There is a book available on Amazon entitled, "Eternal Torment - Image and Reality". I know the author well. The author goes through the entire Bible looking for eternal torment and here is his summary:
IN
PART I OF OUR STUDY WE PROBED FOR ETERNAL TORMENT BY SIFTING THROUGH
THE DUST AND ASHES OF:
A.
Sheol (Old Testament)
- We found no hard evidence for ongoing torment
in any of the 65 Sheol passages.
B.
Hades (New Testament)
-
We examined all 11 "Hades" passages, 10 of which gave
no support for the idea of torment of any duration. Although
we found one dramatic passage of scripture (Luke 16:19-31) that
spoke very clearly of extreme pain and anguish after death, no
clarification was made of the duration of that pain.
In addition there was powerful evidence within the
text itself that suggested the entire account did not
represent historical narration.
C.
Gehenna (New Testament)
-
We looked at all 12 passages that used the term Gehenna.
Although we didn't find any synonyms for pain or torment in any of the passages, we did find some rather perplexing imagery including; Everlasting Fire, Gehenna Fire, Unquenchable Fire and Undying Worms. However, all of these images, if interpreted in the light of other scriptural passages, can be readily explained without reference to ongoing suffering of any kind.
IN
PART II OF OUR STUDY WE PROBED FOR ETERNAL TORMENT BY SIFTING THROUGH
THE FIRE AND FLAME OF:
D.
Old Testament Eschatology
The
predominant punishment imagery of the Old Testament is unquestionably that of destruction. Endless torment of immortal souls is simply not found in the Hebrew scriptures.
E.
The Gospels
We
found considerable "weeping and gnashing" imagery in the exclusion parables of the gospel, which would be expected of the condemned as they are faced with rejection
at Christ's coming. Nonetheless, the duration of
that weeping and gnashing is consistently absent. Matthew
25, the parable of the sheep and the goats, speaks
of eternal fire and eternal punishment. However, this
language, by itself, does not designate the nature of
that punishment. In order to prove eternal torment from
this passage it would first be necessary to smuggle the
word "conscious" into the text.
F.
Acts and the Epistles
Destruction, rather than torment imagery, is rampant in
the Epistles. Certainly, as would be expected, God's
wrath will not spare the wicked vexation and distress
on the day of judgment, but again, endless duration
of such distress is simply not found.
G.
Revelation
There
is one explicit reference to eternal torment in Revelation
20:10 which is applied to the unholy trinity of
devil, beast and false prophet. However, the literal nature
of this torment becomes suspect as we consider the
verse itself, the surrounding scriptures, as well as
similar judgment imagery in the Old Testament.