Well, we know that death does not mean utter extinction since our first, physical death is followed by a second death. Scripture often uses terms like "death," "destruction," "perish" and "destroy" to describe ruination, or a total loss of well-being, or being rendered powerless or separated from something, not annihilation. We know also that since the second death is to be a punishment, and punishments entail consciousness, the second death cannot mean "annihilation." However, then, you want to read 2 Thessalonians 1:9, you are prevented from reading the "everlasting destruction" of which it speaks as "annihilation."
But Christ does speak of the flames eternal Hell in other places:
Matthew 13:41-42
41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 18:8
8 If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.
Why would the fire need to be everlasting if it annihilates those who are cast into it? Surely, the fires of Hell should only last as long as it takes to annihilate the unrepentant wicked - if annihilation is true. But the apostle John writes,
Revelation 14:9-11
9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand,
10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."
Ah, so at least some of those cast into Hell will suffer in it forever. This, it seems to me, seriously weakens the idea of the second death being annihilation and strengthens the idea that the "second death" actually means "ruination, or the total loss of well being."
In any case, it is unreasonable to argue that the absence of an explicit description of just the sort that you would like means ECT is not intended. If we handled Scripture this way, the Trinitarian nature of God could be rejected, too.
No verse in Scripture declares the Godhead a Trinity, either. No verse explicitly forbids locking your grandmother in a closet for a week, or poking out the eyes of stray cats, but we know these are acts that are wrong, that God would reject as evil, nonetheless. In the case of ECT, there are many verses which, at the very least, clearly imply the immortality of the wicked.
This is a Strawman. I don't think of God in anything like the way you've described Him here. I believe the Bible clearly teaches ECT, but I don't think of God as angry in the way a human person is angry. God isn't human - obviously - so working from human behaviour to divine behaviour is a BIG mistake. If God is angry, it is in a perfectly appropriate way, utterly devoid of the things that make our anger less than righteous and good. And ECT isn't a testament to God's unfairness but to the terrible vileness of our sin. Really, what is unreasonable is a sinner expecting that a perfectly pure and holy God should take his view of what proper, "fair" punishment of sin should be!
What about Him? ECT does not preclude or deny such a God. There is salvation for all who would take it. God does love the World. But His love is bounded by His moral uprightness, His perfect purity, which is why we need salvation in the first place!
Romans 2:4-10
4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
6 who "will render to each one according to his deeds":
7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality;
8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness--indignation and wrath,
9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;
10 but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
God rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked. Love that turns a blind eye to sin, that lets the wicked off scot-free, that neglects to judge and punish evil, is not really love.
Selah.
First, the majority of God's Word does not specifically say that the wicked will burn alive in flames for all time. Revelation 14:10-11 is the only passage that appears to say that at first glance (of which I explain below). Inferences or assumptions are made on the words used within a select few small verses (without looking at how those words are used elsewhere in Scripture).
Second, the fire is "everlasting" and or "unquenchable" for the amount of time that the Lake of Fire exists. But the Lake of Fire will not exist for all eternity. How so? Well, in the future, "...God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (Revelation 21:4). "...for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away;.." (Revelation 21:1). The Lake of Fire is a part of the old heavens and old Earth and not the New Heavens and New Earth.
But how can the words like "forever" and "everlasting" be used in a temporal sense?
Well, in the Bible, we see the word "forever" clearly used in a temporal sense in
Philemon 1:15.
For it says,
"For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever;"
(
Philemon 1:15 KJV).
This is talking about Onesimus. Here is what it says in the New Living Translation,
15 "It seems you lost Onesimus for a little while so that you could have him back forever.
16 He is no longer like a slave to you. He is more than a slave, for he is a beloved brother, especially to me. Now he will mean much more to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord."
(
Philemon 1:15-16 NLT).
In other words, Onesimus did not return to his master for all eternity here upon this Earth. Onesimus is not still alive. He is not an immortal or anything of that nature. He was mortal and he died. So to assume that the word "forever" and it's related words always means forever does not work. Meaning, one has to re-examine what they believe the word "forever" means.
But what about words like "
for ever and ever"? Surely this must be talking about an endless eternity, right? Again, this would not be true according to the Bible. For Jeremiah 7 says,
"Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever." (Jeremiah 7:7).
Are we to assume that certain faithful Old Testament saints will dwell in the land here upon this Earth
forever and ever while the rest of the saints dwell upon the New Earth? Surely not. "For ever and ever" is used in context to how long that promise will be fulfilled and will last (Which would be with the Millennium or the 1,000 year reign of Christ).
Are you still not convinced?
There are other examples where the word "forever" does not always mean "forever" in the Bible.
Take
Revelation 14:11 as an example.
It tells us that the phrase "
smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever" is a metaphorical phrase from
Isaiah 34:10 which says that the smoke of Edom went up forever and ever. Yet is the city of Edom burning today? No, of course not. So we then realize that this phrase is speaking metaphorically.
In other words,, the word "forever" (and it's related words) does not always mean forever in the Bible. “Forever” can be talking about "forever" here on this Earth (as long as someone lives) or in having a sense of "completeness" or "totality" for a specific thing). For what do you make of the following verses below that say that "forever" (or it's related words) is not forever?
• In
Genesis 13:15 the land of Canaan is given to Israel “forever”.
• The Law is to be a statute “forever” (
Exodus 12:24;
Exodus 27:21;
Exodus 28:43).
• Sodom's fiery judgment is "eternal" (
Jude 1:7) until -- God "will restore the fortunes of Sodom" (
Ezekiel 16:53-55).
• Israel's "affliction is incurable" (
Jeremiah 30:12) until -- the Lord "will restore health" and heal her wounds (
Jeremiah 30:17).
• The sin of Samaria "is incurable" (
Micah 1:9) until -- Lord "will restore ... the fortunes of Samaria." (
Ezekiel 16:53).
• Ammon is to become a "wasteland forever" and "rise no more" (
Zephaniah 2:9,
Jeremiah 25:27 until -- the Lord will "restore the fortunes of the Ammonites" (
Jeremiah 49:6).
• An Ammonite or Moabite is forbidden to enter the Lord's congregation "forever" until -- the tenth generation (
Deuteronomy 23:3):
• Habakkuk tells us of mountains that were "everlasting" until -- they "were shattered"
Habakkuk 3:6).
• The Aaronic Priesthood was to be an "everlasting" priesthood (
Exodus 40:15), that is-until-it was superceded by the Melchizedek Priesthood (
Hebrews 7:14-18).
• Many translations of the Bible inform us that God would dwell in Solomon's Temple "forever" (
1 Kings 8:13), until -- the Temple was destroyed.
• The children of Israel were to "observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant" (
Exodus 31:16)-until -- Paul states there remains "another day" of Sabbath rest for the people of God (
Hebrews 4:8-9).
• The Law of Moses was to be an "everlasting covenant" (
Leviticus 24:8) yet we read in the New Covenant the first was "done away" and "abolished" (
2 Corinthians 3:11-13), and God "made the first old" (
Hebrews 8:13).
• The fire for Israel's sin offering (of a ram without blemish) is never to be put out. It shall be a "perpetual" until -- Christ, the Lamb of God, dies for our sins.
Hell. We now have a better covenant established on better promises (
Leviticus 6:12-13,
Hebrews 8:6-13).
• God's waves of wrath roll over Jonah "forever" until--the Lord delivers him from the large fish's belly on the third day (
Jonah 2:6-10;
Jonah 1:17); Egypt and Elam will "rise no more" (
Jeremiah 25:27) until -- the Lord will "restore the fortunes of Egypt" (
Ezekiel 29:14) and "restore the fortunes of Elam" (
Jeremiah 49:39).
• "Moab is destroyed" (
Jeremiah 48:4,
Jeremiah 48:42) until--the Lord "will restore the fortunes of Moab" (
Jeremiah 48:47).
• Israel's judgment lasts "forever" until -- the Spirit is poured out and God restores it (
Isaiah 32:13-15).
• The King James Bible, as well as many others, tells us that a bond slave was to serve his master "forever" (
Exodus 21:6), until -- his death.
• “Eternal” (Greek aionia, αιονια) is sometimes used of a limited (not endless) period of time. But the most common use is illustrated in
2 Corinthians 4:18 where it is contrasted with “temporal” and in
Philemon 1:15 (as mentioned above) where it is contrasted with “for a while.”
Here is the source for list above for the Scriptural examples used on the word "forever":
http://www.apttoteach.org/attjom/index.php
Side Note:
But what about those who worship the beast as not having rest day and night in Revelation 14:11? Well, this is saying that those who worship the beast will have no rest day and night WHILE or DURING the TIME they worship the beast. For Revelation 16:2 says they had painful boils.
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