User blog comment:A.J AL/Season six plot hole./@comment-1509826-20121215181853/@comment-166.137.119.25-20121216020241

General, I think the implication was that that was the number of souls standing in line in hell. The number of souls to have ever gone to hell would then be higher. You are right that all those souls could not have gone to hell in the short time since Crowleys reign began. My only response would be that they were souls that had been in hell for some time and had not yet been turned into demons.

But I think this is all moot now since I now believe that the souls in heaven were more accessible to Castiel and were more numerous. I dont think it would have been beneath Castiel for him to use them. Remember how he saved the titanic in order to produce more souls for him to use.