[Politicalkiddo]

“In certain schools of Christian thought, hell is not everlasting, but a more painful form of purgatory.”

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41

[Genoa]

eternal fire

A lot hinges on getting behind the Hebraic concept of an olam, Greek aion. The word translated "everlasting" or "eternal" is aionios. An aion is an age or an epoch, and the adjective can be considered "age-long" or "age-abiding." The noted scholar of New Testament Greek, the late Nigel Turner, Ph.D, says: “It would be imprecise to translate aionios as ‘eternal.’ It means ‘belonging to the future age or dispensation’” (Christian Words, T & T Clark, 1980, pp. 452, 455, 456).

[cuban leaf]

Yep. The fire is eternal. But ONLY the fire is described as eternal. The fate of those thrown into it is that they are burned up. The fire is all consuming. If those thrown into it are not consumed, the fire is not all consuming.