Conditional Immortality Supports Annihilationion, Refutes Eternal Conscious Torment and Universalism

[ClementofA]

When speaking about inanimate objects like a wineskin or coins, it can indeed simply mean “ruined” or “lost”, but not when speaking about what happens to people, and especially not when speaking about what one person does to another person.

Actually the word (Strongs # 622) is applied to the prodigal son who was dead and "lost"[622] in Luke 15:32. Which shows there is salvation to those after they have been apollumi. Likewise the lost coin and sheep parables spoken of earlier in the chapter are applied by Jesus to human beings who are "lost" but thereafter repent and are saved.
They speak of seeking these lost "until he find it".

Another word translated as "destruction" is applied to people. God, through the apostle Paul, gives people over to Satan for destruction for the purpose of their salvation (1 Corinthians 5:4-5).

Scholar's Corner: The Center for Bible studies in Christian Universalism

 

[ClementofA]

You are correct, the Lake of Fire is temporal, only God, heaven, the angels and our salvation is eternal.

The LOF is second death. When that death is abolished (1 Cor.15:26) then God will become "All in all" (v.28) including everyone who was ever in Adam (v.22), i.e. universal salvation.

Eventually God will be making all new (Rev.21:5) & will be "in all" (1 Cor.15:28).

And every creature which is in the heaven and upon the earth and under the earth, and those that are upon the sea, and all things in them, heard I saying, To him that sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb, blessing, and honour, and glory, and might, into the ages of ages.(Rev.5:13)


As in Adam all die

 

[SkyWriting]

The doctrine of physical resurrection from Hades unto embodied life has been an essential of orthodox Christianity from the beginning...

"The beginning" starts the moment I see it written in scripture.
You may be discussing somebody else's journey, but I don't know them.

 

[Dirk1540]

According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Judaica and the Talmud, among the Jews in Israel before and during the time of Jesus was a belief in a place of everlasting torment of the wicked and they called it both sheol and gehinnom/Gehenna.

Jewish Encyclopedia, Gehenna
The place where children were sacrificed to the god Moloch … in the "valley of the son of Hinnom," to the south of Jerusalem (Josh. xv. 8, passim; II Kings xxiii. 10; Jer. ii. 23; vii. 31-32; xix. 6, 13-14). … the valley was deemed to be accursed, and "Gehenna" therefore soon became a figurative equivalent for "hell." Hell, like paradise, was created by God (Sotah 22a);​

The traditional explanation that a burning rubbish heap in the Valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem gave rise to the idea of a fiery Gehenna of judgment is attributed to Rabbi David Kimhi's commentary on Psalm 27:13 (ca. A.D. 1200). He maintained that in this loathsome valley fires were kept burning perpetually to consume the filth and cadavers thrown into it. However, Strack and Billerbeck state that there is neither archaeological nor literary evidence in support of this claim, in either the earlier intertestamental or the later rabbinic sources

One is Matthew 10:28, in which Jesus exhorts his followers not to fear men, who can kill the body but not the soul, but rather to fear God, who can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna.

Can I please get some clarification on what Gehenna is? So it's a myth? I was under the impression that in the time of Jesus Gehenna was a putrid place where crucified bodies were thrown into, a common grave. That's a myth, it didn't really exist? Some guy in 1200 AD made it up? I'm not really understanding the connection to the OT Valley of Hinnom. If they are talking about the Valley of Hinnom why not just say Valley of Hinnom?? So Gehenna was never anything at all?

 

[ClementofA]

I see support for annihilationism all throughout the Bible. Here is just a sample:

NIV Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."

I have no idea where this verse says anyone will get endless annihilation.

NIV Psalm 37:10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.

And yet a little, and the wicked is not, And thou hast considered his place, and it is not. (YLT)

"shall not be—literally, "is not"—is not to be found."

"Shall not be, to wit, in the land of the living. He shall be dead and gone, as this phrase is commonly taken."

It was not true that in a "little while" the wicked would be endlessly annihilated. In much longer than "a little while", in fact thousands of years later for those of that time, they will be raised back to life.

NIV Isaiah 66:24 "And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."

NIV Malachi 4:3 Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act," says the LORD Almighty.

NIV Revelation 20:14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

NIV 2 Peter 2:6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;

Burned up/ashes does not necessarily equate to being endlessly annihilated out of existence. People are cremated, i.e. burned up, every day. Guess what? Everyone of them will be resurrected back to life. They can only be dead until death is abolished (1 Cor.15:26) & God becomes "all in all" of everyone who was in Adam (v.22).

NIV John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

NIV Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus Himself spoke of aionios life in the aion to come (Lk.18:30; Mk.10:30), thus limiting it, whereas Scripture speaks of multiple aions/eons/ages to come (Eph.2:7, Rev.11:15, etc). In Ephesians 1 & 2 Paul the former Pharisee spoke of both the coming age (Eph.1:21) and multiple future ages (2:7).

It is immortality that gives believers endless life, not obtaining life aionion in a future aion/age, e.g. the millennial age kingdom of Christ that last 1000 years.

From a review of a book by Ilaria Ramelli, namely The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis: A Critical Assessment from the New Testament to Eriugena (Brill, 2013. 890 pp):

"...in a passage in Origen in which he speaks of “life after aionios life” (160). As a native speaker of Greek he does not see a contradiction in such phrasing; that is because aionios life does not mean “unending, eternal life,” but rather “life of the next age.”
http://journalofanalytictheology.com/jat/index.php/jat/article/viewFile/jat.2015-3.181913130418a/271

Similarly, in support of the above, Daniel 12:2-3:

The context supports the view that both the life & the punishment referred to in v.2 are of finite duration (OLAM), while v.3 speaks of those who will be for OLAM "and further".

2 From those sleeping in the soil of the ground many shall awake, these to eonian life
and these to reproach for eonian repulsion." 3 The intelligent shall warn as the warning
of the atmosphere, and those justifying many are as the stars for the eon and further."
(Dan.12:2-3, CLV)

The Hebrew word for eonian (v.2) & eon (v.3) above is OLAM which is used of limited durations in the OT. In verse 3 of Daniel 12 are the words "OLAM and further" showing an example of its finite duration in the very next words after Daniel 12:2. Thus, in context, the OLAM occurences in v.2 should both be understood as being of finite duration.

The early church accepted the following Greek OT translation of the Hebrew OT of Daniel 12:3:

καὶ οἱ συνιέντες ἐκλάμψουσιν ὡς ἡ λαμπρότης τοῦ στερεώματος καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν δικαίων τῶν πολλῶν ὡς οἱ ἀστέρες εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας καὶ ἔτι[and further]

Notice the words at the end saying KAI ETI, meaning "and further" or "and still" or "and yet" & other synonyms.

eti: "still, yet...Definition: (a) of time: still, yet, even now, (b) of degree: even, further, more, in addition." Strong's Greek: 2089. ἔτι (eti) -- still, yet

εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας καὶ ἔτι means "into the ages and further" as a translation of the Hebrew L'OLAM WA ED[5703, AD]

So this early church Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures agrees with the above translation (& those below) using the words "and further" & similarly.

3 and·the·ones-being-intelligent they-shall- warn as·warning-of the·atmosphere
and·ones-leading-to-righteousness-of the·many-ones as·the·stars for·eon and·futurity (Daniel 12:3, Hebrew-English Interlinear)
http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/OTpdf/dan12.pdf

2 and, many of the sleepers in the dusty ground, shall awake,—these, [shall be] to age-abiding life, but, those, to reproach, and age-abiding abhorrence; 3 and, they who make wise, shall shine like the shining of the expanse,—and, they who bring the many to righteousness, like the stars to times age-abiding and beyond. (Daniel 12:2-3, Rotherham)

2 And the multitude of those sleeping in the dust of the ground do awake, some to life age-during, and some to reproaches—to abhorrence age-during.
3 And those teaching do shine as the brightness of the expanse, and those justifying the multitude as stars to the age and for ever*. (Dan. 12:2-3, YLT)
* for "for ever" Young of YLT says substitute "age during" everywhere in Scripture: http://heraldmag.org/olb/Contents/bibles/ylt.pdf

Daniel 12:2-3 was the only Biblical reference to "life OLAM" Jesus listeners had to understand His meaning in John 3:16 & elsewhere.

Verse 3 speaks of those bringing "many" to righteousness. The "many" of verse 2, i.e. universal salvation.

https://www.tentmaker.org/books/hope_beyond_hell.pdf

 

[Mark Corbett]

. . .
Burned up/ashes does not necessarily equate to being endlessly annihilated out of existence. People are cremated, i.e. burned up, every day. Guess what? Everyone of them will be resurrected back to life. They can only be dead until death is abolished (1 Cor.15:26) & God becomes "all in all" of everyone who was in Adam (v.22).
. . .

ClementofA, thanks for taking the time to share a comment with so much detail in it (I only quoted a small portion above). I'm willing to attempt to discuss those details as I have time, but first I have a question. Would you be willing to explain basically what your view is concerning what happens to the unrighteous after they die?

If you believe everyone eventually is saved, can you briefly sketch when and how this might happen? What happens in between the time someone dies not believing in Christ and the time when they are saved and welcomed joyfully into God's presence?

Sometimes people ask questions for rhetorical effect (I do this sometimes), but these are simply honest questions. I want to understand at least the basics of the big picture of your view before I try to interact with the details. I see that you hold to some type of universalism, but there are various types of universalism. Thanks!

 

[Adstar]

The word "forever" doesn't always mean without end. How long was Jonah in the belly of the fish? According to the Bible, it was three days and nights (Jonah 1:7). Yet Jonah used the word "forever" in describing what he had experienced (2:6). And how about Sodom, it is said that it suffered the punishment of eternal fire (Jude 1:7). Do you still see it burning today?

Words can have different meanings depending on the context in which they are used.

What proof do you have to show that John's usage of the word "forever" in Rev. 20:10, means eternal torment / suffering without end?

You must think i do not have a Bible??

Adstar, thanks so much for asking about the passages in the book of Revelation. These passages were initially the most difficult for me to fit into a Conditionalist understanding of the Bible. That drove me to a long, in depth study of the book of Revelation. I feel that I now have a much better understanding of how the visions in Revelation fit into the rest of the Bible's teaching on Conditional Immortality/Annihilationism.

Because interpreting Revelation is complex (for any issue, not just annihilationism), I've started a new thread focused on this. I think you'll find a fairly detailed answer to your comments there. The new thread is here:

What is the 2nd Death?

Feel free to either read it and come back here to discuss it, or to discuss it there. I have a slight personal preference to discuss the specific role of the book of Revelation in the new thread linked to above, but either way is fine with me. Grace and Peace, Mark

I wasn't asking anything.. I was telling the truth of the reality of the Eternal torment that people shall suffer in the eternal lake of fire.... And i totally reject your second death interpretation also..

 

[Mark Corbett]

There's plenty of people in evangelical churches motivated to be there by fear if spending eternity in hell. I should know, I was raised evangelical

I caught up on all (or at least most) of what you and others discussed while I was sleeping. I notice that you discussed with a couple of others the impact that eternal conscious torment and/or annihilationism might have on church attendance.

I was glad to see that, as far as I can tell, you and the others agreed that we must base our beliefs and teachings on the Bible whether or not a particular teaching appears to help church attendance. For example, I'm convinced that the Bible teaches that premarital sex is wrong (I wrote a blog post on that topic which you may find here). I also happen to know that premarital sex is popular these days. But, even if it could be proven that my teaching that premarital sex is wrong would harm attendance at my church (I don't think it does, but even IF it did), I would still teach that it is wrong. I trust God's truth. I fear God. I think you do, too.

Nevertheless, I do not think it is wrong to discuss what impacts and effects a doctrine may have on people and on the church. We need to do this humbly, as it involves a certain amount of speculation.

I believe that if more Christians believed what I'm convinced to be the truth about Conditional Immortality and Annihilationism it would likely have the following positive effects:

1. We would be more effective at winning some atheists and agnostics because they often mention the perceived gross injustice of eternal conscious torment as one of the reasons they reject Biblical Christianity.

2. Less Christians would fall into errors of theological liberalism and theological postmodernism. Both these groups also have often passionately appealed to what they believe to be the terrible doctrine of eternal conscious torment as a reason to reject theologically conservative evangelical Christianity in favor of other options.

3. More Christians would have a more consistent view of God's good character. One analogy I have heard is this. Imagine you hired a baby sitter and went out for the evening. You warned your children that if they did not behave they would be punished. You had in mind a reasonable type of punishment, like taking away certain privileges for a time. However, after you left, the baby sitter told your kids that if they did not listen you would burn them with hot knives. If any of your kids believed that, it would harm their view of you. In a similar way, I believe that many truly good Christians are unintentionally harming people's view of God by teaching eternal conscious torment.

These are just the beginning of good effects which may occur as the doctrine of Conditional Immortality spreads. I pray that God will indeed bring much good fruit as more and more Christians appear to be finding the truth of Conditional Immortality as taught in the Bible.

 

[Mark Corbett]

I wasn't asking anything.. I was telling the truth of the reality of the Eternal torment that people shall suffer in the eternal lake of fire.... And i totally reject your second death interpretation also..

Ok. Why do you totally reject my interpretation of the second death?

 

[Der Alte]

Can I please get some clarification on what Gehenna is? So it's a myth? I was under the impression that in the time of Jesus Gehenna was a putrid place where crucified bodies were thrown into, a common grave. That's a myth, it didn't really exist? Some guy in 1200 AD made it up? I'm not really understanding the connection to the OT Valley of Hinnom. If they are talking about the Valley of Hinnom why not just say Valley of Hinnom?? So Gehenna was never anything at all?

I thought I explained that in my post. There is literally a valley near Jerusalem it was the place where children were sacrificed to the god Moloch. It was called the "valley of the sons of Hinnom," or "valley of Hinnom" which is Ge Hinnom. "Ge" means valley in Hebrew, Gehenna in Greek. It is south of Jerusalem see Joshua 15:8, 2 Kings 23:10, Jeremiah 2:23, 7:31-32, 19:6, 13-14. The Jews considered the valley to be accursed. So "Gehenna" soon became the name for what Christians call "Hell." Yes some monk in 1200 decided that Gehenna in the NT referred to the valley near Jerusalem and he concocted the idea that the valley had been used for a dump where trash, bodies etc. were burned. So for about 2000 years +/- many Christians have been wrongly taught and believe that "Gehenna" in the NT refers to the valley rather than a place of fiery punishment as the Jews believed.

 

[he-man]

According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Judaica and the Talmud, among the Jews in Israel before and during the time of Jesus was a belief in a place of everlasting torment of the wicked and they called it both sheol and gehinnom/Gehenna.

Link:Jewish Encyclopedia Online[/QuOTE] H7703 shadad BDB defination:ruin, destroy, devastateNiphal: to be utterly ruinedPoel: to vioently destroy, a primative root!
​

 

[he-man]

H7703 shadad BDB Defnation: run, destroy, devastate,Niphal: to be utterly ruined, Piel: to violently destroy, a priaitive root; BDB

 

[ToBeLoved]

This is easily harmonized with the Scriptural teaching of universalism, the salvation of all:

"So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth." (Gen.6:13)

The "end" of all people was "destruction" by God. This already happened. Yet they are not annihilated forever. And they will be resurrected. Their "end" was only a temporary end or result or outcome. Not final destiny.

Likewise with Phil.3:19.

The earth was destroyed not endlessly annihilated.

Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; 10 that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil.2:9-11)

Hebrews speaks of those who reject Christ as deserving a "sorer" punishment than death by Moses' law, i.e. stoning:

10:28 A man that hath set at nought Moses' law dieth without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses: 29 of how much sorer punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Stoning to death is not a very sore or longlasting punishment. People suffered far worse deaths via the torture methods of the Medieval Inquisitionists and the German Nazis under Hitler.

Therefore, if the writer of Hebrews believed the wicked would be punished with something so monstrous as being endlessly annihilated or tormented, he would not have chosen to compare their punishment to something so lame as being stoned to death. Clearly he did not believe Love Omnipotent is an unfeeling terminator machine or sadist who abandons forever the beings He created in His own image & likeness so easily.

Rom 5:18 Consequently, then, as it was through one offense for all mankind for condemnation, thus also it is through one just act for all mankind for life's justifying."

Rom 5:19 For even as, through the disobedience of the one man, the many were constituted sinners, thus also, through the obedience of the One, the many shall be constituted just."

https://www.tentmaker.org/books/hope_beyond_hell.pdf

Can you explain how this supports universalism?

 

[Der Alte]

Begin qoute

Paul, thanks your gracious words and thanks for bringing up that verse. For anyone else reading, the verse Paul is referring to is this one:
Mark 9:47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where "'the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.'
This verse is often used to support eternal conscious torment. But, what many people do not realize is that Jesus is quoting from the last verse in Isaiah, which reads:
NIV Isaiah 66:24 "And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."
We can see from Isaiah, that the fire that is not quenched and the worms that do not die are being using to dispose of dead bodies, not to torment living people.
And this makes a lot of sense. All over the world there are two methods by which the vast majority of dead bodies are disposed of. They are either burned to ashes or turned to dust by worms.​

End.

Why would Jesus warn people about something which could not affect them in any way? A dead person cannot know, or be concerned about, what happens to their remains or how long the fire burns or the worms live. When Jesus quoted Isaiah 66:24 how did His Jewish audience understand that? Here is what many believed.

"the heathen who are to be cast into the fiery pool on the Day of Judgment Enoch x. 6, xci. 9, et al. "The Lord, the Almighty, will punish them on the Day of Judgment by putting fire and worms into their flesh, so that they cry out with pain unto all eternity"Judith xvi. 17. The sinners in Gehenna will be filled with pain when God puts back the souls into the dead bodies on the Day of Judgment, according to,Isa. xxxiii. 11
Link:Jewish Encyclopedia Online​

 

[stuart lawrence]

I caught up on all (or at least most) of what you and others discussed while I was sleeping. I notice that you discussed with a couple of others the impact that eternal conscious torment and/or annihilationism might have on church attendance.

I was glad to see that, as far as I can tell, you and the others agreed that we must base our beliefs and teachings on the Bible whether or not a particular teaching appears to help church attendance. For example, I'm convinced that the Bible teaches that premarital sex is wrong (I wrote a blog post on that topic which you may find here). I also happen to know that premarital sex is popular these days. But, even if it could be proven that my teaching that premarital sex is wrong would harm attendance at my church (I don't think it does, but even IF it did), I would still teach that it is wrong. I trust God's truth. I fear God. I think you do, too.

Nevertheless, I do not think it is wrong to discuss what impacts and effects a doctrine may have on people and on the church. We need to do this humbly, as it involves a certain amount of speculation.

I believe that if more Christians believed what I'm convinced to be the truth about Conditional Immortality and Annihilationism it would likely have the following positive effects:

1. We would be more effective at winning some atheists and agnostics because they often mention the perceived gross injustice of eternal conscious torment as one of the reasons they reject Biblical Christianity.

2. Less Christians would fall into errors of theological liberalism and theological postmodernism. Both these groups also have often passionately appealed to what they believe to be the terrible doctrine of eternal conscious torment as a reason to reject theologically conservative evangelical Christianity in favor of other options.

3. More Christians would have a more consistent view of God's good character. One analogy I have heard is this. Imagine you hired a baby sitter and went out for the evening. You warned your children that if they did not behave they would be punished. You had in mind a reasonable type of punishment, like taking away certain privileges for a time. However, after you left, the baby sitter told your kids that if they did not listen you would burn them with hot knives. If any of your kids believed that, it would harm their view of you. In a similar way, I believe that many truly good Christians are unintentionally harming people's view of God by teaching eternal conscious torment.

These are just the beginning of good effects which may occur as the doctrine of Conditional Immortality spreads. I pray that God will indeed bring much good fruit as more and more Christians appear to be finding the truth of Conditional Immortality as taught in the Bible.

I'm afraid you cannot reasonably compare teaching against premarital sex and teaching your view of annihalation.
Pre marital sex is sin! There can be no doubt about that.
Concerning your view of God being a sadistic and cruel.God if people exist for eternity in hell. I have already many times addressed that rather distorted view.
As to which view on this subject is correct. I do have very plain scripture, that has been put to others. As you haven't addressed it i won't here.

However, everyone joins theological debates with their preconceived beliefs and leaves with them. There is a comfort, solace in the Individuals belief they have the correct doctrine and will not allow it to be threatened. This is especially true concerning those who believe they are ministers and come to teach. Admitting to error would be Impossible. so no matter what plain scripture you place before people, it must always be rejected.
What is my conclusion? Just enjoy theological debate without expecting anyone to change their minds

 

[Dartman]

I agree. We can debate without poking each other's eyes out. We can break bread and disagree.

I do see a potential issue with evangelism. The plain Big Bold Red Letters of Christ in Matthew 25 plainly use eternal for Life with Christ and eternal for punishment after judgment.

In my opinion (again my opinion) for a post-modern Western secular society, annihilation after a brief punishment is an alluring proposition.

The problem with this statement is, annihilation IS an eternal punishment.

 

[Dartman]

I'm afraid you cannot reasonably compare teaching against premarital sex and teaching your view of annihalation.
Pre marital sex is sin! There can be no doubt about that.
Concerning your view of God being a sadistic and cruel.God if people exist for eternity in hell. I have already many times addressed that rather distorted view.
As to which view on this subject is correct. I do have very plain scripture, you have scripture that can endlessly be debated.
The Bible very clearly and plainly states while people dwell in the new Jerusalem, others are outside of the city.

No it doesn't. The bible plainly states, sinners are WITHOUT that city!
Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

This clearly and plainly states that they are left out. And, the Bible student has already been told HOW they are left out;

Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

 

[stuart lawrence]

No it doesn't. The bible plainly states, sinners are WITHOUT that city!
Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

This clearly and plainly states that they are left out. And, the Bible student has already been told HOW they are left out;

Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Of course you can't accept what the Bible plainly states for the reasons previously given

 

[he-man]

According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Judaica and the Talmud, among the Jews in Israel before and during the time of Jesus was a belief in a place of everlasting torment of the wicked and they called it both sheol and gehinnom/Gehenna.

Jewish Encyclopedia, Gehenna
The place where children were sacrificed to the god Moloch … in the "valley of the son of Hinnom," to the south of Jerusalem (Josh. xv. 8, passim; II Kings xxiii. 10; Jer. ii. 23; vii. 31-32; xix. 6, 13-14). … the valley was deemed to be accursed, and "Gehenna" therefore soon became a figurative equivalent for "hell." Hell, like paradise, was created by God (Sotah 22a);​

Note, this is according to the ancient Jews, long before the Christian era, NOT any supposed bias of Christian translators.

(I)n general …sinners go to hell immediately after their death. The famous teacher Johanan b. Zakkai wept before his death because he did not know whether he would go to paradise or to hell (Ber. 28b). The pious go to paradise, and sinners to hell (B.M. 83b).
But as regards the heretics, etc., and Jeroboam, Nebat's son, hell shall pass away, but they shall not pass away" (R. H. 17a; comp. Shab. 33b). All that descend into Gehenna shall come up again, with the exception of three classes of men: those who have committed adultery, or shamed their neighbors, or vilified them (B. M. 58b).[/i]
… heretics and the Roman oppressors go to Gehenna, and the same fate awaits the Persians, the oppressors of the Babylonian Jews (Ber. 8b). When Nebuchadnezzar descended into hell, [ שׁאול /Sheol]] all its inhabitants were afraid that he was coming to rule over them (Shab. 149a; comp. Isa. xiv. 9-10). The Book of Enoch also says that it is chiefly the heathen who are to be cast into the fiery pool on the Day of Judgment (x. 6, xci. 9, et al). "The Lord, the Almighty, will punish them on the Day of Judgment by putting fire and worms into their flesh, so that they cry out with pain unto all eternity" (Judith xvi. 17). The sinners in Gehenna will be filled with pain when God puts back the souls into the dead bodies on the Day of Judgment, according to Isa. xxxiii. 11 (Sanh. 108b).

Link:Jewish Encyclopedia Online
Encyclopedia Judaica:
Gehinnom (Heb. גֵּי בֶן־הִנֹּם, גֵּי בְנֵי הִנֹּם, גֵּיא בֶן־הִנֹּם, גֵּיא הִנֹּם; Gr. Γέεννα; "Valley of Ben-Hinnom, Valley of [the Son (s) of] Hinnom," Gehenna), a valley south of Jerusalem on one of the borders between the territories of Judah and Benjamin, between the Valley of *Rephaim and *En-Rogel (Josh. 15:8; 18:16). It is identified with Wadi er-Rababi.

During the time of the Monarchy, Gehinnom, at a place called Topheth, was the site of a cult which involved the burning of children (II Kings 23:10; Jer. 7:31; 32:35 et al.; see *Moloch). Jeremiah repeatedly condemned this cult and predicted that on its account Topheth and the Valley of the Son of Hinnom would be called the Valley of the "Slaughter" (Jer. 19:5–6).
In Judaism the name Gehinnom is generally used as an appellation of the place of torment reserved for the wicked after death. The New Testament used the Greek form Gehenna in the same sense.
Gehinnom
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Talmud -Tractate Rosh Hashanah Chapter 1.
The school of Hillel says: . . . but as for Minim, [follower of Jesus] informers and disbelievers, who deny the Torah, or Resurrection, or separate themselves from the congregation, or who inspire their fellowmen with dread of them, or who sin and cause others to sin, as did Jeroboam the son of Nebat and his followers, they all descend to Gehenna, and are judged there from generation to generation, as it is said [Isa. lxvi. 24]: "And they shall go forth and look upon the carcases of the men who have transgressed against Me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched." Even when Gehenna will be destroyed, they will not be consumed, as it is written [Psalms, xlix. 15]: "And their forms wasteth away in the nether world," which the sages comment upon to mean that their forms shall endure even when the grave is no more. Concerning them Hannah says [I Sam. ii. 10]: "The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces."
Link:Tract Rosh Hashana: Chapter I. ​

When Jesus taught about,

• “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” Matthew 25:41
• "these shall go away into eternal punishment, Matthew 25:46"
• "the fire of hell where the fire is not quenched and the worm does not die, Mark 9:43-48"
• "cast into a fiery furnace where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth,” Matthew 13:42, Matthew 13:50
• “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:6
• “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:23
• “woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. ” Matthew 26:24​

These teachings mirrored what many Jews believed and tacitly reaffirmed and sanctioned the existing Jewish view of eternal hell. In Matt. 18:6, 26:24, see above, Jesus teaches that there is a fate worse than death or nonexistence. A fate worse than death is also mentioned in Hebrews 10:28-31.

Heb 10:28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.​

Jesus is quoted as using the word death 17 times in the gospels, if He wanted to say eternal death in Matt 25:46, that is what He would have said but He didn’t, He said “eternal punishment.” The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, they knew that everybody died; rich, poor, young, old, good, bad, men, women, children, infants and knew that it had nothing to do with punishment and was permanent. When Jesus taught “eternal punishment” they would not have understood it as death, it would have meant something worse to them.
…..Jesus knew what the Jews, believed about hell. If the Jews were wrong, when Jesus taught about man’s eternal fate, such as eternal punishment, He would have corrected them. Jesus did not correct them, thus their teaching on hell must have been correct.
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The traditional explanation that a burning rubbish heap in the Valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem gave rise to the idea of a fiery Gehenna of judgment is attributed to Rabbi David Kimhi's commentary on Psalm 27:13 (ca. A.D. 1200). He maintained that in this loathsome valley fires were kept burning perpetually to consume the filth and cadavers thrown into it. However, Strack and Billerbeck state that there is neither archaeological nor literary evidence in support of this claim, in either the earlier intertestamental or the later rabbinic sources (Hermann L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud and Midrasch, 5 vols. [Munich: Beck, 1922-56], 4:2:1030). Also a more recent author holds a similar view (Lloyd R. Bailey, "Gehenna: The Topography of Hell," Biblical Archeologist 49 [1986]: 189.
Source, Bibliotheca Sacra / July–September 1992
Scharen: Gehenna in the Synoptics Pt. 1​

Note there is no “archaeological nor literary evidence in support of this claim, [that Gehenna was ever used as a garbage dump] in either the earlier intertestamental or the later rabbinic sources” If Gehenna was ever used as a garbage dump there should be broken pottery, tools, utensils, bones, etc. but there is no such evidence.

“Gehenna is presented as diametrically opposed to ‘life’: it is better to enter life than to go to Gehenna. . .It is common practice, both in scholarly and less technical works, to associate the description of Gehenna with the supposedly contemporary garbage dump in the valley of Hinnom. This association often leads scholars to emphasize the destructive aspects of the judgment here depicted: fire burns until the object is completely consumed. Two particular problems may be noted in connection with this approach. First, there is no convincing evidence in the primary sources for the existence of a fiery rubbish dump in this location (in any case, a thorough investigation would be appreciated). Secondly, the significant background to this passage more probably lies in Jesus’ allusion to Isaiah 66:24.”
(“The Duration of Divine Judgment in the New Testament” in The Reader Must Understand edited by K. Brower and M. W. Ellion, p. 223, emphasis mine)
G. R. Beasley-Murray in Jesus and the Kingdom of God:
“Ge-Hinnom (Aramaic Ge-hinnam, hence the Greek Geenna), ‘The Valley of Hinnom,’ lay south of Jerusalem, immediately outside its walls. The notion, still referred to by some commentators, that the city’s rubbish was burned in this valley, has no further basis than a statement by the Jewish scholar Kimchi (sic) made about A.D. 1200; it is not attested in any ancient source.” (p. 376n.92)
The Burning Garbage Dump of Gehenna is a myth - Archaeology, Biblical History & Textual Criticism ​

from A Greek English Lexicon by Arndt and Gingrich annihilation Esp. of eternal destruction as punishment for the wicked see Rom 14:15 of eternal death see )Herm. Wr, 4,7) Mt 10:28; Esp. of eternal death Ps. 9:6; Is. 41:11; perish forever Ro. 2:12; G622 from G575 and base of G3639 to destroy fully, perish,G575 departure, cessation and 2 Th. 1:9, Mt. 7:13; Ro. 316; G3639 ολλυμι a primary word (to destroy) that is destruction; G684 Απολλυον Destroyer; 1 Co. 10:10 destroyed by the annihilator [ABP]

 

[Dartman]

Paul, thanks your gracious words and thanks for bringing up that verse. For anyone else reading, the verse Paul is referring to is this one:
Mark 9:47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where "'the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.'
This verse is often used to support eternal conscious torment. But, what many people do not realize is that Jesus is quoting from the last verse in Isaiah, which reads:
NIV Isaiah 66:24 "And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."
We can see from Isaiah, that the fire that is not quenched and the worms that do not die are being using to dispose of dead bodies, not to torment living people.
And this makes a lot of sense. All over the world there are two methods by which the vast majority of dead bodies are disposed of. They are either burned to ashes or turned to dust by worms.​

Why would Jesus warn people about something which could not affect them in any way? A dead person cannot know, or be concerned about, what happens to their remains or how long the fire burns or the worms live.

For the exact same reason people respond with fear when this reality is explained to them now. They fear ceasing to exist.
The TRUTH that this will result in them returning to the dust, or being worm food, or being ashes, which BECOMES dust/worm food, is merely an accurate depiction of the reality of death, it is the knowledge that they will cease to exist, by burning to death, that causes the fear.
When I remind people of the SOURCE for their notion of NON conditional immortality, (which is Satan's original lie; "thou shalt NOT surely die")... they stubbornly cling to the belief any way!!

When Jesus quoted Isaiah 66:24 how did His Jewish audience understand that?

That depends. There were SEVERAL different sets of belief regarding death in Israel when Jesus quoted Isaiah. Those that had swallowed the Greek philosophical influences around them, didn't even believe in resurrection! Those that had stayed true to the OT teachings, understood his quote exactly like I do.

Here is what many believed.

"the heathen who are to be cast into the fiery pool on the Day of Judgment Enoch x. 6, xci. 9, et al. "The Lord, the Almighty, will punish them on the Day of Judgment by putting fire and worms into their flesh, so that they cry out with pain unto all eternity"Judith xvi. 17. The sinners in Gehenna will be filled with pain when God puts back the souls into the dead bodies on the Day of Judgment, according to,Isa. xxxiii. 11
Link:Jewish Encyclopedia Online​

No, that's merely what SOME Jews TODAY believe.