flowers, see vs. 2, above.

 

[Rachel Rachel]

The usual copy/pastes from some "hell no" website. You challenge me to do what you should have been doing all along i.e. checking the proof texts you quote to ensure they say what you think they say and are not capable of a different interpretation.
While I am doing what you should be doing do me favor, go back to my post [#3], this thread, where I quote about 35 verses which clearly speak of "eternal punishment." And Yes I can show from scripture alone that "eternal punishment" means exactly that.
Rom 6:23 the wages of sin is death.
Rom 3:23 For all [100%] have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men [100%] once to die, but after this the judgment:
What God created He certainly can destroy. Where does Mat 10:28 say that God has or will destroy any souls anywhere?
Psalms 37 has nothing to do with man's eternal fate.

Psa 37:1 A Psalm of David. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
Psa 37:2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. ​

The evildoers are cut down like grass and wither like flowers, that is not annihilationism!

Psa 37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.​

Evildoers will be cut off, i.e. cut down like grass see vs. 2

Psa 37:10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.​

The Israelites will not be looking for the place of the evildoers in paradise. The evildoers place in this world will be empty, not annihilationism.

Psa 37:14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
Psa 37:15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. ​

Evildoers have drawn their words and bent their bows, to attack Israel, but their bows will be broken, in this world, their own swords will enter their own hearts, in this world, not annihilationism!

Psa 37:20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.​

The wicked perish and their smoke consumes away, in this world. See previous verses.

Psa 37:22 For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.​

Those that curse God shall be cut off, i.e. cut down like grass and wither like flowers, see vs. 2, above.

So you are calling scripture straight out of the Holy Bible "hell no" copy and paste???
LOL!! Oh my!
Just prove me wrong!

 

[Der Alte]

So you are calling scripture straight out of the Holy Bible "hell no" copy and paste???
LOL!! Oh my!
Just prove me wrong!

I just did prove you wrong. I did not say the scriptures were "'hell no' copy paste." I would appreciate you being a bit less disingenuous. Why not address what I posted about your 3 vss?

 

[Rachel Rachel]

I just did prove you wrong. I did not say the scriptures were "'hell no' copy paste." I would appreciate you being a bit less disingenuous. Why not address what I posted about your 3 vss?

ALL I posted was scripture.....old testament-New Testament....straight out of Yeshua/Jesus mouth. You called it "copy and paste." It's good enough for me.
You on the other hand, did copy and paste a hundred dictionary definitions as some kind of proof that God didn't say what he said!
Sorry....you didn't make your case.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

I am 72 years old and have been a born again Christian most of my life. Until a few years ago, I had never heard of the theology of annihilationism. I had been taught that the unbeliever suffers eternally in the fires of Hell. I've always had a problem with that and I've talked to God about it. I just have a lot of trouble believing that a just and righteous God would have someone suffer for eternity simply because they chose to to live their life without Jesus as Lord. I was riding a train from St Louis, MO to Kansas City, MO when I read about annihilationism for the first time. I was fascinated and I read the complete article and the scriptural references that really seemed to show that unbelievers are annihilated in Hell, not left to burn in the fire for eternity.

I know this is a very controversial subject and I know that most people reading this do not accept the teaching of annihilationism. After studying it thoroughly for years, I can only say that I am 90% convinced of its reality. I believe all the study on this subject breaks down to two important questions:

#1 - It is obvious that there is a fire in Hell that cannot be quenched and burns for eternity according The Word. The annihilationist simply says that although the Fire is eternal, that does not mean that the unbeliever will continually burn in the fire and never burn up. ***Rather, the person, (body, soul, and spirit) are thrown into the fire and only suffer long enough for their body, soul, and spirit to be totally annihilated.
#2 - As I understand it, suffering for eternity in Hell was a theology created by the Catholic church to frighten the people into serving the church and avoiding this eternal punishment. Also, the Old Testament seems to describe Hell as simply going into darkness and then into eternal sleep.

I'm not a good enough Bible student to set forth the scriptures that are in question here. There are many articles on the internet that show in detail why some believe in annihilationism over eternal suffering. I know God is eternal and we cannot put Him in a box of our own belief system but when I study all of the other attributes of God, the idea of making the spirits of people suffer for eternity has never seemed to me to fit with His other attributes. All I can do is hope that the annihilationists are right because I don't want to think about people who were actually pretty good people suffering for eternity. We all know some very gentle, loving people who simply have decided they don't need Jesus but otherwise live a moral life. Do you understand what I'm saying?

Well I have discussed this topic a very long time with Scripture. If you are interested in Conditional Immortality, I created a really good defense for it at the following thread link here at CF (Christian Forums). (Side Note: Oh, and I believe in Dualistic Conditional Immortality and not Traditional Conditional Immortality).

CF Thread - A Defense of Dualistic Conditional Immortality

 

[FutureAndAHope]

I am 72 years old and have been a born again Christian most of my life. Until a few years ago, I had never heard of the theology of annihilationism. I had been taught that the unbeliever suffers eternally in the fires of Hell. I've always had a problem with that and I've talked to God about it. I just have a lot of trouble believing that a just and righteous God would have someone suffer for eternity simply because they chose to to live their life without Jesus as Lord. I was riding a train from St Louis, MO to Kansas City, MO when I read about annihilationism for the first time. I was fascinated and I read the complete article and the scriptural references that really seemed to show that unbelievers are annihilated in Hell, not left to burn in the fire for eternity.

I know this is a very controversial subject and I know that most people reading this do not accept the teaching of annihilationism. After studying it thoroughly for years, I can only say that I am 90% convinced of its reality. I believe all the study on this subject breaks down to two important questions:

#1 - It is obvious that there is a fire in Hell that cannot be quenched and burns for eternity according The Word. The annihilationist simply says that although the Fire is eternal, that does not mean that the unbeliever will continually burn in the fire and never burn up. ***Rather, the person, (body, soul, and spirit) are thrown into the fire and only suffer long enough for their body, soul, and spirit to be totally annihilated.
#2 - As I understand it, suffering for eternity in Hell was a theology created by the Catholic church to frighten the people into serving the church and avoiding this eternal punishment. Also, the Old Testament seems to describe Hell as simply going into darkness and then into eternal sleep.

I'm not a good enough Bible student to set forth the scriptures that are in question here. There are many articles on the internet that show in detail why some believe in annihilationism over eternal suffering. I know God is eternal and we cannot put Him in a box of our own belief system but when I study all of the other attributes of God, the idea of making the spirits of people suffer for eternity has never seemed to me to fit with His other attributes. All I can do is hope that the annihilationists are right because I don't want to think about people who were actually pretty good people suffering for eternity. We all know some very gentle, loving people who simply have decided they don't need Jesus but otherwise live a moral life. Do you understand what I'm saying?

Jesus teaching shows that Annihilationism is not true. He told the story of a rich man Lazarus, who died, and was in hell in torment. Lazarus said:

Luk 16:23-24 And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.

Don't be deceived Annihilationism is a lie.

 

[GenemZ]

If we could stand outside of the Lake of Fire and listen to the voices from within?

We might hear the following in a great chorus of voices...

"We know we belong here! Its right for us to be here! For if set free? We would only want to do it again! "

That is what some can not understand.

God can not allow them to enter into the great powers and abilities that will be for those who will live in Eternity. For if God promoted them to such a position. Their ability to be evil will be many times worse than what we see right now.

Just look at Satan for a moment. He can easily escape the Lake of Fire, and make God to be the liar. Easily!

All he would have to do, to do so? Do *nothing.*

Don't start wars. Don't persecute and try to kill off the the Jews. Don't organize the Mark of the Beast.... Don't spread lies among the nations. Do not attempt to form a one world government. Do not blind souls to the Gospel. Etc!

Just cease and desist. Don't inspire men to do and be evil.

If Satan could just let things go, and "go fishing" for a long time? Then the Bible would be proven to be a lie. And in doing so? Prove that God is not really the flawless, perfect judge He claims to be!

In that manner, if Satan can make God to be a liar. How? By not being and doing all God says Satan is. If Satan did do nothing? Satan walks free of the Lake of Fire. Free of the torments. But, he won't! Evil loves evil. Righteousness bores evil.

The Lake of Fire will be a memorial to the fact that evil will not change to save itself by even doing just nothing! Nothing but relax and taking it easy!

Therefore... The Lake of Fire will be the prison for the immutable and criminally insane. Insane in regards to God's Righteous order for life and God's just way of thinking.

Satan has a choice. He does not have to go there. It would take humility to do so.

 

[Light of the East]

That is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to eternal torment for the wicked. There are plenty more scriptures I can provide.

Yes, and as I showed you and you have utterly ignored because you have no answer for them, you are using mistranslations of the Greek and verses that contradict the verses which state that God wills to save all.

 

[Light of the East]

If we could stand outside of the Lake of Fire and listen to the voices from within?

We might hear the following in a great chorus of voices...

"We know we belong here! Its right for us to be here! For if set free? We would only want to do it again! "

That is what some can not understand.

And you know this how? You have been there and heard it? You know exactly what the state of the dead is? How do you know that once the wicked see the reality of their actions, they will not be willing to repent? Once they see the beauty of God and the futility of sin, will they not desire to be with Christ and accept His chastizement?

And what does it say about the character of God to imagine that He would create sentient beings for no other purpose than put them in torment forever? Is the the God that John says "is love?" Why would our heavenly Father not wish to heal His sick children rather than torture them? Does He lack the power to bring them to repentance in the next life if they do not repent here?

Tell me where is the justice of a never-ending torment?

 

[Light of the East]

@eleos1954

So much for death equaling "ceasing to exist" eh ?

Luke 16
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

hope this helps !!!

This is a parable, not reality. Jesus was teaching as He usually did, in the form of a parable. It is a teaching about the coming judgment which was about to fall on national Israel, just as the Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen (Matthew 21:33-46) was.


THE PARABLE’S SYMBOLS

Verse 19: The Rich Man represents the nation of Israel. It had been of all nations “the royal nation”—clothed in purple. Jews had been “justified” under the Law Covenant. The whiteness of “fine linen” represents this justification. The Jews possessed the Scriptures, the Word of God. Hence they “fared sumptuously every day.” (See Romans 3:1, 2.)

Verses 20, 21: Lazarus (whose name means “Helped by God”) represents the Gentiles. Indeed, since (during the Jewish Age) God had functionally ignored all nations except Israel (Amos 3:2), the Gentiles had been “beggars”—finding what they could about God by eating the “crumbs which fell from the Rich Man’s table.” The Gentiles virtually had to “heal” their own ignorance and questions by comforting one another—“licking their own wounds.” Thus they are here said to benefit by dogs licking their sores. The Jews called Gentiles “dogs.” Jesus confirms this symbolism in his dealings with the Gentile woman in Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:25-30. Now that the age was changing, God would help the Gentiles directly. Thus they are appropriately in this parable named “Helped by God” (Lazarus).

Verse 22: The word “DIED” occurs twice here. It is an important word in the Biblical usage of symbols. Literally, of course, “died” means that someone is no longer living.

And when used literally, it means JUST THAT—cessation of life. It does not mean “going” anywhere—not to torment, nor to “Abraham’s bosom.” (See Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10.) But symbolically in the Bible it means DYING TO something. In other words, it means ONE CONDITION has ended and ANOTHER CONDITION has begun. THAT is the meaning here in this parable. Lazarus DIED AS A BEGGAR. That means that the Gentiles were no longer estranged from God. They no longer need beg for spiritual truth. The Rich Man, on the other hand, DIED TO HIS RICHES. That means that Israel, being cast off from God’s favor, was no longer rich! The OLD CONDITIONS of each of these “men” were now ended. The NEW CONDITIONS are symbolized thusly:

(1) Lazarus was “carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom.” Angels are messengers. The Gentiles received the Gospel Message from the “angels” we know as Peter, Paul, etc. And thus they were invited to be lifted into the condition of being the heirs of the Abrahamic Covenant and its promises. (Galatians 3:14, 29)

(2) The Rich Man (Israel) died as a rich man “and was buried.” The nation of Israel (after 70 A.D.) no longer was in existence.

It is beyond my understanding how people can take parables and try to shoehorn them into a box to fit their presuppositions, in this case, the presupposition being reading the Bible with the idea that God sends souls into eternal hell. It is this same presupposition which caused Augustine to develop his wretched ideas about mankind (total depravity) and unbaptized babies being sent into the flames of torment. It is perhaps the hardest work we can do to ignore our first impressions of the Bible and instead dig deep, go to the Greek, read the verses or chapter in context, and question everything in the light of God’s revealed character - God is love.

 

[Light of the East]

All these scriptures you bolded say that the fire is eternal, not that torture is eternal. God said that sinners will be Burned Up in that eternal fire! 2 Thessalonians 1:9
These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.

Nope. Bad translation. Young's Literal Translation of the Greek is correct.

2Thessalonians 1:9 who shall suffer justice -- destruction age-lasting -- from the face of the Lord, and from the glory of his strength,

 

[Light of the East]

This again a very strong argument for annihilationism. "Destruction", not eternal punishment.

Here is the problem with annihilationism. It makes the Cross an utter failure, except for a very small few who obtain eternal life.

 

[Der Alte]

ALL I posted was scripture.....old testament-New Testament....straight out of Yeshua/Jesus mouth. You called it "copy and paste." It's good enough for me.
You on the other hand, did copy and paste a hundred dictionary definitions as some kind of proof that God didn't say what he said!
Sorry....you didn't make your case.

Oh I made my case you ignored it. You read what you wanted to and ignored the rest. As I said you did not read my post I quoted NOTHING from a dictionary! I have no disagreement with what God, Himself, or Jesus, Himself, said but you did not quote anything spoken by them you quoted a disciple and a prophet. And I showed you that the 3 vss. you quoted did not say what you think they say.
Let's see you argue with the words spoken by Jesus, Himself.
Jesus taught e.g.,

• “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” Matthew 25:41
• "these shall go away into eternal punishment, Matthew 25:46"
• "the fire of hell [Γέεννα/gehenna] where the fire is not quenched and the worm does not die, 3X Mark 9:43-48"
• "cast into a fiery furnace where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth,” Matthew 13:42, Matthew 13:50
• “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:6
• “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:23
• “woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. ” Matthew 26:24
• “But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.” Luke 10:12​

…..These teachings tacitly reaffirmed and sanctioned a then existing significant Jewish view of eternal hell, outlined above. In Matt. 18:6, 26:24 and Luk 10:12, see above, Jesus teaches that there is a punishment worse than death or nonexistence.
…..A punishment worse than death without mercy is also mentioned in Hebrews 10:28-31.

Heb 10:28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.​

…..Jesus is quoted as using the word death 17 times in the gospels, if He wanted to say eternal death in Matt 25:46, that is what He would have said but He didn’t, He said “eternal punishment.”
The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, they knew that everybody died; rich, poor, young, old, good, bad, men, women, children, infants and knew that often it had nothing to do with punishment and was permanent.
When Jesus taught “eternal punishment” they would not have understood it as merely death, it would have meant something worse to them.
…..Jesus undoubtedly knew what the Jews, believed about hell. If that Jewish teaching was wrong, why didn’t Jesus tell them there was no hell, no eternal punishment etc? Why would Jesus teach “eternal punishment,” etc. to Jews who believed, "The Lord, the Almighty, will punish them on the Day of Judgment by putting fire and worms into their flesh, so that they cry out with pain unto all eternity," which would only encourage and reinforce their beliefs?
The word translated "punishment" in Matthew 25:46 means punishment NOT correction. That word "kolasin" occurs in one other vs. in the NT. 1 Jn 4:18

Matthew 25:46
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: [κολασιν] but the righteous into life eternal.
1 John 4:18
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment.[κολασιν] He that feareth is not made perfect in love.​

Note the one who has "kolasin" is NOT corrected is not made perfect.
FYI I studied both Hebrew and Greek at the graduate level more than 4 decades ago in case you wish to challenge what I say.

 

[Rachel Rachel]

Oh I made my case you ignored it. You read what you wanted to and ignored the rest. As I said you did not read my post I quoted NOTHING from a dictionary! I have no disagreement with what God, Himself, or Jesus, Himself, said but you did not quote anything spoken by them you quoted a disciple and a prophet. And I showed you that the 3 vss. you quoted did not say what you think they say.
Let's see you argue with the words spoken by Jesus, Himself.
Jesus taught e.g.,

• “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” Matthew 25:41
• "these shall go away into eternal punishment, Matthew 25:46"
• "the fire of hell [Γέεννα/gehenna] where the fire is not quenched and the worm does not die, 3X Mark 9:43-48"
• "cast into a fiery furnace where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth,” Matthew 13:42, Matthew 13:50
• “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:6
• “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:23
• “woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. ” Matthew 26:24
• “But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.” Luke 10:12​

…..These teachings tacitly reaffirmed and sanctioned a then existing significant Jewish view of eternal hell, outlined above. In Matt. 18:6, 26:24 and Luk 10:12, see above, Jesus teaches that there is a punishment worse than death or nonexistence.
…..A punishment worse than death without mercy is also mentioned in Hebrews 10:28-31.

Heb 10:28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.​

…..Jesus is quoted as using the word death 17 times in the gospels, if He wanted to say eternal death in Matt 25:46, that is what He would have said but He didn’t, He said “eternal punishment.”
The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, they knew that everybody died; rich, poor, young, old, good, bad, men, women, children, infants and knew that often it had nothing to do with punishment and was permanent.
When Jesus taught “eternal punishment” they would not have understood it as merely death, it would have meant something worse to them.
…..Jesus undoubtedly knew what the Jews, believed about hell. If that Jewish teaching was wrong, why didn’t Jesus tell them there was no hell, no eternal punishment etc? Why would Jesus teach “eternal punishment,” etc. to Jews who believed, "The Lord, the Almighty, will punish them on the Day of Judgment by putting fire and worms into their flesh, so that they cry out with pain unto all eternity," which would only encourage and reinforce their beliefs?
The word translated "punishment" in Matthew 25:46 means punishment NOT correction. That word "kolasin" occurs in one other vs. in the NT. 1 Jn 4:18

Matthew 25:46
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: [κολασιν] but the righteous into life eternal.
1 John 4:18
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment.[κολασιν] He that feareth is not made perfect in love.​

Note the one who has "kolasin" is NOT corrected is not made perfect.
FYI I studied both Hebrew and Greek at the graduate level more than 4 decades ago in case you wish to challenge what I say.

Destruction is everlasting punishment!!

When Jehovah was fed up with mankind (Genesis 6), he was ready to destroy us all....not to eternally torment us all.
Period.

 

[Der Alte]

Destruction is everlasting punishment!!
When Jehovah was fed up with mankind, he was ready to destroy us all....not to eternally torment us all.
Period.

Wrong! You are still ignoring what Jesus said. You only read what you want to read.

…..Concerning “punishment” one early church father wrote,

“Then these reap no advantage from their punishment, as it seems: moreover, I would say that they are not punished unless they are conscious of the punishment.” Justin Martyr [A.D. 110-165.] Dialogue with Trypho Chapter 4​

The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. They knew that everyone died; male, female, young, old, children, infants and to them it was eternal. When Jesus taught "eternal punishment" they would have understood it as something more than "permanent death."
Three times Jesus taught about a fate worse than death; Matthew 18:6, Matthew 26:24 and Luke 10:12. A fate worse than death is also mentioned in Hebrews 10:28-31 ​

 

[Rachel Rachel]

Wrong! You are still ignoring what Jesus said. You only read what you want to read.

…..Concerning “punishment” one early church father wrote,

“Then these reap no advantage from their punishment, as it seems: moreover, I would say that they are not punished unless they are conscious of the punishment.” Justin Martyr [A.D. 110-165.] Dialogue with Trypho Chapter 4​

The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. They knew that everyone died; male, female, young, old, children, infants and to them it was eternal. When Jesus taught "eternal punishment" they would have understood it as something more than "permanent death."
Three times Jesus taught about a fate worse than death; Matthew 18:6, Matthew 26:24 and Luke 10:12. A fate worse than death is also mentioned in Hebrews 10:28-31 ​

You keep saying this.....give me a quote from Jesus where he discusses eternal torment. You can't.

 

[chad kincham]

I am 72 years old and have been a born again Christian most of my life. Until a few years ago, I had never heard of the theology of annihilationism. I had been taught that the unbeliever suffers eternally in the fires of Hell. I've always had a problem with that and I've talked to God about it. I just have a lot of trouble believing that a just and righteous God would have someone suffer for eternity simply because they chose to to live their life without Jesus as Lord. I was riding a train from St Louis, MO to Kansas City, MO when I read about annihilationism for the first time. I was fascinated and I read the complete article and the scriptural references that really seemed to show that unbelievers are annihilated in Hell, not left to burn in the fire for eternity.

I know this is a very controversial subject and I know that most people reading this do not accept the teaching of annihilationism. After studying it thoroughly for years, I can only say that I am 90% convinced of its reality. I believe all the study on this subject breaks down to two important questions:

#1 - It is obvious that there is a fire in Hell that cannot be quenched and burns for eternity according The Word. The annihilationist simply says that although the Fire is eternal, that does not mean that the unbeliever will continually burn in the fire and never burn up. ***Rather, the person, (body, soul, and spirit) are thrown into the fire and only suffer long enough for their body, soul, and spirit to be totally annihilated.
#2 - As I understand it, suffering for eternity in Hell was a theology created by the Catholic church to frighten the people into serving the church and avoiding this eternal punishment. Also, the Old Testament seems to describe Hell as simply going into darkness and then into eternal sleep.

I'm not a good enough Bible student to set forth the scriptures that are in question here. There are many articles on the internet that show in detail why some believe in annihilationism over eternal suffering. I know God is eternal and we cannot put Him in a box of our own belief system but when I study all of the other attributes of God, the idea of making the spirits of people suffer for eternity has never seemed to me to fit with His other attributes. All I can do is hope that the annihilationists are right because I don't want to think about people who were actually pretty good people suffering for eternity. We all know some very gentle, loving people who simply have decided they don't need Jesus but otherwise live a moral life. Do you understand what I'm saying?

Two things: at creation, God, who is a spirit and has no body, made us in His image.

This means our body is not what was made in His image, but He made us a spirit, like He is, and put us in a body.

We aren’t humans having a spiritual experience - we are eternal spirits having a mortal human experience - and living in a temporary home, our body.

Spirits cannot be destroyed. That’s why we must spend eternity somewhere - which will be heaven or the lake of fire.

BTW, you mentioned annihilationists believe soul, body, and spirit are destroyed in hell, yet scripture says that soul and body is destroyed in hell.

That’s because spirits cannot be destroyed.