That is because you have a BIAS against unbelievers being consciously punished for eternity.
There is no bias against anything other that your misinterpretation of what is written. Precept on precept, precept on precept verse by verse speaks of death and destruction and perish and 2nd death in the lake of fire. DEATH is the penalty for sin, not eternal torment.
Is there ANY torment in the 1st death? No,
WE DON'T EVEN FEAR THE DEATH OF THE BODY
SO HOW CAN DEATH BE ETERNAL TORMENT? There are those who will RISE UP FROM THE DEAD and find their names written in the book of life 1000 years later. WHERE IS THE ETERNAL TORMENT in that? THERE isn't any. SO death does not equal eternal torment.
SALVATION is a GIFT given -
not something we are born with. What are we SAVED from? DEATH, not torment.
1 Peter 1:23 Being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
Hopefully even baby Christians know that a body without a soul is nothing more than dust so when immortality is spoken of it, it is the soul/spirit in the spiritual body, for this natural body shall die NEVER TO BE RAISED UP AGAIN, besides the 'bare grain' that comes of it, it does nothing but feed the worms and scavengers
SMOKE is a by product of something being consumed. GOD USES THINGS WE KNOW AND USE EVERYDAY TO EXPLAIN WHAT HE MEANS. GATHER them, bind them, burn them.
So lets go gather some dead and withered branches and burn them and WATCH THE PROCESS that GOD has set forth as an example.
They are on fire, as they are burnt UP they produce smoke and then when they are consumed THE FIRE DIES OUT. They are nothing but ashes, the smoke having gone up, for ever and ever. If they were in torment in the fire it was for a specific amount of time.
WHY WOULD GOD GIVE US THAT ANALOGY IF THAT WASN'T WHAT GOD MEANT? Wouldn't that be CONFUSING OR A CAUSE FOR CONFUSION?
BUT, you say it is the 'ON GOING TORTURE' continually producing THE SMOKE OF THEIR TORMENT because it is for ever and ever.
By that type of reasoning, these
ALSO WILL NOT BE OF THE FORMER THINGS
Isaiah 34:8 For it is the day of the LORD's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
Isaiah 34:9 And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
Isaiah 34:10
It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
Isaiah 34:11 But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.
Revelation 19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
Revelation 19:2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged
the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
Revelation 19:3 And again they said, Alleluia
And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
So now we have the GREAT WHORE having been judged, not put in the lake of fire and HER SMOKE rises up for ever and ever.
EITHER the former things are passed away or they are not.
The smoke that rises up for ever and ever means eternally in torment or eternally rising smoke
Death is given as the opposite of life. Death is given as the end of a thing.
The 2nd death is in the lake of fire the JUDGMENT that lasts forever, the punishment being death of both the soul and the body, not eternal torment.
To be clear, THAT IS THE BIAS, that is what
we are SAYING is not written.
Revelation 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Revelation 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city:
and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Revelation 20:10 And the
devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are,
and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Who are we told
SPECIFICALLY shall be tormented??? the devil
What are we
SPECIFICALLY told about the souls that go into the lake of fire?
Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars,
shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:
which is the second death.
THEIR PART IS DEATH. No mention of eternal torment.
Again, there is only one 'written' tormented day and night, though lots go in...
Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death.
SO FAR the only one written is the devil
Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life
was cast into the lake of fire.
SO FAR the only one written is the devil
EVEN WAY BACK HERE WE READ
Revelation 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Revelation 14:10 The same
shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone
in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
What is written about the souls is THEIR PART takes place IN THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY ANGELS, AND THE LAMB
Who all believes the HOLY ANGELS and the LAMB will be watching the lake of fire FOR EVER AND EVER from that point on?
Revelation 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever.......
THE SMOKE of their torment
ASCENDS...
and they have no rest day nor night,
DAY AND NIGHT ARE OF THE FORMER AGE
Revelation 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Revelation 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Revelation 22:3
And there shall be no more curse: but
the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him
More proof that the lake of fire is of the past
Revelation 22:4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
Revelation 22:5 And
there shall be no night there; and they need no candle,
neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
Conflict after conflict after conflict is found IN SCRIPTURE for those who teach eternal torment by the grouping of two words. Eternal conflict goes AGAINST righteousness AS EVERYONE KNOWS.
WE do KNOW THE MIND OF GOD as He makes shows us by using the laws of nature for us TO understand HOW HE WORKS.
1. Our bias is again 'the doctrine being introduced' through the combination of two words, not what is written
2. Since we are told don't FEAR death we know that death is NOT eternal torture/torment
3. Salvation is A GIFT we are not born with it
4. Smoke is a by product of something being consumed
5. God uses the laws of nature to explain what He means so we are without excuse
6. Smoke ascends for ever and ever in multiple different places none of them supporting death is eternal torment
7. Only the devil is mentioned as being tormented day and night
8. It is written souls will have
their part and
their part will be witnessed by the angels and the Lamb
9. It is the smoke that ascends for ever, not some kind of torture taking place
10. There is no night nor day in the new heavens and earth
11. The former things are passed away
12. There will be no more curse