The doctrine of unrepentant sinners burning in Hell forever can be traced to Greek and possibly Egyptian mythology. Ever burning Hell was the reward of misbehaving Egyptian, Roman, and Greek gods. How did this horrifying doctrine of eternal torture in an ever burning hell take hold in the universal church?
Rome was consolidating its power over its empire, and inculcated Pagan doctrines in order to secure cooperation of citizens that were Pagan, into the emperor's new religion, which was, a combination of true Christianity and Paganism. Early Catholic Church fathers, possibly, beginning with Tertillian,(A.D. 165 to 225A.D.) used the idea of an ever burning hell to try to instill fear in order to illicit obedience among their congregants.
In the 14th century (circa 1308 to 1321) ever burning hell, as a concept was further advanced by Dante Alighieri, in his Divine Comedy. Dante attempts to meld the ideas of Christianity, the Catholic Church and Paganism into a single set of after- life thoughts.
Ideas of our God torturing people for all eternity do not fit at all with His divine character. It is not Biblical. Romans 13:10 states that those who choose to reject God's way of life will die. Malachi 4:1 also tells us that the wicked will be destroyed. "For behold the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up, 'says the Lord of hosts, 'that will leave them neither root nor branch.'" Malachi 4:3 the ultimate fate of the wicked is to become ASHES.
Our God is a God of love and mercy. However, He is also a God of justice. He could not allow unrepentant sinners and those who hate Him to continue to exist. It would not be just. He would have to rid the world of them because of all the trouble and death that they have caused and would continue to cause, if left alone. It would be unjust, for the deaths of millions of God's people, who have suffered so terribly throughout the centuries to go unpaid.
God will have unrepentant sinners and God haters cast into the lake of fire and burned up. Matthew 10:28 proclaims, "And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell." Hating God would necessarily cause these people to be miserable and deeply unhappy. It would be unfair to allow them to continue so for their own good and the good of the new world (Rev. 21:1) that will be established, they will be ended. They will not be tortured forever. God's Kingdom will be a place of tremendous joy and happiness, free from the evil that has plagued humanity for eons. As Psalm 19-9 tells us. "The judgments of God are true and righteous altogether."
