Annihilationism: Armstrongism and the Death of God

The Sea of Galilee, a Location Where Jesus Preached about Gehenna

Annihilationism

Armstrongism and the Death of God

By Scout

My Dad, now deceased, fought in the Battle of the Rhineland in World War II. While he was mostly reticent about his involvement, he did from time to time pass something along. He told me about something that happened in a German city, whose name I do not now recall, that I found shocking as a youngster. He said that the Americans had hit the city with a rain of incendiaries that used white phosphorus. White phosphorus pieces from the explosions were embedded in the bodies of German civilians. White phosphorus burns in air and if smothered will re-ignite. The German civilians – men, women and children - jumped in the nearby river that passed through the city and the submersion in water stopped the white phosphorus from burning. Yet, they could not leave the river because the phosphorus would re-ignite. The Germans had no way to deal with this on a massive scale so German soldiers walked along the banks of the river and shot the civilians to end their misery. A scene out of hell. This conveys some of the emotional impact of annihilationism. The German civilians burned for a while and then they were executed. Death was a mercy. If one ascribes annihilationism to God, it is good to know something about it.

For people who persist in rejecting God, there is ultimate punishment. At least that is what many Christian and non-Christian religions teach. That punishment may take place in many forms. The most common form in Western Christianity is Eternal Conscious Torment in hellfire. But many reject this notion because it is difficult to believe that God would punish someone eternally for a finite number sins. So, in some quarters, the idea of annihilationism was promoted as a “kinder, gentler” form of finite punishment and some scriptures were gathered around it. Others, like many of the Millerite-derived denominations claim to exegete annihilationism from scripture. Herbert W. Armstrong taught annihilationism and it most likely came from the Church of God (Seventh Day). Here is a CG7 statement:

“At its (Millennium) conclusion, the unrighteous will be resurrected to suffer annihilation at the great white throne judgment” (Statement of Faith Church of God (Seventh Day), 2013.)

Ashes of the Wicked

See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch… And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes (“dust”, Jewish Study Bible) under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 4:1, NRSV)

There is nothing in the surrounding context of this scripture that would make us think that the topic of eternal punishment is being addressed. Bodies are burned but we are not given any data on the state of the pneuma or spirit. This is certainly a punishment but it is a leap to convert it into an eternal punishment dispensed at the final Judgement. The text is simply talking about good and bad people on this earth and what happens to them in a particular case in history. No doubt some of the German civilians written about earlier eventually became ashes under the feet of American soldiers without any implication of eschatological punishment. The scripture says a lot by what it does not say.

Connecting this passage with Gehenna in the New Testament is dubious prooftext. Neither the passage in Malachi nor the instances of Gehenna in the New Testament seem to be focused on the final Judgement. To concoct a connection is to compound misinterpretation. Dr. Eitan Bar (His book titled “Hellfire Deconstructed: An In-Depth Study of the Bible Verses About Hell” contains a chapter on the Jewish view of Gehenna and how Jesus used the example of Gehenna.) wrote the following about the concept Gehenna at the time of Jesus:

The term "Gehenna," used by Jesus in the New Testament as a metaphor to describe the condition of suffering and divine consequences, was understood by Jews of the first and second centuries primarily as symbolizing harsh consequences rather than a destination in the afterlife.

Other current research indicates that Gehenna was a deep ravine to the south and west of Jerusalem. The archaeological evidence concerning its ancient use is controversial and inconclusive. The “garbage dump” characterization is apparently a Rabbinic creation from the Middle Ages. The literary motif shows it to be a place of an undesirable or regrettable death.

The Death of God: An Objection to Annihilationism

There is only one way that God can die. This death is not a cessation of being but a cessation of being sentiently perceived. While both would involve the deletion of God from the picture, the former is impossible but the latter is not. Here is a simplified thought experiment. Consider the microcosm consisting of God and one person. In this little world there is a dual perspective where God is aware of the person and the person is aware of God. If God destroys the person utterly, the microcosm ceases to exist. And the person is no longer aware of God. So, in that loss of awareness, God also ceases to exist. In the extinction of the life of a God-aware sentient being, God becomes extinct also.

I do not believe that God intends ever to become extinct in any way, either literally or in effect. He does not create sentient beings with the expectation that they will ever go into dissolution. Or that he would, in effect, go into dissolution through the existential loss of a sentient being. This is the weakness of annihilationism. It is a sword that cuts in both directions. If God is the father of all, then the loss of a sentient being is a great tragedy. But it is more than that; it is a defeat of God. In his absolute state, God failed to rescue someone who was important to him.

For me, the annihilation model does not work. I think it is absurd to believe that God can be trammeled. Some who reject God may be beaten with few stripes and other with many as a process of reformation but it is illogical that the absolute God would completely lose anyone to total dissolution.

The Summation

This opinion piece is apophatic. I am not declaring the details of what happens to people who persist in rejecting God, but what that outcome is not. For instance, it is not the Millerite idea of annihilationism because that idea does not reflect the divine nature. It does not fit with the Jesus who clearly identifies his purpose and charter. He says, “Behold, I am making all things new.” The idea that rendering a human being non-existent is somehow making something new is cynical. God does not deal in cynicism. God sits on the throne of grace. We must navigate by that star.