How do proponents of eternal conscious torment/separation reconcile their beliefs with Luke 13:3, 5?
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The fig tree
Jesus offers further detail in the parable that immediately follows this passage:
6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.
7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?
8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down (Luke 13:6-9)
This is exactly what God is doing with Israel at this time. They have fallen into wickedness & apostasy (e.g. see Matthew 23), and the question is asked, should they just be destroyed now?
No, God spared them a little longer--about 4 decades longer--for the Christian message to be proclaimed from home base in Jerusalem and established in other areas. Then, in AD 70, Jerusalem and the surrounding area was destroyed by Titus.
The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 gives force to the "all" in this passage, and is discussed in greater detail by Luke again in chapter 21.
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The second death
That said, I have no problem with the idea that a prophecy or teaching can have multiple applications (see my post here). Jesus could doubtless refer to the destruction by Titus and the destruction at the last day in the same message.
However, there is a risk of taking a literal interpretation to the extreme. Does the second death/final punishment of the wicked entail being cut open in the temple & being crushed by a falling building simultaneously? Probably not. As described in Revelation 20, the second death may not be "warm and fuzzy" but it certainly sounds warm.
Apparently, then, the manner of death is not the focus here. If Jesus speaks here of spiritual death, believers in ECT/ECS would understand this to mean that Jesus is pronouncing the judgement of spiritual death upon unrepentant sinners.
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Conclusion
The believer in annihilationism and the believer in ECT/ECS would then see this passage in much the same way, while holding differing understandings of what is entailed by death. I hold the view that Biblically, death describes separation, and that "dead" and "conscious" are not mutually exclusive properties.--I share a more detailed description of this view here.
It is my view that separation from God is an extremely severe & significant consequence, commensurate with the warning given by Jesus in Luke 13.
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