So if we try to understand Scripture from a traditional sense the Bible doesn't exactly make sense. So in order to understand Scripture accurately we have to allow the Scripture itself to interpret Scripture, rather than traditional religious beliefs.
For The Hebrew text we have three locations mentioned, Sheol, Theum and Hinnom. In the Greek we know these places as Hades, Abysson and Gehenna. As for the English we call these places The Grave, The Abyss and The Lake or Fire.
Hell on the other hand is not found in true Scripture, it is a word that showed up in 725AD which came from the Proto-Germanic "haljō" the understanding of this word comes from Norse mythology (Not The Bible) it is described as a residences for the dead, not a place of torture. The torture idea itself came from Dante's Inferno around the 1300s.
As for actual places we find in The Bible, we shall turn to Scripture to understand them.
Sheol (The Grave) according to Ecclesiastes 9:10 is a place where "there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom" now each one of these things lacking in Sheol are meant to be understood from a human perspective. Activity here is a deed, a thing done, an act "to do something" Movement if you will. Planning is to think, to account (Thoughts) Knowledge here is defined as Perception "the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses." And lastly Wisdom the discernment between Good And Evil, are ability to Judge.
Sheol (The Grave) robs human beings of their ability to Move, Think, See, Hear, Understand etc: The Grave according to Scripture is to simply be Physically Dead. The Grave is literally The Grave.
Theum (The Abyss) or Abysson is place in Scripture described as a Prison for heavenly beings i.e Morning Stars, Sons of God, Demons and even Cherubim. Our first introduction to this place is found in Genesis 1.2 "And The Earth She Became Chaos, Vacancy and Darkness over The Surface of The Abyss (Theum)" from what we see in The Bible is that in the Prison context this place is always in correlation to the Sea, The Ocean, A Lake etc:. Tartarus is only used once in the New Testament 2 Peter 2:4 and is not a correct word to use, so we'll use Abysson instead. We could just make this easy with the definition that Theum is "deep, depths, deep places, abyss, the deep, Sea" but who is to say that Theum and Tartarus and Abysson are even the same places?
Luke 8:30-31 "And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss (Abysson) is this in correlation to the Sea, Ocean or Lake? Luke 8:33 "And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned."
We find the same place in Revelation when Satan is being thrown into The Abyss where he is held under chains, and of course we see the same thing in Jude 1:6 "And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day"
Under these words do we find any understanding of pain or torment? None at all, only a prison for those awaiting judgement.
And last on our list is Hinnom, Gehenna or The Lake of Fire. According to Matthew 10:28 The Lake of Fire is something God uses to Destroy both Body and Soul. Pretty simple stuff, until we ask the question what does God mean by "Destroy"? Typically with the idea of torment and pain being thrown out we would imagine that destroying is to wipe one from existence, which is possible. But it might be asked "wait a minute, doesn't Revelation 20:10 say they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."? In the English yes, but not in The Greek.
The word that is horribly translate "Torment" is the Greek word Strong's G928 - basanizō which is a touchstone "which is a black siliceous stone used to test the purity of gold or silver by the colour of the streak produced on it by rubbing it with either metal" the imagery the Greek writers were trying to use was that of testing, not torment. And the sulfur imagery here is used to describe gold with corruptions being purified. (That's what Sulfur is used for here)
So is destroying Body and Soul meant to be understood as purifying it? Does One Destroy his enemy when making him into a friend? Possibly so. Which would explain why Romans 8:19-22 says that the whole creation is waiting for the sons of God to be revealed so that they too can share in freedom from its slavery to corruption which they did not subject themselves to. How Mark 9:49 tells us that everyone will be salted with fire. That "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" and what are we told in Philippians 2? That "every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord."
So it is possible that God purifies everyone in the end, or maybe we should understand Destroy from a traditional view. Which ever it is, we know with Faith That God will make the right decision, because He is Righteous.
