Yes.
In Biblical interpretation, we always take the plain and literal meaning of any text, until a clear necessity leads us away from it. Scripture describes the “fires of hell” in such a way that it is readily understood as being very different from common every day “fire.” Fire is the instrument of God’s justice that brings about sorrow, misery, torment and immense bitterness of punishments.
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Common fire over a period of time will be self-extinguishing or an extra agent extinguishes it such as rain or a person. Hell fire is eternal.
Matthew 18:8“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.
Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
Matthew 3:12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Common fire needs to be kindled. Hell fire doesn’t.
Job 20:26 Complete darkness is held in reserve for his treasures,
And unfanned fire will devour him;
It will consume the survivor in his tent.
Is 30:33 For Topheth has long been ready,
Indeed, it has been prepared for the king.
He has made it deep and large,
A pyre of fire with plenty of wood;
The breath of the Lord, like a torrent of brimstone, sets it afire.
Deut. 32:22 For a fire is kindled in My anger,
And burns to the lowest part of Sheol,
And consumes the earth with its yield,
And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
Common fire is normally confined and controlled, but when uncontrolled causes destruction. The fires of hell are expansive and always destructive.
Revelation 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Revelation 20:14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Common fire gives off light. Hell Fire doesn’t.
Matthew 8:12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 25:30 Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;
I Peter 2:17 These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved.
Common fire consumes it’s material and leaves ashes. Hell fire always burns but never consumes. Common fire burns man’s body but not his soul. Hell fire punishes a person body and soul along with all the demonic spirits who do not have bodies.
Matthew 10:19 For do not fear the one who can kill the body, but fear the one who can kill body and soul in hell.
Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
Hellfire can be intensified with brimstone, pitch, or fashioned in an oven or furnace which intensifies the heat of the fire on four sides. This signifies degrees of punishment in hell as the sins of the damned are unequal.
Intensified:
Ps. 11:6 On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot.
Is 30:33 Topheth has long been prepared;
it has been made ready for the king.
Its fire pit has been made deep and wide,
with an abundance of fire and wood;
the breath of the Lord,
like a stream of burning sulfur,
sets it ablaze.
Rev. 19:10 But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
Matthew 13:42
and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:50
and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Degrees of Punishment:
Mt 10:15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
Luke 10:14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.
Mt 23: 15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
John 19:11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
Roman 2:6f God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;
I Cor 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
The intensification of hell fire brings about weeping and gnashing of teeth. There will be much sorrow over the punishments received and infinite bitterness for receiving such punishments.
Matthew 13:42
and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:50
and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
In Biblical interpretation, we always take the plain and literal meaning of any text, until a clear necessity leads us away from it. Scripture describes the “fires of hell” in such a way that it is readily understood as being very different from common every day “fire.” Fire is the instrument of God’s justice that brings about sorrow, misery, torment and immense bitterness of punishments.
***************
Common fire over a period of time will be self-extinguishing or an extra agent extinguishes it such as rain or a person. Hell fire is eternal.
Matthew 18:8“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.
Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
Matthew 3:12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Common fire needs to be kindled. Hell fire doesn’t.
Job 20:26 Complete darkness is held in reserve for his treasures,
And unfanned fire will devour him;
It will consume the survivor in his tent.
Is 30:33 For Topheth has long been ready,
Indeed, it has been prepared for the king.
He has made it deep and large,
A pyre of fire with plenty of wood;
The breath of the Lord, like a torrent of brimstone, sets it afire.
Deut. 32:22 For a fire is kindled in My anger,
And burns to the lowest part of Sheol,
And consumes the earth with its yield,
And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
Common fire is normally confined and controlled, but when uncontrolled causes destruction. The fires of hell are expansive and always destructive.
Revelation 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Revelation 20:14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Common fire gives off light. Hell Fire doesn’t.
Matthew 8:12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 25:30 Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;
I Peter 2:17 These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved.
Common fire consumes it’s material and leaves ashes. Hell fire always burns but never consumes. Common fire burns man’s body but not his soul. Hell fire punishes a person body and soul along with all the demonic spirits who do not have bodies.
Matthew 10:19 For do not fear the one who can kill the body, but fear the one who can kill body and soul in hell.
Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
Hellfire can be intensified with brimstone, pitch, or fashioned in an oven or furnace which intensifies the heat of the fire on four sides. This signifies degrees of punishment in hell as the sins of the damned are unequal.
Intensified:
Ps. 11:6 On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot.
Is 30:33 Topheth has long been prepared;
it has been made ready for the king.
Its fire pit has been made deep and wide,
with an abundance of fire and wood;
the breath of the Lord,
like a stream of burning sulfur,
sets it ablaze.
Rev. 19:10 But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
Matthew 13:42
and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:50
and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Degrees of Punishment:
Mt 10:15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
Luke 10:14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.
Mt 23: 15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
John 19:11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
Roman 2:6f God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;
I Cor 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
The intensification of hell fire brings about weeping and gnashing of teeth. There will be much sorrow over the punishments received and infinite bitterness for receiving such punishments.
Matthew 13:42
and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:50
and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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