The word translated "hell" in Jesus' warning about unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43) is the Greek Gehenna, meaning the Valley of Hinnom. This was a valley on the south side of Jerusalem where refuse was continually burned. Jesus used it as a type of the place where the wicked will receive their final punishment. Its fire is called unquenchable, but that does not mean it burns forever. God said through Jeremiah that He would kindle an unquenchable fire in Jerusalem's gates to devour its palaces, yet Jerusalem is not still burning. Unquenchable means the fire burns until everything flammable is consumed, and then it goes out. So it was in the Valley of Hinnom: once the residents stopped throwing garbage there, the fire burned out. The hellfire of Gehenna is therefore the Lake of Fire, in which the resurrected wicked die the second death. It does not torment them eternally. It burns them up completely, in body, mind and spirit, leaving only ashes, so that they cease to exist.

The Greek word *geenna* (G1067), often translated as hell, refers to a place of destruction and death, not a realm of living torture. Jesus spoke to Jews familiar with Gehenna, the Valley of Hinnom, where utter destruction by fire left nothing but ashes. Every instance of *geenna* in the Bible signifies complete destruction, not eternal life in torment. Jesus illustrated this with the lake of fire, described as the place of the second death, an eternal punishment that results in total annihilation. In Matthew 10:28, Jesus warned to fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in *geenna*, clearly indicating that the soul can be destroyed there. Again, in Matthew 23:33, He addressed the Pharisees, questioning how they could escape the damnation of *geenna*, which is the second death, an eternal punishment of destruction. This concept aligns with the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah, which suffered eternal fire but are not still burning, having been burned up forever in eternal destruction. Thus, *geenna* represents a final, complete end, not an ongoing state of suffering.