I would hope all would agree that God keeps His own commandments? And that it is by the Law that man will be judged at the Great White Throne judgment?
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
Judgment is according to the Law.
Nowhere in the Law is eternal torment given as punishment for sins done in the flesh. And all sin is judged according to what the sin is, it is not just one general judgment for every sin.
Torture is never given as punishment for sin. If it is, then why is Jesus not in the Lake of Fire now, burning for all eternity?
The wages of sin is death, not eternal torment and torture.
I think if we use the example of Jesus and His death for sin, it doesn't properly represent ANY state that sinful man would actually endure.
1) Jesus didn't enter the Lake of Fire (He literally didn't commit the sins, and was sinless, taking others upon Himself.
2) Jesus' SPIRIT/SOUL didn't DIE either (cease to exist).
God IS Spirit. So neither scenario fits Jesus payment at His physical death. (GOD doesn't die, but he DID shed the BLOOD physically for sin).
The bible says there are 2 deaths, Jesus' was shed physically.
So I don't see how using Jesus' death to prove anihilationism works at all.
We also have plain teachings on how coherant they are after judgment - Luke 16 clearly expresses there is spiritual life after death, it's coherant & conscious.
(Even if it's a parable, that is what it's teaching directly).
To claim souls just cease, is to say, "God ONLY honors the will of people who accept salvation - those who do not, God puts to death and causes their existances to be obliterated".
It removes man's moral freedom to reject God.
Do they get their will and wish in this life to reject God and live eternally outside His presence? As I read my bible, all life is eternal - you will spend it in either place depending on your decision regarding God.
Then we have the problem with punishment vs. RELEASE of punishment.
Annihilationism isn't punishment, it's being freed from punishment and most atheists believe they don't live eternally, and are HAPPY THAT THIS IS ALL THERE IS TO LIFE.
How many nonbelievers believe they'll either be with God (bcuz they're "good" people, or that there is no afterlife)????
It isn't punishment to annihilate a soul, it's lack of punishment for it and a reward of sorts for their life lived without God.
Also, wherever they are eternally they're weeping and gnashing their teeth (in derrision), they're conscious and aware.
Mark 9:43-48 & Luke 12:4-5 - a place of unquenchable flames where where the very bodies of the wicked never die....
Everlasting torment Rev 20:10 I don't know of anything tormenting if someone's annihilation.
Biblically we're grasping at straws when such clear and blatant verbage is used.
I truly believe we're trying to find ways to make God conform to OUR idea of justice and mercy and love - when it's not US people are sinning against and shunning.
And since we don't have the proper relevance of how EVIL and sick sin actually is, we think eternal condemnation is overkill.
But we're not seeing what GOD SEES and what they've done by rejecting the Son of God and His sacrifice.
If we fathomed how evil sin and rejection of Christ were, I think we'd fathom His ability to judge eternally.