Why does God offer eternal life to those who follow him if he is going to give it to me as well. How can I suffer in the fires of hell if I'm not alive in some sense?
2007-03-28 10:29:25 · 17 answers · asked by Silent watcher of fools 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Good for you, you have caught on to the lie, here!
"You shall not surely die"....
On the contrary, God states quite clearly
"The soul that sins shall die."
And this is repeated in the NT, as well.
We are told that the gift of God is eternal life (if we already had eternal life, but it was just a question of where to spend it, why would we need the 'gift of eternal life'...wouldn't it be 'the gift of Heaven'?) BUT the wages of sin is DEATH.
In Revelation, we are told that death and hell will give up the dead in them, and that death and hell will both be tossed into the Lake of Fire (I still haven't figured out how hell can BE this lake, and also get tossed INTO it, but hey, I did flunk physics) AND we are also told that these things will be destroyed forever.
I think of the Lake of Fire as God's Incinerator. When He gets ready to re-build His Creation, He will toss all the stuff that causes harm in there and burn it up, and DEATH, as He promised, will not exist any more.
A couple of things that have always puzzled me...when I hear some preacher going on about how "their sinful hides will blister and turn black and their eyes will melt from their sockets" (nice picture, huh), does this stuff grow back, like Prometheus' liver?
Or this...If Jesus paid the penalty for my sin, and the penalty is burning for eternity in hell, shouldn't He still be twisting in the flames somewhere? (ugh!)
I hope this answers your question, and may God bless you, whether you believe in Him or not.
2007-03-28 10:47:27 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you're missing the point... God is offering eternal good life, while the alternative is eternal misery.
It's the difference between a nice summer's day at a picnic with friends and family and a day in a nursing home attached to a machine to breathe and crap, alone with the hissing of the torture machine. Times a million.
2007-03-28 17:37:53 · answer #2 · answered by Brian 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I believe the people in hell will ultimately be destroyed after a time of suffering. But that version is not widely supported among believers. But based on what is written in the Bible, it is possible.
2007-03-28 17:44:34 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
ALL people will be resurrected with their bodies. So ALL people will live for eternity. The question is where will you spend eternity, Heaven or Hell?
2007-03-28 17:33:48 · answer #4 · answered by Luv&Rockets 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yea, you would have to be conscience to suffer. Eternal Life is the one that's enjoyable; Eternal Death the painful one, according to many pastors.
2007-03-28 17:34:16 · answer #5 · answered by Wrath Warbone 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You might be able to call it eternal life, but the picture I see is not a pretty one.
I think I shall have a higher goal.
Peace!
2007-03-28 17:36:43 · answer #6 · answered by C 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Heaven is anyplace christstains are not. Hell is anyplace there is an overabundance of crister cultists. So if I'm going to hell there better be plenty of drugs and alcohol.
2007-03-28 17:53:20 · answer #7 · answered by CD 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Those who go to hell will be dying eternally. Those who go to heaven will live eternally. That's the difference. One is abundant life, one is utter torture.
2007-03-28 17:33:06 · answer #8 · answered by Amie M 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
God made no such promise. Men wrote that. That's not even in the original biblical texts, it was later added in mistranslation. I guess anyone can speak for God.
2007-03-28 17:35:40 · answer #9 · answered by Justsyd 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You spend eternity with God, or without him. It is your choice.
2007-03-28 17:38:05 · answer #10 · answered by ? 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋