The Heresy of Annihilationism

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

JesusLives

Senior Member
Oct 11, 2013
14,554
2,176
113
"No beginning and no end" means "everlasting" or "eternal". "Immortal" means not subject to physical death. God has immortatlity until the resurrection, at which point all the saints will also be immortal. We should never go with half truths.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. (1 Cor 15:53,54).

What was Paul talking about? The resurrection of the saints at the Resurrection/Rapture of the Church.

Christ the eternal Word of God chose to take a human body and made Himself voluntarily subject to death for our salvation. But God the Word was eternal, and He is now in an immortal glorious and glorified body. And all His saints will resemble Him, to the praise of the glory of God's grace.
I am speaking of RIGHT NOW we are mortal not the future when God changes us and our physical bodies and giving us eternal life.

That is the full truth not a half truth. I believe you knew I was also talking of right now.....
 

Radius

Senior Member
Feb 11, 2013
1,171
181
63
why do you believe the teachings of men. GotQuestions themselves reject annihilationism.
https://biblereasons-com.translate.goog/what-is-hell/
And who wrote that link you just posted? other "men" specifically a man named "Fritz Chery" lol. We cannot depend on our own interpretation of Scripture and our OWN discernment for everything we come across in the Bible. That's shortsighted and very naive.

"The Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to that chariot and stay by it.” 30So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31“How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him."

God uses men to help us understand the Bible.
 

NilsForChrist

Active member
Jan 31, 2023
183
86
28
And who wrote that link you just posted? other "men" specifically a man named "Fritz Chery" lol. We cannot depend on our own interpretation of Scripture and our OWN discernment for everything we come across in the Bible. That's shortsighted and very naive.

"The Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to that chariot and stay by it.” 30So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31“How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him."

God uses men to help us understand the Bible.
That doesn't mean souls would cease to exist in the lake of fire.
 

Mem

Senior Member
Sep 23, 2014
7,230
2,208
113
I DID NOT SAY THAT !

Here is where ignorance comes into play, not comprehending what is said causes division, disputes debates ect..........

The Spirit IS STILL WORKING HERE ON EARTH, RIGHT?
He still convicts of sin, correct?

If folks are given the choice of " eternal life", or poof ,it's over for you, baby".........what do any think is the choice of the many?

Annihilation is FALSE !

Please folks if you lack COMPREHENSION don't respond to me for I lack PATIENCE ! Thanks.
Post # 353 is direct to @Mem
You're welcome.
 
Mar 4, 2020
8,614
3,691
113
Annihilationism isn't heresy, but it isn't really the best term to use.

Conditional immortality is a better term used to describe what it's talking about.
 

Lucy-Pevensie

Senior Member
Dec 20, 2017
9,388
5,729
113
Me too! Plain life would be a world better than even a sparkly death.
You know God. But what message do you have for atheists & agnostics? "Rejecting God leads to - annihilation"
They already believe that.
 

Blade

Well-known member
Nov 19, 2019
1,803
631
113
19 Pages I didn't read sorry. I really truly don't like *ism's. So forgetting what I know (shh its easy but can be hard lol) and searching does this mean "Annihilationism asserts that God will eventually destroy the wicked, leaving only the righteous to live on in immortality. Thus those who do not repent of their sins are eternally destroyed because of the inherent incompatibility of sin with God's holy character."

So this is heresy? Or is there :) more then one meaning we are running with today?
 

JesusLives

Senior Member
Oct 11, 2013
14,554
2,176
113
Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

"Destroy" in the Bible usually refers to violent action causing physical death.

Revelation 20:6Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

When Jesus died he died the second death on our behalf. The wicked will be destroyed and die the second death in the fire used to cleanse the earth from all sin and death at the end.
 

JesusLives

Senior Member
Oct 11, 2013
14,554
2,176
113
PS: John didn't say anything about the fires of hell burning when he wrote about I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
 

Mem

Senior Member
Sep 23, 2014
7,230
2,208
113
You know God. But what message do you have for atheists & agnostics? "Rejecting God leads to - annihilation"
They already believe that.
I'm not going to make anything up just because I think it'd make them be more receptive to the gospel.
 

CS1

Well-known member
May 23, 2012
13,112
4,374
113
Let me introduce you to the true God-Deut 32:4--All of his ways are JUSTICE. He taught all that perfect justice he stands for= An eye for an eye. That means his justice scales are in perfect balance.

So for 70-100 years of an unrepentent life, God could not or would not punish a weak little mortal for trillions x trillions x trillions of never ending years of punishment in a place of firey torment. Only a sadist would do such a thing. God is love, merciful, .

As well a single teaching in the NT proves it was symbolic about eternal suffering. Mark 9:43-48-- 48 says-where the maggot( worm) does not die and the fire is not put out--Reality check--No maggot or worm could survive for 1 hour in a hot firey place, proving it is symbolism.

The true God set before all mankind-Deut 30:19=LIFE or DEATH.

Its a sad thing not knowing the true God and going through life believing he is the sadist you present. You listened to the wrong teachers-these-2Cor 11:12-15

If you are trying to use Deut 32: 4 as your verse to say there is no eternal hell and torment and suggest Jesus our Lord is lying.

When he is the authority on the topic. Your opinion is just that. What is sad, is those like yourself who use human reasoning and take scripture out of context. you said :

"Reality check--No maggot or worm could survive for 1 hour in a hot firey place, proving it is symbolism."

lOL FYI hell is a Spiritual place created by God who is eternal for the devil and his Angel that are spirit beings. Yes, Symbolism is used with reality to enforce the seriousness of hell and its eternal condition of those who go there.

Jesus doesn’t only reference hell, he describes it in great detail. He says it is a place of eternal torment (Luke 16:23), of unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43), where the worm does not die (Mark 9:48), where people will gnash their teeth in anguish and regret (Matt. 13:42), and from which there is no return, even to warn loved ones (Luke 16:19–31). He calls hell a place of “outer darkness” (Matt. 25:30), comparing it to “Gehenna” (Matt. 10:28), which was a trash dump outside the walls of Jerusalem where rubbish was burned and maggots abounded. Jesus talks about hell more than he talks about heaven and describes it more vividly. There’s no denying that Jesus knew, believed, and warned about the absolute reality of hell.

I will take Jesus at his word over your rationale and opinion of hell, not an eternal place.
 

Aaron56

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2021
3,044
1,799
113
I'm not going to make anything up just because I think it'd make them be more receptive to the gospel.
Right? As if the gospel was written to scare people into conversion.

Eternal Torment is correct as long as "eternal" is understood to be the end of the age. The word "eternal" can mean "till the end of age" or "age upon endless ages" or "the nature of a thing". Wisdom is required to understand the meaning.

Sinners are destroyed when they are thrown into the Lake of Fire. And the Lake of Fire passes away before the New Heaven and New Earth appear.

In the end, God will be "All in All". At this time He will not exist within the Lake of Fire because the Lake is no more and He is never subject to judgement.

Eternal Conscious Torment was created to scare people into conversion and is one way the church was made weak: I mean, when you give people the choice between Eternal Conscious Torment and something else they will always choose something else. So the pews were filled by people wanting to avoid Hell and not necessarily wanting to follow the Lord.
 

PennEd

Senior Member
Apr 22, 2013
13,614
9,127
113
In the end, God will be "All in All". At this time He will not exist within the Lake of Fire because the Lake is no more and He is never subject to judgement.
Obviously God will not inhabit the LOF.

But where does it say the LOF will cease to exist?
 

Mem

Senior Member
Sep 23, 2014
7,230
2,208
113
Right? As if the gospel was written to scare people into conversion.

Eternal Torment is correct as long as "eternal" is understood to be the end of the age. The word "eternal" can mean "till the end of age" or "age upon endless ages" or "the nature of a thing". Wisdom is required to understand the meaning.

Sinners are destroyed when they are thrown into the Lake of Fire. And the Lake of Fire passes away before the New Heaven and New Earth appear.

In the end, God will be "All in All". At this time He will not exist within the Lake of Fire because the Lake is no more and He is never subject to judgement.

Eternal Conscious Torment was created to scare people into conversion and is one way the church was made weak: I mean, when you give people the choice between Eternal Conscious Torment and something else they will always choose something else. So the pews were filled by people wanting to avoid Hell and not necessarily wanting to follow the Lord.
Exactly! If ECT is a lie that crept in and the church adopts it as the truth, then they deceive not only those they've meant to bring into the church but themselves also.
 

Aaron56

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2021
3,044
1,799
113
Obviously God will not inhabit the LOF.

But where does it say the LOF will cease to exist?
When the old heaven and earth pass away.

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”


This is God's declaration after the White Throne Judgement. I believe "all things" means "all things". So, anything prepared in the prior age "for the devil and his angels" is not included in the "new" unless we assume a new Lake of Fire is created.

But then, God could not be "all in all" as was revealed to Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. God would be "all in all except those in the Lake of Fire".

The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.
 

Mem

Senior Member
Sep 23, 2014
7,230
2,208
113
Eternal Conscious Torment was created to scare people into conversion and is one way the church was made weak: I mean, when you give people the choice between Eternal Conscious Torment and something else they will always choose something else. So the pews were filled by people wanting to avoid Hell and not necessarily wanting to follow the Lord.
And not necessarily following the Lord effectively leads them to Hell even though they've positioned themselves as though they are leading away from it.
 

Aaron56

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2021
3,044
1,799
113
And not necessarily following the Lord effectively leads them to Hell even though they've positioned themselves as though they are leading away from it.
Yes.

This is one reason the church is weak: we've elevated the fearful, because of our own doctrine, to positions of leadership.

By this time it is so metastasized that we can no longer tell the cancer tumor from the healthy body.