1.
And YOU can not assume Luke is not literal as IT IS the Lord Jesus who is explaining the story. He would have precedence over all other Scriptures.
Luke 9:35......
"And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One;
listen to him!”
2.
Luke18:7.....
And shall not God avenge His own, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them".
The servants of the Lord remember the earth, and that they had lived on it. They recall that they had suffered and died at the hands of oppressors, and they remembered the divine promise of being vindicated eventually which is promised in Luke 18:7.
3.
Not so again brother.
Ephesians 4:8-10 (ESVV......
"Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9 Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things."
That’s what Jesus meant when He said in Revelation 1:18.....
“I am he who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”
The truth is that Scripture supports that Hades included both hell AND heaven (Abraham’s bosom, or what Jesus and many of the everyday Jews of his day referred to as Paradise). According to Jesus, in between the two was “A great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.” (Luke 16:26)
There’s even more biblical evidence that Paradise may not have been in heaven at that time. Remember, just three days after Jesus told the thief that he would be in Paradise with Him, He asked Mary Magdalene, who first saw Him in resurrected form, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the My Father.” (John 20:17) If had not yet ascended to the Father, then Paradise was not located in heaven.
4.
Thank God! The only question I guess is WHEN?
5.
NOPE!
You had said the dead do not praise the Lord. The verses I gave you say just the opposite my friend. It is what it is!!!!
Revelation 5......
13 "Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, everything in the universe, cry out: “To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor, glory and might, forever and ever.”
Revelation 5:8......
8 "When he took it, the
four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense,
which are the prayers of the holy ones."
6.
My dear friend and brother. I do not have the ability to even contemplate the love of God and neither do you or anyone else. I can say I believe it and grasp it but in truth none of us can explain it.
I can not explain how God parted the Red Sea. But The key is not that I have to explain it but all I have to do is believe it.
I can not explain how God spoke to Moses out of a burning bush ....... but I believe that He did.
I can not explain how the three Hebrews survived the fiery furnace....but I believe they did.
I can not explain how Daniel survived the lions den.............................but I believe he did.
I can not even explain why God saved me from my sin and changed my eternal destiny.......but I know that He did!!!!
Just because we can not explain something does not mean we make fun of it or poke silly comments at those who do believe.
Hebrews 11:6 says this about our differences on this.........
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him".
My dear friend, because you do not have the faith to believe and accept the words of the Lord Jesus Christ does not mean that the rest of us have to accept what you think. I say that with all due respect to your position but I for one believe what Jesus said.
I say once again.....there are absolutely ZERO Scriptures which support your idea of annihilation of the body and soul and until you reconcile that fact, nothing is going to add up for you.
Thanks for the questions, I am loving the fact that I am able to get out the Word of God over the internet!