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FATE OF UNBELIEVERS

Appendix 1 - Scriptures Teaching Death as the Final State

Scriptures that Teach Death as the
Final State of the Unredeemed

Summary of Argument:

Every passage that refers directly to the eternal state of the unredeemed refers to that state as "death." There is no passage in scripture that refers to the eternal state of the unredeemed as "eternal torment"

The Hebrew and Greek words in this Appendix are the words for death that are used in the original manuscripts.

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament repeatedly warn that sin causes death. These scriptures cannot be warning of the first death (the death of the body) because everybody has to die the first death, "It is appointed unto all men to die once."1 So the death of the body cannot be avoided by avoiding sin or by obtaining forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

These scriptures do not refer simply to death from original sin because their context is either sin committed in this life2 or salvation from the effects of sin committed in this life.3 Thus, these scriptures cannot refer to the first death (the death of the body). Instead, they refer to the second death,4 which is God's final judgment against sin and sinners. By implication, many of these scriptures also refer to sin causing spiritual death during this life. All of these scriptures refer to the effect, the inevitable result of our own sin in this life and they teach that the ultimate result, without Christ, is death.

Once sin is committed, death is inevitable, “The soul that sinneth it shall die.”5 Either the sinner himself will die or Jesus Christ will have died in his place. All of the scriptures listed here refer to the second death, which is the death of the soul as described in Ezekiel 18. All of these 50 scriptures (from Genesis to Revelation) inflexibly warn that sin causes death. None of them mention eternal torment. There is no scripture that says the wages of sin is eternal torment. The wages of sin is always death.

Old Testament

Genesis 2:17 חומ

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.

The Hebrew word used here and translated die means exactly that, to die, not to be eternal tormented.6

This is the first scripture that teaches that death is the result of sin. Adam and Eve, who had been united with God, sinned by eating of fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This sin caused spiritual death in them and as a result of this spiritual death, their union with their Creator was breached and they were expelled from the garden. Thereafter, all of their progeny were born spiritually dead,7 and therefore all were destined for the second (final) death.8 The only way for any human who is cognizant of right and wrong to avoid the second death is to trust in Christ9 Who became sin for us10 and died the second death for us.11 Salvation is accomplished by being born again.12The sin that caused spiritual death was the disobedience of Adam and Eve when they ate the fruit. But why? They had no fallen nature until after they ate the fruit. And why was the sin of Adam passed to his progeny? The answer lies in the fruit itself. Satan was correct when he told Eve that the fruit would make them as gods, knowing good and evil. But what he did not tell her was that if the knowledge of good and evil is wedded to the fallen nature of man the result is a man who can do either good or evil, a man who can-and inevitably will-sin. When the knowledge of good and evil is wedded to the fallen nature of man, man becomes an agent of righteousness or unrighteousness-inevitably both of them.

Without the knowledge of good and evil man would not be able to tell the difference between the two. Without that knowledge, his choice to do good or to sin is meaningless. Without the fruit, man is like the bear who terrorized a small town in Oregon. The bear injured an elderly lady, tore into a grocery store and went on a rampage down the main street of the town breaking shop windows and frightening everyone until he found an oak tree, layed down and went right to sleep. He was later captured. No punishment was administered because, being a bear, he didn't know the difference between good and evil or right and wrong.

If man did not know the difference between good and evil, his choice to do either evil or good is meaningless. But with the fruit of the tree, his acts of righteousness are eternal. But he can and will sin and when he does, he will die eternally because sin kills. He he is responsible for all that he does, both the good and the bad. He is man. He can curse God or bring Him glory but without the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he can do neither. It is no accident that he is as he is, and in the book of Genesis all of mankind, like a miniature portrait painted by the Master's hand, is encapsulated.

Job 20:6,7 דבא

Knowest thou not since of old, since man was placed upon earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; yet, he shall perish for ever

This passage refers to the final end of the wicked. The word translated perish means to die, to be completely exterminated.13

Psalm 1:6 דבא

For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.14

Psalm 37:20 דבא

But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

This is a direct reiteration that the end of the wicked is death, ruined, destroyed, annihilated, vanish.15

Psalm 52:1,5 ץחנ

Why boasteth thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? The goodness of God endureth continually. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousnessGod shall likewise destroy thee for ever He shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living.

This passage tells of the eternal fate of those who propagate the sin of the tongue. The Hebrew word that is translated “destroy” is accurately translated and means to root out, pull down16 or, “the destruction of the life of an individual.”17

Psalm 56:11,13 חומ

In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid of what man can do unto me ... For thou hast delivered my soul from death ...

This word (“maveth”) means simple death.18 Both the text and the context (“I will not fear what man can do unto me”) show that the death referred to in this passage refers to the death of the soul. That is, God has delivered my soul from death despite what man has done to my body. Thus, the passage shows that God has delivered the writer’s soul from death. The death of the soul is the second death.

The word is also used to refer to both physical and spiritual life:

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.19

Psalm 92:7 דמש

When the wicked spring as the grass, and when the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed forever.

The final end to the wicked is eternal, permanent, destruction. The Hebrew word used here means to be destroyed in the sense of being exterminated.20 The word “always expresses complete destruction or annihilation21 The addition of the word “forever” in this scripture foreshadows Paul’s statement in Second Thessalonians 1:9 that the unredeemed will be “punished with an everlasting destruction.” There is no grammatical basis in either verse to argue that the destruction contemplated here could ever mean a destruction that is never completed but continues on for eternity.22 Here again is eternal destruction. Passages such as this one leave no question whatever as to the ultimate fate of the wicked: total and complete destruction. This concept is diametrically opposed to the concept of continued sentient existence forever.

Psalm 116:8 חומ

For thou hast delivered my soul from death23

Here is another scripture teaching that 1) there is a soul and it can die, and 2) it is death, not eternal torment, from which the soul is delivered. Eternal torment for unredeemed souls, being a doctrinal error, is not found anywhere in scripture. The doctrine is wholly conclusory. It is based upon conclusions derived from incomplete scripture references. For example, the doctrine cites "eternal punishment" as support, when the phrase eternal punishment does not state what the punishment is.

Psalm 145:20 דמש

The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will He destroy.

Here we find insight into God’s character. It is the heart of man that God looks to. This same concept is repeated in the New Testament in John 14:21, 23, where love, is evidenced by obedience. Wickedness and wicked doers, however, will in the end be destroyed, not eternally tormented. The Hebrew word used here is the same word used in Psalm 92:7. It means complete destruction or annihilation.24

Proverbs 19:9 דבא

A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.

The Hebrew word that is translated "perish" means to die or to be ruined.25 Here the word could mean either or both. It could mean "ruined" with respect to the effect of lying on the false witness' reputation, or physical death as a punishment. But when compared with Revelation 21:8, it probably means eternal death:

"all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."26

Note the consistency in scripture. There are 900 years between these two verses and yet they could be in the same chapter.

Isaiah 1:28 הלכ

... they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed. (KJV)

The word that is translated consumed means to be spent, at an end27 or to perish.28 The word does not mean torment.

Another translation:

and those who forsake Jehovah will perish.”

(Translation by C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, reprinted 1975), vol. 7, page 107, s.v. Isaiah 1:28.

The word that is translated consumed or perish means exactly that: consume or perish. Torment is a different word entirely.

Ezekiel 18:4 חומ

Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth shall die29...

In this passage we hear directly from the mouth of the Creator speaking through the prophet. He admonishes Israel to cease using the proverb “The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” The forbidden proverb means that the sons will pay for the sins of their fathers. God first establishes His authority by stating that the soul of the father and the soul of the son belong to Him. This fact establishes that souls do exist and that they are not the same thing as bodies. This differentiation is present throughout Ezekiel 18.

Thus, when scripture says in verse 4 that the soul that sins shall die, it is referring to the soul, not the body, and it is saying that 1) it is the soul, not the body, that is responsible for sin, and that 2) the soul will die as a result of sin. The word used for “die” is the Hebrew word חומ. The meaning of this word is simple death.30 It is never used to denote torment of any kind. This death can occur by any effective means. The warning that sin causes death to the soul could not be clearer that in Ezekiel 18. Only by repetition could scripture make this message any stronger. Scripture then repeats the doctrine and the word in Ezekiel 18:13, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 26, 28 and 31. Death is the final consequence of sin, not a living torment. There is no scripture that alters the very clear terms of Ezekiel 18:4.

A definitive work on Hebrew discusses the meaning of the word death in Ezekiel 18:4. And refers to it as “equivalent to suffering death as a punishment...the complete destruction with which transgressors are threatened by the law,” as in Deut. xxx.15 (compare Jer. xxi.8; Prov. xi. 10)”31

In this chapter of Ezekiel and later scriptures in the New Testament, we see an illustration of the marvelous consistency of scripture. Ezekiel speaks of the death of the soul, but does not say when and how it occurs. Six hundred and fifty years later, Christ teaches that all those who keep His word will never see death (John 8:51), but does not state how that can be. Fifty years later John writes in Revelation and reveals that there are two deaths. In the end, the unredeemed will suffer the second death (Revelation 21:8), which is the death of the soul. That death is the חומ that is described in Ezekiel 18. It is death that is described in all of these scriptures, not eternal torment.

Ezekiel 33:11 חומ

As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from you evil ways; for why will ye die?32

This passage teaches that 1) God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked and 2) unless the wicked turn from sin they will die. Obviously He is not speaking of physical death, because all men die at least once.33 He was speaking of eternal death (Revelation 21:8). The same word for death that is used in Ezekiel 18:4 is used here. Again we see that the final penalty is death.

Hosea 13:9,14 חומ

O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in Me is thine helpI will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death...34

Hosea has castigated Israel for idol worship. Now the Lord speaks through Hosea and refers to the consequence of sin, which is eternal death. Ultimately Christ will offer redemption from that consequence. The reference is to the second death and the Hebrew word means death pure and simple.35

Obadiah 16

For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been. But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance

The prophet tells of the eternal fate of the unredeemed and that their salvation is with the Jews. For the heathen it shall be as though they “had not been.” This is the opposite of eternal torment that teaches continued existence.

New Testament

Matthew 3:12 (Luke 3:17) κατακαιω

His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Some argue that since the fire of God is unquenchable, those who are cast into it will burn forever. But this passage teaches that the unquenchable fire will “burn up” the chaff, ie, destroy it by burning. This is a clear statement of what will happen to the unredeemed in the lake of fire. They will be “burned up” not tormented eternally. Likewise, The fact that the fire is unquenchable does not imply that those who are destroyed or burnt up in it will never really be destroyed or burnt up. The plain meaning is precisely the opposite. It means that they will be destroyed and burnt up.

The Greek word for “burn up” in this passage is κατακαυσει, which means to destroy by burning or “burn up.” It is the same word used in Second Peter 3:1036 denoting complete destruction. Neither the Greek word nor the English translation of it connotes eternal burning but instead means destruction by burning. There is a way to express in biblical Greek the concept of an eternal destroying, but it is not found in scripture. This word should be distinguished from καυσις which refers to a burning for a purpose other than total destruction, eg. a cauterization.37

Matthew 7:13 άπόλλυμί

Enter ye in at the straight gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.

Here the scripture states again that sin leads to destruction.

Matthew 10:28 άπόλλυμι

Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both the soul and body in hell.

Here the scripture refers to the eternal fate, which is the destruction of the body and the soul. Note that “destroy” in this verse is equated with “kill.” The verse refers to the destruction or the killing of souls. Contrary to this scripture, the doctrine of eternal torment teaches that souls are never destroyed and never killed.

This scripture refers to death of souls as occurring in hell. Accordingly Revelation states that hell is cast into the lake of fire, "which is the second death.”38 The souls who inhabit hell are eventually judged and cast into the lake of fire,39 which is the second death for them40 and eternal destruction as well.41 Thus the second death is the death of the resurrected body and the soul. There is no scripture that refers to anything occurring to the resurrected body, the soul or the spirit following the second death.

Matthew 13:40 κατακαίϖ

As therefore the tares are gathered and burned [consumed] in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

Again, we have the tares being burned up (consumed) not tormented.

Luke 19:27 κατασφάξατε

But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

In this scripture, Christ, referring to the judgment, places the enemies of the Lord before Him and kills them. This treatment follows Christ's statement in John 8:51 that " Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death [the second death]" as well as John 3:16, John 6:51 and John 10:28.

Luke 20:35,36 άποθνησκω

But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more

This verse is an astounding testimony to the accuracy of scripture. Here Christ states that the redeemed cannot die "any more" (KJV). The word that is translated "any more" is ἒτι ("eti") which refers to something that won't happen again. For instance in Mt. 5:35 the word is used in this way, "Why should you bother the Teacher any further [eti]?" Long before Revelation was written, Christ knew that there would be a second death for the unredeemed, but not for the redeemed. So in this scripture, He is careful to insert "eti" to ensure the accuracy of His statement: the redeemed do die, but they will not die "again," as in the second death.42

John 3:16 άπόλλυμι

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God gave His only begotten Son that we might have everlasting life rather than perishing (death). It is perishing from which Christ saves us, not eternal torment. The word used here implies death by destruction.

John 6:50, 51 άποθνησκω

This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever

Here Jesus tells us what He saves us from. He saves us from dying. He is not saying that He will save us from the physical death of our bodies, because we will all die. He is saying that He saves us from the death of who we really are, the death of our soul. He is referring to the second death that was to be revealed in Revelation 21:8 some 30 years later.

John 8:51, 52 θανατος

Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death. Then the Jews said to Him, Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.

Here Jesus teaches that those who do not keep his word will never see death. But all men die. So, what does He mean here? There are two deaths. The first is the death of the body; this is a death that all men must die. The second death is the judgment against sin and the final, eternal death of the soul. Jesus is saying that He will deliver us from the second death.43 He is teaching that those who keep His word will avoid the second (and final) death described in Revelation 20:14, 21:8. The word for death used in this passage means plain death and the word used in Revelation 21:8, the second death, is the same word. The doctrine of eternal torment on the other hand teaches that the final judgment is not death. It is instead a continued existence, a body or a spirit kept alive for the sole purpose of torment forever. For Christ to say that He delivers us from dying makes no sense whatever if He really delivers us from never dying (being tormented forever in eternal fire).

John10:28 άπόλλυμι

And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

In this passage again, the alternative to eternal life is not eternal torment but death by destruction (perishing). Christ saves us from perishing not burning forever. This passage is translated "never perish" in KJV. But the phrase is also translated "perish forever."44

John 11:26 άποθνησκω

And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.

Jesus is not teaching that the physical body of anyone who believes in Him will never die because all men die. It is appointed to all men to die once.45 He is teaching that the soul (the real person) of anyone who believes in Him will be spared the second death.46 Why? Because, He gives them eternal life.47 Those to whom He does not give eternal life are already spiritually dead48 and will ultimately die eternally in the second death. It is for this reason that the Apostle John writes in Revelation 21:8 that all those who do not trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of all sin (unbelievers) will be cast into the lake of fire “which is the second death.” Thus the soul of every person who dies without Christ will die in the second death. It is therefore death from which Christ saves us, not eternal torment. As with John 8:51, it makes no sense for Christ to say that He delivers us from dying, when He really delivers us from not dying (as in eternal torment).

Romans 1:32 θάνατος

Who, knowing the righteous judgment of God that those who practice such things are deserving of death...

This passage states plainly that the judgment of God for sin is death. The word used here means plain death. There is no mention of eternal torment.

Romans 5:12 θάνατος

Therefore just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.

This passage is the core of New Testament theology. It teaches that sin results in death. See The Effect of the Doctrine of Eternal Torment on Other Doctrines:

Romans 5:21 θάνατος

The two alternatives are eternal death or eternal life. The word for death in this scripture means plain death.

Romans 6:16 θάνατος

Do you know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness?

Sin leads to death. The word for death used here means plain death.

Romans 6:21 θάνατος

What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

The final end of sin is eternal death.

Romans 6:23 θάνατος

The wages of sin is death.

This is the classic scripture that teaches that sin leads to death. The word used here means plain death, not eternal torment. This word is not mysterious in the least. It is the same word that Paul would have used when in Greece to describe what happened to the corpse of a dead cow by the side of the road to Corinth: death. The animal will never live again. It cannot move or feel anything. That is what thanatos means. And Paul uses the same word in this passage to describe what happens to the soul as the result of sin. Thanatos of the soul is what Jesus Christ abolished for all those who trust in Him.49

First Corinthians 1:18 άποθνήσκω

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

The alternative to the cross is perishing, not eternal torment.

First Corinthians 15:26 θανάτος

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Christ taught that He would save us from death (John 8:51, 11:26). Then He was crucified and resurrected. His resurrection was proof that He could save Himself from death and proof that He can save us from death. Christ defeated death for us because we were “raised [from the dead] with Christ” (Colossians 3:1). Our enemy was death, not eternal torment.

First Corinthians 15:52-54 θανάτος

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this imperishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the impershible, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, 'Death is swallowed up in victory.'

This scripture promises that Christians (the redeemed in Christ) will be resurrected from the dead to eternal life and receive an imperishable resurrected body (a body that will never die). The unredeemed will also be resurrected from the dead. But their resurrection will be for the purpose of judgment.50 The resurrected body of the unredeemed will not imperishable like the resurrected body of the redeemed; it will be perishable (it can die). We know this because the scripture quoted above tells us that it is the redeemed in Christ who will receive an imperishable resurrected body, not the unredeemed. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the unredeemed will receive an imperishable body. Also, the unredeemed face a judgment that scripture calls the "second death."51 It is therefore clear that the perishable bodies of the unredeemed die in the second death. That is the the reason that the judgment is called the second death. They do not live forever in eternal torment; they die. It is for this reason that this scripture teaches that the victory is over death. Eternal torment is never mentioned.

Second Corinthians 1:9 θανάτος

But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead; Who delivered us from so great a death

Jesus Christ saves from death (the second death), not eternal torment. We will all die, but only those who have not trusted in Christ will die twice (first the body and then the soul). This passage is Paul’s restatement of Christ’s statement in John 8:51, “Verily, Verily I say you. If a man keep My saying, he shall never see [the second] death."

Second Corinthians 2:16 θάνατος

To the one we are the savor of death unto death; and to the other the savor of life unto life.

Here we find encapsulated the sum of it all. Life is either a progression of spiritual death moving finally to eternal death (death unto death) or it is a progression of spiritual life to eternal life (life unto life). Here, as in all similar scriptures, we find the two contrasted. It is always and inflexibly either life or death (eternal life or eternal death); it is never life or eternal torment.

Second Corinthians 7:10 θάνατος

For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

The sorrow of the world (sin without repentance and Christ) leads to death.

Second Timothy 1:10 θάνατος

... but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, Who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Paul is not teaching here that Christ abolished physical death, because physical death will not be abolished until God throws death and hell into the lake of fire and creates a new heavens and a new earth where there is no more death.52 There is only one other death that can be abolished, and that is the second death. This passage shows that Christ has abolished death, not eternal torment. Christ abolishes the second (eternal) death by giving eternal life. The doctrine of eternal torment on the other hand argues that despite this scripture and others, Christ did not abolish death because with the doctrine of eternal torment, no one ever dies, but instead continues to in conscious suffering forever. Christ never mentions eternal torment. The Old Testament never mentions eternal torment. The New Testament does mention but only in Revelation 20:10 and that is to describe the final, eternal state of Satan, the antichrist and the false prophet.

Second Thessalonians 2:9,10 άπόλλυμι

Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

Here we find another very straightforward statement that those who are not saved will perish. The verse goes on to say that “they might be saved.” But saved from what? Scripture tells us: saved from perishing (death).

This passage teaches that all one must do to receive the love of the truth is to receive it. One does not manufacture it; one receives it. It is offered spiritually and at all times. Therefore, one must refuse it in order not to have it. It is neither a doctrine or a religious system that is offered here; it is truth that is offered and that truth is embodied in Jesus Christ.53

Hebrews 2:9 θανάτος

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

Is not physical death that this passage addresses; Jesus Christ did not taste physical death for every man. Every man will taste physical death for himself. This passage addresses the second death. This passage teaches that Jesus Christ tasted death for every man. He died for every man.54 In doing so, He became sin for us and in doing so made us righteous.55 Originally the death penalty was ours56 but He paid it for us. Thus in this passage the author of Hebrews states that Jesus tasted death, not eternal torment, for every man. The final punishment is death, not eternal torment.

Jesus tasted death for every man, not just some. Therefore the love of the Truth is offered to every man,57 and this Truth is Jesus Christ.58 Thus, one has only to receive the Truth in order to have it.

Hebrews 2:14 θανάτος

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.

Satan has the power of death (not the power of eternal torment), because he leads men away from Christ and causes them to die in the second death.

1. Hebrews 9:27 " And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."

2. Cf. Psalm 37:20 "The wicked shall perish."

3. John 8:51 "Verily, verily I say unto you, If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death."

4. Cf. Revelation 2:11, 20:6, 20:14, and 21:8

5. Ezekiel 18:4

6. See A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Brown, Driver and Briggs (Oxford University Press, Ely House, London, 1972) s.v. חומ defined as “to die of natural or other causes, die as a penalty

7. Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men

8. Revelation 21:8 “shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

9. John 8:51 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.” Christ is not saying that those who keep His saying will never die a mortal death; He is saying that they will never die the second (final) death.”

10. Second Corinthians 5:21 “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”

11. Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

12. John 3:7 “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”

13. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Brown, Driver and Briggs (Oxford University Press, Ely House, London, 1972) s.v. דבא defined as “perish, die, be ruined, destroyed, annihilated, vanish

14. Id.

15. Id.

16. Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Brown, Driver and Briggs (Oxford University Press, Ely House, London, 1972) s.v. ץחנ

17.Theological Word Book of the Old Testament, R. Harris, G. Archer and B. Waltke (Moody Press, 1980)

18. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Brown, Driver and Briggs (Oxford University Press, Ely House, London, 1972) s.v. חומ defined as “death, death by violence, state of death.”

19. Deuteronomy 30:19

20. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Brown, Driver and Briggs (Oxford University Press, Ely House, London, 1972) s.v. דמש defined as “be exterminated, destroyed.”

21. The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Strong, James (Thomas Nelson, 2010), s.v. 8045, p 245 Hebrew and Aramaic Dictionary.

22. See Chapter 4 - Eternal Punishment, Eternal Destruction
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23. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Brown, Driver and Briggs (Oxford University Press, Ely House, London, 1972) s.v. חומ defined as “death, death by violence, state of death.”

24. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Brown, Driver and Briggs (Oxford University Press, Ely House, London, 1972) s.v. דמש defined as “be exterminated, destroyed.” See also The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Strong, James (Thomas Nelson, 2010), s.v. 8045, p 245 Hebrew and Aramaic Dictionary stating that the word The word “always expresses complete destruction or annihilation

25. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Brown, Driver and Briggs (Oxford University Press, Ely House, London, 1972) s.v. דבא defined as “perish, die, be ruined, destroyed, annihilated, vanish

26. Revelation 21:8

27. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Brown, Driver and Briggs (Oxford University Press, Ely House, London, 1972) s.v. הלכ defined as “to be complete, at an end, finished, accomplished, spent.”

28. The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Strong, James (Thomas Nelson, 2010), s.v. 3615, p 245 Hebrew and Aramaic Dictionary.

29. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Brown, Driver and Briggs (Oxford University Press, Ely House, London, 1972) s.v. חומ defined as “death, death by violence, state of death.” or “to die of natural or other causes, die as a penalty.”

30. Id.

31. (C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, reprinted 1975), vol. 9, page 249, sub Ezekiel 18:1-4.

32. Simple death. See A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Brown, Driver and Briggs (Oxford University Press, Ely House, London, 1972) s.v. חומ defined as “death, death by violence, state of death.” or “to die of natural or other causes, die as a penalty.”

33. Hebrews 9:27 " And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment"

34. Simple death. See A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, by Brown, Driver and Briggs (Oxford University Press, Ely House, London, 1972) s.v. חומ defined as “death, death by violence, state of death.” or “to die of natural or other causes, die as a penalty.”

36. Second Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

37. Hebrews 6:8 (the only use in scripture)

38. Revelation 20:14

39. Revelation 20:15 “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire..”

40. Revelation 21:8 “ which is the second death.”

41. Second Thessalonians 1:9 “who shall be punished with everlasting destruction.”

42. Revelation 20:6 "Blessed and holy is the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power"

43. Id.

44. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Bauer, Arndt and Gingrich (University of Chicago Press), 2d Ed. 1958, p. 563, s.v. άπολλυμί, definition 2. destroyed, ruined, "Esp. of eternal death" referring to John 10:28.

45. Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” (NASV)

46. Revelation 20:6 “Blessed and holy is the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power

47. First John 5:11 “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”

48. Colossians 2:13 “And you, being dead in your sins

49. Second Timothy 1:10 “But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”

50. John 5:29, 30 "Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, and those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment…"

51. Revelation 21:8

52. Revelation 21:4 " He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

53. John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

54. Romans 4:25 “Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.”

55. Second Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

56. Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death

57. Second Thessalonians 2:9-10, supra

58. John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I amthe truth

James 5:20 θανάτος

Let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death...

The soul of the sinner is saved from death, not from eternal torment. If the soul of the sinner is saved from eternal torment and not death, then why does this passage say that the soul is saved from “death”?

Second Peter 2:9, 12-13 φθείρω

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished but these shall utterly perish in their own corruption; And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness

In this unmistakable statement against sin, Peter tells explicitly what will happen to sinners on the day of their judgment. He states that they will utterly perish in their own corruption. Another way to translate the word for perishing in their own corruption is “death” or “destruction.” He then states that this is the reward of unrighteousness. Again, the reward for unrighteousness is perishing or destruction, not eternal torment.

Second Peter 3:9 άπόλλυμι

The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Here, Peter states, with absolutely clarity, the will of God. It is God’s will that none should perish, that none should die - meaning the second death.

Salvation is a free gift that is continually offered to all men. All one need do is to receive it.1

First John 5:16 θάνατος

If anyone sees his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and He shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.

This passage teaches that sin leads to death.

Revelation 1:18 θάνατος

I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Christ tells us that it is death and hell that He saves us from. He saves us from the hell that the rich man experienced in the parable of Lazarus and He saves us from death, the second death, that comes after hell itself is cast into the lake of fire. Invariably we find that there is no mention of eternal torment here or anywhere else in scripture, except as it applies to Satan, the antichrist and the false prophet. This is but another reiteration from the lips of Our Lord Jesus Christ that it is death and hell from which He saves us, not eternal torment. The Greek word that He uses to describe what happens is the classic Greek word for simple death.

Revelation 2:11 θάνατος

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.

The final state of the unredeemed (as referenced in John 8:51) is the second death. There is no scripture that equates the second death with eternal torment for unbelievers. The Greek word for death here is has the plainest and simplest possible meaning; it means exactly that: death.

Revelation 20:6 θάνατος

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power

This passage teaches that the saved, those who take part in the first resurrection, are not subject to the second death.

WORD STUDY: θάνατος (“thanatos”) PAGE 171

Revelation 20:14 θάνατος

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

This passage states that God will cast three things into the lake of fire. He will cast death, hell and whosoever was not found in the book of life (unbelievers) into the lake of fire. Scripture refers to casting into the lake of fire as the second death on three occasions: in Revelation 20:6 and in Revelation 2:11 and in this verse. Scripture is saying that each of these three will be destroyed in the lake of fire. Revelation 21:4 tells us specifically what happens to death in the lake of fire: it says “there shall be no more death.” Thus, when death dies in the second death and ceases to exist. There is no further mention of hell after hell is thrown in to the lake of fire and other scriptures cited herein state that the unredeemed will have the same fate: death and eternal destruction. Eternal torment is nowhere to be found.

Revelation 21:8 θάνατος (“thanatos”)

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

The lake of fire is the second death (the second “thanatos”) to everyone included in this scripture. That is, the second death is their part in the lake of fire. Satan, however, is not included in this passage, because he has a different part. His part is not death. His part is eternal torment.2 It is for this reason that when Satan is cast into the lake of fire, there is no mention of a second death or even a first death, because Satan will not permitted to die. It is for this reason that scripture differentiates between the unbeliever’s part (Revelation 21:8) and Satan’s part (Revelation 20:10).

The grammatical structure of Revelation 21:8 shows that the pronoun “which” (ό) refers to “part” (το μέρος) and not necessarily to “lake” (τή λίμνη). The reason for this is that ό (which is either masculine or neuter) was used here rather than ή (always feminine) to refer to the neuter μέρος. If the Apostle had intended “which is the second death” to refer to “lake,” he wouild have used the feminine pronoun ή rather than the masculine/neuter pronoun ό.

1. Second Thessalonians 2:10 “they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

2. Revelation 20:10 “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and eve