Jesus plainly states that the unrighteous will be punished by being put into hell, which He describes as a fire that will not be quenched. In this context, the word hell is translated from the Greek *geena*, meaning Valley of Hinnom, a valley on the south side of Jerusalem where refuse was continually burned. Jesus used this area as a type of the place where the wicked will receive their final punishment. When Jesus said that the fire of hell would never be quenched, He meant that it would burn until everything flammable was consumed, and then it would go out, as seen in the example of the Valley of Hinnom where the fire eventually burned out once garbage was no longer thrown there.

Jesus uses the term Gehenna, or the valley of Hinnom located outside Jerusalem, to illustrate the permanent consequences of unrepented sins. In this valley, trash, refuse, animal carcasses, and even the bodies of despised criminals were thrown to be consumed by perpetual fires. If any matter escaped the flames by falling on ledges below the rim, it was devoured by maggots. Jesus emphasizes that nothing thrown into Gehenna ever came out again; it was completely destroyed, either by fire or by worms. Just as no one exterminated the maggots or extinguished the flames in Gehenna, there will be no escape from the certain fate God has decreed for unrepentant sinners.

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.