Michael547:

1)Please read Ecclesiastics chapter 9:5, 6 and psalm 146:4 and explain what happens to our mind, will and emotions after death.

2)What part of the rich man's body survived after death that made him to remember his past life?

Ecclesiastes is not an authority you can rely on on matters like this. The men of old had limited knowledge about spiritual things. So, some of the statements made are not true.

Jesus is the truth. So, rely more on his teachings and that of his disciples on matters like this.

The part that survives after death is the spirit and the soul of man.

But those who are not born again have a dead spirit. So, it's their soul that survives and tormented in hell.

The spirit and soul of genuine believers go to heaven after death.

Ken4Christ:


Ecclesiastes is not an authority you can rely on on matters like this. The men of old had limited knowledge about spiritual things. So, some of the statements made are not true.

Jesus is the truth. So, rely more on his teachings and that of his disciples on matters like this.

The part that survives after death is the spirit and the soul of man.

But those who are not born again have a dead spirit. So, it's their soul that survives and tormented in hell.

The spirit and soul of genuine believers go to heaven after death.

1)Lol....so Ecclesiastics should be removed from the Bible because it is not inspired of God abi? What of the psalms I quoted for you?

2)Below is a screenshot of Acts 3:23 where Jesus disciples quoted moses, one of the men of old that you said we cannot rely on in matters like this. Did Jesus disciples believe that according to moses, the soul can be destroyed? Did Jesus disciples believe that the soul is immortal?

3) when Jesus friend Lazarus the brother to Mary and Martha died, where did his soul go to?

Ken4Christ:



Jesus is different from us in many ways;

1. He has no beginning. He is God in human flesh.

same as us, we have no beginning...because we are Gods spirit.

2. All things were made through him.

same as us, we are Gods spirit

3. He is the first to be raised from the dead with a glorified body.

This is just a claim, which doctor checked him? what about llazarus?

The importance of Jesus death to us are;

1. He became the sacrificial lamb for all mankind. In other words, he paid the penalty of sin that the first man committed.

God already told us that everybody will pay for their own sin, a son should not be put to death because of the sins of the father, and more over time and time again , he said he hates human sacrifice. So?

2. On account of his death, everyone is legally free in the mind of justice. But the liberty becomes yours when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

Gods says every one should atone for their sins, everybody's iniquity will be upon them and a mans righteousness shoals be upon him too, there is no way a mans death can grantee that..

3. The fact that Jesus died and rose again means that we too will be resurrected. But some will be resurrected to eternal life while others will be resurrected to eternal destruction.

somebody was resurrected when he came in contact with Elisha's bones, he is not the first..

4. His death and resurrection also means that death has been defeated but not yet destroyed.

what are you talking about? what does this even mean, what about Lazarus and others...

5. His death gave him the opportunity to enter into hell and defeated the devil. So, we have been delivered from the power of darkness.

hahaha....you see the so many things wrong with Christianity. The devil is just the orisha of darkness, it is a principle, not a god.....

Michael547:

So are you saying that the bible says that the soul does not die?

I am not referring to anything written in the bible.

The bible is not the only source of information on earth regarding existence and the afterlife.

BadPanda:


Dude the Bible is the book that God gave us as a way in which we can come to know Him. 1Tim 3:16 says that this Book is inspired of God and has the credentials to guide us his servants. It definitely can be used as a true source of getting to know what heaven is. Any other sources are clearly unauthentic as none of them were divinely inspired. The problem is that many philosophers and those who don't know better infiltrated the congregation and started trying to mix God's word with their philosophies and even pagan traditions. This the doctrines and beliefs such as heaven as you know it is tainted. With false teachings of people like Aristotle, Plato and Socrates.
But even at that, when you read the Bible without putting any of the doctrines, whatever it may be, and praying for God's spirit, even a short, quiet prayer is enough with the right motive in mind; you will come and understand the truth.
Go to jw.org for more info.

Do your research

You are brainwashed.

Rostikol:


I am not referring to anything written in the bible.

The bible is not the only source of information on earth regarding existence and the afterlife.

Oh so you accept that the Bible does not support Immortality of the soul.

Rostikol:

I am not referring to anything written in the bible. The bible is not the only source of information on earth regarding existence and the afterlife.

Great!
So you're not talking about what the Bible say shey?
There is FREEDOM of SPEECH EXPRESSION WORSHIP and ASSOCIATION so tell your fables they are listening! 2Timothy 4:3-4

Ken4Christ:


Ecclesiastes is not an authority you can rely on on matters like this. The men of old had limited knowledge about spiritual things. So, some of the statements made are not true.

Jesus is the truth. So, rely more on his teachings and that of his disciples on matters like this.

The part that survives after death is the spirit and the soul of man.

But those who are not born again have a dead spirit. So, it's their soul that survives and tormented in hell.

The spirit and soul of genuine believers go to heaven after death.

Is Ecclesiastes not an authoritative source? It was written by Solomon, whom God gave divine wisdom.

Nevertheless, see what the greater Solomon had to say, the one whom God gave true divine wisdom, Jesus Christ:

In Matthew 10:28, he said that unlike man who cannot kill the soul, God can “destroy” the soul.
What does “destroy” mean? In what sense can God “destroy” the soul? In 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 9 we see that the punishment for those who refuse to know God is “everlasting destruction.”
The same way Jesus will “destroy” Satan, (Hebrews 2:14) the same way the wicked angels fear their incoming destruction. (Mark 1:24)

It can be hard to believe something when we have been trained to believe otherwise. LoL.
I remember when something similar happened with me.
But it's alright. Regardless, that's my answer to this.
Hope it's helpful.

Gafferde:


For me, I don’t know why people fantasize about going to heaven.

To sing, and worship forever? No day, no night, no improvements, no growth, no need for food, no sex, no pain, no motivation, nothing… just an unending sessions of people wearing whites garments singing around.

Sing for the first 10 years. Not tiring. Then sing another 2956 billion years. Nothing special. It sounds robotic and monotonous.

Heaven doesn’t sound like anything interesting to me. It may be a great venue for you. To each is own. If I should choose, I will prefer to stay dead when I die… I want to decay, and turn to elements of the earth.

I am not interested in heaven or hell. They are both bizzare and weird. In one you burn and cry without end. In the other, you rejoice without end.

Extreme cases. If they exist, I am not interested.

Of course, I would change my stance if I see a better explanation. But for now… the description of heaven is a very boring place.

#think

Cc. Ifeanyi eze

Heaven is not a boring place at all. It is where the universal sovereign lives. The only two problems are:

(1) The mainline description of heaven doesn't tally with that of the Bible, and
(2) Heaven is not meant to be man's abode.

Let me briefly discuss the two:

Heaven basically means ‘exalted’ and can be used that way figuratively as in Isaiah 34:5; Luke 10:15; and Lamentations 2:1.
When used literally, it can mean one of three things: the sky as it is exalted in relation to the dry land, the outer space which is exalted in relation to the planet earth, and the spirit plane which is the highest and most exalted realm of existence.—Genesis 1:8; Deuteronomy 4:19; Isaiah 66:1.

The angels were created to be free moral agents, just as God is himself a free moral agent. In fact, we once see them expressing a variety of opinions on a matter. (1 Kings 22:19-21)
Thus they are not clones of one another. True, they are always singing before God and speaking of his holiness constantly, but who is to say that they are not organized into groups that take turns doing so? Read for instance 1 Chronicles 9:33 and see what I'm talking about. Moreover, one worships and praises God through various things they think, say, and do. (compare Psalms 19:1-4; 103:20) In that sense, it is possible to praise God “all day long.”—Psalms 145:2.

They have specific times for gathering before God, it isn't as if He is ALWAYS encompassed by them. (Job 1:6; 2:1)
Also, the spirit plane is an entire other universe on its own. It is as large and broad and encompassing as a different planet, and larger. Why should the angels be encompassed around God 24/7? It is only happens when a heavenly proceeding is to take place that God convenes his angels to gather round him. Notice for example Daniel 7:9, 10 where this is very well illustrated. First God sits down (meaning he isn't always sitting down, stationary and immobile), then the angels gather round him—some ministering to him others waiting to be sent on missions—and then books were opened.
Consider this illustration: is what we watch in movies what is always happening in reality? No
A movie is set to capture particular events in time. Weeks, or even months can even be skipped between the making of one scene and of another scene. Usually, real life has MUCH LESS drama than movies portray. So too with the spirit plane. Surely, heaven is a hive of activity, but the visions of heaven we read about is only a fragment of what actually takes place in heaven. We were only told what we needed to know, those heavenly occurrences that God felt we should be aware of. (Deuteronomy 29:29; Job 26:14; see also John 20:30; 21:25)



There is always room for improvement. The angels generally are eager to add to their knowledge. (Ephesians 3:10; 1 Peter 1:12) The Bible indicates that the angels even show differing degrees of knowledge. (Daniel 10:4-7; 12:5-7) They can choose to support a matter more or less strongly. (compare Daniel 10:13, 21)

There is no day or night there because spirits do not depend on light rays for sight. And remember that day and night is caused by the rotation of the earth on its axis. And if those in the outer space do not recognize day and night because they are not inside this planet, how much more will the angels whose sight doesn't take light rays into account not recognize day and night for themselves?
Also, do you know that the sun looks different out there? The yellow colour of the sun is caused by the atmospheric dispersion of blue light, leaving red and green light which in equal proportions equal yellow. That's why the sun appears red some times. It's true colour is white. That's also why the sky appears blue. Also, we see scattered light because the atmosphere disperses light. Out there, light travels in a straight path, and looking away from the bright whiteness of the sun you will see nothing but dense darkness.
If we understand how and why these different perspectives exist, it will be easier to understand how and why angels do not recognize day and night. Also, what the spirits see when they look at us is different from what you see when you look at the next person. All depends on how your sight is structured to work.

No need for food? Yes. They have no need for food. Hunger is an earthly desire. Their fuel is not glucose and material nutrients. How can it be, when they do not live in the material universe? They don't even have a literal mouth or teeth to take in food. These things are earthly, for humans and animals and plants.
Their different plane and form of existence makes things work differently there. Even their means of communication is different and transcends speech by far. Why wouldn't it? Speech depends on sound waves to be carried forth, and there is no air in the spirit plane so how will sound travel? Consider too that there is no way for sound to travel in the outer space so we found another way to make communication possible.

Having no physical bodies, (don't be mistaken, they do have bodies. Even God himself has a body, a shape, a form.—John 5:37; 1 Corinthians 15:40, 48) they do not have sex. They can't even desire it, for they have no sex hormones. True, angels did find women attractive and took some as wives, but Satan's deception was involved. (Revelation 12:4) Truth is, we don't know the whole story on that event, so we can't form an accurate judgment there.
More on this later, though.

They do feel pain. Why won't they? They don't feel physical pain because they aren't physical beings, but they feel real pain. Just think; if they can feel joy, why can't they feel pain? (Luke 15:10; compare Isaiah 63:9)


Are they constantly wearing white garments? Well, they don't have bodies of flesh that need garments over them. No, they do not in any real sense wear garments.
So why are they portrayed that way in the Bible? Answer is simple:
The Bible presented invisible matters in visible illustrations and symbolic pictures because it is only matters set in space and having three dimensions that our minds are able to grasp.
This explains why God and even his throne is described differently in different visions. Each pictorial representation was used for a particular reason specific to that vision, and it became necessary to use a different pictorial representation for a different vision, etc.
This also explains why it holds true that no one has literally seen God, that it is impossible for man to see God and live, although visions of God have been seen many times. (John 6:46; compare Isaiah 6:5) Acts 12:9 shows the difference between what is real and what is a vision.



In reality, the difference between life in the spirit realm and life on earth is the same difference between life on land, life in air, and life in water:
Each one is given a body that is perfectly suited to the environment they are created to dwell (1 Corinthians 15:38, 39). But just as you can put on a swimsuit and oxygen tank for an extended stay in sea, and take it off when you return to land, so too angels can construct physical bodies to visit the material world, and deconstruct them upon leaving. When an angel puts on physical bodies, at that moment he is not purely a spirit and it is thus possible for him to do things that humans do. Thus we read that angels who manifested human bodies ate, wore clothes, and impregnated women. That is also why Jesus, although he was a spirit upon being resurrected, (1 Corinthians 15:45) denied being a spirit when he manifested a body of flesh before his disciples. (Luke 24:39)
Naturally, each one is content where he is and does not desire to dwell elsewhere. I don't think fishes want to be birds, just as I don't think you want to become an octopus. Similarly, angels won't normally want to be humans on earth, just as you say you don't want to go to heaven and become an angel. Now, this brings me to my second point:


The earth is man's PERMANENT home. (Psalms 115:16; Ecclesiastes 1:4) Adam and Eve were put here and told to extend the borders of Eden to cover the entire globe.
Noah and his posterity were here, and it is also here that the righteous humans will dwell forever, a divine promise God gave long ago, which Jesus repeated. (Matthew 5:5; see Psalms 37:9-11, 29)
Are you familiar with what Isaiah 11:6-9 promises? Or Isaiah 65:20-25? How about Isaiah 25:8? Or Ezekiel 34:25?


The need for some humans to go to heaven is a unique need, and it does not at all affect God's purpose for the earth to be man's permanent home.
When Adam and Eve sinned, God could have destroyed them immediately. But since he had already blessed them and purposed that their offspring should fill the earth, he had to deal with them. However, he couldn't do so directly since their sinful condition is an affront to his dignity.
Thus there arose a need for an entity that will represent him before man, and will represent man before him. That is the only way he could deal with Adam's offspring without defiling his holiness. Moreover, since his sovereignty is an integral part of his being, this entity has to have sovereign power bestowed on it so that, for all practical purposes, the entity would be a perfect mirror of God and his sovereignty, while at the same time being a perfect mirror of man but without the sinfulness, thus serving to reconcile the two parties. And who will be qualified to represent man before God except someone who was once a man? In fact, this was one important reason why Jesus came to the earth as Hebrews 2:14, 17 makes clear. However, Jesus couldn't represent man in EVERY respect because he doesn't have the ‘sinful human’ experience. (Hebrews 4:15) Thus there is also a need for additional persons to be extracted from among sinful mankind, persons who will along with Jesus serve God's interests for 1,000 years, (Revelation 20:6) reconciling man to God and reconciling God to man so that by the end of that time, humans will once again become part of God's universal family and have “the glorious freedom of the children of God,” (Romans 8:21) something that Adam once had as a “son of God” but lost for himself and his offspring due to the defective condition brought on him and on us by his sin.—Luke 3:38; Deuteronomy 32:5.

Dustbinbint:



Is Ecclesiastes not an authoritative source? It was written by Solomon, whom God gave divine wisdom.

Nevertheless, see what the greater Solomon had to say, the one whom God gave true divine wisdom, Jesus Christ:

In Matthew 10:28, he said that unlike man who cannot kill the soul, God can “destroy” the soul.
What does “destroy” mean? In what sense can God “destroy” the soul? In 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 9 we see that the punishment for those who refuse to know God is “everlasting destruction.”
The same way Jesus will “destroy” Satan, (Hebrews 2:14) the same way the wicked angels fear their incoming destruction. (Mark 1:24)

It can be hard to believe something when we have been trained to believe otherwise. LoL.
I remember when something similar happened with me.
But it's alright. Regardless, that's my answer to this.
Hope it's helpful.

Destruction of souls doesn't mean that they cease to exist. They will experience continuous torture and pains for the rest of their lives.

For instance, when the beast and the false were both thrown into the Lake of fire in Revelation 19:20, they were acknowledged to still be there after over 1,000 years. Satan joined them in Revelation 20:10. And the scripture says that they will be tormented day and night for the rest of their lives.

Ken4Christ:


Destruction of souls doesn't mean that they cease to exist. They will experience continuous torture and pains for the rest of their lives.

For instance, when the beast and the false were both thrown into the Lake of fire in Revelation 19:20, they were acknowledged to still be there after over 1,000 years. Satan joined them in Revelation 20:10. And the scripture says that they will be tormented day and night for the rest of their lives.

Yes, True. The Scripture does say that.
Confirmed.


Yet, have a look at these interesting points:

In Jesus' parable of the unforgiving slave who was thrown into jail by the master for refusing to forgive his fellow slave, the jailers were called “tormentors,” depending on the translation of Bible you are using. The torment was in the sense of imposing forced restriction on them. It will be in this sense that the Devil will be tormented. I say this since Romans 16:20 says that Satan will be crushed, put out of existence.
Also, Babylon the Great is said to be tormented by God's jugdment against her, namely, death. (Revelation 18:8, 10) And what is the result of the torment? She will be put out of existence, never to be found again.—Revelation 18:21.



Also, everlasting fire, has been used in the Bible as an illustration of irreversible destruction. It was used this way in Isaiah 34:9, 10. Sodom and Gomorrah was described in the Bible as being put in everlasting fire, not in a literal sense, but in the sense that her destruction will never be undone; her's was a judgment with eternal significance.

Consider too that Death and Grave was cast into the lake of fire.—Revelation 20:14.
Will these abstract concepts also suffer torment forever? Or even at all? Revelation 21:4 explains the significance of that passage by saying that “death will be no more.”

On the other hand, Jeremiah 7:31 tells us that tormenting people in fire is “something that has not even come into [God's] heart.”


As to whether destroyed souls cease to exist, recall where John 3:16 tells us that the gift of God is everlasting life for those believing in Jesus. If those who will perish will have everlasting life, (surely they have to live forever to be literally tormented forever) isn't it still everlasting life?
On this note, I once overheard someone say that ‘everyone receives everlasting life, the difference is where it is spent’—in heaven or in hell.
What do you think, do you agree with that statement?




By the way, how are you doing? Your health, your job, your family and friends, etc.
Take a look at my signature text. Tnx

Gafferde:


For me, I don’t know why people fantasize about going to heaven.

To sing, and worship forever? No day, no night, no improvements, no growth, no need for food, no sex, no pain, no motivation, nothing… just an unending sessions of people wearing whites garments singing around.

Sing for the first 10 years. Not tiring. Then sing another 2956 billion years. Nothing special. It sounds robotic and monotonous.

Heaven doesn’t sound like anything interesting to me. It may be a great venue for you. To each is own. If I should choose, I will prefer to stay dead when I die… I want to decay, and turn to elements of the earth.

I am not interested in heaven or hell. They are both bizzare and weird. In one you burn and cry without end. In the other, you rejoice without end.

Extreme cases. If they exist, I am not interested.

Of course, I would change my stance if I see a better explanation. But for now… the description of heaven is a very boring place.

#think

Cc. Ifeanyi eze

Do you wish for a better life? Do you wish that there is no death, no sorrow, no disasters and calamities.
The pleasures of the kingdom of God is beyond what you can imagine.
It is beyond all you wrote up there. If God was that boring, he wouldn't create a beautiful garden for the first man. The wouldn't create precious stones.
John 14:2-3
In my Father's house, there are many mansions. Get to the Father's house first and then watch to see what is in the mansions.

Gafferde:


For me, I don’t know why people fantasize about going to heaven.

To sing, and worship forever? No day, no night, no improvements, no growth, no need for food, no sex, no pain, no motivation, nothing… just an unending sessions of people wearing whites garments singing around.

Sing for the first 10 years. Not tiring. Then sing another 2956 billion years. Nothing special. It sounds robotic and monotonous.

Heaven doesn’t sound like anything interesting to me. It may be a great venue for you. To each is own. If I should choose, I will prefer to stay dead when I die… I want to decay, and turn to elements of the earth.

I am not interested in heaven or hell. They are both bizzare and weird. In one you burn and cry without end. In the other, you rejoice without end.

Extreme cases. If they exist, I am not interested.

Of course, I would change my stance if I see a better explanation. But for now… the description of heaven is a very boring place.

#think

Cc. Ifeanyi eze

You don't know what you are talking about?
Who says you are going to heaven, every human being by virtue of their sin are naturally heading to hell.

Jesus said it is better for you to enter life maim than to enter hell with full body, hell is horrible, heart braking, hopeless, bitter, and full of wailing and gnashing of teeth.
No food, no water , no sleep or rest of any kind, no light ( imagine never to see anything anymore, only memories of the past),

Steep:
You don't know what you are talking about?
Who says you are going to heaven, every human being by virtue of their sin are naturally heading to hell.

Jesus said it is better for you to enter life maim than to enter hell with full body, hell is horrible, heart braking, hopeless, bitter, and full of wailing and gnashing of teeth.
No food, no water , no sleep or rest of any kind, no light ( imagine never to see anything anymore, only memories of the past),

Multiply all these and many more by a 1000 then you begin to get a glimpse of what hell is like.

Dustbinbint:



Yes, True. The Scripture does say that.
Confirmed.


Yet, have a look at these interesting points:

In Jesus' parable of the unforgiving slave who was thrown into jail by the master for refusing to forgive his fellow slave, the jailers were called “tormentors,” depending on the translation of Bible you are using. The torment was in the sense of imposing forced restriction on them. It will be in this sense that the Devil will be tormented. I say this since Romans 16:20 says that Satan will be crushed, put out of existence.
Also, Babylon the Great is said to be tormented by God's jugdment against her, namely, death. (Revelation 18:8, 10) And what is the result of the torment? She will be put out of existence, never to be found again.—Revelation 18:21.



Also, everlasting fire, has been used in the Bible as an illustration of irreversible destruction. It was used this way in Isaiah 34:9, 10. Sodom and Gomorrah was described in the Bible as being put in everlasting fire, not in a literal sense, but in the sense that her destruction will never be undone; her's was a judgment with eternal significance.

Consider too that Death and Grave was cast into the lake of fire.—Revelation 20:14.
Will these abstract concepts also suffer torment forever? Or even at all? Revelation 21:4 explains the significance of that passage by saying that “death will be no more.”

On the other hand, Jeremiah 7:31 tells us that tormenting people in fire is “something that has not even come into [God's] heart.”


As to whether destroyed souls cease to exist, recall where John 3:16 tells us that the gift of God is everlasting life for those believing in Jesus. If those who will perish will have everlasting life, (surely they have to live forever to be literally tormented forever) isn't it still everlasting life?
On this note, I once overheard someone say that ‘everyone receives everlasting life, the difference is where it is spent’—in heaven or in hell.
What do you think, do you agree with that statement?




By the way, how are you doing? Your health, your job, your family and friends, etc.
Take a look at my signature text. Tnx

Please, in an attempt to defend your preconceived opinions on the eternal destiny of man, don't turn blind eyes to scriptures that clearly teaches that lost souls will be tormented for eternity in a burning flame.

The first place of torment is hell also known as hell fire. The final place of torment is the Lake of fire which is far worse than hell.

Let me not bother to defend the existence of hell for cause I know that you will not agree with me. This is because of the words from which hell was translated from -Sheol,Hades and Gehenna.

But the phrase, Lake of fire doesn't have any Greek word than you can twist to make it mean what you want to.

I know that you don't believe it's a literal fire. You believe that souls that will be cast in there will just go into extinction. But it's not true.

The false prophet and the beast that were cast in there in Revelation 19:20 were still acknowledged to be there in Revelation 20:10. And the time space between the two passages is over 1,000 years. What do you have to say about this? Don't deviate.

Well, that escalated fast 😅
You might sense it, or maybe not, but I'm trying to prevent a potentially explosive situation.

Before I answer your question, let me iterate that I am speaking for myself, defending and providing reasons for MY beliefs. I don't seek to project it onto you as something you must accept because you are a human in your own right and you have the liberty to hold and express your own convictions.
It can be easy for me to be sooo focused on the topic of discussion that I fail to realize the PERSON behind the screen. Therefore, I still insist on asking about your well-being, your job, and your family. Do me a kindness and answer that question.

Ken4Christ:

But the phrase, Lake of fire doesn't have any Greek word than you can twist to make it mean what you want to.

I know that you don't believe it's a literal fire. You believe that souls that will be cast in there will just go into extinction. But it's not true.

The false prophet and the beast that were cast in there in Revelation 19:20 were still acknowledged to be there in Revelation 20:10. And the time space between the two passages is over 1,000 years. What do you have to say about this? Don't deviate.

I don't believe that the lake of fire is literal, correct. But the reason why is:

(1) Because of how Revelation 20:14 says that death and “the Grave” (NWT), or “hell” (KJV) will be cast into this lake.
If, as you said, “the first place of torment is hell,” why should a place of torment be cast into another place of torment? Will this place of torment also undergo torment in a worse place of torment?

(2) The lake of fire is described as the second death.
It is my understanding that the lake of fire is the symbol, while the second death is the explanation for that symbol. This is similar to Revelation 1:20 where Jesus said the the seven stars are the angels of the seven congregations (churches; KJV) and the seven lampstands (candlesticks; KJV) are the seven congregations. There is no argument that Jesus isn't literally referring to stars and candlesticks. Rather, he was using them to represent the overseers of the congregations and the congregations themselves.
It is similar to the second death. Unlike the first death which results from Adam's sin passed down to us and which is compared to sleep because it comes with a resurrection, an awakening, the second death isn't the result of Adam's sin, and it isn't compared to sleep but is a true death because with it there is no awakening. Thus, from God's standpoint and not just man's alone, such a person is dead. An irreversible judgment fittingly compared to an everlasting fire.
This is what Jude spoke about as “having died TWICE and having been uprooted,” (Jude 12) i.e, the first death resulting from Adam's sin is compared to a cut down tree with its roots intact, which can still regrow for same reason, (Job 14:7, 14) but the condition of having died a second time, having died twice, having experienced the second death, is likened to a completely uprooted tree which has no hope of ever regrowing. Now, note this interesting phrase: “for whom the blackest darkness stands reserved forever.” (Jude 13) If the lake of fire were literal, how do we harmonize a fire on the one hand with a black darkness on the other hand? I think that it is more sensible to conclude that these are different illustrations for the same point, complete nonexistence. Remember that the original punishment for sin was that we would return to the dust, and not anything beyond that.—Psalms 90:3; compare Genesis 3:19.


As for your comment that the victims of the lake of fire were still there after a space of 1,000 years, look at Isaiah 66:24. Notice that although this scripture also uses the description of fire, it in no way refers to a literal torment because it speaks of carcasses, or dead bodies.
Now, I am not deviating, but I am using a different example from the Bible to show you why my understanding is what it is. They were still there after 1,000 years because they were not let out and will never be let out. Letting them out will be tantamount to reversing their destruction, which God will not do.