James 4:12a (HCSB)
There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy.

This verse briefly highlights four, unique qualities that God has with regards to His dealings with human beings….

1) He alone is their source of right and wrong (lawgiver).
2) He alone has the capacity to evaluate all of their situations perfectly (judge).
3) He alone has the ability to provide them with eternal life (able to save).
4) He alone has the wherewithal to completely obliterate someone (destroy).

We humans do not naturally possess the qualities necessary to achieve any of these four things. We can institute them on a surface level scale. But, on an absolute scale, such things are not within our power to do so.

Apollymi

Take the last of the four concepts bolded in the above verse. The Greek word for “destroy” there is “apollymi.” According to James, no one but God can apollymi a human being. We may sometimes have the desire to apollymi another human being. (I admit that I at least have. LOL) Here is an example from Matthew…

Matthew 12:14 (HCSB)
…the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy (apollymi) Him.

But, in the sense that James described, apollymi is something that only God can do. Jesus also made this same point regarding apollymi…

Matthew 10:28 (HCSB)
“Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy (apollymi) both soul and body in hell.”

Jesus spoke these words to His 12 disciples as an encouragement. His point was that they should never be afraid of anyone. Why? Because, no one has the capacity to apollymi. Only God does. So… “fear Him.”

Apokteino

This leads to a question…

What can those other than God do, which puts fear into human beings?

Being killed.

However, merely being killed is not apollymi. It is something different. It’s “apokteino.”

Let’s look again at Matthew 10:28. This time I will add where apokteino appears in the same verse…

Matthew 10:28 (HCSB)
“Don’t fear those who kill (apokteino) the body but are not able to kill (apokteino) the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy (apollymi) both soul and body in hell.”

Notice, what Jesus is saying. The disciples were being taught that they should not fear those who have the power to apokteino, but that they ought to fear Him who has the power to apollymi.

Going Back to the Pharisees

Think of it this way:

The Pharisees who, “went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy (apollymi) Him…” (as referenced above) are not worthy of fear. Why? Because, they are not actually able to apollymi. All they can do is apokteino, and nothing more. Therefore, only God is worthy of fear.

Luke

It might help to look at Luke’s parallel passage of Matthew 10:28, in order to better understand what Jesus was encouraging…

Luke 12:4 (HCSB)
“And I say to you, My friends, don’t fear those who kill (apokteino) the body, and after that can do nothing more.”

The point is God can do more than just apokteino, therefore fear Him. In other words, as for those who can only apokteino, don’t ever worry about them. Just focus on God.

The Cross

This posses another question…

So then, what happened to Jesus on the cross… apollymi or apokteino?

Matthew 17:22-23 (HCSB)
As they were meeting in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill (apokteino) Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.” And they were deeply distressed.

Mark 9:30-32 (HCSB)
Then they left that place and made their way through Galilee, but He did not want anyone to know it. For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill (apokteino) Him, and after He is killed (apokteino), He will rise three days later.” But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.

Mark 10:32-34 (HCSB)
They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. They were astonished, but those who followed Him were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, He began to tell them the things that would happen to Him. “Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death. Then they will hand Him over to the Gentiles, and they will mock Him, spit on Him, flog Him, and kill (apokteino) Him, and He will rise after three days.”

Mark 14:1 (HCSB)
After two days it was the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a treacherous way to arrest and kill (apokteino) Him.

Luke 9:22 (HCSB)
“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed (apokteino), and be raised the third day.”

Luke 18:31-34 (HCSB)
Then He took the Twelve aside and told them, “Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem. Everything that is written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and He will be mocked, insulted, spit on; and after they flog Him, they will kill (apokteino) Him, and He will rise on the third day.” They understood none of these things. This saying, was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

John 8:33-41a (HCSB)
“We are descendants of Abraham,” they answered Him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will become free’?”

Jesus responded, “ I assure you: Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in the household forever, but a son does remain forever. Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. I know you are descendants of Abraham, but you are trying to kill (apokteino) Me because My word is not welcome among you. I speak what I have seen in the presence of the Father; therefore, you do what you have heard from your father.”

“Our father is Abraham!” they replied.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” Jesus told them, “you would do what Abraham did. But now you are trying to kill (apokteino) Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this! You’re doing what your father does.”

Acts 3:15 (HCSB)
You killed (apokteino) the source of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this.

It is interesting to consider that Jesus never experienced apollymi. When He died, that was apokteino.

The Prophets, Regular People, Lazarus, and the Disciples

This brings another question…

Well then, what happened to the prophets, regular people, Lazarus and the disciples who have already died… apollymi or apokteino?

A few examples from the Bible…

The Prophets

Luke 11:37-54 (HCSB)
As He was speaking, a Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and reclined at the table. When the Pharisee saw this, he was amazed that He did not first perform the ritual washing, before dinner. But the Lord said to him: “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and evil. Fools! Didn’t He who made the outside make the inside too? But give from what is within to the poor, and then everything is clean for you.

“But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth, of mint, rue, and every kind of herb, and you bypass justice and love for God., These things you should have done without neglecting the others.

“Woe to you Pharisees! You love the front seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.

“Woe to you! You are like unmarked graves; the people who walk over them don’t know it.”

One of the experts in the law answered Him, “Teacher, when You say these things You insult us too.”

Then He said: “Woe also to you experts in the law! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, yet you yourselves don’t touch these burdens with one of your fingers.

“Woe to you! You build monuments to the prophets, and your fathers killed (apokteino) them. Therefore, you are witnesses that you approve, the deeds of your fathers, for they killed (apokteino) them, and you build their monuments. Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill (apokteino) and persecute,’ so that this generation may be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, — from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.

“Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible.

“Woe to you experts in the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge! You didn’t go in yourselves, and you hindered those who were going in.”

When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose Him fiercely and to cross-examine Him about many things; they were lying in wait for Him to trap Him in something He said.

Luke 13:34-35 (HCSB)
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem! She who kills (apokteino) the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See, your house is abandoned to you. And I tell you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘He who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One’!”

Acts 7:51-53 (HCSB)
“You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit; as your ancestors did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They even killed (apokteino) those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law under the direction of angels and yet have not kept it.”

Romans 11:3 (HCSB)
Lord, they have killed (apokteino) Your prophets
and torn down Your altars.
I am the only one left,
and they are trying to take my life!

Regular People

Luke 13:1-5 (HCSB)
At that time, some people came and reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And He responded to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were more sinful than all Galileans because they suffered these things? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well! Or those 18 that the tower in Siloam fell on and killed (apokteino) — do you think they were more sinful than all the people who live in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well!”

Lazarus

John 12:9-11 (HCSB)
Then a large crowd of the Jews learned He was there. They came not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus the one He had raised from the dead. Therefore the chief priests decided to kill (apokteino) Lazarus also because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus.

The Disciples

Matthew 24:9 (HCSB)
“Then they will hand you over for persecution, and they will kill (apokteino) you. You will be hated by all nations because of My name.”

John 15:26 – 16:4 (HCSB)
“When the Counselor comes, the One I will send to you from the Father — the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father — He will testify about Me. You also will testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning. I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling. They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills (apokteino) you will think he is offering service to God. They will do these things because they haven’t known the Father or Me. But I have told you these things so that when their time comes you may remember I told them to you. I didn’t tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.

Back to Apollymi

This brings a question…

So, who gets apollymi?

Babylon, and all who are associated with her…

Revelation 18:9-24 (HCSB)
The kings of the earth who have committed sexual immorality and lived luxuriously with her will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning. They will stand far off in fear of her torment, saying:

Woe, woe, the great city,
Babylon, the mighty city!
For in a single hour
your judgment has come.

The merchants of the earth will also weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their merchandise any longer — merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; fine fabrics of linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; all kinds of fragrant wood products; objects of ivory; objects of expensive wood, brass, iron, and marble; cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine, olive oil, fine wheat flour, and grain; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and slaves and human lives.

The fruit you craved has left you.
All your splendid and glamorous things are gone (apollymi);
they will never find them again.

The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand far off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying:

Woe, woe, the great city,
dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet,
adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls,
for in a single hour
such fabulous wealth was destroyed!

And every shipmaster, seafarer, the sailors, and all who do business by sea, stood far off as they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out: “Who is like the great city?” They threw dust on their heads and kept crying out, weeping, and mourning:

Woe, woe, the great city,
where all those who have ships on the sea
became rich from her wealth,
for in a single hour she was destroyed.
Rejoice over her, heaven,
and you saints, apostles, and prophets,
because God has executed your judgment on her!

Then a mighty angel picked up a stone like a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying:

In this way, Babylon the great city
will be thrown down violently
and never be found again.
The sound of harpists, musicians,
flutists, and trumpeters
will never be heard in you again;
no craftsman of any trade
will ever be found in you again;
the sound of a mill
will never be heard in you again;
the light of a lamp
will never shine in you again;
and the voice of a groom and bride
will never be heard in you again.
All this will happen
because your merchants
were the nobility of the earth,
because all the nations were deceived
by your sorcery,
and the blood of prophets and saints,
and of all those slaughtered on earth,
was found in you.

It makes sense as to why unclean spirits would be concerned in this reference…

Mark 1:21-27 (HCSB)
Then they went into Capernaum, and right away He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach. They were astonished at His teaching because, unlike the scribes, He was teaching them as one having authority.

Just then a man with an unclean spirit was in their synagogue. He cried out, “What do You have to do with us, Jesus — Nazarene? Have You come to destroy (apollymi) us? I know who You are — the Holy One of God!”

But Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit convulsed him, shouted with a loud voice, and came out of him.

Then they were all amazed, so they began to argue with one another, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”

What can we (Christians) take away from all of this?

We must be encouraged to fear God and nothing else, because nothing else is capable of what God is capable of… apollymi.

Back to Luke

Earlier I quoted Luke 12:4…

Luke 12:4 (HCSB)
“And I say to you, My friends, don’t fear those who kill (apokteino) the body, and after that can do nothing more.”

Check out the Greek word for death in the very next verse. It’s the same…

Luke 12:5 (HCSB)
“But I will show you the One to fear: Fear Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death (apokteino). Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear!”

Again, it is not those who can only apokteino who are to be feared. The “One to fear,” is… “Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death (apokteino).” In other words, since only God has the power to throw people into hell after apokteino, He alone is worthy for such reverence.

John 3:16

After death (apokteino), those who are not found to be in Christ at the judgement will then experience “hell.” In one of the most well-known verses of scripture, we find that the unbeliever’s ultimate fate is apollymi…

John 3:16 (HCSB)
“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish (apollymi) but have eternal life.

Apollymi is the opposite of eternal life.

Back Again… to Luke

It is interesting to note that in one of the references that I quoted above from Luke, apollymi describes the fate of those who do not repent. Here it is again with apollymi added in parenthesis (which I had left out earlier)…

Luke 13:1-5 (HCSB)
At that time, some people came and reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And He responded to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were more sinful than all Galileans because they suffered these things? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish (apollymi) as well! Or those 18 that the tower in Siloam fell on and killed (apokteino) — do you think they were more sinful than all the people who live in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish (apollymi) as well!”

May we never fear those who can only bring apokteino, but fear Him who can also bring apollymi. And, may we continue to proclaim the message of Christ to the world:

That He provides (for all who believe) the alternative to apollymi… eternal life.

Godspeed, to the brethren!

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