Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses (mainly, but others, too) hold to the doctrine of annihilationism, the supposed destruction of the wicked in the great judgment. They reject the traditional teaching of an everlasting judgment in Hell. In fact, they object to the nature of God, as suggested by the doctrine of eternal punishment.
The resurrection is described in a couple of places in Scripture. However, Daniel 12:2 is clearest in naming resurrection to what: "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to
everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."
I specifically use this verse, because others get twisted, such as Revelation 14:11, "The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever." Annihilationists claim that the smoke might be eternal, but that doesn't imply that the torment is, too. They never explain how smoke can continue to rise from fuel which has been exhausted.
However, Daniel mentions neither flames nor fire, but explicitly states that it is the contempt for the wicked that is everlasting. Someone will surely object that the object of the contempt doesn't have to continue eternally in order for the contempt for it to remain. But is that really a rational objection? Can we expect the emotional reaction to something to outlast that thing into eternity? No, even the strongest of reactions must fade without further stimulation by their object.
Annihilationists make hysterical protests against the supposed injustice of God for punishing eternally sins which were only temporal. That is the essence of their error, mistaking sinful acts, which do, indeed, occur in time, not eternity, for sin itself. The wicked aren't judged primarily for the sinful acts that they committed, but rather for the wicked and rebellious hearts from which those acts arose (Matthew 15:18-20). While annihilationists are complaining about the morality of God, they are glossing over the sinfulness of the wicked. When the wicked die, and pass into eternity, they do not cease to be wicked. Rather, they continue to hate God and curse Him in Hell, earning for themselves continuing punishment.
God is perfectly just and moral. It is His annihilationist critics who are not.
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