eked has been set on foot at different periods, and has recently been revived. See Annihilationists.
Annihilation! sts, a name given to the holders of the theory that the, wicked will not be kept in eter- nal misery, but will suffer a total extinction of being. See Annihilation.
1. There are only a few traces of this doctrine in earlv church histor}'. Some are disposed to find the
5), where it is said that the souls of the wicked should be punished as long as tar civ uvtuq Kai tivai Kai Ko\a- ZfaSai 6 Qtog 0i\u (as long as God wishes them to exist and to be punished). Similar expressions are used by Irenseus (ii, 34 : Quoadusque ea Deus et esse et persecerare voluerit), and Clem. Horn, iii, 3. In clearer terms the doctrine was propounded by Arnobius (q. v.) at the beginning of the 1th century. See Hell.
2. The theorv of annihilation was maintained in the
nates, or first-fruits, was annexed to the crown. ..« otherg Thcv took th(J name of Destnicti(mists, ns various statutes subsequently passed on this subject sumin the point in dispute, viz., that the word dc have all been consolidated by an act (the 1 \ ict. c. 20) stmction in Scripture means annihilation. Their prop
er designation is " Annihilationist
regulating the collection of the money so levied Gieseler, Ch. Hist, iii, 54-63. See First-fruits; Queen Anne's Bounty.
Annesley, Samuel, D.D., maternal grandfather of John Wesley, was one of the leading non-conform- ist divines of his day, and a man of good family, being a nephew of the earl of Anglesea. He was born near Warwick in 1G20, and educated at Oxford, where, like his grandson, he Avas noted for his piety and dili- gence. He served the national church as chaplain at sea, and as parish priest at Cliff, in Kent, at St
prop- Among the more eminent supporters of this doctrine was Taylor of Norwich (q. v.) ; and Macknight is also claimed as among its advocates. Jonathan Edwards, in his an- swer to Dr. Chauncey, on the salvation of all men, says that this scheme was provisionally retained by Dr. Chauncey, i. e. in case the scheme of universal salvation should fail him ; and Edwards, in his exam- ination of that work, appropriates a chapter to the con- sideration of it. Among other reasonings against it are the following: "1. The different degrees of pun-
John the Apostle's and at St. Giles's, two of the jghment which the wicked will suffer according to their largest congregations in London. He refused to " con- J workSj proves that it does not consist in annihilation, form" to the "Act of Uniformity," and endured a ] yr^ich admits of no degrees. 2. If it be said that the series of severe persecutions, which were attended by j pUni§hment of the wicked, though it will end in anni- many of those "remarkable interpositions" that dis- hilation, yet shall be preceded by torment, and that tinguish the later history of the family. One of his tnjs WQ] De 0f different degrees, according to the de- persecutors fell dead while preparing a warrant for ^rees 0f sjnj it maT be replied, this is making it to be bis apprehension. He became a leader of the Puri- j compounded partly of torment and partly of annihi-
tans during the troubles of the times, preaching most daily, providing pastors for destitute congrega- tions, and relief for his ejected and impoverished brethren. After a ministry of more than half a cen- tury, and of sore trials, under which he never once fal- tered, he died in 1696, exclaiming, " I shall be satisfied with thy likeness; satisfied, satisfied." De Foe, who sat under his preaching, has drawn his character as perfect, in an elegy. The non-conformists considered him a second St. Paul. Richard Baxter pronounced him totally devoted to God (Clarke, Wesley Family, p. 298). He was endeared to all who knew him inti- mately; and his noble relative, the countess of An-
lation. The latter also appears to be but a small part of future punishment, for that alone will be inflicted on the least sinner, and on account of the least sin ; and that all punishment which will be inflicted on any person above that which is due to the least sin is to consist in torment. Nay, if we can form any idea in the present state of what would be dreadful or desira- ble in another, instead of its being any punishment to lie annihilated after a long series of torment, it must be a deliverance, to which the sinner would look for- ward with anxious desire. And is it credible that this was the termination of torment that our Lord held up to his disciples as an object of dread ? Can this be
glesea, desired, on her death-bed, to be buried in his ; tne destruction of body and soul in hell? Is it cred
grave. He had a manly countenance and dignified person ; a rich estate, which he devoted to charity ; robust health, which was capable of any fatigue. Cal- amy (Non-conformist's Memorial, vol. i) calls him an Israelite indeed. — Stevens, Hist, of Methodism, i, 35; Crowther, Portraiture <;/' M< thodism, p. 3.
Annihilation, the act of reducing any thing to nothing. Whether matter can be utterly destroyed or not, is a question that has been much agitated in the schools. According to some, nothing is so difficult; according to others, nothing is so easy. Existence,