A Survey Of Apollumi in the New Testament
By Jonathan Mitchell
Destruction or Loss is but a Prelude to Restoration and New Creation (Rev. 21:5)
This study looks at a Greek verb and its cognates which the KJV renders variously as: destroy, destruction, lose, lost, or perish.
This verb is used in many contexts, from Matthew through Jude. For economy of time and space, we will not consider every verse where it is found, but will offer most of texts in the NT, while skipping redundant reading in parallel passages. We begin by giving the meanings of this word.
Apollumi: to completely destroy; to fully lose; loose-away into ruin. From ollumi: to destroy, make an end of; to lose (or: be lost); to be in a state of ruin; to die, or perish. The prefix apo- means "off," "away," or "away from," and when prefixed to a verb can be understood as an intensifier of the verb, thus, "completely," or "fully." We begin with all of its uses in Matthew:
2:13, It is used about Herod wanting to destroy the young child, i.e., kill it.
5:29, 30, Here the word is used about a part of one's body being destroyed, as opposed to his whole body being cast into Jerusalem's garbage dump, Gehenna, [note: most likely after having been crucified by the Romans, as being a criminal]. Observe: Jesus was metaphorically speaking of a person tearing out, or cutting off, an offending body part of his own body: this member of his own body would thus be "lost or destroyed."
8:25, Jesus and His disciples, in the storm on the sea,
"O Lord, save/deliver us; we are progressively being destroyed and are perishing."
They were using apollumi in referencing their potential drowning.
9:17, This speaks of wine skins being ruined, destroyed.
10:6, "But, instead, continue on your way toward the sheep having been destroyed and ruined, which continue being completely lost, that belong to, and are from, 'the house (or: household) of Israel.'" Notice that here we have a perfect participle form of this word: the destruction and ruin happened in the past, and these folks continue being "lost." But it was to these that His disciples were being sent.
10:28, "Stop being (or: Do not continue being [other MSS: You should not be]) made to fear from the one normally killing the body [e.g., an enemy; a murderer], and yet continuing unable (powerless) to be killing the soul (interior life; consciousness; or: = one's honor and reputation). But rather, be habitually fearing (or: continue wary of, with a healthy respect for) the person [e.g., a ruler] being constantly able and continuing with power to completely loose-away, ruin and destroy (or: to cause to be lost) both soul (the interior life; [note: may refer to the person's reputation in regard to character and other personal qualities]) as well as body within the Valley of Hinnom (Greek: Gehenna; Jerusalem's garbage dump: the place where criminals and folks with disgraced lives, and thus considered unfit for proper burial, were cast away; the disgraced end of an outcast or criminal)."
10:39, "The person who is searching and then finding his own soul (his own will, intellect, emotions and self-life as his goals; or: the identity and consciousness that he is; or: the life from him), will be repeatedly losing it. And yet the person completely loosing-away, destroying, or losing, his soul (the consciousness which is him; his own will, self-focused life of a self-seeking, self-possessed persona and identity; or: his emotions, his plans and goals) - on account of Me - will be progressively finding and discovering it [i.e., his true self, identity, purpose & consciousness]." [cf Mat. 16:25, a reference to being a disciple]
10:42, "And further, whoever should give only a cup of cold water to drink to one of these little ones, only unto [regard or function] that pertains to the reputation and vocation of a disciple (or: = solely with a view to his or her being named an apprentice), assuredly (amen), I now say to (lay it out for) YOU folks, he can by no means lose his wage or reward."
12:14, the Pharisees wanted to "destroy" Jesus.
(or: Am I not sent away as a representative, if not unto the fully lost sheep from Israel's house?;
or: I am not separated off for a purpose, except into the midst of those lost and entirely destroyed sheep, which are a house of Israel)."
16:25, "You see, whoever may intend (or: should purpose; might set his will; happens to want) to keep his soul-life safe (rescue himself; preserve the conscious life that he is living) will continue loosing-it-away, ruining and destroying it. Yet whoever can loose-away and even destroy his soul-life (the consciousness of self) on My account, he will continue finding it!" [cf 26:38]
18:[11.] [this verse omitted by the earlier MSS, Origen and Eusebius, but is found in D, L's margin, W, and TR: "You see, the Son of the Man comes to rescue and make whole (to save and deliver) the person having been destroyed and lost."]
18:14, "In the same way it continues not being the will (the effect of the desire, intent or purpose) of My Father - the One within [the] heavens and within the midst of the atmospheres - that one of these little folks would destroy himself or should become lost."
22:7, "Later, sending his soldiers (troops), he destroyed those murderers and set their city in flames." [Perhaps a veiled prophecy about Jerusalem, in AD 70]
26:52, At that point Jesus is saying to him, "Turn away (= Return) your knife (or: sword) into its place. You see, all those taking [up] a knife (or: a sword) will proceed in destroying themselves in union with a knife (or: continue losing themselves [being] centered in a sword)."
27:20, But the chief (ranking) priests and elders persuaded the crowds, to the end that they, themselves, would ask for Bar-Abbas - and so they would destroy Jesus.
Notice that each of these four, previous verses speaks of a physical destruction, here in this life. So ends this word's use in Matthew. The Gospel of Mark uses this verb in ways similar to Matthew, but we will consider one verse, in chapter 1:
We suggest that from his use of the word "us," he is referring to the entire congregation. Why had Jesus come on the scene? Was it "to lose [them] and to ruin" their traditional way of life? Was he going to bring destruction upon Judea (a fear that the priesthood nurtured - Jn. 11:48)? This man had heard of Jesus, and knew that He was a Nazarene; he had
"seen to know (recognize; [other MSS: We - i.e., the Jews of that area - now know]) [Him]."
He, and they, had heard that John had immersed Jesus and had proclaimed Him as the
"coming One" - "God's set-apart one."
This man, despite his impure heart and attitude, recognized, and could not help but proclaim, that Jesus was
"the Holy One of God; the set-apart one, from God,"
or even,
"the Holy One who is God."
Even the Roman centurion recognized and proclaimed this, at Jesus' death (Mat. 27:54). So did Nicodemus, and the rest of the Jewish leadership (Jn. 3:2).
Luke 6 gives us another context:
9. Then Jesus said to them, "I now ask you men if on the sabbath it is allowed, from [Israel's] existence, to do good, perform virtue and produce excellence, or to do bad, perform worthlessness and produce ugliness; to heal (deliver; restore to health and wholeness; save) a person, or to destroy one (or: to rescue someone, or to lose a soul)?"
In this contrast, which Jesus posed to them, doing something bad, worthless or ugly, equated to destroying a person, while healing the man's arm (vs. 8) was doing good to him. The verb applied to then and there, in the ministry of Jesus. Luke 9 gives us three more examples:
25. "For how or in what way is a person normally furthered or benefited by gaining, or making a profit of, the whole world (organized system of economics, culture, religion or government; universe; adorned arrangement; aggregate of humanity) while yet fully destroying (or: losing) himself or suffering detriment, loss, disadvantage, damage or forfeit?
In vs. 25 we find the reflexive pronoun, "himself," explaining the use of the term "soul" in vs. 24. Note, also, in vs. 25, the correlation between the two participles, "destroying/losing" and "suffering detriment, loss, disadvantage, damage or forfeit." Both of these verses can be understood as speaking of this life, here and now. We have to read into the text an application of this teaching to the "afterlife." Verse 26 could well be an inference to His return in judgment upon Jerusalem, in AD 70. Verse 27 secures the context of His words to firstcentury Judea.
55. Yet, being turned, He respectfully spoke a stern admonition to them and said, "You do not see or know of what sort of breath-effect (spirit; attitude) you are. For the Son of the Man does not come to fully destroy [the] lives (or: souls) of humanity, but rather to rescue, heal, save and restore to health and wholeness." [note: Jesus' statement to the disciples is absent from the critical texts, but is found in some MSS]
Luke 11:51 refers to the death of Zechariah, but let us view the immediate context:
51. "from Abel's blood until the blood of Zechariah - the man losing himself (or: perishing; being completely destroyed) between the altar and the House - yes, I continue saying (or: am now saying) to you folks, it will progressively be sought out and exacted from this generation."
Cf Lu. 13:3 and 5, where the context of what Jesus said was set in vs. 1:
"Now there were some present, on that same occasion and situation, [who were] reporting to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices (= whom Pilate slaughtered as they were offering sacrifices - perhaps as they were slaughtering the animals)."
He then further explained the context of His words, in vss. 2 and 4.
Some of the best indications of the NT meaning of apollumi, are found in Lu. 15:4, 6, 8, 9, 17, 24 and 32. These are the parables of the lost sheep, lost coin, and the prodigal son. Lu. 17:26-29 are references to the destruction in the days of Noah, and then to the destruction of Sodom. Both were physical destructions, here on earth. With these as His backdrop, Jesus proceeds in vss. 30-37 to describe aspects of the judgment coming upon Jerusalem and Judea (often interpreted as a prophecy of AD 70, but certainly of something here on earth). Our word is found in the enigmatic vs. 33:
"Whoever may endeavor to build an encompassing protection
(or: produce a perimeter of defense; or: make a form or a structure to encircle; or: set boundaries or lines of demarcation) around his soul-life (his inner being and consciousness, with its will, desires, emotions, appetites, affections, passions; or: himself)
will be progressively loosing it away and destroying it.
Yet whoever may be loosing it away (or: destroying it) will continue bringing it forth as a living creature (will engender it to be a living being; will produce it alive as a child or offspring). or: = "Folks who try to make their lives secure will lose them, but in contrast, a person who can free it will give it life.)"
Next is Lu. 19:10,
"You see, the Son of the Man (= the eschatological messianic figure; = Adam's son) came to seek after, and then to save, deliver and restore what is existing being completely lost, ruined, demolished and fully destroyed."
The temporary and non-final sense of apollumi can be clearly seen, in this verse. The final verse in Luke, which we will observe, is 21:18,
"And yet, not a hair from out of YOUR head can by any means be completely lost (or: should by no means be loosed-away or fully destroyed)."
The next place where we find our word is in Jn. 3:
16. "For thus God loves (or: You see God, in this manner, fully gives Himself to and urges toward reunion with) the aggregate of humanity (universe; ordered arrangement; organized System [of life and society]; the world), so that He gives His [other MSS: the] only-born (or: only-kin; unique-class) Son,
(or, reading "oste"" as an adverb: You see, in this manner God loves the sum total of created beings as being the Son: He gives the solitary-race One; or: reading "os te". For you see, [it is] in this way [that] God loves the aggregate of humanity - even as it were His Son: He gives the by-itself-in-kind-One), to the end that all humanity, which (or: everyone, who) - when progressively trusting and successively believing into Him and thus being constantly faithful to Him - would not completely lose or destroy itself, or cause itself to fall into ruin, but rather can continuously have (or: would habitually possess and hold) eonian life (age-durative life with qualities derived from the Age [of the Messiah]; living existence of and for the ages).
Please note
"lose or destroy itself, or cause itself to fall into ruin."
The verb is in the middle voice, so the subject (the world; the aggregate of humanity) is acting upon itself. God sent the Son to rescue and save humanity from itself.
John 6 speaks of not losing any of the fragments of bread (vs. 12), and of,
"the food which is continuously disintegrating of itself (loosing itself away; destroying itself),"
in vs. 27, and then makes this point, in vs. 39,
"Now this is the purpose (intent; will) of the One sending Me: that all, that (or: everything, which) He has given to Me so that it is now Mine, I will proceed to (or, as an aorist subjunctive: may; can; should; would) completely lose nothing from out of it, but further, I will proceed to (or: should; would) raise it up to, in and with This Last Day (or: by the Last Day; for the final Day)."
In John 10, vs. 8 informs us,
"All - as many as go before, or ahead of, Me (or: precede, in front of Me; or: came or went before Me) - are thieves...," and then vs. 10 explains, "The thief does not constantly come, except to the end that he may steal, slaughter (slay for food - as for a feast - or, for a sacrifice) and destroy (or: cause loss)."
In this same chapter, vs. 28 promises,
"I Myself am continuously giving eonian life (age-enduring life; life having the qualities and characteristics of the Age [of Messiah]; a life from, of and for the ages) to and in them and so by no means (or: under no circumstances) can they at any point be fully lost or destroyed, or even cause themselves to perish; and further, no one will be snatching them (or: taking them by force) from out of My hand."
In 11:50, the chief priest voices the potential that their
"whole nation would destroy itself."
Then, in 18:14, we read,
"Now Caiaphas was the one joining in counsel with and advising the Judeans (= religious authorities) that it is progressively bearing together as an expedient advantage for one man to be dying [other MSS: to lose or destroy himself] over [the situation of] (or: on behalf of) the People."
Our word is used once, in Acts, speaking of Judah the Galilean "destroying himself" (5:37). It is used twice in Romans.
"For you see, as many as (or: however many) miss the goal (or: sin; fail; or: erred; missed the target due to lack of ability or through distraction) without a law (or: apart from [Torah]), without a law will progressively lose and continue fully destroying themselves..." (2:12a), and, "Do not, by your food (or: for your solid food), progressively destroy away (lose by ruining; bring to loss) that person over whom Christ died" (14:15b).
Let us now turn to 1 Corinthians 1:
19. For it has been written, and thus stands, [Isa. 29:14] "I will undo and fully ruin (cause to pass away; completely destroy) the wisdom and cleverness of the wise ones, and I will set aside (or: displace; invalidate) the intelligence (understanding and comprehension) of the intellectual (intelligent; comprehending) people."
In 1 Cor. 10:9 we read of the Israelites that were destroyed (killed) by serpents (Nu. 21), and then in 10:10 we are informed that,
"some of them murmured - and lost and ruined themselves away (or: affected their own destruction) by the Destroyer."
Notice the middle voice,
"lost and ruined themselves away, or affected their own destruction."
This appears to be the same incident with the "fiery serpents" (Heb. seraphim) of the Nu. 21 event.
But what about 1 Cor. 15:18?
17. And if Christ has not been awakened and raised up.... 18. Consequently, also, those falling asleep within the midst of, and in union with, Christ fully lose themselves (or: ruin, loose-away and destroy themselves). [cf 2 Cor. 5:14b]
Verse 17a echoes vs. 14a, where Paul answers his rhetorical question (in 14b) by saying, that if this is the case,
"our message which we proclaim [is] consequently empty and without content - and your[other MSS: our] faith and trust [is] empty and vacuous."
In other words, we are still "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1). But, of course, that is NOT the case. We were all destroyed by the sin of Adam (Rom. 5:12), where, due to his mistake, the Death passed into everyone.
So let us observe what Paul says concerning those presently experiencing apollumi, in 2 Cor. 2:
16. to (in; for; with) these [latter ones], a stench from out of Death, [leading] into death (or: from the midst of [one] death on into [another, or, more] death); yet to (in; for; with) those [former ones] a fragrance from out of Life, [leading] into life (or: from out of the midst of [one Life] on into [another, or, more] life). So who [is] adequate, sufficient or qualified [in facing or approaching] toward these matters?
This calls to mind the present-life experience categories that are described in Jn. 3:36,
"The one habitually trusting into (or: continuously going on confidently believing with loyalty unto) the Son is now constantly holding and is presently, progressively possessing (having) eonian life (life having the characteristics and qualities of the sphere of the Age; life of and for the ages; eon-lasting life; life whose source is the Age [of Messiah]). Yet the person now continuing being unpersuaded by the Son
(or: presently being constantly incompliant, disobedient or disbelieving to the Son; being repeatedly stubborn toward the Son) will not be catching sight of (seeing; observing; perceiving) [this] life. To the contrary (or: Yet, nevertheless), God's personal emotion and inherent fervor
(or: the teeming passion and swelling desire, which is God; the mental bent, natural impulse, propensity and disposition from God; or: the ire, anger, wrath or indignation having the quality and character of God)presently continues remaining (keeps on resting, dwelling and abiding) upon him."
2 Cor. 4:3 gives another picture of the present human predicament:
"Now if the good news coming from us (or: our message of goodness, ease and well-being) continues being covered from having been veiled with a head-covering, it continues being thus covered in union with, within the midst of and centered in those on their way to utter ruin (being progressively lost; repeatedly loosing-away, undoing and thus, completely destroying themselves)."
Now in this same chapter, in regard to those following Christ, Paul affirms:
"we are folks being constantly pursued and persecuted, but yet not habitually left in the lurch, being forsaken down within some situation; we are those being repeatedly thrown down (or: rejected) but yet not continuously caused to fully fall apart (be loosed-away into utter ruin; be undone so as to be lost or completely destroyed)" - 4:9, [cf Rom. 8:18]
In 2 Thes. 2:10, Paul again refers to the present condition of those who are not abiding in the Vine (Jn. 15:1ff),
"and within every deception (delusion; seduction) of the injustice (wrong; thing that is not the way pointed out and which is not right) within the folks continuously or repeatedly being fully lost (or: by the folks progressively ruining and completely destroying themselves) in return for which
(or: in the place of which) they do (or: did) not take unto themselves and welcomely receive the love of, and from, the truth
(or: Truth's accepting Love; the Love which is Truth and Reality; or: the urge to union which is Reality), into the [situation for] them at some point to be suddenly delivered (restored to health and wholeness; rescued; saved; restored to the original state and condition)."
Heb. 1:11 uses apollumi in a different context, quoting Ps. 102 concerning the earth and the heavens:
"They shall progressively completely destroy themselves (or: ruin, or lose, themselves) - but You continue remaining throughout."
Even with their, at some point, ending up destroyed, yet we are reminded of Rev. 21:1,
"Then I saw "a new (new in nature; different from the usual; better than the old; superior in value and attraction; new in quality) atmosphere (or: sky; or: heaven) and a new Land (or: earth)" [Isa. 65:17; 66:22], for you see, actually, the first (former; preceding; earlier) atmosphere (or: heaven) and the first (former, preceding) Land (or: earth; soil; ground) went away (or: moved off, and passed away), and the sea does not exist any longer."
Ruin and destruction are, with God, always a prelude to restoration or a new creation.
Jacob's epistle presents us with two other verses where this word is found: Jas. 1:11,
"For you see, the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the grass, and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its face (= loveliness of its appearance) loses itself (finds destruction in itself). Thus also, the rich one will proceed in being extinguished (faded; withered) in his goings (journeys; business; ventures; undertakings; way of life)."
Jas. 4:12,
"There is one Lawgiver and Separator (Evaluator; Decider; Judge): the One being continuously able and powerful to deliver (rescue; heal; save; keep safe; restore to wholeness), as well as to cause complete loss (or: bring a condition of utter ruin; or: cause [something or someone] to be lost; or: fully destroy). So you, who are you, the one continuously judging the one near you (repeatedly separating and evaluating the neighbor; or: presently making decisions about [your] associate)?"
1 Pet. 1:7 uses our word to describe natural gold. 2 Pet. 3:6 speaks of the destruction from the deluge, in Noah's day, then in vs. 9 of this same chapter, we are informed that:
"The Lord [= Yahweh] is not continually delaying the promise, as certain folks consider delay as being negligence, but rather is constantly patient (long of emotion, slow in passion, pushing anger far away, even-tempered and long before rushing heatedly; or: passionately persevering until the goal is reached) unto you, constantly not intending any folks to be fully lost (or: to completely destroy themselves), but to the contrary, [for] all people to make room, allow space, give way and progress into a change of mind, attitude and state of consciousness." [cf Rom. 12:2]
2 John 8 offers this usage:
"be continuously seeing to yourselves (looking at yourselves), to the intent that you people would (or: may) not completely destroy (or: fully lose) what we [other MSS: you folks] did (produced; worked for), but rather may receive back full wages."
The final occurrences of apollumi are found in Judah's letter (Jude):
5. Yet I am repeatedly purposing and intending to remind you [p78 adds: brothers] - you folks having once seen (or: perceived) and thus being aware of all [these] things - that the Lord [= Yahweh; other MSS: Jesus (= Joshua); some MSS: God] after delivering (rescuing; saving) a people out of Egypt's land, [in] the second [phase] brought to complete ruin and loss those folks not trusting, believing or being loyal.
(or: Now I continue purposing and intending to remind you folks, ones having [already] seen, perceived and now being aware, that [Yahweh] - after once saving all [the] people out of Egypt's territory - the second [time; phase; action] brought to utter ruin and loss those folks not trusting, believing or being loyal!)
Verse 11 refers to the death of folks in Moses' time:
"Alas (or: Tragic is the fate) for them, because they pass along by the way of Cain, and they are (or: were) poured out to the wandering (or: deception) of Balaam's wages, and they lose and completely destroy themselves in Korah's contradiction (opposing idea; anti-word; message in place of the Logos)."
Having completed this survey of NT usage, we unreservedly conclude that the use of apollumi refers to death, loss, ruin, or destruction, which happen in this life, and have application only to this life, here on earth. We should also keep in mind that death (Rev. 20:14) is just a prelude to resurrection, and Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life (Jn. 11:25; Col. 1:11; Rev. 5:13).
Jonathan
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