Actually, hell is not a place of torment. According to the King James Bible with a marginal reference, sheol means "the common grave of mankind." According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, these words also mean "common grave of mankind." Sheol the Hebrew word, Hades the Greek, meaning the same.
Hades – Dictionary Definition of Hades | Encyclopedia.com: FREE Online Dictionary
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Hades The Greek translation of the Hebrew ‘sheol’, which is the dwelling place of the departed who continue a shadowy existence (Eccles. 9: 10). There was a legend (Isa. 38: 10; Matt. 16: 18) that entry into Hades was through gates, and Christians supposed that the keys were in the possession of the risen Christ (Rev. 1: 18), Hades is not a place of torment in the OT—except for its appalling boredom (Ps. 88: 12), but in the NT physical pain seems to be envisaged upon their deaths for some (Luke 16: 23), certainly for unrepentant sinners (Mark 9: 48) and for them the word ‘Gehenna’ in a metaphorical rather than the original geographical (‘valley of Hinnom’) sense, is used in the Greek (e.g. Mark 9: 43, 48). ‘Hades’ (Rev. 20: 13, 14) and Death are regarded as a demonic realm and associated with the sea (cf. Mark 5: 13). Those who had died at sea could not be buried and therefore could not get through the gates of Hades. However, when the purpose of God is fully achieved, both Death (the Last Enemy, 1 Cor. 15: 26, 54) and Hades, where the already dead repose, will surrender their populations, with the establishment of the eternal reign of God.
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This in bold apparently means that God's will be done, as there will no longer be death, the grave, i.e. Hades. Hades will done away with, so what happened to this hell fire place where people will burn forever? Hades has never been translated as a place of eternal torment where you will burn forever except in the minds of current day Christians. All other references in the Bible are parables, such as the rich man and Lazarus. But some of these things crept into the Bible later on. Has God changed since the OT? Were the people in the Old Testament wrong to translate "sheol" and the grave?
But of course the Bible is inconsistent with teachings. Most Christians say all you have to do is believe in Christ and you will be saved. The Bible says to "work out your own salvation," (Phil 2:12-13) which shows it is a process. Other places show the same. Matt: 24:13 "He who endures to the end will be saved." then 1 Peter 2:2. "Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may
grow into salvation." Salvation here is a process too.
Or the teaching through fear by the Christians:
1 John 4:18: "
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love." And yet Christians teach in fear by saying, If you don't believe as I do you go to hell. Being that the Bible is inconsistent and Christians don't wish to believe that because it is all inspired, even when men have messed with it, they try hard to make everything work out by twisting what is being said.
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