No Eternal Punishment?

JW's use Mathew 10:28 as proof text.   Read quotes from CRI Journal, Spring 1991, page 15 and Summer 1991 page 9

Bullet "destroy" or "perish" is annihilation?

Hebrew "abad" is translated as destroy or perish.   Proverbs 11:10, Numbers 21:29 ( NIV).  "cut off" (carath) Psalm 37:22.   Daniel 9:26  Who is this talking about?  Was Jesus annihilated?

Greek - verb "apollumi" is translated to English as: perish, lost, destroy. Thayer: Render useless.   Read Matthew 9:17 and Matthew 10:6.  Both 'ruined' wineskins and 'lost' house of Israel are translated from Apollumi.

Persons are destroyed when they can no longer function in any way as designed.  This does not imply annihilation.  The primary dictionary meaning is "to ruin utterly".

Bullet The unsaved; same fate as satan?

Read Matthew 25:41,46.   Note that Hell created for devil and angels, and unredeemed share in same fate.   Revelation 14:11, Revelation 19:20

Bullet Eternal Life for righteous?

Matthew 25:46, if righteous have eternal life, then unrighteous have eternal punishment.   NWT has 'everlasting cutting off'.

Bullet Nature of hell

Is eternal fire literal or metaphor?   Mark 9:48 (undying worm).   Even if its nature is metaphorical this does not imply that it does not exsist or that it is not an awful place.

Bullet 'Punishment' or 'cutting off'

JW's quote footnote from 'Emphatic Diaglott' a translation by Benjamin Wilson, a Christadelphian.  unconscious punishment?

Bullet Unconscious punishment?

Punishment implies consciousness and the existance of the one being punished.   Punishment implies deprivation or suffering.  Nonentities cannot receive punishment.

Bullet Degrees of punishment?

Is this taught?   Luke 12:47-48, Hebrews 10:29.   No degrees of punishment if annihilated.

Bullet Annihilation as punishment

How can one be punished and not exist?  What does annihilation say about God's justice?   e.g. Hitler, Stalin, Mao etc.

Bullet What is duration of hell?

Note that punishment for the wicked forms parallel with eternal life for the righteous.   If you limit the punishment you must also limit eternal life.   Revelation 14:9-11; Revelation 20:10

Bullet Torment demands consciousness

Can a rock or a tree be tormented?   Can an annihilated nonentity be tormented?

Bullet Duration of punishment?

For ever and ever - from Greek term eons of eons.  Read Revelation 4:10 and Revelation 10:6 .   Same term is used to refer to God's endless life.

Bullet Infinite suffering; finite sin?

Assumption is that heinousness of crime is related to the time it takes to commit it.   This is false, in that stealing may take longer than murder, but murder is worse.   Gravity of crime is proportional to the worth and dignity of the person offended.   Torturing human beings is worse than torturing an animal.  Stealing from ones mother is worse than stealing from someone else.  Thus sinning against an abosolute Holy God is the worse thing one can do.

Bullet Consume implies an end?

"burn up" or consume.  Matt 3:12.  Unquenchable fire is NOT a normal fire.   Mark 9:8 ..undying worms since food supply has NOT been consumed.

Acronyms defined
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