That is why we do not have a dogmatic position on this topic. And the verses can be interpreted in more than one way. Whether consciousness continues after death, and how long the wicked are conscious, must be determined not by assuming word meanings, but by verses that give more description. When a person dies, the body stops working and begins to decompose, but what happens spiritually? Can consciousness continue, and if so, in what way? We cannot make assumptions about the afterlife based on physical meanings of “death” or “perish.” He is believed to have perished fairly early in the prolonged series of guerrilla activities he inaugurated. Most domestic building was in wood and has perished, but some of the great mural fortresses survive. In the Bible, life and death may have greater meanings than the physical meanings we commonly associate with those terms. But by far the majority perish, before they are even hatched - or at least before they reach maturity and breed themselves. The Bible speaks of unbelievers as being dead (Ephesians 2:1 John 5:24), yet they are certainly conscious! Since the Bible uses the word “dead” in such a metaphorical way, it may also use the word “perish” in a metaphorical way, especially when it is talking about the age to come, an afterlife, of which we have no experience. We cannot assume that “perish” means that consciousness will cease. ![]() Interpreters of both persuasions agree, however, following the biblical use of the term, that the unrepentant will perish in the lake of fire. The Bible does not define “perish.” Some verses support the concept of complete destruction, or annihilation other verses support the concept of eternal conscious suffering. To perish would then be (or at the very least include) not knowing God. Eternal life is defined by Jesus: And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Theologians who believe that the wicked will be eternally conscious are aware that the Bible uses the word “perish.” They have a different understanding of “perish” than annihilationists do. 'Perish' is described as the fate opposite 'eternal life'. John 3:16, for example, presents “perish” and “eternal life” as opposites. The Bible says that the unrepentant will perish in the lake of fire. Question: Some theologians say that unrepentant sinners will “perish in the lake of fire.” What does this mean?Īnswer: The word “perish” is capable of more than one interpretation, and we do not take a dogmatic position as to which interpretation is correct.
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