DO THE PHRASES “FULL END”, “CONSUMPTION”, “UTTER END”,
ETC. SIGNIFY ANNIHILATION?
Updated - 7/29/09
There
are a number of verses with words like “full end”, “consume“, “consumption”,
“utter end”, “riddance”, etc. These verses have been used as proof texts of
annihilation.
Here
are some example verses:
2
Samuel 22:38 I have pursued mine
enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed <03615> them.
Job
4:9 By the blast of God they perish, and
by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed <03615> .
Psalms
18:37 I have pursued mine enemies, and
overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed <03615> .
Psalms
37:20 But the wicked shall perish, and
the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume
<03615>;
into smoke shall they consume away <03615> .
Psalms
71:13 Let them be confounded and
consumed <03615> that are adversaries to my soul; let them be
covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt.
Isaiah
1:28 And the destruction of the
transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that
forsake the LORD shall be consumed <03615> .
Isaiah
10:18 And shall consume <03615> the
glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they
shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth.
Isaiah
10:23 For the Lord GOD of hosts shall
make a consumption <03617>, even determined, in the midst of all the land.
Isaiah
28:22 Now therefore be ye not mockers,
lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a
consumption <03617> , even determined upon the whole earth.
Isaiah
29:20 For the terrible one is brought to
nought, and the scorner is consumed <03615>, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off:
Jeremiah
9:16 I will scatter them also among the
heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a
sword after them, till I have consumed <03615> them.
Jeremiah
16:4 They shall die of grievous deaths;
they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall
be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed <03615> by
the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of
heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.
Jeremiah
30:11 For I am with thee, saith
the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end <03617> of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet
will I not make a full end <03617> of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and
will not leave thee altogether unpunished.
Jeremiah
44:27 Behold, I will watch over them for
evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of
Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end <03615> of
them.
Jeremiah
46:28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant,
saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end <03617> of
all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end <03617> of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will
I not leave thee wholly unpunished.
Jeremiah
49:37 For I will cause Elam to be
dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will
bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will
send the sword after them, till I have consumed <03615> them:
Ezekiel
5:12 A third part of thee shall die with
the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed <03615> in
the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee;
and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword
after them.
Ezekiel
13:13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD;
I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an
overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to
consume <03617> it.
Ezekiel
22:31 Therefore have I poured out mine
indignation upon them; I have consumed <03615> them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have
I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.
Daniel
9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant
with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the
sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations
he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation <03617>, and that determined shall be
poured upon the desolate.
Hosea
11:6 And the sword shall abide on his
cities, and shall consume <03615> his branches, and devour them, because of
their own counsels.
Nahum
1:8 But with an overrunning flood he
will make an utter end <03617> of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his
enemies.
Nahum
1:9 What do ye imagine against the LORD?
he will make an utter end <03617>: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
Zephaniah
1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; but the whole
land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a
speedy riddance <03617> of all them that dwell in the land.
Zechariah
5:4 I will bring it forth, saith the
LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the
house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst
of his house, and shall consume <03615> it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
These
are among the most commonly cited verses with words and phrases like “full
end”, “consumption”, “consume”, “utter end”, “riddance”, etc. that are used to
teach that the unsaved are annihilated.
All
of these verses have the Hebrew word “kalah” which is Strong’s number
03615, 03616 or 03617. This word is used more than 200 times in the Old
Testament. This is one of the Hebrew or Greek words that is most commonly used
to teach annihilation.
This
Hebrew word “kalah” is used in both verb and noun forms. The root word
spelling is identical for both the noun form and the verb form. God uses both
forms to describe His wrath upon the unsaved in Isaiah 10. In verse 18 God uses
the verb form of this Hebrew word. In verse 23 God uses the noun form.
We
must ask this important question:
Does
this Hebrew word translated “full end”, “consume”, “utter end”, etc. signify
annihilation?
If
this Hebrew word “kalah”, which we see in the above verses, signifies
annihilation, then we should see that it is consistently used in that manner
throughout the Bible.
We
must remember that 1 Corinthians 2:13 directs how we are to understand the
Bible. We must compare Scripture with Scripture to understand what God means by
a word. If this Hebrew word “kalah” in the above verses signifies annihilation
then we must see it consistently used that same way throughout the Bible.
If
we find verses with this Hebrew word “kalah” in which it does not signify
annihilation, then it shows that this word does not necessarily signify
annihilation. In that case, the presence of this word in a verse would not be a
proof of annihilation.
Let’s
look at other verses where God uses this same Hebrew word “kalah” to
learn what God means by this word.
Here
are some more verses in which this same Hebrew word is used:
Genesis 2:1 Thus the
heavens and the earth were finished <03615>, and all the host of them.
Genesis 2:2 And on the
seventh day God ended <03615> his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from
all his work which he had made.
In
these two verses, this Hebrew word “kalah” is translated “finished” and
“ended” to describe the creation. God did not annihilate the creation in
Genesis 2. Rather, God finished or ended His creating work. All of the creation
still existed. It is only that God was finished with the making of it.
There
is a parallel situation between the creation in Genesis 2:1-2 and the unsaved
at Judgment Day.
In
Genesis 2:1-2, God declares that He has finished and ended His work of
creation. The creation continued to exist after Genesis 2:1-2. However, God was
done with any more creation work.
Likewise,
at Judgment Day, the unsaved will continue to exist, just like the creation
continued to exist after Genesis 2:1-2. However, God will be done with the
unsaved like He was done with creating the original creation.
Throughout
history God has been working with unsaved man and God has been very merciful
and kind to unsaved man. God has sent His word to mankind and has encouraged
mankind to read it and cry out to God for mercy. God is not finished yet with
the unsaved.
We
see an example of God’s patience with unsaved man through His dealings with the
unsaved King Ahab of
However,
once we get to Judgment Day and the unsaved are cast into the lake of fire, God
will be completely done with them. God will never again be merciful to them. He
will never show any kindness to them again. He will be finished with them.
At
Judgment Day, the unsaved will continue to exist like the creation continued to
exist after Genesis 2:1-2. However, God will be done showing any kindness to
the unsaved like He was done with creating the original creation.
We
read another verse with this Hebrew word “kalah”:
Genesis
6:16 A window shalt thou make to the
ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish <03615> it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in
the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt
thou make it.
In Genesis 6:16 the Hebrew word “kalah” is translated
“finish” and refers to Noah making and finishing the construction of a
window on the ark.
Noah finished making a window for the ark. He did not
annihilate the window. It still existed. He just finished making the window.
Once Noah finished making the window, he was done with it. He would make no
more changes or additions to that window.
Likewise, when we get to Judgment Day, God will be
“finished” with the unsaved, just like Noah finished making a window for the
ark. The unsaved will still exist. They will be cast away from God into the
lake of fire. He will not give them any more attention or mercy. However, the
unsaved will continue to exist, like the window that Noah finished continued to
exist.
We read two more verses with this same
word:
Genesis
17:22 And he left off <03615> talking
with him, and God went up from Abraham.
Genesis
18:33 And the LORD went his way, as soon
as he had left <03615> communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto
his place.
There
are a number of verses like this. God finished talking to Abraham. He did not
annihilate the conversation. In fact, these conversations continue to exist for
us because they are recorded in the Bible. It is that God had completed that
conversation with Abraham.
In
the same way, when the unsaved are cast into the lake of fire God will be
finished with them, but they will still exist.
We
read two verses from Exodus 5 with this same Hebrew word:
Exodus
5:13 And the taskmasters hasted them,
saying, Fulfil <03615> your works, your daily tasks, as when there
was straw.
Exodus
5:14 And the officers of the children of
Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and
demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled <03615> your task in making brick both yesterday and to
day, as heretofore?
Here
the children of
Likewise,
once the unsaved are cast into the lake of fire, God will be finished with them
as far as showing them any kindness or mercy, but they will still exist.
We
read two more verses with this same Hebrew word “kalah”. These two verses
relate to the construction of the tabernacle:
Exodus 39:32 Thus was all
the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished <03615>: and the children of
Exodus 40:33 And he reared
up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging
of the court gate. So Moses finished <03615> the work.
The
children of
In
the same way, when the unsaved are cast into the lake of fire, they will still
exist. However, God will be finished with them. He will never again hear their
prayers. He will be finished with showing any mercy towards them even though
they will still exist.
We
read another verse with this same Hebrew word:
Numbers 4:15 And when Aaron
and his sons have made an end <03615> of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary,
as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to
bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.
These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of
the congregation.
This
verse discusses the preparation of the sanctuary and the holy vessels prior to
moving the camp. These items were not annihilated, but were prepared for the
move.
We
also find this Hebrew word used in connection with the copying down of the law
of God:
Deuteronomy 31:24 And it
came to pass, when Moses had made an end <03615> of writing the words of this law in a
book, until they were finished
This
verse is not teaching that the words of the law ceased to exist. Rather, this
verse it teaching that Moses finished copying down the law of God.
Likewise,
when the unsaved are cast into the lake of fire, they will not cease to exist.
Rather, God will be finished showing any kindness towards them.
We
see that this Hebrew word “kalah” is used twice in the book of Ruth in
connection with the harvest:
Ruth 2:21 And Ruth the
Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men,
until they have ended <03615> all my harvest.
Ruth 2:23 So she kept fast
by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end <03615> of barley harvest and of wheat harvest;
and dwelt with her mother in law.
Here
they finished the harvest of the barley and wheat. The reapers did not
annihilate the food. Rather, they completed harvesting the food.
In
the same way, this Hebrew word “kalah” is teaching that once God casts
the unsaved into the lake of fire, He is done with them. There will be no more
mercy. This Hebrew word is not teaching that the unsaved don’t exist.
We
read another verse with this same word:
Psalms
72:20 The prayers of David the son of
Jesse are ended <03615>.
Psalm
72 was the completion of some prayers of David. Some of those prayers are
recorded in Psalm 72. Those prayers were completed by David, but they still
exist for us in the Bible.
Likewise,
God will have ended his goodness towards the unsaved once they are cast into
the lake of fire, but they will still exist like David’s prayers still exist,
recorded in the Bible.
We
read a number of verses with this same Hebrew word in connection with the
building of the temple:
1
Kings 3:1 And Solomon made affinity with
Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the
city of David, until he had made an end <03615> of building his own house, and the house of the
LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.
1
Kings 6:9 So he built the house, and
finished <03615> it; and covered the house with beams and boards of
cedar.
1
Kings 6:14 So Solomon built the house,
and finished <03615> it.
1
Kings 6:38 And in the eleventh year, in
the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished <03615> throughout
all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven
years in building it.
1
Kings 7:1 But Solomon was building his
own house thirteen years, and he finished <03615> all his house.
1
Chronicles 28:20 And David said to
Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor
be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he
will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished <03615> all
the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
2
Chronicles 4:11 And Huram made the pots,
and the shovels, and the basons. And Huram finished <03615> the work that he was to make for king Solomon for
the house of God;
2
Chronicles 7:11 Thus Solomon finished <03615> the
house of the LORD, and the king’s house: and all that came into Solomon’s heart
to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously
effected.
2
Chronicles 8:16 Now all the work of
Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD,
and until it was finished <03615>. So the house of the LORD was perfected.
In
these verses God talks about how Solomon finished building the house of the Lord,
the temple. Solomon did not annihilate the house of the Lord. Rather, he
finished building it. In 1 Kings 3:1, God also talks about how Solomon finished
building his own house.
In
the same way, God will be finished with the unsaved when they are cast into the
lake of fire. God will show them no more mercy or kindness. However, they will
still exist, just like the temple continued to exist even after Solomon was
done with the building of it.
Let’s
look at another verse with this same Hebrew word:
2
Chronicles 24:14 And when they had
finished <03615> it, they brought the rest of the money
before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house of the
LORD, even vessels to minister, and to offer withal, and spoons,
and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house
of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada.
Here
the workers finished repairing the house of the Lord in the days of Joash. The
workers did not annihilate the house, rather they were done fixing it.
Likewise,
once the unsaved are cast into the lake of fire, God will be done with them as
far as showing any mercy towards them.
We
have seen many verses with the Hebrew word “kalah” in which it cannot mean
annihilation. Therefore, the presence of this Hebrew word in a verse does not
signify annihilation.
Now,
we consider another question:
Does
the two Hebrew word phrase translated “make a full end” or “make an
utter end” signify annihilation?
This
Hebrew word “kalah” is also used in connection with another word that is
frequently translated “do” or “make” in the following verses:
Isaiah 10:23
For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make <06213> a consumption <03617>, even determined, in
the midst of all the land.
Jeremiah 30:11 For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to
save thee: though I make <06213> a full end <03617> of all nations
whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make <06213> a full end <03617> of thee: but I will
correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.
Jeremiah 46:28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the
LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make <06213> a full end <03617> of all the nations
whither I have driven thee: but I will not make <06213> a full end <03617> of thee, but correct
thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.
Ezekiel 11:13
And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah
died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah
Lord GOD! wilt thou make <06213> a full end <03617> of the remnant of
Ezekiel 20:17
Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I
make <06213> an end <03617> of them in the
wilderness.
Nahum 1:8
But with an overrunning flood he will make <06213> an utter end <03617> of the place
thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
Nahum 1:9
What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make <06213> an utter end <03617>: affliction shall
not rise up the second time.
Zephaniah 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be
able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; but the whole land shall
be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make <06213> even a speedy
riddance <03617> of all them that dwell in the land.
These
verses give a forceful impression. Therefore, they may cause us to think of
annihilation. However, we always have to study how God uses words and phrases
in other parts of the Bible to understand what God means by them. We cannot
trust the impression that a verse gives us.
Each
of these verses has this same Hebrew word “kalah” that we have been studying.
God
has given plenty of examples of how He uses this Hebrew word “kalah” so that we
know it does not signify annihilation. Rather, it signifies to be completely
done with something. At Judgment Day, God will be completely done with showing
any kindness towards the unsaved.
However,
someone might argue that the above verses with the Hebrew word, “asah” which is
commonly translated “make” or “do”, somehow adds more force to the meaning of
the Hebrew word “kalah”.
In
Genesis 18:21, God has given us help, thus enabling us to determine if the
addition of this Hebrew word commonly translated “do” or “make” alters the
meaning of the Hebrew word “kalah”.
We
read in Genesis
18:21:
I will go down now,
and see whether they have done <06213> altogether <03617> according to the cry
of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
Genesis
18:21 has both of the words that are contained in the group of verses above.
In
Genesis 18:21 God is talking about
As
it turns out, they had “done altogether according to the cry of it” and
in the next chapter God destroys them.
Genesis
18:21 has these same two Hebrew words that also appear in each of the verses in
the verse listing of Isaiah 10:23 through Zephaniah 1:18.
Therefore,
Genesis 18:21 helps us to understand what God means when He uses these two
Hebrew words together.
It
would be completely proper to translate Genesis 18:21 like:
I will go down now,
and see whether they have made a full end according to the cry of it, which is come
unto me; and if not, I will know.
Again,
God is giving definition to this word translated “full end” or “utter
end”.
In
Genesis 18:21 this Hebrew word means that the people of
The
people of
With
the help of Genesis 18:21 we can know that the two word Hebrew phrase
translated “make a full end” or “make an utter end” of itself does
not signify annihilation. Rather, it signifies to completely finish with
something.
God
has given us many examples of this Hebrew word “kalah” that show us that it
does not signify annihilation. God even gives us Genesis 18:21 with the two
Hebrew words translated “make a full end” or “make an utter end”,
showing that even these two Hebrew words together do not necessarily signify
annihilation.
God
defines words by how He uses them in the Bible
This
study has offered a number of verses that contain the Hebrew word “kalah”,
in which this Hebrew word cannot signify annihilation.
These
verses agree with the teaching that once the unsaved are cast into the lake of
fire, God will be finished with them and they will never receive anymore blessings
from God. God will no longer hear their prayers. God will be finished with
them, but they will continue to exist.
In
1 Corinthians 2:13 God teaches that He defines words by how He uses them
elsewhere in the Bible
We
must remember that if a word is to signify annihilation or anything else, then
that word must be consistently used in that way without exceptions. If there
are exceptions, then we cannot state that this word automatically signifies
annihilation.
This
Hebrew word “kalah” is translated “full end”, “consumption”, “utter end”,
“riddance”, etc. in some verses and is used to teach annihilation. However, we
have seen many verses in which this Hebrew word cannot mean annihilation.
Because of these exceptions, we cannot use the presence of this Hebrew word in
a verse to prove that the teaching of annihilation is Biblical.
Rather,
we can see that this Hebrew word “kalah”, as it is translated “full
end”, “consumption”, “utter end”, “riddance”, etc., is teaching that at
judgment day God will be done with all of the unsaved. He will never again show
any mercy or care towards them.
We
have seen that God often uses this Hebrew word “kalah” in verses in which it
cannot mean annihilation, but rather it simply means to be done with something.
Therefore, the presence of this Hebrew word in a verse cannot be used as a
proof for annihilation.
This
same Hebrew word is also translated as the word “consume” or as similar
words in a number of verses. These verses have also been used as proof texts of
annihilation.
When
this Hebrew word is translated “consume”, does that signify annihilation?
We
read these verses with this same Hebrew word “kalah” translated in this manner:
Psalms
31:10 For my life is spent <03615> with
grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity,
and my bones are consumed.
Psalms
39:10 Remove thy stroke away from me: I
am consumed <03615> by the blow of thine hand.
Psalms
69:3 I am weary of my crying: my throat
is dried: mine eyes fail <03615> while I wait for my God.
Psalms
73:26 My flesh and my heart faileth <03615>: but God is the
strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
Psalms 84:2 My soul
longeth, yea, even fainteth <03615> for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for
the living God.
Psalms
119:81 CAPH. My soul fainteth <03615> for
thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.
Psalms
119:82 Mine eyes fail <03615> for
thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?
Psalms 119:123 Mine eyes
fail <03615> for thy salvation, and for the word of
thy righteousness.
In
the above verses we see this same Hebrew word “kalah” being translated
as “consume” or in a similar way. The translations of “spent”, “fail” or
“faint” all have the same sense as “consume”. All of these above verses could
have been translated with the word “consume”.
These
verses are important because they provide help to understand what God can mean
when this Hebrew word “kalah” is used in the sense of “consume”.
An
examination of each of the above verses would show that those being “consumed”
still exist, yet they are enduring a continuous affliction. This emotional or
physical affliction is an on-going suffering referred to as a “consuming”. It
is a continuous “consuming” by the affliction that they are enduring.
If
this Hebrew word “kalah” used in the sense of “consume” is to signify
annihilation, then we must find that it is consistently used in that way.
However,
this is not the case. The above verses are some examples in which God is using
this word to indicate an on-going “consuming” of conscious affliction; not
annihilation.
We
have to keep in mind the rule that God establishes in 1 Corinthians 2:13. God
gives His definition of a particular word by how He uses that word in the
Bible.
Therefore
this Hebrew word “kalah” translated as “consume” does not necessarily mean that
the person is annihilated. Rather, it can mean an on-going “consuming” of
conscious affliction.
Notice
that in each of the above verses the Psalmist is enduring a continuous
affliction. He still exists, but he is enduring an on-going conscious
affliction.
Therefore,
when we read about the unsaved being “consumed”, we cannot automatically
concluded from that word alone that the verse is teaching a cessation of existence.
The
continuous “consuming” described in the above verses agrees with what we read
in Psalm 37:20:
Psalms
37:20 But the wicked shall perish, and
the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume
<03615>;
into smoke shall they consume away <03615>.
Here
God doubles up on this Hebrew word “kalah” and indicates that the unsaved are
consumed into smoke. We remember from Genesis 41:32 that when God doubles up He
is drawing extra attention to what He is saying.
But,
for how long are they consumed into smoke?
Revelation
19:3 says that smoke continues to go up for ever and ever. We read there:
And again they said, Alleluia. And her
smoke rose up for ever and ever.
Some
people say that the phrase “for ever and ever” does not mean forevermore. We
have prepared a study that shows from the Bible that this phrase “for ever and
ever” must truly mean forevermore.
PLEASE SEE THE STUDY: IS
“FOR EVER AND EVER” REALLY FOREVERMORE?
God
uses word pictures like fire and rising smoke to teach spiritual truth. We have
to look at the physical illustration to understand the spiritual truth. For
example, God talks about Himself as a consuming fire in Hebrews 12:29 and about
His word as a fire and the unsaved as wood in Jeremiah 5:14.
We
read in those verses:
Hebrews
12:29 For our God is a consuming
fire.
Jeremiah
5:14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God
of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth
fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
The
unsaved are typified by wood. Once wood is burned out of existence, it no
longer generates any smoke. The existing smoke cools off and stops ascending.
Once the item is fully burned up and gone, the smoke will not continue to rise
forever. Finally, the smoke will dissipate and disappear. It will also cool off
and stop rising.
God
is using a physical analogy to teach a spiritual truth.
You
cannot have smoke continue to rise from an item if the item has been completely
consumed and is gone.
Therefore,
Revelation 19:3 is teaching that the unsaved will still be in the fire of God’s
wrath forevermore. We have studied this question in more detail in another
study. For more information, please see the study on the eternal suffering of
the unsaved.
PLEASE SEE THE STUDY OF
THE BIBLICAL PROOFS OF THE ETERNAL SUFFERING OF THE UNSAVED
So,
in Psalm 37:20, this Hebrew word “kalah” is used twice to describe a continuous
consuming of constant affliction.
According
to 1 Corinthians 2:13, God defines words in the Bible by how He uses them. We have seen a number of examples in which
this Hebrew word “kalah” translated as “consume” cannot mean
annihilation, but rather it means a continuous affliction. Therefore, the
presence of this Hebrew word in a verse cannot be a proof text for annihilation
by itself.
We
have examined this Hebrew word “kalah” which is translated as “full end”,
“consume”, “consumption”, “utter end”, “riddance”, etc. and which some people
use to prove the validity of annihilation. We have found many examples in which
this Hebrew word “kalah” does not signify annihilation. Therefore, the presence
of this Hebrew word in a verse does not prove annihilation.