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)
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.
“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?
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?
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?”
. . . 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.
If the immortal is also imperishable, it is impossible for the
soul to perish (apollumi) when death comes against it.
“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).”
“Have you never perceived,” said I, “that our soul is immortal and
never perishes (apollumi)?”
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;
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:
For Greek (ignore the Russian translation on the right, unless you
speak Russian!):
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:
Part 2:
A ten minute
explainer video on annihilation:
A collection of resources:
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:
