The Truth About Hell

[Timothew]

I strongly suspect that there will be many in Hell who don't believe in a literal Hell.

Why do you suspect that?

Because they refuse to believe the Truth.

Merry Christmas Kiwiinin!

The truth is that the wages of sin is death, not eternal life in torment in hell. Romans 6:23 confirms this: The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 2 Thess 1:9 also confirms this: "These pay the penalty of eternal destruction", being destroyed is not the same as being kept alive in hell being tortured.

The truth is that there is no literal hell of eternal torment.

 

[Timothew]

Thanks.

Guess you missed this:

Revelation 20:10 (NKJV)
10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

No, I didn't miss that. I didn't miss the context either, when John tells what he means by the lake of fire. "The lake of fire is the second death." This is in Revelation 20:14. I didn't miss John 3:16 either, "whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 specifically doesn't say whoever believes in him shall not be tormented day and night forever and ever. Did you notice that there is a lot of symbolism in the book of Revelation? A lion with eyes all around, a fiery red horse, a talking eagle, locusts that look like horses wearing crowns, a seven headed dragon, a leopard with seven heads and the feet of a bear, do you take all of that literally or just Revelation 20:10? And is it wise to take Revelation 20:10 literally and then be forced to not take John 3:16, Romans 6:23, and 2 Thessalonians 1:9 literally?

 

[Timothew]

The context doesn't change the meaning of "And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."
But it is clearly implied.
Eternal punishment in the fire is consistent with NT doctrine.

Matthew 25:41 (NKJV)
41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

Matthew 25:46 (NKJV)
46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

None of those verses contradict what I am saying.
The everlasting fire consumes whoever is put into it, so it is a metaphor for death, not eternal torment.

Death is an everlasting punishment, so Matthew 25:46 does not support everlasting torment either.

John 3:16 doesn't imply eternal torment. How can someone who has perished experience eternal torment?

And John said what he meant by the lake of fire, it is the second death. Death is not eternal life in torment, but the second death is a punishment that lasts forever. The second death is everlasting punishment, it is death that is everlasting. But the righteous go off to eternal life.

 

[John Stefanyszyn]

Mr. Timothew,

Your understanding is true.

The purpose of man's creation (physical existence) was for man to be made into the image of God, into His character, to be like Him...and to continue on in eternal existence.

Man , today, wants to believes that he has an immortal soul that continues on after his physical death....that his existence will continue in one fashion or another...that it will continue.

When the unrepented man will be resurrected for judgement , he will then see that there is Only One True God, His Creator, that Christ is His Son and the Only Way to Him....both of which he rejected and chose to live by his desire to be free to do his will (his rights) and not the Will of the Father.

Man will see that eternal existence is real but that it will be refused to him...that instead his existence, which he desires, will be brought to an eternal end...with no hope whatsoever.

As Christ said, there will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth when man will see his existence ended permanently ( consumed by fire).....this for them will be an eternal torment...knowing that that possible eternal existence is denied to them (self-righteous man) by the God that they rejected.

 

[Timothew]

Mr. Timothew,

Your understanding is true.

The purpose of man's creation (physical existence) was for man to be made into the image of God, into His character, to be like Him...and to continue on in eternal existence.

Man , today, wants to believes that he has an immortal soul that continues on after his physical death....that his existence will continue in one fashion or another...that it will continue.

When the unrepented man will be resurrected for judgement , he will then see that there is Only One True God, His Creator, that Christ is His Son and the Only Way to Him....both of which he rejected and chose to live by his desire to be free to do his will (his rights) and not the Will of the Father.

Man will see that eternal existence is real but that it will be refused to him...that instead his existence, which he desires, will be brought to an eternal end...with no hope whatsoever.

As Christ said, there will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth when man will see his existence ended permanently ( consumed by fire).....this for them will be an eternal torment...knowing that that possible eternal existence is denied to them (self-righteous man) by the God that they rejected.

Thanks,

Good explanation.

 

[Timothew]

Revelation 14:9-11 (NKJV)
9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."

Nice passage. It doesn't mean what you think it means.


Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Death cannot mean eternal life in torment, so the figurative language of Revelation can't be used to support the theory of eternal torment.

 

[DeborahsSong]

The problem is with translating the Greek word aionian as eternal-as in eternal punishment, eternal fire, etc. The word is relative and duration is determined by what it modifies. E.g. the aion of "time out" for a toddler is about 15 minutes, although the tot might think that's an eternity. The aion for murder can be decades. So to understand the duration of God's aionian punishment, we must know something about the nature of God's punishment. Over and over again, God's word says that he doesn't punish forever. (2 Sam 14:14, Job 5:17-18, Ps 30:5, Isa 54:8, Lam 3:31-33; Jonah 4:2, Col 19:20, James 2:13 to list a few). It does great violence to scripture to translate aionian punishment as eternal in its duration. This error began with Augustine. It's insulting to the very nature of God.

 

[Husky7]

Thanks,

Good explanation.

exactly.

 

[Timothew]

God has proven that He is VERY stern with those who rebel against Him. I.E. drowning everyone on Earth but 8, "making them an example".

2 Peter 2:4-6 (NKJV)
4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;

The NT terms forever, eternal, everlasting and unquenchable fire are clear warning to all of us.

The examples you give (the people of Noah's Time, Sodom, Gemorrah) are not burning alive forever in hell. They died. The wages of sin is death, not eternal life in torment in hell. The passage you posted proves that.

 

[DeborahsSong]

Well, I don't know if hell is a place or a process (maybe both), but whatever it is, it is not eternal (see my earlier post). Jesus said everyone will be salted with fire (Matt 9:49). An unquenchable fire will consume all that is wicked (and what we were in Adam is wicked), then God will discard the dross (wickedness) Ps 119:119 and with what is noncompustible He establishes a City of Righteousness, the Faithful City. Isa 1:21-26. (This Isaiah passage shows how God deals with his enemies.)