surely this scripture shows that there is no final death , no annihilation
No, surely the context is quite clear:
Revelation 9
King James Version (KJV)
1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
First, I would suggest we see bound demons released from Tartarus, though I am not dogmatic as it is only my own surmising and cannot be seen clearly from scripture, so it falls into the category of opinion and speculation.
Second, what I would be dogmatic about is that:
1-these are men living during the Tribulation;
2-they receive a temporal judgment (they are called judgments, you know, this being one of the Trumpet Juddgments, further clarifying their Tribulational context) and undergo excruciating pain likened to the sting of a scorpion'
3-the locusts (which I believe are demons) are not allowed to kill them physically, but to torment them with this pain;
4-again we see a contrast between the righteous (those which have the seal of God, v.4) and the unrighteous, as we see in most texts dealing with judgment;
5-it is clear that physical death, not everlasting judgment...is in view. We know this because it states clearly that this torment lasts...five months.
so all are translated to spirit free of death [saved]
Just not in the text, it is inserted to support a theological position which is weak and cannot stand apart from such mis-application in other places of scripture.
at the end of time in the next universe [new heavens and new earth] ,
Again, the context is solely Tribulational, solely dealing with physical torment.
Unless one wishes to discount the fact that demons will be consigned to the Lake of Fire as well as the unrighteous among men, rather than being used by God to enforce this judgment.
just as Jesus was translated some time after resurrection to the flesh [he never died a second death]
While some believe that Enoch was "raptured" (which should not be confused with the Ascension of the Lord), and that he did not die, I will simply go on what scripture does say, which is that Enoch, just like every man before the Cross...was not made perfect, or complete:
Hebrews 11
King James Version (KJV)
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Whereas Abel was murdered, Enoch was not. God took him from where he was and placed him somewhere else. Was that Heaven? That is doubtful, seeing that Enoch's sin had not yet been atoned for by the blood of Christ, even as all those of the Hall of Faith.
See the writer's (and ultimately God's) conclusion:
39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
The context of Hebrews present a theme of perfection, which is completion in Christ. Apart from the work of the Cross no man can be made perfect, or complete. In other words, salvation in Christ is the only means of complete forgiveness of sin whereby a man does not receive simply a "good report," but is made perfect, his sin being forgiven, the righteousness of Christ imputed to his behalf, whereby he can come into the presence of God.
Enoch, in my view, did not
see death much like before Adam sinned he did not know good and evil. In other words, before he sinned, he did not have an intimate relationship to what the knowledge of good and evil represents, which is a partaking of good and evil because it has become now a part of his life experientially.
Where did Enoch go? I believe he went to Hades, just as I believe every man before the Cross did.
just as Enoch was translated and never died at all :-
Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
And again I think it an assumption that Enoch did not die. We see that he no longer was part of this world, and to say that he went to either Hades or Heaven in bodily form would seem unreasonable, in my view.
We look to Paul's being caught up to the Third Heaven, and can suppose that perhaps in bodily form this occurred, but this happens after the Cross. The only other example we see would be Elijah, which of course does not explicitly state that he went into Heaven, but was taken "up."
2 Kings 2
King James Version (KJV)
1 And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2 And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.
3 And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
4 And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.
5 And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
6 And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.
7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
8 And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.
9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
While we do see Elijah taken up into the sky, it is assumed that he goes to be with the Lord in Heaven.
And while I am dogmatic in my stance that men did not go to be with the Lord in Heaven when they died before the Cross becuae their sins were as of yet not atoned for, and they still carried the penalty of sin (which Hebrews teaches us that only the sacrifice of Christ can do), I will admit that in scripture we see exceptions to general rules at times, and it may be I am mistaken in my conclusion concerning Enoch and Elijah.
However, we can say for sure is that enoch and Elijah were not made perfect until that which makes complete had occurred, namely the Cross of Christ, and we can also say...
Hebrews 9:27
King James Version (KJV)
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
...that all men save those raptured, or caught away...will die physically.
Now we know the Rapture was a previously unrevealed truth, according to Paul (and ultimately the Holy Spirit), and Elijah and Enoch's translation were evident in the Hebrew scriptures, so a reasonable conclusion would be that despite the popular view that these men did not die and before their sin was atoned for, went to be with the Lord in Heaven, I have to take issue on that. And when we look at this in a broader sense, I am all the more convinced that these men were indeed taken from where they were, to a place where they were not before, even as we see Philip "caught away" here...
Acts 8:39
King James Version (KJV)
39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
...and we do not see Philip enter Heaven.
Sound reasonable?
God bless.
