If I may, I would like to chime in here to help correct mistaken beliefs, (1) that there is a supposed place called "hell" that the churches teach is a place of fiery torment, and (2) that the soul is immortal. I would like to first provide Scriptural evidence that the soul is not immortal.
To assist a person in grasping the meaning of the "soul", it is important to examine the Hebrew word from is rendered "soul". This word is nephesh, that literally means "breather". Hence, all that breathes are souls, such as humans, animals, fish, insects, arachnids, bacteria, etc.
At Numbers 31, it says that a "levy" (or tax) should be placed on "one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves (beasts), and of the asses (donkeys), and of the sheep".(Num 31:28, King James Bible) And to show that the soul is a person, not something imaginary within him, at Deuteronomy 12, it says: "When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border.....and thou shall say, I will eat flesh (meat), because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever they soul lusteth after."(Deut 12:20, King James Bible)
And at Jeremiah 2, in condemning the wicked women of nation of Israel, God tells them: "Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents".(Jer 2:34) Hence, the soul, breathes, eats and has blood, and what would that be ? Us as a person, for at Genesis 2, when God created the first man Adam, the account says that "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul".(Gen 2:7, King James Bible)
Until God ' breathed the breath of life ' into Adam, Adam was a dead soul. So, again to reinforce the correct understanding, we can see that the soul is us as person, that breathes, eats, and has blood, so that we as a soul can also die, and thus not immortal.
And the belief in a "hellfire" is dependent on the false belief of the immortality of the soul, so that since there is no immortal soul, neither is there a place of fiery torment that "souls go to". How can we further grasp this ? By looking in the Bible book of Jeremiah.
At Jeremiah 7, God scathingly condemns the apostate nation of Israel for their false religious practices that included burning their own children in a fire to the false god Molech, saying: "They built the high place of Tophet (a place just outside the walls of Jerusalem on the south-eastern side), which is in the Valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I commanded then not, neither came in into my heart".(Jer 7:31, King James Bible)
How could God condemn the Israelites for burning their children in a fire if he was also doing the same thing ? How could he burn people in a"hellfire" if such a thing had not even come into his heart ? How could he burn people in a "hellfire" that goes diametrically against his quality of love ?(1 John 4:8)
And how could the Devil be the one whom the churches of Christendom says is the ruler of "hellfire", since if God created "hellfire" as the churches teach, then that would mean that God handed the "keys" of "hellfire" to Satan, though they are archenemies ? Is this Scriptural or even logical ? Would you give something you created, that you supposedly treasure to your enemy ? So, the whole concept of a "hellfire" is a myth and further Scriptures proves this out.
At Jeremiah 32, God adds this to his hatred for what the apostate Israelites are doing: "And they built the high places of Baal (a false god of agriculture), which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin".(Jer 32:35, King James Bible)
How could God call to account the Israelites for burning their children in a fire to Molech, calling it an "abomination' and a "sin", if he is doing the same thing ? And at Ecclesiastes 9, it says that "the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything......for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest".(Ecc 9:5, 10, King James Bible)
Thus, those who die "know not anything", but are non-existent, with many awaiting to be resurrected from the grave, for Revelation 20 says: "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell (Greek Hades) delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast in to the lake of fire ("lake of fire" means everlasting destruction, not torment)".(Rev 20:13, 14, King James Bible) So, what is the proper conclusion to draw ? That there is that there is no "hellfire" that torments "souls" because there is no immortality of the soul.
And to add one final touch, of Jesus, after his death, according to the King James Bible, Peter told the Jews concerning Jesus death and resurrection and quoting from Psalms 16:10, that "God hath raised up, having loosed the pain of death; because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him.......because thou (God) will not leave my soul in hell".(Acts 2:24, 25, 27, King James Bible)
If "hell" is a place of torment for "sinners", then why did Jesus go there, since he was perfect, sinless ? So what is the Bible "hell" and not Christendom's "hell" ? Mankind's common grave, from which a person can be released, just as Jesus was.
And some will try to use the King James Bible to prove their case that there is a "hellfire", perhaps quoting Jesus words at Matthew 5:22, 29, 30. But these ones have not done their "homework" regarding the two Greek words that Jesus used, Hades and Gehenna.
Hades is the same as the Hebrew word Sheol, and which is not a place of torment. For example, the King James Bible renders Sheol 31 times as "hell" and 31 times as the "grave" and 3 times as "pit", showing inconsistency and causing confusion.
And Gehenna (Greek geenna) is a derivative or drawn from the valley of Hinnom, where Jerusalem's trash was thrown outside the south wall, whereby sulfur was constantly added to burn all the refuse. Hence, Gehenna means everlasting destruction, not torment, for no live person was put there, only dead bodies were thrown there that could not tormented but rather were destroyed by fire, that was never "put out" or "quenched".(Mark 9:43)
And Gehenna is the same as the "lake of fire" at Revelation 20 14, 15. And one final question: How could "hell" be a place of fiery torment, fire and brimstone, and yet it be thrown into "the lake of fire" ? As with the mystic number of 666, the Bible states: "This is where it calls for wisdom" in order to understand what "hell" really is.(Rev 13:18)