Annihilationism is the philosophical teaching that all people who have not trusted in Christ as Savior will, upon the Day of Judgment or sometime afterward, be annihilated. In other words, God will cause them to cease to exist. Different annihilationists have slightly different ideas about the order of how it works.  There is instant annihilationism and gradual annihilationism.

Instant Annihilationism

Some annihilationists believe that once a person dies, his soul instantly ceases to exist. Upon the Day of Judgment, he is “re-created” to be judged, and then he is immediately annihilated. But, this is problematic because there is no continuity between the person who first was created and then was re-created. It is a logical difficulty to assert that the person who completely ceases to exist is actually the same person who is re-created. Without a continuous existence, this is difficult to defend. This is why criticism of this position is that the second person is an exact duplicate of the first person. This is a serious problem.

Gradual Annihilationism

Other annihilationists teach that upon death people go into a state of soul sleep, with no activity, and will gradually be destroyed. This is a condition where the person still exists, but is unconscious, has no experiences, and is unaware. Then on the Day of Judgment, he is awakened to face God’s judgment and is annihilated. This avoids the problem with the first view dealing with continuity. But it is also problematic in that it ties the existence of the soul with that of the physical body and implies the soul is a property of the physical. This has its own difficulties as well. In addition, how does a person who is alive exist without there being any activity? That is what life is.

Then others teach that upon the death of a person, he enters a state of soul sleep. On the Day of Judgment, he is awakened and faces the sentencing of God who assigns him a period of suffering that is in proportionate to the level of sin that he committed on earth. After the appropriate length of time of his suffering has been completed, he is annihilated. But this is problematic because if the person is judged by his sin, which is breaking the law, and the law requires punishment, then why isn’t he saved after he fulfills the requirement of the law by his punishment?

Shifting the definition

Annihilationists consider the action of God annihilating a person to be Eternal Punishment. They equate eternal punishment with eternal nonexistence. But, this is problematic since punishment is experienced and nonexistence is not. Punishment is an action of God that occurs in time. Nonexistence is not. To affirm their position, annihilationists shift the definition from the action of God’s judgment to the result. But this doesn’t work. Eternal punishment is not the same thing as eternal nonexistence. If they were, then they would have the same attributes. But since they don’t, they’re not the same thing.

Comparing Eternal Punishment and Nonexistence
Eternal Punishment	Nonexistence
An action	Not an action
Is the supposed cause of non-existence	Is nothing
Occurs in time	Eternal non-existence does not occur in time
Completed in time	Eternal non-existence is not completed in time
Momentary	Eternal nothing has no ‘moment’

Why Annihilationism?

There are various reasons annihilationists hold to their positions. Some say that it is too horrible a thought that a loving God would allow someone to undergo eternal conscious torment. Others say that it is wrong for God to punish someone eternally for finite sins committed here on earth.

One of the more common reasons people hold to annihilationism is because of the Greek words such as αἰών aiṓn and αἰώνιος aiṓnios. They mean an age, a period of time, an extended period of time, and, depending on the context, “forever.”  So, since annihilationists deny eternal conscious torment, they often take verses that seem to teach it and say that the period of punishment is for “an age,” not forever. Take the following verse as an example.

• Revelation 20:10, “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

So in this case, if we were to apply the annihilationist interpretation, the devil, the beast, and the false prophet would not be tormented forever and ever. Instead, they would be tormented for an extended age which can end.  Then, once the age is completed, the wicked are annihilated.

But, this reasoning can work against them. Please consider this verse.

• Matthew 25:46, “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

As is obvious, Jesus contrasts eternal punishment with eternal life. It would make sense to say that if eternal punishment was only for age (if we assumed the word eternal means age of the ages), then eternal life would also only be for age. This would obviously be problematic for the annihilationist interpretation. So what they do? Simple. They shift the definition of punishment that a person experiences for eternity, and say that punishment is nonexistence that lasts forever. But of course, this does not make any sense because that which is non-existent doesn’t last forever.

Is conditionalism the same thing as annihilationism?

Annihilationism is also called conditionalism, though there are slight differences in the terms. All who hold to conditionalism also hold to annihilationism. But conditionalism deals with the believer, where annihilationism deals with the unbeliever. Conditionalism is the teaching that the person who has trust in Christ will receive immortality (eternal existence) in both body and soul. This continued existence is conditioned upon their faith in Christ. But, annihilationism deals with the unbeliever because it is the unbeliever who will be judged and brought to extinction by God on the Day of Judgment.

Conclusion

After a great deal of research, in the opinion of CARM, annihilationism is not biblical. It is false teaching. There are too many scriptures that speak of continued, conscious judgment for unbelievers

• Matthew 13:41–42, “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.“
• Matthew 25:41, “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”
• Matthew 25:46, “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
• 2 Thessalonians 1:9, “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,”
• Jude 6–7, “And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”
• Revelation 14:10–11, “he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
• Revelation 20:10, “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.