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three times. In Mt. 9:17; Lk. 5:37 the old bottles, or wine-skins, are said to perish when they burst, but they were not annihilated, hut ruined as far as their power to hold wine was concerned. See also Mt. 8:25; 26:52; Lk. 15:17; Jn. 11:50; Acts 5:37; 1 Pet. 1:7; 2 Pet. 3:6, and others, where the thought of annihilation is impossible. 3. It is translated “ lose” thirty-two times. Think of an annihilated sheep being found, an annihilated coin found, an annihilated man sought and saved (Lk. 15;:6, 9, 24, 32; 19:10)! See also Mt. 10:6; 15:24; Lk. 9:24, 25, and others, where the idea of annihilation is impossible. 4. The noun" is translated “ destruc tion” five times (Mt. 7:13; Rom. 9:22; Phil. 3:19; 2 Pet. 2:1; 3:16), and an other noun from the same root is trans lated “ destruction” four times (1 Cor. 5j:5; 1 Thess. 5:3; 2 Thess. 1:9; 1 Tim. 6 :9). Nearly all of the texts re fer to future punishment, and while from them alone no argument either way can be produced, yet there is no reason for thinking that -the' meaning here differs in any way from the plain meaning of the same verb and noun as found elsewhere. 5. The same noun is translated “ per dition” eight times. Hence destruction and perdition are the same. In Rev. 17:8, 11 we are told that this same beast, with the false prophet, was cast into a lake of fire burning with brim stone. Moreover, Rev. 20:10 says that, a thousand years later, the beast and the false prophet are still there and that the devil will then be cast into the same place, where he w ill'be tormented for ever and ever. Hence perdition is the same as the lake of fire and is endless. And if destruction is the same as perdi tion it is the same as the lake of fire, and is endless. 6. The noun is also translated “ waste” in Mt. 26:8; Mk. 14:4. This is
are many Old Testament and no less.. than four- New Testament words ated “ destroy” and “ de
struction.” It is not necessary to con sider the Old Testament words, even if it were true that some do apparently favor annihilation, for it is a well-known principle of interpretation that an ob scure Old Testament verse must not he made to contradict a plain New Testa ment truth. Of the fourteen New Testament words only four have any connection with this subject, and three of them are but dif ferent forms of one (apollumi). The first-meaning given to this word in Thayer’s Greek Lexicon is “ to destroy, i.e., to put out of the way entirely, abol ish, put an end to, ruin.” Also, “ to per ish, waste, render useless,” and the like. As we trace these forms in the New Testament we will find that the thought of annihilation, of causing non-exis tence, does not appear. The word really means to ruin so that the person or thing no longer serves the purpose for which they were intended. 1. The verb is translated “ destroy” twenty-six times. From some of these texts neither annihilation nor the oppo site can be proven, but a study of them as a whole will show that there is no thought of extinction of being. In many instances the word clearly means to de prive of natural life, to kill (Mt. 2:13; 12:14; 27:20). Think of ungodly men annihilating Jesus! It means to bring to naught, or render inoperative in 1 Cor. 1:19. See also Rom. 14:15. 2. It is -translated “ perish” thirty-
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