By Gary Amirault

Tentmaker Publications

118 Walnut

Hermann MO 65041

http://www.tentmaker.org

gamirault@ktis.net

When it comes to the final destination of the wicked, or unrighteous, Christians over the past two millenniums have divided themselves into three beliefs: 1. Eternal Torment, 2. Eternal Death (Annihilationism), and 3. Salvation of the whole world through Jesus Christ. Each of these views can be supported with Scriptures. Having been in all three groups, I know that there are sincere Bible centered believers in all of them. Obviously, all three cannot be true. Two of them have to be false.

This writing is primarily for Christians who have embraced the Doctrine of Conditional Mortality, often referred to as "eternal death" and also "annihihationism." Many who hold this view, have come to this conclusion because the "doctrine of eternal torment" was repugnant to them. They felt they could bow down to such a God, but could not truly love Him. I know most Christians who hold this view are Bible students, that is, they spend time in the Bible, and enjoy deep study. This writing is design for that kind of mind and attitude. Some of it is rather technical. It has to be. Having studied and been in all three camps regarding the outcome of the fate of the wicked, (eternal torment, eternal death, and the ultimate salvation of all mankind) I feel what is contained in this writing will be helpful to those who cannot love an Eternal Tormentor. This work will also be useful to those holding a view other than eternal death, but the focus of the study is on passages used to support "eternal death." Therefore, I did not deal with many passages of Scripture that the other two groups would perhaps want covered. I have other literature and audio tapes on the other viewpoints.

Several denominations, Bible study groups, and many millions of Christians believe and teach the doctrine of "Eternal Death." I know many Christians, even though they attend a main-line Protestant or Catholic Church, do not believe God will really torture people forever. These often believe they will just go into unconsciousness never to wake. Millions of people who do not consider themselves Christians believe in "eternal death." Many atheists, agnostics, as well as other religions believe we will just return to dust. Is it Scriptural? It certainly is more merciful than "eternal torment," but can it stand on Scriptural ground? Let us see.

This study deals with the leading Scriptures which are used to justify the "Doctrine of Eternal Death." We will look into the Greek and Hebrew words as well as the English verses used to teach this doctrine to see if this doctrine can stand up to a thorough test. After all, I think most people would agree, it would be much easier to love a God who just ends a life as opposed to One Who viciously tortures His own creatures. When we see this in a human being, we call them sick, but somehow we don’t seem to have the nerve to call this kind of God "sick" also. The beginning of wisdom is to "fear" the Lord, so they say, but what kind of fear, terror or awe?

The word "annihilation" is used in this study as meaning that the ungodly, the wicked, the "unsaved," will be ultimately completely destroyed. The English words used in the Scriptures to prove this teaching are destroy, perish, abolish, destruction, loss, etc., and words such as everlasting, eternal, and forever.

This teaching is not a new doctrine. It has been taught by some Christians throughout the history of the Christian Church. It is a fact that many Scriptures in English translations do teach the destruction of some people. In this study, we will consider the original Greek words translated, destroy, destruction, etc., and what these words meant at the time they were written. We will also look at the words translated everlasting, eternal, forever, world, age, damn etc. This study will not deny that "destruction" is taught in the English Scriptures. We do, however, want to be certain what "destruction" meant to the original writers of the Scriptures. We often read words in Bibles through our sectarian definitions.

I will not try to refute the teaching that man is created mortal, not immortal. Most of the church teaches that man was created as an immortal being. Therefore, at the end of time, he must remain in a conscious state, since he cannot "die" in the sense of lose his consciousness, or soul, if you will. The Doctrine of Conditional Mortality teaches that since Adam was cast out of the garden prior to eating of the Tree of Life, he was born mortal. Mortal man must "put on immortality." (1 Cor. 15:53,54) At what point man gains his assurance of immortality varies greatly from one sect to another. But the underlying theme among all those who teach Conditional Mortality is that those who do not receive immortality will just cease to exist. Consciousness ends and the soul is no more.

I will not challenge the teaching that man is born mortal and not immortal. After all, God did cast Adam out of the garden for a good reason: "Therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden" "lest he put out his hand and eat, and live forever—" (Genesis 3:22,23) (By the way, this sentence is incomplete. That’s the way it is in the original Hebrew. Interesting.) The concept of the immortality of the soul, I believe, was borrowed from Greek philosophy, not from the Hebrews. What we will look at in this study is whether any descendants of Adam will be denied access to the "Tree of Life," and so be denied "immortality." Let us see if the Scriptures tell us whether there be any who through some means, whether through Satan, their own will, predestination, or something else, will suffer Eternal Death, annihilation, extinction.

It is usage of words that determines the meaning of words. The meaning of words are often changed as the word travels through the history of a people. The word "carriage" referred to "that which is carried" in King James England. Today, it refers to a vehicle that carries. The English word "let" was often used to mean "restrain" in King James English. Today, it has taken on the opposite meaning of "allow." These are a couple examples of thousands of occurrences of dramatic changes in word usage. The word "villain" used to mean someone who lived in a villa, a rural person. Obviously, that meaning has been completely replaced. This is why it is important to study the words in their historical and cultural sense. There are places in the King James Bible where one would actually completely change the meaning of the passage if one used today’s definitions of certain words found in the King James Bible.

This study will include a study of the original Greek words and the English words, destroy, destruction, etc., as used in our Bibles. In order to compare the Greek with the English, we must have certain tools to work with. In this study, we must first have a good reference Bible. There are several good reference Bibles. One of the best as far as King James Versions go, is Dr. Bullinger’s Companion Bible.

The original texts of the Bible were inspired by the Creator, but no translation or version is inerrant. Now, I realize there will be readers who will differ with me on what I just said, but if you lay any of the ten leading English Bibles before me, it will be very easy to show differences in translation among them which involve key doctrinal issues. I will be more than happy to point out a few for those who do not believe me. Write me and I will send you examples.

We also do not have the original writings. When we translate, we translate from copies of copies of copies, often many generations away from the original. Since the copies were made by hand, there is not one copy today which agrees with another copy. This is a fact! If Christians were made aware of some of these things, perhaps they would spend more time in study and less time watching the Super Bowl, or the soaps.

A reference Bible that shows some of the variants of different manuscripts is very helpful. Also, a good concordance to the translation you are using is essential. Notice I said a "good" concordance. Many Christians do not even realize that each translation requires it’s own concordance. The famous Strong’s Concordance is only useful for the King James Translation. Should you be using the KJV, I recommend using the Young’s Concordance over the Strong’s Concordance because it is much easier to see the original words in the context of the sentences in which they are located. Mr. Young was also brave enough to make notice of places where he believes the King James translators made some grave mistakes. He also wrote a literal Bible translation which is very useful. I highly encourage at this time, for the reader to get their concordance and use it as we go through the following word study. Although, I personally think the KJV is a terrible translation to use in the twentieth century, we will use it for this study because most people have one and a concordance that works with the King James Bible. The truth can be found even in archaic translations if one searches honestly.

Many of the passages below which deal with the Greek language have been taken almost word for word from audio tapes prepared by Louis Abbott from Stover, Missouri. Mr. Abbott has the largest library of New Testament Greek references of anyone I know. Many Bible colleges and seminaries do not have many of the books he possesses. Mr. Abbott spends most of his evenings and weekends reading and studying Greek. He has studied these particular words more than anyone I know. An objective reading of his findings would serve us all well.

We hear the words "eternal death" in Christian creeds. Although many Christians use these words, the words "eternal death" are not in the Scriptures. Again, I repeat, the words "eternal death" are not in our Bibles. Therefore, to study the teaching of "annihilation" or "eternal death" we will have to look for other words to study, "eternal death" is nowhere to be found.

The opposite of life is death and the opposite of death is life. According to the Scriptures, there cannot be an eternal death. The Scriptures declare an "end" to death. "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." (1 Cor. 15:26, KJV) Let us see that "death" cannot be "eternal."

The Greek word translated destroy in the above Scripture (1Cor. 15:26,27) is not "apollumi." The word used here is "katageo" and means to nullify, discard, exempt, abolish, to make unproductive. This "last enemy" of Christ will ultimately be "nullified, discarded, abolished, or destroyed." Therefore, this clearly teaches that death is the last enemy and that in the future "death" will be destroyed. Hence, there can be no "eternal death." To teach an "eternal death" is to contradict the Scriptures.

How will death be destroyed? Paul give the answer in the context, "For as in Adam all die, even so, in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Cor. 15:22, KJV) Now I know that some say that Paul is teaching in this verse that all will be resurrected, but the word used by Paul is "zoopoiethesontai" and this is a future passive verb meaning to vivify, to make alive beyond the reach of death. The Greek word "anastasis" means resurrection and is used in verse 21. We know that Jesus resurrected several people as recorded in the Gospels, but that does not mean they received unending life at that point. 1 Corinthians 15:22-28 teaches that there are three classes of orders that will be made alive. First, Christ, the first fruit. The word "first fruit" is singular in the Greek, not first fruits plural as in the King James Version. Second, they that are Christ’s at His coming (Greek, parousia, appearing). This class includes all the Christians dead or alive. (See 1 Thess. 4:13-18) The third class is referred to as "then cometh the end." This includes the residue of all mankind who died in Adam. This is clearly taught in 1 Cor. 15:22-28. Therefore, these Scriptures teach that all mankind who die in Adam will be made alive in Christ and I repeat, this is not resurrection. Unfortunately, many translations put a period between the second and third order of being made alive. The Greek does not have a period here. (1 Cor. 15:23,24) It is supplied by some translators.

The Scriptures teach that all will be resurrected. (Study John 5:28,29) The dead in Christ when made alive will be resurrected as being "made alive" which includes resurrection but being "made alive" means more than resurrection. "Made alive" means make alive beyond death. May I remind you that not all Christians will be resurrected. Many Christians will be alive when Christ returns. Therefore, living Christians will not be resurrected, but they will be made alive or vivified. Notice these Scriptures: "Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality." (1 Cor. 15:51-53) "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep,. That ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words." (1 Thess. 4:13-18, KJV; here is an example of a KJV word "prevent" which has completely lost its meaning. In the 1600’s the word meant "precede," not "hinder.")

It is most important to remember vivification or being made alive cannot be limited to resurrection of the dead. Resurrection is limited to the dead. You cannot resurrect the living, yet the living in Christ will be "made alive" at Christ’s coming (Gr. Parousia). I am speaking of the literal meaning of the resurrection. I do not want to dwell any longer on these words, as our subject is "destruction."

There are two elements one needs to determine the meaning of a word which has been important over a long period of time: 1. The original meaning of the root word from which it is derived, so far as we are able to determine. 2. The history of the word as it passes from one generation to another. Often other languages, social pressures, or one important person’s or an institution’s variant use of the word whose definition sticks with that word will change the definition of a particular word.

When we go back to the earliest uses of the word "apollumi," "apolleia" and their cognates, we find the words very indistinguishable from each other. We find the word in Homer where the "slayers and the slain" were "perishing from the world," but they reappear in Hades as persons capable of sorrow, joy and the ability to think. (Iliad 24:725) "We were ‘undone’ by their wisdom," says Odysseus. (Od. 10:27) According to Professor Plumtree, he knows of no passages in the earliest uses of these words which would mean destruction of conscious existence. (The Spirits in Prison, E.H. Plumtree) Searching the Greek Old Testament called the Septuagint, we find exactly the same usage of these words that we find in the New Testament. Below are examples of how these words were used in the Biblical sense.

Those who teach "eternal death" or "annihilation" believe the Greek words translated "destroy," "perish," "loss," mean cessation or end of life with no hope of recovery at a later time. The original words used in the Greek New Testament are: the verb "apollumi," and the noun, "apolleia." The verb "apollumi" is translated as follows in the King James Version: perish (33 times), destroy (46 times), lose (42 times), be lost (5 times), lost (4 times), bemarred (1 time), die (1 time), for a total of 92 times. The noun "apolleia" is translated as follows in the King James Version: perdition (8 times), destruction (5 times), waste (2 times), damnable (1 time), damnation (1 time), to die (1 time), perish (1 time), pernicious way (1 time), for a total of 20 times.

It is important that Christians understand the meaning of these two Greek words. An improper understanding of these words will result in an inaccurate faith in the destiny of the unbelievers and an inaccurate understanding of God’s plan and love. To apply these words to the final destiny of the unbelievers will result in the denial of many Scriptures that do refer to the ultimate plan of God’s love. I recommend that you check the following Scriptures with your concordances. It is not practical for me to quote over 110 verses. Therefore, I will quote only those passages used by those who are teaching that these words mean "destruction with no future resurrection to immortality."

First of all, let me state that I believe the original Hebrew and Greek Scriptures were inspired by God. I believe the Creator allowed imperfect man to add his imperfections into Bible translations. When we look at the apostles and prophets, we quickly notice they were far from perfect, and yet were still mightily used. We see Peter, years after he received the Holy Spirit, play the hypocrite when being around gentiles. Paul had to rebuke him to his face. We read Paul saying, "I, not the Lord, say . . ." We find this in the Scriptures in 1 Corinthians 7:12. I believe the Creator left us with imperfect English translations that we might rely on the Holy Spirit first. When one puts the Scriptures above being lead by the Spirit, religious rigor mortus quickly sets in. The letter of the law produces death apart from the Holy Spirit quickening us. This is true whether it is the Old Testament or New Testament. If one’s witness in this world does not go past the Written Word, it will only be a witness to religious death . . . not life.

When quoting the Scriptures contained herein, I will read the King James Version, and immediately after the English word, I will quote the original Greek vocabulary word. Thus the listener will know the original inspired word. By this method, I believe that Christians who do not know Greek will be able to understand how these words are used in the inspired text. I will quote verses that will clearly illustrate what these two Greek words mean.

The meaning of a word depends on its usage. Words get their color from their context. Without any dictionary whatever, it is possible to determine the meaning of almost any word if it is seen in a dozen sentences. From this we made deduce the notable conclusion that the actual and understood meaning of a Greek or English word in the Bible is not necessarily its current or dictionary meaning, but that which it absorbs from the passage in which it is found. A dictionary simply records the usage as employed by careful writers of the time for which the dictionary is written.

The word "destruction" is one of the key words of the Scriptures. Hence, no amount of investigation is excessive if it provides us with a clear comprehension of its meaning. There have been endless discussions about this word resulting in diverging schools of interpretation. But most of the discussions that I have studied, do not give a satisfactory answer to all of the Scriptures.

The argument has been propounded that the first occurrence of a word in the Scriptures fixes its primary meaning thus the first occurrence of "apollumi" is Matthew 2:13. "Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word; for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him." In this context, it is argued that "apollumi" means deprivation of life. Now what is this first occurrence of this word in the Greek New Testament? As to chronological time, Paul was the first to put "apollumi" into the Scriptures; see 2 Thessalonians 2:10. Matthew did not write until later. Was it necessary for the Thessalonians to wait until Matthew was written in order to know its meaning? It is not at all logical to argue that the vocabulary of the Greek Scriptures was not defined until the Gospels were written. Let us test this theory.

The Greek noun "ta Biblion" is the diminutive form of "ha Biblios." Ha Biblios means a written volume, a scroll. The diminutive "Biblion" means a scrollet or scroll. In Matthew 19:7, its first occurrence, it is a short legal instrument what we call a divorce paper. This is not its primary or usual meaning. For it is used to describe the book of Isaiah and the book of Revelation (see Luke 4:17 and Rev 22:19). Thus in usage this is applied to any book even a large one.

Here is an excellent example from the Old Testament. For instance, there is much controversy as to the meaning of the word "sin." No occurrence is an illustration better than in Judges 20:16. "Among all this people there were 700 chosen men left handed; every one could sling stones at a hairs breadth and not miss." The Septuagint reads: "Kai ouk examartanontes." Therefore, sin in this context, is missing the mark. This literal etymological meaning is worth more than all the arguments which can be advanced. What a mistake it would be to reason from its first occurrence in Genesis 26 that its primary meaning confines it to social trespasses. It would greatly distort the meaning of Judges 20:16, if that meaning were applied to the word "sin" in this context. The only sound system of determining the primary meaning of any word in the Scriptures is to study all its occurrences and to inject nothing into its meaning which clashes with any of its contexts.

Again, I ask the reader to study these two words "apollumi" and "apolleia" in a concordance that lists all of the occurrences of these words. This is the only method to know the true primary meaning of these words. The argument that "destroy" in Matthew 2:13 means "deprive of live" is an unfounded inference. "Deprive of life" would partially define the following Greek words. I quote the Greek word first followed with a literal English translation. "Apokteino" (kill), "sphatto" (slay), "onireko" (dispatch, assassinate, massacre), "phoneuo" (murder). Every occurrence of these words actually means "to deprive of life."

"Destroy, perish, (apollumi) are used of things which have no life. "Wine runneth out and the bottles perish (apollumi)." (Matt. 9:17, see also Mark 2:22, Luke 5:37) Skinned bottles do not die when they perish. "Verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose (apollumi) his reward." Matt. 10:42 (Compare Mark 9:41) A reward is not mortal. "That the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perish (apollumi)" (1 Peter 1:7, compare Luke 15:8) Gold and money may perish and be lost but they are not deprived of life. The words which actually do mean "to deprive of life" could not be used in these verses. Neither the primary nor secondary nor any other meaning of "destroy" demands that life be taken. This is entirely a matter of the context. It is not included in the meaning of the words "apollumi" and "apolleia."

"Apollumi" is used of that which is alive. "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose (apollumi) one of them, does not leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after that which is lost (apollumi) until he find it. And when he has found it he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing. And when he commeth home he calls together his friends and neighbors saying unto them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost (apollumi).’" (Luke 15:4-6) If the lost (apollumi) sheep had been deprived of life, would the shepherd have rejoiced when he found the carcass? The word "apollumi" occurs 8 times in Luke chapter 15. See verses 4, 6,8,9,17,24, and 32. Not one of these occurrences means to deprive of life. Our Lord directed His disciples "Go rather to the lost (apollumi) sheep of the house of Israel." (Matt. 10:6) The lost" sheep of Israel were no more dead than the "lost" destroyed sheep which the shepherd sought and found.

A word, whose primary meaning is to deprive of life cannot have a secondary meaning of a state of life. Life is not a secondary meaning of death. Our Lord said to His disciples, "He that findeth his life (psuche, soul) shall lose it, and he that loses (apollumi) his life (psuche, soul) shall find it." (Matt. 10:39, compare Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24, and 17:33) Is our Lord urging them to commit suicide? The text refers to the destruction of the soul. Please note the Greek text reads "psuche" soul, not "zoe" life, as the King’s translators translated this passage. The destruction of the soul does not mean death, it means to forgo the pleasure of life and endure the suffering due to faithfulness to Christ. Surely, no one will argue that "He that loses (apollumi) his soul" for Christ will be destroyed without hope of life later. Many Christians martyrs were destroyed by burning at the stake. Their souls were destroyed but who will argue that they will not be resurrected in the future and enjoy immortality.

I believe there is one paramount Scripture that should teach us what the word "apollumi" means. "For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost (apollumi)." (Luke 19:10) This passage refers specifically to Zacchaeus; he was lost, destroyed. Because he was lost, he was ready to be found and saved. The theory of most false definitions of "apollumi" is to prove that the word means "death" from which there is no resurrection, practical annihilation, a state from which salvation is impossible. This passage directly destroys this theory. Instead of the lost being beyond salvation, they alone are eligible for salvation. You cannot rescue a man who is safe and sound. It is only when a man is in the state denoted by "apollumi" that salvation can operate in his behalf. Antithetical statements such as this are of great value in the study of words. The terms "seek" and "save," are accurate indications of the opposite of destroy. One who is "destroyed" must be lost or no one would seek him. He must be in a state which calls for salvation or Christ would not have come for him. This proves that destruction is a salvable condition, not a state beyond the reach of deliverance. Add to this the fact only the "lost" are "saved" and it reverses the usual theory of "destruction." God seeks what he has "lost." It is a sad fact that most Christians believe that Jesus is seeking to save the "lost" yet on the other hand they do not believe that He will save the "lost." They do not believe that Jesus will save "lost" mankind. Thus Jesus will not be successful in seeking and saving the lost.

"Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished (apollumi)." (1 Cor. 15:18) Are the Christians who are now sleeping deprived of future life? They are at present time "perished." They are now deprived of life, but in the future, they will be resurrected to life that is immortal.

"But if thy brother be grieve with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitable, destroy (apollumi) not him with thy meat for whom Christ died." (Rom. 14:15, compare 1 Cor. 8:11) According to these Scriptures, we can destroy one of our brethren by eating foods which he deems unclean. Does our eating deprive him of life? That would be an easy way to commit legal murder.

Destruction is a relative term. The coin was lost in relation to the woman. (Luke 15:8,9) The sheep was destroyed as regards to the shepherd. (Luke 15:4-7) The prodigal son had perished in relation to his father. (Luke 15:11-32) So with the destroyed sheep of the house of Israel. (Matt. 10:5,6) They were not deprived of life, they were away from the great shepherd, their Creator. The prodigals were far off from their father who created them, who loves them, who commissioned His Son Jesus to come to seek and save them. Does this prove they were outside of this affair of salvation? It proves the opposite. Destruction is a prelude to salvation. It never means ultimate annihilation.

The method of destruction or losing is not included in the meaning of the word. It varies with the context. Those who use the sword "shall perish" (apollumi) with the sword." (Matt. 26:52) "But the chief priest and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy (apollumi) Jesus." (Matt. 27:20) Destroy Jesus? Thus our Lord was destroyed by crucifixion. Who will argue that the destruction of Jesus was annihilation? Jesus was only destroyed 3 days and nights, and He returned to life and has immortality.

The disciples were afraid that they would perish by drowning. (Mark 4:38) The sheep was destroyed by straying. ( Luke 15:4) The prodigal son was lost for the same reason. (Luke 15:24) The fragments that remain would have been lost (apollumi) by neglect. (John 6:12) Food perished (apollumi) by decay. (John 6:27) We may destroy a brother by means of food. (Romans 14:15) We may destroy a weak saint by our knowledge. (1 Cor. 8:11) Especially note the last two passages since they apply to believers in Christ. Can we "annihilate" one of our own brothers with food? Christians saved in Christ may be lost or destroyed. God ultimately will not put out of existence those who are lost. God commends His love to us in that He gave His Son Christ Jesus while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:8) Our Lord spoke the parable of the Lost Sheep in order to assure His disciples that God was concerned about the one sheep that had strayed. There is no line that the sinner crosses that brings him beyond the reach of God. Neither life, nor death, nor destruction, neither a career of sin, nor a decaying corpse is any obstacle to Divine Love. Nay, they are challenges which omnipotence must victoriously conquer or suffer defeat. No death, either first or second, can cope with our God or frustrate His purpose. Study Ephesians 1:9-11, Isaiah 46:8-13.

Everyone who has lost anything will bear me witness that the moment it is missing, it assumes an interest and importance which it never had before. Its value increases and we desire it more than ever. Its loss, instead of breaking our connection with it, forges a new link which did not exist before. This becomes tragically true when we lose a loved one. Loss alone brings a realization of the preciousness of possession. Let us never imagine that God is not concerned about the lost; that He is insensible to their condition, or that He would sit complacently by and see them rush to endless oblivion, if He could do anything to head them off. There are a million ways in which we could do this if we had but a tenth of His power. God is able. If the reader of this message will not acknowledge this, he must wait until God makes him realize this.

(Greek) "Ha Theos agape estin," God is love and all His creatures are dear to Him. Is it not striking that He does not even try to express His affection until they are lost? Whom does God love? He undoubtedly loves all. Whom does He say He loves? God loves the world, (John 3:16) and sinners and His enemies, (Romans 5:8, 1 Cor. 15:22-28) and those who are lost. In God’s wisdom, He has decreed that many shall be lost to Him until the end of the ages. Men are often compelled to abandon an enterprise which proved too much for their power. Imagine that God is also compelled to abandon His "will to have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth?" (1 Tim. 2:4, compare 1 Tim. 4:9-11) Thus God is unable to save all? Or being able He does not? These errors have polluted the minds of millions of men that they have corrupted the Scriptures to teach everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46) or everlasting destruction, (2 Thess. 1:8,9) and neither of these translations are correct.

Men are sometimes compelled to kill an animal to put it out of pain. They would not do so if they could cure it. Is our God like this? Is God impotent, powerless to cope with those who are destroyed? All that man can do is kill. They cannot recall from death. Is God also limited like we are? Christ proclaimed Himself as the resurrection and the life. Is the Creator unable to make man respond to His unconditional love? Is His love so repugnant or powerless that it can not loose those enchained to hate, fear, ignorance, etc.?

The Greek noun "apolleia" is in the Greek text which the King’s translators used in Acts 25:16 which reads: "To whom I answered, it is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man to die (apolleia)." Many Scriptures clearly teach that all the dead will be resurrected for judgment. (See Daniel 12:1-3, John 5:28,29, Acts 24:15, Rev. 20:11-15) Therefore those delivered by the Romans to die will be resurrected to life. A Christian martyr is resurrected unto immortality. The sinners, the unbelievers are resurrected to judgment. But death is not the ultimate destiny of any man. "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." (1 Cor. 15:26) How will death be abolished? The context gives the answer. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Cor.15:22) According to the historians, Paul was later to die at the hands of the Romans and surely will not ultimately be destroyed.

This word, apolleia, is also translated into damnable, damnation, perdition, destruction, pernicious, waste, and perish long with the above meaning of "to die." Those of you who believe in "annihilation" should know that it doesn’t matter how bad the word may sound if it only applies to a person before the second death. The resurrection will raise everyone up and give them an opportunity to "get it right." But for those of you who lean toward "eternal punishment,’ this study of the word "damn" should prove worthwhile.

I will begin with a large quote from a book entitled Mercy and Judgment by F.W. Farrar, a canon of the Anglican Church. He writes on page 369:

The above was written in 1881, the year the first revision of the King James Bible appeared. It appears the author above, in his prediction about the "damn" words being removed from the revision was true. Checking a Revised Standard Concordance, I discovered the "damn" words were gone. To show you the above scholars were correct in tracing the "damn" word, I will quote from a modern dictionary of word origins by John Ayto. It is entitled Dictionary of Word Origins published in 1990.

In conclusion, I must repeat that these words "apollumi" and "apolleia" like so many other words such as "krima," "krino," and "krisis" are relative terms. The first two words usually carry the sense of loss by someone. God is the great loser in many of their occurrences. The coin was lost by the woman, the sheep was lost by the shepherd, the prodigal son was lost by the father, Israel was lost by Yahweh, men are lost by God. Who was it that created them? Are they not His work? Will He not be the loser if they are not saved?

Almost all the reasoning about the words translated "destruction" fails to recognize the deity of God. We are asked to consider the fate of wineskins which were destroyed. We are told that as wineskins they past out of existence. Therefore, those who teach annihilation say, men pass out of existence as such when they are destroyed. The fact that these words "apollumi" and "apolleia" are never used of the second death in which this final destruction is supposed to take place should show the fallacy of this reasoning. The fact that all who are destroyed or lost are resurrected to be judged, absolutely refutes the idea of any final destruction. In the theory of annihilation, God is left out of it. We should not equate men losing wineskins to God losing men. Who lost the wineskins? Who lost the men?" Suppose we are not able to recover what we lost. Is that proof that God cannot do so? Are we the equals of the Creator? Did anything originate with us? Why then reason about God as though He were unable to find and save what He has lost. God can recall His creatures from the tomb, can we? All mankind was lost and all mankind will be justified and made alive by God. Study Roman 5:18,19 and 1 Cor. 15:22-28 and Col. 1:16-20.

When we touched the "damn" words (because apolleia was translated as such a couple of times), we found that changes in our English language combined with theological tamperings, have introduced words into our Bibles that no longer convey the true spirit in which the original writers wrote. The word "hell" has almost completely disappeared in most Bible translations. Many of the religiously tainted renderings found in our Bibles are being removed. This is coming about because we are beginning to bypass the inadequate scholarship of the dark ages and reformation which was plagued with superstition and medieval concepts. Due to discoveries such as those found at Qumran, Israel and the deserts of Egypt, we are able to get closer to the original manuscripts and the original meaning of the Greek and Hebrew words contained in the Bible. For more information about words in some of our Bibles which do not faithfully convey the original meaning, write for the audio tape, A Word About The Word.

There is no reasoning so utterly vain as that which uses one passage of Scripture in order to destroy our faith in another. Correctly translated and interpreted with the help of the Holy Spirit, there is no conflict in the Word of God. Matt. 10:28 says, "And fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul but rather fear Him Who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Greek, Gehenna)." These words are supposed to prove ultimate destruction of sinners. In this passage, our Lord is speaking to His disciples regarding the suffering required for entrance into the kingdom. Men will hate them and kill them. Literally death always effects body, soul, and spirit, but our Lord is speaking of their experiences, what they will suffer for His sake. Men will slay them. James and Peter were killed. After they were killed, they suffered no more. In a very real sense, those who killed their bodies ushered their souls into the kingdom without further pain. Speaking of God being able to destroy both body and soul, He is able to do many things, but that does not mean He will do them. He is able to blot a name out of the Lamb’s book of life. You are able to stick a dagger into your right eye, but that doesn’t mean that you ever will. Be careful what you tell the world that the Creator is going to do. You may find yourself adding to His Word. To be able to do something is not the same as actually doing it.

Every Christian was once lost, destroyed. Not only was this no hindrance to their deliverance, but it was absolutely essential to it. God had lost them. Through Christ, God has found and saved them. The same is true of those who are not now saved. Please remember there is not one except Jesus Christ, who was not lost and had need of a Savior. Some God will call tomorrow, many He will not call until another age. God has definitely declared that He is the Savior of all mankind. (Study 1 Tim. 2:3-6, 4:9-11) Since God has lost them and He has said He will save them, they will be saved in their own order. (Study 1 Cor. 15:22-28.)

Destruction, like aionian life, is relative to the eons or the ages. After the eons, all will be vivified. The word used in 1 Cor. 15:22 is not resurrection (anastasias). As mentioned before, the word used is the Greek "zoopoieo" which means to vivify, to make alive, to be made immortal. The apostle Paul tells us very clearly in that verse that all that are dying in Adam, the same all, will be or shall be made alive in Christ. Neither destruction nor aionian life are the end or aim of God. Imagine a God Whose very essence is love, losing a single creature who has an endless capacity of loving and glorifying Him. To create a creature whose purpose is to manifest the image of God, and then destroy it because it did not live up to the Creator’s expectations sounds like something Hollywood would dream up. It sounds like a Frankenstein movie. Is this what God has produced? An error? Then God is sinful. He missed the mark, His purpose, His creation is flawed. What foolish thinking this is! We do not have such a God; He destroys nothing that He cannot restore. He loses nothing that will not return to Him. Destruction is a passing process, not a finished goal. What He destroys is our life to sin that we might live to Him who is Life! First comes death from which He brings life. We produces a field well fertilized with death and then He plants His seed in it to produce life. He produced the exact amount of death to produce the exact amount of Life He intended. Believe me, our Father wastes nothing! Through destruction, God will work out the welfare of His creatures and bring unending glory to our Savior and Creator.

I know that the Scriptures say that God loves the world, thus all mankind, and that God’s love will never fail. (Study 1 Cor. 13.) Therefore, God will resurrect all sinners and judge them and ultimately save them all. We forget that when God’s judgments are in the earth, the world will learn righteousness. (Isa. 26:9) This is God’s will and He will not be defeated. God’s love will be victorious. The Scriptures clearly teach that the lost will be judged in accord with their works. "For the Son of Man shall come in the Glory of His Father with His angels and then He shall reward every man according to his works." (Matt. 16:27) And again, "Who will render every man according to his deeds." (Rom. 2:6) And again, "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and hell (Hades) delivered up the dead which were in them. And they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell (hades) were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." (Rev. 20:13,14) Hence all at the Great White Throne Judgment will be judged according to their works and as every man’s works are different, thus every one’s judgment will be as variable as their works. Thereafter, they are returned to the second death which is the lake of fire. There is no variance in the second death. It is the same for all thus it cannot be the judgment according to works.

Many teach that the lake of fire is a place where the sinners are alive and consciously suffering endless misery. On the other hand, many are teaching that the lake of fire is endless destruction. Both of these doctrines are making God the loser of some or most of His creation. He came to "seek and save that which was lost," but apparently He will fail to fulfill His mission. (Luke 19:10) "Who will have all men to come into the knowledge of the truth, Who is the savior of all men." (1 Tim. 2:4, 4:10) God says,

Hence God declares He will do all His pleasure. He has proposed it and will bring it to pass. Notice this quotation in which God says through the apostle Paul,

Therefore it is the good pleasure which God has proposed in Himself to have an administration in the fullness of the era to head up all in the Christ. See the Greek text. Thus in the Scriptures we have grace which exhibits God’s glory and results in forgiveness and salvation to all. (See Phil. 2:9-13, Col. 1:16-20)

In these verses in Colossians chapter one we have the word all used 7 times in the King James Version. All Christians will accept all of these all’s through verse 16, 17, 18, 19, but when we come to verse 20, they argue that it cannot be. God is not going to reconcile all, they say. (Greek, ta panta). Now, I ask you is this being fair to God’s word? Verse 16 says He creates all and we have many other passages of Scriptures which tell us He creates all, but yet, they will reject verse 20 where He says He will reconcile all. Again, I ask, is that being fair to Scripture? Why not believe the Scriptures? We go to church, hear that beautiful hymn, There is Power in the Blood, yet we do not believe there is enough power to do what Colossians 1:20 tells us, that is, to reconcile all.

If one refused to believe these plain statements in the Scriptures, then they will have to wait until God displays He marvelous grace in the coming administration. Then they will see His grace displayed and this can be expressed in three words: seeing is believing. Therefore, I assume, in spite of the dozens of Scriptures that teach God loves all and will reconcile all, many people will have to see God’s grace manifested before they will believe.

But men make God’s love to narrow

by false limits of their own

and they magnify His vengeance

with a zeal He will not own.

Remember, our Lord Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This He said signifying what death He should die." (John 12:32,33) We know Jesus was lifted up on Calvary. Why not believe these clear plain words of our Savior and also the words of apostle Paul where he says, "all will be reconciled" (Col. 1:20) "all will be justified" (Rom. 5:18,19), "and all shall be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22). Why not believe these clear plain statements. Why argue that these plain statements are not true. There can be no statements in the Scriptures correctly interpreted and translated that contradict this glorious truth of the salvation of all people.

Another Scripture in the King James Version used to teach annihilation is,

Question: Do the Greek words translated by the King’s translators "everlasting" and "destruction" mean a condition from which there is no hope of a future life?

First let us look at the word translated "everlasting." The following few pages should clearly show that some English translators of the Bible have caused some serious problems for Christians and the rest of the world. It will be shown that a little four letter word can totally change the character of the Creator and our relationship to Him. May translations of the future be more faithful to the Greek and Hebrew languages and to the nature of the Creator of us all which is love, a love which the most eloquent of words cannot describe. This one little four letter word, mistranslated by many Bible translations has tarnished His Character to where an earthly father’s love exceeds that of the Creator’s. After all, few earthly fathers would burn their children in a barbecue pit for even a few hours. Many modern Bibles portray the Father of all mankind torturing most of mankind not for just a few hours, but for all eternity. According to the majority view of church theology, He will not change His mind in this area, it is a finished deal. Let us see if the Greek and Hebrew texts bears this out.

The word "aion" in the New Testament in Matthew 24:3 is translated "world" in the King James Version. As we can see from the other versions below, scholars now believe it should have been translated "age."

Why is it so important to differentiate between these two words one might ask? Because there are many different "ages" according to the Bible, but our theological minds picture basically only two "worlds," the one that is and the one to come. It is this mistranslation of "aion" that has caused many people to rightfully say the Bible contradicts itself. The King James Version speaks of the "end of the world"(Matt. 24:3) and then talks about the same world "without end." (Eph. 3:21, Isa. 45:17) It speaks of "everlasting hills" (Gen. 49:26, Deut. 33:15) which will one day no longer be "everlasting." Isaiah 40:4 tells us "every mountain and hill will be made low" and "all the earth shall be burned up" in 2 Peter 3:10. Revelation 11:15 speaks of Jesus as reigning "forever and ever" ( a double use of "aion") while 1 Corinthians 15:25 says Jesus must rule "till He hath put all enemies under His feet." He then will deliver up a perfected kingdom to the Father who becomes "all in all." Does He reign "till" or "forever." Exodus 21:5,6 tells us a slave will serve his master for "ever," when clearly death will end his servitude. Leviticus 24:8 says the Mosaic covenant is to be an "everlasting" covenant whereas Hebrews 8:7-13 speaks of the end of that covenant. The Aaronic priesthood is an "everlasting" priesthood in Exodus 40:15 and Numbers 25:13 yet the book of Hebrews makes it very clear it is to be superseded by the Melchizedek priesthood. (Hebrews 7:14-18) According to the King James Version, God would dwell in Solomon’s temple "forever" yet Solomon’s temple has long been destroyed. The Sabbath (Saturday according to the Old Testament) was to be observed for a statute "forever," yet Hebrews says it was just a "fleshly ordinance imposed until the time of refreshing." Animal sacrifices were to be offered "forever," (Exodus 31:16, 17; 2 Chr. 2:4; Lev. 16:31) yet every Christian knows these all ended in the work of Jesus Christ. Circumcision was an "everlasting covenant" and this was before the Mosaic Covenant, according to Genesis 17:9-14. But 1 Corinthians 7:19 and Galatians 5:6 tells us it is worthless!

It is this kind of confusion that has turned many sincere seekers away from the Bible. Here we have clear contradictions. The problem is not in the original languages of the Bible, the problem is with human error in translating the Greek and Hebrew texts into current languages. The tradition of the elders is difficult to break. Men and women have built power systems upon error. The love of power, money, and position make many leaders continue the errors. Many church leaders know these contradictions exist, but are unwilling to bring about correction. Their systems are built upon fear and ignorance. To reveal the truth would be the end of their kingdoms.. Also keep in mind we, ourselves, often prefer to create our own image of God rather than the true one. We often project our corrupted view of things upon God. Now let us see if there are contradictions in the Greek and Hebrew languages.

This word "aion" translated by the King James Bible as "age," "ever," "forever," "forever and ever," "never," "world without end," "evermore," "course," and "eternal," along with its adjective "aionios," has caused the world many serious problems. It has made the Creator a God whose mercy endures "forever" yet the King James Bible says there are sins that will not be forgiven in "this world or in the world to come." (Compare 1 Chr. 16:34 with Matthew 12:31,32) The New King James and most other Bibles now translate this passage as: "in this age or in the age to come." This was spoken in the "law age." We are now in a different age and the Scriptures clearly teach of ages to come. If Jesus wanted to refer to the world, he would have used the word "kosmos," but He didn’t. Therefore, when this Scripture is correctly translated "age," the Bible does not contradict itself. There is still hope for the Pharisee who would not be forgiven under the "law age" nor under the present age, but there is still hope for him to receive mercy in the ages to come. For a study as to how many ages there are, study the following Scriptures:

Can this word "aion" be consistently translated one way and make sense without bringing about contradictions in the Bible? The answer is yes! Can this word be consistently translated with words that indicate "eternity?" The answer is no! Let us see how the Bible would read if we translated this word "aion" into eternity in some passages where it appears. We would get some of the following kinds of reading:

As one can see, when we translated this word consistently with eternity, the Scriptures make no sense. But if we translated that word "aion" age, and its adjective "aionios" of or belonging to an age, or age-during, age-abiding, then all the Scriptures dealing with time and eternity begin to make sense without any contradictions whatsoever. What is even more exciting is that this lines up perfectly with all of our Father’s attributes. All seemingly hypocritical, or contradictory Scriptures relating to our Father’s will, desire, plan, purpose, and power, vanish away. He finishes what He said He was going to do from the foundation of the world, draw all mankind unto Himself. So why don’t the translators change? Jesus said there was something more powerful than the Word of God. "You have made the word of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites!" (Matthew 15:6,7) All the systems of Christendom would have to dismantle, and I mean all of them. You can be assured, the heads of these systems have no intentions of giving up the little kingdoms you and I have helped them build.

As we have seen earlier, many of the Bibles have cleared up some of the contradictions by translating more of the passages "age" where they used to put "world." Many Bibles today have even put in "age or "ages" in some places where they use to have "forever and ever," etc. Some Bibles, written within the last 200 years, have become consistent all the way through the Bible and have translated the word "aion" and its adjective "aionios" age, eon, age-during etc. Some of the Bibles that have been bold enough to buck the tradition of the elders are: Young’s Literal Translation, Rotherham’s Emphasized Translation, Concordant Literal Version, The Holy Bible in Modern English (Fenton), The New Testament in Modern Speech (Weymouth, 1910), The Twentieth Century New Testament, The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Anointed, The Western New Testament, The New Testament, a Translation, Scarlett’s Translation, etc. Even many evangelical\fundamentalist Bibles are breaking from the "traditions of men." The Companion Bible, a King James Reference Bible, shows clearly in the footnotes and appendages, that the word "aion" and its adjective "aionios" was grossly mistranslated by the King’s translators. For further information on the subject of how many Bibles are changing for the better, write for the booklet, The Gates of Hell shall not Prevail.

Let us return to the subject of "aion." Many Bible scholars today are willing to concede that the noun "aion" means an age as opposed to forever or eternal, but they are not willing to concede that its adjective "aionios" means pertaining to an age, age-abiding, age-during or something like that. They say this word must mean "eternal," everlasting," etc. In doing so, they make themselves look very foolish. They break a rule in grammar found in every language of the world. An adjective must get its force from the noun from which it is derived. It cannot take on a stronger force. For example, hourly cannot pertain to a year, or month, or eternity; it pertains to the noun from which it came, that is, an hour. To say that "aion" means an "age," and then turn around and say its adjective means "everlasting," "eternal," forever and ever" is breaking all the rules of language. Why would they do this? If they stay within the rules of grammar, they would have to concede there is no such thing as "eternal" punishment or "everlasting" death. Religious men usually will go into their graves before admitting their errors. After all, huge empires are built upon these two false doctrines.

This noun "aion" occurs in the plural and the singular about 127 times. The plural form occurs over 60 times in the Greek text. May I remind you at this time that if the singular form means endlessness, absolute eternity, time without an end, forever, everlasting, then what on earth does the plural form mean? To top it all off, this word "aion" in the Greek shows up in forms such as this:" eons (plural)of the eons(plural)" (see Gal. 1:5, Phil. 4:20, 1 Tim. 1:17, 2 Tim. 4:18, etc.), and as "eon (singular) of the eons" (plural) (see Eph. 3:21), and "eon (singular) of the eon" (singular) (see Heb. 1:8). Clearly, because orthodox translators are stuck with their concept of "eternal" hell, they have butchered the Greek forms of this word "aion." Why? To maintain their long held traditions. It is quite obvious that you cannot have a plural of infinity or eternity. You cannot have a plural of "forever." You can not have "eternities of the eternities," "eternity of the eternities," and "eternity of the eternity." This is nonsense. But that is exactly what one would get if they translated "aion" and its adjective "aionios" into eternity in these passages. When we translate the word "aion" into its proper English equivalent "age," all begins to make sense. There is also a sense in the word indicating a flowing like streams flowing into rivers which find their way to the seas only to be draw up again to fall to become streams again. The ages are marked, but they cannot be determined until it has ended. The life of a man was an "olam," the Hebrew word translated into "aion" in the Greek. One could not measure a man’s life until he died. It is an indefinite, but not infinite.

In Ephesians 3:9, 11, 21, we have two Greek words "ton aionon." This is the genitive plural noun with the genitive plural article "ton." In the 9th verse in the KJV, it is translated "from the beginning of the world." In verse 11, it is translated "eternal" with the word "purpose." In verse 21, it is translated, "world without end." So here we have the Greek genitive plural with the article translated three completely different ways within the same sentence! It is quite obvious this is very poor translating.

If you want to see this word translated correctly in the King James, turn to Colossians 1:26. Here we find "apo ton aionon" which is translated "from the ages." Notice the reference to "age" and that it is in the plural form. The King James Bible was very inconsistent with this word. Fearing to break the KJV tradition, many orthodox Bibles have also wreaked havoc with this little four letter word, unfortunately to our misfortune.

In 1 Corinthians 15:25, we have a very interesting verse. In fact, this whole context from verse 22 through 28 is very interesting. Verse 25 says, "For He must reign till He has put all His enemies under His feet." This passage is speaking about Christ Jesus. The word "till" has the same meaning as "until." The word "until: in the English and Greek means, "to the time of, up to, as far as, etc." It definitely limits the reigning of Jesus Christ until He puts every enemy under His feet. It tells us the last enemy to be put under His feet is death. This passage speaks of the end of "death." If there is a second "death," (Lake of fire) there is still death. Please note the Scripture does not speak of "soul death," or "spiritual death," or "Adamic death." It simply states that death is an enemy of God which will one day be destroyed. Very simple. Let us keep it that way. One day there will be no more death. Then Jesus, after He has made all things subject to Him, becomes subjected Himself that God may be all in all. The passage speaks of an end of Christ’s reign. But in Revelation Chapter 11:15 we read, "And the seventh angel sounded and there were great voices in heaven saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ and He shall reign ‘forever and ever.’" This passage clearly contradicts 1 Corinthians 15:25 in the KJV. Which will He do, reign "until" or reign "forever and ever?"

There are four places in the New Testament in which the adjective of "aion" occurs which proves beyond a doubt it cannot mean "endlessness, etc." These occurrences are: Romans 16:25, 2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 1:2, Philemon 15. I will also try to show with the first of these verses that the leading translations of this century contradict each other regarding this word. This should cause one to seriously study this out. You will clearly see that most translators followed their creeds instead of the Greek when it came to this word.

The 1901 American Standard, the first revision of the King James Bible, translates Romans 16:25: "Now to him that is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal." According to the way this verse is translated, the mystery has been kept in silence through times that are eternal. If it was kept secret in eternity, it can never be made manifest! But the verse tells us that now it is made manifest. This is total nonsense. The King James Bible says it was "kept secret since the world began" while the New International Version says "hidden for long ages past." Here we see how leading translators are not in agreement as to how to handle this word. We have "eternal," " world," and "ages." This should at least cause one to seriously study this out. After all, the reputation of our Father is at stake. Does He torture mercilessly forever, annihilate a creature He made, or correct until He accomplishes a perfect work in each of His children through love and patience?

In 2 Timothy 1:9 and Titus 1:2, the 1901 American Standard reads "before times eternal." Now what on earth is that supposed to mean? If "eternal," an adjective means without beginning or ending, how can there be a "before?" This is a contradiction in three words! This shows that the translators obviously did not understand the clause which they were working with. If they had not been locked into their "eternal torment creeds," they might have been able to correctly translate the verse. The traditions of men do often blind us to obvious truth.

The King James Bible in Philemon 15 says of the runaway slave, "For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever." The American Standard also says "forever." So according to these two leading translations, this slave will remain Philemon’s slave for all eternity. The New International has him back "for good." That makes more sense than "forever," but it is not correct. "Aion" never means "for good." This is paraphrasing of the most corrupt kind.

"Ages" have ends. All of the ages will one day end. To teach otherwise is to contradict Scriptures such as 1 Corinthians 10:11 and Hebrews 9:26 which speak of the "end of the ages." The King James in Hebrews 9:26 speaks of "end of the world," but the Greek word "aion" here is in the plural form "ton aionon." This is nothing short of just sloppy translating. In many other passages of Scripture, the King James Bible does not pay attention to the number of the word, that is, whether it was plural or singular.

The Bible clearly teaches a "pre-aion" period, at least 5 aions or ages, and a "post" aion period. There is a "before the ages," "times past," "present ages," "these ages," "future ages," and a "consummation of the ages." If the translators of some of the leading Bibles dropped their tradition of translating according to their doctrines and translated according to what the Greek and Hebrew languages say, we would not have apparent contradictions in our translations and we would clearly have a Bible that is in perfect agreement to all of the attributes of our Father, not just some of them. The Scripture "Love never fails" would be true for every person born under the sun. Some denominations make Him to be clearly a "respecter of persons" which, again, forces the Bible to contradict itself due to people forcing their traditions into the Scriptures. Clearly, He is not a respecter of persons if we see the whole picture. Our problems have always stemmed from judging the end by what we presently see. We must be seated in "heavenly places’ in order to see the beginning and the end.

Now let us go back to our study. We dealt with "aion." Now let us look at the word "destruction." The Greek word translated "destruction" in 2 Thess. 1:9 is "olethros." This word is a cognate of the Greek word "apollumi." See Strong’s Concordance. This word "olethros" occurs in other Scriptures that proves this word does not mean "destruction without hope of life." I will quote a Scripture to show that this is true. "To deliver such an one to Satan for the destruction (olethros) of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." (1 Cor. 5:5, KJV) As this same Greek noun is used in 2 Thess. 1:9 and 1 Cor. 5:5, it is clear that this kind of destruction, does not eliminate the possibility of future life.

If one studies the Scriptures and reads 2 Thessalonians 1:9 and reads "everlasting destruction," they would assume the Scriptures teach annihilation, but as we know, "aion" and "aionios" cannot mean endlessness, and "destruction" (olethros) cannot mean destruction with no hope of future salvation. Enough said.

As we have seen, one cannot make a scriptural case for "everlasting destruction" when one looks at what the Greek words refer to. Clearly these words do not teach a destruction from which there is no hope of restoration or else Jesus could not have been resurrected. We will now look at the Old Testament and discover that the Hebrew is harmonious with the Greek on this subject.

In this Scripture, we have the word "destruction" followed by "Return ye." Therefore, the word "destruction" cannot refer to "everlasting destruction."

Job spoke these words, yet Job was not annihilated. He lost all that he had, but it was all restored to him and more. When Job was in the condition that everything was lost, he was "destroyed."

The following Scriptures are often quoted to prove "endless destruction," or annihilation.

This Scripture certainly teaches "destruction" as the wicked will burn as stubble; they shall be ashes, but there is nothing in this Scripture which indicates they are beyond the power of the Creator to restore life later. In fact, many of the Hebrew saints are now sleeping in the dust, but their sleep will come to an end. Many saints were burned to death by the church and their ashes were treated in a worse manner than to be stepped on, but this does not mean they will not receive life later on. The fact that man, whether righteous or unrighteous returns to ashes and dust, presents no problem for the Creator since these are the very materials man first came from.

Isn’t it rather strange, that this whole business of "eternal torment," "eternal death," and the "salvation of all" seems to center around what kind of "fire" we are going to meet? John said the Judge of all men would baptise people with the Holy Spirit and fire. Jesus said His words were "Spirit and Life." Remember the words of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, "Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked with us. . .?"

There was a time when I felt led to go into a particular jewelry store. I had no desire to enter, as I had felt I had worn out my welcome with the Jewish woman owner. Being located next door to my business, I frequently visited her trying to lead her to Christ. She, in very definite words, told me she had had enough. But following the leading, I entered again. She was by herself. The meeting was very awkward, but I felt I couldn’t leave. A customer then entered. The owner went to the back to get a custom piece of Jewelry this customer had ordered. "You will like this piece of Jewelry, Gary," said the storeowner. Seeing from a distance that it was a silver cross, I told her that I really didn’t care for religious jewelry of any kind. When she handed it to the customer, I could see that it was the words "Let go, Let God" in the form of a cross. At this point I found myself giving the shortest testimony I had ever given of how Jesus delivered me from alcoholism. With my head bowed down, I spoke for perhaps one and one half minutes. Upon finishing my brief testimony, this stranger came up to me and gave me a giant hug and said something like, "Your words are burning in my heart!" I will never forget that incident. I knew that short little testimony touched the very heart of her being and the best description she could come up with was "fire!" I present this story as a way of introduction to a subject much misunderstood by all of us. Let us look into the subject of "fire" from a Biblical point of view and not from our imaginative religious artists such as Dante and His "Inferno" and Michael Angelo’s "Last Judgment." Let us put the wild scenes of our carnal imagination aside and look into the "fire of God."

Perhaps the best way to test which of the three doctrines of the ultimate fate of all mankind, is to test each doctrine with the ultimate acid test, "fire." If "eternal torment" or "annihilation" by fire is the wages of sin, then surely, the Scriptures should be full of examples to that effect. Symbols, parables, and real events in the Scriptures should boldly declare this fate, and with no confusion or contradictions. But when we comb the Scriptures for examples of a fire barbecue finale, instead, everywhere we look we find heaven filled with fire and even earth filled with fire. As a matter of fact, when we really analyze fire, apart from misuse of fire, fire is very beneficial. Will we attribute to God that He will ultimately misuse fire? Let us look at the subject of fire.

First of all, we know today, that we are literally on fire. Do we not burn our food? The military has binoculars which see in the dark. They see heat. Human beings can be seen because they are giving off heat. We are slowly burning.

Does not fire make meat taste better and rid it of disease? Do you not enjoy the warmth of fire in the wintertime? Do you enjoy the comforts of electricity, light, radio, computers, telephones, ovens, laser technology, etc.? Fire, when properly controlled, is very beneficial to mankind. Apart from the sun, there would be no life on this planet. Even the stars billions of miles away are helpful to man in navigation and make the dark night more enjoyable to behold.

When we come to the Scriptures, it is even more abundantly clear, that "fire" is the very symbol, not of death, not of eternal torment, nor of fearful judgment, but of life itself. Fire, in the Scriptures, is not a symbol of His judgments, but of His very being! It is here we find the true touchstone of which of the three teachings we have been discussing is true.

Fleshly minded thinking is very fearful of God who is an all-consuming fire! His fiery presence, however, will not destroy or eternally torture, but will purify, will cleanse us from sin, from false images of Him, from earthly thoughts. From science we have discovered that fire does not really destroy, in the sense of leaving nothing. Fire takes compound elements and reduces them to simpler forms. Did He not say, "Unless you become as little children, you will not see the kingdom of God." Simple thoughts. Religions are usually very complex. The longer it has been around, the more complex it becomes. When Peter talked about the "very elements will melt with heat," he was talking about something much more complex than atomic elements that would be melted. The Greek word translated "elements" in 2 Peter 3:12, is the word "stoicheion." When one looks at other places this word is used such as in Galatians 4:3 and 4:9, we discover that atoms are not what Peter had in mind. The very laws, rudiments, principles which hold people in bondage will be burned. Systems of religion will be destroyed! The word "religion" comes from two Latin words "re" and "ligare" which means to "return to bondage."

Yes, the carnal, religious mind has always been fearful of God. When God manifested Himself as fire on the mountain, the children of Israel told Moses they didn’t want to meet Him. The flesh and carnal (fleshly) thinking never wants an encounter with God. The carnal mind wants to worship its own creation and concepts of God. He will consume, burn all earthly thinking (low life) and break it into lowly, meek, simple, child-like faith. Prideful religious thoughts cannot stand in His Presence. Perfect Love casts out fear. Religious systems are built on fear. These complex systems of myriads of do’s and don’ts, rituals, creeds, formulas will be reduced to nothing for that is what a lie is . . .nothing.

An encyclopedia could be written on this beautiful verse which few Christians really understand. If truly understood, this verse alone would dismantle the religious monstrosities of the world. If one studies this verse carefully, one will discover that salvation is an "All God" situation depending upon nothing but Himself. Is not Jesus Christ the author and finisher of your faith? (Heb. 12:2) We are His workmanship; we are created in Christ Jesus; the works are His prepared before the foundation of the world. It is the faith of Jesus that saves us and finishes our salvation.

Look, Abraham wanted to cut a covenant with God. I won’t go into the long details of how covenants were make in those days, but the final part of the ritual was cutting some animals in half (flesh) and walking between the pieces saying something to the affect "If you break this covenant, then let your body become as one of these animals." "As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him." (Gen. 15:12) Then: "And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram." Gen. 15:17,18)

This is the kind of covenant that God makes with all of us. Our flesh falls asleep and is ridden with fear. Then God cuts the covenant with Himself, Father and Son. Man under the fear of death which was inherited from Adam, is absolutely incapable of cutting any kind of covenant with God. Our religious do’s and don’t fall far short of God’s free gift. The works of our flesh will be burned up. The above covenant requires two parties, but man was not one of them. In this passage, God represents Himself as a "smoking oven" and a "burning torch." In this covenant, that which was burned up was flesh, but not Abraham’s body, it was his works that were burned up. He is the Father of many nations and "all the families of the earth" will be blessed through the "man of faith" who fell asleep while cutting a covenant with God. You, too, will fall asleep, and the works of your flesh which you offer Him for your salvation will be totally destroyed and counted as nothing. The "salvation" that we are to "work out" are the "good works" God put in us when we became part of His body. They are His works, his gifts, not ours, lest we boast.

Let us look into the Kingdom of our Father and see what we behold. As we have been told by Scripture, our God is an all-consuming fire and He is a jealous (zealous in some translations) God. We find this in Deuteronomy 4:24. He then tells them they will worship idols, do evil in His sight which will cause Him to be angry. He will then utterly destroy them, but then immediately tells them He will not forsake them, nor destroy them because He is also a merciful God and will not forget the covenant He made with our fathers. (Deuteronomy 4:24-31) Unless we understand that He has the power to kill and then make alive again, this kind of talk is foolishness. But our Father and Potter of men can and will refashion us for our good.

As we approach His Kingdom, the flesh and carnal mind become extremely fearful. Why? Because flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom. We already mentioned Abram. When Ezekiel was approached by Him, His glory appeared as fire. (Ez. 1:27,28) This righteous man fell like a dead man. When Isaiah saw Him, the house was filled with smoke and a seraphim had to touch his lips with a hot coal because he, Isaiah became a man of unclean lips. The hot coal took away his iniquity. (Isa. 6:6,7) When Daniel saw the "Ancient of Days" His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire and a fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. (Daniel 7:9) In Daniel we also read of the three young Hebrew men thrown into fire 7 times hotter than normal and One like the Son of Man in their midst. When one truly refuses to worship the images made by man’s carnal mind, this kind of fire will only burn off the ropes put on by religious men! I do not hesitate to say, most reading this article are bound by ropes of religion, whether you are sitting on a padded pew, or at a home Bible study. Zechariah says He will be a wall of fire to Jerusalem. (Zech. 2:5) God’s ministers are a flame of fire according to Psalms 104:4 and Hebrews 1:7. He purges the blood of Jerusalem by the "spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning." When this happens "then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assembly, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering." (Isaiah 4:4-6) In Malachi chapter 3, Yahweh describes Himself as a refiner’s fire to purify the sons of Levi and to purge them as gold and silver that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness. Please note these are God’s priest being purged (burned) by fire for a good purpose, that they might present a righteous offering unto the LORD. Speaking of the sons of Levi, the priestly group, it is when His own people offer to the world "strange fire," that is when God really gets mad. (Lev. 1:10) When the real fire is present, the types and shadows do not need to be paraded. These two Israelites were robbing God of His glory. They wanted to perform the "shadow ritual" when the reality was actually present. Much that we count as holy and righteous will disappear when the True Righteousness appears. Does "eternal torment" or "annihilation" really glorify Him or is it beginning to sound more like "strange fire?"

When our Father answers prayers or manifests Himself in the earth, how does He manifest Himself? Moses saw Him as a burning bush. (Acts 7:30,31) Gideon was answered by fire. (Judges 6:21) David’s prayer was answered by fire. (1 Chron. 21:26) When God filled Solomon’s temple, how did He manifest? By fire! (2 Chron. 7:1, 3) Elisha was aided by chariots of fire. (2 Kings 6:17) The very Words that come out of His mouth are fire. (Psalm 18:8) I do not have enough pages in this book to declare that "God is an all-consuming fire!"

Now, man under his own religious system of do’s and don’ts, whether it is based on the Bible or not, will always be fearful of the "All-Consuming Fire." By the "law" shall no one be justified in His sight and therefore comes that expectation in the carnal mind of adverse judgment leading to an awful decision. If we choose "eternal torment" or "annihilation" as the end for anyone on this earth, we will find our conscience will condemn us to the same fate. And so, should the fire fall into our own laps, we will most certainly have a right to be fearful. With our conscience in such a condition, we will gravitate towards teachings that put off judgment as long as possible. Therefore, these systems have consigned the ultimate judgment to the end. The Bible shows no such thing. We are constantly judged. We are told we are to judge ourselves. We are to learn to judge amongst each other. The judgments of God are in the earth today. Nature all around us declares this, but because of our fear of meeting our Maker, we deceive ourselves.

In preparing this article, I read some of the leading teachings on the doctrine of annihilation. One very well written book was entitled, "The Golden Future" published by Bible Fellowship Union in England. The author begins the book by declaring "The voice of God has two mediums of expression--the Bible on the one hand, supreme in the sphere of ethics, and on the other hand Nature, now rapidly yielding her secrets to the scientist and investigator." This statement, perhaps, unveils the depth of the error of "annihilationism." Where is God in this statement?. He can only speak to man by a little book or by trees and birds and clouds? How foolish! Has He lost His presence? Is He mute? Is His fire out? Are dreams and visions off limits now? Have words of knowledge and prophesy disappeared now that the incorrectly called "New Testament" has appeared? Does the dove again have no place to land? Where did this idea come from that because God added 27 more books to the Bible, He can only speak through the Bible and "nature?." In these last 27 books, do we not find angels? Don’t men and women dream dreams and prophesy? Does He not also speak to men like He did with Paul? Are men and women no longer supernaturally gifted? Were the dead no longer raised? The last 27 books reveal that rather than these things being eliminated, they were increased! If you have not experienced this increase, please don’t blame God, perhaps you need to move out of the realm of unbelief you reside in. Let us return to the fire!

Jesus said, "I am come to send fire on the earth" and on the day of Pentecost "tongues of fire" came upon a group who testified in the power of the Holy Spirit and 3000 persons were added to the ekklesia. John and James wanted fire to come down on the Samaritan’s heads to destroy them and Jesus told them, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s live but to save them." (Luke 9:56) I am afraid Jesus would have to repeat these words to most of the ekklesia, because this spirit is still very much alive in those who belong to Him. John the Baptist tells us that Jesus would "baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (Matt. 3:11) Everyone shall be salted with fire. (Mark 9:49) Fire will try everyone’s works. (1 Cor. 3:13) People will be saved "so as through fire," even though their works will be burned up. (1 Cor. 3:15) There is a Scripture where He tells us to be like Him. He tells us to pour coals of fire on our enemies heads. Those coals of fire are love! (Rom. 12:20) He tells us to expect fiery trials. (1 Peter 4:12)

Going into the last book of the Bible, should we expect to find a different kind of fire than what we have seen throughout the rest of the Book. We find lampstands that are the Ekklesia, seven stars in His right hand, gold refined by fire, lightenings, seven lamps of fire burning before the throne which are the seven Spirits of God, mornings stars, His eyes like a flame of fire, and a sea of glass mingled with fire.

It seems we had better get used to fire, in a literal sense, symbolic sense, and a spiritual sense. God did manifest Himself on earth as fire that consumed material substances. He also spoke of fiery trials, but they were not necessarily being burned at the stake as a heretic. He spoke of good deeds as "hot coals" on our enemies’ heads. The tongues of fire on the disciples’ heads did not burn their physical flesh. The tongue James says that "sets the course of nature" on fire has not destroyed this world with literal fire. (James 3:5,6) The 7 Ekklesias are not literal stars and Jesus Christ is not a literal lamb.

The book of Revelation begins with a sentence the carnal nature has overlooked. The carnal nature cannot receive the things of the spirit and as a result always finds itself overlooking the obvious. The book begins by saying in the King James Bible that this book is "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John." (Rev. 1:1) The word for "signified" is a verb whose noun form "semeion" literally means "a sign." A sign that says "to Jerusalem" is not Jerusalem. It points in the direction of the real city of Jerusalem. It is helpful to find the place called Jerusalem, but it is not Jerusalem.

Paul said he went to the third heaven and saw things unlawful to speak about. (2 Cor. 12:2) I know he said "I know a man in Christ . . .was caught up to the third heaven," but I am certain Paul was speaking of himself. Why was it unlawful for him to speak of these things? I also know a man who was caught up to the third heaven and I will tell you why it was unlawful for Paul to speak of these things. The spirit world, the real world cannot be truly expressed by human language. The clearest expression in human language falls far short of painting the reality of that world. The expression "unlawful" was used by Paul to say that if he talked about it in human words, it would not truly express the reality, it would fall short, which is what the Greek and Hebrew word for "sin" really means. I point this out that we may read the Book of Revelation with a proper perspective. We are dealing with symbols here which are mere representatives of spiritual realities. Do not expect frogs coming out of peoples mouths, a physical woman sitting on a beast which is also a city which will utterly be burned with fire. Why do people always put a physical sword into Jesus’ hands when in fact it is a sword coming out of His mouth? Because that picture looks foolish to the natural mind, so we put the sword in His hands. The churches are not really stars nor candlesticks. Jesus doesn’t really want you to be 212 degrees or minus 32 degrees indicating you are hot or cold but not luke-warm. The kings of the earth never really fornicated with this woman on a beast which is really a city. Is Jesus really dripping in blood? Is there really a winepress He is treading and is He really a dead Lamb sitting on the throne?

The Hebrew language is a language designed to create great pictures. It is a picture language full of great exaggeration to magnify things. Unless one leaves much room for hyperboles, allegories, and parables, one will most certainly twist the Scriptures to their own destruction. While the last 27 books of the Bible come to us in Greek, they borrow the symbols of the Hebrew to convey to us the symbols He uses to express spiritual truths. Even in the last 27 books, Jesus did not speak apart from parables.

I am afraid most of us are very guilty of picking and choosing what is symbolic, what is spiritual, and what is literal. John’s statement at the beginning of the Book of Revelation says this book is a book of signs. Signs point to a reality, they are not the reality themselves. How does one express something that happens to a nation over many generations in one word or sentence? It cannot be done. The only way to truly understand an event covering millions of people over decades of time in earthly languages is to give "signs," which will fall short of conveying reality.

I have been pierced by the sword which comes out of Jesus mouth. He slew me and yet I live! It was not the words written in the book of Revelation about a sword out of His mouth that slew me, but the very Word of God Himself! The reality, not the symbol, nor the written word. And this death actually brought me to life!

The carnal mind cannot separate the physical, the symbol, and the spiritual reality. It will bypass the spiritual reality and call the symbol, reality. Only when it becomes absurd, will the carnal mind treat the symbol as a symbol. The reason I am spending so much time belaboring this point, is because this desire for man to bring God and His symbols down to man’s language is perhaps one of our greatest errors. We make beautiful parables designed to each us something very beautiful into something terrible and grossly distorted. The parable of Lazarus and the Rich man is a classic example. I will not go into the 5 parables in Luke 15 and 16 which have been twisted into all kind of devilish foolishness. We have literature and audiotapes on that specific subject. I have spent so much time laying down this foundation of understanding the difference between these three different forms of expression because the book of revelation is perhaps THE book with which all kinds of liberty have been taken to twist these "symbols, signs" to conform to all sorts of scenarios of what God is going to ultimately do with you, your friends, and your enemies.

Only when we read this book with a heart after Him, only after we have begun to truly be conformed to His image by the renewing of our mind, only when we keep all of His attributes together, not setting one or the other aside, and only when we leave the signs exactly what they were meant to be MERE SIGNS, can we begin to harmonize and see what this book is all about. Leave the sword in His mouth and then try to kiss Him. And when you have been put to death by His Word and you have died to sin and been made alive to Christ, then you will begin to see that the lake of fire is as much a symbol as every symbol in the whole book. Now let us talk about what the "lake of fiery brimstone" speaks about. Remember, if you have a hard time picturing yourself kissing the Son with a sword in His mouth or if you have a hard time snuggling up to a dead lamb on a throne, you should have just as hard a time seeing yourself, friends, family, or enemies, either being tortured in an eternal lake of burning sulfur, or see them being nuked, or vaporized into nothing. They were not made from nothing and they will not return to nothing!

I find it absolutely amazing how our carnal mind works. The Scriptures tell us that our minds cannot conceive that things He has in store for us. His love is infinitely greater than ours, and yet we manage to concoct scenarios which make the love of a mother more loving than the love of our Father. It never ceases to amaze me. One would think that if His love truly manifested in our hearts, we could not help but to hope and believe He will save all mankind, even if our Bible translation said the opposite. It seems even if our Bible said He would torment everyone, it would seem there would be people today who would act like Abraham and Moses and plead and intercede for mankind. Moses, asked Him to forgive Israel when they worshipped the calf and committed many sexual sins. Abraham dared reason with God about Sodom and Lot.

It would seem that those filled with the love of God would spend hundreds of hours combing the Scriptures, spend days praying to Him, pleading for mankind. But that is not the case. Most Christians, when doing what they call "Bible Study" spend hours memorizing Scriptures to prove He is a tormentor or annihilator. When we try to prove the Love of our Father, we find His love is steadfast and true, even if our translation of the Bible is ridden with error. When your heart is after Him, He will reveal many things to you like what I am about to show you.

In the book of Revelation, while I was studying the lake of fiery brimstone for this article, I came across some major discrepancies among the leading selling Bibles. Looking further, checking the Greek manuscripts, there were differences between various manuscripts. As a result, we have renderings such as the following (Revelation 13:8):

I left the word "worshiped" spelled incorrectly in Living Bible because that is how it is spelled in the two copies I have. The old translations like the King James and the new ones have something in common, they both made mistakes, like this simple spelling error. However, they also make some great mistakes, some which will affect your whole life and your relationship to God. This passage is an example which I just recently found.

Those of you who carefully read each translation above should have discovered four completely different ways the passage was written. There are clear important doctrinal issues involved. Focus on the clause "before or from the foundation of the world." Notice the KJV and NKJV have the lamb being slain from the foundation of the world, but translations such as the NRSV and the NEB have the names written from the foundation of the world. Others such as the NIV write it in such a way as to not be able to tell when the names were written, and then we have the Amplified which puts the clause in twice to make it appear that the names written before and the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world. The NAS notes both ways. That is more honest, but it doesn’t solve the problem for us.

You see, if your name was written in the book before the foundation of the world, and that is why you will not worship the beast, then it is not your doing, it is all God. It is true predestination, something which the "annililation groups" don’t care for because it takes away "free will."

Now which of the four ways is correct? Or is there a fifth and a sixth way? We are dealing with major doctrines here which Christians have literally killed each other over. Can one determine the true meaning of this passage? Is it important? Does you life depend upon you knowing the correct way to deal with this passage? If you were pre-elected, you can’t miss, but those who weren’t pre-elected cannot help but to worship the beast. How can God find fault? Bibles are full of these kind of problems. Why are not these kind of issues brought up in Bible studies? I had to find these things out on my own. Now then, if your salvation is depended upon your knowing the Bible and what it says to you, these kind of problems should have you worried. I have 15 feet of shelving full of different Bible translations. Believe me when I say there are major doctrinal differences among the best of Bibles. Does that bother you? It doesn’t bother me.

You see, for me, these tormenting questions are meaningless. I know that if it was up to me, I could never hold up to my part of any agreement with Him. I, like Abram and Jesus’ disciples would fall asleep. I have cast my cares upon Him for I have discovered He truly cares for me, has given His life for me. I know who the author and finisher of my faith is. Do you? If you don’t, you will live in torment. You will work out your salvation in your strength and come up short. It is guaranteed. And all your efforts and all your works which your soul is full of, will find itself cast among the other filth found cast into the Refiner’s Fire, the Lake of fiery brimstone. Or have you not heard that "unbelievers" will have their part in the lake of fire? Those who trust in their own works do not believe Jesus did it all. Unbelievers! Did you not hear idolaters would be cast into the lake of fire? If God is not the "eternal tormentor" or "great annihilator" then have you not been worshipping a false image of God?! Idolater! And if you told those poor sheep around you all the things they must do to get right with God and put burdens upon them they could not carry, and He says He didn’t put any of them on their backs, are you not a liar?! Liars will have their part in the lake of fire! And if the "letter of the law" is truly death and you have been using the "letter" against people, are you not a murderer?! Murders will have their part in the lake of refining fire! If God truly Loved the world and saved the whole world, are not the Doctrines of Eternal Torment and Annihilation abominable?! The abominable will have their part in the lake of fire!. Are you getting the message? With this perspective in mind, let us take a look at the death of this kind of deadly thinking and see if there is hope for the abominable, murdering, lying, idolater who trusted in themselves and their own works, instead of the finished work of Christ.

We find this term only in this apocalyptic writing which has been attributed by many modern writers to John, the apostle. Much has been written about this writing. It was one of the last books to be accepted by the Catholic church as Scripture. It is hard for some today to imagine, but large portions of the early church did not consider books such as Hebrews, 2nd and 3rd John, 2nd Peter and others including the book of Revelation as Scripture. One of the reasons for the Book of Revelation’s late acceptance as Scripture was the poor quality of the Greek. A thorough study of the process of canonization is time well spent. It is a real fire that will test your faith. Fortunately, I have the faith given by Jesus Christ, not my faith in Jesus Christ. There is a world of difference.

Perhaps two of the main reasons this book has attracted so much attention is because of the promise of being blessed to those who read it and to those who hear the words of this prophesy and to those who keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. (Rev. 1:3) This was written 1900 years ago. Other translations say that the "time is at hand." There are generally four different types of interpretations of the book of Revelation: Preterist, Idealist, Historical, and Futurist. There are also four general theological perspectives on the book: Postmillennial, Amillennial, Premillenial, and Apocalyptic. A thorough study of the teachings of each of these eight camps should wean one from holding onto any of their pet eschatological systems too tightly. I am not going to touch any of the above. The subject is much to large. I am going to stick with two points: 1. The nature of our Father and His attributes, and 2. the language of the Greek regarding the subject of the lake of fire. This, apart from theological speculation, should convince anyone with a heart full of the love of our Father, that it never entered His mind to either eternally torment any human being nor to put them to eternal death. When the children of Israel burned their children to death in the worship of Moloch, He said, "such a thing never entered my mind!" (Jer. 32:35) Let us look at the Greek words in the book of Revelation which will bear this out. We will look at the lake of fiery brimstone.

The scriptural references for this lake are only to be found in the apocalyptic book of Revelation: Rev. 19:20, 20:10, 20:14, 20:15, and 21:8. The Bible defines this lake for us as the "second death." We find this term "second death" also only in the book of Revelation in the following places: Rev. 2:11, 20:6, 20:14, and 21:8. Perhaps Revelation 20:11-15 gives us the most clear definition:

I could write dozens and dozens of pages on this one portion of Scripture and not run out of material. I will try to stay focused and limit myself to the point that the "lake of fire" which is the "second death" does not refer to "eternal death" for any human being. I would like to point out at this time, most Christian writings of the first 3 or 4 centuries do not speak of a fire of "eternal torture" or "eternal death." They speak of "refining fire." For an article on the early Christian view of salvation, write for the article or tape The Early Christian View of the Savior.

The sea was made up of brimstone, called today sulfur. The word for sulfur in Greek in the word "theion." The words in Greek for God and divine are "theos" and "theios." The Greeks used brimstone for purifying their temples! Although carnal man is usually afraid of fire, fire is a symbol for God. Everyone’s works will be tested by fire. Who do you think that fire is? A lump of coal or a piece of wood or literal sulfur? NO! Our Father Who is an all-consuming fire will test the works. This is a symbol for God just as the Lamb and the Lion are but symbols of Jesus.

What happens to those who go into the lake of divine fire? Well, according to the KJV and the NIV, the devil, along with the beast and false prophet, will be "tormented day and night for ever and ever." Those of you who have received the teaching of "annihilationism" or "conditional mortality" have, I am sure, discovered that the word translated "torment" has a primary meaning quite different from the picture we get from the KJV and NIV. I won’t belabor the point. Just a few brief comments for those who do not know the primary definition for the Greek words translated "torment" in this passage is "touchstone." Webster’s tells us a touchstone is "a black siliceous stone allied to flint; used to test the purity of gold and silver by the streak left on the stone when rubbed by the metal. Any test or criterion by which to try a thing’s qualities." It was not until religious folks used instruments like racks and other painful devices to "test" the faith of accused heretics that the thought of torment and pain was added to a perfectly good Greek word which again referred to a "divine test." Gold also symbolizes divinity. Gold with impurities (dross) would show up deficient under the test of fire.

Both the KJV and the NIV say that they will be "tormented" day and night forever and ever. Here again, we will see both translations producing contradictions which would not occur had they translated "aion" correctly. The words "for ever and ever" are in Greek, "aionas ton aionon." The Zondervan Parallel New Testament in Greek and English, which has the KJV, NIV, the Nestle’s Greek text with a literal rendering beneath the Greek, reveals on page 771 that "aionas ton aionon" literally reads "ages of the ages." This makes much more sense since this passage also refers to "day and night." Technically, if "aion" means eternity, then this would be rendered "eternities of eternities" which is "absurdities."

A few more things about fiery sulfur. It cannot be put out by water. The benefits of sulfur are too numerous to mention. In its pure state, it is tasteless, odorless, and colored light yellow. It is used in various compounds for fungicides, sulfa drugs, many skin ointments, matches, vulcanization of rubber, dyes, fixatives in photography, special cements for anchoring metals, hardening paper and woods. Sulfuric acid is one of the most important of all industrial chemicals because it is employed not only in the manufacture of sulfur-containing molecules but also in the manufacture of numerous other materials that do not themselves contain sulfur such as phosphoric acid. The acid is used in numerous industries from fertilizer, petroleum, pigments, metals, and making organic products.

A little side story here just to stir further research on this subject. Brimstone was first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis where the "circuit" of the five cities was destroyed by fire and brimstone. This region is where we now have what is known as the "Dead Sea." This region has been known to be active off and on with fire for hundreds of years. The "Dead Sea" has brimstone deposits. Gehenna (hell) is a valley which leads to the Dead Sea. Although the subject is too detailed and complicated to get into in this article, there seems to be enough material to indicate that the "Dead Sea" and "Lake of Fiery Brimstone" which is the "second death" have some possible connections which have not been thoroughly evaluated in orthodoxy. Remember, Sodom, will one day be restored to her former estate. Sodom is in the vicinity of the Dead Sea. (Ex. Chapter 16)

Most of you have heard at least one end-time scenario of how the end of this age or world will come about. The book of Revelation is always the center of the story. Without the beasts, false prophets, lake of fire, and plagues, these stories lose their holding power. The charts would not be so graphically gruesome without these images. Perhaps the reader should know, that probably every generation in Christendom has lived has had those who believed they wer living in the so-called "end-time." The Montanists near the end of the second century believed in a prophecy which predicted the descent of New Jerusalem to a plain in Phrygia. They made this prediction seven years in a row, obviously being mistaken. Tertullian, a person very influential in turning Christianity away from the Hebrew concepts towards the Roman military legal philosophies was a member of this sect. Tertullian was a lawyer whose language was Latin. We find many of those early men who influenced the church towards a more judgmental and cruel image of God spoke in Latin and used corrupted Latin texts of the Bible. See if you can detect the spirit of this man from his own words: "At that greatest of all spectacles, that last and eternal judgment how shall I admire, how laugh, how rejoice, how exult, when I behold so many proud monarchs groaning in the lowest abyss of darkness; so many magistrates liquefying in fiercer flames than they ever kindled against the Christians; so many sages philosophers blushing in red-hot fires with their deluded pupils; so many tragedians more tuneful in the expression of their own sufferings; so many dancers tripping more nimbly from anguish then ever before from applause." Does this sound like a person who loves his enemies?

We then come to St. Jerome who predicted the destruction of Rome in his day would usher in the end of the world. When the Reformation came on the scene,