Christians, you say that hell is an eternally hot place right?

Question

Filled with fire ("a lake of" I believe is the saying) so, what keeps it going?
What is the fuel?
How often does it need to be re-fueled?
And how exactly does a soul, something that, according to your myth, has no substance or form, feel pain?
Any of you want to give an intelligent reply to this question?

Answer 1

Nothing in religion makes sense.

Answer 2

Well first I have to answer your question with a question...How long has the center of the earth been a molten hot place that spews lava, (Evolutionists would have to answer billion upon billions of years.) and what fuels that, and how often has it been re-fueled and by whom? The 'lake of fire' is burning sulfer according to Rev. 19:20 And your next question about the soul (per 'our myth') having no substance or form...sorry but it is a proven scientific fact that when a person dies they lose weight that is more than can be explained away by just the breath in the body. And hell is going to be a place of eternal anguish and by definition that can be "very great pain or grief; great suffering or distress. (ask a mother who has just lost her infant if she is in any pain...pain can be so much more than just your 'body' getting a physical cut or scrape) Oh and by the way...it's not the Christians that say, "hell is an eternally hot place..." It's what God says it is =) Have a nice day !!

Answer 3

Do not believe the vision of Hell believed by so many Christians today. It is an unscriptural picture. In fact, it comes originally from pagan Greece and Rome. The Bible tells us that Hell is not currently burning; it will not exist until the end of the Millennium. Satan will not be "stoking the fire" - he will be IN it, suffering his own punishment for leading the whole world astray. At the end of the Millennium, when the New Jerusalem returns to Earth for the Judgment of the Wicked, the Wicked shall be raised into the same mortal bodies they had before. After they have had a chance to see every sin they have ever committed, and they have bowed down to Christ and verbally admitted that He is Lord, fire will come down from Heaven and consume them. They will be instantly consumed; they will not burn forever or be tortured. Those with few sins will be consumed quickly, while the "Hitlers" of the world will burn a little longer. Christ will give "each man according as his work shall be". The fire will be right here on the surface of this Earth; it will not burn forever, but as soon as all traces of sin and sinners have been burned up, it will burn itself out.
The Bible uses a correlation between the end-time Hellfire and the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah. Some people will use a verse from the Bible that speaks of an "eternal fire" when describing the punishment of the wicked. This same phrase is used to describe the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Are S&G still burning today? Of course not, but the effects are eternal. They will never rise again. Likewise with the destruction of the Wicked. They will never exist again.
To believe that sinners live forever in Hellfire is to believe that sin is stronger than God! The Bible also tells us that God alone has immortality. Humans do not currently have immortality, nor do they automatically have it after death. Immortality is something that Christ bestows on those who love Him at the time of His Return. Those who are lost do not receive it ever- in Hell or otherwise.

Answer 4

Let's take this even a step further, not only is it a "lake of fire," bit it also resides in a place of "outer darkness," and scripture reports that "the smoke of their torment ascends upward FOREVER."

You hinted at what is likely part of the answer, a soul "has no substance or form."

Let's do a bit of math for a moment, and I ask your pardon if you have read this piece in any of my earlier posts.

If I have an infinite pile of marbles and I want to give you an infinite amount of them, I could do it in these ways:
1) Give them all to you, leaving me none
2) Give just the odd numbers to you (there are infinitely many odd numbers in an infinite pile of marbles)
3) Give just the marbles numbered 10 or higher since there are an infinite number of marbles above the number 9.

Here it is in symbolic form:
∞ - ∞ = 0
∞ - ∞ = ∞
∞ - 10 = ∞

As you can see, whenever you are dealing with something infinite, you can not be dealing with anything in this physical realm. There is simply nothing at all which behaves in this fashion. This is key to understanding your questions.

If the smoke ascends up forever, it must reside outside of this physical reality since according to the rules of mathematics, you can not transcend the infinite. (at least not in THIS universe) It therefore follows, especially since the scripture indicates that God will roll this creation up, and that the elements will perish in fervent heat, that Hell must be a part of something outside of this universe. If we allow that there is a God who created this universe with its attendant laws of physics and that still has creative power to bring an alternative into being, how much of a leap is it to suppose that it might obey a different set of laws? How much of a leap is it to suppose then, that the fire is not necessarily what we think of when we ordinarily think of fire, especially when we hear that there will also be a "worm that does not die?" How can a worm not die, especially if there is an eternal flame of some kind? How is it that there is fire, yet "outer darkness?" Some simplisticly dismiss this altogether, still others think it must be figurative, and then there are those like me, who think that there will be conscious torment, but it will be unlike anything in this world, especially in light of the fact that this world will be no more.

Incidentally, this same simple math can be used to determine that the universe began and therefore was caused.

Tom

Answer 5

No, that is not what we think. I'd like to offer you a better understanding. This world we live in is hell, it's fueled by lies and lusts and selfishness. This world we now live in is controlled by satan. Soon, he and all who serve him will be thrown into the lake of fire and that will be the end. No more hell, all the pain and suffering will end forever.

Answer 6

We are given eternal bodies, ones that are designed to last for eternity.

In summary, the body is destroyed at death (Genesis 3:19), but the soul survives death. The souls of those who are saved will be with God and Christ; the souls of the wicked will be in a state of torment. When Christ comes again, both those who are saved and the wicked will be resurrected. Those who are saved will receive new glorified bodies and live eternally with God, but the wicked will be cast into hell.

Answer 7

Well, if you know God, you should know that His words alone can keep the fire going as long as He wants. And as for souls having no substance, I don't know where you got that from, because your soul consists of your emotions, memories etc. So if you think you won't feel anything there, you'd better think again.

You all claim to be rational and intelligent thinker, but according to your questions, you have nothing on an average person. No offense intended!

Answer 8

My supper is burning, I'll get back to you in a few minutes.

In the Bible, fire is a symbol for judgement, right from the beginning of the bible to the end. I don't think that the lake of fire is necessarily literal fire, but a judgement from God. God is the source of all that is good, and hell is simply total separation form God and thus from all that is good. All love is removed, all kindness, all friendship, all caring about anyone except yourself. There is no peace or relationship with anyone. It is the epitome of evil in everyone there. There are other names associated with other than fire. It is also called "outer darkness" , again with the insinuation of all light being removed. Light is a reference again to Christ. Every human being has some good in them, but in hell no human will have any good in them. Of course there is a lot we do not know but we do know these simple facts.

Answer 9

Sure - I'll give it a try.
Find out for yourself by obtaining a Bible. Try the New International Version. It is very readable, like the daily newspaper. In the back index, look up "Hell". You will find the Bible has tons of verses that describe hell. Read the verses for yourself. Why take our word for it? The Bible is clear - but you should really read it for yourself.
Then you will have the informed, intellegent answer you seek.
Good day!

All the best.

Answer 10

That is one of the most popular alagories, yes. The fire is used to represent the torture of not knowing God's love and forgiveness. It has nothing to do with physcial pain. it is the pain of the soul being seperated from God. Honestly, I don't believe in it. I think we create our own suffering right here on Earth. The things we do to ourselves, emotionally and physically, as well as each other. It is my prayer that someday we as human grown beyond this type of behavior. ~sigh~ Blessings, Diana

Answer 11

The myth of fire and burning comes from Dante's Inferno.

Religious texts just describe hell as pain, darkness and suffering. aka a place without god.