What exactly is hell?

[patdee]

Is hell or hades a literal place where the souls of the damned reside, filled with fire and worms? Or is it something much more terrifying than we could ever imagine? Will it be a suffocating darkness where a lost soul will always be filled with constant dread and a never ending conscience biting at him to suffer alone with no company of demons or other damned souls wondering forever in darkness? I assume the afterlife is a big mystery to us, that we cannot comprehend what lies ahead of that veil, whether it be heaven or hell. A spiritual realm that differs from our current reality, that what we find on the other side will blow our expections away. Also do you think there are levels of suffering in hell? For example will a murderer suffer more than a robber? And one more question
Also why can't a person in hell repent and be saved? Is it because our will is fixed when we die? The state we die in is the state we will meet our maker in? Is hell closed from the inside as C.S Lewis put it? What do you guys think?

The Hell that ALL non Born Again persons will go to is a literal place on judgment day, I believe.

Also the hell that the non Born Again will go to, does NOT exist today. Nor will it exist UNTIL judgment day; when ALL who have ever lived will be judged; and the "sheep" (Born Again) will be separated from the "goats" (The lost); and the goats will be cast into a "burning lake of fire" (AKA: "outer darkness", etc.)

Matthew 22:13 Then said the king (Jesus on judgment day) to the servants (Jesus' angels) , Bind him (ALL who have not been Born Again) hand and foot, and take him (ALL non Born Again) away, and cast him (ALL that are not Born Again) into outer darkness (AKA: "Hell", "Hades", "Lake of fire", etc), there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Also and just as important: When the sheep are lead into Heaven; THAT Heaven will NOT exist until Judgment day; when Jesus will instruct His angels to put a white "wedding garment" on the sheep and they will be lead into one of 12 "pearly gates" in the NEW Jerusalem (that Jesus calls down from the OLD heaven); which is in the NEW Heaven on the NEW earth. Where all Born Again (sheep) will have a NEW body, a NEW Name and a NEW life for eternity. Praise Jesus for giving the sheep THE greatest gift possible. Indeed Praise His Holy Name! To hear a very beautiful hymn concerning the above, please click on the following link.

Note: We have been taught by misinformed pastors and "laymen", etc, that when a person dies they immediately go to heaven or hell. This is NOT true! It is a myth. ALL who have ever died will NOT go to heaven or hell when they die. For IF this myth was true, there is NO need for Judgment day.

In other words, WHY would any person go to Heaven (or Hell) when they die; THEN be resurrected in the first (or second) resurrection (dubbed "rapture"); and be judged whether they are to be cast into a burning lake of fire or be lead into Heaven? Huh? Think about it.

Note: the story about the "rich man and Lazarus" MUST have been a parable. Because IF it was real time, MUCH of the bible would be untrue! Think about it.

ALL dead people (except* for Moses, Enoch and Elijah) from creation are in a spiritual "sleep"; awaiting the first or second resurrection; which will happen when Jesus comes back to get His sheep; where we will be with Him for a 1,000 yrs (earthly time-heavenly time is one day) awaiting those who will be raised from the dead; and they and the Born Again will face Jesus on judgment day.

Job 14:12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.

Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death (burning lake of fire) hath no power, but they shall be children of God who is Christ, and shall be with him a thousand years.

AFTER this: all who have ever lived; will be judged as GUILTY of sin all of our lives; and we all will be sentenced to eternal damnation in hell. However, Jesus will "pardon" ALL who have been Born Again (whose names are NOT "blotted out in the book of life"-written before creation by God Almighty). All others will be cast in the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:14 And death and the grave were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

(Note: ALL names are IN the book. However Jesus (God Almighty) has blotted out ALL names who did not get Born Again.)

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water 'from' the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

I know I will be flamed from here to eternity for this "outside the main stream" doctrinal belief. But mark me words, ALL will know this to be truth absolute on judgment day.

In any case, may Jesus richly bless you and yours always.

* Moses, Enoch and Elijah are in the OLD Heaven now. But that Heaven will be destroyed when Jesus creates the NEW Heaven on the New Earth. Incidentally, Moses was THE most righteous person who ever lived. Enoch and Elijah were of the 600 million "good" angels that satan was unable to "con". So these three have a very special and unique place in the annals of time and Heaven. I believe that Elijah came back to earth as "John the Baptist"; although he adamantly denied that he was Elijah. But I believe he was. Time will tell.

 

[A_Thinker]

Just throwing in Mark 9:43-48

The phrase that repeats 3x in some iterations: "Where the worm does not die and the fire is unquenchable"

Now, worm might have an alternate meaning here. It could mean "soul" and not actual worms. Further, why would the worms never die and the fire never stop if everyone souls sent to hell is going to disappear forever? What would the purpose of having a Hell be for if nobody is there in it after a while? It would be an ugly thing that would serve no purpose. So on those points I think it is eternal torment and all there will endure it forever.

I am open to the idea of the wicked burning for a short time (relative to eternity and administered according to deeds) and then actually dying as atheists think of dying. I'm all for that too. Im just throwing ideas out.

In this passage, Jesus is referring to Gehenna, the garbage dump outside Jerusalem, where a fire was always kept burning (to consume the garbage), and where maggots (i.e. worms) would ALWAYS be present, because of the garbage.

If you base your belief on this teaching by Christ, your conclusion should lean toward the belief that that which is thrown into "hell" ... is eventually "burnt up", as was the case in Gehenna.

 

[BukiRob]

Is hell or hades a literal place where the souls of the damned reside, filled with fire and worms? Or is it something much more terrifying than we could ever imagine? Will it be a suffocating darkness where a lost soul will always be filled with constant dread and a never ending conscience biting at him to suffer alone with no company of demons or other damned souls wondering forever in darkness? I assume the afterlife is a big mystery to us, that we cannot comprehend what lies ahead of that veil, whether it be heaven or hell. A spiritual realm that differs from our current reality, that what we find on the other side will blow our expections away. Also do you think there are levels of suffering in hell? For example will a murderer suffer more than a robber? And one more question
Also why can't a person in hell repent and be saved? Is it because our will is fixed when we die? The state we die in is the state we will meet our maker in? Is hell closed from the inside as C.S Lewis put it? What do you guys think?

Hell as you describe it is a pagan concept. Scripture is fairly clear once one decides to lay down the traditions of men and seek out what the word has to say with eyes looking only at what scripture tells us.

What we do know is that everyone who has ever lived and died will be raised. One to glory the other to judgement. If we ask the question of what was the view of the Jewish people during Messiahs ministry and was that view in any way challenged as being a false view? The answer is a resounding NO. At the time of Yeshua's ministry the view was that you lived your life walking in obedience to the Torah, you died and awaited the resurrection. Indeed we find Yeshua speaking with Mariam about this very topic at Lazarus death.

The old testament indicates that the dead are aware of NOTHING. This concept is found littered through the Psalms and other books in in the Hebrew scriptures.

In essence Hell is the Lake of Fire. The person who's name is not found in the book of life will be cast in and Revelations calls it the SECOND DEATH..... I do not find anywhere where the concept of ECT is advocated in scripture.

 

[A_Thinker]

Hell as you describe it is a pagan concept. Scripture is fairly clear once one decides to lay down the traditions of men and seek out what the word has to say with eyes looking only at what scripture tells us.

What we do know is that everyone who has ever lived and died will be raised. One to glory the other to judgement. If we ask the question of what was the view of the Jewish people during Messiahs ministry and was that view in any way challenged as being a false view? The answer is a resounding NO. At the time of Yeshua's ministry the view was that you lived your life walking in obedience to the Torah, you died and awaited the resurrection. Indeed we find Yeshua speaking with Mariam about this very topic at Lazarus death.

The old testament indicates that the dead are aware of NOTHING. This concept is found littered through the Psalms and other books in in the Hebrew scriptures.

In essence Hell is the Lake of Fire. The person who's name is not found in the book of life will be cast in and Revelations calls it the SECOND DEATH..... I do not find anywhere where the concept of ECT is advocated in scripture.

What's ECT ... ?

 

[rnmomof7]

Is hell or hades a literal place where the souls of the damned reside, filled with fire and worms? Or is it something much more terrifying than we could ever imagine? Will it be a suffocating darkness where a lost soul will always be filled with constant dread and a never ending conscience biting at him to suffer alone with no company of demons or other damned souls wondering forever in darkness? I assume the afterlife is a big mystery to us, that we cannot comprehend what lies ahead of that veil, whether it be heaven or hell. A spiritual realm that differs from our current reality, that what we find on the other side will blow our expections away. Also do you think there are levels of suffering in hell? For example will a murderer suffer more than a robber? And one more question
Also why can't a person in hell repent and be saved? Is it because our will is fixed when we die? The state we die in is the state we will meet our maker in? Is hell closed from the inside as C.S Lewis put it? What do you guys think?

All we know about Hell is what scripture tells us.. It is not the "absence " of God, for most of the world that would not be punishment . Scripture tells us that God is indeed in hell ... it also tells us that there will be weeping, their will be anger and continued hatred of God by those there ..blaming HIM for the punishment they deserve..(gnashing of teeth ).. we are also told they will continue to curse God for their pain and "sores". Each one continuing to earn that punishment by their hatred of God ...no repentance

 

[friend of]

Right but shouldn't being in hell for a while scare people into begging God for forgiveness? The way some have been going on about hell in this thread, it's almost as if you're saying hell's denizens will become comfortable enough to prefer burning in agony forever instead of apologizing. This doesn't sound very correct from what I know about people and cowards, who are mostly wicked and sychophantic. There must be more to it than this.

I think OP was onto something when he wrote that our wills might be fixed when we die. But if we die in God, we have freedom.

 

[BukiRob]

What's ECT ... ?

Eternal Conscious Torment. Those who are cast into the lake of Fire are consumed and utterly destroyed. Hence SECOND DEATH. When you are dead you have no awareness of anything. There is 0 scriptural evidence that supports the concept that man is anything but mortal. Paul plainly tells us that upon the resurrection the believer must "...PUT ON IMMORTALITY"

 

[A_Thinker]

Eternal Conscious Torment. Those who are cast into the lake of Fire are consumed and utterly destroyed. Hence SECOND DEATH. When you are dead you have no awareness of anything. There is 0 scriptural evidence that supports the concept that man is anything but mortal. Paul plainly tells us that upon the resurrection the believer must "...PUT ON IMMORTALITY"

Thank-you ... you make some good points ...

 

[Colter]

Is hell or hades a literal place where the souls of the damned reside, filled with fire and worms? Or is it something much more terrifying than we could ever imagine? Will it be a suffocating darkness where a lost soul will always be filled with constant dread and a never ending conscience biting at him to suffer alone with no company of demons or other damned souls wondering forever in darkness? I assume the afterlife is a big mystery to us, that we cannot comprehend what lies ahead of that veil, whether it be heaven or hell. A spiritual realm that differs from our current reality, that what we find on the other side will blow our expections away. Also do you think there are levels of suffering in hell? For example will a murderer suffer more than a robber? And one more question
Also why can't a person in hell repent and be saved? Is it because our will is fixed when we die? The state we die in is the state we will meet our maker in? Is hell closed from the inside as C.S Lewis put it? What do you guys think?

Hell is a product of evolutionary religion which was the foundation of revealed religion. Primitive man first conceived of a spirit ghost world where the dead go. In the primitive mind their were good and bad ghosts. Therefore Hell was a place that the bad ghost went wherein they would be punished.

In the gospel of Jesus there is life or death. For those who reject their creator and make it clear that they do not want to continue on in Gods creation, they simply never awake from the sleep of death. It becomes as if they never existed. eternal death.

 

[BukiRob]

Thank-you ...

you're welcome

 

[savchambo]

Whoever is saying that Hell doesnt actually exist has obviously not actually read the Bible, or is really saying that the Bible is lying, for Hell is clearly mentioned in the Bible several times. But I guess that's just God lying to us to "scare us into submission" as one user said, right?

 

[Colter]

Is hell or hades a literal place where the souls of the damned reside, filled with fire and worms? Or is it something much more terrifying than we could ever imagine? Will it be a suffocating darkness where a lost soul will always be filled with constant dread and a never ending conscience biting at him to suffer alone with no company of demons or other damned souls wondering forever in darkness? I assume the afterlife is a big mystery to us, that we cannot comprehend what lies ahead of that veil, whether it be heaven or hell. A spiritual realm that differs from our current reality, that what we find on the other side will blow our expections away. Also do you think there are levels of suffering in hell? For example will a murderer suffer more than a robber? And one more question
Also why can't a person in hell repent and be saved? Is it because our will is fixed when we die? The state we die in is the state we will meet our maker in? Is hell closed from the inside as C.S Lewis put it? What do you guys think?

Hell is a product of evolutionary religion, which was the foundation for revealed religion. Primitive man first conceived of a spirit ghost world where the dead go. In the primitive mind their were good and bad ghosts. Therefore Hell was a place that the bad ghost went wherein they would be punished.

In the gospel of Jesus there is life or death. For those who reject their creator and make it clear that they do not want to continue on in Gods creation, they simply never awake from the sleep of death. It becomes as if they never existed, eternal death. That's what Hell is, final identification with the eternally unreal.

 

[BukiRob]

Whoever is saying that Hell doesnt actually exist has obviously not actually read the Bible, or is really saying that the Bible is lying, for Hell is clearly mentioned in the Bible several times. But I guess that's just God lying to us to "scare us into submission" as one user said, right?

Who is saying that?

First and FOREMOST it is imperative to understand what words are translated or in many cases Mistranslated as hell.

Hebrew the word translated in the KJV as hell is SHEOL. The literal translation of sheol is GRAVE or The pit (AKA Grave)

Greek Hades (Hebrew Equivalent of Sheol) Tartarus (used only 1 time) in in 2 Peter 2:4 and Gehenna a trash dump outside of Jerusalem where the dead animals, garbage and executed criminals were thrown. It was kept constantly burning by adding sulfur to it.

If you call HELL as the Lake of Fire then I would agree with you. If you are calling hell a place where sinners go when the die and stay there forever consciously aware burning forever in torment, then you need to cite your argument by scripture and there, you will fail because that PAGAN concept is not found in scripture

 

[PropheticTimes]

Hell is a literal place where the wicked will be condemned to in their resurrected bodies after judgment. It was originally created for the devil and the angels who fell - Matthew 25:14. In the NT there are 3 different words used when referring to hell:

Gehenna - Strong's Greek: 1067. γέεννα (geenna) -- Gehenna, a valley W. and South of Jer., also a symbolic name for the final place of punishment of the ungodly
Hades - Strong's Greek: 86. ᾅδης (hadés) -- Hades, the abode of departed spirits
Tartarus - Strong's Greek: 5020. ταρταρόω (tartaroó) -- to cast into hell

According to 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 it is a separation from God: 8In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.

Jesus said that hell was “prepared” for Satan and the demons (Matthew 25:41). It is a just punishment for the wicked one. Hell, or the lake of fire, will also be the destination for those who reject Christ (2 Peter 2:4–9). The good news is that people can avoid hell. God, in His infinite mercy and love, has made a way of salvation for everyone who trusts in God’s Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16, 36; 5:24).

Here is an informative article on the subject - Hell: Spiritual or Physical or Both?

 

[surrender1]

Is hell or hades a literal place where the souls of the damned reside, filled with fire and worms? Or is it something much more terrifying than we could ever imagine? Will it be a suffocating darkness where a lost soul will always be filled with constant dread and a never ending conscience biting at him to suffer alone with no company of demons or other damned souls wondering forever in darkness? I assume the afterlife is a big mystery to us, that we cannot comprehend what lies ahead of that veil, whether it be heaven or hell. A spiritual realm that differs from our current reality, that what we find on the other side will blow our expections away. Also do you think there are levels of suffering in hell? For example will a murderer suffer more than a robber? And one more question
Also why can't a person in hell repent and be saved? Is it because our will is fixed when we die? The state we die in is the state we will meet our maker in? Is hell closed from the inside as C.S Lewis put it? What do you guys think?

In the Old Testament, *sheol* refers to “the grave” (cf. Num. 16:30,33; Ps. 16:10). Everyone went to Sheol when they died, not just the wicked. Sheol was not a “place of suffering” for we see Job asking to go there to escape suffering. Also, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia refers to it as “the unseen world” and Young’s Analytical Concordance refers to it as “the unseen state.”

The Greek word *hades* means “the grave” not “hell.” The word *hades*, often translated as “hell,” came into biblical usage when the Septuagint translators chose it to represent the Hebrew word *sheol*. Everyone went to Hades when they died, not just the wicked. Luke 16 pictures righteous Lazarus in hades, and Acts 2:27, 31 says Jesus was there. In 1 Cor. 15:15 Paul used the same word when he said, “O, death, where is thy sting? O, *grave* where is thy victory?” We also see “death and hades” as a unit in Rev. 1:18, Rev. 6:8 and Rev. 20:13, 14. Again, sheol/hades refers to “the grave” or “the dead who are *unseen*.”

Both *sheol* and *hades* are also used in relation to national judgments (i.e. leading to the *vanishing* of a nation). See Isa. 14:13, 15, Ezek. 26:19-21, Mt. 11:23 and Lk. 10:15. Babylon, Tyre, and Capernaum were judged and “brought down to hades.” They did not go to some particular location; they were utterly destroyed and consequently vanished. Jesus warned the generation of his time that the nation of Israel was going to be judged (cf. Mt. 12:41; Lk. 11:29-32). By 70 AD that nation to which Jesus spoke did, indeed, go through a fiery judgment.

So, we see that *sheol* and its equivalent word *hades* refer to the dead who are unseen and to national judgments. The only time “hell” is actually used in the Bible is in 2 Peter 2:4 where Peter speaks about the abode of fallen angels (“Tartarus”) awaiting judgment. So, hell is not eternal and it’s not for humans.

Speaking of “fiery” national judgments, John the Baptist’s preaching consisted of announcements of an *imminent* (“who warned you to flee from the wrath to come” Lk. 3:7 and “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees” Mt. 3:10, Lk. 3:9) fiery judgment (cf. Mt. 3:12 “unquenchable fire”) on Israel if she didn’t repent. That *imminent* fire was the fire that came upon Jerusalem in 70 AD. See also Luke 12:56 where Jesus warns of the imminent crisis to come upon that generation.

*Gehenna* is also commonly translated “hell.” Gehenna is derived from a valley nearby Jerusalem that originally belonged to a man named Hinnom. “This was a valley near Jerusalem, and appears to have held this name perhaps as far back as the time of Joshua. This valley was used by the more idolatrous kings of Judah as a place where they would sacrifice their own children to the god Moloch. It may also have been the location where, in a single night, the Messenger of Yahweh killed a massive number of Assyrians from the army of Sennacherib. Going from there, it was traditionally associated with the location Isaiah refers to in his final chapter ('they shall go out' implies exiting Jerusalem into the valley), where *dead* bodies are devoured by unquenchable fire (i.e. fire that does not stop burning until it has completely consumed everything in its path) and undying worms (i.e. the maggots that unceasingly feast upon corpses). In ancient Aramaic translations of this chapter of Isaiah, the dead bodies are explicitly stated to be in the Valley of Hinnom, where the wicked suffered the 'second death'. Jesus confirms the traditional association by describing the Valley of Hinnom in the same way Isaiah describes the location filled with unquenchable fire and maggots. The Valley of Hinnom is only ever used by Jesus (with a single, extraneous usage by James) when speaking to his fellow Jews. He uses it especially when warning them about sinning unrepentantly. Jesus uses the Valley of Hinnom because it had become a common symbol for God's divine punishment. In this sense, it is analogous to the lake of fire (especially since both are referred to as the 'second death'). According to Jesus, God is able to destroy both body and soul in the Valley of Hinnom.” (“The History of Hell” by Mark Edward). See Joshua 18:16, 2 Kings 23:10 and 2 Chron. 33:6. I’d like to emphasize Luke 12:5 where it states that *after* God has killed the wicked ones, He has authority to cast the wicked *dead* into “hell” (actually, Gehenna), which is why it is called the “second death”—the dead body goes through a second death in the unquenchable fire that devours the dead body until it has been completely consumed.

So to the Jews, the Valley of Hinnom (aka Gehenna) came to mean a place of burning and fiery judgment. Josephus indicates that that very same valley was heaped with dead bodies of the Jews following the Roman siege of Jerusalem AD 70.

There are twelve passages with the use of *Gehenna*. The first occurrence of the word *Gehenna* is in Mt. 5:21-22 in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus warns, “…and whosoever shall say, ‘Thou fool’ shall be in danger of the hell of fire.” When Jesus’ audience heard his use of this word, what came to mind was the Valley of Hinnom, the place of burning and fiery judgment where Yahweh had slaughtered the wicked Assyrians, where Isaiah said the dead bodies of the wicked are devoured by unquenchable fire and undying worms, where the dead bodies of the wicked undergo the “second death.” The other nine passages where Jesus uses the word *Gehenna* are found in Mt. 5:29-30, 10:28, 18:9, Mk. 9:43-45, 23:15, and Lk. 12:4-5. In all, Jesus is speaking to and warning the unrepentant Jews of his generation of what is to come if they do not repent and believe his words.

The eleventh occurrence is in Mt. 23:33 and just three verses later Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation.” Again, this speaks to the imminency of the judgment to come (which included being thrown into “hell” (actually, Gehenna) upon their death & experiencing the “second death”) upon that generation if they did not repent.

The twelfth and last time the word *Gehenna* is used is found in James 3:6. It’s interesting to note that James uses the word in a very similar context as the first time the word was used: misuse of the tongue. Jesus condemns one who curses another with the tongue and James condemns misuse of the tongue: “…out of the same mouth cometh forth blessing and cursing.”

As previously mentioned, the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) is only ever used by Jesus (with the one exception by James) when speaking to his fellow Jews because it had become a common symbol for God's divine punishment, and the nation to which Jesus spoke was about to endure a fiery judgment in their lifetime (i.e. generation). Even in James when he uses the word, he warns of the coming slaughter (Jas. 5:5), the coming of the Lord (Jas. 5:8), and that the judge stands before the door (Jas. 5:9). Jesus was “standing at the door”! Divine judgment was about to come upon these very people, this nation, and the warning of being cast into “hell” (Gehanna), the place outside of Jerusalem where dead bodies were cast to be utterly consumed by unquenchable fire, was used with these people specifically because they knew exactly what Jesus meant by it: national judgment is coming.

 

[A_Thinker]

Whoever is saying that Hell doesnt actually exist has obviously not actually read the Bible, or is really saying that the Bible is lying, for Hell is clearly mentioned in the Bible several times. But I guess that's just God lying to us to "scare us into submission" as one user said, right?

One of the things you must realize, to do effective study of the Bible, ... is that our English (I assume) Bibles are TRANSLATIONS of what was originally written. When one does a study of the topic of Hell in the original languages, ... one finds that the words translated "hell" in our English Bibles ... do not match the meanings of the words in the original languages.

For instance, the Hebrew word "SHEOL" (translated "hell") and the greek word "HADES" (translated "hell"), simply refer to the place of the DEAD in the original languages. Also, ... the word Jesus used which is translated 'hell" is Gehenna, ... and refers to the garbage/trash dump outside of the wall of Jerusalem, ... where the fires were always kept burning (to consume the trash/garbage thrown therein), ... and maggots (i.e. worms) were always present, due to the unburned garbage at the fire's fringes.

The Jews didn't believe in "hell" at the time of the writing of the Bible documents ... nor do they today. Paul, the most prolific doctrinal writer in the New Testament, ... never mentions "hell" once.

Scripture says that the "wages of sin is DEATH". The argument that an unforgiven life of sin leads to DEATH ... is actually MORE consistently found within the scriptures.

Revelations (an admittedly symbolic document) say that the unsaved will be thrown into the "lake of fire", .... but it doesn't that they (the unsaved) will burn forever.

The arguments for our current concept of Hell actually has very sketchy support in scripture.

 

[ViaCrucis]

I think the only certainty we have on the subject, and the only thing that matters really; is that those in Hell will experience eternal separation from God.

The Psalmist says, "If I make my bed in She'ol, You are there". The Eastern Churches have never believed that Hell was a separation from God, but instead Hell was to be in the very presence of God. St. Isaac the Syrian describes the fires of hell as the fires of God's love. Heaven and Hell, thus, are not different "places", they are two ways which one experiences God's loving presence, for the righteous it is bliss and for the wicked it is unimaginable torment.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[surrender1]

Wow, I'm really surprised that a lot of you are basically implying that you don't believe in a literal place called Hell.. you reject the biblical teaching that there is a place of unspeakable pain and torment where those who have rejected God spend eternity?

A place of "unspeakable pain and torment" for eternity is not just and it's not biblical.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Whoever is saying that Hell doesnt actually exist has obviously not actually read the Bible, or is really saying that the Bible is lying, for Hell is clearly mentioned in the Bible several times. But I guess that's just God lying to us to "scare us into submission" as one user said, right?

It's a good idea, when reading the Bible, to be reading it for what it says. Jesus talks about She'ol (translated as Hades in Greek) which in the common Jewish understanding of the time was the common place of the dead, and divided into two parts, the place of the righteous dead known as Gan-Eden, translated as Paradeisos in Greek, that's "Paradise" in English; and the place of the wicked dead known as Ge-Hinnom. transliterated as Gehenna in Greek. In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus both are mentioned with a large gulf between them.

So, yes, the Bible says that these are real, but does not say they are physically or literally real; for one the names of the two places are Gan-Eden (Garden of Eden) and Ge-Hinnom (Valley of Hinnom) both describe places of importance in the Israel's religious history and tradition; the latter being a literal valley located outside of Jerusalem in antiquity, which in the ancient past had been the site of the cultic worship of the god Molech and human (mostly child) sacrifice.

Elsewhere we read that this present age is perishing and destined for judgment.

And then in the Apocalypse of St. John we read about the lake of fire and sulfur, which is described as a "second death"; this is of course being described in the most graphically symbolic book in the entire Biblical Canon.

Your particular views of Hell as you were taught, or perhaps have arrived at by your reading are not any more authoritative than any other view. The fact of the matter is that the Bible says virtually nothing on the subject, and Christian teaching has always been diverse. So insisting on a literal place of of literal fire and literal torment and literal darkness is to insist on something that isn't nearly as biblical as you think it is, and to insist on something that Christians largely and historically have never insisted on or even necessarily really believed.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[surrender1]

Then why are we told those who take the mark of the beast, in Revelation 14, that they "will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb" and that "the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night"?

It's not literal. It's apocalypitc imagery. The same imagery was used by the prophet Isaiah to describe the fate of Edom (Is. 34:9-10). The fire of Edom’s judgment did not literally burn “night and day” without end, and the smoke of Edom’s judgment did not literally “go up forever.” If we know the phrase in Isaiah isn’t literal, why should we be inclined to interpret a nearly identical expression in Revelation literally? John is borrowing apocalyptic language from Isaiah, a language with which his readers/audience would have been very familiar.