Exegesis: The Judgment of Rv 14:10-11

            The NT book of Revelation is an enigmatic composition consisting of apocalyptic and messianic symbolism. Often without any notice to the reader, this symbolism is expressed in phraseology taken from the prophetic oracles of the Hebrew Bible. Some portions are more hopeful than others, but one pericope that many find difficult to digest is Rv 14:10-11. With v.9 included for context, the passage reads,

And another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb." And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." (Rv 14:9-11^NASB)

In expressing God's fiery judgment with brimstone upon the ungodly, v. 11 states that "smoke of their (the victims') torment" will perpetually ascend, and "they will have no rest day and night." Thus, this verse is commonly understood to be describing a punishment of eternal torment. But others see this passage as referring to an irreversible annihilation. 
            Unlike other NT compositions that preface their allusions to the Hebrew Bible ("as it is written . . ." and "to fulfill what was spoken . . ." etc.), The Book of Revelation is different: it does not prompt its readers to such allusions. Therefore, one must carefully analyze and often unpack its imagery. And in this case, Rv 14:10-11 draws heavily from Is 34:8-10 which declares,

For Adonai has a day of vengeance, a year of requital for the controversy of Zion. Its streams will turn into pitch, And its dust into brimstone, And its land will become burning pitch. Night or day it will not be quenched. Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation it will be waste. None will pass through it forever and ever. (Is 34:8-10)

Certain words above are repeated nearly verbatim in Rv 14:10-11, particularly "brimstone," "Night or day it will not be quenched," and "Its smoke will go up forever." But does Rv 14:10-11 and Is 34:8-10 share the same idea of judgment? One can easily argue for eternal torment in Rv 14 alone, but this notion is absent in Is 34:8-10 even though the latter is clearly an eschatological prophecy. Note vv. 2-4: 

For the wrath of Adonai is upon all the nations, His fury upon all their hosts. He has destroyed them, even appointed them for slaughter . . . And all of the hosts of heaven will decay, the heaven will be rolled up like a scroll . . . .

Isaiah 34:2 aligns the two terms קֶצֶף qéṣep̄  (= "wrath") and חֵמָה hēmâ (= "fury") forming a parallelism. Thus, when one consults the lxx version of Is 34:2, the paralleled Greek equivalents are θυμός thumos (= קֶצֶף qéṣep̄ ) and ὀργή orgei (= חֵמָה hēmâ), respectively: 

lxx Is 34:2	mt Is 34:2
διότι θυμὸς κυρίου ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη καὶ ὀργὴ ἐπὶ τὸν ἀριθμὸν αὐτῶν τοῦ ἀπολέσαι αὐτοὺς καὶ παραδοῦναι αὐτοὺς εἰς σφαγήν	כִּי קֶצֶף לַֽיהוָה עַל־כָּל־הַגּוֹיִם וְחֵמָה עַל־כָּל־צְבָאָם הֶחֱרִימָם נְתָנָם לַטָּֽבַח׃
Brenton's English Translation	English Translation
For the wrath of the Lord is upon all nations, and his anger upon the number of them, to destroy them, and give them up to slaughter.	For the wrath of Adonai is upon all the nations, His fury upon all their hosts. He has destroyed them, even appointed them for slaughter.

This information further aligns Is 34:2 with Rv 14:10: 

lxx Is 34:2	Rv 14:10
διότι θυμὸς κυρίου ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη  καὶ ὀργὴ ἐπὶ τὸν ἀριθμὸν αὐτῶν τοῦ  ἀπολέσαι αὐτοὺς καὶ παραδοῦναι  αὐτοὺς εἰς σφαγήν	καὶ αὐτὸς πίεται ἐκ τοῦ οἴνου τοῦ  θυμοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ κεκερασμένου  ἀκράτου ἐν τῷ ποτηρίῳ τῆς ὀργῆς  αὐτοῦ καὶ βασανισθήσεται ἐν πυρὶ  καὶ θείῳ ἐνώπιον ἀγγέλων ἁγίων καὶ  ἐνώπιον τοῦ ἀρνίου
Brenton's English Translation	NASB English Translation
For the wrath of the Lord is upon all nations, and his anger upon the number of them, to destroy them, and give them up to slaughter.	he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

The leitwortstil found in such phrases as "the wine of the θυμός thumos (= 'wrath') of God" and "in the cup of His ὀργή orgei (='anger')" solidify the case that Rv 14:10-11 is a retelling of Is 34:2, 8-10.
            In charting the affinities between Rv 14 and Is 34, the reader should have noticed Is 34 lacks any sense of eternal torment. Thus when one is pressed to decide whether eternal torment or total annihilation is spoken of in Rv 14:10-11, opting for the latter is not a tenuous position given the context and content of Is 34:8-10, upon which Rv 14 relies.
            Next, we turn to a crucial piece of data that may unveil the nature of the eschatological judgment. Isaiah 34 and Rv 14 agree on conditions of unquenchable brimstone (sulphur), burning pitch (= fire?), and continually ascending smoke all of which cease neither day nor night. However in the next verse there is an added condition of grave theological significance. With emphasis on the Hebrew of Is 34:11 we read,

But the (unclean) bird and porcupine will dispossess it, even the owl and raven will dwell in it. He will stretch upon it the line of formlessness, even the plumbline of emptiness.

וִירֵשׁוּהָ קָאַת וְקִפּוֹד וְיַנְשׁוֹף וְעֹרֵב יִשְׁכְּנוּ־בָהּ וְנָטָה עָלֶיהָ קַֽו־תֹהוּ וְאַבְנֵי־בֹֽהוּ׃

The parallel terms תֹּהוּ tōhû (= "formlessness") and בֹּהוּ bōhû (= "emptiness") are rarities in the Hebrew Bible. They occur together only three times, once in a parallel here (Is 34:11) and twice as hendiadyses (Jer 4:23 and Gn 1:2). A quick survey of their occurrences offers insight into their meaning:

mt Gn 1:2	mt Jer 4:23
וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְחֹשֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵי תְהוֹם וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּֽיִם׃	רָאִיתִי אֶת־הָאָרֶץ וְהִנֵּה־תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְאֶל־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵין אוֹרָֽם׃
English Translation	English Translation
And the earth had been formlessness and emptiness and darkness upon the face of the deep and the spirit of God hovering upon the face of the waters.	I saw the earth and behold! formlessness and emptiness, and (looked) towards the heavens and no light!

Looking to these passages one notices that both times this hendiadys (תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ ṯōhû wāḇōhû) occurs in scripture two conditions are present: (1) a lack light from heaven and (2) an uninhabitable earth. In Jer 4:23 God's judgment is being witnessed by the prophet. Again, one encounters the same motif as that found in Is 34:2, 8-11 and Rv 14:10-11.
            Prior to the first creation in Gn 1:3, primordial darkness, the abyss, and the chaotic earth existed. These are all compared to death throughout scripture because such conditions are antithetical to life thriving – that is, they are תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ ṯōhû wāḇōhû. And when one understands the implications of this phrase, the conditions of Is 34:8-11 become more vivid. So does Rv 14:10-11.
            In summary, Rv 14:10-11 is referring to either eternal torment or total annihilation – a highly debatable pericope. But adding to the pool of data is Is 34:8-11 which describes a judgment where God's creation is returned to the primordial conditions of תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ ṯōhû wāḇōhû as found in Gn 1:2. And it is this state of existence that Rv 14:10-11 depicts in its symbolism drawn from Isaiah's oracle.

'ברוך ה