Not sure which Bible you're reading...
“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
Revelation 20:10 KJV
BUT, if you turned out to be correct. I'm not upset at all that everyone in hell/LoF, including the devil, ceased to exist. This is not something I'm adamant about.
I read the same Bible as you Floss but I also study it. That means I study a subject from all over the Bible from the Old to the New Testament to understand it completely. Here is something that will help you understand what
"forever" and
"everlasting" mean and how they are used in the Bible. Hopefully this will lead you to study the subject further.
"But the Bible speaks of the wicked being tormented "forever," doesn't it?
The term forever is used 56 times in the King James Bible in connection with things that have already ended. It is like the word
“tall,” which means something different in describing men, trees, or mountains. In
Jonah 2:6,
“forever” means
“three days and nights.” In
Deuteronomy 23:3, it means 10 generations. In the case of mankind, it means
“as long as he lives” or
“until death.” (See
1 Samuel 1:22, 28; Exodus 21:6; Psalm 48:14.) So the wicked will burn in the fire as long as they live, or until death. This fiery punishment for sin will vary according to the degree of sins for each individual, but after the punishment, the fire will go out. The unbiblical teaching of eternal torment has done more to drive people to atheism than any other invention of the devil. It is slander upon the loving character of a gracious heavenly Father and has done untold harm to the Christian cause."
"Matthew 25:41 speaks of “everlasting fire” for the wicked. Does it go out?
Yes. According to the Bible, it does. We must let the Bible explain itself. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with everlasting, or eternal, fire (
Jude 1:7), and that fire turned them
“into ashes” as a warning to
“those who afterward would live ungodly” (
2 Peter 2:6). These cities are not burning today. The fire went out after everything was burned up. Likewise, everlasting fire will go out after it has turned the wicked to ashes (
Malachi 4:3). The effects of the fire are everlasting, but not the burning itself."
I also want you to think about this too. If God was going to punish the unrighteous including Satan forever and ever wouldn't that mean they too will live forever? I want you to show me from scripture where it says the unrighteous will live forever?
The Bible says:
“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (
Romans 6:23).
“Sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (
James 1:15).
“God … gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (
John 3:16).
So the wages for (or the result of) sin is death, not everlasting life in hellfire. The wicked
“perish,” or receive
“death.” The righteous receive
“everlasting life.”
Its bad enough that God is going to destroy the unrighteous who He loves because they made choices not to follow Him and because sin has got come to an end eventually. The act of destroying the unrighteous in hellfire is so foreign to God’s nature that the Bible calls it His
“strange act” (
Isaiah 28:21). Yet you want to believe that a kind and loving God would torment the wicked day and night forever?
You have gravely misunderstood God if you think He can do such a horrible thing. God would never do that and He won't.
We read the same Bible yet your God is so cruel and heartless. How can you continue to believe in Him if He is capable of tormenting anyone forever and ever? I wouldn't, but thankfully that is not the God of the Bible. Just punishing the wicked in hellfire and them dying eternally will be so painful for God especially after He gave everything when He sent His Son to die for all our sins.