Immortality or Resurrection (Updated) by William West (ereader with dictionary .txt) 📕

about it. (2) Know
what it is. (3) Know its name. (4) Know there will be torment in it. (5) Know it will last
forever. (6) Know who or if anyone will be in it. (7) Who told us these things? God has
given us not one word of revelation on it.
GOD WAS NOT SILENT ON THE FATE OF THE LOST
The apostles did tell what would be the fate of the unbelieving, but the words they
used are very different than what is preached today. Most churches would throw a
preacher out if he preached the lost would be destroyed, perish, die, death, or end. Death
is very different than everlasting life in Hell [see chapter two, "Life and Death"]. The
words used to describe the fate of the lost are miles apart from much of today's preaching.
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SOME OF THE NONE SYMBOLIC GREEK WORDS USED TO DESCRIBE THE
FATE OF THE LOST ARE:
[1] DEATH "For the wages of sin is DEATH" [Romans 6:23]. See chapter two "Life
or Death." DEATH IS DEATH, NOT EVERLASTING LIFE WITH TORMENT;
LIFE AND DEATH ARE OPPOSITES, NOT TWO KINDS OF LIFE.
Unconditional immortality makes both life and death into life in a different place.
Death has been changed to be life.
1. To them, death is eternal life in Hell
2. To them, the only difference in life and death is the place where all will have
eternal life. Neither one means to be dead. Both the saved and the lost will be
alive and have eternal life; they just will not live at the same place.
• To them life is life in Heaven.
• To them death is life in Hell.
Death deprives us of all life. It does not give more life than we now have. It is not just
a continuation of life in a different form. The resurrection restores the life death took
away. It is a return to life from death, not a return of the undead to still being undead just
as they were before the resurrection. The resurrection is our only hope of life after death.
A change from one state of being to another state of being, moving from one place to
another place, is not a resurrection.
• Moving from earth to Abraham's bosom and then moving from Abraham's bosom
to Heaven is not a death or a resurrection.
• Moving from earth to Heaven or Hell is not a death or a resurrection.
o To them, no one dies; they just change their address.
DEATH IS THE BIG PROBLEM FOR UNCONDITIONAL IMMORALISTS.
Innate immortality says whether it is a sinner or saint, an immortal soul cannot die and
cannot be subject to death. They MUST prove that death is not death but is only a change
from one kind of life to another kind of life. THEY MUST PROVE THAT DEATH IS
ETERNAL LIFE AND NOT DEATH, but if they did, then they would have proven
that Christ could not have died and that He has not been raised from the dead.
Unconditional immoralists have taken all resurrections, both of Christ and ours, out of the
Gospel. Without the resurrection death is the end of life and means our utter destruction.
The immortal soul doctrine says death is not the enemy Paul thought it to be [1
Corinthians 15:26], but the friend Plato and Greek philosophy thought it to be. IN
GREEK PHILOSOPHY THE PREACHING OF THE RESURRECTION WAS
FOOLISHNESS FOR DEATH WAS A GATEWAY TO A BETTER LIFE. IN TODAY
TEACHING DEATH HAS REPLACED THE RESURRECTION BY BEING THE
GATEWAY TO A BETTER LIFE IN HEAVEN.
"The words of the Bible contain all the ideas in it. These words, then, rightly understood, and the
ideas are clearly perceived. The words and sentences of the Bible are to be translated,
interpreted, and understood according to the same code of laws and principles of interpretation
by which other ancient writings are translated and understood; for, when God spoke to man in
his own language, He spoke as one person converses with another-IN THE FAIR, STIPULATED,
AND WELL-ESTABLISHED MEANING OF THE TERMS. This is essential to its character, as a
revelation from God; otherwise, it would be no revelation, but would always require a class of
inspired men to unfold and reveal its true sense to mankind." A. Campbell, "The Christian
System," Page 3, Gospel Advocate, 1970.
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In today's teaching of an immortal part of a person that is not subject to death, and
death cannot be used "IN THE FAIR, STIPULATED, AND WELL-ESTABLISHED
MEANING OF THE TERMS." Death must be changed to be life.
1. "The END of these things is death" Romans 6:21
2. "Whose END is destruction" Philippians 3:19
3. "Whose END is to be burned" Hebrews 6:18
4. "Sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth DEATH" James 1:15
5. "Sin unto DEATH" Romans 6:16
6. "Wages of sin is DEATH" Romans 6:23
7. “For if you live according to the flesh, you must DIE” [Romans 8:13]
THE WORLD'S GREATEST SCHOLARSHIP IS COLLECTIVELY SEEN IN THE
TRANSLATIONS AS TO THE MEANING OF [1] DEATH [2] APOLLUMI [3]
APOLIA [4] OLETHROS [5] PHTHIRO [6] PHTHORA [7] KATAPHILEO [8]
"PASSES AWAY...ABIDES FOREVER" [9] EXOLOTHREUO [10] KATARGEO,
AND [11] DESTROY BY THE WAY THEY TRANSLATED THEM. THE
TRANSLATORS CHOSE WORDS THAT TO THE AVERAGE MIND CONVEY
THE END OF LIFE, NOT LIFE IN ANOTHER LOCATION. The Bible is not a
physics textbook and does not give a scientific definition of annihilation, but God could
not have been any clearer on what will happen to the lost, and the translators of most
versions give us a true translation of the above words. God could have used words that
means separation from God in torment, eternal life in torment, deathless, but instead He
used death, die, destruction, destroy and perish.
Robert Dozier gives us a true picture of the way many try to prove these scholars wrong. He says,
"The scripture in Mt. 10:28 is translated 'destroy.' But I don't want to believe that, as it
contradicts my preconceived ideas. So I go to the lexicon and find out if the translators and
translation is correct. I know little of the language compared to the translators, but I do find out
that the Greek word translated 'destroy' is defined by the lexicons. The first definition is, 'to
destroy' but that won't work for me. If I accept that, the translators are correct. Also included in
the definition is 'to put out of the way entirely.' That is just not precise enough. Next is 'abolish'
but that is not much better than destroy. Then, 'put an end to.' Nope, that may be the worst yet!
Then 'ruin.' Finally! Something I can work with! I am not saying that James or others are
consciously or deliberately trying to avoid the meaning of words or discredit the scholarship of
the translations, but if we start out with a false premise and then try to defend it, we can find
ourselves making some unreasonable arguments and claims along the way. That all the
translators made huge blunders over and over regarding the end of the lost is such a claim. The
men who wrote the lexicons rendered it 'destroy' in our Bible, and defined it the same way, but if
that won't fit our idea, we must point out their error and be thankful that they left us one word in
a lexicon to grasp at. While the word 'annihilation' is not in our scripture, the
words translated are much closer to it than they are to 'never ending
conscious torment.' that's for sure...Even the rendering of 'ruined' doesn't help that much. It
may neutralize that text from being one that favors annihilation, but it sure doesn't teach 'never
ending conscious torment.'" Robert Dozier-James Johnson Debate on eternal punishment at:
http://www.religiousdebates.com/
BUT, WHAT DO LEXICONS MEAN BY "RUINED"?
A book that is burned up is "ruined." As a book it does not exist anymore. It has been
destroyed, the ashes are not the book.
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A school teacher has a good reputation, then everyone finds that she is working at a
house of prostitution at night. Her good reputation is "ruined." It is destroyed, it does not
exist anymore.
“As one examines the many biblical examples of God’s dealings with the wicked, it will be
quickly perceived that not one single time in all of recorded biblical teaching is the punishment
for sin against God ever declared to be torture. The ultimate punishment, instead, is always
declared to be death. Thus, if indeed God’s final punishment for the wicked is endless torture, as
some maintain, it is a fate completely without biblical precedents. Nowhere in Scripture does
God ever use torture as divine punishment for man. Not even once!” Al Maxey, Reflections, Issue
46, June 6, 2003.
“It will be noted that in each case the thing that threatened was DEATH, not incessant torture.
The types and shadows in no instance teach the idea of an immortal soul or eternal spirit being
tortured as the punishment for sin. In ALL cases they show the penalty for sin to be death of the
person…If God intended for us to understand something other then total death for the wicked,
certainly He could have found the means in the marvelous Greek language to express such.
Instead He used the plainest terms indicating destruction of the whole man” Curtis Dickinson,
“What The Bible Teaches About Immortality And Future Punishment,” Pages 20-21, 1984.
[2] APOLLUMI Used 92 times in the New Testament. "Englishman's Greek
Concordance," Page 74. In King James Version, it is translated [1] Destroy 19 times, [2]
Destroyed 7 times, [3] Perish 25 times, [4] Perished 8 times, [5] Lost 13 times, [6] Lose
18 times, [7] Die 1 time, [8] Be marred 1 time (perished in American Standard Version).
All from the same Greek word: "Bottles perish" (apollumi) [Matthew 9:17]. "Lose
(apollumi) his reward" [1 Peter 1:7]. The Heavens and Earth "shall perish"; (apollumi
see 2 Peter 3:10). Even those who believe in eternal torment do not believe these things
will be tormented forever, but will come to an end: yet, when the same word is used for
people [Romans 2:12, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 2 Corinthians 2:15, 4:3], some teach they will
not and cannot come to an end; but must live forever in torment. It would be hard to say
any plainer that "apollumi" means to perish, to come to an end, to be destroyed
than the King James Version says it. "Slain" and "perished" [apollumi] are used
interchangeability in Acts 6:36:37.
"TO DESTROY UTTERLY, TO MURDER, TO KILL, TO LAY WASTE; FROM OLLUMI, TO DESTROY,
TO CONSUME, TO MAKE AN END OF, TO PERISH, TO COME TO AN END, TO DIE" Liddell and
Scott.
1) To destroy (apollumi) is to kill. Matthew 2:13; 12:14; 21:41; 22:7; 27:20; Mark
3:6; 9:22; 11:18; 12:9; Luke 11:51; 17:27; 17:29; 19:47; 20:16; Jude 5; 2 Peter 3:6
2) To perish (apollumi) is to die, Matthew 8:25; Mark 4:38; Luke 8:24; 13:33; 15:17;
John 18:14; Acts 5:37; 1 Corinthians 10:9; 15:18; Hebrews 11:31. Perish must be
changed to live. When it is the body that perishes, as in Mark 4:38 "Teacher, do you not
care that we are perishing [apollumi]," even those who say to perish does not mean to
die if it is the soul must admit that when the same word is applied to the body of a person
or to a tree, it means the person and the tree unquestionably dies. They want the body
that perishes to be dead, but the soul that perishes to be alive. I marvel that they
cannot see their inconsistency, but then I remember that when I believed as they do I
could not see it either. "Theudas was slain" Acts 5:34-36. A Pharisee, named Gamaliel
said Theudas died [was slain]. "Judas...also perished.” Both apollumi [perished] and
slain are same thing,