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You are here: Home / Theology / Evangelical annihilationism / the death penalty

the death penalty

June 28, 2020 By Jefferson Vann Leave a Comment

Photo by Lum3n from Pexels

In “the death penalty” Jefferson Vann discusses the content of his daily devotional, and how it relates to annihilationism.

the death penalty

Today’s devotional was entitled “vengeance on his adversaries” based on a passage in Deuteronomy:

Deuteronomy 32:40-43 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 32:40 I raise my hand to the sky and declare: As surely as I live permanently,
Deuteronomy 32:41 when I sharpen my flashing sword, and my hand takes hold of judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me.
Deuteronomy 32:42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood while my sword devours meat – the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.”
Deuteronomy 32:43 Rejoice, you nations, concerning his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants. He will take vengeance on his adversaries; he will provide reconciliation for his land and his people.

vengeance on his adversaries

This part of Moses’ song records God’s oath in which he swears to take vengeance on his adversaries. Those who slaughter the innocent will feel the sharp tips of God’s arrows and the slicing edge of God’s sword.

Why sing of such a thing? One reason is that there will be ages of what will seem to be senseless violence against God’s people. We certainly know that was a true prediction. God calls on his people to trust him to provide reconciliation.

Reconciliation of every evil is going to happen. It is our choice what kind of reconciliation we can have. It will either be permanent destruction in hell, or permanent forgiveness through Christ’s death on the cross.

Lord, we recognize ourselves as your adversaries due to our own sin. We plead the blood of Christ as our reconciliation.

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The original devotional is here:

https://marmsky.com/2020/06/28/vengeance-on-his-adversaries/

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I have also been adding a short video each day to accompany the devotional.

You can see that video here:



In the video I talked about how the passage was an example of what C.S. Lewis called Christianity and water — an illusion to the diluting of the faith to not include unpleasant dark things like God’s retribution.

We all know that the Bible contains these promises of destruction, and in the video I make a point of the fact that the emphasis is always on destruction, not spiritual suffering for eternity.

As adherents to what people call annihilationism, we try to use biblical language and imagery to describe biblical predictions, and there are numerous places in the scripture where the final fate of the lost is described like it is here: a second death, and a violent painful, humiliating death.

In fact, there are only a couple of places in the New Testament which describe hell as aionios (eternal) and I understand that adjective as referring to the permanence of the death, not it being a perpetual process. It is the death penalty, not an eternal life penalty. It is permanent, not perpetual.

Passages like Deuteronomy 32:40-43 support that view. When God in his patience finally acts to bring justice to those who rebel against him and his people, that justice will result in death — which is, after all the wages of sin.

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For more on annihilationism, see:

anger management

he’d be glad to

reading Tucker on Hell

the wrath of an impartial judge

don’t ask for a demonstration!

pandemic!

reading Rutherford on Annihilationism

don’t miss the boat

the coming reign of Christ

conditionalism is fair

until they had been finished

Is hell only for regrets?

sunk, never to rise again

asleep and on fire!

a permanent sleep

from the face of the Lord

we will watch

remembering what sin does

toy machine gun lesson

consequences of rejecting God’s love

two harvests

Jeremiah’s unquenchable fire

men and gods will be destroyed

Jeremiah’s permanent fire

God’s remedy for defilement

destined for destruction

a neglected promise

mutual defection

burn the city

Jeremiah’s Gehenna

the end of sin

picked clean

an end by fire and sword

hope without compromise

contending together for the faith

a little bird told me

translation notes on Philippians 1:27-30

day of wrath

Peter’s synonym for Gehenna

two case studies – the meaning of ἀπόλλυμι in Acts

exterminate!

How hell will really glorify God

a modern metaphorical view

The consequences of separation

An Eastern Orthodox Perspective

A final punishment bibliography

Αἰώνιος in the New Testament – the fourth attributive instances

Αἰώνιος | aiónios in the New Testament – the first attributive occurrences

Αἰώνιος in the New Testament – the second attributives

Αἰώνιος in the New Testament – three rare instances

Αἰώνιος in the New Testament – the four adverbial instances

swept away

Spoiling the Vineyard

Perish the thought

set apart for destruction

Abraham’s Refusal

An exegesis of John 3

Charles Spurgeon and Hell

CS Lewis and Annihilation

Up in smoke

Classical theology and conditional immortality

Hell is an apologetics concern

tomorrow – ready

consumed

An Overview of Final Judgement in Matthew’s Gospel

eternally

only two destinies | Permanent Life | Permanent Death

which assembly?

perhaps you may be hidden

Did Judas go to hell? Judas’ eternal sin?

Is Hell Eternal Torment ?

A Question For The Bible Answer man: Will You Change Your Mind?

Revelation 22:14,15 & the Fate of the Wicked

Death not Life – The Doctrine of Destruction Established

Endless Conscious Torment repels

the wrath to come

The Rich man and Lazarus and the intermediate state

Conditionalism makes the good news (gospel) of Jesus actually “good news”

Discusssion around the article Tracing the Road to Gehenna

Is hell eternal? Is God So Holy That Sinners Deserve Endless Conscious Punishing?

A Christian’s Apology To Atheists

The Truth About Hell

Solving the Problem of Hell

WHY SO IMPORTANT? Republished from gracEmail® by Edward Fudge

Hell: A Place of Silence, A State of Extinction

UNQUENCHABLE FIRE by W. Laing. Republished from The Bible Standard May 1878 pg 59-60

The Rich Man and Lazarus Imagery

A Brief History of Conditional Immortality and Answers to Critics Part 2 By David Green BA BD CA

Hell Houses?

My Annihilation , a Non-Event?

Historical background to The Rich Man and Lazarus

The Rich Man and Lazarus and hell

As In The Days of Noah

The Second Death

A Resurrection of the Wicked

Jesus parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

 

About Jefferson Vann

Jefferson Vann pastors Piney Grove Advent Christian Church in Delco, North Carolina, USA. He is a teacher, Bible translator, and avid blogger. "My hope is that everyone who reads my writings will have an opportunity to understand the gospel, and will know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior." He has written books on theology and Bible commentary. You can read more of Jeff's writing at Devotions  |  Jefferson Vann | Commands of Christ | Learning Koine Greek Together

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