Why does hell exist?

zoidar

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Absolutely. My fear is people living where they can't learn about Christianity gooing to hell.

I fear also for Christians who believe in Jesus but don't follow him as lord. Anyhow, we don't know how God will deal with those who never heard about Jesus. Neither do we know how God will handle unborn babies or children too young to understand the gospel. But we have to trust in His love. He knows and He won't be unjust.

What we can do is live for Christ and pray for the world. Doing this we do our part to make this place here better but also make the feast in heaven even greater.
 
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Tyler52

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God is a loving God, but because he is also a good God he must also be a just God. Hell (and after hell, Gehenna) is were those who break the law must go, for God to be a just God. Due to the fact that he is also a loving God, he sent his son to die for all of our sins, so all who accept the sacrifice can be forgiven. However, if you reject the sacrifice, you have to go to hell, because you said, "no", to God's mercy.
 
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Dave L

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I believe we need to ask why God created? Paul said “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,” (Ephesians 3:9–10)

So I don't think having people freely choosing to love him is the reason. Paul also says; “What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,” (Romans 9:22–23)

So he glorifies himself through mercy and wrath which involves many of his attributes that would otherwise be unknown apart from sin. Sin is a backdrop that shows his mercy, wrath, goodness, sovereignty, love, righteousness and other attributes.

“everyone who belongs to me, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed—yes, whom I made!” (Isaiah 43:7)
 
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ICONO'CLAST

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In the VERY end ... God will destroy all the wicked etc (including satan and his minions) by fire and burn up the earth with it .... totally destroying sin for eternity.

The saved are in heaven and do not experience this destruction and they will inherit a new perfect earth with no sin, no death, no sorrow and God will live with His people here on the new earth & heavens He creates.

Our loving God does not torture people for eternity! Your mom is correct.
You and her mother are mistaken


23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

The wicked will experience conscious eternal torment;
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
 
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ICONO'CLAST

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ChristianForCats,

God is the Creator of all things.
Yes He is

He loves everything He created, according to Genesis 1
.
Where does it say this in Genesis 1?

But God hates Satan and demons and does not want anyone to live in the lake of fire that He created
.
Where does it say such a thing? it does not. We cannot make up our own version of scripture.

I don't get it. My mom said a loving God would not create hell because He does not want people to suffer eternally, so she does not believe it exists. Why isn't this true?

Your Mother has no right to add or take away from scripture.
 
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martymonster

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Why did God create? Answer this and you know why he created hell.

It just seems a little strange, that a God who claims to be love, would create people for the sole purpose of them suffering for eternity.
 
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Anguspure

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Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
…..According to three irrefutable Jewish sources; the Jewish Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Judaica and the Talmud, quoted below, among the Jews in Israel before and during the time of Jesus there was a belief in a place of everlasting torment of the wicked and they called it both sheol and gehinnom.
…..Clarification: There were different groups within Judaism; Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes etc. and there were different beliefs about resurrection, hell etc. That there were other beliefs does not rebut, refute, change or disprove anything in this post.

Jewish Encyclopedia, Gehenna
The place where children were sacrificed to the god Moloch … in the "valley of the son of Hinnom," to the south of Jerusalem (Josh. xv. 8, passim; II Kings xxiii. 10; Jer. ii. 23; vii. 31-32; xix. 6, 13-14). … the valley was deemed to be accursed, and "Gehenna" therefore soon became a figurative equivalent for "hell." Hell, like paradise, was created by God (Sotah 22a);
[Note, this is according to the ancient Jews, long before the Christian era, NOT supposed bias of Christian translators. DA]
(I)n general …sinners go to hell immediately after their death. The famous teacher Johanan b. Zakkai wept before his death because he did not know whether he would go to paradise or to hell (Ber. 28b). The pious go to paradise, and sinners to hell(B.M. 83b).
But as regards the heretics, etc., and Jeroboam, Nebat's son, hell shall pass away, but they shall not pass away" (R. H. 17a; comp. Shab. 33b). All that descend into Gehenna shall come up again, with the exception of three classes of men: those who have committed adultery, or shamed their neighbors, or vilified them (B. M. 58b).[/i]
… heretics and the Roman oppressors go to Gehenna, and the same fate awaits the Persians, the oppressors of the Babylonian Jews (Ber. 8b). When Nebuchadnezzar descended into hell, [ שׁאול /Sheol]] all its inhabitants were afraid that he was coming to rule over them (Shab. 149a; comp. Isa. xiv. 9-10). The Book of Enoch [x. 6, xci. 9, etal] also says that it is chiefly the heathen who are to be cast into the fiery pool on the Day of Judgment (x. 6, xci. 9, et al). "The Lord, the Almighty, will punish them on the Day of Judgment by putting fire and worms into their flesh, so that they cry out with pain unto all eternity" (Judith xvi. 17). The sinners in Gehenna will be filled with pain when God puts back the souls into the dead bodies on the Day of Judgment, according toIsa. xxxiii. 11 (Sanh. 108b).

Link: Jewish Encyclopedia Online
Note, scripture references are highlighted in blue.
= = = = = = = = =
Encyclopedia Judaica:
Gehinnom (Heb. גֵּי בֶן־הִנֹּם, גֵּי בְנֵי הִנֹּם, גֵּיא בֶן־הִנֹּם, גֵּיא הִנֹּם; Gr. Γέεννα; "Valley of Ben-Hinnom, Valley of [the Son (s) of] Hinnom," Gehenna), a valley south of Jerusalem on one of the borders between the territories of Judah and Benjamin, between the Valley of *Rephaim and *En-Rogel (Josh. 15:8; 18:16). It is identified with Wadi er-Rababi.

…..During the time of the Monarchy, Gehinnom, at a place called Topheth, was the site of a cult which involved the burning of children (II Kings 23:10; Jer. 7:31; 32:35 et al.;). Jeremiah repeatedly condemned this cult and predicted that on its account Topheth and the Valley of the Son of Hinnom would be called the Valley of the "Slaughter" (Jer. 19:5–6).
In Judaism the name Gehinnom is generally used as an appellation of the place of torment reserved for the wicked after death. The New Testament used the Greek form Gehenna in the same sense.
Gehinnom
= = = = = = = = =
Talmud -Tractate Rosh Hashanah Chapter 1.
The school of Hillel says: . . . but as for Minim, [followers of Jesus] informers and disbelievers, who deny the Torah, or Resurrection, or separate themselves from the congregation, or who inspire their fellowmen with dread of them, or who sin and cause others to sin, as did Jeroboam the son of Nebat and his followers, they all descend to Gehenna, and are judged there from generation to generation, as it is said [Isa. lxvi. 24]: "And they shall go forth and look upon the carcases of the men who have transgressed against Me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched." Even when Gehenna will be destroyed, they will not be consumed, as it is written[Psalms, xlix. 15]: "And their forms wasteth away in the nether world," which the sages comment upon to mean that their forms shall endure even when the grave is no more. Concerning them Hannah says [I Sam. ii. 10]: "The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces."
Link: Tract Rosh Hashana: Chapter I.
When Jesus taught about e.g.,
• “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” Matthew 25:41
• "these shall go away into eternal punishment, Matthew 25:46"
• "the fire of hell where the fire is not quenched and the worm does not die, Mark 9:43-48"
• "cast into a fiery furnace where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth,” Matthew 13:42, Matthew 13:50
• “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:6
• “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:23
• “woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. ” Matthew 26:24
• “But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.” Luke 10:12
These teachings tacitly reaffirmed and sanctioned a then existing significant Jewish view of eternal hell, outlined above. In Matt. 18:6, 26:24 and Luk 10:12, see above, Jesus teaches that there is a punishment worse than death or nonexistence. A punishment worse than death without mercy is also mentioned in Hebrews 10:28-31.
Heb 10:28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Jesus is quoted as using the word death 17 times in the gospels, if He wanted to say eternal death in Matt 25:46, that is what He would have said but He didn’t, He said “eternal punishment.” The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, they knew that everybody died; rich, poor, young, old, good, bad, men, women, children, infants and knew that it had nothing to do with punishment and was permanent. When Jesus taught “eternal punishment” they would not have understood it as merely death, it would have meant something worse to them.
…..Concerning “punishment” one early church father wrote,

“‘Then these reap no advantage from their punishment, as it seems: moreover, I would say that they are not punished unless they are conscious of the punishment.” Justin Martyr [A.D. 110-165.] Dialogue with Trypho Chapter 4
…..Jesus undoubtedly knew what the Jews, believed about hell. If the Jews were wrong, why would Jesus teach “eternal punishment,” etc. to Jews who believed, "The Lord, the Almighty, will punish them on the Day of Judgment by putting fire and worms into their flesh, so that they cry out with pain unto all eternity," which only reinforced those beliefs.

Death is an eternal punishment whether we are conscious in it or not.
What advantage is to be reaped from being conscious of eternal punishment? God is not seeking revenge, nor is He seeking to educate.
Rather He seeks to rid the world of sin and all who choose identify with it, and that for the benefit of His perfect creation and His children who will live with in it.
 
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Dave L

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It just seems a little strange, that a God who claims to be love, would create people for the sole purpose of them suffering for eternity.
Without sin and eternal suffering there is no such thing as mercy. Or without hate, there is no such thing as grace. No sin, = no concept of righteousness, or justice..... God created all for his glory. But since we want to sin, we incur the guilt and punishment.
 
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Monksailor

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The essence of Love Demands Justice. Love and Justice are not separate things. If someone wrongfully hurts someone you love very much, what do you want for them???
As you probably already heard, Yes, God loves all of humanity, but He hates evil because of all of the hurtful and fatal things it does to His creation, us. We are NOT just automatically saved; we must each individually exercise faith in Jesus and what He did to redeem us from hell, acknowledge our despicable situation and repent. Those who do NOT only have their own righteousness to claim before our perfect and HOLY God, Who will not tolerate unrighteousness/evil, and ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Ro 3:23), and all of our righteousness is as filthy rags (connotation was rags used to absorb and hold menstrual bleeding in a day before disposables or washing machines-Dr. Chuck Swindoll-"Insight for Living") before God (Isa64:6.) Pride is the root of most, if not all evil, including rejecting Christ's atonement for our sin.This why God the Father HATES pride. Pride is the author of our damnation through Adam and Eve and the most useful tool of satan. It is God's prerogative to do whatever He pleases but it makes sense that He would punish that which has separated us from Him and which has cased so much pain and misery and death for those He loves.
 
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renniks

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God is the Creator of all things. He loves everything He created, according to Genesis 1. But God hates Satan and demons and does not want anyone to live in the lake of fire that He created. I don't get it. My mom said a loving God would not create hell because He does not want people to suffer eternally, so she does not believe it exists. Why isn't this true?
Here's one thought that I don't often see expressed: Would you be ok with an unrepentant Hitler or an unrepentant Charles Manson being in the same room eternally as the people they brought suffering and death to? How would that be a just God? Now, I know, most of us aren't Hitlers, but God looks at the heart and the intentions, not just our actions. An unrepentant person would not want heaven, because heaven is God's presence, and for someone who has never humbled himself, I believe God's presence burns instead of comforts. So, really His only choice is to cast them out. And into a place where his presence is absent, which by definition is a place of great suffering, because all that is good is removed.
 
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zoidar

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Without sin and eternal suffering there is no such thing as mercy. Or without hate, there is no such thing as grace. No sin, = no concept of righteousness, or justice..... God created all for his glory. But since we want to sin, we incur the guilt and punishment.

So in heaven before the rebellion there were no mercy, no grace, no justice, no concept of righteousness?
 
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Dave L

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So in heaven before the rebellion there were no mercy, no grace, no justice, no concept of righteousness?
How does a creature observe God's attributes without something to compare them to?
 
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RickardoHolmes

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I do not believe in Hell. At least not as a literal place, or as an eternal punishment for simply being human

It is preposterous to believe that a perfect, loving God would create humans with flaws and then blame humans for God's own Error. It would be equally illogical for an all-knowing God to create humans knowing that they were ultimately going to fail and turn away from Him.

As such humans are destined to failure. If that is the mythology of the creation and eternal punishment were true. Which they are not.

Hell then can be used as a concept for the absence of Love or the absence of all good things which of course come to us through the Spirit of God and the Christ consciousness. Anyone who does not have the love of Christ in their life could be said to be living in Hell already.

OF course there are Biblical references to the wicked who abide in Gahanna, a place where Wicked Kings of Judah would sacrifice children through burning. Certainly such an event would in my opinion be a very hellish place and something which defines evil.

But the concept of Hell really didn't kick in until the Early Middle Ages when the Catholic church in Europe needed a little more motivation to goad people into conversion. IT was easy at the time for the church to spread this concept to ignorant and fearful people.

But today we don't live with ignorance and fear. We live with light love and knowledge. Our knowledge of our world in our universe has taken us to the depths of the ocean and out of our own solar system. We are able to now see the far edges of our universe. And to me the most exciting thing is not what we've learned but we have yet to learn. We live and learn with the light of Christ witch calls and elevates us to a higher or peaceful and more joyful level of existence. And we live Our Lives In Love With Love Of Christ through us. This is what we call the Christ Consciousness where we allow Christ to live within us work through us not just on Sunday mornings but all the time all day everyday, and all that we do we allow the light and the life in the love of Christ to show through us. With such, no hell has a chance to exist.
 
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