In the teachings of Jesus, hell is the place reserved for those who have rejected God and the wicked. The idea of eternal punishment does not sit well with many modern theologians, including evangelical ones, and there is increasingly a more vocal chorus calling for hell to be understood as 'total annihilation' instead, though the latter is difficult to square with Scripture.
Further Reading & Resources:
The History of Hell. A Brief Survey and Resource Guide, Christian History, 2011.
Pdf N 5-6 (Open on Phone)
☰ David Brattston, "Hades, Hell and Purgatory in Ante-Nicene Christianity," Churchman 108.1 (Spring 1994): 69-79.
☰ Gerald Bray, "Hell: Eternal Punishment or Total Annihilation?" Evangel 10:2 (1992): 19-24.
☰ Hans Scharen, "Gehenna in the Synoptics, Part 1," Bibliotheca Sacra 149 (Jul-Sept 1992): 304-15. 
☰ Hans Scharen, "Gehenna in the Synoptics, Part 2," Bibliotheca Sacra 149 (Oct 1992): 454-70.
☰ Stephen N. Williams, "The Question of Hell and Salvation: Is There a Fourth View?" Tyndale Bulletin 57.2 (2006) 263-283. 
☰ Douglas C. Spanner, "Is Hell for Ever?" Churchman 110.2 (Summer 1996): 107-120.
©ALBERITH
u271020lch