Here’s an interesting synopsis on Annihilationism vs Traditionalism. According to Traditionalists, the Bible doesn’t actually mean what it says.
Annihilationism vs Traditionalism
TRADITIONALISM | ANNIHILATIONISM |
| Perish: Eternally tortured in hell | Perish: To die. |
| Death: Eternally tortured in hell. | Death: To die. Opposite of living. |
| Die: Eternally tortured in hell. | Die: The opposite of living. |
| Everlasting punishment: Torturing someone for all eternity. | Everlasting punishment: Dead for all eternity. |
| Hell: A place where God tortures unbelievers forever. | Hell: A place of the Second Death where unbelievers are permanently destroyed. |
| Destroyed: Eternally tortured in hell. | Destroyed: Completely annihilated with no more existence. |
| Wages of sin is death: Unbelievers will not actually suffer death but will be eternally tormented in hell. | Wages of sin is death: Unbelievers will suffer the Second Death in hell and no longer exist. |
| Gift of God is eternal life: Which is redundant since you are already born with an “immortal soul.” | Gift of God is eternal life: God gives you immortality for accepting Jesus as your Savior. |
| Second Death: Suffering eternal torture in hell. | Second Death: To be totally destroyed in hell and no longer exist. |
| Consuming fire: A fire that tortures people, never totally consuming them. | Consuming fire: A fire that consumes and destroys. |
| Destruction: A term to describe the eternal torment of those in hell. | Destruction: The total annihilation of something so that it no longer exists. |
Bible Interpretation
The Bible says:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
—John 3:16-17
Traditionalists say:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not suffer eternal torment in hell but have eternal life (which he is born with anyway because he has an immortal soul).”
——————————-
The Bible says:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
—Rom 6:23
Traditionalists say:
“For the wages of sin is eternal torment in hell, but the gift of God is eternal life (which you are already born with because you have an immortal soul that God cannot destroy) in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
——————————-
The Bible says:
“The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
—Rev 20:13-15
Traditionalists say:
“The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire to be eternally tormented because it doesn’t actually destroy anything. The lake of fire is the second death where no one actually dies but are, rather, tortured forever. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire but he is never destroyed by the fire, only tortured.”
robert
OK, wow, I read both sides and wow! I am a believer saved by Gods grace but running into the topic of hell & torment forever…
Also the bible says if ya don’t believe you’re gonna receive wrath for eternity.
What about my baby granddaughter who was here for 20 minutes?
She’s in hell suffering because she didn’t believe?
There are many questions I have about the God that loves us dearly.
I think in the ages to come God’s got a plan and its not what Augustine says it is.
I just cant find it in the bible.
Dirk Waren
Hi Robert.
Thanks for the interest and comments. To address your points…
God’s wrath is the just divine response to sin and the wages of sin is death, not eternal life in roasting torment (Romans 6:23, Matthew 10:28 & Hebrews 10:26-27).
These questions presume two things: (1) That Sheol/Hades — where the dead souls of the unredeemed are kept until their resurrection on Judgment Day — is a place or condition of constant fiery torment; and (2) That children or kids who haven’t reached the “age of accountability” immediately go to Sheol when they did.
The first point is answered on this very site with the web-book SHEOL KNOW (that link provides access to all the chapters). I recommend starting with this chapter, which begins the scriptural study on the nature of Sheol/Hades (wherein you can see for yourself what the Bible actually says on the topic).
As to whether your granddaughter went to Sheol or not after only living 20 minutes, it depends on what the Bible teaches on the age of accountability. While we have a section about this in this chapter of HELL KNOW, you can read a more focused study here.
The answers are in the Bible — God’s Word to humanity — and that’s what this site is all about.
For a shorter, compelling study on the nature of human damnation see D. Barry’s book Conditional Immortality.
For a more detailed study see HELL KNOW.
To understand the nature of Sheol/Hades — which is a separate topic from damnation in the Lake of Fire — see SHEOL KNOW.
God Bless You in Your Studies, Brother.
Samual Yoder
The traditional stance never made sense to me if one reads those verses as stated. Death is death, perish is perish, destroy is destroy, kill is kill, etc. When the traditionalists change the meaning of these words then the words in scripture really have no meaning as such, one can make the words mean whatever they want. However, if you take those words at face value and state so to a traditionalist you’ll get a lot of flack, hassle, maybe even be called a heretic.
I hold as the annihilationist, but will let the traditionalists believe whatever they want to keep peace since it is not a salvation issue. Maybe that is wrong of me, but I hate arguing.
Michael Bunnell
It is impossible for a consuming fire to last forever because sooner or later it will consume everything and then have nothing more to consume.