Hell's Population Clock

[WebersHome]

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The kingdom of God is a controversial topic that I prefer not to discuss on this thread; or any other thread for that matter. However I don't mind suggesting that the kingdom isn't strictly limited to a particular venue.

For example: Christ's followers are in the kingdom regardless of where they happen to be stationed at any given moment; whether on Earth, down inside the Earth, up in Heaven, or flying around the world in the international space station.

● Col 1:12 . . He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.

In other words; for now at least, the kingdom is best thought of as a sphere rather than a venue, but in the end it will encompass everything in existence.

● 1Cor 15:26-28 . . . He has put everything under his feet. Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.

● Phil 2:9-11 . . God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,087 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 66,023,510 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since June 19, 2017.
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● Matt 5:8 . . Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

A rough-hewn definition of "pure in heart" is when someone is the same on the inside as they are on the outside; which is just the opposite of dissembling; defined as: to put on a false appearance, i.e. conceal facts, intentions, or feelings under some pretense.

Dissembling is a very common form of dishonesty which is practiced by just about everybody at one time or another. Most of us do not always want others to know what we are actually thinking and/or feeling about certain things. The very opposite of that is transparency, which most of us want from others, but prefer not to reciprocate with transparency of our own.

Here's a really good example of someone pure in heart.

"When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." (John 1:47)

Jesus was pure in heart too.

"No deceit was found in his mouth." (1Pet 2:22)

I think we may safely assume there are no exceptions to the sixth beatitude, i.e. no one is exempt; in other words: sincerity and forthrightness aren't optional with God; they're a must.

"Who may ascend into the hill of The Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has . . . a pure heart . . . he shall receive a blessing from The Lord." (Ps 24:3-5)

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,095 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 66,499,350 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since June 19, 2017.
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I obtain quite a bit of useful information from YouTube; for example how to replace a microwave oven's motor, resolve a computer issue, and/or adjust an electric guitar's intonation.

I also tour the world with YouTube, visiting amazing man-made wonders and natural wonders too. I will likely never travel and get to see those wonders for myself as they really are before I'm dead; but out ahead is coming a one-thousand year era on Earth wherein I've no doubt there will be plenty of opportunity to see everything in the next life that I missed in this one.

● Rev 20:6 . . Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

I suspect that God is keeping a massive, fully comprehensive library that can satisfy all my curiosity-- an archive of information far exceeding the contents of the great library of Alexandria. For example: how did the ancient Egyptians build the pyramids? How did the people of Easter Island move those massive stone heads into position? Is there an end to space; and if so, what's on the other side? Things like that; but also nature's secrets too. How did nature fashion those remarkable rock formations in Utah? Or carve out the Grand Canyon?

There are many mysteries like those that I sincerely hope to find answers to some day. But people in hell won't be allowed access to God's library. They will never get answers to their deepest questions about the cosmos; nor be allowed to travel to all the exotic places on Earth that they missed in this life before passing on to the next.

Another benefit to the coming era is safety. I will have nothing to fear from the animal kingdom like I do now, and plus; those of us who make the cut will be immortal; so we won't fear heights, nor speed, nor any other risk. I love to explore, but don't like to explore places that might cost me my life, lose an eye, or put me in a wheel chair. Well; in the future, I'll be able to explore every corner of the globe to my heart's content in perfect safety and thoroughly enjoy myself without worrying about hazards associated with the journey like piranha, head hunters, frost bite, hypothermia, violent storms, hijackers, terrorists, bandits, and/or shipwreck.

One thing that prevents many of us from touring the world is old age. Well, diminished capacity will never again be a factor dictating what I can eat and drink, were I can go, nor whether I can make it.

People in hell are not only in terrible discomfort, but they're also missing out on the pleasures of adventure, discovery, and exploration; which are three very stimulating activities that, just about everybody I've ever met would agree, make our existence worthwhile.

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,100 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 66,803,000 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since June 19, 2017.
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The apostle Paul, writing to Christians in the ancient city of Colossi, said:

● Col 3:9-10 . . Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

NOTE: It's interesting that the Colossian believers were lying to each other, and no doubt would have continued had not Paul commanded them to stop it.

Humanity's original self began its created existence in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27). In other words; Adam started off as an honest man. Clearly then; dishonesty does not reflect the image of God, rather, it projects humanity's own image.

Humanity's original self wasn't created bullet-proof, so to speak. It was corruptible (Eph 4:22). Were that not true, we'd all be honest men rather than a pack of liars, deceivers, beguilers, and dissemblers.

The Greek word for "renewed" is anakainoo (an-ak-ahee-no'-o) which means: to renovate; defined by Webster's as: (1) to restore to a former better state (as by cleaning, repairing, or rebuilding), and (2) to restore to life, vigor, or activity, i.e. revive. In other words: regenerate.

That word anakainoo appears in only one other place in the entire New Testament at 2Cor 4:16, which says:

"Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."

Quite a few elderly Christians, with years of life and personal experience under their belts, can attest to the truth of Col 3:10 and 2Cor 4:16

This relates to one of the tragedies of Hell. People down there never gave God an opportunity to overhaul their spiritual condition; so now they're no better as persons in the afterlife than they were in this life. After all is said and done-- the big judgment of Rev 20:11-15 is completed, and the new cosmos of Rev 21:1 is up and running --Christ caps everything by announcing:

● Rev 22:10 . . Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile.

In other words: bad people who end up in the ultimate Hell will remain just as bad there as they were here.

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,111 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 67,471,030 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since June 19, 2017.
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"Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matt 22:36-40)

The Greek verb for "love" in that passage is agapao (ag-ap-ah'-o) which doesn't necessarily imply either affection and/or fondness. It's more about the way we treat our fellow men rather than our personal feelings about them. This is the kind of love that we ought to be extending to everyone-- friend, foe, and stranger alike. It's the very same love that Jesus taught in Matt 5:44 which reads:

"You have heard that it was said: You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies,"

In other words; you don't especially have to like your neighbors and your enemies, but you do have to be courteous, kind, charitable, tolerant, patient, diplomatic, tactful, gentle, reasonable, fair, deferent, cordial, genial, affable, sociable, helpful, thoughtful, sympathetic, considerate, and cooperative, etc. And of course those all apply to the way that people associate with God too because the same Greek verb is used of loving God as loving one's neighbors and enemies.

The above tells me that quite a few people are on the road to Hell simply because their manners are insufferable with both God and Man.

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,119 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 67,956,870 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since June 19, 2017.
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[Shrewd Manager]

In other words; you don't especially have to like your neighbors and your enemies, but you do have to be courteous, kind, charitable, tolerant, patient, diplomatic, tactful, gentle, reasonable, fair, deferent, cordial, genial, affable, sociable, helpful, thoughtful, sympathetic, considerate, and cooperative, etc. And of course those all apply to the way that people associate with God too because the same Greek verb is used of loving God as loving one's neighbors and enemies.

Is it really about how we behave towards others? Isn't it more about deeply desiring that they come to know God and His righteousness?

 

[WebersHome]

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Is it really about how we behave towards others? Isn't it more about deeply desiring that they come to know God and His righteousness?

What does the lord and master of Christianity say in Matt 22:36-40?

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

I'm firmly convinced that relatively large numbers of people are on a road to Hell simply because they're uncivil, viz: they not only aren't nice to their fellow men, but they aren't even nice to God-- they don't care about marginalizing Him, tuning Him out, insulting Him, chafing Him, and/or hurting His feelings. In other words: the most important of all the commandments bounces off their thick skulls like a banana thrown at a Russian tank.
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Abraham's steward, depicted in the twenty-fourth chapter of Genesis, is one of the most pious men in the Bible; you couldn't ask for a better role model when it comes to speaking with God.

All the prayers I learned as a child were rote; just a memorized litany of chant-like mantras. The first time I overheard someone pray candidly-- outspokenly, and conversationally --like that steward, the experience was very moving.

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,138 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 69,110,740 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since June 19, 2017.
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[WebersHome]

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● Matt 19:17 . . And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments

Seeing as none but God are good, then it's obvious that none but God can enter into life by means of goodness. However, if someone would like to give it a try anyway in spite of the fact that failure is a foregone conclusion; then Jesus suggests they begin their quest with the commandments.

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,148 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 69,718,040 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since June 19, 2017.
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[Shrewd Manager]

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,148 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 69,718,040 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since June 19, 2017.

Question: how many by your watch have checked into the Bosom of Abraham since that time?

 

[WebersHome]

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It's not unlikely that all new arrivals in heaven are immediately shuttled off to quarantine in a sort of boot camp where they're indoctrinated with the 100% correct interpretation of the Bible so there'll be no debating with the general population when they get out.

Also, in boot camp, they're schooled in etiquette because people just in from the world can't expect they'll fit right into heaven's peaceful society upon arrival. I'd imagine that those of us who make it to heaven will need some pretty large adjustments made to our manners; most of all, how to keep a genuinely civil tongue in our heads.

"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt." (Col 4:6)

Grace can be defined as kind, courteous, gentle, patient, lenient, inclined to good will, generous, charitable, altruistic, compassionate, sympathetic, thoughtful, cordial, affable, genial, sociable, cheerful, warm, sensitive, hospitable, considerate, and tactful.

I gather from the language and grammar of Matt 5:13, Mark 9:50, and Luke 14:34 that the primary purpose of salt is to enhance flavor and make otherwise naturally insipid and/or bad-tasting things palatable, viz: salt can be thought of as diplomacy; roughly defined as conversation that makes an effort to maintain peace rather than provoke conflict and/or annoy people and make them uncomfortable.

I doubt there's need of a boot camp for new arrivals in Hell as I suspect everyone destined for that place will fit right in down there just as naturally as a bug in a rug.

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,157 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 70,264,610 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since June 19, 2017.
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[Shrewd Manager]

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It's not unlikely that all new arrivals in heaven are immediately shuttled off to quarantine in a sort of boot camp where they're indoctrinated with the 100% correct interpretation of the Bible so there'll be no debating with the general population when they get out.

Also, in boot camp, they're schooled in etiquette because people just in from the world can't expect they'll fit right into heaven's peaceful society upon arrival. I'd imagine that those of us who make it to heaven will need some pretty large adjustments made to our manners; most of all, how to keep a genuinely civil tongue in our heads.

"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt." (Col 4:6)

Grace can be defined as kind, courteous, gentle, patient, lenient, inclined to good will, generous, charitable, altruistic, compassionate, sympathetic, thoughtful, cordial, affable, genial, sociable, cheerful, warm, sensitive, hospitable, considerate, and tactful.

I gather from the language and grammar of Matt 5:13, Mark 9:50, and Luke 14:34 that the primary purpose of salt is to enhance flavor and make otherwise naturally insipid and/or bad-tasting things palatable, viz: salt can be thought of as diplomacy; roughly defined as conversation that makes an effort to maintain peace rather than provoke conflict and/or annoy people and make them uncomfortable.

I doubt there's need of a boot camp for new arrivals in Hell as I suspect everyone destined for that place will fit right in down there just as naturally as a bug in a rug.

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,157 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 70,264,610 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since June 19, 2017.
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Maybe the Lake of Fire is the boot camp for anyone entering heaven - via any sector of Hades. For who in this life truly overcomes? The flesh wars against the spirit and vice versa. Lord have mercy.

 

[Sammy-San]

There's a good reason Christ said it's none of our business...

Whats it to you peter verse.

 

[WebersHome]

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● Rom 8:9-11 . . If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

FAQ: What if someone doesn't have the Spirit of Christ?

A: Then, as the passage says: they do not belong to Christ, i.e. they are not his sheep; ergo: Christ cannot guarantee their safety; they'll have to face the afterlife on their own when they pass on.

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,184 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 71,904,320 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since June 19, 2017.
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Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide,
No escape from reality.

Bohemian Rhapsody
Freddy Mercury
QUEEN, 1975

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,193 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post No.1 are within reason, then something like 72,450,890 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since June 19, 2017.
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• Matt 8:11-12 . . I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Outer darkness is again spoken of in Matt 22:13 and Matt 25:30

It appears, from comparison of the available data, that "outer darkness" isn't a location, rather, a state of mind characterized by the deepest possible feelings of anguish and grief associated with loss.

It's akin to the day that God announced to Moses' people they were going to have to stay in that awful Sinai outback until they were dead. They missed their opportunity to enter the land of milk and honey and there was no way to regain it.

The people must've been pretty upset over that; no doubt they had all been joyfully looking forward to a new life over there; and there was no use in praying about it because God had made up His mind.

I've only experienced deep personal grief associated with irreversible loss but one time; that was when my No.1 nephew passed away suddenly of natural causes at the age of 51. I had held him in my arms upon returning home from three years in the Army when he was only a couple of weeks old.

News of his passing has thus far been the only time in my 76 years that I actually clenched my teeth, sobbing out of control, and choking, while clinging to a handrail in the front room to keep from losing my balance and falling to the floor.

Fortunately my wife was out on an errand at the time or she would've been very frightened as she has never seen me in such a state even once during our nearly 41 years of marriage.

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,208 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post No.1 are within reason, then something like 73,361,840 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since June 19, 2017.
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The criminal records associated with the great white throne event depicted at Rev 20:11-15 likely won't be used only to condemn people's actions, but also to prove that the people themselves are not the kind of folk with whom God prefers to associate.

For example; God isn't comfortable with dishonesty. So if the records show that someone was deceptive and/or told a number lies during their lifetime, then they will be barred from heaven; not only for their dishonesty, but also because they are capable of dishonesty.

• Matt 15:19 . . For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,211 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post No.1 are within reason, then something like 73,544,030 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since June 19, 2017.
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Eddie Van Halen passed away recently. He was a Roman Catholic. It's not easy to get into heaven via that version of Christianity.

Well; if perchance Eddie didn't make the cut (not saying he didn't; only saying "if perchance") then he will never again be allowed to even so much as see a guitar let alone pick one up with his hands.

Can you imagine a talented, pioneering musician like Eddie never again allowed to do the one thing in life that he enjoyed the most? I mean never again like as in permanently.

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,216 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post No.1 are within reason, then something like 73,847,680 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since June 19, 2017.
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FAQ: The New Testament says that the lost will be put to death in a lake of brimstone. (Rev 20:11-15.) If that's so, then why is it commonly believed that they will suffer till time without end? Don't people have to be alive in order to experience suffering?

A: People's body and soul are slated for destruction in hell fire (Matt 10:28) but I have yet to encounter a New Testament passage verifying that people's consciousness will be destroyed.

FAQ: How can people be conscious when they're dead? Isn't death eo ipso a state of unconsciousness?

A: I've been under anesthesia a number of times for surgery; and every time I was totally unaware of anything going on around me and/or done to my body with knives, needles, saws, probes, and tubes. But I have never been dead so I cannot speak from experience about consciousness in that condition. All I know about existence after death is what I read about it in the Bible.

Matt 10:28 speaks of people's body and soul. It says nothing of their third component: spirit (1Thess 5:23). I suspect that the spirit is where human consciousness resides when people pass away.

The story in Luke describes a man existing in a disembodied condition; which strongly suggests that when tourists pass by to view the dead spoken of in Isa 66:22-24 and Mark 9:47-48, their remains will be visible but not the people themselves because they will be disembodied spirits rather than the whole men and women they were before execution in the lake of brimstone depicted at Rev 20:10-15.

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,219 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post No.1 are within reason, then something like 74,029,870 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since June 19, 2017.
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A rich man, in the story located at Luke 16:19-31, passed away and was buried. (Luke 26:22)

Though his corpse lay in repose; the man himself is depicted in the afterlife fully conscious and capable of intelligent thought and conversation; with his memories intact, with eyes that see, a tongue that needs water, a nervous system sensitive to temperature, and an emotional state capable of anxiety.

That all runs counter to passages in the Old Testament that seem to imply that people lose their sentient characteristics when they pass away. How do we deal with this apparent discrepancy between the Old Testament and the New?

Well, first off we need to deal with the fact that:

1» Christ is God's final word to mankind (John 3:31-34 & Heb 1:1-2)

2» He's greater than even Moses (Heb 3:3)

3» He's the incarnated voice of God (John 1:1 & John 1:14)

4» He's smarter than Solomon (John 3:31 & Matt 12:42 & Col 2:3)

5» He was involved in the creation of the cosmos with all of its forms of life, matter, and energy (John 1:1-3, Heb 3:3-4)

6» He has actually seen the afterlife for himself; therefore knowing from experience what he's talking about rather than something he read in a book. (Mark 1:21-22)

From all that, I think that we can safely conclude that Christ's teachings trump everybody else's teachings. So then, when it appears that the Old Testament contradicts Christ, I strongly suggest that we align ourselves with Christ and begin figuring out how to get the Old Testament in step with him in the New.

POPULATION CLOCK UPDATE: 1,222 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post No.1 are within reason, then something like 74,212,060 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since June 19, 2017.
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