Eternal Death (Annihilation):One Step Out of Hell; One Step Short of Glory

The referenced link is long - and stuffed with errors. Hardly worth repeating the entire tonage of failed arguments here.

But for the sake of argument I will post a short review of the first 2 points the author makes showing the "model" that he is endorsing for the subject.

If there are other "specific" points where you feel he actually "succeeded" in making his point from scripture - lets focus on those specifics.

In Christ,

Bob

 

A classic study in eisegesis and slight of hand as illustrated by an author attempting to discredit the Biblical view that the wicked are “destroyed” by God. Taken from the text found in
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/EternalDeath.html

So the stage is set. The statement is made that DESTRUCTION is what is taught in your Bible but you should not “believe” what you are reading because it is in English and the Linguists and Translators of English Bibles do not fully understand Greek and Hebrew. Or if they do – they do not fully understand how to translate the source texts into English.

Error #1.

Here the author Omits the Context for whom DEATH ENDs -- “THOSE WHO ARE CHRISTS” 1Cor 15:22-23 are the “ALL” that are “MADE ALIVE”. The author “hopes” you will not notice this – that you will think that the wicked are ALSO “MADE ALIVE” as in “DEATH ending” for them as well.

Having begun this effort to obscure exegesis of 1Cor 15 the author leverages the reader’s ignorance of the chapter but continuing to “omit” the disconfirming element that set the entire CONTEXT. Notice again…

The author further corrupts the reading of 1Cor 15 by attempting to remove NOT ONLY the EXPLICIT context of “THOSE who ARE Christs” from the discussion BUT ALSO to remove the theme of 1Cor 15 – “the resurrection” from the discussion, notice the slight of hand that he practices in using the text below…

A more egregious abuse of the chapter can hardly be imagined. He waves his hand and hopes to lead the reader into ignoring the exegetical subject CONTEXT explicitly set IN the chapter by Paul “The Resurrection” of “THOSE who are CHRISTS”.

However to his credit the author DOES finally get to a chapter more fitting to his point. A chapter that DOES show how ALL – both those who ARE Christs and those who ARE Not will some day be raised to life. But in this case – the text does NOT claim that “DEATH is ENDED” for the wicked as it does in 1Cor 15 for “THOSE who are CHRISTS”. Notice

Here the slight of hand the author practices in John 5 seeks to direct the readers attention “away from the point” explicitly setting the context in John 5 which is “THOSE in the TOMBS” John 5:28

There is nothing in “the Greek language” that leads the author to say that the word for “Made Alive” means “Made Alive beyond DEATH”. Rather the author argues this meaning is to be injected (eisegeted) INTO the text based on his inserting the CONTEXT of LIVING saints that are NOT in the tomb as subjects addressed in “the Resurrections” of John 5.

The essential KEY salient point to the authors argument is that EVEN the living saints are said in scripture to be “MADE ALIVE” at Christs coming. But notice the slight of hand in proving the point. No such text is actually found.

Here “instead” of scripture saying the living are “MADE ALIVE at Christ coming” we find that they are “CHANGED”. No such statement is made that “RESURRECTION” or “MADE ALIVE” is applied to the living – as much as the author “needs it”.
Also – the text makes the devastating point that we are NOT immortal until the resurrection of “THOSE that are Christs” (the context of 1Cor 15 – see vs 22-23)

And yet – devastatingly NO text quoted by the author has said that the “living who are alive and remain will be MADE ALIVE”. NOR has he found a single text saying tghat “the living are RESURRECTED”.
Even Worse! The text calls the dead saints “Those who SLEEP in Jesus”.
And instead of calling the “DEAD” the “ALIVE in CHRIST” it refers to them as “THE DEAD in Christ”.
The texts are devastating the author’s argument even as he seeks via slight of hand to redirect the reader AWAY from this point.
Next the author goes on to the subject of “destruction”

Here he gives away the secret to his slight of hand on this point early in the game. He tells us that the “destruction” of the wicked is only “valid” if there is “no FUTURE resurrection to immortality for the wicked”. But herein is his flaw. For he provides NO text showing a “FUTURE resurrection to immortality for the wicked AFTER their DESTRUCTION in the lake of fire – the second death”.
His case in this regard – ends before it gets started having admitted to his own flaw at the start.

In Christ,

Bob

 

Let me know if he makes a point that is consistent in the chapters he sites.