I have thought about and researched this question for many years. I am convinced that the Bible does not support the orthodox/popular view of the majority of Christian churches of "hell" as a never-ending torture chamber where people are burned forever and ever without end. The truth is that the wicked will be totally and permanently annihilated or destroyed. The following is a brief overview of points supporting this view:
1. The penalty of sin is death, not eternal torment. The righteous are given the gift of eternal life, or the ability to live forever. If the wicked were in a "hell" where they are alive but being tormented forever, then they also would have eternal life. They would be alive forever, but in non-stop pain. The opposite of eternal life is permanent death/destruction, not "eternal life in conscious torment".
2. The Messiah did not teach a doctrine of eternal torment. He taught that the wicked would be destroyed, and that the "soul" is not immortal. Rather, it can be destroyed. In the book of Revelation, the final destruction of the wicked is referred to as the "second death".
Matthew 10:28 - "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
3. The language in Revelation of "where their worm does not die", "the fire is not quenched", and "the smoke of their torment goes up forever" harkens back to language in the Old Testament. For example, Malachi 4:1 states that the "Day of the Lord" will "burn like a furnace", and the wicked "will be as ashes". Isaiah 66:24 speaks of the rotting corpses of dead enemies of God as having "worms that die not" (referring to maggots), and "fire that cannot be quenched" (meaning that no man can stop the consuming fire and punishment of "God"). It doesn't mean that the corpses of the wicked who are destroyed are still "consciously alive with worms tormenting them and fire continually burning." Isaiah 34:10 speaks of the destruction of Edom with sulfur/brimstone, with "smoke rising forever", which "will not be quenched day nor night". This doesn't mean that the the destruction of Edom (the land occupied by the descendants of Esau to the immediate southeast of Judea) is literally still ongoing.
4. The Bible does say that Satan and his angels will be tormented in an everlasting fire. Revelation 20:10 states that the devil, the beast, and the false prophet are "cast into the lake of fire and brimstone" where they "shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever". However, the book of Revelation does not say that all human beings who experience "the second death" will be tormented forever and ever. It appears that this lake of fire and brimstone will completely consume and annihilate human beings.
5. The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, (recorded in Luke 16:19-31, where a rich man is in Hades/hell being tormented in flames and begging Abraham to send Lazarus to bring him a drink of water), is a parable, or symbolic story. Not a historical account of an event that actually occurred.
Here is an excellent paper on the truth about "hell" that I read several years ago, and would highly recommend to anyone who wishes to seriously study the subject further:
https://www.truthaccordingtoscripture.com/documents/death/myth-of-eternal-torture/hell-know.pdf
1. The penalty of sin is death, not eternal torment. The righteous are given the gift of eternal life, or the ability to live forever. If the wicked were in a "hell" where they are alive but being tormented forever, then they also would have eternal life. They would be alive forever, but in non-stop pain. The opposite of eternal life is permanent death/destruction, not "eternal life in conscious torment".
2. The Messiah did not teach a doctrine of eternal torment. He taught that the wicked would be destroyed, and that the "soul" is not immortal. Rather, it can be destroyed. In the book of Revelation, the final destruction of the wicked is referred to as the "second death".
Matthew 10:28 - "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
3. The language in Revelation of "where their worm does not die", "the fire is not quenched", and "the smoke of their torment goes up forever" harkens back to language in the Old Testament. For example, Malachi 4:1 states that the "Day of the Lord" will "burn like a furnace", and the wicked "will be as ashes". Isaiah 66:24 speaks of the rotting corpses of dead enemies of God as having "worms that die not" (referring to maggots), and "fire that cannot be quenched" (meaning that no man can stop the consuming fire and punishment of "God"). It doesn't mean that the corpses of the wicked who are destroyed are still "consciously alive with worms tormenting them and fire continually burning." Isaiah 34:10 speaks of the destruction of Edom with sulfur/brimstone, with "smoke rising forever", which "will not be quenched day nor night". This doesn't mean that the the destruction of Edom (the land occupied by the descendants of Esau to the immediate southeast of Judea) is literally still ongoing.
4. The Bible does say that Satan and his angels will be tormented in an everlasting fire. Revelation 20:10 states that the devil, the beast, and the false prophet are "cast into the lake of fire and brimstone" where they "shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever". However, the book of Revelation does not say that all human beings who experience "the second death" will be tormented forever and ever. It appears that this lake of fire and brimstone will completely consume and annihilate human beings.
5. The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, (recorded in Luke 16:19-31, where a rich man is in Hades/hell being tormented in flames and begging Abraham to send Lazarus to bring him a drink of water), is a parable, or symbolic story. Not a historical account of an event that actually occurred.
Here is an excellent paper on the truth about "hell" that I read several years ago, and would highly recommend to anyone who wishes to seriously study the subject further:
https://www.truthaccordingtoscripture.com/documents/death/myth-of-eternal-torture/hell-know.pdf