Why do people keep saying there is a hell? the bible doesn't teach that.?

Question

Eccl 9:5 says they are unconscience,
Psalms 146:4 his spirit goes out he goes back to his ground and his thoughts perish.
Ezekiel 18:4 the soul that is sinning it will die.
God told Adam he would return to the dust.
Where did this belief in hell come from? Doesn't this make God sound cruel?

Answer 1

Here is some food for thought:

The Origin of Hell

“HELL,” explains the New Catholic Encyclopedia, is the word “used to signify the place of the damned.” A Protestant encyclopedia defines hell as “the place of future punishment for the wicked.” But belief in such a place of punishment after death is not limited to the main churches of Christendom. It originated many centuries before Christendom came into existence.

The Mesopotamian Hell

About 2,000 years before the birth of Jesus, the Sumerians and the Babylonians believed in an underworld that they called the Land of No Return. This ancient belief is reflected in the Sumerian and the Akkadian poems known as “The Epic of Gilgamesh” and the “Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld.” They describe this abode of the dead as a house of darkness, “the house which none leave who have entered it.”

As to the conditions prevailing there, an ancient Assyrian text states that “the nether world was filled with terror.” The Assyrian prince who was supposedly granted a view of this subterranean abode of the dead testified that his “legs trembled” at what he saw. Describing Nergal, the king of the underworld, he recorded: “With a fierce cry he shrieked at me wrathfully like a furious storm.”

Egyptian and Oriental Religions

The ancient Egyptians believed in the immortality of the soul, and they had their own concept of the afterworld. The New Encyclopædia Britannica states: “Egyptian funerary texts depict the way to the next world as beset by awful perils: fearsome monsters, lakes of fire, gates that cannot be passed except by the use of magical formulas, and a sinister ferryman whose evil intent must be thwarted by magic.”

The Indo-Iranian religions developed various beliefs on punishment after death. Concerning Hinduism, the French Encyclopædia Universalis (Universal Encyclopedia) states: “There are innumerable descriptions of the 21 hells imagined by the Hindus. Sinners are devoured by wild beasts and by snakes, laboriously roasted, sawed into parts, tormented by thirst and hunger, boiled in oil, or ground to powder in iron or stone vessels.”

Jainism and Buddhism both have their versions of hell, where impenitent sinners are tormented. Zoroastrianism, founded in Iran, or Persia, also has a hell—a cold, ill-smelling place where the souls of sinners are tormented.

Interestingly, it would appear that the torments of the Egyptian, Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, and Zoroastrian versions of hell are not everlasting. According to these religions, after a period of suffering, the souls of sinners move on to some other place or state, depending on the particular religion’s concept of human destiny. Their ideas of hell resemble Catholicism’s purgatory.

Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Hells

The ancient Greeks believed in the survival of a soul (psy·khe′, the word they also used for the butterfly). They called Hades the realm of the dead and believed it was ruled over by a god of the same name. In his book Orpheus—A General History of Religions, French scholar Salomon Reinach wrote of the Greeks: “A widely spread belief was that [the soul] entered the infernal regions after crossing the river Styx in the boat of the old ferryman Charon, who exacted as the fare an obolus [coin], which was placed in the mouth of the dead person. In the infernal regions it appeared before the three judges of the place . . . ; if condemned for its crimes, it had to suffer in Tartarus. . . . The Greeks even invented a Limbo, the abode of children who had died in infancy, and a Purgatory, where a certain mild chastisement purified souls.” According to The World Book Encyclopedia, souls that ended up in Tartarus “suffered eternal torment.”

In Italy the Etruscans, whose civilization preceded that of the Romans, also believed in punishment after death. The Dictionnaire des Religions (Dictionary of Religions) states: “The extreme care that the Etruscans took of their dead is explained by their conception of the nether regions. Like the Babylonians, they considered these to be places of torture and despair for the manes [spirits of the dead]. The only relief for them could come from propitiatory offerings made by their descendants.” Another reference work declares: “Etruscan tombs show scenes of horror that inspired Christian paintings of hell.”

The Romans adopted the Etruscan hell, calling it Orcus or Infernus. They also borrowed the Greek myths about Hades, the king of the underworld, calling him Orcus, or Pluto.

The Jews and the Hebrew Scriptures

What about the Jews before Jesus’ day? Concerning them, we read in the Encyclopædia Britannica (1970): “From the 5th century B.C. onward, the Jews were in close contact with the Persians and the Greeks, both of whom had well-developed ideas of the hereafter. . . . By the time of Christ, the Jews had acquired a belief that wicked souls would be punished after death in Gehenna.” However, the Encyclopædia Judaica states: “No suggestion of this later notion of Gehenna is to be found in Scripture.”

This latter statement is correct. There is no suggestion in the Hebrew Scriptures of a postmortem punishment for a soul in a fiery hell. This frightening doctrine goes back to the post-Flood religions of Babylonia, not to the Bible. Christendom’s doctrine of punishment in hell originated with the early Babylonians. The Catholic idea of remedial suffering in purgatory goes back to the early Egyptian and Oriental religions. Limbo was copied from Greek mythology. Prayers and offerings for the dead were practiced by the Etruscans.

Answer 2

Apparantly you have not studied your bible much, espeically on that subject. You are quoting texts that talk about death but do not think there is anything on Hell in the bible? Ps. 16:10, Acts 2:31, the word for Hell is Sheol or in Greek Hades which means hell or grave, Rev. 20:14, Mal. 4:1, Matt, 10:28. And this is only a sampling of what is there on Hell. And no, it does not make God sound cruel if you know what it is there for. It is to punish the wicked and destroy them. It was made for Satan and his angels, not for man but man has chosen to follow Satan so he will get the same thing Satan and his followers get. Not life eternal as most will tell you but death by burning. See 1 John 5:12 and you will find that without Christ you cannot have life eternal. Do some study on it and you will see it is mentioned a lot more than you have thought. See the site below and do the studies there and you will get the truth.

Answer 3

There is a hell, but it is not a place of torment and I use the King James Bible. You are so right when you use the Scriptures you quoted. They attest to the fact that the soul is not immortal---it dies. All people are souls. Adam became a living soul (Genesis 2:7) Animals are souls too.( Revelation 16:3) And they prove that the dead are really dead as if in a deep sleep without dreams.
God is love and would never torture anyone, especially forever. If someone were to burn someone you love or torture them endlessly without mercy for even one day, how would you feel about that person? Could you love him, respect him, or worship him? No wonder so many do not show respect for God. He is made to look like a heartless and sadistic tyrant. This is exactly what Satan the Devil wants people to think about God. That is why he started the false doctrine of hellfire and unfortunately by the answers you have gotten, it is working.

Answer 4

Hades: Matthew 16:18; Revelation 1:18 (Christ holds the keys of death and Hell); Revelation 6:8; Revelation 20:13; Revelation 20:14; Matthew 5:22; Matthew 5:29; and many, many more.

Answer 5

Hell
The place, state or condition prepared for Satan, his subjects and the unrepentant for all eternity. The term derives from the Teutonic mythological place for the dead and corresponds to the Old Testament Sheol or dwelling of the dead. Theologians generally agree that hell is a place of pain and suffering that is derived from alienation from God and from an outside source and is also a place of punishment. The suffering of those in hell is proportionate to the gravity of their sins, and it is without end.

There is a pain of loss of vision of God and a sensible pain that derives from punishment. This punishment should not be conceived of as a purely psychological pain, for there is an objective aspect and content to it. Just as heaven involves an objective relationship to God and an objective pleasure, so also hell involves an objective condition and an objective punishment and suffering. The eternity of hell can be explained by the obduracy and hardheartedness of sinners. It is conceivable that some sinners are so frozen in their sinful attitudes that they cannot repent even in the face of the punishments and sufferings of hell.

The New Testament relates fire with hell, but darkness is also associated with it, and the New Testament repeatedly identifies hell with exclusion from the kingdom of heaven. While there is no explicit doctrine of hell in the words of Christ, there is clear mention of pain at the loss of the kingdom of heaven. The Church has defined hell and the eternity of hell against Origen and other ancient writers who held that all would be ultimately reconciled to God.

Answer 6

No it doesnt make God sound cruel since he gives us the opportunity to not go to hell. And the belief comes from the bible. I'll give you a verse
look at Rev. 20:13-14
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
I hope this answers your question

Answer 7

The Bible doesn't say that ? Hmmmm.. This will be an indepth answer..I pray you take the time to read it..

It is very interesting to discover that there are more Bible verses about Hell than there are about Heaven. Here are a few verses in the Old Testament about Hell. Daniel 12:2 proclaims, "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." Hell is described here as everlasting. Isaiah 66:24 declares, "And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind." In this Scripture, hell is described as a place where the fire is not quenched. Deuteronomy 32:22 portrays hell as a place where God pours out His wrath, "For a fire is kindled in My anger, and shall burn to the lowest hell; It shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains." Psalms 55:15 illustrates hell as a realm of the wicked, "Let death seize them; Let them go down alive into hell, for wickedness is in their dwellings and among them."

Does Hell Exist - What does the New Testament say?
Does Hell Exist? If the clear teaching of the Old Testament is not enough, the New Testament has much to say as well. 2 Thessalonians 1:9 tells us, "These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power." Revelation 14:10-11, speaking of the antichrist, teaches us, "He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." Hell is a lake of burning fire, as described in Revelation 20:14-15, "Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire."

Does Hell Exist - What did Jesus say?
Some who argue that hell does not exist do so on the basis of their belief that Jesus taught love, peace, and forgiveness - and that He did not teach about an eternal place of fiery punishment for non-believers. However, the exact opposite is true. Jesus taught more about hell than anyone else in the Word of God. Jesus described hell as an unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12), a place of eternal fire, (Matthew 25:41) eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46), and as a place of torment, fire, and agony (Luke 16:23-24). Jesus taught specifically about hell many times in His ministry (Matthew 5:22, 29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mark 9:43-47; Luke 12:6; 16:23).

Does Hell Exist - How is an eternity in Hell fair?
If Hell does exist, how can it be fair? Why would a loving God punish a person for eternity, when their sins only took place for 70-80 years? The answer is that all sin is ultimately against God, who is infinite (Psalm 51:4). So, since God is an eternal and infinite Being, all sin is worthy of an infinite punishment.

Yes, God loves us (John 3:16) and wants all people to be saved (2 Peter 3:9). However, God is also just and righteous - He will not allow sin to go unpunished. That is why God sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins. Jesus Christ's death was an infinite death, paying our infinite sin debt - so that we would not have to pay it in Hell for eternity (2 Corinthians 5:21). All we have to do is put our faith in Him and we are forgiven and promised an eternal home in heaven. God loved us so much to provide for our salvation. If we reject His gift of eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ, we will face the eternal consequences of that decision - an eternity in a fiery hell.

If you were to die today do you know with 100% certainty that you are going to heaven? Know for sure today!

Answer 8

<1> Mt 5:22, 29; 10:28; 13:42, 50; Mk 9:43-48

1034 Jesus often speaks of "Gehenna" of "the unquenchable fire" reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to believe and be converted, where both soul and body can be lost. <1> Jesus solemnly proclaims that he "will send his angels, and they will gather . . . all evil doers, and throw them into the furnace of fire," and that he will pronounce the condemnation: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire!"

In all learning we do, we can view as gift or cruel. I'm sure that when you were learning to walk and fell down, it felt crule to fall. However, you did learn from the fall and now you can walk freely. Hell can be viewed as the same way ... purification which causes pain in order to recieve a greater benefit ... purification for heaven ... for nothing unpure will get into heaven.


Question is do you want to learn to purify yourself here on Earth, or in Hell?

Answer 9

I think in Matthew Jesus talks about the rich man and Lazarus. Revelation says death and Hell will be cast in the lake of fire.

Answer 10

Read Matthew chapters 10,11,16,18,23,5 / Mark 9 / Luke 10,12,16 / II Peter 2:4. I'm just wondering what your getting your information from. Please read without being offended. The verses you are showing, are talking about the physical body.

Answer 11

hey i agree with rb and mark 9-48 where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched .

luke 16 verses 23 and 24 and in hell he lift up his eyes being in torments and seeth abraham afar off and lazrarus in his bosom and he cried and said father abraham have mercy on me and send lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for i am tormented in this flame.

luke 13 , 3 i tell you nay but except ye repent ye shall all likw wise perish.

u r a sinner we all are for all have sinned come short of te glory of god romans 3;23

for whosever shall call upon te name of the lord shallbe saved romans 10;13

come to jesus today call on jesus tell him u are a sinner and u need to be saved.

say this prayer dear, lord jesus i know i am a sinner i need u to come in my hear forgive me of my sins i believe u died rose again the third day come in my heart lord jesus , amen