Hell....Eternal death, or eternal agony?

Question

I believe that when the Bible speaks of hell, it mearly means you will never be revived.

But many believe that it means Eternal agony.

But think about it from this point of veiw.

Would a merciful, kind, forgiving God, truely condemn you to eternal agony, for maby eighty years of sins?

The word hell, originaly met eternal death.

Please do not try to back up your theory with books written by men that did not have The LORD to guide them.And as the only book written by men,guided by The LORD is The Bible, please, stick to backing up what you say with The Bible.

pj333, you have a good answear there, personally i don't believe in reincarnation, but that is something worth considering.

Answer 1

hello:}
i believe hell is here on earth and when we do horrible things such as Hitler and serial killers etc etc .then we do not get to evolve soul wise and when these types die they get to come right back onto this negative difficult planet .via being in the flesh again over and over until they learn [the hard way ,karmically].
i totally agree the merciful God that Christians etc speak of does not let a soul perish simply because they don't believe a certain way or have committed a sin .
some people say that hell is the absence of God ,when they die it is simply a void but if you think about reincarnation [which i totally believe was in the original text of jesus's teachings ].then this would allow souls to learn heavy lessons and would explain a lot of the worlds ills .
i can not nor will i believe that the higher power is like some punishing father who watches every little thing and condemns us to eternal damnation -----that is man made and man thought out to control the masses and make men powerful .
anyway just some extra thoughts for you .
Peggy:}

Answer 2

so how does one take a verse like
Revelation 20:10
and the the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. ???

observation they (meaning devil+beast+false prophet) will (future tense) be tormeted day and night (when) forever and ever (a long long time)

obersvation the beast_false prophet were already there for 1000 years (whether literall or symbolic) and does not sound like they are anihalated

there is everlasting contempt and everlasting like in Daniel 12... I think the everlasting contempt is the way orthodox Christians have portrayed it... but I also dont think its the most important essential doctrine and one where chrisitans can disagree... I think it may not be essential but is important

I think the way orthodox protestants, Catholics and Eaastern orthodox look at eternal punishment and eternal enjoyment I think is right,

partly the duration is partly because the offense is against an infinite God,

"... and the smoke of their torment goes up into the ages of the ages...." Revelation

"... outside the city are the dogs, the sorcerers and the evildoers..: Revelation why are they outside if they are gone???

"...their worm will never die.." Isaiah quoted several times in the gospels

one way to look at it is a finite being suffers for an infinite time
or an infinite being suffers for a finite time on the cross

like I say... this is an area where Christians might disagree, I do think there is good reason to lean in the orthodox direction

Answer 3

Hell as it is NOW is just a place outside the presents of God, it is a physical place made of the foundations of heaven, but outside the walls of heaven, and beyond a gulf that can not be crossed.
It is NOT judgement, but a place for those who might DIE wait. I said might die!

There are a few that Will die there but I have no idea who or what they did that will cause them to die!

AFTER
The 1000-year of Christ, all (ALL) will be judged.
So some from hell (if not all) will be on the earth during the 1000 years.

A lake of fire will open outside of Israel (somewhere I didn't look it up) and the judged and found wanting will be thrown into the Lake along with Satan (who is the only one NOW judged and found wanting and committed to die)

The Lake of fire will totally consume Body and Soul! You can not get any deader than this!
It is over, dead, gone, fade to black, no one there!

After note:
Anyone, who dies in this lake, will be blotted out, removed from the memory of the living.
I.e.: lets take a hypothetical man (Hitser) (Hitler has not been judged yet and may live)
Hitser was a very bad man! lol
He is judged and thrown into the lake, He killed your parents, raped your sister, and you were tortured to death by him over a period of 5 months. You watch as he hits the lake and then you turn to speak OF him, and say: Ahhhh who was that, that went into the lake? And what did he do?

Answer 4

Eternal agony. 23 Minutes in Hell is a great book.

Answer 5

MATTHEW 13:36-43


Jesus Explains the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares
36 ¶ Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.

37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;

38 the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

39 the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

42 and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Answer 6

I don't believe in Hell, but I think the eternal death is way worse of a fate.

Answer 7

hell is had'es which means the grave so were all going to hell but yeah id pick eternal death. not had a good sleep in AGES!

Answer 8

You'd think if this god existed and he's as smart as they say he is, he would be able to present his point of view in such a way that everyone would agree with him of their own free will and there would be no need for hell

Answer 9

I to agree with you. The book of Revelation speaks of a lake of fire which I believe will be used for persons who do not repent.

Answer 10

(hell, hades, sheol)-mankind's common grave
just death b/c the Bible holds out a hope of a resurrection
so it wouldn't be eternal death...just temporary.