Section I.

Reply to the Assumption that the Term Death Expresses Annihilation When Applied to the Punishment of Sinners.

It is urged in support of annihilation that the punishment of sinners is termed death, which it is insisted signifies a loss of conscious existence. So far as we know, this position is held and urged by every advocate of annihilation without a single exception, and is, therefore, entitled to a candid and serious reply. We admit that the punishment of sin is termed death. "The soul that sinneth it shall die." The wages of sin is death." "Sin when finished bringeth forth death." In the light of these positive declarations of God's word, the only question that can be debated is, what is death If death be annihilation, if to die be to cease to exist, and if to be dead is to have no existence, then is the argument conclusive against us; but if the reverse of these can be maintained, the argument will be fully answered, and can have no force as an objection to our theory of the immortality of the soul. We will now reply to the position as follows:

1. To assume that death is the extinction of being, is to beg the question in dispute, by taking for granted that which should be proved. Instead of proving that death means the extinction of being, they only prove that the punishment of the wicked is called death, a point which we frankly admit. The main point to be proved is, that death necessarily means annihilation, or the extinction of being; and this never has, and never can be proved, as will be seen before this reply is concluded. On the other hand, we have proved by the whole series of arguments under the head of the intermediate state, that death is not the dissolution of being, but only of the body, that the soul lives after the body is dead.

2. The term death is applied to both the righteous and the wicked, and it is affirmed, Heb. ix. 27: "It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment." All good men die as well as bad men, which is sufficient of itself to show the absurdity of relying upon the force of the word death, to prove what the punishment of sin is, and that it is annihilation or extinction of being. If the word "death," expresses in its true sense, the punishment of sin, and that be annihilation, then when the righteous are said to die, or to be dead, they must receive the punishment of sin in the shape of annihilation.

3. There is nothing in the etymology, or common scriptural use of the word, to justify the assumption that it means annihilation. A few references will show this. We will commence with a text which clearly refers to death as a punishment for sin.

Rom. vi. 23: "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The word here rendered death, in the original Greek, is, thanatos. This word is defined thus: "Death, i. e. the extinction of life; exposure to danger of death, disease, pestilence, spiritual death; unhappiness, misery, condemnation, punishment, eternal death, eternal unchanging state of wretchedness and misery. (See the Polymierian Greek Lexicon.) Grove's Greek and English Dictionary defines the word thus: "Death, imminent danger; a plague, pestilence." The word is derived from the verb, thnesko, which is defined thus: "To die, fall, perish, expire." From this it is seen that by going back to the original, we get no nearer the idea of annihilation than we are with the plain English, and in the English language we may best settle it.

In the text above quoted, it will not be denied that death and eternal life are opposed to each other, and by their different significations, mark the difference in the destiny of the saved and lost. What then is life The word is zoe, and has as many significations as the word death has, the first of which is, "life." We maintain that in its primary meaning, thanatos, death, denotes simply what we call death, the death of the body, no more and no less; and that zoe, life, denotes natural life, the life which we now live. We will give two cases of each. Luke ii. 26: "It was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ." Mark ix. 1: "There be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power." In both these texts the word rendered death is the same as in Rom. vi. 24, where it is said, "the wages of sin is death." In these two texts all must see that the common death of all men is meant, that which both saints and sinners die. The punishment of sin is not meant. The other word zoe, life, is used, Luke xvi. 25: "Thou in thy life time receivedst thy good things." Acts xvii. 25: "He giveth to all life and breath, and all things." In both these texts the word is used to denote the animated existence which we now possess, the life we now live. Thus we have the primary meaning of these words, and yet in Rom. vi. 23, one is used to denote the punishment of the wicked, and the other to denote the happiness of the righteous. They are used in opposition to each other; if, therefore, death means loss of existence, annihilation, eternal life means no more than continued being. If eternal life means only eternal conscious existence, then endless torment would be eternal life; and if life in this case means more than existence, then death must mean something different from mere loss of existence. The truth is, death and life are both used in a figurative sense, and hence there is not the least proof that death signifies annihilation, when it is used to denote the punishment of sin. The word death is often used when loss of existence cannot be meant, as we will now show. Matt. viii. 22: "Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead." Here death is used in two senses. The dead to be buried, were those who were literally dead; and those who were to bury them, were the spiritually dead, dead in sin.

Eph. v. 14: "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light." Those said to be dead in this text, were not annihilated. They were only spiritually dead, through a loss of the favor and image of God.

Col. ii. '20: "If ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances" Here death does not mean loss of existence, but non-conformity to this world, and conformity to Christ.

Eph. ii. 1: "You hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins." They had never been annihilated, but were only dead in the sense of alienation from God by wicked works.

1 Tim. v. 6: "But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth." To live in sin, then, is to be dead while we live, to be spiritually dead while we are naturally alive.

Rev. iii. 1: "I know thy works, that thou hast a name, that thou livest and art dead." In what sense were they dead They were not annihilated; they had not lost their existence; nor were their bodies dead. Their souls were dead, in the sense in which all sinners are said to be dead, and the only sense in which souls ever die. They were dead by being destitute of the life, and love and peace of God in their souls. Sinners are dead in the sense of Eph. iv. 18: "Being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart."

From what has been said, it is clear that sinners are said to be dead in consequence of their alienation from God, and this fact being understood, it is natural that the term, death, should be employed to denote their final and irrevocable alienation, with the punishment it will involve, when God shall judge and sentence them.

But it may be urged that we read of a "second death," and that is annihilation. We do read of a second death, but where is the proof that it means annihilation The expression, "second death," occurs four times in the book of Revelations, as follows:

Rev. ii. 11: "He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." Whatever else may be meant in this text, there is no annihilation in it. The second death is something that can hurt, some evil or suffering to be endured, some active principle or positive existence; but annihilation is a nonentity; it implies absolutely nothing, and cannot hurt, for where it exists there is nothing to hurt or to be hurt.

Chap. xx. 6: "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power." This text cannot mean annihilation, for it being a nonentity, involving absolute non-existence, can have no power over anything.

Verse 14: "Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Death is here personified, that is common death; as the general resurrection has taken place, and as there will be no more dying in the common sense, death is represented as being destroyed. Hell is here so rendered, from hades, which denotes the place of separate spirits, and as all these will have been recalled, at the general resurrection, this place of spirits is said to be cast into the lake of life. "This is the second death ;" but it is death itself that is cast in, and if death means annihilation, then annihilation is cast into the lake of fire. It cannot mean the annihilation of sinners, for they too were also, in the 15th verse, east into the lake of fire.

Chap. xxi. 8: "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." This does not imply annihilation, but directly the reverse. Their part is punishment, suffering, and not annihilation, as may be seen from Chap. xx. 10. We trust we have now shown that death does not signify annihilation.