FAQ 382
Can the Wicked Be Saved?
Or Will They Be Annihilated?
Q. Why do you believe in a messiah that will allow the wicked into the Kingdom, even though the Living Messiah of Scripture says that will never happen but that only those in the Book of the Lamb will enter (Rev.21:27), and that the wicked will one day be destroyed (Acts 8:32, Exodus 22:20, 2 Peter 3:7, 2 Peter 2:3, 2 Peter 2:12)?
A. Messianic Evangelicals have never believed or taught that Yahweh will allow the wicked into the Kingdom of Heaven/Elohim (God) - ever. Only those who change and become as innocent as little children (Mt.18:3; Lk.18:17), spiritually regenerated or born-again (Jn.3:5), do the will of Elohim (God) (Mt.7:21) or are willing to endure many hardships (Ac.14:22), will be permitted to enter. Indeed, "you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person - such a man is an idolater - has any inheritance in the kingdom of Messiah and of Elohim (God)" (Eph.5:5, NIV) and other scriptures make clear who will be excluded, and why.
The great error of orthodox Christianity is that it supposes that there are only two kingdoms - one of Light (Heaven) and one of Darkness (Hell), both of which, it claims, are eternal. That is an over-simplification, suitable for small children only. The Kingdom you allude to is the Kingdom inhabited by those who live in the Presence of Elohim (God) and the Lamb for ever, and specifically this is the Bride of Messiah. But not all believers are of the Bride, and the wicked certainly aren't.
We believe the Scriptures teach three truths:
- 1. Hell is not eternal, but aeon- or age-long - there is a Cosmic Jubillee at which Yahweh pardons the inhabitants therefeof but He does not (ever) - because of His justice - admit them into the Kingdom of the Righteous, and then only after a long period of affliction;
- 2. There are two kingdoms of the believers - the Kingdom inhabited by the Bride (in the presence of Yahweh and Yah'shua/Jesus) which Paul likens to the brightness of the sun and a Kingdom of lesser glory which Paul likens to the brightness of the moon (1 Cor.15:41-42) - before the proclamation of the Cosmic Jubillee in the far distant future; and
- 3. There will be MANY kingdoms after the Cosmic Jubillee - the first two (to which I just referred) and a third CATEGORY of (very dim) Kingdoms for those released from Hell which Paul likens to the brightness of the stars in the night sky, far, far away.
These, then, are the three resurrection CATEGORIES or KINGDOMS corresponding to what Scriptures teaches about the two Resurrection time periods:
All of this is explained in great detail on the hell page. To accuse us of teaching that the wicked will enter the Kingdom of the righteous is, I'm afraid, an outright fabrication and lie. The former inhabitants of hell at no time mix or mingle with those living in the Presence of Elohim (God) nor, for that matter, with the disobedient, lawless believers in the middle category.
Now to your scripture references. Before we examine those, it needs to be said that Messianic Evangelicals do not believe in the Jehovah's Witness doctrine of spirit-annihilation (also adhered to by some messianics and others), for reasons given elsewhere (e.g. see Soul-Sleeping).
One of the axioms of Messianic Evangelical exegesis is that a text without a context is a pretext for a false prooftext. None of the scriptures you reference has anything to do with the judgment or resurrection for the eternities, with the exception of one which is ambiguous. They all pertain to earth life only.
As Acts 8:32 has nothing to do with the wicked being destroyed. It is about the Ethiopian court official on his way to Jerusalem to a Feast reading the scroll of Isaiah (v.28) containing a messianic prophecy:
"The believer ('eunuch') was reading this passage of Scripture: 'He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth" (Ac.8:32, NIV).
Exodus 22:20 has nothing to do with the wicked being destroyed in eternity but in forfeiting their life ON EARTH:
"...whoever sacrifices to any god, other than Yahweh alone, shall be devoted to destruction" (NRSV)
That means, under the terms of the Old Covenant, that he was EXECUTED, i.e. destroyed out of the land (of Israel) and therefore out of physical existence on earth, and no longer visible to people on this plane of existence. As our comprehensive introduction to Hell website shows, there was virtually no comprehension of the afterlife at all at this time. The Hebrew theological knowledge about death and what lay beyond was virtually nil and was couched in the language of Sheol.
2 Peter 3:7 is easily misunderstood without reading the surrounding text:
"First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, 'Where is this 'coming' He promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.' But they deliberately forget that long ago by Elohim's (God's) word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men" (2 Peter 3:3-7, NIV)
Both those in the flood and those in the future global 'baptism of fire' (not the salvational kind) are destroyed off the earth. To understand the meaning of a word, you have to interpret it from previous Scripture. Here "destruction" (which can also be translated "perdition" (HRV) in both Aramaic and Greek) does not necessarily mean 'annihilation'. Indeed, the Greek apoleia can be physical, spiritual or eternal destruction, remembering that language's pagan background. Accordingly the whole counsel of scripture must be taken to establish the correct interpretation. Here Christians divide into essentially four schools of exegesis, and believe in:
- 1. Eternal hell, in which the spirit is conscious for ever and being tortured (see here), believed by the bulk of Christendom;
- 2. Annihilation (believed by Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, some Messianics and others) because there is no literal hell according to them;
- 3. Universal Salvation, in which everyone is eventually saved equally (what you falsely accuse us of believing); and
- 4. Universal Graded Salvation and the Cosmic Jubillee (believed by Messianic Evangelicals), which ackowledges the existence of torment in hell but not indefinitely, and not everyone receives the same reward.
The reasons Messianic Evangelicals believe as they do is based on a broad range of scriptural subject material. We would view this scripture in the same terms as Exodus 22:20, namely, the destruction is from the earth and the living thereon. If Yah'shua (Jesus) preached to those in Sheol who had died in the flood (1 Pet.3:20) then it is not unreasoable to assume - following the same pattern or tavnith - that He would do the same to those incarcerated after the destruction by fire. There is a lot obviously we don't know since Scripture is silent on many things but gleaning what the Bible says about this matter in full, Messianic Evangelicals have arrived at this summary:
Again, you should closely study the introductory article on hell and the materials that follow in the Register.
2 Peter 2:7 - I am not sure exactly what you had in mind with this passage which is clearly about the physical destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah:
"...and [Yahweh] also delivered righteous Lot who was tormented with the filthy conduct of the Torahless" (AENT)
but perhaps you had the preceeding verse in mind:
"..and turning to the cities of Sodom (S'dom) and Gomorrah ('Amora) into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live wickedly" (v.6, HRV).
Clearly the destruction is physical, the removal of both the cities themselves and their inhabitants. It does not speak of the afterlife or of future final judgment, but is a warning against the wicked and Torahless.
2 Peter 2:12. The third Petrine reference describes the fate of those who engage in evil speech:
"But these (those who despise authority, etc. - v.10), like nasty beasts that by nature are for slaughter and corruption, while engaging in evil speech regarding things they don't know, will perish in their own corruption" (AENT).
The nature of the perishing or destruction is not indicated save in comparison to "nasty animals (beasts)" so, again, the reference is again clearly to persihing from off the earth, as happens with a slaughtered animal.
Revelation 21:27: The final passage in your list is a straw man and really has no bearing since your quoting it falsely presumes we believe that the wicked will enter into the Presence of Elohim (God), which we do not:
"Nothing impure will ever enter it (the Qadosh/Holy City, New Jerusalem), nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Rev.21:27, NIV).
Neither the disobedient, lawless believers, nor the wicked idolaters, will enter into this heaven - the City of our Elohim (God) - even after hell has been emptied of its inhabitants. Such can never be allowed to enter into Yahweh's presence and glory.
You need to not only distinguish between different kinds of resurrection and kingdom glories but also between different kinds of salvation too. There is salvation from and there is salvation to; there is individual and corporate salvation; there is salvation from sin (possible only on earth) and salvation from hell, the place, possible only at the Cosmic Jubilee. There is salvation to Messiah and there is salvation from one place to another. You cannot apply an equal weighting to the different types of salvation and deliverance in scripture, some of which is purely physical (like salvation from military defeat), some of mind and heart (psyche), and (the most important) of the spirit, the essential nature of man.
This false accusation you have made is based on an over-simplification and over-generalisation of some scriptures. Likewise, there are different kinds of destruction. Those "destroyed" in Korah's rebellion were 'destroyed' by being swallowed up into the earth and forfeiting their lives (Jude 1:11). When Achan was executed (destroyed), so was his whole family, this being a coporate destruction on account of the nature of the covenant Israel had entered into at Sinai. Does anyone suppose that Mrs. Korah and their children were destroyed in eternity? We don't know, of course, but common sense would say otherwise. Achan brought death and destruction on his family for his own folly. Then there is another kind of 'destruction' that comes about by ungodly conduct:
"If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other" (Gal.5:15, NIV).
Not all destruction is obviously therefore, literal, but may be metaphorical too, in accordance with the poetic nature of some Scripture. This is common sense, or ought to be, but Bible-readers, not acquainted in sufficient depth with the Scriptures, unaware of context, history, literary types, linguistics, etc., will continue to make grievous errors through over-simplification and misapplication.
So, to repeat, we have NEVER said that the wicked would be allowed into the Kingdom of the righteous, Torah-obedient, saved, and therefore do not believe in any Messiah other than the one preached throughout Scripture.
This page was created on 13 June 2018
Last updated on 13 June 2018
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