> "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind." (Isaiah 65:17)

It is argued that since these verses indicate that the entire universe will be in harmony, then it is impossible that a place like Hell could exist where there would be creatures stored who are not in harmony with God, or that there is any possibility that God will "lose" the battle for souls.

However, this is imposing our modern view of what constitutes "harmony" on a text written prior to our time. Within an ancient Jewish context, so long as the wicked were "put in their place," so to speak, then harmony is achieved; it is only when they are "out running loose" that things are considered unharmonious. Furthermore, one might just as well argue that annihilation equates with disharmony, for it "means the unmaking of free, created agents and the taking away of that freedom which defines the structure of the moral relationship between God and man."