What is Annihilationism?
Annihilationism (also called conditional immortality) is the heresy that the unsaved will not suffer eternal conscious torment in hell but will be destroyed at the final judgment, with their conscious existence ceasing to exist. This false doctrine is taught by sects such as Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Advent Christian Church, and the Seventh-day Church of God. This false teaching has also been advocated by people such as John Stott, Clark Pinnock, and others within more mainline evangelicalism. As with all other false doctrines, the proponents of Annihilationism twist Scripture by ignoring context and the clear meaning of words.
In verses that speak of unbelievers “perishing” or being “destroyed,” they interpret this to mean that their conscious soul will cease to exist—they will be annihilated—thus the name of this heresy. Some verses to which annihilationists point include: Matthew 7:13 (“destruction”); 10:28 (“destroy”); John 3:16 (“perish”); Romans 6:23 (“death”); and 2 Thessalonians 1:9 (“everlasting destruction”). To them, “everlasting punishment” (as in Matt. 25:46) refers not to the duration of conscious suffering but to the eternal consequence (permanent cessation of existence).
But when we let Scripture interpret Scripture it is clear that “perish” and “destroy” do not mean annihilation. For example, Matthew 25:46 says, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” In this verse, the same word “eternal” and “everlasting” are translated from the same Greek word aiōnios, so if life is consciously eternal, then punishment has to be as well—you cannot change your hermeneutic within the same verse.
And Revelation 14:11 says that “the smoke of their torment” goes up “for ever and ever” and that they have “no rest day nor night.” This shows that the unsaved dead will have ongoing conscious suffering, not eventual cessation. The same is true in Revelation 20:10, where it says that the devil, the beast, and the false prophet are tormented “day and night for ever and ever.”
Sin against an infinite, holy God deserves infinite consequences. Finite punishment (even if conscious for a time) doesn’t match the offense; eternal punishment fits the crime’s gravity. Annihilationism downplays the seriousness of sin and the Cross’s cost—Christ suffered finite agony for infinite sin debt.
The Bible teaches two eternal destinies: conscious eternal life with God for believers, and conscious eternal punishment (torment/separation) for the unrepentant. It does not fit the overall tone and tenor of Scripture to say that the wicked are annihilated. If the righteous are eternally rewarded, then it stands to reason that the wicked are eternally punished.