Their End is Destruction (4 words that support annihilationism versus either eternal torment or universalism)

Most Christian teachers in my conservative evangelical tradition teach that the final fate of the unrighteous is eternal torment. Many Christians from progressive and theologically liberal traditions teach that the final fate of the unrighteous is that they will all be saved (universalism). But the Apostle Paul teaches that the final fate of the unrighteous is annihilation.

Paul teaches the doctrine of conditional immortality, and the more specific doctrine of annihilation which conditional immortality entails, in a number of places (including in Romans 1:32, Romans 2:12, Romans 6:21-23, Romans 9:22; Galatians 6:8, and 2 Thessalonians 1:9). My focus in this blog post is four words that Paul wrote to the Philippians:

Their end is destruction

(Phil. 3:19a CSB17)

Paul’s words favor annihilation over eternal torment

Before I explain why ἀπώλεια (apōleia), the Greek word translated “destruction,” is much more likely to mean “annihilation” than “eternal torment,” there are a few preliminary points to be made:

1. The Greek word apōleia is a noun. It may be translated “destruction.” The Greek word apollumi is a verb. When used actively it may be translated “to destroy” and when used passively it may be translated “to be destroyed” or “to perish” (see John 3:16). Just as in English the noun destruction refers to either the process or result of something being destroyed, likewise in Greek we expect the noun apoleia to refer to either the result or the process of something being apollumi-ed. Therefore, when seeking to understand what specific type of destruction is intended, it is appropriate and helpful to examine not only the noun apoleia, but also the closely related verb apollumi.

2. Before arguing that Paul was referring to annihilation in Philippians 3:19, it is essential to know what we ourselves mean by annihilation in the context of the doctrine of conditional immortality. By annihilation we do not mean poofing out of existence. What we do mean is the complete and permanent end of life. When annihilation is complete something may possibly be left over like ashes and smoke or dust. What will not remain is any living person who is capable of feeling or knowing anything. In other words, annihilation basically refers to what we normally mean in everyday language by death. For those, like myself, who believe that we have an immaterial part of ourselves which may be called our soul, annihilation involves the death of both the body and the soul (see Matthew 10:28, where apollumi is used to describe what God will do to both the body and soul in hell). Annihilation does not rule out a limited time of conscious suffering before death. In fact, many annihilationists like myself believe that the unrighteous will suffer in some ways at the final judgment prior to perishing.

3. Like nearly all words in all languages, apollumi/ apoleia do not have just one simple, precise meaning which is the same in every context. These words have a range of related meanings and the precise meaning which is intended depends on the context. An especially important part of the context for apollumi/ apoleia is whether, in a given sentence, these words are referring to a person or to an inanimate object. Inanimate objects were never alive or conscious, so of course the meaning “to kill” or “to perish” does not apply to them.

With preliminaries out of the way, we can now look at the evidence that apollumi/ apoleia refers to annihilation, not eternal torment.

When referring to an object like a wineskin, apollumi can mean “to ruin”:

CSB17 Matthew 9:17 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined (apollumi). No, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."

If this verse was the only data point we had other than Philippians 3:19, we might be uncertain precisely what the end of the unrighteous is. If, like the ruined wineskin, your skin burst open and your insides poured out, of course you would die. So, this might support annihilationism. However, the wineskin was never alive or conscious to begin with, so it is difficult to compare its fate with the fate of a living person.

When referring to what happens to a person, the basic meaning of apollumi is that the person is killed or dies. This can be seen in many Bible verses including these:

CSB17 Matthew 2:13 After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill (apollumi) him."

CSB17 Matthew 8:25 So the disciples came and woke him up, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to die (apollumi)!"

^CSB17 Matthew 12:14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, how they might kill (apollumi) him.

The meaning of apollumi seen in the above three examples (and more could be given) supports annihilation because annihilation claims that the unrighteous do not go on living forever. The unsaved person dies.

Sometimes traditionalists (those who believe in eternal torment) argue that the kind of examples given above do not support annihilation because when a person dies on earth their soul lives on. However, this logic is not sound. When the disciples woke Jesus up during the storm, they did so because they thought they were going to die, not because they thought their souls were going to live on. Likewise, the Pharisees were not plotting how they might cause the soul of Jesus to live on, but rather how they might kill him. The point is that in these verses apollumi is focused on what happens to the body in this world, not what might happen to the soul that leaves the body. The dead body no longer can feel or think anything. When someone dies in this world, their body dies. (I’m assuming dualism is correct, which I personally believe, although I respect my brothers and sisters in Christ who believe otherwise). Only the body is apollumi-ed. However, when God casts a person into hell, both their body and soul will be destroyed (will be apollumi-ed). What happens to the body when a person dies now will happen to both their body and soul if they are not saved through Christ on judgment day. How do we know this? Jesus tells us:

CSB17 Matthew 10:28 Don't fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear him who is able to destroy (apollumi) both soul and body in hell.

This evidence is strong, but it would still be nice if we had examples of other Greek authors using apollumi in a context where they were clearly and unambiguously referring to the final fate of people after death. The authors of the New Testament repeatedly use apollumi in this way, but since their meaning is what is being debated in texts like Philippians 3:19, we can’t use most of these texts to establish the meaning. However, in some biblical texts there is enough context to help us. Consider, for example, John 3:16:

CSB17 John 3:16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish (apollumi) but have eternal life.

In John 3:16 “perish” is contrasted with having eternal life. Obviously, those who perish do not have eternal life. They do not live forever. If you don’t live forever, you can’t be tormented forever. So, the ordinary meaning of perish, and of apollumi, is supported, which points to annihilation.

It turns out we also have examples of extrabiblical authors using apollumi when discussing the final fate of people after death in this world. Plato, Plutarch, and Athenagoras all used apollumi to refer to a final fate where all parts of a person, including their souls, completely and permanently perish so that there is no consciousness left at all. None of these Greek authors agreed with annihilation, but they discussed it and they used apollumi to refer to annihilation. There are quite a few examples, so I’ve include them in an appendix below.

When all the data is considered, it is nearly certain that when Paul wrote “Their end is destruction” he was referring to annihilation, not eternal torment.

Paul’s words favor annihilation over universalism

Philippians 3:19 is even more difficult for universalists than it is for traditionalists. First, all the evidence above that by “destruction” Paul means the same thing that we mean by “annihilation” argues against universalism. If some people are annihilated, then those people don't receive the gift of eternal life. But what makes these words of Paul even more difficult for the universalist is that Paul is discussing “their end.”

If “destruction” means anything negative (and it certainly is not a positive word!), then the universalist is left with the difficult task of explaining how some people have a negative end when they claim all people are eventually saved.

I’ve heard universalists argue that it is only the sinful nature of the unsaved which is destroyed. But in Philippians 3:19 the word “their” is referring to people. It is not referring to their flesh or their sinful nature, it is referring to them. The New Testament authors knew the difference between people and their sin nature, and they sometimes do discuss the destruction of our sinful nature. However, this verse is talking about the end of people.

Sometimes universalists argue that any terrible fate mentioned (like being thrown into hell or put into fire) is indeed painful but serves as a process of purifying people and/or leading people to faith in Christ and that the outcome of this process is that everyone will be saved. However, in Philippians 3:19, Paul is teaching that for some people their end (Greek: telos) is destruction. Telos refers to an outcome, not a process that leads to an outcome. Their end is not salvation, their end is destruction.

Similar verses

Philippians 3:19 is not the only verse where we see that the end of the unrighteous is a fate that ends their lives. Perhaps the closest parallel is found in Romans 6:21-23, as seen in this graphic:

In Roman 6:21-23, Paul is contrasting two different outcomes (two different telos). Some will experience death. This death is contrasted with eternal life. Only those who are saved through faith in Christ Jesus have eternal life. The others do not receive this gift and thus do not live forever. Since they do not live forever, they can neither experience salvation (which involves eternal life) nor eternal torment (which requires living forever, since you can’t torment a dead person).

Similarly, consider this passage from 2 Corinthians:

CSB17 2 Corinthians 11:14 And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

15 So it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end (telos) will be according to their works.

Here, Paul says that the end of some false teachers will be what their works deserve. This passage by itself does not rule out eternal torment (plenty of other passages do that), but it certainly rules out the happy ending for all that is proposed by universalists.

There are other ways to refer to how people’s lives will turn out than referring to their telos. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contrasts two different endings by using the figure of two different roads. These roads do not lead to the same place in the end!

CSB17 Matthew 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction (apōleia), and there are many who go through it.

14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

This is yet another passage that teaches conditional immortality while ruling out both eternal torment and universalism. It rules out universalism because Jesus says only a few find the gate that leads to life. He doesn’t say that some find it now and others will find it later. He says few find it. Further, He says that many go through a gate that results in destruction. Here, destruction (apoleia!) is contrasted with life, so it does not make sense to say destruction is referring to a type of ongoing miserable life. Besides, we’ve already seen the linguistic data that indicates apoleia and apollumi were used to refer to annihilation.

Conclusion

With just four words in Philippians 3:19, Paul teaches us an important truth. Those who live as enemies of the cross have an end. Their end will be neither eternal torment nor eternal glory. It will be apōleia: an eternal, permanent annihilation.

The good news is that we have a Savior. Those who have faith in Christ can look forward to a much better ending. We will receive new bodies that will be like the glorified body of Jesus. These new bodies will be incorruptible (no more growing old, stiff, and feeble) and immortal (no more death). Our new bodies also will no longer constantly pull us away from the will of God through deceitful desires.

Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .

Appendix: Greek Authors using apollumi to refer to annihilation.

Helpful note: After each quote by Plato and Plutarch, I include a reference that you can click on. It will take you to the appropriate page on the online Perseus Digital Library. The English translation will be on the left side of the page. On the right side of the page, if you click the “load” button in the section labeled “Greek,” the accompanying Greek text will appear.  In addition to noting the uses of apollumi that refer to annihilation, I have also highlighted (put in bold) some other Greek words that New Testament authors used to refer to the final fate of the ungodly.

Plato

They fear that when the soul leaves the body it no longer exists anywhere, and that on the day when the man dies it is destroyed and perishes (apollumi), and when it leaves the body and departs from it, straightway it flies away and is no longer anywhere, scattering like a breath or smoke.

Phaedo, 70a

“But the soul, the invisible, which departs into another place which is, like itself, noble and pure and invisible, to the realm of the god of the other world in truth, to the good and wise god, whither, if God will, my soul is soon to go,—is this soul, which has such qualities and such a nature, straightway scattered and destroyed (apollumi) when it departs from the body, as most men say?

Phaedo, 80d

Now what shall we say to this argument, if anyone claims that the soul, being a mixture of the elements of the body, is the first to perish (apollumi) in what is called death?

Phaedo, 86d

And, Cebes, I believe, granted that the soul is more lasting than the body, but said that no one could know that the soul, after wearing out many bodies, did not at last perish (apollumi) itself upon leaving the body; and that this was death—the destruction (olethros) of the soul, since the body is continually being destroyed. Are those the points, Simmias and Cebes, which we must consider?”

Phaedo, 91d

. . . but its [the soul’s] very entrance into the human body was the beginning of its dissolution (olethros), a disease, as it were; and it lives in toil through this life and finally perishes (apollumi) in what we call death.

Phaedo, 95d

If the immortal is also imperishable, it is impossible for the soul to perish (apollumi) when death comes against it.

Phaedo, 106b

“But,” he said, “it is not needed, so far as that is concerned; for surely nothing would escape destruction (phthoron), if the immortal, which is everlasting, is perishable (phthoron).”

“All, I think,” said Socrates, “would agree that God and the Principle of life, and anything else that is immortal, can never perish (apollumi).”

Phaedo, 106d

“Have you never perceived,” said I, “that our soul is immortal and never perishes (apollumi)?”

Republic, 10.608d

Plutarch

And they are discomposed when they hear it said of any one, he is perished (apollumi), or he is gone, or he is no more;

Non Posse, 26

Athenagoras

. . . for God has not made us as sheep or beasts of burden, a mere by-work, and that we should perish (apollumi) and be annihilated (aphanizo).

Apology by Athenagoras, Chapter 31

On the contrary, it is reasonable to suppose, that those who think they shall have no account to give of the present life, ill or well spent, and that there is no resurrection, but calculate on the soul perishing with (sunapollumi) the body, and being as it were quenched in it, will refrain from no deed of daring; but as for those who are persuaded that nothing will escape the scrutiny of God, but that even the body which has ministered to the irrational impulses of the soul, and to its desires, will be punished along with it, it is not likely that they will commit even the smallest sin.

Apology by Athenagoras, Chapter 36

Helpful note:

The best free places I could find to read Athenagoras’s Apology are:

For English:

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicene_Christian_Library/Plea_for_the_Christians_(Athenagoras)

For Greek (ignore the Russian translation on the right, unless you speak Russian!):

https://archive.org/details/AthenagorasSupplBiilingua/page/n31

Related Resources for Further Study

I preached a two-part sermon introducing the biblical basis for annihilationism to the church I serve. Here is that sermon on YouTube:

Part 1:

https://youtu.be/LBpVLaf7hzQ

Part 2:

https://youtu.be/gR9Pf6ag2pU

A ten minute explainer video on annihilation:

https://youtu.be/gR9Pf6ag2pU

A collection of resources:

Mark’s Resources on Hell

In the conclusion to the blog post, I mentioned how our new glorified bodies will no longer have evil desires. If you want to read more about that encouraging topic, see this blog post:

What does Paul mean by a “spiritual body”?