"These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power."
— 2 Thessalonians 1:9 (NASB95)

No biblical doctrine is more sobering, and none rests more directly on the recorded words of Jesus — who spoke of hell more than any other person in Scripture, and always as a warning, never as a relish. Precision requires sorting the vocabulary English Bibles have sometimes flattened into one word: שְׁאוֹל (sheʾôl, Strong's H7585) — the Old Testament realm of the dead generally; ᾅδης (hadēs, G86) — its Greek counterpart, the intermediate abode of the unrighteous dead; γέεννα (gehenna, G1067) — Jesus' word for final hell; ταρταρόω (tartaroō, G5020, 2 Peter 2:4) — the confinement of sinning angels; and the λίμνη τοῦ πυρός ("lake of fire," Revelation 20:14–15) — the final state, into which even Hades is thrown. This study works through the defining passages, states the alternative views fairly, and ends where Jesus aimed the doctrine: escape.