To hear some folks talk, one would think that I am committing a terrible sin by not believing that hell lasts forever.
I don't think that it is a terrible sin to embrace a minority interpretation of a subject like Hell. Many beloved Christians in antiquity believed in Apocatastasis, a form of universalism. Others believed in a conditional immortality that favored Annihilationism. I believe that Christianity is a strong enough faith to embrace different interpretations of various topics, this being one of them.
Personally, I believe in eternal torment. However, I don't see it as many do. I believe that much of what is written about "Hell" is symbolic, metaphor, or simply the best our human language can present. I believe that the "lake of fire and brimstone" is as symbolic as the "tree of life". Jesus is truly the "tree of life". He is also the "river of life". And... I believe that He is also the "lake of fire".
In Revelation 14:10 we read...
Revelation 14:10 King James Version (KJV)
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Notice that this speaks of the wicked being tormented "in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb". They are not annihilated. They are not cast away into some alternate dimension or spiritual plane. Their "lake of fire" is right there before the throne where even the saints are said to cast down their crowns and worship.
I believe that every soul will be drawn before God. And for the redeemed, this will be a blessed and blissful paradise of existence. However, for the wicked and unredeemed, being in the very presence of God will be a fiery torment. Imagine a church service. Two people can go to the same church service, hear the same music, listen to the same sermon, and see the same preacher... and yet one will say they were deeply blessed by the service while the other was provoked to hostility, anger, rage, and indignation. I see Heaven like this. For the wicked, Heaven is Hell. Being forced to submit to and honor the very God they despised, cursed, blasphemed, and whose authority they resisted will be mental and emotional torment that will never cease. The more God's love and grace is displayed before them, the hotter those "fires" of torment will burn. The more God reaches for them, the greater their rejection will be. They have made their own Hell. And it is within them. It is a state of being more than it is a "place" as we understand it in the natural.
That's what I believe about Hell. And, most will probably say that it isn't a traditional position. But it is how I see it as I read and study the Scriptures.
There are those who believe that Hell (whatever it is) is only temporary. A punishment to cleanse or to correct the souls of the unredeemed. They believe that Hell is "eternal" as it relates to its nature, not its duration.
Honestly, I hope and pray that their universalist interpretation is right. Because I certainly don't want to see anyone suffer torments for all eternity.
All we can do is admit that there is an element of mystery to all of this and interpret the Scriptures as best as we can through prayer and deep reflection in the Spirit. Ultimately, what God has determined to be will be. Whatever "Hell" is, it is God's creation. And we can rest assured that whatever God has determined as being necessary is indeed necessary. To God be all honor, glory, and power.
God bless.