The concept of hell, as understood in the common belief of the Western world, originally meant a dark and silent place, a grave, merely a hole in the ground for preservation. However, the Greek word gehenna, often translated as hell, refers to a place of destruction and death, not of living torture. Jesus spoke to Jews familiar with Gehenna, the Valley of Hinnom, where utter destruction by fire left nothing but ashes. Every reference to gehenna in the Bible signifies complete destruction, not eternal life in torment. The punishment revealed is death, the cessation of life, described as the second death from which there is no resurrection, an eternal punishment but not eternal punishing. Jesus used the term gehenna fire to illustrate the lake of fire, identified as the place of final punishment, the second death. This lake of fire, much hotter than any imagined torment, is where death and hell are cast, delivering up the dead for judgment according to their works. Those not found in the book of life are cast into this lake, a place of destruction where both soul and body can be destroyed, as Jesus plainly stated. He warned of the damnation of gehenna, emphasizing eternal punishment as the second death. Ancient cities like Sodom and Gomorrah suffered eternal fire, burned up forever in eternal destruction, not ongoing burning. The day is coming when the wicked will be as stubble, burned up completely, leaving neither root nor branch, reduced to ashes underfoot, as declared by the Lord of Hosts. The fire of judgment will not be quenched, meaning it will not be put out until it has fully consumed, just as historical fires of judgment were not quenched but are no longer burning. This aligns with the promise that sinners will be consumed out of the earth, the wicked no more, their carcasses an abhorring to all flesh, affirming a final, complete destruction rather than perpetual torment.

Pope Francis, in an interview on March 28 with La Repubblica editor Eugenio Scalfari, stated that hell does not exist, asserting that condemned souls simply disappear. He explained that those who repent obtain God's forgiveness and join the souls who contemplate Him, while those who do not repent and cannot be forgiven just vanish. This perspective contrasts with previous statements from former Pope Benedict XVI, who in a 2007 sermon affirmed that hell exists and is eternal for those who close their hearts to Christ's love. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, a senior Catholic in England and Wales, offered a nuanced view, stating that hell does exist but not with the traditional imagery of fire and brimstone often seen in art, suggesting that such depictions are not part of Catholic teaching but rather iconography.

In addressing the subject of hell, three distinct approaches are presented to challenge common modern beliefs. The first is the lexical argument, focusing on the original meanings of words used in the Bible for hell. The second is the prophetic argument, demonstrating through prophecy that an ever-burning hell is not part of God's plan. The third is the theological argument, offering a doctrinal perspective on the concept of hell. The lexical argument examines the biblical terms associated with hell. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word "sheol" appears 66 times, originally meaning a hole or pit, evolving to signify a grave or place of the dead. However, in the Old Testament, it remains tied to the physical concept of a burial place, without mystical connotations of an afterlife. Examples from Psalms, Numbers, and Jonah illustrate "sheol" as a pit or grave, such as in Psalm 16 where it denotes the grave in a Messianic context, and in Jonah 2 where it represents the belly of the fish as a place of death. In the New Testament, the Greek word "hades" is used 10 times as the equivalent of "sheol," meaning the state or abode of the dead, essentially the grave, with no indication of consciousness after death. Instances in Acts 2 and Revelation 1 reinforce this, linking "hades" with death and the grave. Another Greek term, "tartaroo," a verb used once in II Peter 2, means to cast down, referring to the restraint of sinning angels on earth, not a place of hell for humans. Lastly, "gehenna," used 12 times, refers to the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem, a physical location used as the city dump where trash and criminal bodies were burned, symbolizing complete destruction in the Lake of Fire as illustrated by Jesus Christ in Matthew 5. This term carries no notion of a mystical hell but represents total consumption by fire for those who reject God, as supported by references in Jeremiah 7. The prophetic argument aligns with biblical prophecies, particularly in Revelation 20, showing that those who reject God are cast into the Lake of Fire for complete destruction, not an ongoing hell. Malachi 4 further supports this by depicting the burning of the wicked into ash, leaving no concept of a perpetual hell in the prophetic narrative. The theological argument asserts that the Bible consistently teaches that sin leads to death, not an immortal soul enduring in hell. Genesis 2 and 3 establish that disobedience incurs the death penalty, while Ezekiel 18 confirms that the soul who sins shall die. Ecclesiastes 3 and Psalm 146 emphasize that death results in a lack of consciousness, with the body returning to dust and the spirit to God, devoid of ongoing life or awareness. Romans 6:23 clarifies that eternal life is a gift through Christ, not an inherent trait, negating the need for a hell if souls were immortal. Matthew 10 underscores the fear of God who can destroy both body and soul in the Lake of Fire, reinforcing total destruction over eternal torment.