Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Here we have two different scenarios - with Jesus Christ there is life, with the devil there is death. These are complete opposites, but many have got them all mixed up, however the Bible is very clear...
2 Thessalonians 1:9 "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;"
This is speaking here of the wicked, and it says they are going to be destroyed with everlasting destruction. It does not say everlasting "destroying", but everlasting "destruction". It's the effect of the destruction that is everlasting, not the act of destroying itself.
Malachi 4:1 "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."
If you have ever seen a field after they have set fire to it and burnt the stubble that's left after harvesting, there is nothing left, and this is how it says the wicked will be, they will be like stubble that is fully dried, and it says they will be burned up. In Malachi it goes on to say...
Malachi 4:3 "And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts."
So the Bible makes it very clear that the wicked are going to be turned to into ashes - they will exist no more. That's what it promises.
Matthew 18:8-9 "8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire."
Many people say that this verse proves that the wicked are going to be cast into hell for eternity, some versions say the worms will eat on them. The gospel of Mark uses this same analogy, he says:
Mark 9:43-44 "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
Many people read this and say it means that the wicked are going to burn in hell for eternity, and the worms are going to eat on them for eternity - but nothing could be further from what God is saying.
You see in the time of Christ, outside of Jerusalem, there were three valleys. One of those valleys was where they threw all the trash - the word for that is "Gehenna", and this is what this word for hell is, "Gehenna" - this was where they threw all the trash, and dead animals etc. This is what the passage means – it means that what the worms didn't eat the fire would destroy – it means total destruction, they would exist no more. Jesus is not saying that people are going to be going on throughout eternity burning, but that they will burn up, and they will exist no more.
Scripture Verse
Other Sites