The Bible declares that there is eternal, conscious torment in "the furnace of fire" (Matthew 13:41-42, Matthew 13:49-50, Matthew 25:46).
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, 42 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
Matt 13:41-42
49 So shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
Matt 13:49-50
28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell
Matt 10:28
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
If I was to say to some I will totally destroy you, I would not mean preserve them eternally and torture them eternally.
I would mean to make sure nothing was left as if they had never existed. To destroy anything, is to make it non-existent.
Now there is a sense of the desire to show eternal justice against full rebellion against God, which the beast and his followers will suffer, where they will have eternal torment. But this is special declaration in Revelation, specially for those who take the mark of the beast.
Now I could interpret the destruction of the soul is eternal punishment that creates eternal pain without reprieve. But here we have a moral dilemma. On a pure theological basis the saved are only those born of God, or born into believing households, before the age of responsibility.
So if you hold to a uniform torment, you are holding to torment for youngsters, who though not guilty of sinful acts, are guilty of the sin of rebellion against God as not living in communion with Him. Now is there justice to torment those who have no choice than what they are born into with eternal torture? This is a strange God of love and justice, which no where in scripture reveals this as His nature.
Another strand to this position is we are eternal beings who can never be destroyed. But this notion is not biblical, because we only gain eternal life, life without end, without the 2nd death, through faith in Christ and the cross. Jesus repeats this concept many times, that the 2nd death is the issue, that eternal life is His gift. But some will hold all have eternal life, just with Jesus or in torment. But this nullifies the concept Jesus repeats time and again of eternal life. Now if the Lord has a version of eternal death which is something else, amen. I am actually interested in opposing the RCC view of demons torture humans in hell, and the majority are consumed in this eternal torment. It strikes me in this version of the universe, heavenly or otherwise would actually be consumed in torture and not love and life, which is the opposite picture I have of the Lord.
Another simple way of putting this, love is wheat in the heart of man which is eternal, and sinful life is just chaff around the edge, ready to be burnt up and destroyed. This is a repeating theme throughout scripture, that evil people are just chaff of no value, and nothing to hold together.
And the whole of morality hangs on the reality of how love is faithful, true, just, full of grace and mercy, where we honour our commitments and marriages and obligations to family. So it is difficult to not see this as part of the whole picture Jesus is painting, where punishment and justice will be truly met out.
Some have said to me that atheists would be happy with being destroyed. Sadly if love means nothing to them, and their lives are just chaff, to me what else is there? I fear that those who hate atheists are just seeking emotional harm to their opponents and do not know the meaning of love and freedom as Jesus brings to us today. God bless you