“I don’t believe hell is a literal burning place. I think it is the total opposite of Heaven. It’s the eternal separation from God and is the destruction of the soul.”
Revelations I believe your basing this thought on, where the angel talking to John says that the lake of fire is the second (permanent) death. That is my belief also. You cease to exist, a horrible and unfathomable thought.
If one ceased to exist, how would it be known?
That’s my belief. Everlasting destruction instead of everlasting punishment.
But if you cease to exist, is there any eternity for you? I think it would be worse to exist forever, always apart from God with no way to redeem yourself.