Pilgrim 33 said:
It's interesting that all pagan religions had a place of punishment. But not the Jews, though there were Pagan influences. And not the Christians, which, also, sustained Pagan influences.
True, the early Hebrew culture had no developed idea of a place of eternal punishemnt, but they DID very much hold to an idea of the ressurrection from the dead, and eternal life. The Christians on the other hand did hold to a place of eternal punishment and suffering, as well as to a bodily ressurrection to new life eternal, be it in Heaven or Hell.
Pilgrim 33 said:
We must also keep in mind words frequently have more than one meaning in the Bible just as with languages today, and often not the same words and more words and definitions vary from, say, the English, then there is an array of figures of speech, customs, traditions, etc to take into account.
Pilgrim 33 said:
itmt, the word "hell' dates to sometime around the 1500's somewhere around just prior to King James's movie and kinda in keeping with Shakespearean lingo. How "the grave" (most places where the KJV uses the word "hell" it means "grave" or, "the pit", which seems to be a collective for all graves) got turned into a place of eternal torment, one theory is the early Christian (Catholic) fiction writers were trying to describe what a life without Christ would be like and crippled by a lack of Bible understanding (no available Written Word, common and uneducated misunderstandings, etc). I would add to that the early Catholic Church appears to have used it as a means for additionally ensuring its continued financial existence by coupling it with selling indulgences, etc.
I agree with you that in many older languages, and even in some modern ones, that WHICH words were used can at times be as important for interpretation as WHAT those words said, one leads to the other. However, this goes to the heart of what you were saying. There are really 3 words translated as HELL - one is 'SHEOL' - this does mean grave in some instances. It is a Hebrew word and derived from a root meaning "to ask" or "demand" it conveys an idea of insatiableness. But, where it is used, the description is often much more than simply a grave. It is described as deep, with bars, the dead going down into it. It is rendered as "grave" 31 times in the OT and is used 65. KJV generally renders it 'hell'. Is is also described as the 'abode of the dead', and the home of the wicked.
In the NT however, there are 2 words used which are both translated 'hell'. The first is 'hades'. If you've ever studied Greek Mythology, you will know that hades was the realm of the dead. It was a prison, a realm of the wicked, and a place that was most times, unescapable. It is described as having gates and bars, with locks. And it is 'down' also. It carries much the same scope as the word sheol in hebrew. In hades, the righteous and unrighteous are separated, from one another, the righteous going on to 'paradise'.
The other word in the NT translated as 'hell' is Gehenna. It designates the place of the lost, and the fearful nature of their eternal existence there.
in general, sheol and hades are simply impling the idea of the grave, without and notion of happiess or misery. Hades is used 11 times in the NT and only once is it translated a grave, though. Furthermore, in some instances, it is described as a place of torment. and biblical scholars tend to think that is is an intermediary place between death and ressurrection at the final judgement much as "abraham's bosom" is describe as. Gehenna on the other hand in a place of eteranl fire and torment. Gehenna is the word most oft used in the NT to describe the place of future torment or punishemnt.
Pilgrim 33 said:
As to the New Jerusalem question, we have something else to bear in mind. There are a lot of promises, prophecies, blessings and curses in the Bible. Most of them are for the Jews. Prooftexting Scripture is a mistake made by far too many Christians. In the process, the Christians "steal" all of the good stuff meant for the Jews and kindly leave all the curses for Israel and the Christians, by and large, end up one really confused bunch when it comes to promises, prophecy, end times, judgment, etc. The New Jerusalem is a Jewish issue (as is the book of Revelation), it is not Christian. Jews are God's promised earthly people to rule the Nations saved at the Judgment of Nations and in the new earth from NJ with The Messiah as their king Israel will rule those nations on the new earth.
First, I'm not ceratin what you mean by the judgement of the nations. If you are referring to the Final, Great White Throne Judgement at the end of time, then all mankind will be there, Jew, Christain, Hindu, Muslim, Buddist, etc. Not just the Jews.
Second, I don't recall anything in Eschatology teaching that the Jews will reign with a 'king Isreal' on the new earth.

Although there will be a new heaven and a new earth
Finally, The book of Revelation was written not to Jews, but to the Christian Church - read the introduction chapters of it for proof of this - and much of the promises and blessings, curses and punishments originally set out in the OT for the Jews, still bear meaning for the Chirstian today.
Pilgrim 33 said:
otoh, Christians are God's promised heavenly people that lived by faith. Christians are promised to be "where" Jesus is and Jesus is in the Father and The Father in The Son and the Christians in the Son and The Holy Spirit in the Christians and in the New Jersualem there is no Temple for The Almighty and The Son ARE The Temple.
Pilgrim 33 said:
As for this, it sounds much like a gnostic doctrine of dualism, although you haven't yet said that it's okay for us to to as we please since only the soul lives forever. As for Jesus and the Father being one, this refers not to phsical placement, but to relational positioning, as it does with believers and
christ, and the HS. The FAther and the Lamb (Jesus) are referred to as the temple in the New Jerusalem, but The New Jerusalem is on the New Earth, not in the New Heaven. It would be impossible for Believers to dwell with Godas the fianl verses of Revelation say we will, if we are in heaven and He is on Earth. The Revealtion clearly says that those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life will be the only ones to enter the temple in the New Jerusalem.
Pilgrim 33 said:
The Truth of God, the freely offered gift of living forever, is perverted in The Lie by Satan to deceive mankind they can do it all on their own over time by evolving from primordial slime (dust) into a lot of little gods. It's not hard to see How The Truth has been perverted into The Lie.
Pilgrim 33 said:
Take the second most powerful being in Creation (Satan). Add man, to whom God has promised (how) much (?). Satan, understandably, is a little more than perturbed at the thought that mere mortal man, living only by faith having never seen, is promised far greater than even he once possessed and we can understand why Christians are so hated by the devil and his minions and children.
As for this, I would agree Satan is against Christians, but he is also against all of mankind, because we are God's creation, dearly loved.
Satan also is NOT, and never has been the second most powerful being in creation. He is a created being and has NO power according to the Bible.