Dr Adrian Bury's blog
Christian theology, basic teachings, apologeticsDeath – separation or annihilation?
In order to understand correctly what the Bible teaches about the state following death, the resurrection and the eternal destiny of man, we must first consider the meanings of the words. How do we define death and life? Perhaps many 21st century, civilised Europeans think that the word death bears the meaning of extinction, annihilation, non-existence or unconsciousness, but this concept is relatively modern. For most people living in most ages, death has never signified the extinction of existence.1
The concept of “death” or “being dead” is a frequent subject in the New Testament. These expressions occur around 250 times, and although they are used in various meanings in the text, the underlying sense of the word “death” is “separation, division, departure” rather than “annihilation.” The same is true of the Hebrew Old Testament. Death is separation between two things, as illustrated in the following summary table.
Physical death, Eccl. 12:7: body / soul
Spiritual death, Isaiah 59: 1-2: man / God
Second death, Rev. 21: 8, 22: 14-15: man, fallen spiritual beings / God
Dead to sin, Rom. 6: 2,11; Heb. 7: 26: Christians / sin
Dead to law, Rom. 7: 4: Christians / law
Marriage dissolved by death, 1 Cor. 7: 39: husband / wife
Physical Death
Physical death involves the separation of the human spirit or soul from the physical body. In the Bible, the death of Rachel is described as her “soul” departing from her “body” (Gen. 35:18). At the point of death, the body returns to the dust, but the spirit returns to God (Eccl. 12:6-7) – who will deal with it appropriately (Gen. 18:25). The death of the body is biblically defined as the departure of the spirit (Jas. 2:26).
Spiritual Death
Spiritual death is the condition of being alienated from YHWH God. Since sin separates a person from God (Isa. 59:1-2), the state of being estranged from the Creator is depicted as the person being dead. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, “that very day” they died (Gen. 2:17; cf. 3:8,23), i.e., they were separated from fellowship with the Lord (though other implications are involved as well; see 3:19).
Prior to their conversion, the Ephesian saints had been spiritually “dead” (Eph. 2:1), i.e., alienated from the Lord (2:12-13). It is possible for someone to be spiritually “dead” while physically alive. Paul declared that the widow who devotes herself to pleasure is “dead,” even though she is alive (1 Tim. 5:6). Christ wrote a letter to the church in Sardis wherein he described a significant portion of these disciples as “dead” (Rev. 3:1), that is they had drifted from Christian fidelity.
The “second death”
The second death is an ultimate and eternal separation from God. The expression is found four times in the book of Revelation (2:11; 20:6,14; 21:8). The second death is the miserable state of the wicked dead in hell.2
This condition is characterised as the second death because it follows physical death, as well as the bodily resurrection; it is designated as death because it is a terminal separation from the Lord (Mt. 7:23; 25:41; 2 Thess. 1:9). Try substituting the term “annihilation” for “death” in the Revelation passages and see what sort of sense it makes, e.g., “the second annihilation.” The very expression represents an absurdity. There is absolutely no biblical evidence that “hell” will involve the extermination of either Satan, evil angels, or unrepentant humans (Mt. 25:41,46; Rev. 14:9-11; 20:10).
Conclusion
The dogma of annihilation is not merely an innocent view with harmless consequences. It is a concept that undermines a fearful warning from the Almighty. There is many a rebel who would gladly indulge himself in a lifetime of sin, just to be annihilated for ever.
Footnotes:
1. J.S. Clemens, Hastings Dictionary of the Bible, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1989, p. 181.
2. J.H. Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Edinburgh: T.&T. Clark, 1958, p. 283.
Sources:
Wayne Jackson, The second death – separation or annihilation? http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/710-the-second-death-separation-or-annihilation
http://www.bible.ca/d-death=separation.htm
