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I am glad you replied to sorryforthat the way you did. Personally I believe that the Bible clearly speaks about a real Heaven and Hell existing outside of this earthly life. Our life here, since the fall into sin, is more like the Purgatory of the Roman Catholic Church.
The speaking in the Revelation about the New Heavens and the New Earth is a clearer explanation of Heaven. It is a new universe that has different physical laws than this one - a different physics and science.
The Lake of Fire in the Revelation is a smelting pot that melts the eternal soul down into its component parts so that God gets His energy back. Since the soul is eternal, the tearing down of the soul is eternal as well. God can wait for eternity to be over, because He is outside, even, of eternity, although He is eternal at the same time.
I don't agree. We don't have eternal life from the beginning, people won't be burning in hell forever and ever. We are given eternal life through Jesus, or why else would it say Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our eternal life is a gift, it is not for everyone, but only for those who choose to accept it. The wages of sin are death, not burning forever and ever.
At the beginning there was no death. Death came with sin. Restoration to eternal life through Jesus' work on the cross is the free gift of God to all who will accept it. However, even the ability to accept has been opened up by Jesus' work on the cross.
Evidence of torment forever from Revelation 20:10 and Revelation 20:15:
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10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
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15 If anyones name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
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15 If anyones name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
However, I think that if we looked for it we could find other places that say more directly that the torment of those who are unsaved will be lasting forever... such as Matthew 25:31-46.