I simply cite the Bible as it is written...you are citing old Armstrongism, the old World Wide church of God and prophecy concepts of death and afterlife. You are the one thinking as a man thinks. To you, God is the great and kindly veterinarian who puts sinners to sleep who are simply too bent and sick to have accepted God’s kindness.
The issue is one of deterrence, not simply punishment. Once a spirit/soul has been formed it can never again be uncreated or said to have never existed at all. God exists in the eternal now...past,future,present all at once. We live and move and have our being in God. It is not simply a matter of just snuffing a soul/spirit out of existence since that individual still lives in God’s past and present as well. I suspect that is why God simply doesn’t simply snuff sinners out of existence since it may very well effect the past and present events of God’s plan for our world. Certainly that individual continues to exist in the memory of God, even when separated eternally.
So God created the reality of eternal damnation as a deterrence for those hard hearted enough not to listen to God’s exhortations thru love.
Finally, on the subject of eternal punishment I give you the words of Jesus Christ from Matthew 25:46”46“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (the context is the separation of the peoples...sheep and goats, right from left).
Christ’s stated reality of eternal punishment, denotes the reality of an individual’s spiritual consciousness having a living eternal awareness of such a punishment!
I simply cite the Bible as it is written...you are citing old Armstrongism, the old World Wide church of God and prophecy concepts of death and afterlife.
And citing the bible as it is written is fine. But Revelation requires special consideration for obvious reasons. At least, I assume they are obvious to you.
I can cite the bible all day regarding annihilation. John 3:16 is a good place to start. ;-)