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There is no hell.
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JudaicChristian
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And this is my reply: Scripture consist of both literal and symbolic words. This my come as a surprise to some, but there are parables in scripture.
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S
SpiritDriven
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In Regards to the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazerus....
It is a teaching story, not a Literal reality, we know this for absolute certainty because no where in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazerus, is there a single mention of the only name under heaven by which men shall be saved ...Jesus.
There is no way of debating or arguing around that simple fact...unless ofcourse you want to try and get people to belive that Salvation is based on wealth or lack of it...lol.
The true meaning by the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazerus is long and complicated to explain, but in short....the Rich Man was Israel and Lazerus was us the Gentiles....
However true meaning of the Parable aside, it is easier to explain to lay people that the parable is not a Literal Reality, because the Gospel is quite clear that belief in Jesus Christ is the....ONLY....way to be saved, and you will notice that the Parable of the rich man and Lazerus, does not in any way touch on that.
Case closed.
It is a teaching story, not a Literal reality, we know this for absolute certainty because no where in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazerus, is there a single mention of the only name under heaven by which men shall be saved ...Jesus.
There is no way of debating or arguing around that simple fact...unless ofcourse you want to try and get people to belive that Salvation is based on wealth or lack of it...lol.
The true meaning by the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazerus is long and complicated to explain, but in short....the Rich Man was Israel and Lazerus was us the Gentiles....
However true meaning of the Parable aside, it is easier to explain to lay people that the parable is not a Literal Reality, because the Gospel is quite clear that belief in Jesus Christ is the....ONLY....way to be saved, and you will notice that the Parable of the rich man and Lazerus, does not in any way touch on that.
Case closed.
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There is NO case to close. Just saying, "I'm right and you're wrong! Am too! Nuh Huh!" doesn't prove it. When the rich young ruler asked Jesus how he could attain eternal life, did Jesus tell him that he, Jesus, was the only way to eternal life. Or did he say go and sell all that you have, etc.?
As for you supposed meaning of the story. Where does Jesus or any NT writer explain it as you have? Jesus explained every one of the legitimate parables. If you were to google on rich man and Lazarus, you would have scores of hits, with scads of explanations of what it means, all different, and all claiming they are right.
There is one point above several which shows that it was literal. Jesus never identified the story as a parable nor did he explain it later to his disciples, so if Abraham was not in the place Jesus named, and did not speak the words that Jesus quoted, Jesus was a liar.
Read all the legitimate parables, Jesus used common, every day examples, which were well known to his audience, to illustrate Biblical truths. Lost coins, lost sheep, unprepared bride's maids, errant sons who squandered their father's money, etc. Everybody could understand and relate to all those things. The story of Lazarus and the rich man concerns events after death, something nobody in history knew anything about. There is nothing known, recognized, understood in the story which his audience could relate to a Biblical truth.
If the story of Lazarus and the rich man was a parable, I wonder why the early church did not know that? Since they were persecuted by the Jews, I'm sure they would have loved for this to be about the Jews being tormented and the gentiles being blessed.
Irenaeus Against Heresies Book II Chapter XXXIV.-Souls Can Be Recognised in the Separate State, and are Immortal Although They Once Had a Beginning.
Ireneaeus, [120-202 AD], was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John.
1. The Lord has taught with very great fulness, that souls not only continue to exist, not by passing from body to body, but that they preserve the same form [in their separate state] as the body had to which they were adapted, and that they remember the deeds which they did in this state of existence, and from which they have now ceased,-in that narrative which is recorded respecting the rich man and that Lazarus who found repose in the bosom of Abraham. In this account He states that Dives [=Latin for rich] knew Lazarus after death, and Abraham in like manner, and that each one of these persons continued in his own proper position, and that [Dives] requested Lazarus to be sent to relieve him-[Lazarus], on whom he did not [formerly] bestow even the crumbs [which fell] from his table. [He tells us] also of the answer given by Abraham, who was acquainted not only with what respected himself, but Dives also, and who enjoined those who did not wish to come into that place of torment to believe Moses and the prophets, and to receive the preaching of Him who was to rise again from the dead. By these things, then, it is plainly declared that souls continue to exist that they do not pass from body to body, that they possess the form of a man, so that they may be recognised, and retain the memory of things in this world; moreover, that the gift of prophecy was possessed by Abraham, and that each class of souls] receives a habitation such as it has deserved, even before the judgment.
ANF01. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus | Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Tertullian - 9. A TREATISE ON THE SOUL
CHAPTER 7 [145-220 AD]
THE SOULS CORPOREALITY
DEMONSTRATED OUT OF THE GOSPELS
So far as the philosophers are concerned, we have said enough. As for our own teachers, indeed, our reference to them is ex abundanti a surplusage of authority: in the Gospel itself they will be found to have the clearest evidence for the corporeal nature of the soul. In hell the soul of a certain man is in torment, punished in flames, suffering excruciating thirst, and imploring from the finger of a happier soul, for his tongue, the solace of a drop of water. Do you suppose that this end of the blessed poor man and the miserable rich man is only imaginary? Then why the name of Lazarus in this narrative, if the circumstance is not in (the category of) a real occurrence? But even if it is to be regarded as imaginary, it will still be a testimony to truth and reality. For unless the soul possessed corporeality, the image of a soul could not possibly contain a finger of a bodily substance; nor would the Scripture feign a statement about the limbs of a body, if these had no existence. But what is that which is removed to Hades after the separation of the body; which is there detained; which is reserved until the day of judgment; to which Christ also, on dying, descended? I imagine it is the souls of the patriarchs. But wherefore (all this), if the soul is nothing in its subterranean abode? For nothing it certainly is, if it is not a bodily substance. For whatever is incorporeal is incapable of being kept and guarded in any way; it is also exempt from either punishment or refreshment. That must be a body, by which punishment and refreshment can be experienced. Of this I shall treat more fully in a more fitting place. Therefore, whatever amount of punishment or refreshment the soul tastes in Hades, in its prison or lodging, in the fire or in Abrahams bosom, it gives proof thereby of its own corporeality. For an incorporeal thing suffers nothing, not having that which makes it capable of suffering; else, if it has such capacity, it must be a bodily substance. For in as far as every corporeal thing is capable of suffering, in so far is that which is capable of suffering also corporeal.
Cyprian - EPISTLE 54 TO CORNELIUS, CONCERNING FORTUNATUS AND FELICISSIMUS, OR AGAINST THE HERETICS [200-258 AD]
By his mouth, therefore, and by his words, is every one at once betrayed; and whether he has Christ in his heart, or Antichrist, is discerned in his speaking, according to what the Lord says in His Gospel, O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure bringeth forth good things; 703 and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. Whence also that rich sinner who implores help from Lazarus, then laid in Abrahams bosom, and established in a place of comfort, while he, writhing in torments, is consumed by the heats of burning flame, suffers most punishment of all parts of his body in his mouth and his tongue, because doubtless in his mouth and his tongue he had most sinned.
Methodius - A SYNOPSIS OF SOME APOSTOLIC
WORDS FROM THE SAME DISCOURSE. [A.D. 260-312].
XIX. He says that Origen holds these opinions which he refutes. And there may be a doubt concerning Lazarus and the rich man. The simpler persons think that these things were spoken as though both were receiving their due for the things which they had done in life in their bodies; but the more accurate think that, since no one is left in life after the resurrection, these things do not happen at the resurrection. For the rich man says: I have five brethren;... lest they also come into this place of torment, send
Lazarus, that he may tell them of those things which are here. And, therefore, if we ask respecting the tongue, and the finger, and "Abrahams bosom, and the reclining there, it may perhaps be that the soul receives in the change a form similar in appearance to its gross and 718 earthly body. If, then, any one of those who have fallen asleep is recorded as having appeared, in the same way he has been seen in the form which he had when he was in the flesh. Besides, when Samuel appeared, it is clear that, being seen, he was clothed in a body; and this must especially be admitted, if we are pressed by arguments which prove that the essence of the soul is incorporeal, and is manifested by itself. But the rich man in torment, and the poor man who was comforted in the bosom of Abraham, are said, the one to be punished in Hades, and the other to be comforted in Abrahams bosom, before the appearing of the Savior, and before the end of the world, and therefore before the resurrection; teaching that now already, at the change, the soul rises a body.
Ireneaeus, [120-202 AD], was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John.
1. The Lord has taught with very great fulness, that souls not only continue to exist, not by passing from body to body, but that they preserve the same form [in their separate state] as the body had to which they were adapted, and that they remember the deeds which they did in this state of existence, and from which they have now ceased,-in that narrative which is recorded respecting the rich man and that Lazarus who found repose in the bosom of Abraham. In this account He states that Dives [=Latin for rich] knew Lazarus after death, and Abraham in like manner, and that each one of these persons continued in his own proper position, and that [Dives] requested Lazarus to be sent to relieve him-[Lazarus], on whom he did not [formerly] bestow even the crumbs [which fell] from his table. [He tells us] also of the answer given by Abraham, who was acquainted not only with what respected himself, but Dives also, and who enjoined those who did not wish to come into that place of torment to believe Moses and the prophets, and to receive the preaching of Him who was to rise again from the dead. By these things, then, it is plainly declared that souls continue to exist that they do not pass from body to body, that they possess the form of a man, so that they may be recognised, and retain the memory of things in this world; moreover, that the gift of prophecy was possessed by Abraham, and that each class of souls] receives a habitation such as it has deserved, even before the judgment.
ANF01. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus | Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Tertullian - 9. A TREATISE ON THE SOUL
CHAPTER 7 [145-220 AD]
THE SOULS CORPOREALITY
DEMONSTRATED OUT OF THE GOSPELS
So far as the philosophers are concerned, we have said enough. As for our own teachers, indeed, our reference to them is ex abundanti a surplusage of authority: in the Gospel itself they will be found to have the clearest evidence for the corporeal nature of the soul. In hell the soul of a certain man is in torment, punished in flames, suffering excruciating thirst, and imploring from the finger of a happier soul, for his tongue, the solace of a drop of water. Do you suppose that this end of the blessed poor man and the miserable rich man is only imaginary? Then why the name of Lazarus in this narrative, if the circumstance is not in (the category of) a real occurrence? But even if it is to be regarded as imaginary, it will still be a testimony to truth and reality. For unless the soul possessed corporeality, the image of a soul could not possibly contain a finger of a bodily substance; nor would the Scripture feign a statement about the limbs of a body, if these had no existence. But what is that which is removed to Hades after the separation of the body; which is there detained; which is reserved until the day of judgment; to which Christ also, on dying, descended? I imagine it is the souls of the patriarchs. But wherefore (all this), if the soul is nothing in its subterranean abode? For nothing it certainly is, if it is not a bodily substance. For whatever is incorporeal is incapable of being kept and guarded in any way; it is also exempt from either punishment or refreshment. That must be a body, by which punishment and refreshment can be experienced. Of this I shall treat more fully in a more fitting place. Therefore, whatever amount of punishment or refreshment the soul tastes in Hades, in its prison or lodging, in the fire or in Abrahams bosom, it gives proof thereby of its own corporeality. For an incorporeal thing suffers nothing, not having that which makes it capable of suffering; else, if it has such capacity, it must be a bodily substance. For in as far as every corporeal thing is capable of suffering, in so far is that which is capable of suffering also corporeal.
Cyprian - EPISTLE 54 TO CORNELIUS, CONCERNING FORTUNATUS AND FELICISSIMUS, OR AGAINST THE HERETICS [200-258 AD]
By his mouth, therefore, and by his words, is every one at once betrayed; and whether he has Christ in his heart, or Antichrist, is discerned in his speaking, according to what the Lord says in His Gospel, O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure bringeth forth good things; 703 and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. Whence also that rich sinner who implores help from Lazarus, then laid in Abrahams bosom, and established in a place of comfort, while he, writhing in torments, is consumed by the heats of burning flame, suffers most punishment of all parts of his body in his mouth and his tongue, because doubtless in his mouth and his tongue he had most sinned.
Methodius - A SYNOPSIS OF SOME APOSTOLIC
WORDS FROM THE SAME DISCOURSE. [A.D. 260-312].
XIX. He says that Origen holds these opinions which he refutes. And there may be a doubt concerning Lazarus and the rich man. The simpler persons think that these things were spoken as though both were receiving their due for the things which they had done in life in their bodies; but the more accurate think that, since no one is left in life after the resurrection, these things do not happen at the resurrection. For the rich man says: I have five brethren;... lest they also come into this place of torment, send
Lazarus, that he may tell them of those things which are here. And, therefore, if we ask respecting the tongue, and the finger, and "Abrahams bosom, and the reclining there, it may perhaps be that the soul receives in the change a form similar in appearance to its gross and 718 earthly body. If, then, any one of those who have fallen asleep is recorded as having appeared, in the same way he has been seen in the form which he had when he was in the flesh. Besides, when Samuel appeared, it is clear that, being seen, he was clothed in a body; and this must especially be admitted, if we are pressed by arguments which prove that the essence of the soul is incorporeal, and is manifested by itself. But the rich man in torment, and the poor man who was comforted in the bosom of Abraham, are said, the one to be punished in Hades, and the other to be comforted in Abrahams bosom, before the appearing of the Savior, and before the end of the world, and therefore before the resurrection; teaching that now already, at the change, the soul rises a body.
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I call this the SPAM-Fig cop-out. Whenever scripture as written does not support or contradicts certain false beliefs, then it is dismissed as being symbolic, poetic, allegory, metaphoric, or figurative. But the rule is, "If scripture as written makes good sense, then it is nonsense, to look for any other sense."
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Jig
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I don't understand the case you've presented.
It makes no sense to me because in the parable the place in mention is not Hell (the Lake of Fire) but Hades (or Sheol - a temporary place before eternal judgment).
“In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.
Lk 16:23.
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Mikecpking
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LiturgyInDMinor
Celtic Rite Old Catholic Church
Where did Hell go????*
*ok ok I admit I haven't read one post on this thread but the title...sorry, sorry.
*ok ok I admit I haven't read one post on this thread but the title...sorry, sorry.
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Tartarus and Gehenna are symbolic for the bottomless pit, Abyssos. Hades will be cast into the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:14). Multiple hells is a concept introduced by the Catholic Church. There is only one hell and this is where demons dwell. This means the wicked (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 21:8) will be tormented with the demons.
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How does this reply to anything? But were one to read his Bible he would find that in Revelation there is mention of the angel of death who is followed by the demon of hell and they have been given power to kill. So later when scripture states that death and hell are cast into the lake of fire, there is no contradiction.
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Almighty's humble servant
Fisher of men
Peace and blessings brothers and sisters,
i am not convinced either way as to what becomes of the lost. But I know our Beloved is most merciful, and wouldn't allow for any who have not been so advised to suffer, eternally.
I have read that all who were still asleep after the millenial Reign of our Lord will at that time be raised and judged. Some accepting the Truth and welcomed into Eternity, whilst others still refuse Him and are burnt up.
Whether they are permanently dead, without suffering is wishful. I personally won't allow that wishful thinking to promote reckless and wicked behavior.
Hell has always been a good tool of our church to bring sinners to the Lord. Whether it's invented or not, Ill not take a chance!
Praise and exalt Him above all forever!
i am not convinced either way as to what becomes of the lost. But I know our Beloved is most merciful, and wouldn't allow for any who have not been so advised to suffer, eternally.
I have read that all who were still asleep after the millenial Reign of our Lord will at that time be raised and judged. Some accepting the Truth and welcomed into Eternity, whilst others still refuse Him and are burnt up.
Whether they are permanently dead, without suffering is wishful. I personally won't allow that wishful thinking to promote reckless and wicked behavior.
Hell has always been a good tool of our church to bring sinners to the Lord. Whether it's invented or not, Ill not take a chance!
Praise and exalt Him above all forever!
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plmarquette
Veteran
sounds like a disney movie ...all dogs go to heaven
a unitarian universalist thing....
established....
let the Lord's words be true and mens words to the contrary called lies...
a unitarian universalist thing....
- Matthew 8:12
But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Matthew 8:11-13 (in Context) Matthew 8 (Whole Chapter) - Matthew 13:42
They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:41-43 (in Context) Matthew 13 (Whole Chapter) - Matthew 13:50
and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:49-51 (in Context) Matthew 13 (Whole Chapter) - Matthew 22:13
"Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Matthew 22:12-14 (in Context) Matthew 22 (Whole Chapter) - Matthew 24:51
He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 24:50-51 (in Context) Matthew 24 (Whole Chapter) - Matthew 25:30
And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Matthew 25:29-31 (in Context) Matthew 25 (Whole Chapter) - Luke 13:28
"There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.
Luke 13:27-29 (in Context) Luke 13 (Whole Chapter) - Revelation 9:1
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Revelation 9:1-3 (in Context) Revelation 9 (Whole Chapter) - Revelation 9:2
And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
Revelation 9:1-3 (in Context) Revelation 9 (Whole Chapter) - Revelation 9:11
And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
Revelation 9:10-12 (in Context) Revelation 9 (Whole Chapter) - Revelation 11:7
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Revelation 11:6-8 (in Context) Revelation 11 (Whole Chapter) - Revelation 17:8
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Revelation 17:7-9 (in Context) Revelation 17 (Whole Chapter) - Revelation 20:1
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Revelation 20:1-3 (in Context) Revelation 20 (Whole Chapter) - Revelation 20:3
And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Revelation 20:2-4 (in Context) Revelation 20 (Whole Chapter)
established....
let the Lord's words be true and mens words to the contrary called lies...
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As for weeping and tooth-gnashing, that goes on now, in this world. Does this mean it's endless in duration simply because it happens at all?
As for bottomless pits, if one is literally thrown into an actual pit with no bottom, when does their falling stop and their punishment actually begin?
.
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One thing I know for sure. There are demons. I've had some really nasty experience with those as a child. Fortunately, all they accomplished was to chase me screaming into the arms of Jesus. And those demons have a home - that I know. So, technically you could say there's no hell. But there certainly is Hades, and the lake of fire...
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These false explanations are taught and spread all over the internet but the people spreading them have not bothered to research Jewish sources. Here from the Jewish Encyclopedia what the ancient Jews, before the time of Jesus believed and taught about the place of unending punishment. Note the supporting scripture is highlighted in blue.
Jewish Encyclopedia, GEHENNA
The place where children were sacrificed to the god Moloch was originally in the "valley of the son of Hinnom," to the south of Jerusalem (Josh. xv. 8, passim; II Kings xxiii. 10; Jer. ii. 23; vii. 31-32; xix. 6, 13-14). For this reason the valley was deemed to be accursed, and "Gehenna" therefore soon became a figurative equivalent for "hell." Hell, like paradise, was created by God (Sotah 22a); [Note, this is according to the ancient Jews, long before the Christian era, NOT the bias of Christian translators.] according to Gen. R. ix. 9, the words "very good" in Gen. i. 31 refer to hell; hence the latter must have been created on the sixth day.
The "fiery furnace" that Abraham saw (Gen. xv. 17, Hebr.) was Gehenna (Mek. xx. 18b, 71b; comp. Enoch, xcviii. 3, ciii. 8; Matt. xiii. 42, 50; 'Er. 19a, where the "fiery furnace" is also identified with the gate of Gehenna). Opinions also vary as to the situation, extent, and nature of hell. The statement that Gehenna is situated in the valley of Hinnom near Jerusalem, in the "accursed valley" (Enoch, xxvii. 1 et seq.), means simply that it has a gate there. It was in Zion, and had a gate in Jerusalem (Isa. xxxi. 9). It had three gates, one in the wilderness, one in the sea, and one in Jerusalem ('Er. 19a). The gate lies between two palm-trees in the valley of Hinnom, from which smoke is continually rising (ib.).
Because of the extent of Gehenna the sun, on setting in the evening, passes by it, and receives from it its own fire (evening glow; B. B. 84a). A fiery stream ("dinur") falls upon the head of the sinner in Gehenna (hag. 13b).
There is a smell of sulfur in Gehenna (Enoch, lxvii. 6). This agrees with the Greek idea of hell (Lucian, Αληθεις Ιστοριαι, i. 29, in Dietrich, "Abraxas," p. 36). The sulfurous smell of the Tiberian medicinal springs was ascribed to their connection with Gehenna. In Isa. lxvi. 16, 24 it is said that God judges by means of fire.
Gehenna is dark in spite of the immense masses of fire; it is like night (Yeb. 109b; comp. Job x. 22). The same idea also occurs in Enoch, x. 4, lxxxii. 2; Matt. viii. 12, xxii. 13, xxv. 30 (comp. Schwally, l.c. p. 176).
It is assumed that there is an angel-prince in charge of Gehenna. He says to God: "Put everything into my sea; nourish me with the seed of Seth; I am hungry." But God refuses his request, telling him to take the heathen peoples (Shab. 104). God says to the angel-prince: "I punish the slanderers from above, and I also punish them from below with glowing coals" ('Ar. 15b).
Judgment.
It is assumed in general that sinners go to hell immediately after their death. The famous teacher Johanan b. Zakkai wept before his death because he did not know whether he would go to paradise or to hell (Ber. 28b). The pious go to paradise, and sinners to hell (B.M. 83b). To every individual is apportioned two shares, one in hell and one in paradise. At death, however, the righteous man's portion in hell is exchanged, so that he has two in heaven, while the reverse is true in the case of sinners (hag. 15a). Hence it would have been better for the latter not to have lived at all (Yeb. 63b).
They are cast into Gehenna to a depth commensurate with their sinfulness. They say: "Lord of the world, Thou hast done well; Paradise for the pious, Gehenna for the wicked" ('Er. 19a). There are three categories of men; the wholly pious and the arch-sinners are not purified, but only those between these two classes (Ab. R. N. 41). A similar view is expressed in the Babylonian Talmud, which adds that those who have sinned themselves but have not led others into sin remain for twelve months in Gehenna; "after twelve months their bodies are destroyed, their souls are burned, and the wind strews the ashes under the feet of the pious. But as regards the heretics, etc., and Jeroboam, Nebat's son, hell shall pass away, but they shall not pass away" (R. H. 17a; comp. Shab. 33b). All that descend into Gehenna shall come up again, with the exception of three classes of men: those who have committed adultery, or shamed their neighbors, or vilified them (B. M. 58b).
As mentioned above, heretics and the Roman oppressors go to Gehenna, and the same fate awaits the Persians, the oppressors of the Babylonian Jews (Ber. 8b). When Nebuchadnezzar descended into hell, all its inhabitants were afraid that he was coming to rule over them (Shab. 149a; comp. Isa. xiv. 9-10). The Book of Enoch also says that it is chiefly the heathen who are to be cast into the fiery pool on the Day of Judgment (x. 6, xci. 9, et al.). " The Lord, the Almighty, will punish them on the Day of Judgment by putting fire and worms into their flesh, so that they cry out with pain unto all eternity" (Judith xvi. 17). (see image) Valley of Ge-Hinnom.(From a photograph by Bonfils.) The sinners in Gehenna will be filled with pain when God puts back the souls into the dead bodies on the Day of Judgment, according to Isa. xxxiii. 11 (Sanh. 108b). Enoch also holds (xlviii. 9) that the sinners will disappear like chaff before the faces of the elect. There will be no Gehenna in the future world, however, for God will take the sun out of its case, and it will heal the pious with its rays and will punish the sinners (Ned. 8b).
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JewishEncyclopedia.com - GEHENNA
The place where children were sacrificed to the god Moloch was originally in the "valley of the son of Hinnom," to the south of Jerusalem (Josh. xv. 8, passim; II Kings xxiii. 10; Jer. ii. 23; vii. 31-32; xix. 6, 13-14). For this reason the valley was deemed to be accursed, and "Gehenna" therefore soon became a figurative equivalent for "hell." Hell, like paradise, was created by God (Sotah 22a); [Note, this is according to the ancient Jews, long before the Christian era, NOT the bias of Christian translators.] according to Gen. R. ix. 9, the words "very good" in Gen. i. 31 refer to hell; hence the latter must have been created on the sixth day.
The "fiery furnace" that Abraham saw (Gen. xv. 17, Hebr.) was Gehenna (Mek. xx. 18b, 71b; comp. Enoch, xcviii. 3, ciii. 8; Matt. xiii. 42, 50; 'Er. 19a, where the "fiery furnace" is also identified with the gate of Gehenna). Opinions also vary as to the situation, extent, and nature of hell. The statement that Gehenna is situated in the valley of Hinnom near Jerusalem, in the "accursed valley" (Enoch, xxvii. 1 et seq.), means simply that it has a gate there. It was in Zion, and had a gate in Jerusalem (Isa. xxxi. 9). It had three gates, one in the wilderness, one in the sea, and one in Jerusalem ('Er. 19a). The gate lies between two palm-trees in the valley of Hinnom, from which smoke is continually rising (ib.).
Because of the extent of Gehenna the sun, on setting in the evening, passes by it, and receives from it its own fire (evening glow; B. B. 84a). A fiery stream ("dinur") falls upon the head of the sinner in Gehenna (hag. 13b).
There is a smell of sulfur in Gehenna (Enoch, lxvii. 6). This agrees with the Greek idea of hell (Lucian, Αληθεις Ιστοριαι, i. 29, in Dietrich, "Abraxas," p. 36). The sulfurous smell of the Tiberian medicinal springs was ascribed to their connection with Gehenna. In Isa. lxvi. 16, 24 it is said that God judges by means of fire.
Gehenna is dark in spite of the immense masses of fire; it is like night (Yeb. 109b; comp. Job x. 22). The same idea also occurs in Enoch, x. 4, lxxxii. 2; Matt. viii. 12, xxii. 13, xxv. 30 (comp. Schwally, l.c. p. 176).
It is assumed that there is an angel-prince in charge of Gehenna. He says to God: "Put everything into my sea; nourish me with the seed of Seth; I am hungry." But God refuses his request, telling him to take the heathen peoples (Shab. 104). God says to the angel-prince: "I punish the slanderers from above, and I also punish them from below with glowing coals" ('Ar. 15b).
Judgment.
It is assumed in general that sinners go to hell immediately after their death. The famous teacher Johanan b. Zakkai wept before his death because he did not know whether he would go to paradise or to hell (Ber. 28b). The pious go to paradise, and sinners to hell (B.M. 83b). To every individual is apportioned two shares, one in hell and one in paradise. At death, however, the righteous man's portion in hell is exchanged, so that he has two in heaven, while the reverse is true in the case of sinners (hag. 15a). Hence it would have been better for the latter not to have lived at all (Yeb. 63b).
They are cast into Gehenna to a depth commensurate with their sinfulness. They say: "Lord of the world, Thou hast done well; Paradise for the pious, Gehenna for the wicked" ('Er. 19a). There are three categories of men; the wholly pious and the arch-sinners are not purified, but only those between these two classes (Ab. R. N. 41). A similar view is expressed in the Babylonian Talmud, which adds that those who have sinned themselves but have not led others into sin remain for twelve months in Gehenna; "after twelve months their bodies are destroyed, their souls are burned, and the wind strews the ashes under the feet of the pious. But as regards the heretics, etc., and Jeroboam, Nebat's son, hell shall pass away, but they shall not pass away" (R. H. 17a; comp. Shab. 33b). All that descend into Gehenna shall come up again, with the exception of three classes of men: those who have committed adultery, or shamed their neighbors, or vilified them (B. M. 58b).
As mentioned above, heretics and the Roman oppressors go to Gehenna, and the same fate awaits the Persians, the oppressors of the Babylonian Jews (Ber. 8b). When Nebuchadnezzar descended into hell, all its inhabitants were afraid that he was coming to rule over them (Shab. 149a; comp. Isa. xiv. 9-10). The Book of Enoch also says that it is chiefly the heathen who are to be cast into the fiery pool on the Day of Judgment (x. 6, xci. 9, et al.). " The Lord, the Almighty, will punish them on the Day of Judgment by putting fire and worms into their flesh, so that they cry out with pain unto all eternity" (Judith xvi. 17). (see image) Valley of Ge-Hinnom.(From a photograph by Bonfils.) The sinners in Gehenna will be filled with pain when God puts back the souls into the dead bodies on the Day of Judgment, according to Isa. xxxiii. 11 (Sanh. 108b). Enoch also holds (xlviii. 9) that the sinners will disappear like chaff before the faces of the elect. There will be no Gehenna in the future world, however, for God will take the sun out of its case, and it will heal the pious with its rays and will punish the sinners (Ned. 8b).
Copyright 2002 JewishEncyclopedia.com. All rights reserved.
JewishEncyclopedia.com - GEHENNA
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Athanasias
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JayJay77
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The Hell There is!
Haaa! Beautiful.
If there is no "hell" (i.e., a place of eternal punishment), why would Jesus quote Isaiah 66:24 (in Mark 9:48) saying, "where, ' "their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." ' "
Would that not assume that the disobedient are forever dying?
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