If people alive on earth were actually 'dead' in their 'conscious spiritual state' then they wouldn't be 'alive'.
Romans 6:3 "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have become united with
Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be
in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with
Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7 for the one who has died is freed from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all
time; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
11 So you too, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus'
The Eternal Tormentist believes Death means a persons spirit is dead even while they are alive, and they also believe spirits will be made alive again so they can endure eternal torment!
It doesnt make sense that sinners 'actually' have a dead spirit, but can be alive and talk, and sin. And then if they dont repent they are made alive again so they can suffer eternally.
And so how does a believer repent and die with Christ if they were already dead?
Romans 6:8 'Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him'
The unbeliever, according to tradition was born dead, or died at some point, so how can it be said the person died with Christ?
Wouldn't that make them a believer, or what? It is a false idea that Adam and Eve died 'spiritually' because it does not say that in scripture, they were under the judgement of death and they did actually die. And they too will face the second death if they aren't born again, like everyone else must be. The Second death is the Second death, not the third, and it is death - a Conditionalist believes death means death - not death means alive.
The Conditionalist believes a real 'death' will actually happen, both of the spirit and the body, after their punishment, and according to their sins. Everybody will actually die physically and spiritually.
Death is not a metaphor for being alive - that is ridiculous. Death is a judgment - so consider yourselves dead to sin, and the unbeliever dead in their sins - it is the same as the dead man walking - we were all condemned to die, facing death of body and soul.
The NT eternal (Aionions, Olam) references are from the OT, Isaiah quotes and such, and the smoke of Edom eventually went out, they are no more... where the scriptures predominately speak of total destruction, blotting out, as water goes into ground, over and over God says He will wipe them away. And fire means fire, it destroys everything, historically everyone knows that, otherwise he could have used some other metaphor. It does not say humans survive the lake of Fire, only the Angels there, bcse man is not immortal.
