Lately, there has been an increase in preachers of the gospel who have begun to advocate the idea (at least in private, though some have done it openly) that the wicked will be annihilated after the judgment. By that, they mean that the souls of the wicked will simply cease to exist, and that eternal nothingness is their punishment.
In other words, the atheist who says there is no God, and who says that he will cease to exist–is right!?!
I will not venture to assign motives to these brethren for holding this belief. It has been admitted by others who hold this view that they did it because they couldn’t reconcile the idea of a good God punishing someone eternally for a relatively short life of sin. Yet they have no problem accepting the idea that God could bless someone eternally for a relatively short life of faithfulness.
I shall get off my soapbox now.
This isn’t a new issue. In 1860, a man by the name of Israel Warren, a Congregationalist preacher, wrote a book dealing with the issue, and called it “Sadduceeism.” We believe that overall it is a good book dealing with this doctrine, and so we are adding it to the Jimmie Beller Memorial eLibrary!
We’ve given it the same treatment as our other books. It’s been proofed, corrected, and reformatted in order to give you the best possible reading experience!
To read it online or download for later perusal, click the link below: