what is hell?and what is heaven?

Answer 1

Hell, according to many religious beliefs, is an afterlife of suffering where the wicked or unrighteous dead are punished. Hells are almost always depicted as underground. In Christianity and Islam, hell is fiery. Hells from other traditions, however, are sometimes cold and gloomy. Some hells are described in graphic and gruesome detail (for example, Hindu Naraka). Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell as endless (for example, see Hell in Christian beliefs). Religions with a cyclic history often depict hell as an intermediary period between incarnations (for example, see Chinese Di Yu). Punishment in hell typically corresponds to sins committed in life. Sometimes these distinctions are specific, with damned souls suffering for each wrong committed (see for example Plato's myth of Er), and sometimes they are general, with sinners being relegated to one or more chamber of hell or level of suffering (for example, Augustine of Hippo asserting that unbaptized infants suffer less in hell than unbaptized adults). In Islam and Christianity, however, faith and repentance play a larger role than actions in determining a soul's afterlife destiny.

Hells are often populated with demons, who torment the damned. Many are ruled by a death god, such as Nergal, the Hindu Yama, or some other dreadful supernatural figure (e.g. Satan).

In contrast to hells, other general types of afterlives are abodes of the dead and paradises. Abodes of the dead are neutral places for all the dead (for example, see sheol), rather than prisons of punishment for sinners. A paradise is a happy afterlife for some or all the dead (for example, see heaven).

Modern understandings of hell often depict it abstractly, as a state of loss rather than as fiery torture literally under the ground. Pope Benedict XVI affirmed in a Lenten homily on March 26, 2007 that the Roman Catholic Church and its loyal members retain belief in a literal Hell, a place that "really exists and is eternal".

Hell appears in several mythologies and religions. It is commonly inhabited by demons and the souls of dead people.

Hell is often depicted in art and literature, perhaps most famously in Dante's Divine Comedy.

The giantess Hel rules a dark, horrible underworld for those who die inglorious deaths, such as sickness, old age or drowning. Her realm is also called Hel, and this word is the source of the English word "hell." Hel isn't hot like most concepts of Hell, but is very very cold.

Judaism does not have a specific doctrine about the afterlife, but it does have a tradition of describing Gehenna. Gehenna is not hell, but rather a sort of Purgatory where one is judged based on his or her life's deeds. The Kabbalah describes it as a "waiting room" (commonly translated as an "entry way") for all souls (not just the wicked). The overwhelming majority of rabbinic thought maintains that people are not in Gehenna forever; the longest that one can be there is said to be 11 months, however there has been the occasional noted exception. Some consider it a spiritual forge where the soul is purified for its eventual ascent to Olam Habah (heb. עולם הבא; lit. "The world to come", often viewed as analogous to Heaven). This is also mentioned in the Kabbalah, where the soul is described as breaking, like the flame of a candle lighting another: the part of the soul that ascends being pure and the "unfinished" piece being reborn.

Luke 12:5 records Jesus speaking about God's Judgment: "But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath Power to cast into Hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him."

In Paul's letter to the Thessalonian church he describes a separation taking place: "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with His mighty angels, In flaming fire taking Vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the Presence of the Lord, and from the Glory of his Power" (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)

Most modern Christians see Hell as the eternal punishment for unrepentant sinners, as well as for the Devil and his demons. Virtuous unbelievers (such as pagans or members of divergent Christian denominations - at least those who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ) are said to deserve Hell on account of original sin according to many conservative denominations. Sometimes exceptions are understood for those who have have extenuating circumstances (youth, mental illness, invincible error, etc.). As opposed to the concept of Purgatory, damnation to Hell is considered final and irreversible. However, the foundation of the Christian faith is that it is the death of Jesus Christ, and acceptance of his love for us, that allows repentant sinners to avoid the torments of Hell and enjoy eternity with God. Various interpretations of the torments of Hell exist, ranging from fiery pits of wailing sinners to lonely isolation from God's presence. However, the descriptions of Hell found in the Bible are quite vague. The books of Matthew, Mark, and Jude tell of a place of fire, while the books of Luke and Revelation report it as an abyss. Also, Revelation 20:10 (NIV) illustrates Hell as a "lake with burning sulfur". Our modern, more graphic, images of Hell have developed from writings that are not found in the Bible. Dante's The Divine Comedy is a classic inspiration for modern images of Hell. Other early Christian writings also illustrate the anguish of Hell. These texts include the Apocalypse of Peter and the Coptic Apocalypse of Paul. Both these pieces of literature tell of the author being taken on a personal tour of Heaven and Hell. These writings tell of what the authors witnessed during their journeys. Most Christians believe that damnation occurs immediately upon death (particular judgment), and others that it occurs after Judgment Day, which is written about in the book of Revelation. Attitudes toward Hell and damnation have changed over the centuries (for example, see Limbo), and most Restorationist groups reject the traditional concept of Hell altogether (see Annihilationism, Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and Universalists). These latter theologies propose to reconcile barbaric portrayals of Hell with the benevolent nature of God which all Christians maintain.

The structure of Hell is remarkably complex in many Chinese and Japanese religions. The ruler of Hell has to deal with politics, just as human rulers do. Hell is the subject of many folk stories and manga. In many such stories, people in hell are able to die again.

The Chinese depiction of Hell doesn't necessarily mean a long time suffering for those who enter Hell, nor does it mean that person is bad. The Chinese view Hell as similar to a present day passport or immigration control station. In a Chinese funeral, they burn many Hell Bank Notes for the dead. With this Hell money, the dead person can bribe the ruler of Hell, and spend the rest of the money either in Hell or in Heaven.

In Hinduism, there are contradictions as to whether or not there is a hell (referred to as 'Narak' in Hindi). For some it is a metaphor for a conscience. But in Mahabharata there is a mention of the Pandavas and the Kauravas going to hell. Hells are also described in various Puranas and other scriptures. Garuda Purana gives a detailed account on hell, its features and enlists amount of punishment for most of the crimes like modern day penal code.

It is believed that people who commit 'paap' (sin) go to hell and have to go through the punishments in accordance to the sins they committed. The god Yama, who is also the god of death, is the king of hell. The detailed accounts of all the sins committed by an individual are supposed to be kept by Chitragupta who is the record keeper in Yama's court. Chitragupta reads out the sins committed and Yama orders the appropriate punishments to be given to the individuals. These punishments include dipping in boiling oil, burning in fire, torture using various weapons etc. in various hells. Individuals who finish their quota of the punishments are reborn according to their karma. All of the created are imperfect and thus have at least one sin to their record, but if one has led a generally pious life, one ascends to Heaven, or Swarga after a brief period of expiation in hell.

As diverse as other religions, there are many beliefs about Hell in Buddhism.

Most of the schools of thought, Theravāda, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna would acknowledge several hells[citation needed], which are places of great suffering for those who commit evil actions, such as cold hells and hot hells. Like all the different realms within cyclic existence, an existence in hell is temporary for its inhabitants. Those with sufficiently negative karma are reborn there, where they stay until their specific negative karma has been used up, at which point they are reborn in another realm, such as that of humans, of hungry ghosts, of animals, of asuras, of devas, or of Naraka (Hell) all according to the individual's karma.

There are a number of modern Buddhists, especially among Western schools, who believe that hell is but a state of mind. In a sense, a bad day at work could be hell, and a great day at work could be heaven. This has been supported by some modern scholars who advocate the interpretation of such metaphysical portions of the Scriptures symbolically rather than literally.
Many of the great epics of European literature include episodes that occur in Hell. In the Roman poet Virgil's Latin epic, the Aeneid, Aeneas descends into Dis (the underworld) to visit his father's spirit. The underworld is only vaguely described, with one unexplored path leading to the punishments of Tartarus, while the other leads through Erebus and the Elysian Fields.

In his Divina commedia ('Divine comedy'; set in the year 1300), Dante Alighieri employed the conceit of taking Virgil as his guide through Inferno (and then, in the second cantiche, up the mountain of Purgatorio). Virgil himself is not condemned to Hell in Dante's poem but is rather, as a virtuous pagan, confined to Limbo just at the edge of Hell. The geography of Hell is very elaborately laid out in this work, with nine concentric rings leading deeper into the Earth and deeper into the various punishments of Hell, until, at the center of the world, Dante finds Satan himself trapped in the frozen lake of Cocytus. A small tunnel leads past Satan and out to the other side of the world, at the base of the Mount of Purgatory.

The 1976 novel Inferno by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle is set in Dante's Hell with 20th century protagonists.

John Milton's Paradise Lost (1668) opens with the fallen angels, including their leader Satan, waking up in Hell after having been defeated in the war in heaven and the action returns there at several points throughout the poem. The nature of Hell as a place of punishment, as portrayed by Dante, is not explored here; instead, Hell is the abode of the demons, and the passive prison from which they plot their revenge upon Heaven through the corruption of the human race.

C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce (1945) borrows its title from William Blake's Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1793) and its inspiration from the Divine Comedy as the narrator is likewise guided through Hell and Heaven. Hell is portrayed here as an endless, desolate twilight city upon which night is imperceptibly sinking. The night is actually the Apocalypse, and it heralds the arrival of the demons after their judgement. Before the night comes, anyone can escape Hell if they leave behind their former selves and accept Heaven's offer, and a journey to Heaven reveals that Hell is infinitely small; it is nothing more or less than what happens to a soul that turns away from God and into itself.

In the play "Man and Superman", George Bernard Shaw pictures Hell as a place of idle worship of youth and beauty.

The idea of hell was highly influential to writers such as Jean-Paul Sartre who authored the play "No Exit" about the idea that, "hell is other people". Although not a religious man, Sartre was fascinated by his interpretation of a hellish state of suffering.

19th century French poet Arthur Rimbaud alluded to the concept as well in the title and themes of one of his major works, "A Season In Hell". Rimbaud's poetry portrays his own suffering in a poetic form as well as other themes.

In The War Hound and the World's Pain by Michael Moorcock the central character, Ulrich von Bek is taken on a visit to Hell by Lucifer who charges von Bek with recovering the Holy Grail (the world's pain of the title) in order to attempt a reconciliation between God and Lucifer.

Answer 2

Heaven is the realm where our L-rd is.

Hell and purgatory do not exist, it was made up by the roman catholic church and taken from paganism to scare folks so that they would pay the church money.

The Bible does speak of a place called hell many times, take for example the story about lazarus and the rich man, but no personal interpretation may be put in a spurious passage like this one that would make it directly contradict numerous other passages in scripture this must be seen as a hyperbole and not a litteral event.

Also the hebrew word gehenna was wrongly translated to the word hell in the majority of Bibles today.

Last but not least, if satan is ruling in hell and over all the living souls roasting in screams of tornment on a so called barbeque why does the Bible exposes that as a bold faced lie?

In Ezekiel for example it says he will be devoured with fire at the last day in front of all that behold him. Dnd those living souls? THe Bible says the wages of sin is death, not a living soul in a so called hell. In Malachi we read that the elect will walk on the ashes of the wicked, thus again no living souls forever. The Bible also says that edom burned forever and ever, do you see edom burning today? But for that that where BURNETH UP it did cause they never came out of it did they, it was forever because they died.

Jesus M does not know what he is talking about either when he says the lake of fire is hell since as i just showed you from scripture that is impossible.

Hope this helps.

G-d bless,


Erol

Answer 3

I bet a lot of people will say it's whatever you think it is. That's not true. It is what the Bible says that it is. Hell is a fiery furnace and Heaven is a place without sadness and tears where all will rejoice at spending eternity with God, and where the streets are paved with gold.

Answer 4

It has been said that hell is standing outside the gates of heaven and looking in from the outside not being able to pass through.

Or maybe it is being lonely.
Or being an addict.
Or unrequited love.

Who knows - just be grateful if you don't think you are there!

Answer 5

In the end, it's not up to me, but... I would hope heaven. Maybe I raised enough Hell here? Like the song says. If you want to get to Heaven. You gotta raise a-little Hell.

Answer 6

Heaven
The Bible tells us that there is not only life after death, but eternal life so glorious that “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came to the earth to give us this gift of eternal life. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
Hell
Hell is described as a bottomless pit (Luke 8:31, Revelation 9:1), and a lake of fire, burning with sulfur, where the inhabitants will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:10). In hell, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, indicating intense grief and anger (Matthew 13:42). It is a place “where the worm never dies and the fire never goes out” (Mark 9:48). God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but desires them to turn from their wicked ways so that they can live (Ezekiel 33:11). But He will not force us into submission; if we choose to reject Him, He has little choice but to give us what we want – to live apart from Him.

Answer 7

Hell is being in an abusive marriage with small children and blocking the hallway, while they lock themselves in the back bedroom at my command...and demanding that my abuser KILL ME before he will EVER touch my children.

Then taking the beating until the man, almost twice my size, has knocked me almost unconscious over and over but I just keep getting to my feet, staggering and barely there, to protect my children...until he is just too TIRED to go after my chidren.

HEAVEN is dreaming that one day I will truly be loved, that a man will touch me and I can feel the love even in his very fingertips, see it in his eyes...and that I'll never have to worry about the bills being paid ever again.

Oh...were we talking about the REAL heaven and hell?

I dunno.

I'm afraid to know.

The real world is frightening enough.

Answer 8

Heaven and Hell are nothing more than make believe places of great joy and great suffering (respectively) invented by the early church to keep the masses in line, and easily converted. You'd be surprised what people will do if you promise them great pain and suffering if they don't do what you ask.

Answer 9

Heaven is when you have a good life,Money , love,all the things you need to live a happy life.. Hell is when you have no money,Love, and try to survive from day to day.

Answer 10

hELL and heaven are the spiritual worlds people believe they will go to when they die. You go to hell if you have been bad on your real life or go to heaven if you have been good. The afterworlds are to ensure that people behave went they are living. In hell, you get tortured and punished for whatever sin you have commiter like they cut of your tougue if you lie.while in heaven, you get to do whatever you like and whatever you please. You get whatever you want as long as you dont commit a sin in heaven or you go to hell from there i think...

Answer 11

Heaven is a place where God is staying for eternity because he is no beginning and no ending God It is also a place where all saints will go after judgment. to live with God forever after the end of the world.

Hell is not yet existing at present time. It will appear after the judgment time where sinners will be thrown to the lake of fire to suffer punishment of their sins.
jtm