Destruction The material is scanty in St. Paul’s writings for ‘a detailed theory on this most awe-inspiring of all subjects,’ and it is proper for us to note ‘the “wise Agnosticism” (the phrase is Dr. Orr’s in discussing the teaching of Scripture on eternal punishment) of St. Paul with the attempted theories of the Synagogue-theologians’ (H. A. A. Kennedy, St. Paul’s Conceptions of the Last Things, 1904, pp. 313, 315; cf. also 4 Ezra 9:13, ‘Enquire not further how the ungodly are to be tormented, but rather investigate the manner in which the righteous are to be saved’). but there can be little doubt that the term ‘destruction’ to St. Paul meant, not annihilation, but a continual existence of some sort in the outer darkness away from God. St. Paul has a group of words for this idea. ὀ ργή (1 Thessalonians 1:10, Romans 2:5, Romans 2:9; Romans 5:9) is a more general term and applies to the Day of Judgment. θάνατος (Romans 6:21, Romans 6:23; Romans 8:6) is not the death of the body, which is true of all, but rather the second death of Revelation 20:6, Revelation 20:14 . The NT gives no scientific description of death, nor is one possible in the spiritual sphere. The analogy of Nature (See Butler’s Analogy, ed. Gladstone, 1896, and Drummond’s Natural Law in the Spiritual World, 1883) does not make annihilation necessary. The words φθείρω and φθορά (Galatians 6:8, Galatians 6:2 P 2:12) have the notion of corruption. Note the contrast in 1 Corinthians 15:42 between ἐ ν φθορ ᾷ and ἐ ν ἀ φθαρσί ᾳ. St. Paul uses φθείρω in 1 Corinthians 3:17 for the punishment of one who destroys (φθείρω) the Temple of God. In Romans 3:16 destruction (σύντριμμα) and misery (ταλαι π ωρ ἰ α) are coupled together for the ways of the sinful. but the chief words for the idea of destruction of the unbelieving are ἀ πώλεια (ἀ πολλύω) and ὄ λεθρος, both from ὂ λλυμι, ‘to destroy.’ In Revelation 9:11 ὁ Ἀ πολλύων, the destroyer, is the title of Satan. The use of ἀ πό in ἀ πόλλυμι and ἀ πώλεια is perfective, and in Greek literature generally the terms mean ‘destruction.’ This fact is used by the advocates of conditional immortality in favour of the doctrine of the annihilation of the wicked, but it is by no means clear that the words connote extinction of consciousness. Least of all is this true of the LXX [Note: XX Septuagint.] use of the words. In 2 P 3:7 ἀ πώλεια is used for the Day of Judgment and punishment of the wicked, which implies life after death. In Philippians 1:28 the word is in opposition to σωτηρία, in Hebrews 10:39 it is opposed to περι π οίησις τ ῆ ς ψυχ ῆ ς (See also James 4:12, Jude 1:5, 1 Corinthians 1:19, 1 Corinthians 1:10 :9, 1 Corinthians 1:15 :18, 2 Corinthians 2:15 f., 2 Corinthians 4:3, Romans 2:12, Philippians 3:19, Revelation 17:8, Revelation 17:11). There seems no good reason for reading into the context the notion of annihilation of the soul, for that was probably an idea wholly foreign to St. Paul. The term ὄ λεθρος meets us in 1 Thessalonians 5:3, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, 1 Timothy 6:9 (ε ἰ ς ὄ λεθρον κα ὶ ἀ πώλειαν). In 2 Thessalonians 1:9 we have τίσουσιν ὄ λεθρον α ἰ ώνιον, which is the only passage that makes a statement about the duration of the destruction of the wicked. Aristotle (de Cœlo, i. 9, 15) defines α ἰ ών as the limit (τ ὸ τέλος) either of a man’s epoch or the limit of all things (eternity). The word does not in itself denote eternity, but it lends itself readily to that idea. The context in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 makes the notion of finality or eternity necessary (Milligan, Thess., 1908, ad loc .). The word ὄ λεθρος denotes hopeless ruin (cf. Beet, The Last Things, ed. 1905, p. 122ff.). In 4Ma 10:15 we have τ ὸ ν α ἰ ώνιον το ῦ τυράννου ὄ λεθρον in contrast with τ ὸ ν ἀ οίδιμον τ ῶ ν ε ὐ σεβ ῶ ν βίον (cf. Milligan, op. cit. p. 65). St. Paul’s natural meaning is the ruin of the wicked, which goes on for ever. It is a dark subject from any point of view, but eternal sinning seems to call for eternal punishing. See also artt. [Note: rtt. articles.] on Life and Death, Punishment, and Perdition.
A. T. Robertson.