The Evils of the Sabbath Keeper’s Doctrine of Soul Sleep and Annihilationism
One of the greatest evils to affect Christianity which came out of the atheistic movement is the doctrine of soul sleep and annihilationism. The atheist, being godless people, carnally believe that man is nothing more than an animal. The Adventist, JW and Herbert Armstrong splinter groups all have taken up the mantra that man is nothing much more than an animal at core and that if he remains rebellious, God will simply destroy him like an animal. They also teach that death is soul sleep and that when man dies, he is unable to experience anything and is not conscious of self or anything else, including pain, joy, happiness or comfort, whether he was righteous or unrighteous in this life.
What sweet, pleasant music it must be to the ears of wicked, the murderer, the homicide bomber, the rapist, drug seller and the abortionist that dismembers a baby in the mother’s womb and throws the infant in the trash can. He knows his life can end at any day but says to himself, he will be as dead as the dog and no one will punish him. And that is exactly what the Armstrong followers, the Adventist and the JW’s preach. The comfort with wicked with their gospel.
Nearly every day we see or hear of an event where a man commits some most heinous crime and then turns a gun on himself and commits suicide. What is the motive in taking his own life? Surely to hide himself from the impending, shame and judgment and punishment of man and that from God. He, after committing the crime, thinks he will escape the shame of his crime, the pain of his punishment and the torment of conscience ever eating away at his horrific crime, day after day, hour after hour. He believes as the Adventist, the JW’s and the Armstrongites, that he will simply be unconscious and know nothing. He things he’s getting away with it. He thinks, they can’t touch him when he is dead. Death, he thinks will be a comfort for him.
The wicked gladly look forward to the message of their “soul sleep” and annihilation. What they fear and abhor is the possibility that, death will not be soul sleep and annihilation. What they fear is that unrepentant death will end up being everlasting torment and everlasting punishment. All the godless and the atheist want to believe in soul sleep. All that live in an unrepentant sinful life, want to believe in soul sleep and annihilationism. There aren’t murders, rapist, homicide bombers and those who procure abortions of infants, who proudly say, I believe the gospel of everlasting torment. From China to the drug lords in Mexico, from the abortion clinic to the homicide bomber, not a one wants to believe or holds the doctrine of everlasting punishment for the wicked. The SDA, the JW’s and most other Sabbatarian groups, all join the wicked in their belief, in one fashion or another.
The followers of Armstrongism, not to be outdone by the Adventist and the SDA, go one step farther. They hold that 99.99% of the wicked in this life were “not called” and will not be punished for their sins in this life at all at death but will wonderfully hold that a second lifetime (100 years) will be granted to the wicked to be “called and saved”. Though totally incapable of finding any scriptural support for their belief, they hold to it anyway because the Armstrong’s taught it. The 99.99% stuff is used to console themselves when they find their churches have only a few dozen at best.
This they preach because they reject the gospel of Jesus Christ. The prophets nor Jesus Christ or the Apostles never taught any such thing for the wicked. The rejection of gospel that Christ and the Apostles taught is quickly turned to hatred of the true gospel that was to turn men from sin to righteousness. From hatred of the true gospel, their rebellious, hardened heart then manifests itself in the blasphemies of Christ and the Holy Spirit. It is often heard among them that, the Christ that would send the wicked to everlasting punishment, is “Satan” and the doctrine of eternal punishment is “of Satan” too. The call the Spirit that teaches the wicked to repent with the threat of everlasting punishment , the spirit of Satan and a doctrine of Satan, which originated with Paganism and not Christ. When in truth, the doctrine originates from the Father, through the Son and is preserved by the mouth of the Son and Holy Spirit. Their rebellion is nothing short of shaking the fist at the only true God with a mean spirit that is unmatched by even the most severe criminals. That is not directed at other humans only but at the very Spirit of God.
While the hundreds of millions of Christians around the world praises God and sings of His mercy and grace for so great of a redemption from the fires of hell, the SDA, JW’s and Armstrong followers use the explicit warnings from Christ regarding everlasting punishment as a means to call the true Christ, “Satan” and the doctrine “Satanic”. They prefer to see Christ’s redemption is a mere salvation from soul sleep and the nothingness of annihilation and none existence. As I said in the beginning of this article there are hundreds of millions of people who love to hear there is soul sleep for a reward of the wicked and the non-repentant. The godless already believe that and they live accordingly. The Adventist, JW and Armstrong follower only confirm that there is no real need to repent. They can continue on the sinful path, rejecting God, Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit and things still turn out the same. Only, that is not what Christ taught. Christ explicitly taught that the wicked are thrown into the everlasting from where the suffer “everlasting punishment”. Mat.25: 31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. [1] … 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
[2] Again in Mark 9, Christ explicitly warns the wicked, “
43 And if thy hand offendc thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Josephus, the Jewish historian from the time of Christ tells us what the common teaching among the Jews was regarding the firey worm. “To these belong the unquenchable fire, and that without end, and a certain fiery worm, never dying, and not destroying the body, but continuing its eruption out of the body with never-ceasing grief: neither will sleep give ease to these men, nor will the night afford them comfort;” Now compare this with Rev. 14: “; [Rev.14:10The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.] Josephus continues “death will not free them from their punishment, nor will the interceding prayers of their kindred profit them; for the just are no longer seen by them, nor are they thought worthy of remembrance” .
All the fist shaking, human anger and wrath and denial in world vented at the true God who WILL punish the wicked will only deepen their destiny to a place they deny exists, though our Lord Jesus Christ taught it explicitly. Rather than being thankful, they are wrathful. Rather than singing praises for so great a deliverance, they blaspheme the Spirit of God that teaches the truth. Like the drug pusher who sells illegal drugs that promises the addict it will make them feel good and finds his followers, so the wicked spirit of annihilation and soul sleep promises the wicked they will not be punished like Christ and the rest of Christianity says so. It’s no wonder these groups don’t fear God.
It’s the lack of the fear of God which allows them to take an explicit scripture from Christ regarding the everlasting punishment of the wicked and say something stupid enough to pretend it means everlasting in its affects and then believe it and try to get others to believe it too. That is nothing more than willfully deceiving oneself. Truly, their gospel is so perverted from what Christ taught. They are as the scripture says regarding the last days, “deceiving and being deceived”. Christ intended his warnings of hell, everlasting punishment and worms that would never stop eating away were meant to shake a soul down to the innermost being! Christ message was intended to create such dreadful fear of judgment into the hearts of the listener that he would immediately fall on his knees and repent, turning from his wicked ways. Read Acts 12:20-23 and see how Herod was given a torment of being eaten up with worms sent by the angel of the Lord, an earthly sign of the undying worm that will torment forever. These warnings are for your repentance before it is too late. Then, will you or anyone who listens and repents, find Grace and mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ unto salvation. The Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom says the Lord.
I write this that they who will listen might be spared from their perverted gospel and false teachers and prophets who promise the wicked soul sleep. I write it, because I love them and care about their future. And, I write it that all the wicked may turn from their wickedness and repent. That they may find a godly and righteous life in the true Jesus Christ and be spared the death of the wicked. What judgment awaits those who preach “soul sleep” and annihilation to the wicked. They are responsible for the wicked not turning from their sins in hopes of escaping the fires of hell. The preachers of such a corrupted gospel of soul sleep and annihilation will be held to a greater judgment than that of the murder, abortionist and homicide bomber because they have corrupted the gospel and did not preach the things that would have turned the wicked from their sins as Christ commanded. They are ashamed of the true gospel and therefore perverted it for “another gospel” not from Christ.
He that has an ear, let him hear it.
