Term
annihilationism
The teaching that unbelievers are eventually destroyed or cease to exist after death, rather than suffering eternal conscious punishment.
Filed underEschatology
Definition
The teaching that after death unbelievers suffer the penalty of God's wrath for a time, and then are "annihilated," or destroyed, so that they no longer exist. Some forms of this teaching hold that annihilation occurs immediately upon death.
Sources
- 1.Wayne A. Grudem Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. 2nd ed.. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020). 41C.2Original citation: Grudem, Wayne A. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020, 41C.2.
Last revised August 14, 2026