What is wrong with Annihilation?
20/06/2009
By Mark Farquharson
Annihilation is the believe that after the Great White Throne judgement, all unbelievers will get annihilated. That is they are killed, never to live again. The problem is the scriptures tells us that they are still alive after the Judgement. They are said to be outside the kingdom. This tells us that annihilation is incorrect, and unscriptural.
Revelation 22:14-15 Happy are those who are rinsing their robes, that it will be their license to the log of life, and they may be entering the portals into the city." Outside are curs, and enchanters, and paramours, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone fabricating and fondling falsehood." CLV
The place where unbelievers go, is the Lake of Fire, and it is know as the Second Death. Does this mean that they are dead forever? Of course not, the first death was not annihilation, and nether is the second. After someone dies they are asleep until the judgement. At the time of the judgement all the dead are raised. When someone dies they are not annihilated, so why believe that the Second Death is annihilation?
Scripture tells us that Death will be abolished:
1 Corinthians 15:25-26 For He must be reigning until He should be placing all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy is being abolished: death. CLV
2 Timothy 1:9-11 Who saves us and calls us with a holy calling, not in accord with our acts, but in accord with His own purpose and the grace which is given to us in Christ Jesus before times eonian, yet now is being manifested through the advent of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, Who, indeed, abolishes death, yet illuminates life and incorruption through the evangel of which I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher of the nations. CLV
Christ will abolish death, that is all death including the Second Death. This tells us that the Second Death is not annihilation. If all unbelievers are annihilated, then they would all be dead forever. Christ would not abolish death at all, He would have failed. This is incorrect, Christ is the saviour of all mankind, and will abolish all death.
Is the Second Death like the first, and people sleep? Actually no, people do not sleep. When someone is alive, they are dead spiritually. That is they don’t know God. Some people while they are alive find out about God, and they are born again. There condition goes from spiritual death, to being spiritually alive. However most people stay spiritually dead. After Judgement these people are still spiritually dead, that is why it is called the Second Death.
The Second Death is abolished, as all people in the nations become spiritually alive and all evil spirits become spiritually alive. Evil spirits are also spiritually dead, and they to will become spiritually alive.
The scripture tell us that the people in the kingdom heal the nations, that is the people outside. This tells us that the people outside are not asleep. The people outside are spiritually rinsing their robes, that is they are being spiritually cleansed. They are changing their spiritual condition. Once they have been spiritually cleansed they can enter the kingdom.
Copyright © Mark J Farquharson 2009
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