This is another belief born from tradition and influenced by Greek culture. It came from a prominent idea among Greek thought-leaders that the human soul is immortal.6
It wasn’t a belief held by the followers of Jesus or the early Christian church.
Let’s follow this idea to its logical end: If all souls are immortal, then there must be an afterlife destination opposite of heaven to house the souls of those who didn’t repent and accept Jesus. And if they rejected the Savior who would give them eternal peace and joy, then wherever they go must be filled with eternal suffering and sadness.
But looking at Scripture, immortality is only attributed to God (1 Timothy 6:15–16), and the only people that inherit eternal life are those who accept Jesus (John 3:16; 17:3; 1 John 5:11, 20).
While the effects of hell’s flames are eternal and cannot be reversed, the lives of those encountering the flames are not eternal. They will experience the “second death.” Their punishment isn’t continual, but it is “everlasting”—because it’s final (Matthew 25:46). They will forever cease to exist.
Also this (from the same webpage)
How long will hell burn?
Since hell is more of an event than an underworld, many people wonder—how long will hell burn? The Bible says that hell will only last as long as it takes to destroy the wicked completely (Malachi 4:1).
Everything must burn completely, because after the earth is destroyed by fire, He will re-create the earth just as it was originally supposed to be (Isaiah 65:17; Revelation 21:1).
Annihilationism—forever gone, not forever burning
The belief in eternal hell typically cites verses about the wicked being eternally destroyed, such as in 2 Thessalonians and Matthew 25.
“They will pay the penalty of eternal destruction from the Lord’s presence and from His glorious strength” (2 Thessalonians 1:9, CSB).
“Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!’” (Matthew 25:41, CSB).
But this is where it’s especially important to use more parts of the Bible to interpret a single passage. Let’s take a look at other verses that mention the word “eternal.”
Several Bible verses explain the destruction of the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24). God sent “punishment of eternal fire” to destroy these cities eternally (Jude 1:7, CSB).
So, if we’re taking “eternal” to mean that they are burning forever, then Sodom and Gomorrah should be continuing to burn today, right?
If you were to look up the present-day locations of these cities on Google maps, you’d see that they’re not.
Rather, these cities were destroyed “eternally” in the sense that they were completely destroyed, never to rise again. The same is true for the destruction of the wicked—they’re not burning forever, but they are forever burnt up.
This explains why Malachi 4:3 mentions that the ashes of the wicked will be on the earth after the lost are destroyed.
In fact, numerous Bible verses describe this destruction as something permanent (Psalm 37:20; 68:2). Even the word “destruction” suggests that at some point the wicked will cease to exist (Psalm 10:25; 12:7).
This concept is often called annihilationism. And while not every Christian faith group subscribes to this belief, it can certainly be backed up with Scripture—and it aligns with God’s character, as described throughout the whole Bible.
The results of hell’s destruction are eternal—not the process of destruction.
It’s not uncommon to find people who have rejected Christianity because they’ve been taught that “bad people” will burn in hell forever. They wonder how a loving God could be so cruel as to make people burn for all eternity for the sins they’ve committed in their brief lifetime.
Some even wonder if God takes pleasure in the suffering of the wicked.
What an awful picture of humanity’s Creator.
But we’re told in Scripture that God finds no joy in the destruction of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23, 32; Isaiah 28:21).
However, since the possibility is available for people to choose against what God offers us, He had to allow for an alternative fate. And the “second death” of eternal destruction is ultimately the most natural balance between justice and mercy.
All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. - Malachi 4
This is the first verse you cited. It has nothing to do with what you are asserting.
That’s the problem with finding sources who interpret the Bible to what they want it to mean. It usually has nothing to do with what is actually written.
Moreover, and I’ve seen this over and over as soon as a theist tells an atheist to provide passages in the Bible the conversation is pretty much done.
This is the first verse you cited. It has nothing to do with what you are asserting.
That’s not the whole verse. Here’s the whole thing:
“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them.
It says about how the destruction will be complete-- “not a root or a branch will be left to them”
That’s the problem with finding sources who interpret the Bible to what they want it to mean. It usually has nothing to do with what is actually written.
Honestly I completely agree here, there’s so many things that are very clearly stated (“remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy”, “it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich person to enter the kingdom of God”, there are other examples that’s just what I could think of off the top of my head) but people are like “well actually it might mean <something where you’re like huh? Where’d that come from?>” or “nah I think imma just not read that bit”
Moreover, and I’ve seen this over and over as soon as a theist tells an atheist to provide passages in the Bible the conversation is pretty much done.
I’ve seen this too sometimes, it’s kinda sad that people don’t know how to argue for their beliefs
Are you saying that ALL of the verses about hell being “eternal” or “everlasting” are taken out of context?
Which specific verses are you meaning?
Jude 1:7 Matthew 25:41 And many more
I tried to write something, but I couldn’t get my thoughts and beliefs to fit into words properly, so I found something that soneone else wrote that does a good job of saying what I was trying to say
Also this (from the same webpage)
This is the first verse you cited. It has nothing to do with what you are asserting.
That’s the problem with finding sources who interpret the Bible to what they want it to mean. It usually has nothing to do with what is actually written.
Moreover, and I’ve seen this over and over as soon as a theist tells an atheist to provide passages in the Bible the conversation is pretty much done.
Ahem
Hell is not eternal.
Doom is eternal.
That’s not the whole verse. Here’s the whole thing:
It says about how the destruction will be complete-- “not a root or a branch will be left to them”
Honestly I completely agree here, there’s so many things that are very clearly stated (“remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy”, “it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich person to enter the kingdom of God”, there are other examples that’s just what I could think of off the top of my head) but people are like “well actually it might mean <something where you’re like huh? Where’d that come from?>” or “nah I think imma just not read that bit”
I’ve seen this too sometimes, it’s kinda sad that people don’t know how to argue for their beliefs