FreeGrace2 said:
Very good question! Thanks.
Dan 12:2 shows what the unbeliever will be in for: eternal shame and contempt. These are mental experiences, not body experiences. Their resurrected bodies (Acts 24:15) will die again, hence the LOF is called the "second death".
So, what's left is the soul and its mental thoughts. The "gnashing teeth" is obviously figurative, so we can understand the emotional and mental suffering that leads us to gnash our teeth.
Well, that won't be me.
And I agree!
And nowhere in Scripture is there any claim that God destroys souls. Yes, He can. But the Bible does not say he does or will.
Rather, we know from Dan 12:2 that the punishment includes mental anguish, pain, shame, and contempt.
And Jesus taught that when He told of Lazarus and a rich man. Both died and went to Hades; Lazarus to Paradise and the rich man to torments. Yet, neither had a physical body, since their souls were separated from their bodies. It is clear from what Jesus said that the rich man was literally in torment. That HAD TO BE referring to his soul, even though he spoke about water on his tongue.
From what the rich man said, it is clear that he was suffering from regret and didn't want his brothers to have his fate.