Destruction A (Listen or Read)
Apollumi (Greek for “destruction”)
The third pillar, death and destruction, is thought by most Christians to refer to an eternal hell of suffering or to a state of annihilation. Thus, they are understood to be a permanent state. I think if we closely compare Scripture with Scripture, line upon line, we will see this falls short of what God is all about. Even in death and destruction, God will not be defeated. His promises to restore all (Ac. 3:21; 2Co. 5:19; Ep. 1:10; Col. 1:19-21) will come to pass in their appointed times (Ep. 1:9-11; 1Ti. 2:6). In An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words regarding apollumi, W. E. Vine stated: “The idea is not extinction but ruin, loss, not of being, but of well being….”16
Andrew Jukes, graduate of Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge and pastor of St. John’s Church, was a well-respected Christian author in 19th century England. Also, the author of The Law of the Offerings, Four Views of Christ, Types in Genesis, The Names of God, and the Restitution of all Things, he wrote:
Death for man is simply an end to, or separation from, some given form of life which he has lived in… We must… by Christ die to this dark spirit-world [Mk. 8:35], to return to live in God’s light-world [Jn. 8:12; 12:46]… [It] is a ceasing from some particular form of life which has been lived in by man [Ro. 6:11], yet it is never non-existence absolutely [Jn. 12:24]; rather the means to bring the fallen creature into a new life [Ro. 6:4], a chaos being ever the necessary condition for a new creation [2 Co. 5:17].17
Here are a few passages for you to think about:
¨ You [Adam] shall surely die (Ge.2:17).
¨ You [Israel] shall surely perish [apollomi—Septuagint18] (De. 30:18).
¨ I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal (De. 32:39).
¨ He destroys [apollumi—Septuagint19] the blameless and the wicked (Job 9:22).
¨ The righteous perishes [apollumi—Septuagint20], and no man takes it to heart (Is. 57:1).
¨ The wineskins are marred [apollumi] (Mk. 2:22 KJV).
¨ He is not the God of the dead… for all live to Him (Lu. 20:38).
¨ If it [grain of wheat] dies, it produces much grain (Jn. 12:24).
¨ He who has died has been freed from sin (Ro. 6:7; 7:9; 8:6; 2Co. 4:11; Ep. 2:1; 1Ti. 5:6).
¨ Neither death nor life…shall be able to separate us from the love of God (Ro. 8:38-39).
¨ What you sow is not made alive unless it dies (1Co. 15:36).
¨ Death is swallowed up in victory (1Co. 15:54).
Please take a moment to reflect on what we have just read. Adam died on the same day he sinned, yet lived 900 more years. Israel perished. The blameless were destroyed. The righteous perished. Wineskins were marred. The dead are alive to God. Death produces grain and frees from sin. Death cannot separate from God’s love. What is sown is not made alive unless it dies. Utter or permanent annihilation cannot be the true meaning of death and destruction in any of these cases. Destruction is the prerequisite for subsequent change. Is this not what the cross is all about in the life of the believer? He kills and makes alive. He destroys to make new.
The Cross
Andrew Jukes wrote:
The meaning of Christ’s cross is not understood, but rather perverted and therefore death is shrunk from. It is not welcomed as God’s appointed means to deliver us from him that has the power of death.…Christians misunderstand destruction and judgment are the only way for fallen creatures to be delivered from their bondage, and brought back into God’s life… This is a point of all importance. It lies at the very root of the cross of Christ and of His members. It is the clue to all His judgments, who “kills and makes alive,” who “brings down to the grave and brings up” [1Sa. 2:6; Dt. 32:39]. The way of life is and must be through death…and cannot be otherwise.21
As followers of Jesus Christ, we have been called to carry our cross, to die (Mk. 8:34; Jn. 12:24-25). Unless we do, we will not have His life abiding in us (Jn. 15:4-5). We are to partake of the divine nature (2Pe. 1:3-12). What does this mean except that we are to die? Our salvation is not brought to perfection until we have died to sin and live to righteousness (Ro. 6). Death is not optional. Only in dying to our self-will do we truly live and bear fruit to God (Jn. 12:24). Scripture frequently alludes to this purpose in salvation (Ro. 6:3; 8:13; 12:1, 2; 2Co. 4:11, 16; 5:15; Ga. 2:20; Ph. 3:10; 2Ti. 2:11; He. 5:7-9; 1Pe. 2:21, 24; 1Jn. 3:16).
References: See Bibliography page
