We cannot throw out texts like these-
Psalms 37:10 "For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be."
Proverbs 24:20 "For there shall be no reward to the evil man; The candle of the wicked shall be put out."
Psalms 37:38 "But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: The end of the wicked shall be cut off."
Psalms 37:20 "But the wicked shall perish, And the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: They shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away."
Psalms 92:7 "When the wicked spring as the grass, And when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; It is that they shall be destroyed for ever:
Philippians 3:19 "Whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)"
II Thessalonians 1:9 "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;"
II Peter 2:12 "But these, as natural brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not, and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;"
The Greek is pretty clear that means fully destroy.
We are given the example of God's eternal fire in what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah-
Jude 7 "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, in like manner giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."
All those passages use the language of destruction, cutting off, and perishing, but none of them require non-existence. In Scripture, “destroy” often means ruin, defeat, or loss, not annihilation:
-Israel is said to be “destroyed” yet clearly still exists (Hos 13:9).
-The prodigal son was “dead” (destroyed) yet fully conscious (Luke 15:24).
-Believers were “dead in sins” (Eph 2:1), but not nonexistent.
“Destruction” in biblical language describes the condition of the wicked, not their disappearance.
2 Thessalonians 1:9 actually supports this: “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.”
You cannot be away from God’s presence if you no longer exist. That’s a state, not annihilation.
And Jude 7 doesn't teach annihilation either. Sodom isn’t still burning today, yet Jude calls it an example of eternal fire. The fire is eternal, not because the fuel burns forever, but because the judgment is eternal in its effect, just as Hebrews 6:2 speaks of “eternal judgment.”
The OT “destroy” passages describe the certainty and completeness of God’s judgment, not the end of conscious existence.
So none of those texts overturn the clear New Testament statements of ongoing, conscious consequences (“their worm does not die,” “the smoke of their torment goes up forever,” Rev 14:11).
Here are some questions:
1. If “destroy” means non-existence, how can people be “destroyed” yet still exist?
Hosea 13:9 “O Israel, you are destroyed, but in Me is your help.”
Israel still existed afterwards.
Question: If “destroyed” here doesn’t mean annihilation, why must it mean annihilation in the passages you quoted?
2. How can someone be “dead” yet conscious?
Luke 15:24 “This my son was dead and is alive again.”
Ephesians 2:1 “You were dead in your trespasses.”
Both “dead” persons were conscious.
Question: If biblical “death” can mean ruin, not non-existence, why assume “second death” means extinction?
3. How can people be “away from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thess 1:9) if they no longer exist?
Non-existence has no experience, no location, no duration.
Question: How can the wicked be punished with “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord” if they are annihilated and no longer present anywhere?
4. Why does Jesus describe an ongoing state, not an event?
Mark 9:48 “Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”
This is duration, not extinction.
Question: If the person ceases to exist, whose worm is still not dying?
5. Why does Revelation describe ongoing torment if annihilation is true?
Revelation 14:11 “The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever… they have no rest day or night.”
Question: If they are annihilated instantly, how can there be “no rest day or night”? Rest from what?
6. Why does Revelation 20:10 say the devil is tormented “day and night forever and ever,” then place humans in the same fate?
The beast and false prophet are still in the fire 1,000 years later.
Question: If the lake of fire instantly annihilates, how are they still there alive after 1,000 years?
7. Why does Daniel 12:2 contrast eternal life with eternal shame/contempt, not eternal non-existence?
People cannot feel shame or contempt if they don’t exist.
Question: If the wicked are annihilated, how can they experience “eternal contempt”?
8. How can “eternal fire” in Jude 7 refer to annihilation when Jude applies it to a past event?
Jude 7. Sodom is an example of “eternal fire.”
The fire isn’t still burning, but the judgment is eternal.
Question: If “eternal fire” means annihilation, why does Jude use it for a judgment whose effects, not the flames, are eternal?
9. Why does Jesus warn about “weeping and gnashing of teeth” if annihilation is instant?
This is ongoing consciousness and regret.
Question: How can a destroyed, nonexistent person weep or gnash their teeth?
10. Why does Jesus say the punishment is “eternal,” not the fire?
Matthew 25:46 “Eternal punishment” (κόλασις αἰώνιος).
Not “punishment for a moment followed by non-existence.”
Question: Why does Jesus parallel eternal life and eternal punishment if one side is conscious and the other is not?
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