“Annihilationism is the teaching that the unsaved, after death, will eventually be annihilated – the souls of the wicked will be snuffed out of existence rather than be sent to an everlasting, conscious hell.”1
While I am, humanly speaking, not comfortable with the idea that the unsaved will suffer everlasting punishment in a literal hell, I realize that my sense of fairness and judgment is not the issue. The issue is what do the Scriptures teach.
While those who support annihilationism use the biblical terms such as “the second death,” “everlasting destruction,” and “perdition” to indicate that the lost will perish or go out of existence, the Bible clearly teaches that this doctrine is completely false. While there are many biblical arguments to show that annihilationism is false I will discuss the following three:
Hell is a place of everlasting torment (1)
We read: “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10). Clearly to torment someone “forever and ever” they must be in existence – not annihilated. You can’t eternally punish and torment someone who has no existence. Eternal punishment only works when the person is in existence.
Hell is a place that is everlasting (2)
We know that just as heaven is a place of everlasting, so is hell. (Matthew 25:41) tells us: “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” While those Christians in heaven are in a state of constant and everlasting bliss, those sinners in hell are likewise in a constant and everlasting state woe and torment.
Hell is a place of conscious punishment (3)
(2 Thessalonians 1:9) tells us: “These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” Since those consigned to hell will be punished with everlasting destruction we can be very sure that they must be conscious. You cannot suffer punishment without existence.
In conclusion, since we know that there are degrees of punishment in hell (see my devotion on 8/22/21) this does not apply if one is annihilated since nonexistence is the same for all persons.
1 The False Doctrine of Annihilationism – Jesus Truth Deliverance