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RE: Im damned, I just know im damned.
Well, in that case, I'd suggest you use whatever time you have remaining to begin preparing yourself for the worst when you cross over to the other side. I'd also suggest that you find lots of interesting and stimulating things to do while you can.
I've been active on internet message boards for maybe twelve years now beginning with Excite and Lycos, and eventually spreading out to Yahoo, then to Beliefnet, BibleForums, CrossWalk, and ChristianForums and it's been my experience that most people, including professing Xians, haven't really given the Bible's hell much thought.
I just wish there were tour buses to the Bible's hell so people could see what's in store for them down there; and not only the degree of suffering that people can expect in the next life, but also Hell's impact upon the human mind.
There are people languishing in the Bible's hell this very moment, even as you read this, who have been there not only since the time of Christ, but since the Flood. I won't speculate on how many years that might be, but Egypt's first pyramid, the Step Pyramid of Djoser, was about 4,600 years ago. The damned from Djoser's era have not only spent 4,600 years in the Bible's hell already, but they have another 4,600 yet to go, and another 4,600 years to go after that. Even after existing in the Bible's hell for 100 million years, people will still have that many more years out ahead of them.
To put those 100m-year increments in perspective, if they were miles, they'd stretch out to the Sun with enough left over to make fifteen round trips to the Moon.
People in Hell go year, after year, after year, after year, with no vacations, no recreation, no reading materials, and no hobbies there's absolutely nothing to do but reminisce and writhe in fire. The mental atrophy, and the boredom that must result from that kind of mindless existence is beyond estimation.
In life, everybody enjoys God's blessings; even the really bad people. We're all breathing fresh air, basking in sunshine, drinking cool water, savoring tasty foods, listening to birds chirp, star gazing at night, throwing snow balls at each other in winter, river rafting, fishing, snow skiing, tending gardens, pruning shrubs, greeting friends during the holidays, cheering for out favorite team during the World Series of Baseball, spending days with grandkids; and all that sort of thing. In the Bible's hell, there are no blessings of any kind at all: only perpetual sadness, vexation, despair, and want.
And the din: think of the volume of noise down there with all the wailing and sobbing, and the screams, shrieks, howls, yelps, and gnashing teeth. Conditions are really bad, and no one has a good attitude about it; and in that kind of environment, it's reasonable to expect quarrels, and ugly words exchanged between people. (Is there really any good reason to respect your fellow man's civil liberties in the Bible's hell; or to be courteous, kind, forgiving, and patient?) Everyone is sad, blue, and lonely; and after a few years of the conditions I've been describing, I should think most folks break, and go mad from the stress.
Time stands still in the Bible's hell: it's for the now; it's an existence. People who arrived there yesterday didn't begin doing time in stir like convicts serving sentences in prisons expecting to get out some day; nor is Hell a tour of duty like a year in Viet Nam. No, people in the Bible's hell are its perpetual residents.
But just imagine bringing with you a craving for tobacco with none available. Or longing for a cocktail with no liquor in sight. Or a sexual appetite with no way to satisfy it. A desire for music, with no way to produce it. A skill for writing, with no pen and paper. Yearning for a walk out in nature, with no world to do it in.
People in the Bible's hell will never again smell a sea breeze, sit in the shade of a tree, take deep breaths of mountain-fresh air, play at sports, hear a bird chirp, see a sunset, watch a lunar eclipse, jog in the park, strum a guitar, enjoy a Christmas dinner with loved ones; nor gobble barbecued spare ribs and corn on the 4th of July.
Sports and recreation are gone: no more world series, no more super bowl, no more Olympics, no more Las Vegas, no more Indian casinos, no more lottery, no more Lego World, no more Sea World, no more NASCAR, no more golf, no more surfing, et al.
No baths, no showers, no sleep, no TV, no radio, no iPods, no iPhones, no computers, no Twitters, no texting, no FaceBook, no YouTube, no MySpace, no internet, no clean sheets, no breakfast, no lunch, and no dinner. No snacks, no gum, no candy, no flowers, no parks, no rivers, no snow, no seasons, no picnics, no malls, no fast food, no trades, no careers, no trendy fashions, no jewelry, no cosmetics, no concerts, no operas, and no hobbies; absolutely nothing of this world that brings people the pleasures and the satisfactions of just being alive.
No pets are allowed in the Bible's hell and no flowers or vegetation of any kind. The absence of birds, fish, and animals of course precludes the citizens of Hell ever again spending a day at the zoo. The one advantage of the lack of pets and vegetation in Hell is the absence of fleas and allergies. I suppose you could say that's at least one good thing about it. There's a bright side to everything I guess; even to that place.
C.L.I.F.F.
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