This is what MANY Christians believe, but let's see what the Bible says...
"For evil doers shall be cut off.. the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt
diligently consider his place, and it shall not be." [ PSA 37:9-10 ]
-and-
"But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat
of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke they shall consume away."
[ PSA 37:20 ]
The wicked are "consumed away," they won't exist, they "shall not be." See,
only the righteous shall be rewarded with eternal life -- not the wicked
people. "These shall go away into everlasting punsihment." [ MATT 25:46 ]
Yes, Jesus said that. But NOTICE He did NOT say "everlasting punish-ing."
There's a BIG difference -- everlasting punish-ING would go ON and ON, but
not an everlasting punish-MENT.
Read 2 THES 1:9. It's very clear there: instead of using the term
"everlasting punishment," it says "everlasting destruction."
Read Jude 7. It says that "Sodom and Gomorrha... are set forth an example...
of eternal fire." ( Remember the old testament literally pictures on a
local scale what the new testament symbolically pictures will happen on a
global scale.... )
Are these two cities still burning? NO.
2 Peter 2:6 says that Sodom and Gomorrah turned into ashes, as an examples of
what will befall the wicked. And Malachi 4:1,3 says HELL "shall burn as an
oven," that the wicked shall be stubble, they shall be burned up, and the
wicked will be "ashes under the soles of your feet."
Total and complete destruction awaits those who go into the fires of hell.
So! What about the word "FOREVER" in the Bible? ..let's see what "forever"
means.