by Bill Pierce<\/p>\n
Some time ago, Mr. Garner Ted Armstrong, in a broadcast, stated that the souls of the wicked dead cease to exist. Besides using Matthew 10:28 as his proof text, he used cartoons to mock the idea of everlasting punishment. This is a favorite doctrine, not only for him but also for other religious teachers in the Adventist and Jehovah’s Witnesses denominations. Do the souls of the wicked dead cease to exist? Are they annihilated? Does Matthew 10:28 teach such?<\/p>\n
In Matthew 10:28, Jesus says, “And 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 soul and body in hell<\/em>.” They understand the word destroy <\/b>to mean that in hell, the wicked souls are annihilated. But is this the meaning of the word destroy<\/strong>? Webster defines the word as: “to ruin the structure, organic existence or condition of; to demolish, to bring to naught by putting out of existence; to kill, to abolish, to nullify.” There is nothing in this definition that would mean annihilation. A building may be destroyed and thus cease to exist as a building, but it is not annihilated.<\/p>\n The original Greek word for\u00a0destroy\u00a0<\/strong>is “apollo,<\/em>” meaning “to destroy, i.e., to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to, ruin. Metaph. To devote or give over to eternal misery. Mt. 10:28” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon).\u00a0In Luke 12:4-5, the word\u00a0destroy\u00a0<\/strong>is rendered “to cast into,” which suggests the figurative meaning of the word as is seen above. The word carries the idea of “utter and hopeless ruin, but they convey no idea whether the ruined object ceases to exist or continues a worthless existence.” (Pulpit Commentary).<\/p>\n Truth must harmonize, and teaching that the wicked cease to exist after death would contradict what Jesus said in Matthew 25:46, that the wicked will be punished eternally, <\/b>and what Paul says in II Thessalonians 1:9 that those who obey not the Gospel “shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power<\/em>.”<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bill Pierce Some time ago, Mr. Garner Ted Armstrong, in a broadcast, stated that the souls of the wicked dead cease to exist. Besides using Matthew 10:28 as his proof text, he used cartoons to mock the idea of everlasting punishment. This is a favorite doctrine, not only for him but also for other…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[109,373],"class_list":["post-77826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-death","tag-hell"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13245,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/please-explain-the-baptism-of-fire\/","url_meta":{"origin":77826,"position":0},"title":"Please explain the “baptism of fire”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 8, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please explain the \"baptism of fire.\" Thank you. Answer: The concept of a baptism of fire comes from a statement made by John the Baptist. \"And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56700,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/watering-down-hell\/","url_meta":{"origin":77826,"position":1},"title":"Watering Down Hell","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jim R. Everett An Answer to \"Conditional Immortality\" The modern, liberal theologian has joined the cultic religionist in seeking to \"water down\" hell and make eternal punishment nothing more than a momentary oxidation of the body. He inconsistently affirms the eternal nature of God and the future state of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55933,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-new-testament-teach-that-the-wicked-will-be-punished-eternally-in-the-lake-of-fire\/","url_meta":{"origin":77826,"position":2},"title":"Does the New Testament Teach that the Wicked Will Be Punished Eternally in the Lake of Fire?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 18, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Irvin Himmel via Truth Magazine XIX: 11, p. 162, January 23, 1975 It is asserted sometimes that God punished the wicked in Old Testament days, but that He is shown to be loving. and compassionate in the New Testament; therefore, the Old Testament concept of punishment for sin is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95411,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-false-teaching-jehovah-witnesses\/","url_meta":{"origin":77826,"position":3},"title":"The False Teaching “Jehovah Witnesses”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 5, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Samuel A. Matthews \"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves\" (Matthew 7:15 KJV). Loved ones, the church which Christ established is the kingdom of God on the earth today. When Christ promised to build His church, He called it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1505,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-hell-a-proper-translation-of-gehenna\/","url_meta":{"origin":77826,"position":4},"title":"Is “hell” a proper translation of “Gehenna”?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 21, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: The word Hell like the word baptism is not really a proper translation is it? I looked up the word hell and it is Gehenna, and Gehenna is a place, Originally the Valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem (ISBE). So it would be helpful to use Gehenna instead of hell,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59924,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/teach-your-child-the-fear-of-the-lord\/","url_meta":{"origin":77826,"position":5},"title":"Teach Your Child the Fear of the Lord","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 14, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Forrest D. 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