DESTINY OF THE WICKED

“What shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” 1 Peter 4:17.BSA 39.2

I. They shall die. - “The soul that sinneth it shall die. Ezekiel 18:4, 20, 24, 31; Genesis 2:17; Deuteronomy 30:15, 19; 2 Chronicles 25:4; Proverbs 2:18; 5:5; 7:27; 8:36; 14:12; 15:10; 19:16; Jeremiah 21:8; 31:30; Ezekiel 3:18, 19, 20; 33:8, 11, 13, 18; Matthew 10:39; John 5:24; 6:50; 8:51; 11:26; Romans 6:21; 8:6, 13; James 1:15; 5:20; Revelation 20:6, 14; 21:8.BSA 39.3

[Die: To cease to live, to expire, to decease, to perish. - Webster.]BSA 39.4

II. They will be destroyed. - “All the wicked will he destroy Psalm 145:20; 5:6; 9:5; 37:38; 52:5; 92:7; Proverbs 1:32; 11:3; 13:13; Isaiah 1:28; Matthew 7:13; 10:28; Acts 3:23; Romans 9:22; 1 Corinthians 3:17; Philippians 3:19; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; 2 Peter 2:12, Revelation 11:18. [Destroy: To kill, to slay, to extirpate, applied to men, etc. In general, to [put an end to, to annihilate a thing or the form in which it exists.] Destroyed: Demolished, pulled down, ruined, annihilated, devoured swept away, etc., - Web.]BSA 39.5

III. They shall perish. - “The triumphing of the wicked is short; ... he shall perish forever.” Job 20:7; Psalm 2:12; 37:20; 49:12, 20; 68:2; 73:27; 92:9; Proverbs 19:9; 21:28; Isaiah 41:11; Luke 13:3, 5; John 3:15, 16; Romans 2:12; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2 Corinthians 2:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:10; 2 Peter 2:12.BSA 40.1

[Perish: To die, to lose life in any manner, to wither and decay, to be destroyed, to be destroyed eternally. - Web.]BSA 40.2

IV. Go to Perdition. - The present world is “reserved unto fire against the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3:7; John 17:12; Philippians 1:28; 2 Thessalonians 2:3; 1 Timothy 6:9; Hebrews 10:39; Revelation 17:8, 11.BSA 40.3

[Perdition: Utter ruin or destruction. - Butterworth.]BSA 40.4

V. They shall be consumed. - “The destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.” Isaiah 1:28; 29:20; 66:17; Psalm 37:20; 59:13; 104:35; Zephaniah 1:2, 3; 2 Thessalonians 2:8.BSA 40.5

[Consume: To destroy by separating the parts of a thing by decomposition, as by fire, etc., to destroy, to bring to utter ruin, to exterminate. Consumed: Wasted,burned up, destroyed.- Web.]BSA 40.6

VI. Be devoured by fire. - “The fire shall devour them.”BSA 40.7

Psalm 21:9; Isaiah 26:11; Nahum 1:10; Hebrews 10:27; Revelation 20:9.BSA 40.8

[Devoured: Consumed, destroyed, wasted, slain. Web.]BSA 41.1

VII. Be slain. - “With the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.” Isaiah 11:4; Psalm 62:3; 139:19; Luke 19:27.BSA 41.2

[Slain: Killed. - Web.]BSA 41.3

VIII. They shall come to an end. - “The end of the wicked shall be cut off.” Psalm 37:38; Proverbs 10:25; and not be; “for yet a little while and the wicked shall not be.” Psalm 37:10; Proverbs 12:7; Isaiah 41:11, 12; Jeremiah 10:24; Obadiah 16.BSA 41.4

[End: Conclusion, cessation, termination, a point beyond which no progression can be made. To be: To exist - Web.]BSA 41.5

IX. They shall be rooted out and cut off. “But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.” Proverbs 2:22; Job 18:18; Psalm 37:9, 22, 28, 34, 38; 52:4, 5; 94:23; Luke 12:46[margin].BSA 41.6

[“Rooted out” and “cut off,” would mean any thing else rather than eternal torment in the fire of hell.]BSA 41.7

X. They shall be burned up. “Behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord.” Malachi 4:1; Psalm 21:9; 97:3; Matthew 3:12; 7:19; 13:30, 40, 50; John 15:6; Hebrews 6:8; Revelation 18:8.BSA 41.8

[Burn: To consume with fire, to reduce to ashes by the action of heat or fire. To burn up: to consume entirely by fire. - Web.]BSA 41.9

Note. - The wicked are compared to the most combustible and destructible materials, as chaff [Matthew 3:12], stubble [Malachi 4:1] tares [Matthew 13:40], branches [John 15:6], bad fish [Matthew 13:47, 48], thistle-down [Isaiah 17:13, margin]; which would be utterly subversive of the idea of unending life in a consuming fire.BSA 42.1