Trying to wrap my head around this...God is pained by the fact that many will go to hell. Eternal hell. So, does that mean that God will forever feel pain? In a sense, will God suffer emotionally for eternity because He will forever be aware of those in hell, whom He loves, suffering for eternity?
I don't claim to understand all there is to know about the nature of God and what He is doing and will be doing in eternity. But I have some information from scripture about it and I have some personal theories about it.
God is omnipresent and always will be omnipresent. That includes in Heaven, in His creation, and in Hell. Frankly if you think that He isn't somewhere - that somewhere does not exist.
All things were created by His Word, for His Word, and in His Word all things consist.
The Word of God exists now and from before the foundation of the world as both Lion and Lamb - as both conquering and reigning King and a suffering sacrifice and the recipient of eternal wrath.
All things are summed up for eternity in the Word of God in some way. Goodness, evil, joyful exaltation and crushing pain and suffering will all be summed up and on full display in Jesus Christ for the ages to come.
I do not believe that the sins of any one sinner would require eternal suffering in Hell while the one bearing the sins of the entire world would not incur the same eternal suffering.
Although I fully believe that the Son of God suffered once for all in a limited space of time here on earth - I believe that His suffering will continue for eternity as the Father crushes Him for all of the sins He bears. That is why He wanted so badly for there to be an alternative to His suffering - no just to escape 6 hours of torment here on earth, as horrible as that no doubt was.
I believe that all men will either find themselves existing for eternity in the body of Christ while reigning with Him and enjoying the love of God without measure or existing in eternity in Christ while suffering the wrath of God forever.
I believe that part of the pain unsaved men will suffer in eternity is watching the one who died for their sins suffering right along with them - precisely because of their personal sins. They will deserve what they are suffering and He will not - and they will understand that fully as will all creatures in the age to come.
He will continue to love them while in the pain of Hell just as He did when He laid down His life to atone for their sins.
IMO - one of the biggest misunderstanding which so called 5-point Calvinist Christians have is the doctrine that says Christ could not have atoned for the sins of the lost if they suffer for those sins. IMO - they could well both suffer for those sins, together.
So long as there are alternative views concerning the atonement than the one espoused in "limited atonement" - I believe that their all too human logic is unwarranted as usually expressed by full on Calvinists in the doctrine of limited atonement. But - that's a subject for another thread.
God is not unjust for pouring out His wrath for eternity on sinners so long as - human and emotionally speaking only - He undergoes that same wrath as the one who subjected the world to sin.
*(Please- no lectures here about the sinless nature of God or about Him not being the author of sin or debates about His supposed lack of absolute sovereignty in all that happens in His creation.)
For those who would say that if God sovereignly subjected the world to evil through the sinful choices of men and angels - He has something to answer for --- I would simply say that He does and will answer for it (even though He did not do it directly Himself).
I am fully willing to believe all such a God tells me - whether I understand it all or not.
Of course there will always be those who will answer these mysteries simply by making God less than the sovereign of all that happens in His creation - just as there are those who say that He did not die for all sins. With all due respect to well meaning theologians both professional and amateur - you are both wrong. But, if it's OK with everyone, I don't want to debate those people now.
Much more could be said and probably should be said about these ideas so that there would be no misunderstandings.
But my simple answer to the OP is - yes, I believe God suffers for eternity for the sins of the world right along with unsaved mankind and rebellious angels.
