Is There Resurrection From The Second Death?

Two Seeds...One Lives On in Resurrection ...The Other Perishes............
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The Second Death
Universal reconciliation necessitates a resurrection from the second death. The proof text is here examined
A. -- I want to consider the teaching of the Word concerning the second death before we leave the subject of universal reconciliation.

26 THE SECOND DEATH
B. -- May I ask why you consider this subject so important?
A. -- Well, to be frank with you, were it not for the faith I have that those who are held by the second death shall one day be delivered from its power and be numbered with the redeemed, I confess that your arguments would prove too strong for me.
B. -- Will you state clearly what you believe as to this, so that we may not beat the air in our argument?
1 Corinthians 15:26 and the Second Death
A. -- I believe that at the consummation of the ages, beyond the great white throne, those who have been cast into the lake of fire shall come forth,
redeemed of the Lord, that the second death will, at the consummation, usher into life in Christ.
The word distinctly affirms that ‘the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death’ (1 Cor. 15:26). Actuated by the exigencies of a theory, some have attempted to limit this statement to the first death, but the attempt is futile. A comparison of 1 Corinthians 15:26 with the statement in Revelation 20:14 and 21:8 will show that the lake of fire is to be abolished at the consummation. It is the last enemy.
Is the Second Death in 1 Corinthians 15?
B. -- I observe that you do not pretend to discover this deliverance from the lake of fire in the book of the Revelation.
A. -- No, I will admit that apart from 1 Corinthians 15:26 Scripture is silent on the subject.
B. -- So then, your whole doctrine stands or falls with your interpretation of 1 Corinthians 15:26. Now I believe that death as spoken of in 1 Corinthians 15 always refers to the death brought in by Adam, and never to the second death. My beliefs, however, like your own, must stand the test of Scripture, or they must be renounced as false. Let us therefore seek afresh the scope of the word death as used in 1 Corinthians 15. Will you share in this search, and ‘prove all things’?
The Words Dead, Die and Death examined
A. -- I find that nekros, the word ‘dead’, occurs thirteen times. The verses are: 12,13,15,16,20,21,29,32,35,42,52. They speak of ‘the resurrection of the dead’, and I admit that Adamic death is intended in each case.
B. -- Perhaps you will find confirmation of your theory in apothnesko, ‘to die’.
A. -- This word occurs five times. The verses are: 3,22,31,32,36. The usage is limited to the death of Christ and the
first death of men. And again I confess that the second death is not in view.
B. -- Your last hope then is in the word thanatos.
A. -- This word meaning ‘death’ occurs five times. The verses are 21,26,54,55,56.
B. -- Perhaps you had better give these passages in full, and will you also take note of anything in the original that distinguishes one passage from another?
‘For since by man came death (Gk. ho thanatos)’ (21).
‘The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death (Gk. ho thanatos)’ (26). ‘Death is swallowed up in victory (Gk. ho thanatos)’ (54).
‘O death, where is thy sting? (Gk. thanate)’ (55).
‘The sting of death is sin (Gk. tou thanatou)’ (56).

No Distinction in the Original
B. -- With the exception of verse 55, each verse uses the word with the article. The expression ‘O death’, being in the vocative, dispenses with the article. There is therefore one unbroken reference to some one thing called ho thanatos, ‘death’. How do you prove that verse 26 deals with the second death?
A. -- I must confess that the more closely we examine this chapter, the less I find to support my theory, yet I have been led to believe that those who saw only Adamic death in 1 Corinthians 15 were blinded by prejudice.
The Scope of the Subject examined
B. -- What is the scope of 1 Corinthians 15?
A. -- The scope of any passage is determined by its literary structure.
B. -- Shall we then seek the inspired structure of this chapter? I think we can omit verses 1-11 from our present discussion; they deal with the evidences and evangel of resurrection.
‘HOW?’ ‘HOW?’ ‘AWAKE’.
‘BE STEDFAST’.
The intervening verses, 13-33 and 36-57, which constitute the bulk of the chapter, both deal with:
ADAM and CHRIST
‘HOW?’
‘HOW?’
The predominance of Adam
You will see that the major sections are headed by the names Adam and Christ, and these sections contain the references to the destruction or swallowing up of death. The scope of the passage is defined for us, and it is not possible to introduce the second death without committing violence to the passage. Paul amplifies the statement concerning the destruction of the last enemy by the words, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’. That ‘swallowing up’ takes place at resurrection, and is the destruction of the last enemy -- death.
A. -- I agree with you as to the strong argument you have for the place of Adam in this chapter, but do not follow your meaning when you speak of Paul amplifying.
B. -- Paul follows a customary method. First he states his theme briefly, then follows with fuller details. There are at least four such amplifications:
1. Every man in his own order.
3. The destruction of death.
The structure may be set out as follows:
Exhortation. ‘AWAKE’. The manner of resurrection. Adam and Christ.
B 36-57.
Death swallowed up.
‘When’? ‘Then’.
C 58. Exhortation. ‘BE STEDFAST’.

28 THE SECOND DEATH
4. The answer to the question ‘when?’
Let us put this statement to the test.
1. Every man in his own order.
The amplification occupies verses 37-44. The words ‘celestial bodies’ and ‘terrestrial bodies’ and the differing glory of the sun, moon and stars, all bear upon the fact that in the resurrection every man will be in his own rank or order.
2. Adam and Christ.
In this amplification, which occupies verses 45-49, the relation of Adam to Christ and the resurrection is brought
out in the following passages:
‘The first man Adam
‘The last Adam
‘The first man
‘The second man
‘The image of the earthy’. ‘The image of the heavenly’.
a living soul’.
a life-giving spirit’ (R.V.). of the earth’.
the Lord from heaven’.
The next item is that of the destruction of the last enemy. Do you not feel that, with this evident amplification of the subject, those who introduce into this passage the second death are the ones who are obliged to do so by the exigencies of their own unscriptural theories?
Destruction of Death at the Resurrection
A. -- I must confess that the evidence seems all against any other death in 1 Corinthians 15 than that connected with Adam. Please proceed, as I want to see what the amplification is of the destruction of the last enemy.
B. -- (Reads 1 Corinthians 15:51-57):
‘Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
So when the corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’.
This is Paul’s inspired commentary upon the destruction of the last enemy. Can this passage by any possibility
refer to the second death?
A. -- I cannot tell you.
B. -- ‘We shall not all sleep’. What place is there in that for the second death? It is ruled out. ‘At the last trump’; ‘We shall be changed’; ‘This mortal must put on immortality’. Not one of these statements can be made to fit the second death. Further, the amplification of the time period is included in the verses just read.
A. -- I begin to feel that there is not much of my position left, but there is one argument you have not met, viz., that the destruction of the last enemy takes place ‘at the consummation of the ages’.
B. -- I look in both the English, and the Greek Original, but I do not see such a passage.
A. -- I am sure it is there, for I have quoted it many times when proving the resurrection from the second death. (Looks for the passage, but fails to find it).

THE SECOND DEATH 29
B. -- I think I can explain. ‘The consummation of the ages’ is what your friends read into the words, ‘then cometh the end’.
The meaning of ‘The End’
There is no word for ‘cometh’ in the original of verse 24. It simply reads ‘Then the end’. Some understand the words to mean ‘Then the end rank’, but we can find no justification for such a rendering. Cremer, in his note on to telos, says that this word does not primarily denote the end, termination, with reference to time, but the goal reached, the completion or conclusion at which anything arrives, either as issue or ending; or as a result, acme, consummation, e.g., polemon telos, ‘victory’ (literally ‘the end of war’, end, not measuring time but object); telos andros, ‘the full age of man’ (not the end of man -- death), also of ‘the ripening of seed’. In Luke 1:33 and Mark 3:26 the idea of termination seems uppermost. The idea of issue, end, conclusion, is seen in Matthew 26:58, ‘To see the end’; James 5:11, ‘Ye have seen the end of the Lord’; 1 Peter 4:17, ‘What shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel?’
The idea of a goal reached is seen in Romans 6:21, ‘The end of those things is death’; Philippians 3:19, ‘Whose end is destruction’. So also 2 Corinthians 11:15; Hebrew 6:8. When the apostle wrote the words of 1 Corinthians 15:24, ‘Then the end’, what goal had he in view? What is the object of resurrection? Does it not take man back into the place intended for him in the Divine purpose, for which sin and death had for a while rendered him unfit? The goal, this end in view, is contained in the words of 1 Corinthians 15:28, ‘That God may be all in all’. Although ‘the end’ is mentioned immediately after the resurrection of those that are Christ’s at His parousia, it is not attained without a reign of righteousness and a rule of iron. The uninterrupted statement of the end is as follows:
‘Then the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father -- (with the object) that God may be all in all’ (1 Cor. 15:24-28 author’s translation).
This is ‘the end’. The ‘consummation of the ages’ is an invention, a false peg upon which to hang a false theory. Just notice how the destruction of death is one of a series of steps toward the goal.
A 15:24-. The end.
B a
15:-24-. WHEN He delivers up the kingdom. b 15:-24. WHEN He abolishes all rule.
c 15:25-. FOR He must reign.
d 15:-25. Till all enemies under foot.
d 15:26-. The last enemy; death abolished.
c 15:-26. FOR He hath put all things under His feet. b 15:27. WHEN. The one exception.
1 Corinthians 15:24-28
a 15:28-. WHEN. The Son Himself subjected. A 15:-28. That God may be all in all.
A. -- My position I feel is untenable, and I am informed that there is no other passage of Scripture, except 1 Corinthians 15:26, that teaches a resurrection from the second death, so I fear my theories have proved false. I should like to finish the matter though, and see what is said by way of amplifying the time period.
‘When . . . . . . . Then’
B. -- You will notice in each section the words ‘when’ and ‘then’.
The end is attained ‘when He shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father’, and this is not done until all enemies are abolished, and all the redeemed are placed in their proper rank under Christ. The abolishing of death is timed for us in 1 Corinthians 15:54 by the words, ‘When -- then’. Isaiah 25: 8 contains the verse quoted in 1 Corinthians 15:54. It is in a context of Millennial administration:
‘Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously’ (Isa. 24:23).

30
THE SECOND DEATH
‘And in this mountain shall the LORD of Hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it’ (Isa. 25:6-8). (See also Isa. 26:1 and 27:1).
A further note of time is given in 1 Corinthians 15:52 ‘At the last trump’. In Revelation 11, at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, ‘the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ’. Immediately there follows reference to the ‘great power’ and the ‘reign’ and the ‘time of the dead’, and the ‘destruction of them that destroy the earth’. These Scriptures therefore place the period in view as being before the second death.
Death was virtually destroyed when Christ rose from the dead:
‘Who hath abolished (katargeo) death’ (2 Tim. 1:10).
Death will be actually destroyed when the last of the dead stand before the great white throne. Death will be manifestly destroyed when it is cast into the lake of fire.
A. -- I have been led to make a comparison between the lake of fire and the flood.
A true and a false analogy
B. -- The comparison is justifiable, I believe. What makes you hesitate now in accepting it?
A. -- I had believed the following comment to be true. In Noah’s day He cleansed away abounding sin by means of water. And was not water a purifier well suited to the task? And if in preparation for the last aion He once more wishes to dispose of evil, what more effective agent can be found than fire? It is the most searching purifier known.
B. -- These observations are rather involved. First you say that the water of the flood cleansed away abounding sin; then you say that the fire was an effective agent to dispose of evil; then you say that fire is a purifier, so I suppose your thought is that just as the flood purified in part, the fire will purify completely.
A. -- Yes, that expresses my idea.
B. -- Well, your idea will not stand the test. Turn to Genesis 6, 7, and 8:
‘Behold, I will destroy them’ (6:13).
‘Behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh’ (6:17). ‘Every living substance was destroyed’ (7:23).
‘I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake’ (8:21).
Destruction and curse are what is written of the flood, not purifying.
A. -- Perhaps the passage I think of is in the New Testament.
B. -- Let us find it by all means. The Gospels speak of the flood coming and taking all away:
‘The flood came, and destroyed them all’ (Luke 17:27; see also Matt. 24:38,39). There is no writer left now other than Peter:
‘And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person -- bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly’ (2 Pet. 2:5).
That does not speak of purifying. The only reference that speaks of cleansing is 1 Peter 3:20,21, but the type of salvation or purifying is the ark that saved Noah, not the flood that destroyed the ungodly.
The Flood did not purify its Victims
A. -- It appears that I have been misled in believing the flood had a purifying effect.

THE SECOND DEATH 31 B. -- Yes, and your other idea of the purifying effect of the second death vanishes with it.
A. -- Perhaps the meaning was that the flood did not purify its victims, but the earth on which they lived.
B. -- In that case the analogy does not serve your purpose. I would readily agree that the burning up of the elements was a purifying of the earth, but what you have been trying to prove is that it purified or preserved its victims. I believe with you that the flood foreshadows the lake of fire, and the inspired words are ‘destroy’ and ‘curse’, not ‘purify’ and ‘vivify’. Our chief purpose at the moment is the question, Does Scripture warrant a resurrection from the lake of fire? I believe you must agree that it does not.
A. -- I am afraid I must. I am reluctant to give up the idea, for it is the last position left.
Second Death not Aionion Fire
A. -- You have said, however, in one of your articles that the second death was unrevealed at the time when 1 Corinthians 15 was written. There I think you are mistaken. An aionion fire prepared for the Devil and his angels was already the subject of revelation (Matt. 25:41).
B. -- Where do we read that the Devil and his angels are cast into the second death? A. -- In Revelation 20.
B. -- Will you read the passage.
A. --
‘And the Devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever’ (Rev. 20:10).
B. -- But that lake of fire was burning at the commencement of the Millennium (Rev. 19:20). Aionion fire is Gehenna, as you can see by comparing Matthew 18:8,9, and is connected with Isaiah 66:24 (see Mark 9:48). This aionion fire must be local if it is burning right through the Millennium, and is accessible from Jerusalem, when all flesh come up to worship (Isa. 66:20,23).
The lake of fire, however, spoken of in Revelation 20:14,15 is:
(1). After the great white throne.
(2). Has no reference to the Devil and his angels, and
(3). Is specifically called the second death which Gehenna is not, and, by the parallel of 2 Peter 3:12, involves both the heavens and the earth.
A. -- I see that I am mistaken. You must pardon me if I am not easily convinced.
Who enter the Second Death?
B. -- We have not time to go into details as to other phases of the subject, but I should like to ask you who they are which die the second death.
A. -- I believe that everyone that appears before the awful light of the great white throne dies the second death. B. -- Will you read the literal translation of Revelation 20:15?
A. -- (Reads), ‘And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire’.
B. -- Do you not see how intensely individual the words ‘if anyone’ are?
A. -- Now that you point it out, I confess they do appear so.
B. -- The judgment here is twofold; one out of the books, the other out of the book; the books being a judgment of works, the book being a question of life or death. You have made two assumptions. First you have supposed that all 32 THE SECOND DEATH
who stand before the great white throne die the second death, and secondly, having plunged this vast multitude into the lake of fire, you have then entertained the unscriptural idea of a resurrection from it.
A. -- Is it possible then that only very few will be cast into the second death?
B. -- The question of the number of those who are thus judged hardly comes within the sphere of our enquiry, but I should not like you to draw a false conclusion from my remarks. While the words ‘if any one’ are very individual, and set aside your idea that all who stand before the great white throne must necessarily be cast into the lake of fire, nevertheless Scripture gives a very comprehensive list of those who merit this awful doom:
‘The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death’ (Rev. 21:8).
The Nature of the Second Death
Returning to the nature of the second death, perhaps you would say what death is, apart from resurrection.
A. -- Sleep.
B. -- No; death can only be called sleep with resurrection in view. If there be no resurrection, Paul says that they which have fallen asleep in Christ have perished (1 Cor. 15:18). Throughout Scripture, fire is spoken of as a destroyer, and often the agricultural figure of a fire for burning up weeds is used. Your theory would suggest that the husbandman gathers the thistles and the weeds together to burn them, in the hope that by some weird alchemy such weeds shall be transmuted into vines, figs, olives or wheat.
Let us summarize our findings before parting:
Summary All Things
When once we have seen that Scripture deals with two conflicting lines of purpose, we can then see that the words ‘all things’ embrace all within the limits of the original purpose. Perhaps 2 Corinthians 5:17,18 expresses the relation of ‘all things’ to God and the new creation as clearly as any passage:
‘If anyone be in Christ, there is a new creation; the old things have passed away; new things have come in; but the all things are of God, Who has reconciled us’ (Author’s translation).
All Things of God
Scripture categorically declares that some things are ‘not of God’ (1 John 3:8-12), and among them those things which are ‘of the Devil’. Anyone therefore who teaches that the ‘all things’ that are of God include the Devil and all his works is not only unscriptural, but antichristian and must be rejected.
A Scriptural Principle of Interpretation
There is no formal system of Divinity to be found in Scripture. The great principles of faith are taught in the recorded lives of men, and in the dealings of God with Israel. Israel’s history furnishes a digest of the greater purpose of the ages. The words ‘all in Adam’ are to be understood by the parallel words ‘all Israel’, and inasmuch as they are not all Israel which are of Israel, so they are not all in Adam which are of Adam. In both cases there is in operation the law that sets aside ‘Ishmael’ and reckons only such as are ‘in Isaac’ as children of the promise and the true ‘seed’.

The Present Interval of Bondage
A comparison of Genesis 15:5-16. Galatians 3:15-18 and Ephesians 1:3-14 reveals that underlying the purpose of the ages is a threefold development, viz.:
(1). An unconditional promise
(2). An interval of bondage
(3). The promise fulfilled
The will of the FATHER. The work of the SON. The witness of the SPIRIT.
The will of God shall be accomplished, but not without conflict. There is an enemy at work. And just as Israel’s bondage in Egypt was connected with the iniquity of the Amorite, so the bondage of the true seed is connected with Satan and the mystery of iniquity. Israel enter into the inheritance held by the Amorites and exterminate them. The true seed will enter into their particular inheritance, and the seed of the wicked one, the names of whom not being in the book of life, will be destroyed.
The Two Seeds
From the birth of Cain onward to the Giants of Noah’s day, the Canaanites of Joshua’s time, and the ‘tares’ sown by the enemy, there has existed side by side with the true seed ‘the children of the wicked one’. Not until these ‘tares’ are bound in bundles and burned can the ‘righteous shine forth in the kingdom of their Father’. The seed of the wicked one being ‘of the Devil’ cannot be ‘of God’ and are not included in the ‘all things’ that make up the new creation.
The Kinsman-Redeemer
Scripture reveals three outstanding features which are fundamental to a true conception of redemption:
The redeemer must be next of kin. The redemption touches:
(a) A forfeited inheritance,
(b) Bondage.
The redeemer is also the avenger.
Hebrew 2:14,15 reveals Christ as the great Kinsman-Redeemer (‘flesh and blood, He likewise -- ‘), exercising the twofold office of redeemer (‘deliver -- bondage’), and avenger (‘destroy -- the Devil’). The provision of the cities of refuge was not for a ‘murderer’. Satan was a murderer from the beginning.
The Deity of the Redeemer is abundantly testified in the Old Testament. His humanity is necessitated by the demand of kinship, and both aspects of His person are found in ‘Immanuel’, the child born who was nevertheless ‘the mighty God’.
The Mystery of His Will
God did not plan sin, but He provided against it. His original purpose is spoken of as His will; the provision against sin and death is spoken of as the ‘mystery of His will’. It was the will of God that Israel should be ‘head and not tail’, but upon their temporary failure the mystery of His will was put into operation, placing Nebuchadnezzar upon the throne, and giving dominion to the Gentiles until such time as ‘all Israel shall be saved’.
We most emphatically repudiate the horrible teaching that God definitely planned sin, and that the Devil was deliberately designed to be ‘a devil’, but we glory in the fact that in His matchless wisdom God has taken the wise in their own craftiness and overruled evil for good.
The Two Mysteries
Two mysteries run through the ages, viz., the mystery of godliness, and the mystery of iniquity. Both have relation to claims of Deity. The satanic mystery finds its goal in the man of sin, the son of perdition, who sits in the

34 SUMMARY
temple of God, showing himself as God. The mystery of godliness finds its goal in the exaltation of the Son of man, the Son of God, with every knee bowing and every tongue confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. The one mystery ends in destruction and is called ‘the LIE’, the other ends in glory and is called ‘the TRUTH’. Scripture declares that ‘no lie is of the truth’, and the workers of iniquity, who have even cast out demons in Christ’s name, are repudiated by Him.
The Second Death
It is an absolute necessity to the doctrine of Universal Reconciliation that there shall be a deliverance from the second death. We look in vain for the slightest hint of such a deliverance in the only book that specifically deals with it by name (the Revelation), but we are told that such doctrine is not within its scope. There is however, we are assured, one passage of Scripture which does definitely teach deliverance from the second death, and that is 1 Corinthians 15:26, ‘The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death’. An examination of the chapter reveals that the only death that is in view is that brought in by Adam. This death is destroyed at the resurrection, as the amplification shows that ‘death is swallowed up in victory’. The new heavens and the new earth follow immediately upon the casting of death into the lake of fire (Rev. 21). This same sequence is found in 2 Peter 3 where the new heavens, the new earth, and the day of God follow the burning up of the earth and its works, and the passing away of the heavens. The end, that God may be all in all, i.e., ‘the day of God’, follows hard upon the destruction of the last enemy (1 Cor. 15:24-28). That last enemy is the death which came upon all men through one man’s sin.
There is no room in any of these passages for the resurrection from the lake of fire. If there be no deliverance from the second death, there can be no such thing as universal reconciliation. Not one whose name is found written in the book of life enters the second death. Satan’s seed, those who worship the beast and receive his mark, these we are distinctly told have not their names written in the book of life. Here is the final division of the two seeds. The ‘tares’ are burned in the fire; the ‘wheat’ are gathered into the barn. The very order is important. The tares are destroyed first. Those who teach a resurrection from the lake of fire at long last must either deny this order, teach that the burning of the tares changes them into wheat, or believe that the manifestation of the sons of God is indefinitely postponed.
Conclusion
Universal reconciliation is an attractive doctrine. Its attractiveness is its bait and its snare. The ‘comfort’ some receive from it is no more proof of its truth than is the ‘comfort’ received from the traditional idea that our loved ones who have died are now consciously in glory. Doubtless ‘Christian Science’ made the Bible a ‘new book’ to many, but it is nevertheless a doctrine of demons. We have but one test for truth; it must stand four-square with ‘all Scripture’.
In the pages of this booklet we have sought to indicate what we believe is the truth of God. We have no personal quarrel with individuals, and apart from answering any legitimate questions that may arise out of this treatise we shall take no further notice of either the erroneous doctrine or any who propagate it. Because this particular error compromised our own stewardship we felt obliged to deal with it and show our own position. We trust nevertheless that the truth may be seen all the clearer for the moment of conflict.
To all to whom this witness makes its appeal as truth we earnestly commend this booklet, trusting that many will be able to use it in the fight of faith.
‘I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that NO LIE IS OF THE TRUTH’ (1 John 2:21).

Study of Word Perish

The Bible speaks of two opposites. Resurrection VS Perishing....
If all will be resurrected at some time, why does Scripture say some will not rise in resurrection, but remain perished?     Just asking ?!
Isaiah 26:14 speaks of some who though dead shall not live:
‘They are dead, they shall NOT LIVE; they are deceased (the Rephaim, elsewhere called "giants"), THEY SHALL NOT RISE’.....
http://www.seedandbread.org/seedandbread/SB186DestructionMeaning.pdf

. "Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous" - Psalm 1:5. Hence, to root them up means to take them out of the world but not out of their respective companies. No one can root believers out of God's Kingdom or care. "They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand" - John10:28.


The Nature of the Second Death
Returning to the nature of the second death, perhaps you would say what death is, apart from resurrection.
A. -- Sleep.
B. -- No; death can only be called sleep with resurrection in view. If there be no resurrection, Paul says that they which have fallen asleep in Christ have perished (1 Cor. 15:18). Throughout Scripture, fire is spoken of as a destroyer, and often the agricultural figure of a fire for burning up weeds is used. Some hold onto a theory that would suggest that the husbandman gathers the thistles and the weeds together to burn them, in the hope that by some weird alchemy such weeds shall be transmuted into vines, figs, olives or wheat.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Perish Study

The Biblical word 'perish' has an extremely interesting translational profile. It is the rendering of thirteen different words or word patterns and yet eleven of those account for only twelve verses. The other one hundred and six references come from two words; one Hebrew and one Greek. In this paper I shall aim to look first at the eleven minor definitions of 'perish' before moving on to the two dominant ones.

The first time we encounter 'perish' in the Bible is in Gen 41:36 where Joseph states that food should be stored for seven years so that the land should not perish through famine. The word perish is a rendered of kârath (H3772). The word literally means to cut down or asunder[1]. It is rendered 'cut' on 175 occasions and 'make' 81.

The second occurrence of 'perish' is in Exo 19:21 when it is a rendering of nâphal (H5307). The Lord is instructing Moses not to allow the people to gaze lest they perish. The word literally means to fall[2] which is how it is rendered 355 times. It is also translated 'cast' (24), down(9), divide(4), failed(4) and others.

The third 'perish' is in Exo 21:26 where it describes the condition of a slave that has had an eye perish through being struck. The word perish here is shâchath H7843; which means to decay or ruin[3]. It is rendered destroy(95), corrupt(22) or mar(6).

The next of the more minor definitions of perish occurs in 1Sa 26:10, 27:1; it is used by David to describe a possible fate of someone in battle. The word rendered perish is sâphâh (H5595) but it is used in contrast to death. The word literally means 'to scrape' or to 'snatch away'[4]; thus David is probably viewing this person as being captured by the enemy. It is otherwise rendered: consume(5), destroy(5), add(3)

Another word rendered 'perish' is ‛âbar (H5674) which really means to transition between two things[5]. It is generally rendered: over(177), pass(154), passed(117), go(52) and others. However in Job 36:12 it is used to describe the fate of the wicked by the sword. Thus it is describing that transition between life and death.

The last of the Hebrew words that have a minor 'perish' rendering is dâmâh (H1820) which occurs in Psa 49:12,20. On other occasions it is part of the expression 'beasts that perish'. Strong's suggest that dâmâh really means to be dumb or silent; in which case that would strike me as a perfectly reasonable translation here: 'beasts that are dumb'. Brown, Driver & Briggs rather suggests the word means to cause to cease or to cut off: which would support 'perish' as a translation. The word is otherwise rendered: cut(5), brought(2), silence(2) and others once.

The first of the minor Greek sources of 'perish' is really an expression 'eiēn eis apōleia' which is literally 'might go into ruin or loss'[6]. The word for ruin and loss is also rendered perdition (8), destruction(5) and waste(2). The phrase was used by Peter to describe his preferred fate of the money he had been offered to purchase the gift of God (Acts 8:20).

Paul offers the next Greek word rendered 'perish'; this time in Acts 13:41. Here he is describing his preferred fate of those that refuse to believe the Gospel. This time the word is aphanizō (G853) and means to 'render unapparent' or 'disappear'. The word is rendered as corrupt(2), disfigure(1), perish(1) and vanisheth(1).

The next word for perish is diaphtheirō (G1311) which means to 'rot thoroughly' or to completely decay[7]. It is used to describe the condition of the outward man in 2Co 4:16. It is also rendered as destroy on three occasions and corrupt twice.

The next Greek expression rendered as 'perish' also focuses upon the notion of decay; but this time describes the condition of heading towards decay. The expression is eis phthora (G1515, G5356) and occurs in Col 2:22 and describes the fate of the law (which of course is designed to restrict the outward man whom we saw in the previous paragraph is rotting thoroughly!) Phthora is also rendered corruption(7) and destroyed(1).

The final of the minor Greek sources of 'perish' is really 'utterly perish' and has a similar root to the previous word. It is kataphtheirō (G2704) which means to 'rot down'[8]. The word is used in 2Pe 2:12 to describe the outcome of false teachers; whom we are told just 'rot down in their own corruption'. The word is also rendered 'corrupt' on one occasion.

Reading the above one might readily imagine that just about every form of perishing has been covered. We have seen people being cut, falling down, being beaten, dying, entering perdition, rotting thoroughly, beginning to rot and even rotting down to nothing. Yet none of the above is the dominant meaning of 'perish'.

The dominant meaning of 'perish' in the Bible is provided by 'âbad H6 and the Aramaic equivalent ăbad H7. This is described by Strong as a primitive root meaning to wander away or to lose oneself. The word is rendered perish(98), destroy(60), lost(9) and a number of others once.

The commonest Greek source of the word perish is similar but rather more aggressive. The word is apollumi (G622); which essentially means to 'cut away'[9]. The word is rendered perish(33), lose(28) and destroy(26). We see that the end effect is thus the same as 'âbad; namely that you should be 'apart from'. The difference is that in the Hebrew the focus is that one should put oneself in that position; the Greek view is rather that you could be put in that situation.

I think that in many ways this word study forms a message in its own right. There are many ways in which people and things can and do perish. Many of them are violent and, to use a modern expression, 'totally gross'. Nonetheless, from the Biblical perspective, by far the commonest method of perishing is to cut oneself off or to be cut off from the fellowship of God and His people. May this encourage us in our pursuit of the lost.

[1]  (Strong, H3772)

[2]  (Strong, H5307)

[3]  (Strong, H7843)

[4]  (Brown, Driver and Briggs, H5595)

[5]  (Strong, H5674)

[6] From the Strong's descriptions of G1498, G1519 and G684

[7]  (Strong, G1311)

[8]  (Strong, G2704)

[9]  (Strong, G622)

  

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MLA: Bayliss, D.A. "Perish." Bible Exposition. 02/22/2015. Web. February 22, 2015----------

The Wicked Shall Perish: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). A double enunciation of the truth is couched in this short text. It is that eternal life is to be obtained only through Christ, and that all who do not thus obtain it will eventually perish. John testifies further on the same point in his first epistle (1 John 5:11): "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." From which it follows, as a most natural consequence, that "he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." Verse 12.

Biblical references of the word PERISH

Genesis 41:36

that the land PERISH not through the famine

Exodus 19:21

lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them PERISH

Exodus 21:26

if a man smite the eye of his servant…that it PERISH

Leviticus 26:38

ye shall PERISH among the heathen… the land of your enemies shall eat you up

Numbers 16:33

went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they PERISHED

Numbers 17:12

Behold, we die, we PERISH, we all PERISH

Numbers 21:30

Heshbon is PERISHED even unto Dibon, and we have laid them waste

Numbers 24:20

his latter end shall be that he PERISH for ever

Numbers 24:24

he also shall PERISH for ever (Alas, who shall live when God doeth this! v. 23)

Deut. 4:26

ye shall soon utterly PERISH… ye shall not prolong your days… but shall utterly be destroyed

Deut. 8:19

I testify against you this day that ye shall surely PERISH

Deut. 8:20

As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye PERISH

Deut. 11:17

the LORD's wrath… no rain… and lest ye PERISH quickly from off the good land

Deut. 26:5

A Syrian ready to PERISH was my father

Deut. 28:20

until thou be destroyed, and until thou PERISH quickly

Deut. 28:22

consumption… a fever… the sword… (etc.) they shall pursue thee until thou PERISH

Deut. 30:18

ye shall surely PERISH… ye shall not prolong your days

Joshua 22:20

that man PERISHED not alone in his iniquity (Achan, who was stoned and burned- 7:25)

Joshua 23:13

they shall be snare and traps… until ye PERISH from off this good land

Joshua 23:16

then shall the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and ye shall PERISH quickly

Judges 5:31

So let all thine enemies PERISH, O LORD

1 Samuel 26:10

his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and PERISH

1 Samuel 27:1

I shall now PERISH one day by the hand of Saul

2 Samuel 1:27

How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war PERISHED (Cf. v. 25- slain)

2 Kings 9:8

the whole house of Ahab shall PERISH: and I will cut off from Ahab

Esther 3:13

to destroy, to kill, and to cause to PERISH, all Jews

Esther 4:16

and if I PERISH, I PERISH (Cf. v. 11- to put him to death)

Esther 7:4

to be destroyed, to be slain, and to PERISH

Esther 8:11

to destroy, to slay, and to cause to PERISH

Esther 9:28

days of Purim should not fail… nor the memorial of them PERISH

Job 3:3

Let the day PERISH wherein I was born (Cf. v.5- Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it)

Job 4:7

who ever PERISHED, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?

Job 4:9

By the blast of God they PERISH, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed

Job 4:11

The old lion PERISHETH for lack of prey

Job 4:20

They are destroyed from morning to evening: they PERISH for ever without any regarding it

Job 6:18

They go to nothing, and PERISH (Cf. v. 17- they vanish… they are consumed)

Job 8:13

the hypocrite's hope shall PERISH (Cf. v. 12- withereth; v. 14 – cut off; v. 15 – not endure)

Job 18:17

His remembrance shall PERISH, and he shall have no name in the street

Job 20:7

Yet he shall PERISH for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?

Job 29:13

The blessing of him that was ready to PERISH came upon me

Job 30:2

whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was PERISHED?

Job 31:19

If I have seen any PERISH from want of clothing

Job 33:18

He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from PERISHING by the sword

Job 34:15

All flesh shall PERISH together, and man shall turn again unto dust

Job 36:12

they shall PERISH by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge

Psalm 1:6

the way of the ungodly shall PERISH

Psalm 2:12

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye PERISH from the way

Psalm 9:3

When my enemies are turned back, they shall fall and PERISH at thy presence

Psalm 9:6

a perpetual end… destroyed… their memorial is PERISHED with them (Cf. v. 5- for ever and ever)

Psalm 9:18

the expectation of the poor shall not PERISH for ever

Psalm 10:16

The LORD is king for ever and ever: the heathen are PERISHED out of his land

Psalm 37:20

the wicked shall PERISH… they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away

Psalm 41:5

Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name PERISH?

Psalm 49:10

he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and brutish person PERISH

Psalm 49:12

man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that PERISH

Psalm 49:20

Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that PERISH

Psalm 68:2

as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked PERISH at the presence of God

Psalm 73:27

they that are far from thee shall PERISH: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee

Psalm 80:16

It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they PERISH at the rebuke of thy countenance

Psalm 83:10

Which PERISHED at Endor: they became as dung for the earth

Psalm 83:17

Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and PERISH

Psalm 92:9

thine enemies shall PERISH; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered

Psalm 102:26

They shall PERISH, but thou shalt endure (Cf. v. 27- thy years shall have no end)

Psalm 112:10

he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall PERISH

Psalm 119:92

Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have PERISHED in mine affliction

Psalm 146:4

His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts PERISH

Proverbs 10:28

the expectation of the wicked shall PERISH (Cf. v. 27- the years of the wicked shall be shortened)

Proverbs 11:7

When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall PERISH: and the hope of unjust men PERISHETH

Proverbs 11:10

when the wicked PERISH, there is shouting

Proverbs 19:9

A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall PERISH

Proverbs 21:28

A false witness shall PERISH: but the man that heareth speaketh constantly

Proverbs 28:28

When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they PERISH, the righteous increase

Proverbs 29:18

Where there is no vision, the people PERISH

Proverbs 31:6

Give strong drink unto him that is ready to PERISH

Ecclesiastes 5:14

those riches PERISH by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand

Ecclesiastes 7:15

a just man that PERISHETH in his righteousness… a wicked man that prolongeth his life

Ecclesiastes 9:6

their love…hatred… envy, is now PERISHED, neither have they any more portion for ever

Isaiah 26:14

dead, they shall not live… deceased… destroyed them, and made all their memory to PERISH

Isaiah 27:13

they shall come which were ready to PERISH

Isaiah 29:14

the wisdom of their wise men shall PERISH

Isaiah 41:11

ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing: and they that strive with thee shall PERISH

Isaiah 57:1

The righteous PERISH, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away

Isaiah 60:12

the nation and kingdom… shall PERISH; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted

Jeremiah 4:9

the heart of the king shall PERISH

Jeremiah 6:21

the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbor and his friend shall PERISH

Jeremiah 7:28

truth is PERISHED, and is cut off from their mouth

Jeremiah 9:12

the land PERISHETH and is burned up like a wilderness

Jeremiah 10:11

even they shall PERISH from the earth

Jeremiah 10:15

in the time of their visitation they shall PERISH

Jeremiah 18:18

the law shall not PERISH from the priest

Jeremiah 27:10

that I should drive you out, and ye should PERISH

Jeremiah 27:15

that I might drive you out, and that ye might PERISH

Jeremiah 40:15

wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews… and the remnant in Judah PERISH?

Jeremiah 48:8

the valley also shall PERISH, and the plain shall be destroyed

Jeremiah 48:36

he riches that he hath gotten are PERISHED

Jeremiah 48:46

he people of Chemosh PERISHETH (Cf. v. 45- a fire… a flame… shall devour)

Jeremiah 49:7

Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel PERISHED from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?

Jeremiah 51:18

in the time of their visitation they shall PERISH

Lamentations 3:18

My strength and my hope is PERISHED from the LORD

Ezekiel 7:26

the law shall PERISH from the priest

Ezekiel 25:7

I will cause thee to PERISH out of the countries: I will destroy thee

Daniel 2:18

that Daniel and his fellows should not PERISH (Cf. v. 13- the wise men should be slain)

Joel 1:11

the harvest of the field is PERISHED

Amos 1:8

I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod… the remnant of the Philistines shall PERISH

Amos 2:14

the flight will PERISH from the swift

Amos 3:15

I will smite the winter house… houses of ivory shall PERISH, and the great houses shall have an end

Jonah 1:6

if so be that God will think upon us, that we PERISH not

Jonah 1:14

let us not PERISH for this man's life

Jonah 3:9

Who can tell if God will turn and repent… that we PERISH not?

Jonah 4:10

the gourd… came up in a night, and PERISHED in a night (the worm smote it that it withered- v.7)

Micah 4:9

is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor PERISHED?

Micah 7:2

The good man is PERISHED out of the earth: and there is none upright among men

Zechariah 9:5

the king shall PERISH from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited

Matthew 5:29

that one of thy members should PERISH, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell

Matthew 5:30

that one of thy members should PERISH, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell

Matthew 8:25

his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we PERISH

Matthew 8:32

the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and PERISHED in the waters

Matthew 9:17

else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles PERISH

Matthew 18:14

it is not the will of your Father… that one of these little ones should PERISH

Matthew 26:52

all they that take the sword shall PERISH with the sword

Mark 4:38

Master, carest thou not that we PERISH?

Luke 5:37

else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall PERISH

Luke 8:24

they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we PERISH

Luke 11:51

From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which PERISHED

Luke 13:3

I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise PERISH

Luke 13:5

I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise PERISH

Luke 13:33

it cannot be that a prophet PERISH out of Jerusalem (Cf. v. 31- for Herod will kill thee)

Luke 15:17

How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough… and I PERISH with hunger!

Luke 21:18

But there shall not an hair of your head PERISH

John 3:15

That whosoever believeth in him should not PERISH, but have eternal life

John 3:16

that whosoever believeth in him should not PERISH, but have everlasting life

John 6:27

Labour not for the meat which PERISHETH, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life

John 10:28

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never PERISH

John 11:50

that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation PERISH not

Acts 5:37

he also PERISHED (Cf. v. 36- who was slain)

Acts 8:20

But Peter said unto him, Thy money PERISH with thee

Acts 13:41

Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and PERISH

Romans 2:12

For as many as have sinned without law shall also PERISH without law

1 Corinthians 1:18

the preaching of the cross is to them that PERISH foolishness; but unto us… it is the power of God

1 Corinthians 8:11

And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother PERISH, for whom Christ died?

1 Corinthians 15:18

Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are PERISHED

2 Corinthians 2:15

in them that are saved, and in them that PERISH

2 Corinthians 4:16

though our outward man PERISH, yet the inward man is renewed day by day

Colossians 2:22

Which are all to PERISH with the using

2 Thessalonians 2:10

with all deceiveableness of unrighteousness in them that PERISH

Hebrews 1:11

They shall PERISH; but thou remainest

Hebrews 11:31

By faith the harlot Rahab PERISHED not with them that believed not

James 1:11

the grace of the fashion of it PERISHETH: so also shall the rich man fade away

1 Peter 1:7

being much more precious than of gold that PERISHETH

2 Peter 2:12

as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed… shall utterly PERISH in their own corruption

2 Peter 3:6

Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, PERISHED

2 Peter 3:9

not willing that any should PERISH, but that all should come to repentance

Jude 1:11

and PERISHED in the gainsaying of Core

The wicked shall perish.

The saved shall never perish.

The sincere reader will understand that the primary meaning of perish is to die, to lose life, to come to an end, or to be destroyed.

PERISH is paralleled with die, kill, destroyed, consumed, slain, being eat up, laid waste, go to nothing, be as nothing, vanish, withereth, cut off, turn again unto dust, deceased, fade away and utterly wasted.

PERISH is illustrated by dung, turning again to dust, consuming into smoke, melting like wax before a fire, melting away, a vine being burned by fire, breath leaving a body, years being shortened, a city being uninhabited, and bottles breaking.

PERISH is contrasted to prolonging days, days not failing, enduring, abiding, having no end, living, eternal life, everlasting life, being renewed, and remaining.

Things that perish are land, an eye, people, weapons of war, dung, beasts, names, expectations, riches, wisdom of wise men, nations, kingdoms, houses, body members, bottles, hair, meat, and money.

That which causes things to perish are famine, God's wrath, smiting, warring nations, sickness, the sword, battle, fire, want of clothing, evil travail, and hunger.

As to any secondary meanings of perish, NONE express a continual process without an understood end.

As to any secondary meanings of perish, NONE even remotely express the theory of endless torment.

---------

N. T. Use of the Word Apollumi (Perish, Destroy)

(excerpts from the book "The Wages of Sin" by Charles Walsh)

A consideration of the words used in the Greek New Testament.

In the preceding papers of this series we have submitted to a careful examination some of the words most frequently used in the Hebrew Scriptures to denote or to describe the end of the unsaved. We now would direct the reader to the New Testament, and the examination of the words used therein in the teaching, warning, or demonstration of the wages of sin.

Apollumi.- This word is translated in the A.V. as follows: "Destroy," 23 times; "lose," 21 times; "be destroyed," 3 times; "be lost," 10 times; "be marred," once; "die," once; and "perish," 33 times.

In examining "the words which the Holy Ghost teacheth" we must ever remember that the literal sense of the words is prima facie their true sense. It is this literal sense which is the common, ordinary, fundamental basis of all language, and accurate communication of thought. "Labour not for the meat which perisheth but for that meat which endureth to age-abiding life" (John 6:27). "They shall perish, but Thou remainest" (Heb. 1:11). None can fail to see that the word perish in these passages is the opposite of enduring or remaining. By what system of contrarieties do men seek to explain the Bible when the object of perishing is the sinner? Why should perishing in this special case mean remaining or enduring in conscious suffering? Dean Alford is responsible for the following statement:

"A canon of interpretation which should be constantly borne in mind is that a figurative sense of words is never admissible except when required by the context."

To this all will heartily agree who believe that God's Word is His revelation, and to this we seek to adhere. When we read in Heb. 11:31, "By faith, the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not," we do not understand the word "perish" to signify living in agony or remorse, but that Rahab was saved from the fate which awaited the inhabitants of the city of Jericho. Let God be true, though it makes every man a liar. Let Scripture tell us what "perishing" in Heb. 11:31 means:

"And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and ass, with the edge of the sword .... and they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein .... and Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive" (Josh. 6:21D25).

Here inspired comment is absolutely opposite to the orthodox teaching concerning this word "perish."

In Luke 6:9 the Lord Jesus, speaking with reference to healing on the Sabbath Day, says, "Is it lawful .... to save life or to destroy it?" Here the word "destroy" (apollumi) is used in its simple primary meaning, and is contrasted with "save." A reference to Matt. 12:will show, further, that the Lord used as an illustration the case of saving the life of an animal. In Luke 17:27 the same word is used of the flood which "destroyed them all," and in verse 29 of the effect of the fire and brimstone which fell upon Sodom and "destroyed them all." When we read Luke 9:56, "For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them," why should we distort the meaning of the word? Why not believe that the Lord used a fit and proper word, indeed the most suitable word which the language provided?

It is the same word translated "perish" that occurs in that oft-quoted passage John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Here the subject is lifted to the highest level. Here is no ambiguous phraseology, neither figure, nor parable, but plain gospel spoken in solemn earnestness by the Lord Jesus Himself. He says that there are two alternatives before men, the one - life everlasting, the other - perishing, utter destruction (Heb. 11:, Josh. vi.), and from this doom He came to save those who believed in Him. Hence we read in Luke 19:10, "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost (apollumi). Man by nature was on the road which leadeth to destruction.

The primary meaning "perish," or "destroy," becomes changed in the transition of language to the derived and secondary meaning "lost." Thus we read of the "lost" sheep, and the "lost" son in the parables of Luke 15, and in the "lost" sheep of the house of Israel in Matt. 10. The fragments left over after the miraculous feeding of the five thousand were gathered so that nothing should be "lost" (John 6:12). It is pitiable to hear those who should know better arguing that because we read of a "lost" sheep, which could not mean a "destroyed" sheep, that therefore the plain, primary meaning of the word must be ignored and the secondary derived meaning be understood in such clear, solemn passages as John 3:16, etc..

Notice the way in which the Lord uses the word in Matt. 10:28. "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell (gehenna)." Here we have an argument which proceeds from the lesser to the greater. Man can only kill the body. God can destroy body and soul. Man may kill, but he cannot prevent resurrection: The murdered man will as surely rise in the resurrection as the one who dies of natural causes. It is different, however, with God. He can cast men into the lake of fire, which is the second death, from which there is no resurrection. Those who are thus cast in are destroyed body and soul, as being no more fit to live.

The parallel passage to this, Luke 12:4, 5, shows that to "cast into gehenna" is to be taken as synonymous with "to destroy," or "to perish." This is further evidenced by Matt. 5:29, "It is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into gehenna." Here the plain meaning is that it is better that a limb should perish than that the whole body should perish. There is no thought of agony and torment, for the Lord would have used the word in Matt. 10:28, "Fear Him who is able to torment both body and soul in hell," had He meant to convey such teaching.

The fact that men are "perishing" and need salvation is emphasized again and again. We have noticed the word in John 3:16. In 1 Cor. 1:18 we read, "For the preaching of the cross is to them who are perishing - foolishness, but unto them who are being saved - unto us it is the power of God." It is the same word (translated "lost" in A.V.) in 2 Cor. 4:3, "If our gospel is veiled, to them who are perishing it is veiled."

Yet again in 1 Cor. 15:18 we read, "If Christ hath not been raised, to no purpose is your faith, ye are yet in your sins, hence also they who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished." What does this mean? Does it mean that believers, apart from the resurrection of Christ, are at this moment suffering the agonies of hell fire? Certainly not. It means exactly what it says. Without resurrection the believer, like the unbeliever, will have perished, will have passed out of being, will have been destroyed. The idea of a conscious intermediate state, with departments in some mythological hades, is foreign to the Scriptures and antagonistic to this passage. Death ends life, and apart from resurrection death means utter destruction. Praise be to God for this blessed hope. Resurrection, which is everywhere the one theme of hope in the Scriptures, is set aside by orthodoxy, and death instead is eulogized as the gate to life.

We have yet further evidence as to the meaning of this word apollumi by considering the inspired interpretation of the word Apollyon (Rev. 9:11), which is a derivative of apollumi. The passage gives us the Hebrew equivalent of apollumi, it is the word Abaddon, from abad, which we considered on page 8 of this Volume. The unmistakable meaning of abad is to destroy, and thus we are given, to confirm our faith, the divine warrant that the word under consideration means to "destroy." In the context of Rev. 9:11 the locusts, whose king is Apollyon, are definitely withheld from destroying or killing (their normal work), and are only permitted to torment men for five months, after which other horsemen receive power to kill those who had not the seal of God in their foreheads. Before passing on to the consideration of the next word, we would like to quote the primary meaning of apollumi as given by Liddell and Scott:

"Apollumi. To destroy utterly, to kill, slay: of things, to demolish, to lay waste, to lose utterly."

Apoleia. - This word is a noun derived from the word apollumi, and means destruction. It is rendered by the A.V. as follows: "damnation," once; "damnable," once; "destruction," 5 times; "to die," once; "perdition," 8 times; "pernicious ways," once; and with eimi eis and accusative, "perish," once; "waste," twice. The words "damnation " and "damnable" both occur in 2 Peter 2:1, 3, "damnable heresies," and "their damnation." The same word is rendered "pernicious ways" in verse 2, and "destruction" in verse 1: Here the one word apoleia is rendered by four words in those verses. The R.V. renders the word "destruction," and destruction consistently (the word "pernicious" in verse 2 is not apoleia in the best Greek MSS. and is rendered "lascivious doings" in R.V.). In Pet. 3:7 the word occurs again, translated "perdition," and finally in verse 16 it is translated "destruction," which passage the R.V. renders as in the second chapter - "destruction."

Once again we shall find that this word, like apollumi, is contrasted with life, "Broad is the way that leadeth to destruction .... narrow is the way that leadeth unto life" (Matt. 7:13, 14). The context immediately continues, "Beware of false prophets," which connects this passage with its inspired exposition in 2 Pet. 2:3. In John 17:12 we have a solemn passage wherein the Lord uses both apollumi and apoleia. "None of them is lost, but the son of perdition." This is also the title of antichrist in 2 Thess. 2:3. Again the word occurs in Acts 8:20, "Thy money go with thee to destruction." In Rom. 9:22 we read of "vessels of wrath fitted to destruction." The apostle uses the word twice in Philippians, "token of perdition" (i. 28), and "whose end is destruction" (3. 19). In I Tim. 6:9 we have a collection of words, of which the Greek language does not possess any stronger, to express literal death and extinction of being. Hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction (olethros) and perdition (apoleia). Does it not appear unreasonable to say continually that men will perish or be destroyed if they are, in fact, to be kept alive in suffering, and that they are to be miraculously preserved from perishing or from being destroyed?

There is one more point which we must bring forward before closing this article. The subject of the soul, its nature and immortality, is discussed at great length by Plato in the Phaedon, a dialogue on Immortality, and therein is discussed the question of the literal destruction and extinction of the soul. Plato wrote in Greek, his native tongue, and the Phaedon became the great classic treatise on the subject of Immortality, read, studied and debated throughout the Greek-speaking world during the four hundred years between its writing and the ministry of Christ. Plato's words practically stereotyped the philosophical phraseology of the time. The purpose of the dialogue is to show that in death the soul does not become extinct, that it cannot die, perish, or be destroyed. Modern orthodoxy, therefore, is found ranged with Plato against the Word of God. These words of Plato were known and of fixed meaning in the days of Christ and the apostles. Christ came to reveal the truth. Shall we say that, knowing as He did the meaning of the words used on the subject of the soul, He willfully, and without explanation, took those very words concerning the very same subject, and used them in an altogether contradictory sense! The idea is impossible. With reference to the philosophic usage of apollumi, we give the following extract from the Phaedon:-

"Socrates, having said these things, Cebes answered: I agree Socrates, in the greater part of what you say. But in what relates to the soul men are apt to be incredulous, they fear .... that on the very day of death she may be destroyed and perish .... blown away and perishes immediately on quitting the body, as the many say? That can never be . . . the soul may utterly perish ..... the soul might perish .... if the immortal be also perishable. The soul when attacked by death cannot perish."

To those who knew these words, who taught them, and argued about them, was sent a "teacher from God," and standing in their midst He reiterated the fact that Plato was wrong, that the soul could be destroyed, that it would perish. What would any of that day have thought of the suggestion to make such words convey the sense of endless misery, so diametrically opposed to their meaning? Would he not have been justified in replying in the language of a well-known public school head master:

"My mind fails to conceive a grosser misinterpretation of language than when the five or six strongest words which the Greek tongue possesses, signifying 'destroy,' or 'destruction,' are explained to mean maintaining an everlasting but wretched existence. To translate black as white is nothing to this." —Dr. Weymouth

We believe sufficient has been shown to establish the fact that, in the usage and meaning of apollumi and apoleia, destruction, utter and real, is the true meaning, and that this is the wages 

of sin.