Month 3:32, Week 1:2 (Shanee/Matzah), Year:Day 5942:91 AM
2Exodus 5/40, Omer Count - 7 Sabbaths + 24 days
Gregorian Calendar: Saturday 16 June 2018
Annihilationism
The Soul-Sleepers' Alternative
to Eternal Hell
PART I
Introduction
Messianic Evangelicals stand in the unique position of neither endorsing the traditional orthodox (Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox) doctrine of Eternal Hell nor the Annihilationist doctrine of the Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, Christadelphians, Armstrongite Churches of God and many Messianic groups, all of whom teach that human consciousness ceases completely at death (the soul-sleeping doctrine). They also teach that the spirits of the dead are re-created (metaphorically 'awakened' after 'sleep') at the judgment and then the wicked and unbelievers are judged to permanent extinction. And though it should be pointed out that a tiny minority of annihilationists do not believe in soul-sleeping, they still believe the unsaved and wicked are are lined up, as it were, before a 'Heavenly Firing Squad' and are annihilated after the Final Judgment, leaving only a tiny few to live forever on the earth.
Soul-Sleeping and Annihilationism
These two doctrines - soul-sleeping and annihilationism - lie at the heart of these groups' false teachings that frequently include a denial of the Personhood of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit), denial of the existence of a literal hell, with some going even further and denying that Satan and demons exist too using exactly the same arguments. In dealing with one doctrine like Annihilationism, we are therefore often forced to simultaneously address a whole cluster of teachings, each of which is used to prop the others up.
The Three Key Questions About Existence
Today we are addressing part of one of three theories about the three key questions about existence:
- 1. Where did I come from?
- 2. Why am I here? and
- 3. Where am I going?
The first question - 'Where did I come from?' - is answered on our Pre-existence website; the second - 'Why am I here?' - is covered by literally hundreds of articles on this website including, and especially, our website on Salvation, and the third, 'Where I am going?' is dealt within this and several other studies that present alternative viewpoints with a view to identifying the correct biblical one.
Two Questions and Three Outcomes
'Where am I going' will depend on one of two possible outcomes depending on the choices made in life leading to two further questions with several alternative answers:
- 1. Where do I go if I am saved?
- Theory A. To Heaven/Paradise (a world of disembodied spirits) followed by Eternity on Earth with Yah'shua (Jesus) as a physically resurrected person;
- Theory B. To the grave (where I cease to exist) followed by resurrection of spirit and body on Earth to be with Elohim (God) forever.
- 2. Where do I go if I am not saved?
- Theory A. To Hell as a disembodied spirit followed by a physical resurrection where I await the Resurrection and Judgment whence:
- Theory i. I will be tortured forever (Eternal Torment);
- Theory ii. I will be punished until I am finally saved (Universal Salvation); or
- Theory iii. I will be tortured for a while and then annihilated or I will be annihilated immediately (Annihilationism).
- Theory B. To the grave (where I cease to exist) whence I will be spiritually and physically resurrected and face the Judgment whence:
- Theory i. I will be tortured forever (Eternal Torment);
- Theory ii. I will be punished until I am finally saved (Universal Salvation); or
- Theory iii. I will be tortured for a while and then annihilated or I will be annihilated immediately (Annihilationism).
Annihilationism as a Doctrine About hell
Our interest today is in the various theories and aspects of the doctrine of hell called ANNIHILATIONISM which we will be contrasting with both the doctrines of Eternal Torment and Universal Salvation.
Introducting the Doctrine of Biblical Clarity
Before we undertake an examination of this subject it is necessary that we clarify what we mean by the Doctrine of Biblical Clarity and that means looking at the assumptions we maken in our exegesis or exposition of Scripture. Two questions we must first ask ourselves are:
- 1. Is the Bible record inerrant? and
- 2. Can we rely solely on the Bible text 'in our hand' alone or whether we need to also consider outside information supplied by experts such as linguists, theologians and historians?
Two Major Assumptions That MKust Be Made
The assumptions that Messianic Evangelicals make are as follows:
- 1. That the Bible text is inerrant in its original autographs and is therefore wholly reliable in all matters pertaining to doctrine, practice and history. The reasons for this positions are supplied by other studies on the website but it is essentially the conservative Protestant one, and
- 2. That when we give the Bible words their normal meaning in their normal context - just as we do for any other piece of literature - we take for granted that Yahweh clearly communicates His thoughts in a plain language which anyone can understand.
Avoiding Interpretive Filters
A legitimate concern of serious Christians/Messianics is that we do not wish to insert an interpretive filter between the Bible and its readers. The Bible must be allowed to interpret itself with the interpetive tools which it itself provides. Accordingly we do not wish an ecclesiastical élite - priestly or scholastic - with their several agendas, to interpose its own interpretation or tradition and in so doing distort the true meaning of the text. Thus we do not want to control people by telling them what the Bible means and thus preventing them from learning it for themselves.
Mutual Dependency
But does this mean that we need no assistance from experts of any kind? There are those who believe that certain English Bible translations are flawless (like the King James Version or Halleluyah Scriptures) and therefore require no further commentaries by men. This is not a position Messianic Evangelicals take. We recognise the need for experts in the field of linguistics to explain the meaning of words and expressions, of historians to give cultural context, and - critically - on occasion, "intepreters" of prophecy, visions and revelation.
Though the biblical ideal is that every man is his own teacher (Jer.31:34; Heb.8:11) and navi (prophet) (Num.11:29) because of the gift of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit), in reality this is something that has to be grown into for which reason the Messianic Community (Church) is required to have multiple gifts and offices until maturity is attained. There is therefore a considerable mutual dependency between believers in coming to a perfect understanding of the Davar (Word). Nevertheless the ideal is what is sought. Therefore Elohim (God) has appointed
"some to be apostles, some to be nevi'im (prophets), some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare Elohim's (God's) people for works of service, so that the body of Messiah t may be built up until we all reach unity in the emunah (faith) and in the knowledge of the Son of Elohim (God) and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Messiah" (Eph.4:11-13, NIV).
Therefore believers need:
- 1. The gift of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) for discernment;
- 2. Accurate translations of the Bible provided by experts in their field; and
- 2. The giftings of others in the Body of Messiah so that all may be brought to unity.
With these, Biblical Clarity is assured. This means that everything we need to know about Messiah's nature, works, and salvation is so clearly taught that a reader can obtain the essential knowledge from within the Bible itself, accurately translated, without the intervention of outside sources. Therefore the Bible is self-certifying concerning its clarity. Where there are contradictions, these are only apparent, and may be resolved by accurate translation and a knowledge of cultural background. The Bible teaches that its words are clear and sufficient in and of themselves to impart understanding without the need for specialised interpreters. Thus Moses declared:
"Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, 'Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?' Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, 'Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?' No, the Davar (Word) is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it" (Deut.30:11-14, NIV).
Having "the Davar (Word) ... in your heart" teaches that understanding preceeds action and Yah'shua (Jesus) taught that the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) would personally lead believers into understanding the emet (truth), not usually or always instantaneously but through a gradual process of maturation, a reason maturer spiritual fathers and mothers are often needed. Freedom comes from knowing that an indispensible clerical order isn't needed to tell the laity what the Bible means (Jn.16:12-14). You will appreciate the importance of this as we delve into issue like hell, heaven and time which are central to this study.
PART II
Three Views of Hell
The orthodox doctrine of eternal hell, largely originated by Augustine in the 4th century AD and developed further by the French Refornmer, John Calvin, a millennium later in its modern form, is held by the overwhelming majority in the Christian world (from Reformed Baptists to Anglicans) even though the early Christians overwhelmingly held to universal salvation in the first 500 years of the Messianic Community, as is conclusively demonstrated elsewhere on this website. These early universalists believed that the wicked and unbelievers would be punished remedially for a fixed duration in hell and eventually be released. The third doctrine of hell, annihilationism, is held by a relatively small proportion of believers, the majority of whom are cultists (like the Jehovah's Witnesses). For both of them, there is no fiery hell, Sheol being merely the grave, and definitely no universal salvation. Both, though never saying so directly, believe that the Besorah (Gospel) is for the vast majority of human beings a complete failure and simply differ on how Elohim (God) deals with the rejects - eternal torture or obliteration.
The Really Good News
The really good news that Messianic Evangelicals present to unbelievers and believers alike is that you do not need to to be forced to choose the logical fallacy of a false dilemma. You are not limited to only two choices - between eternal torture and annihilation. There is at the very least one other valid option to be considered, the option we prove on this website to be the biblical emet (truth), the one which vindicates the character of our Heavenly Father which the other two smear.
The Messianic Evangelical View of Hell
The Messianic Evangelical doctrine, which is also held by a number of others not of this ministry, is a form of Universal Salvation called Universal Graded (or Differentiated) Salvation. We believe in Aeonian, Age-Long or Fixed-Duration Hell which results in all humans, or mostly all, being released at the Cosmic Jubilee into a twilight zone far beyond the Kingdom of the Just. This twilight zone is likened by Paul in dimness to the distant stars in the night sky, a place where there is no longer any torment of soul.
The Three Views of Hell
Here, then, is a representation of the three main views of hell which you will encounter in different Christian and Messianic groups:
Fig.1 The Three Views of Hell
What is Annihilationism?
Annihilationism is the the belief that the unsaved wicked (or unjust) are annihilated - exterminated, put up, as it were, before a 'cosmic firing sqad' - following the resurrection of the wicked (which takes place alongside the resurrection of the disobedient saved at the second recurrection) and the White Throne Judgment. The apostle Paul testified:
"I have hope in Elohim (God), which [the Judeans] themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just AND the unjust" (Acts 24:15, NKJV - also KJV, HRV, ESV).
All of Humanity is Resurrected
Thus everyone is resurrected, without exception. Other Bible versions translate "the just and unjust" as "the righteous and the unrighteous" (NRSV), "the righteous and ungodly" (NLT), "the righteous and the wicked" (NASB, NIV), "the tzadakim (righteous) and the unjust" (RSTNE 2004). In other words, all men and women - both the saved and the unsaved, the just and the unjust, the righteous and the wicked - all receive immortal physical bodies though you will typically find annihilationists denying the physical resurrection because of the quandry this put them in.
Resurrected Before Being Exterminated?
This alone should give annhilationists pause for consideration and indeed the different denominations of annihilationist arrive at different 'solutions'. Irrespective of whether you believe the spirits of the dead are conscious ('orthodoxy') or unconscious after death ('soul-sleeping'), it cannot be denied (save by the cultists) that Yahweh brings all back to physical life and gives them immortal, indestructable bodies. Why would He go to all that trouble if directly afterwards He is going to exterminate or annihilate them? Do you need a physical body in order to be judged? Can't spirits hear? Obviously they can, since Yah'shua (Jesus), during His period in the grave, went to the spirits in prison and preached to them (1 Pet.3:19), proving that they were sentient and conscious after losing their physical bodies in death.
There is Conscious Spiritual Life Immediately After Physical Death
What survives death is more than some impersonal 'breath of Elohim (God)' - it is a conscious, awake, personal spiritual being. At this stage it is not important to know whether this 'spirit' is mortal or immortal, wrongly known as a 'soul' or an 'immortal soul' by Catholics and Protestants, since a soul, in its simplest biblical expression, is the body plus its spirit.
When a soul dies, its spirit is separated from the physical elements it inhabits, the two being likened in Scripture to a man ('spirit') living in a tent ('physical body') (e.g. 2 Pet.1:13; 2 Cor.5:1,4):
Physical Body (Tent) + Ruach (Spirit of Person) = Living Soul
Moses and Elijah Disprove Soul-Sleeping
What's important is that after death the personal, non-physical being is very much still 'alive' and conscious, even without a physical body, as it proven by Yah'shua (Jesus) preaching to the spirits in prison (1 Pet.3:19), the unresurrected spirits of Moses and Elijah appearing together on the Mount of Transfiguration together with the Messiah bathed in glory, with whom they were conversing (Mt.17:3-4; Mk.9:4-5; Lk.9:30-33). And though it could be argued that Elijah was a translated physical being who had not died, the same is not true of Moses, who definitely "died" (Dt.34:5,7) irrespective of what some non-canonical pseudepigraphical books may claim.
Moses and Elijah were conscious and conversing with the transfigured Messiah
The Summonsing of the Spirit of Samuel
The other clear example refuting soul-sleeping concerns the the spirit of Samuel which was summonsed by the witch of Endor (1 Sam.28:4ff.). And though such activity was expressly forbidden, it is clear that Yahweh permitted this to happen so that Saul could receive his final condemnation. The advocates of soul-sleeping deny the plain sense of these scriptures and twist them in various devious ways, claiming they were 'visions' or 'dreams' only. So, yes, the spirits can and do hear without resurrected physical bodies, obviously. Yah'shua (Jesus) spoke to Moses and Elijah and they spoke back to Him, just as Samuel spoke to Saul and he spoke back to Samuel.
The dead Samuel appears to Saul
An Absurd Scenario
From an annihilationist's perspecive, physical resurrection before extermination makes no sense whatsoever, and is hardly in the divine economy of heaven. Worse, it is a mockery of the atonement. Yah'shua (Jesus) died so that death might be conquered and the dead arise in immortal physical bodies, never to die or suffer again. You cannot separate that which is inseparably connected, or destroy that which has been welded together by the power of the resurrection. What Yahweh has decreed as immortal cannot be overturned even by Himself, because His Davar (Word) never returns to Him empty or void (Is.55:11).
Why Resurrect Those About to Be Annihilated?
Why would Yahweh give to those about to be wiped out for ever, the fruit of His Son's atonement (a reason He died on the cross) only to then strip them of the same (assuming that were even possible)? To mock and torture them perhaps? Do you believe in such a divine entity? And if you do not believe in soul-sleeping, but that the dead are conscious spirits, why not judge them as spirits and then wipe them out after sentencing them? If spirits are not immortal, then why not just withdraw all chayim (life) from them and allow them to spontaneously disintegrate? Why clothe them in physical immortality, the fruit and glory of the work of the cross? There is no rational theological answer to this absurd scenario.
Denying the Plain Sense of Scripture
Indeed, I mention this contradiction early on to make an important point: annihilationism contradicts the Davar Elohim (Word of God) in the matter of the purpose of the physical resurrection, which is to make that which is mortal into that which is immortal. As we have seen, both the just and the unjust are resurrected! The only way annihilationists can get around this is by reinventing the atonement and denying the p'shat or plain sense of what Scripture teaches about the subject.
Platonism, Neo-Platonism, Immortality and Conditional Immortality
True, Plato and various pagan Greek philosophers believed in the unconditional immortality of the 'soul' (the life essence within), as do the neo-Platonist orthodox Christians, and certainly Annihilationists can - and do - point fingers at Catholics and Protestants for this reason. Messianic Evangelicals are not, in any case neo-Platonists, and whilst we do believe there is a spiritual essence within (the essential' person' or 'spirit') we believe it is more than impersonal divine 'breath' as the (Jehovah's Witesses teach) and that it possesses 'aeonian life', which is a kind of 'conditional immortality', meaning that though we are thoroughly mortal as created beings, Yahweh extinguishes no one at death or at the Final Judgment. He maintains the aeonian life of our spirits always. In other words, we are not capable of existing without Him but neither do we have to fear that He will kill us off spiritually in the same way that He allows us to die physically in this particular aeon called Mortality when our time is up.
Jehovah's Witness-Type Argumentation
We must therefore be at pains to avoid what the Jehovah's Witnesses and others do - deny the Scriptures - for which they have deservedly earned themselves notoriety in religious circles. They deny the fundamental doctrines of the "emunah (faith) which was once for all delivered to the qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones)" (Jude 3, NKJV). Using the same kind of false teaching about the 'spirit', the Jehovah's Witnesses go so far as to also deny that Yah'shua (Jesus) was physically resurrected (only putting on a 'show' of physicality so as not to spook the disciples out) and the Christadelphians go even further and deny that Satan and the demons exist at all.
Variations in Annihilationist Theology: the Witnesses and Adventists
Not all annihilationists go that far, to be fair, and some absolutely adhere to a physical resurrection like the Adventists...at least for Christ and for themselves. Additionally, Witnesses and Adventists differ concerning the fate of humanity. Witnesses believe faithful members of their Organisation will live on Paradise Earth forever as physical entities with the exception of the faithful 144,000 who will reign with their Christ in the heavenlies. Adventists believe the earth will become a demon-inhabited wasteland and that all the faithful Adventists will live as spirits in Heaven. Both agree, though, that the wicked are vapourised...or never raised at all. And both agree that hell does not in fact exist at all. To the Witnesses, at least, Sheol is simply 'gravedom' - the grave, where human beings cease to exist after they have physically died because the essence of a human being is his physical existence ... his 'spirit' is simply the animating 'Breath of God' which returns to Elohim (God) after he dies, containing none of his original personality. The Armstrongite denominations believe the same thing.
The Witnesses Do Not Believe Yah'shua Resurrected Physically
Because the resurrection doctrine of the Bible causes theological dilemmas for annihilationists, they have had to reinvent and twist a number of key scriptures and doctrines to try and make everything harmonise. According to the Witnesses, the resurrection of Yah'shua (Jesus) does not mean that the physical body which was crucified and buried came back to life again:
"Jehovah God raised him from the dead, not as a human Son, but as a mighty immortal spirit Son 'He being put to death in the flesh, but [being] made alive in the spirit' (1 Pet.3:18, NWT - New World Translation)" (Let God Be True, WBTS: 1946, p.40).
Yah'shua's Body Was 'Dissolved into Gases'
Before becoming a man, the WBTS says, He was a spirit-being. But after the human Jesus died 'on the stake' (cross), the spirit-being 'Jesus' came into existence again. Charles Taze Russel, the founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses, plainly stated that "the man Jesus is dead, forever dead" (Studies in the Scriptures, Vol.5, pp.454). So what happened to the physical body of the Witnesses' 'Jesus'? Russel replies:
"Our Lord's human body was ... supernaturally removed from the tomb; because had it remained there it would have been an insurmountable obstacle to the faith of the disciples ... We know nothing about what became of it, except that it did not decay or corrupt (Acts 2:27,31). Whether it was dissolved into gases or whether it is still preserved somewhere as the grand memorial of God's love ... no one knows" (Studies, op.cit,. p.129).
Opposed to the Incarnation
This teaching is, of course, in direct opposition to the doctrine of the Incarnation without which the atonement is meaningless. This is one of the many reasons that, in common with orthodox Christians, we view the Jehovah's Witnesses as heretics and unsaved. Their 'christ' is not the Messiah we know.
Adventists and Soul-Sleeping
The Adventists, like the Witnesses, do not believe that man has a spiritual essence or identity that consciously survives physical death. Thus, "the condition of man in death is one of unconsciousness ... all men, good and evil alike, remain in the grave from death to the resurrection" (Article 10, Fundamental Beliefs). Thus to all intents and purpose, the man who is 'dead' is 'asleep', spiritually and physically extinct save in the mind of Elohim (God). He is non-existent in any sphere.
How Annhilationism Can Falsely Arise
Can the reader therefore understand how this belief would lead to aberrant ideas about the resurrection? And how they might confuse the spiritual with the physical?
An Important Question for Annihilationists
The big question I ask myself is still: why would Yahweh bring back the wicked to life (from a state of 'sleeping' or 'non-existence') to then incinerate them afterwards? Why not just leave them non-existent? Why go to all the trouble or tormenting them like a cat playing with a captured mouse before killing it? What would be the point? What would that say about the character of Elohim (God)?
The Adventist God Resurrects, Tortures and Then Annihilates
Indeed, some annihilationists, like the Adventists, believe Yahweh resurrects the wicked to torture them a while during the 'Investigative Judgment' during the Millennium and only then annihilates them at the end of the Millennium. This is indeed a strange kind of god to Messianic Evangelicals and if we have been made in His image, what kind of behaviour might that lead us to that we might otherwise, in our right minds, find repugnant?
Similarities and Differences With Adventists
Messianic Evangelicals do agree with Seventh-Day Adentists in a number of areas as far as eschatology is concerned. We both reject the pre-tribulation rapture and we both agree that the establishment of the Republic of Israel in 1947 has no particular prophetic sigificance. But there the eschatological similarities end. The faithful Adventists do not, in their scheme, return to the earth as physical beings until the creation of the "New Earth" (Rev.21:1) after the Millennium by which time the rest of humanity is entirely extinct - annihilated.
Occam's Razor and Divine Tavnith
To all of this theological gerrymandering, Messianic Evangelicals say a resounding NO. Let's keep it simple and let's allow all the Scriptures speak together - the whole Counsel of Yahweh. Applying the 13th/14th century scholastic philosopher and theologian William Ockam's principle of Occam's Razor or the Law of Parsimony will serve us well for the simplest theological solutions tend to most often be the right ones. So long as we stick to Divine Tavnith - the recurring theological pattern throughout Yahweh's Revelation - we will not easily go wrong. The importance of doing this will become readily apparent in a moment.
The Incinerator and Making Yahweh Out to be a Liar
Annihilationists in general, like the Witnesses, Adventists and Armstrongites in particular, are fond of using the argument that if you burn some paper, it is eternally destroyed and that, they say, is how we should view hell. Well, that is an over-simplification. Hell is a giant crematorium to them, a spirit and/or resurrected body incinerator, leaving no trace behind, as far as they are concerned. Amazingly, this supernatural incinerator apparently even has the power to render mortal that which Yahweh has decreed immortal, thus making Yahweh out to be a liar. Annihilationism is self-contradictory. The illustrations given thus far bear this out.
Bondage to Religious Spirits
Though the observations made about the resurrection thus far ought to be the end of the argument, for this is largely a matter of common sense, there will always be those who religiously cling onto false doctrines because other things that are precious to them are at stake if they deny them. This is particularly true for those who belong to cults claiming to be 'God's one-and-only' church or organisation, like the Witnesses and Mormons. That's why it is so hard to reason with Jehovah's Witnesses - they simply won't listen because they are in bondage to religious spirits. Their's is a false messiah.
The Need to Examine All the Scriptures
For their sakes, we need to take a close look at as many of the anihilationists' proof-text scriptures on the subject, which we shall do presently, time permitting, so as to leave no stone unturned and the annihilationists no excuse. Most importantly, these scriptures must be read in context with a proper understanding of the literary devices employed by the writers from their own historical periods of time. This means understanding the complexities of the language belonging to their timeframe so as not to preclude the commonly made mistake of reading one genre of literature (like poetry) literally.
A Feathery Illustration of Literature Genres
Thus when the Psalmist says that Yahweh will cover the faithful "with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge" (Ps.91:4, NIV), He is not obviously saying that Yahweh has literal wings and feathers. This is a metaphor for protectiveness and is a poetic device commonly understood by the Israelites of the time. And yet there are literalists like the late Pentecostal evangelist Percy Collett, who insisted he visited Heaven and that he saw with his own eyes that 'God' had literal wings and feathers. So as we look at the passages of Scripture selected by Annihilationists is it important to remember some of the important questions raised above such as the immortal nature of the resurrection.
Domino Theology
I mentioned that the cults depend on a cluster of interconnected doctrines, each of which props the other up. Because this is such a vast and potentially complex subject, we do need to have a solid grounding in a number of theologial areas first. As I have already pointed out, nearly all Annihilationists believe in soul-sleeping and a number of other false doctrines all of which are important to the cohesion of their theological world view. This is sometimes called Domino Theology, which is a system of doctrine that consists of several component parts. All the parts are required to maintain the system. Further, the individual parts are interdependent, even symbiotic in nature, and because they are based on lies, they are supernaturally guarded by the demonic, which is why those caught up in these deceptions are hard to reason with because they are blind and hostile. Religious spirits are amongst the most difficult to break because the agency of the one who believes these doctrines cannot be circumvented. Nevertheless, by refuting one single part of the system, the entire system must eventually collapse, rather like playing with domino bricks. Much prayer is required to help those caught in these deceptions. The dark side supernatural got them into the lies and the Light Side of the Supernatural has to get them out, once they make the decision to be honest and seek help.
A Question of Biblical Clarity
The Calvinism Illustration
Calvinism is a perfect example of what I mean when I talk about inter-connected doctrines propping one another up. Calvinism (the full variety...there are many forms of Calvinism) rests on the five TULIP doctrines:
- 1. Total Hereditary Depravity;
- 2. Unconditional Election;
- 3. Limited Atonement;
- 4. Irresistable Grace; and
- 5. The Perseverence of the Saints
which are all inter-connected; and whilst there are those who claim they accept some but not all of these doctrines, in reality this is not possible, and leads to contradictions. You can find out more about the TULIP system on our Agency sub-site and in particular, the following three articles may be helpful to your research:
The Need for Systematic Theology
The third of these is rather important because it illustrates the scriptural gymnastics that those who adhere to false teachings are willing to do in order to defend these demonic doctrinal cluster bombs which become their religious pets which they will defend with their lives. That is why systematic theology is so important.
Interwoven Doctrines of Most Annihilationists
It is impossible to put all Annihilationists into one theological basket because there are numerous doctrinal variations but common among the Annihilationist cults are a number of interwoven doctrines:
- 1. Man has no personal spirit, being monochotomous in nature, i.e. he consists only of a physical body and Yahweh's 'living breath' which returns to Him at death, leaving only decomposing molecules in the grave, i.e. they believe that dead people are literally in the grave and nowhere else;
- 2. There is therefore no consciousness after death in their theological universe - they believe in 'soul-sleeping', a biblical metaphor for physical death and therefore absence from earth life;
- 3. Hell to them is annihilation rather than eternal conscious torment (the orthodox view) or conscious torment for a fixed period of time (the Messianic Evangelical view);
- 4. They are often Arian, denying the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) is a separate Person to Yahweh the Father and Yah'shua (Jesus) the Son (the Adventists held to this view until 1930 when they changed and became Trinitarian); therefore, in their minds,
- 5. The Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) does not exist but is merely a personification of Elohim's (God's) power. (The Jehovah's witnesses refer to the Spirit as 'spirit' with a small 's', as do many Messianics and liken 'it' to 'electricity' or a 'force');
Jehovah's Witness NWT (2013), 1 Peter 1:2 showing the
demotion of the Ruach (Spirit) to an impersonal 'spirit'
- 6. The devil does not exist but is the personification of Sin (a Christadelphian belief);
- 7. Demons don't exist, but are personifications of disease (Christadelphian); and
- 8. Yah'shua (Jesus), being created by Elohim (God), ceased to exist for 3 days in the tomb and did not have a pre-existence - the Jehovah's Witnesses deny He was physically resurrected, and since they believe in soul-sleeping, they claim the Transfiguration experience, when Moses and Elijah appeared with the glorfied Messiah, was just a 'dream'.
Messianic Evangelicals reject all of these interconnected and symbiotic positions. In our view, all of them are symptomatic of cultism.
The Ruach haQodesh is a Person Not an Inanimate 'Force'
The Messianic Scriptures (New Tewstament) are quite clear about the personhood of the Ruach (Spirit). The Ruach (Spirit) possesses all the attributes of personality, having a "mind" (Rom.8:27), knowledge (1 Cor.2:10-11) and a will (1 Cor.12:11). The Ruach (Spirit) acts and forms relationships only possible with a person but quite impossible of an 'impersonal force'. The Ruach (Spirit):
- 1. Speaks (Ac.1:16);
- 2. Prays (Rom.8:26-27);
- 3. Teaches (Jn.14:26);
- 4. Works miracles (Ac.2:4; 8:39);
- 5. Can be resisted (Ac.7:51);
- 6. Commands (Act.8:29; 11:12; 13:2); and
- 7. Forbids (Ac.16:6-7).
The Ruach (Spirit) is also an Administrator by setting ministers over congregations (Ac.20:28), a Dispenser, distributing various gifts and ministries to individual members of the Messianic Community (1 Cor.12:8-11; Eph.4:7-13), and much else besides.
Tortured and Then Annihilated?
As I said earlier, you will find a wide variety of Annihilationist beliefs. For instance, they believe either that the wicked will be:
- 1. Annihilated right after the Final Judgment; or
- 2. After a period of torturing in hell, they will be tortured for a while, the length of the torture being determined by how wicked they were on earth.
Torture is an Anti-Torah Concept
To my way of thinking, this is even more cruel and unjust than the orthodox doctrine of eternal torment in hell. It is also contradicted by the spirit of Yahweh's Torah, which reflects His character, which nowhere mandates the torture of a criminal liable to capital punishment before he is executed. Such would indeed be barbaric. In the Torah physical punishment (such as flogging) is always followed by release. Punishments either consist of immediate execution, flogging, indentured service or a fine. That is the divine way. That is the divine heart and view of punishment. Anything outside of this sacred tavnith (pattern) is false and attacks the character of Elohim (God).
A Pictorial Summary of the Messianic Evangelical Position
Before we go into a deeper study of this subject, I think it would be helpful if first I make a summary of the Messianic Evangelical position because we are not here (obviously) to defend the Eternal Hell doctrine of Protestants, Catholics and others. Since a picture can say a thousand words, I have created a diagram to summarise the overall vision we have gleaned from 40 years of Scripture study and revelation. If you would like to print out a copy to have next to you while you work through the studies we shall be presenting, you can click here.
Fig.2 The Three Resurrection Glories Simplified
More Detailed Exegesis and Diagrams Elsewhere
This is, as I said, very simplified, but contains the most important elements with some key scripture references. More detailed exegeses and diagrams may be found elsewhere - for instance, on the Hell website. One thing you will notice at once is that Messianic Evangelicals take great pains to consider all the scriptures on a particular subject.
The Passage Traditionalists Willfully Ingore
You will see, then, that the diagram above highlights 1 Corinthians 15:35-44, a passage almost universally ignored because it contradicts the orthodox position that there is only one heaven in one location with only one glory, with its opposite consisting of only one final destination of the wicked which, like the first, is 'eternal' (more about the word 'eternal' in a minute).
The Over-simplified traditonalist view of hell and heaven,
taken from a Protestant animated video
Because this passage must be integrated into the overall biblical view of the heaven, hell and the resurrection, we shall publish it here and insist that it not be side-stepped:
"But someone will ask, 'How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?' Fool! What you sow does not come to life until it dies. And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or some other grain. But Elohim (God) gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. Not all flesh is alike, but there is one flesh for human beings, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
"There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies (human, animals, birds fish, etc.), but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory.
"So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power" (1 Cor.15:35-43. NRSV).
The Several Pauline Categories of Resurrection
There are therefore, quite plainly, three categories of "glory", with the third category including multiple sub-glories because "star differs from star in glory". There are therefore three qualitative, 'glory' categories of resurrection (and two temporal categories), with the third category having multiple sub-categories of resurrection:
- 1. Highest glory/resurrection body (like the brightness of the sun);
- 2. Middle glory/resurrection body (like the brightness of the moon); and
- 3. Lowest glory/resurrection body (like the brightness of the stars); with
- 3∞. A potentially limitless number of sub-glories/resurrection bodies
Nature of the Three Categories of Light
Since those in the first or 'sun' resurrection category all share the same glory, it must mean that they all share the same fellowship: they are 'one' or echad in a particular degree and type of Light which is the fullness, as there is no brighter heavenly object visible from earth than the sun. Likewise the second or 'moon' resurrection category, it must be that they too share a common echad or oneness fellowship based on the same Light but which is dimmer because it is reflected, and yet they are very much separate, just as the first and second resurrections are separated by time (the first occurring at the beginning of the Millennium, and the second at the end of it). The difference in brightness between sun and moon indicates a substantially large gulf, yet, as I said, it is the same kind of light, only the latter is diminished in brightness. The only difference is that the latter is reflected light rather than direct.
The first category of souls are in the presence of the Elohimhead (Godhead), the second are not, and are rather like people receiving light indirectly from a divinely-appointed and -illuminated human intermediary, as Israel did from Moses after rejecting direct contact with Yahweh.
The Unique Third Category
The third category is entirely different from the other two. The light they have is acquired differently - it is neither the light of Elohim (God) nor is it reflected light from Elohim (God). And, as anyone who has looked into the night sky knows, there is a whole spectrum of star brightnesses. Each star, as viewed on earth by humans unaided by telescopes and or other aids, has its own apparent magnitude. Astronomers have since assigned nine values or categories of brightness to these (-1.0 to 6.5):
The Final End of Those in Hell
Remember also that stars in Scripture are a common symbol for people or powers. There cannot therefore be the kind of unity or echad (oneness) relationship between the resurrected beings as obtains in the twinkling twilight zone - they cannot be remotely like those bathing in the direct or reflected Light of Messiah. Yet they do have light, finally. They constituted a very different order of person to the other two, and the reason is, they were never saved in mortality, which was the chief testing ground of humanity. And though they come to know Yah'shua (Jesus) finally, and are set free from hell at the Cosmic Jubilee, it is clearly not to the same degree.
No Easy Option for Sinners
We don't obviously know a lot about those in this state or 'glory', nor do we need to. There are some Messianic Evangelicals who believe that the three glories are not permanently set, and speculate that in eons beyond the Cosmic Jubilee that there is yet further advancement in knowing more about Elohim (God). We make no final dogmatic pronouncement in what we know next to nothing about. One thing is certain, though: the torment these people go through, remedial though it is, is not anything that anyone would ever wish to go through. As one preacher remarked, those being punished in hell go through more suffering in one day than those carrying their crosses in a lifetime. Nobody in their right mind would wish to postpone his repentence in order to live a sinful life on earth because of the assurance that all are one day saved. You do not elect to be burned in this extremely long and painful way.
Which Doctrine Fits Divine Tavnith?
This threefold division is undeniably how Paul wishes us to view the resurrection, otherwise what is it doing there in Scripture in the first place? He starts, in the passage cited, by asking the question, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" Obviously some Corinthians had asked him these questions either during one of his earlier visits or in a letter. The answer to these questions is so easy that he considers the question itself foolish: "You foolish one!" (v.36, ESV) he cries. Then he uses an everyday example to explain the answer.
Between Mortality and Immortality
The seeds that we plant look very different from the plant that grows out of the soil, and this he uses to contrast the huge difference between mortal earthly bodies and immortal resurrected ones. Yahweh mysteriously gives a different body to each kind of seed (vv.37-38). And it's not just plants that have different kinds of bodies. Humans, animals, fish and birds do too (v.39) and even heavenly objects such as the sun, moon and stars (v.40). Both heavenly and earthly bodies have glory or splendour, but not the same glory or splendour (v.41). Our resurrection bodies will not be identical either, but will fall into the categories and sub-categories that are listed above, though you'll not find Bible commentaries discussing that to any great depth, if at all.
Between mortal and immortal bodies
Why not? Because, as I said, it requires traditionalists to rethink their traditions. One thing is perfectly clear: neither the eternal-torment-in-hell doctrine nor the annihilationist doctrine fits into the pattern remotely. They are disjunctive with the divine tavnith (pattern) Paul is teaching.
The Questions You Must Ask Yourself
What you, the reader, have got to do, is collect together all the biblical teachings on the resurrection, heaven and hell and make them fit into this revelatory template that the apostle Paul has given us in plainness, to the point of calling the Corinthians who din't get it "foolish" or "imprudent" (CLNT). And he only ever called the Galatians "foolish", telling them that they were "bewitched" because they were trying to save themselves through Torah-obedience instead of emunah (faith) in Messiah (Gal.3:1-5ff.). The resurrection narrative is apparently just as simple to understand if we will just take Paul at his word. You can fill in the blanks yourself by asking such questions as:
- 1. Who?
- 2. Why?
- 3. When?
- 4. Where?
- 5. For how long?
- 6. With whom else?
Remembering, of course, that everyone is physically resurrected - the good, the bad, and the ugly - and that a resurrected physical body is spiritual (as opposed to carnal), immortal and indestructable.
Fig.3 Fill in the blanks for the Pauline description of the three resurrections
The Messianic Evangelical Solution
Messianic Evangelicals believe that we have the answer to nearly all these questions. That is not to say that we won't have to tweek our model as more light and emet (truth) come our way in the future but this is where we currently stand today in our understanding, for all the reasons given in literally hundreds of articles:
Fig.4 The dead and the glorified - Sheol and the Resurrection
You'll find other charts and diagrams on our hell website to help you see the bigger picture more clearly.
To be continued.....
Acknowledgements
[1] Randy J.Guliuzza, The Need for Biblical Clarity in Acts & Facts (ICR, Dallas, Texas: August 2018), pp.17-19
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