Church leaders rebuked him for falsely teaching about Hell and removed him from his preaching position because he taught what few others believed that Hell is not an eternal torment. The 2012 movie, “Hell and Mr. Fudge,” depicts the “true story” of a preacher who was paid by another believer to challenge the idea of eternal torment in Hell and the idea that Gehenna is a place of everlasting torment. The preacher, Edward Fudge, concluded that torment in Hell was not eternal but the wicked are annihilated into nonexistence in Hell. Was Mr. Fudge right about Hell? Are lost people totally obliterated in Hell and there is no eternal suffering?
What Jesus Taught about the Destruction of the Body and the Soul
What did Jesus mean that the body and soul could be destroyed in Gehenna (Matt 10:28)? Many use these words of Jesus as a foundation for doubting the eternal condemnation of the lost in Gehenna — or “Hell.” Rather than Hell being the place of everlasting torment, some have deduced that Gehenna fire destroys lost souls into nonexistence. However, most believers throughout history have concluded that the Bible teaches an eternal torment in Hell and that this is a just sentence for those who rebel against God and Christ. Should the perceived injustice of an eternal Hell compel believers to reconsider what the Bible teaches about Hell?
In Matthew 10:28, English translations present Jesus teaching that God will destroy both body and the soul in Gehenna (cf. Matt 5:29–30). This is why many conclude that the lost will be annihilated in Hell. The Greek word translated as “destroy” is apollumi. The word is most often translated as “lost,” “perished,” “ruined,” or “destroyed,” and that such state of ruin is partial rather than complete. The following study includes a word-study of how the New Testament uses the Greek word apollumi. This post cites every verse where this Greek word occurs in the New Testament.
The Meaning of Destruction in the Bible
The Greek word apollumi for “destroy” is the only Greek word translated as “lost” in the New Testament, so interpreting this word to mean strictly “annihilation” or “extinction” would eliminate the word “lost” from the New Testament. Furthermore, this would not make sense of many texts. Interpreting the word as “annihilate” is preferential and would dismiss the general meaning of the word and its flexibility within its contexts.
What would be the results of translating every occurence of apollumi as “annihilated” rather than “lost”?
- The word apollumi refers to lost sheep (Matt 10:6; 15:24; Luke 15:4–7), to lost hair (Luke 21:18), to a lost reward (Matt 10:42; Mark 9:41; Luke 15:8–9; 2 John 8). Were the sheep annihilated and then found?
- This is the word for the prodigal son being lost (Luke 15:24, 32). Was the son annihilated and then found?
- Jesus came to seek and save what was lost (Luke 19:10; John 6:39). Did Jesus save those who were destroyed into nonexistence?
- The word apollumi is also used for losing one’s life to find it (Matt 10:39; 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24–25; 17:33; John 12:25). Must one’s life be annihilated to find it? Does this make sense?
- This term refers to anyone lost and then saved by Christ — not annihilated and saved by Christ (Matt 18:11; John 17:12; cf. John 18:9).
- Apollumi refers to torn wineskins (Matt 9:17; Mark 2:22; Luke 5:37). When wineskins tear do the skins instantly dissolve into nonexistence?
- The word refers to things lost to ruin like food being ruined or spoiled (John 6:12, 27).
Does Death Mean Annihilation?
This word does not mean “complete extinction” or “total annihilation.” The spirit of the unsaved lives in a ruined state. However, are there any scriptures that demonstrate that apollumi means destruction into nonexistence? These simple observations of these scriptures reveal that there are no such passages in the Bible that teach apollumi means destruction unto annihilation. The Scriptures use the same word apollumi for “perish” or “death.” What would happen if apollumi was always translated “annihilate” in reference to perish or death? Consider:
- The Scriptures use this word to describe people killing people, but no one is annihilated and no one is ever depicted as being destroyed unto annihilation when one destroys another (Matt 2:13; 8:25; 12:14; 21:41; 22:7; 26:52; Mark 11:18; 12:9; Luke 6:9; 9:56; 11:51; 20:16; John 10:28; 18:14; 1 Cor 15:18; Jas 1:11; Jude 5, 9).
- Jesus taught that God’s will is not for little ones to perish; although, they do (Matt 18:14). The Greek word behind “perish” is apollumi. When little children die, are they annihilated body and soul? If someone interpreted apollumi as the obliteration of the body and soul, then Jesus’s words would imply that children are annihilated into nonexistence when they die. However, Jesus revealed that little children are of the kingdom of God (Matt 19:14).
- Jesus’s enemies sought to destroy Him (Matt 27:20; Mark 3:6; Luke 19:47). Were His enemies trying to kill Him or annihilate His body and soul to no longer exist?
- Peter used the word apollumi in reference to the world perishing by the Flood and was thus lost (apollumi), but the earth was not destroyed unto nonexistence (2 Pet 3:6).
- Apollumi describes the death of those who died in the Flood and those who died in Sodom and Gomorrah (Luke 17:27, 29). Did the Flood and that fire annihilate people body and soul or were they merely destroyed in the sense that their lives ended?
- When asked about deaths of people in recent tragedies, Jesus warn people to repent or they would likewise perish (Luke 13:3, 5). None of those who died in falling tower were annihilated.
- Peter noted that gold can be destroyed as “gold that perishes [apollumi] even though tested by fire” (1 Pet 1:7).
The word apollumi never means death unto complete extinction and nonexistence, but the Bible does use the word to mean “die” as when one’s spirit is separated from the body (Mark 4:38; 9:22; Luke 8:24; 13:33; 15:17; John 11:50; Acts 5:37; Rom 2:12; 1 Cor 10:9–10; 2 Cor 4:9; Heb 1:11).
The word apollumi also refers to the spiritual death of perishing in eternal separation from God (John 3:15–16; Rom 14:15; 1 Cor 1:18–19; 8:11; 2 Cor 2:15; 4:3; 2 Thess 2:10; Jas 4:12; 2 Pet 3:9). Demons feared that they would perish in such torment (Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34; cf. Matt 8:29). Do demons simply fear that they will no longer exist? Why would demons fear Hell unless they were going to suffer for an extended amount of time?
Every verse has now been cited where apollumi appears in Scripture. No biblical reference implies that the body and soul are annihilated rather than lost to ruin. The idea of the body and soul’s extinction in Hell is a mistaken position supported by those who do not understand the justness of eternal torment and the severity of sin that eternally separates people from God.
Other Words Translated Destruction and Ruin
Another word in similar form that is translated “destruction” is apoleia, which appears 18 times in the New Testament.
- The word apoleia refers to both immediate consequences of sin in the loss of moral integrity or physical ruin and refers to ultimate, eternal separation from God (Matt 7:13; Rom 9:22).
- Apoleia refers to death and is translated “perish” (John 17:12; Acts 8:20).
- The word is also used in the assertion that the anointing of Jesus was a waste of ointment (Matt 26:8; Mark 14:4).
- The term underscores God’s righteous judgment against sin. Apoleia highlights the inevitability of ruin for those who reject Him (Rom 9:22; 2 Pet 2:1).
- Furthermore, the word is often contrasted with salvation, emphasizing the two possible outcomes of human life: eternal ruin apart from God or eternal life with Him (Phil 1:28; 3:19).
- Peter used the word repeatedly to describe the result of false teachers spreading destructive heresies (2 Pet 2:1, 3; 3:7, 16).
- Apoleia refers to the destruction of the “Son of Perdition” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and the Beast in Revelation 17:8 and 17:11 as the Book of Revelation revealed that the Beast was to be “thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone” (19:20). Their suffering was eternal and not annihilation.
Another word with similar meaning is olethron appearing in 4 verses in the New Testament (1 Cor 5:5; 1 Thess 5:3; 2 Thess 1:9; 1 Tim 6:9; Heb 10:39). This word refers to temporal punishment for correction (1 Cor 5:5) and eternal punishment (2 Thess 1:9). The context determines the scope of destruction. In eschatological passages, olethron refers to separation from God emphasizing the gravity of being eternally severed from God’s presence (2 Thess 1:9).
Jesus Taught of Eternal Punishment in Hell
When Jesus spoke of the righteous inheriting “the kingdom” and entering into “eternal life,” He was not speaking of people’s existence ceasing to exist as they forever are united into one divine spirit as claimed by pagan and New Age beliefs (Matt 25:34, 46). When Jesus spoke of the judgment of the wicked, He spoke of “the everlasting fire” as “everlasting punishment” rather a temporary punishment by an everlasting fire (Matt 25:41, 46). In Revelation, God punished those who worshiped the Beast and received his mark with being “tormented with fire and brimstone” as “their smoke ascends forever” and they have “no rest day or night” (Rev 14:10–11). These is no indication of annihilation of body and soul for these. The Beast and the False Prophet were also cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev 19:20), and later Satan also was cast into the Lake of Fire where they “will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev 20:10). John’s Revelation says that God will cast everyone NOT written in the Book of Life into this Lake of Fire (Rev 20:15). The constant and continuous rebellion against God by the Beast, the False Prophet, and those who worshipped the Beast made their punishment everlasting.
Jesus’s Description of Gehenna
Jesus described Gehenna as “the everlasting fire” “that shall never be quenched” where the “worm does not die” (Matt 18:8; cf. Isa 66:24; Mark 9:43–48; Rev 21:8). Gehenna does consist of torment rather than merely annihilation as Jesus observed, “There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth,” as noted in Isaiah 66:24 (Matt 13:49–50). Why is Gehenna fire everlasting and a place where the worm does not die if it is only a temporary punishment? Why are there “everlasting chains of darkness” in Gehenna if this place is only temporary (2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6)? Are these eternal restraints for those who are annihilated? No. These reveal eternal depictions of Hell as eternal torment. However, Jesus also revealed that God does not punish everyone the same in Hell (Luke 12:47–48).
The Justness of Eternal Condemnation
Eternal condemnation is just for those who live in rebellion to God. There are eternal consequences for rejecting the eternal God who gives eternal life through His eternal Word who became flesh, died, and resurrected to everlasting life. With the extent of torment established for all of these, what will happen to everyone who dies lost and separated from the eternal God? They are without excuse for NOT finding and trusting God (Acts 17:26–27, 30–31; Rom 1:20). God is not far from anyone in any nation. Every person can find Him (Acts 17:26–27). Everyone can see God’s eternal power and deity by what is made in the creation (Rom 1:18–21). Everyone has a God-given moral conscience that compels them to repent (Rom 2:1–10, 14–16). Christ taught that those who seek will find (Matt 7:7). Everyone is able to find Christ and obey the gospel (2 Thess 1:7–9; 1 Pet 4:17). Gehenna is justly eternal torment for those who choose to rebel against God. God will not completely exterminate everyone body and soul in Hell. A punishment of “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord” is coming for those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel (2 Thess 1:7–9).
Observe the severity of sin in Hebrews 10:26–29,
“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?“
Conclusion
Jesus taught more about Hell than anyone else in the Bible. The reader should read and believe His words and critical examine everything in this study. This study found that Hell is eternal punishment for the wicked. If you are wondering how a biblical student like Edward Fudge could conclude that Hell is annihilation and not eternal torment, then consider someone having to explain the justness of God and God’s justice against loved ones who were “sincerely” unfaithful. Assuming a limited understanding of the Greek word apollumi to mean destruction by annihilation props up a simpler answer to a rebellious world. One must first choose Christ’s words given to His apostles and prophets and be ready to give an answer of hope while recognizing God’s just judgment against everlasting rebellion.
May God bless you in your study of His Word.
The Breath of God 
Given that this artcle cites verses where apollumi means “to slay” then it is odd that the article itself is aimed at the view that apollumi means “to annihilate”. If the soul and the body are killed in hell – if apollumi means “to slay” in Matt 10:28 – then one does not need apollumi to mean “to annihilate” in that verse for the idea of annihilation to be in view. That being so, then all the rest of the evidence you might cite from Matthew for the final fate of the lost (Matt 3:12; 7:13-14; 13:40-43; 18:8-9; 24:41-25), or even the other synoptics (Mark 9:47-48; Luke 12:5) would have in view the death of the soul and the body.
Maybe your attention should have been on showing why apollumi cannot mean “to slay” in Matthew 10:28. I don’t think you can, though I would like to see what reasons you might give for why that is so, given the list of verses you do cite where aollumi means “to kill” or “to die”.
Scott and Martin,
Perhaps both of you have a great discussion going on, but are getting lost in translation via accusations and assumptions through the typed, reply medium. More often than not points, meanings, and explanations are misconstrued via text and email formats, and the like. Martin, if you truly want to have a discussion and not an argument maybe you guys should talk on the phone or in another format. It sounds like both sides’ points are being shadowed by assumptions and inferences of the other, which is somewhat unfair to both of you. I think it’s wonderful you want to communicate! I’m suggesting this because multiple times I’ve been misunderstood and misquoted because of what I have typed, Posted, text, etc.
I reread the comments. I forgot how funny our conversation was. I can’t stop laughing. I thought Martin was using satire.
Well maybe i’m the one reading it wrong then! :-) I’m glad you got a laugh… God bless!
Argumentum ad absurdum
Would you like to read something really absurd Scott?
Gehenna is a place here on earth.
Gehenna is the place Jesus said the wicked could suffer.
We inhabit a planet upon which people are tormented day and night.
This planet is suspended in outer darkness, orbiting a massive fireball, in a universe consisting of practically nothing else but fireballs.
Revelation is written in past tense.
Heaven and earth pass away together. When the first heaven and first earth pass away, the new heaven and new earth would be the second heaven and second earth. The new testament speaks of a man taken up to the 3rd heaven. The 3rd heaven must therefore exist, meaning this must also be the 3rd earth.
The Hebrew in Genesis 1 reads that the earth had become formless and void. This would have been the 2nd earth. The creation account in Genesis 1 is the restoration of earth, the formation of the 3rd earth.
An age is the lifespan of an earth, the time from creation to when we destroy it, in much the same way we are destroying this one.
Our universe fits perfectly the description of a lake of fire.
We are in it now, preexistence must be true. God is just, we wouldn’t be in here for nothing.
We on the left hand (Manasseh, which means make to forget), have forgotten our past existence that resulted in our being put here in Tartarus.
Jesus came in here to get us out.
Justinian was not the church, he was a Roman emporer who forced anathemas on the church.
The institutions who distribute bibles and call themselves the church today and educate bible scholars are not the church at all, they are the wolves Jesus warned us about.
The church was slaughtered through the centuries by inquisition etc.
Have you ever studied what the Cathars and Bogomils believed?
YHWH is not God, YHWH is the devil.
YHWH is not “the Lord “, Jesus alone is Lord.
Jesus told the Pharisees their father was the devil. Jesus meant YHWH, who cursed and commanded genocide and gave the law of sin and death, the worshipers of YHWH have faced nothing but calamity.
Of course in addition to countering this logic with argumentum ad absurdum, you could try argumentum ad populum, or if you want to try really hard you could use argumentum ad hominem if you dug deep into who I am and what I’ve done.
YHWH makes blind. Jesus makes the blind see.
Do you really believe that it was Jesus who met Paul on the road to Damascus?
Pharisee infiltrator of the church bringing with him the belief that YHWH is God.
If YHWH is your father in heaven who you pray to in Jesus name, your father is the devil.
The angel YHWH is not the father of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is the father of Jesus, it was the Holy Spirit who overshadowed Mary.
Ye Shuah god of salvation.
Ye Hawa, Hayya, Hova god who causes to fall, god of destruction, Apollyon.
Laugh away fellas, God bless.
Interesting to note the scriptural use of the word “forever” for example in Jonah 2:6, but we know he eventually got out.
As for the fate of the wicked, you get a clearer view from reading the start of Malachi 4 (wicked reduced to ashes and no roots/branches left), and Psalm 37. Psalm 104:35 is also clear about what will happen to the wicked. Also consider that Sodom and Gomorrah went into the eternal fire Jude 7, 2 Peter 2:6 and are not still smoldering away today.
Something does not have to completely disappear into the vacuum of space to be considered annihilated. If the original person has been rendered permanently unconscious by whatever happened to them it seems silly to say the person is not annihilated because you found their leg lying on the ground.
English is not scripture. Read the Greek. The words forever and eternal are not scriptural.
Martin, As a student of Greek, age upon ages is forever, and aionios means perpetual ages.
Robert Young would disagree with you. He was a student too. He actually even translated a whole bible! Maybe you’ll see God is love when you are a senior.
There is no logic in argument by assertion.
good information.Thank you for writing about Hell .I firmly believe that there is heaven and hell.there is still a lot of people even christian who do not believe in hell
If Hades (not Hell) used by Jesus in THE PARABLE in Luke 16:19-31 is Hell, a literal place of eternal torment, then Abraham’s bosom must be Heaven, a place from where you can literally watch people you love being tormented forever and ever and you can’t do a thing to help them. Is that your idea of Heaven? This PARABLE is the only time Hades is mentioned as a place of torment, and the description is generally understood to be that of Hades in Greek mythology, not Sheol in Hebrew thought which is what Hades is understood to be, where the dead sleep. The place of torment is Gehenna. Gehenna is a literal place here on earth. The place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth and day and night torment is here on Earth (Tartarus) in outer darkness in the Lake of Fire (our Universe). I once did a study on the phrase “the third” and joined the dots. I have a strong suspicion we are the third of angels thrown out of Heaven. I use Youngs Literal Translation a lot and it has been eye opening. Gehenna of the fire, not fire of Gehenna. Apollumi appears to me to be a compound word, implying destruction of separation. We are physically separated from God here, but He is with us in spirit.
Please, reread this article and the scriptures. Your references to Gehenna, torment, Tartarus, and outer darkness shows that your study is not complete.
You need to study some more in the Greek text. Apo is a prefix and a preposition in its single use. Etymology is secondary to definition. Word use is the first definer. See article for an example of defining apollumi.
Lastly, Jesus does not mention in Luke 16 anyone watching lost family members burn in Hell. Thank you for your comment. God bless your studies.
Hades, Gehenna and Tartarus all appear in the Greek and they all mean different things.
Who was Lazarus asking to put water on his tongue? Couldn’t they see him or talk to him?
So many accusations, where do they come from?
“Your study is not complete”
“You need to study more in Greek”
Ad-hominem is not a very effective form of debate and its quite nasty, even if you put a “God bless” on the end of it, if you believe someone is wrong its much nicer to explain why. If you don’t have time, please don’t be nasty, I didn’t come here to fight with you, I just came to share my insights.
I am sorry that you are offended. My points still stand. If you have questions about my reply or the article, you can ask them here.
I did ask a few questions, you didn’t answer any of them. You didn’t seem to address any of my points, you seemed to entirely dismiss everything I wrote.
“I’m sorry that you are offended” is not the same thing as “I am sorry I offended you”. If you are genuinely sorry it should be for your actions, not my feelings.
Do you understand what I meant when I said that ad-hominem is not an effective form of debate? If you do not apply logic in your response you cannot convince me merely by saying “My points still stand”.
I noticed a mistake in what I wrote (oops). In the parable, the rich man, Lazarus and Abraham are having a conversation and they can see each other. It is the rich man who asks to have his tongue cooled, not Lazarus.
If Lazarus and Abraham could see the rich man in torment, would we not likewise be able to see our loved ones in torment that didn’t make it? And hear them ask us for help? And not be able to help them? Would that be Heaven for us?
I noticed you are Church of Christ. Are you ICOC?
Martin, You are the one being rude here. You have not presented any points that were not addressed in the article. You make false accusations. Now, you insult me by asking if I am in the International church denomination. Be kind and honest. Read the article.
Dear Scott,
I did not come here to insult you, if I did, I am sorry, I had no intention of insulting you.
Am I making you angry? Do you not like it when people ask you questions?
Please be patient with me.
Scott, the only accusations I can see I made towards you are these: –
“I did ask a few questions, you didn’t answer any of them. You didn’t seem to address any of my points, you seemed to entirely dismiss everything I wrote.”
and
“I see you are Church of Christ”
Are these false accusations?
In addition to the previous accusations you have made towards me, you now add that I am rude and dishonest. Is my now accusing you, of you accusing me, also a false accusation?
Have you answered any of my questions?
How can asking you if you are ICOC be an insult?
How can asking you if you are ICOC even be rude?
Is it rude to ask people questions?
Is it rude not to answer someone’s question?
Have you ever done any reading on logical flaws in arguments?
Does everything ever created belong to God?
Can God lose anything?
Is God love all of the time or only for a limited time?
Is God merciful all of the time or only for a limited time?
Are there any other options apart from Heaven or Hell?
Are you in Heaven now?
When God says that He will restore “all things”, is anything excluded?
If Jesus said that the path is narrow and few find it, where would that position the majority view?
Does your continued assertion for me to read your article automatically render your entire article infallible?
Do you believe I made my comments before having read your article?
Has it ever occurred to you that there might be another way of looking at things, other than the way you now see them?
Do you believe that your study is complete and you have nothing new to learn?
I ask questions all the time because I know that I don’t know everything, if I don’t ask questions I will never learn anything new. I do not have to believe anything just because a lot of other people believe it, I can believe whatever I want to believe, and I base my beliefs on my personal bible study and study of history and (I hope) rational thought.
I come to pages like yours reading other peoples views (your article is just your view, perhaps influenced by the views of others) sharing my insights in the hope that I will receive feedback on my insights to adjust them if anyone points out there is anything logically wrong with what I believe. My mind is open to accept that I could be wrong, if it wasn’t open I would never learn anything new. Being a disciple and being teachable to me means keeping an open mind.
I have written a 7 page paper on Hell which includes a brief summary of early church history and the beliefs of the early church, would you like to read it? If you would, please send me your email address and I’ll send it to you, you might then have more insight into where I am coming from.
blessings,
Martin
“I have written a 7 page paper on Hell which includes a brief summary of early church history and the beliefs of the early church, would you like to read it?”
Hello,
I found this page with your commentarys. And Iam interesting in your study.
Would you please send it to me?
Thanks, Pedi
Hi there;
What is a secret? What is a mystery? are they the same or are they different?
What is a parable? What is a true story? are they the same or are they different?
If you don’t know what a parable is? Then you will never know the secrets of the kingdom. For the Master Teacher taught in parables; Why did he teach in parables?
1 These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, transcribed.
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
Prov 25
Why do you waste your time on English words such as “Hell” when Jesus spoke in Hebrew and the Greek languages? Numbers 23:19 and 1Cor 13:6 tells me that their is no Hell other wise 1Cor 13:6 would be a lie? Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the Truth. Is Christ divided? No! What type of river flows from the throne of God? Is it a salty river? or a pure river? A tree is known by its fruit? What are the fruits of the Spirit,
Love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control against such things there is no law Gal 5
All scripture is God breathed? Did Jesus speak in English? I know He could of if he wanted too, but He didn’t He only spoke in Hebrew and Greek. But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son. Heb 1:2 and what does John 6:63 say do you believe it
bless u bro
What about those who call whistling,compliments,staring, “hassling” and think supposedly think its “unwanted” and they need their “permission”, you don’t think they will be in hell? I think they will be whether they are destroyed there or not.