“and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:26).

Conditionalists sometimes use John 11:26 to show that the fate of the wicked is non-existent destruction. They contrast “lives” with “die.” The living that Jesus is speaking about is eternal life, and so they conclude that the contrast is eternal death; namely, nonexistence. But, the text does not say people will stop existing. Eternal death could just as easily be eternal separation from God in conscious torment (Isaiah 59:2; Rev. 14:11; 20:10). Which is it? That is, of course, what the debate is about. Let’s look at the context.

“Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world,'” (John 11:21–27).

So, the context is the resurrection of Lazarus, where physical death is mentioned (vv. 21, 25). Jesus says that those who believe in him will never die (v. 26). This must be understood to be eternal life. So far, no problem. But, the word “die” doesn’t mean eternal nonexistence. In fact, does it ever?

The Greek word for “die,” in verse 26 is ἀποθνήσκω, apothnesko.  It occurs 111 times in the New Testament.  Following is a breakdown of its usages taken from Word Study on ‘death,’ apothnesko, sorted by meaning.

• Died with Adam, 2 occurrences
  • Rom. 5:15, the many died in Adam.
  • 1 Cor. 15:22, in Adam all die
• Died with Christ, 3 occurrences
  • Rom. 6:2, 8, we have died to sin, died with Christ.
  • Rom. 7:6, 8, died to the law
  • Rev. 16:3, every living thing in the sea died.
• Physical death, 77 occurrences
  • Matt. 8:32; 9:24; 22:24, 27; 26:35; Mark 5:35; 5:39; 9:26; 12:19; 12:20; ; 12:21; ; 12:22; 15:44; Luke 8:42; 8:52; 8:53; 16:22; 20:28; 20:29; 20:31; 20:32; 20:36; John 4:47; 4:49; 6:49; 6:58; 8:52; 8:53; 11:14; 11:16; 11:21; 11:25; 11:32; 11:37; 11:50; 11:51; 12:24; 12:33; 18:14; 18:32; 19:7; 21:23; Acts 7:4; 9:37; 21:13; 25:11; Rom 5:6; 5:7; 5:8; 6:7; 6:9; 6:10; 7:2; 7:3; 8:13; 8:34; 14:7; 14:8; 14:9; 1 Cor. 9:15; 1 Cor. 15:32; 1 Cor. 15:36; 2 Cor. 6:9; Gal. 2:21; Phil. 1:21; 1 Thess. 4:14; Heb. 9:27; 10:28; 11:4; 11:13; 11:21; 11:37; Rev. 8:9; 8:11; 9:6; 16:3
    • Matt. 8:32, the whole herd perished in the waters.
    • John 4:47, he asked Jesus to heal a boy at the point of death
    • Acts 7:4, …after his father died, God had him move to this country
    • Rom 5:6, Christ died for the ungodly
    • etc.
• Representative death, 2 occurrences
  • 1 Cor. 15:31, dying daily
  •  1 Thess. 5:10, Jesus died for us
• Substitutionary and Representative death, 1 occurrence
  • 2 Cor. 5:14, one died for all, therefore, all died
• Substitutionary death, 4 occurrences
  • Rom. 14:15, destroy with food for whom Christ died
  • 1 Cor. 8:11, weakening those for whom Christ died
  • 1 Cor. 15:3, Christ died for our sins
  • 22 Cor. 5:15, he died for all

Of course, I recommend you check out the article in the above link to see all the verses listed for yourself so you can understand how the word is used in different contexts. You might disagree with a categorization here and there, but at least you can see that I’ve taken a serious look at this word. In fact, I have not found a single instance in the 111 occurrences where the word means nonexistence.

Conclusion

John 11:26 does not necessitate the conditionalist interpretation that the death spoken of by Jesus is eventual nonexistence. The Greek word used there, ἀποθνήσκω, apothnesko, is never used of a person’s nonexistence. But, it is used for physical death over 77 times as well as representative death both in Christ’s substitutionary atonement and our spiritual dying with Adam. But as far as nonexistence being the meaning of John 11:26, it just isn’t there. The conditionalists force their opinion into the text to have it support their assumptions. Unfortunately for them, this verse is not good support for annihilationism.