Doctrine of Hell

[B. W.]

God tells us about Both heaven and hell. How to be able to Be in heaven and how to stay Out of hell. And He's told us enough About hell that we know we don't want to end up there. He's given us salvation through Jesus Christ -- we Can accept That and share it with everyone who is willing to listen. It's up to the individual to either accept or reject salvation.

There is only This life to make an eternal decision -- because once a person Dies -- he's In eternity -- and there is the resurrection of the dead both of believers and non-believers.

What Has made me 'wonder' is Why people spend So much time researching about hell ie what actually happens as far as length of time of suffering, etc. And all the questions regarding how just or not God is for 'sending' people there. My response would be -- God doesn't send anyone to hell , but He Does know who will or won't accept Him -- when a person feels a concern for a certain group of people being in danger of Not hearing of salvation -- by all means Do something to meet that need. My sister and her husband did exactly that -- recently retired / came back to the States after spending 40 years ministering in Brazil. They Still correspond with their friends on Face Book in Brazilian Portugeese. My sister works with translating literature into that language.

But don't waste time / energy blaming God for all those people who you assume aren't hearing God's Word. Get in touch with a church that supports various missionaries in lots of countries. Send monitary funds to their mission board -- pray for them. Pray for those unknown people.

And be conscious of your neighbors / college classmates/ employees, etc. who might not be believers. Be willing to pray for them -- share with them as the opportunity presents itself.

Well said!
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[abelcainsbrother]

Gehenna was a real place where people took their trash to be burned and the fire was always kept burning,so if Jesus used Gehenna as a description of hell,how could you not think those who go to hell will burn in hell forever?Our flesh dies but nobody's spirit ever dies,Jesus said "where their worm dieth not" too.

The good news is that Jesus already took the punishment for every sin you would commit and everyone of your sins can be washed away by the blood of Jesus,right now if you can believe in Jesus Christ and believe he rose from the dead and ask him to save you and forgive you of your sins.

It is not hard at all to admit we have sinned and have broken the laws of God and Jesus can wash every one of your sins away and can and will present you to the father robed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ who is the only person to have lived a sin free life,even though he was tempted and experienced the same problems we do and actually even worse than what we experience.

Most people understand the physical side of the cross,but some overlook the spiritual side of the cross which was much more severe than the physical side because God placed all of the curses on us that cause death on Jesus when he was on the cross, the bible says "cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" and Jesus was,this means every sickness and disease,etc right on Jesus and he suffered so that you won't have to.

Praise the Lord for he is awesome and he deserves to be your hero over anybody else,they can let you down,but Jesus won't. He did it out of love and he said "It is finished"

[Starhunter]

The worms don't die and the flames don't die.
Have not read where people don't die yet.
Real worms eating ghosts?
Or ghost worms eating ghosts?
Worms in a flame, trying to eat what?

These expressions such as everlasting death and flames etc, in the Bible seem to be statements or warnings of finality, Jesus wanted people to be serious about their decisions in this life.

[jpbg33]

What about the rich man who die. Whether it was a parable or not Jesus said he was living in fire and talked about others in that same fire. He said there was a great guff in between paradise and hell and that people could not go from hell to paradise or from paradise to hell. So according to Jesus you don't die.

[Jac3510]

Gehenna was a real place where people took their trash to be burned and the fire was always kept burning

I've not been following this thread, but this line did jump out at me. Just FYI, this is more than likely a myth. Sort of like the popular idea that the high priest would enter the temple with a rope tied around his ankle so he could be pulled out if he died in the presence of God or like the idea that "the eye of the needle" was actually a small gate that camels could only go through if they were unloaded. Those kinds of myths are popular in biblical interpretation. The idea that Gehenna was a sort of perpetually burning dump is just one of those. It makes for a good story, and it seems to make sense of the biblical imagery about hell. But there's just no evidence that it is true. In fact, scholars are now pretty sure that it actually came from a rabbi in the thirteenth century named Kimchi. As a matter of fact, this isn't a terribly new point, with The Biblical Archeologist(49..3, pp. 188-89) saying way back in 1986 that the theory finds "no support in literary sources or archaeological data from the intertestamental or rabbinic periods. There is no evidence that the valley was, in fact, a garbage dump, and thus his explanation is insufficient."

That doesn't mean, by the way, that no trash was ever burned there. It's not surprising that we do, in fact, find some burned pieces in the valley, but nothing like what people tend to describe it as when they talk about the relationship between the Hinnom and Hell.

Take it for whatever you think it's worth.

Carry on.

[jpbg33]

Jesus spoke of hell many times and about it being a place of torment not inaillation(sorry I can't spell it ). So if Jesus said you are going there if you die a sinner. Then if you die a sinner you will go there. I hate that people go there but it is there on choice. They don't have to go they choose to go by refusing to live right.

[abelcainsbrother]

Gehenna was a real place where people took their trash to be burned and the fire was always kept burning

I've not been following this thread, but this line did jump out at me. Just FYI, this is more than likely a myth. Sort of like the popular idea that the high priest would enter the temple with a rope tied around his ankle so he could be pulled out if he died in the presence of God or like the idea that "the eye of the needle" was actually a small gate that camels could only go through if they were unloaded. Those kinds of myths are popular in biblical interpretation. The idea that Gehenna was a sort of perpetually burning dump is just one of those. It makes for a good story, and it seems to make sense of the biblical imagery about hell. But there's just no evidence that it is true. In fact, scholars are now pretty sure that it actually came from a rabbi in the thirteenth century named Kimchi. As a matter of fact, this isn't a terribly new point, with The Biblical Archeologist(49..3, pp. 188-89) saying way back in 1986 that the theory finds "no support in literary sources or archaeological data from the intertestamental or rabbinic periods. There is no evidence that the valley was, in fact, a garbage dump, and thus his explanation is insufficient."

That doesn't mean, by the way, that no trash was ever burned there. It's not surprising that we do, in fact, find some burned pieces in the valley, but nothing like what people tend to describe it as when they talk about the relationship between the Hinnom and Hell.

Take it for whatever you think it's worth.

Carry on.

Why would Jesus use Gehenna then as a description of hell then? Everybody in Jesus's day knew about Gehenna.Also if Gehenna was not a trash dump then where did the Jews burn the remains of the sacrificed animals? God told them to burn the remains because it is being clean.We know where Gehenna was and you can visit it if you go to Israel.

[Jac3510]

I was going to offer a serious reply, but then I decided it is seriously not worth it. Every question you just asked is very easy answered. You don't need access to peer reviewed journal articles or scholarly books. Google is enough in this case, because that is just how widely known it is that what you are pushing is popular myth.

As I said, take it for whatever you think it's worth. I've informed you, and more importantly, I've informed people who are reading this thread. Gehenna was not and never was a perpetually burning garbage dump. Peace out!

[jpbg33]

Hell is not dependent on that being an eternal fire. The bible says that hell is eternal so who are we to say God is wrong.

[abelcainsbrother]

I was going to offer a serious reply, but then I decided it is seriously not worth it. Every question you just asked is very easy answered. You don't need access to peer reviewed journal articles or scholarly books. Google is enough in this case, because that is just how widely known it is that what you are pushing is popular myth.

As I said, take it for whatever you think it's worth. I've informed you, and more importantly, I've informed people who are reading this thread. Gehenna was not and never was a perpetually burning garbage dump. Peace out!

I think you've got me wrong because I can handle a serious reply but whatever I also know not to believe everything you read too,I'm not saying your wrong but Jesus used the word Gehenna for a reason,some people don't like the idea of eternal hell fire even Christians struggle with the issue,and I know some Christians teach hell is not a place of torment but I choose to believe the bible and it talks about fire in hell.

[Danieltwotwenty]

I was going to offer a serious reply, but then I decided it is seriously not worth it. Every question you just asked is very easy answered. You don't need access to peer reviewed journal articles or scholarly books. Google is enough in this case, because that is just how widely known it is that what you are pushing is popular myth.

As I said, take it for whatever you think it's worth. I've informed you, and more importantly, I've informed people who are reading this thread. Gehenna was not and never was a perpetually burning garbage dump. Peace out!

I think you've got me wrong because I can handle a serious reply but whatever I also know not to believe everything you read too,I'm not saying your wrong but Jesus used the word Gehenna for a reason,some people don't like the idea of eternal hell fire even Christians struggle with the issue,and I know some Christians teach hell is not a place of torment but I choose to believe the bible and it talks about fire in hell.

How can there be fire in hell if there is only darkness? God is light, the absence of God is darkness, hell is the absence of God, hence hell is darkness (or nothingness). The Bible uses hyperbolic language to describe something that is not really describable and to put it into terms that people can understand, I don't think it was meant to mean literal fire but figurative fire instead. John the Baptist said they will be burned up like chaff, which in my opinion means that they will cease to exist permanently. An all loving God would not allow an eternity of suffering.

Matthew 3:12

[jpbg33]

The bible says our knowledge is stupidity compared to God's and that hell is eternal. So if God says it is eternal then it is. To say that it is not eternal is to use our knowledge which God said isn't worth much.

[B. W.]

Here is what is known about GEHENNA:

GEHENNA (Hebr. ; Greek, Γέεννα):
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6558-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...

Symbolical Gehenna refers to an accursed place for accursed acts and that is how folks should take its meaning which by the way does indeed fit Jesus words on the nature of Hell and the concept taught in both OT and NT concerning reaping what one has sown.

Next, there are symbols and metaphors used all the time in the bible to convey truth. The worm doth not dies, etc and etc is an example of this that shows that whatever they really symbolize feeds upon a person forever and ever in order to feast upon the accursed never-ending. I understand that many Christians cannot understand this, and that is okay, go in peace, no condemnation or condescension from me toward any of you who hold to annihilationism in a Christianized sense. In time, you'll understand why hell has to be never ending when the true nature of evil's dysfunctional state is made known, and the true justice of God to remain true to himself in all things and ways is revealed. For now, peace!!!
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[RickD]

The bible says our knowledge is stupidity compared to God's and that hell is eternal. So if God says it is eternal then it is. To say that it is not eternal is to use our knowledge which God said isn't worth much.

Did you use your knowledge of the english language to read your bible, which lead you to the conclusion that your knowledge isn't worth much?

[Rob]

How can there be fire in hell if there is only darkness? God is light, the absence of God is darkness, hell is the absence of God, hence hell is darkness (or nothingness).

Maybe it's black-fire, brah.