There is a view within conditionalism held by some who maintain that after a person dies without receiving Christ, he undergoes a period of punishment that corresponds to the sins that he committed while on earth. Then, after the required amount of suffering is completed, he is annihilated.

But, if the sinner has satisfied the requirement of the law in regards to his punishment, then why is he not allowed to go to heaven? Why does he suffer on additional “punishment” by being annihilated if he has satisfied the legal requirements of the law through his punishment?

Let me break this down step-by-step.

1. Sin is breaking the law of God (1 John 3:4).
2. It is a command of God’s law to believe in Him (Exodus 20:3-6; John 14:1).
3. Not believing and trusting in Christ is a sin since it is also a command of Christ to believe in him (John 14:1).
4. Laws have punishments when broken (Gen. 2:17; Ex. 20:7; 32:34; Lev. 5:17; 20:9; Num. 15:31; Nah. 1:3; Hosea 8:13).
5. Different sins (breaking the law) have different degrees of punishments (John 19:11; Luke 12:47-48).
6. When the punishment is completed, the person is released from his punishment (Lam. 4:22; Jer. 30:11).
7. Without any more punishment to be administered, the person should enter heaven since he has satisfied the requirements of the Law.

The amount of punishment a person suffers is related to the sins committed during his earthly life.  Some of the scriptures used to support this position are as follows.

• John 19:11, “Jesus answered [Pilate], ‘You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me up to you has the greater sin.’ ”
• Luke 12:47–48, “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, 48 but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”
• Heb. 10:29, “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?”

You can see from John 19:11 that some sins are greater than others. In Luke 12:47-48 and Heb. 10:29, there are degrees of punishment due to those sins.

There are two main variations within conditionalism regarding the order of punishment as it relates to annihilationism.

1. Immediate, conscious torment after death until it is completed and then the person is annihilated.
2. Soul sleep, then resurrection, then torment until it is completed, and then annihilation.

With either position, there is a serious problem.

Summary: The problem with punishment then annihilation

As is the case with any punishment, once a person completes his duration of suffering, no more judgment can be levied against the person. If the conditionalist says that the punishment is nonexistence, then there are two punishments according to this view of conditionalism: suffering and then annihilation. But, if a person’s sin necessitates a certain amount of suffering, and that person completes the law-required sentence, then why does he suffer an additional judgment of annihilation? It makes no sense. Furthermore, why doesn’t the person go to heaven since he has complied with the requirements of the law regarding punishment for breaking the law? There would be no more wrath to be administered. This would mean that this particular view of conditionalism (living on earth, dying, suffering in the afterlife for a while, then annihilation) would be unjust. Furthermore, it inadvertently accuses God of injustice by having Him administer an additional punishment of annihilation after the punishment according to the law has been satisfied.

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