dump for everything unclean. With its history of idolatry, uncleanness and
sulphur fires, Gehenna provided the ideal symbol for the ultimate
punishment that will befall the wicked, and it is used in this sense in the
New Testament.
However, in accordance with their denial of the soul’s immortality, the
Jehovah’s Witnesses hold that gehenna with its fire and brimstone is
instead a symbol of the wicked soul’s total annihilation. They quote St.
Matthew 10:28 for support: “But rather fear him which is able to destroy
both soul and body in hell (gehenna).” The Greek word in St. Matthew
10:28 for destroy is apolesai. The Witnesses translate each usage of
apolesai in the New Testament as “destroy” but this can lead to absurd
conclusions such as in St. Matthew 2:13 where St. Joseph is warned of
Herod’s plan to “search for the young child to destroy (apolesai) it.” There
is no question of Herod here trying to annihilate Christ, only to kill him.
Likewise, in St. Matthew 10:28 apolesai does not mean annihilation, but
the destruction of all hope due to exclusion from God’s presence.
As for the eternity or otherwise of hell, a closer examination of Scripture
assures us that it is eternal. The Book of Revelation, for example, uses the
word aionios to describe the duration of hell (14:11). The Jehovah’s
Witnesses attempt to water down the force of this word by claiming that it
simply refers to an indefinite period of time. However, such an argument
crumbles in the light of St. Matthew 25:46 which uses the same word
aionios to describe both the duration of the reward for the good and the
duration of the punishment for the wicked respectively. Even the
Witnesses’ own version of the Bible, The New World Translation, contains
passages that assert the eternity of hell:
“cannot be put out” (St. Matt. 3:12).
“everlasting cutting-off” (St. Matt. 18:8).
“cannot be put out” (St. Mark 9:43).
“tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10).
The Jehovah’s Witnesses stand contradicted out of their own mouths.
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