Revelation 14:9-11, along with Revelation 20:10 [1], might be taken to be the final refuge of the evangelical desperate to cling to the notion of eternal conscious torment even after they have seen the contradictions inherent claiming that other parts of the Bible exclude annihilationism. In this trio of verses, one can find a description of how those who take the mark of the beast are doomed to experience no rest day after day and night after night, the smoke of their torment eternally rising. This may superficially, initially seem like confirmation of traditional stances on hell, but a basic analysis proves otherwise.
Verses 9-11 explicitly specify that they are talking about those who worship the image of the beast and have taken its mark, and thus any hope of using these verses as support for the broader idea of eternal conscious torment is an illusion. In other words, the passage cannot be taken to refer to anyone outside of this group without assumptions. There is no way to suppose that it refutes annihilationism without commiting one of two logical errors.
If Revelation 14:9-11 is literal, it only applies to those who take the mark of the beast and thus cannot refer to all unsaved humans; if Revelation 14:9-11 is not literal, other passages outside of Revelation already clarify that cosmic death awaits the unsaved. In either case, annihilationism is the Biblical doctrine of hell, not eternal conscious torment for all unsaved beings. There is no way whatsoever to rationally interpret these verses to support anything other than the eternal conscious punishment of a very specific subclass of people!
In light of this information, it is erroneous to treat the eschatological fate of the who take the mark of the beast as if it establishes that God is predicted to punish any humans in hell with eternal torment outside of a select group. There is no broader relevance to the topic of hell to be found in Revelation 14, and the fact that some would treat this chapter as foundational to the Biblical doctrine of hell means they are delusional. Those who are quick to appeal to this passage one way or another betray an incorrect approach to wielding logic and exegesis.
[1]. https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2017/03/revelation-20-and-annihilationism.html
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