Also called the grave and the pit, Hell is a subterranean place, where the soul of a lost person descends at death (e.g., Isaiah 14:15; 38:18; Ezekiel 31:15,16).
Hell is located deep beneath earth’s surface. It is a place of darkness, as darkness itself; a place where the light is as darkness; a place to which are attributed depths, gates, and bars. Hell is a pit of no return; a place of hopelessness, gloom, heat, and fire, in which the dead are gathered together. There is no praise or presence of God in this place, no hope for God’s truth. (References: Job 10:21,22; 17:16; Psalm 88:5,6; Isaiah 14:9; 38:10,18; Luke 16:19–31.)
The Scripture also says of the dead, “the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; …” (Ecclesiastes 9:5,6).
Hell is a place where lost souls are tormented in flames. The word tormented is defined as “pained to extremity; teased; harassed”. Mercy is not granted in this place, as Jesus tells of a man’s request for cooling water being denied. (References: Job 7:9; Luke 16:19–31.)
Hell is not the final abode of suffering. Sometime after the Lord’s 1,000-year earthly reign, every lost soul will be resurrected out of Hell, judged by an enthroned God, and then, in a body that cannot die, be cast into the Lake of Fire (see, Revelation 14:9–11; 20:7–15).
Reference:
Webster, Noah, and Rosalie J. Slater. “Tormented.” Noah Webster’s First Edition of an American Dictionary of the English Language, Foundation for American Christian Education, 2009.