Need input from Christians regarding Hell?

Question

I have heard people state four possible situations:

1. Hell is a place of torment, suffering, and pain and is often a place depicted as forever burning in flames.

2. Hell is a place that is not burning with flames but where one is not in the presence of God.

3. Hell is permanent death.

4. There is no Hell, Jesus saved us all.

Out of these four, which do you believe and if possible can you provide links to scriptures to support your beliefs. If you know the position of another person and can dispute it please do so. And lastly if you see another scenario go ahead and let me know.

This question is oriented towards Christian beliefs, if you are a non Christian but also would like to contribute what you believe the Bible has to say then by all means do so.

Random,
I am also an Atheist, I realize there is no Heaven nor a Hell, but am interested in Christian's interpretation of the Bible.

Answer 1

Your described 4 situations regarding hell are all wrong as to my belief and knowledge, according to the bible.

You know friend( if you consider me a friend) hell is not yet existing on earth. It will exist after the judgment of our sins by Jesus Christ on his coming to earth to judge us. The hell is the place where those who were not forgiven of thier sins be thrown which is on the lake of fire to feel the heat and be burn to ashes to become dust as a food for the snake who enticed Eve to go against the law of God because that is the punishment of the snake or satan.
It is written in Geneses Chapter 3 verse 14.
Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
jtm

Answer 2

5. There is a Hell but it is not eternal.

The words "forever", "eternal", "everlasting" mean certain things to us in english that the authors of the bible never had in mind. Those words are mistranslations. I could site dozens of examples, but here are two. Deut 15:16-17. If you look that up in the KJV or NKJV it will say the person is a slave forever. That makes no sence. In other versions it says " for life" That is correct. Habakkuk 3:6 . In the KJV and NKJV it says the everlasting mountians crumble. That is a contradiction. Other versions will say the "age old" or " ancient" mountians.

I won't get too technical but there are obvious mistakes with these words that imply endless duration. They should not be used that way.
Every verse in the New testament that speaks of eternal punishment is based on words that have been mistranslated. ( I'll list the verses in just a second) "Eternal" should be "Age-lasting" or "Age-abiding". ( "Aionion" in the anceint greek) There are many different ages that the bible speaks of. Here are the verses:

Mat 18:8 Mat 25:41,46
Mark 3:29
2 Thess 1:9
Jude 7,13
Rev 14:11 Rev 19:3 Rev 20:10

For example, In Rev 14:11, it should read "the smoke of their torment rises for ages of ages". This would indicate a long time, but it is not eternity, since in eternity there are no ages, just timelessness.

Now let me say what I really believe. The lake of fire which John saw in Revelation, can not be a literal fire. Satan is thrown into it. Satan is a Spirit and a Spirit being can not burn in a literal fire. I believe it is the burning in ones soul that causes the torment. Jesus said they will be salted with fire. That means the fire will touchstone them and purify them. For a great verse on this, look at Malachi 3:2-3.

Now after people are purged in the lake of fire, they will then join the kindom of God. In this way, there will be a complete restoration of all things. This is the only way in which the promises can be fulfilled of every knee bowing before God. Check out the following verses and they make it very Clear that not one person can be lost in hell for eternity.
Romans 14:11
Psalm 145: 8-11
Rev 5:13
Phil 2:10-11
Isaiah 45:22-23
What you said in #4 is actually true. Even though there is a hell, nobody stays there forever because Jesus DID save EVERYONE.
He is "the savior of everyone, especially those who believe" 1 Timothy 4:10

Answer 3

We are dealing with notions rather than observations. You start with the positive and complete the picture with the negative. We have life but its limited; we see creation but can not see a creator. We suppose life without limits and a loving all powerful being calling us to his side. The theology that follows is really a discourse on what do we mean by "a loving, all powerful being". How do we think he would act towards us.

Eventually we have to ask, what happens if we reject the loving all powerful being? Is there a consequence to such madness. The answer is hell. It could be supposed to be just the opposite to being at God's side. Jesus used various phrases: a place where the flame does not go out, there will be gnawing and gnashing of teeth, and the word which was the name of Jerusalem's rubbish tip. I think these images are meant to be emotionally provocative rather than physically descriptive. Personally, I think of hell as having the eternal thought of rejecting the only one who loved me totally. I do not know if this notion would make bad people want to change their ways, but it works for me.

That is the other issue with theology, its has to be packaged is a manner that will be digestible to it's intended audience. You have to be careful that your explanation of minor issues does not contradict the concepts of your major issues. You do not want to turn an all loving being into a vengeful torturer. How does a mother explain why she has to punish her beloved child without causing confusion. Only as the child grows does the true nature of her love become clear.

Back to your question and multiple choices, all say something slightly differently and reflect a certain stage of theological development. A problem with 4, is that it might suggest that there is no consequence for our chosen evil, that its all been decided in the positive. If we only look at Christ and his divine sacrifice it hard to consider any power greater but to teach that could lead to license - not a good idea, even if its right. 3 could mean there is nothing, no consciousness, no consequence - its not clear. 1 can be understood a too physical and ignore the emotional and psychological suffering. 2 would be closest to my own view.

Answer 4

I would say 3. Since I am in no danger of being shot at sunrise for my answer I will say that to the best of my recollection, hell as translated from the Old Testament is a grave (Sheol) into which one places dead things not always human. In the New Testament I believe it was Hades and there was but one other -- Gehenna which could be traced back to the Valley of Hinnom, the city dump of Jerusalem. There was fire in the dump and executed criminals were ofter thrown in the dump. Anyway, you can't equate any of the terms with an ever burning hell of everlasting torment. I am an atheist, but have done considerable research.

Answer 5

Neither one looks that good on Y!A. Between the two of them, this category gets pretty obnoxious & not a good example of a fair exchange of ideas. Both of them give the impression of wanting to straighten everybody out with their own opinions. According to the Christians, if the earth ended today, God would gather up the Christians as co-rulers of heaven & the universe, while everybody else goes off to hell. According to the atheists, nobody would go anywhere. Everybody would all go into unaware nothingness. As for today, well, they say, you'd better come to your senses & decide where you belong, that is, on which of those 2 sides. Either you're with us or against us, they seem to say. Even the atheists seem convinced that everybody except atheists is eager to start pressuring Congress to pass some sort of laws that would impose a belief in God, a celebration of Christmas, or whatever it is that they fear most. I asked a question once about their beliefs. They couldn't just say that they didn't have any. They also proceeded to tell me all these laws that I was surely trying to pass & other things that I was supposedly doing to atheists. Me, the one who called for an end to a Christmas tree & blinking lights in our office? Me? Oh, right. It was totally rude, the things that they assumed. Don't dare to ask them a question unless you enjoy being hammered. As for the Christians, they love nothing better than talking to a Senior Citizen like me as if she's a young ignorant ingenue who just needs to be straightened out by reading the Bible. That's pretty rude, too. The main question I have here, though, is why the atheists are even in this category. Sure, anybody can participate in any category, but they never say why they're so interested in the Religion & Spirituality category. As for the Christians, if they have nothing that's open to discussion or interpretation, I don't see why they're here either. With that in mind, I don't spend much time here either. Seems kind of pointless.

Answer 6

Generally Hell is thought of as a place for punishment of sin. A place "some" believe they or their friends and family go when they die. But the Bible contradicts such a claim. It states that when we die we have no thoughts, no knowledge, no wisdom etc Ecclesiastes 9:5,10. Genesis 3:19 says "Dust you are and to dust you will return', so logically if the dead have no conscious existence and our bodies perish in the ground, hell can not be a fiery place of torment.
The Hebrew word for hell is Sheol meaning grave. The Greek word for Hell is Hades which also means mankinds common grave.
God is a God of Love so why would he find happiness in tormenting us in such a place? It is not logical.

Answer 7

I believe #2, and #4 if modified to only read, "Jesus saved us ALL." My answer below is pasted from one I answered earlier tonight, and I have to get to bed or else I would give the specific verses on this... there are many. If you want to email me later for more information let me know. Here's what I believe:

Hell/Sheol is not a place of "eternal darkness" and "everlasting fire" at the same time! That CANNOToccur... it violates the laws of logic. Besides, God does not violate any of the laws He created, including the laws of Physics. And He said, "Where there is light, there can be no darkness." So you are right. The "darkness" and the "fire" are both metaphors. They are metaphors for mental/spiritual darkness, and the emotional/mental fire of conviction to bring correction. "Hell" is a place of correction. It abides for "olam" (Hebrew for "an age" - yes, it's also called "eternity", but if you read accurately, the context will always let you know which is meant. In the New Testament, the word "forever" is "aionios" (Greek for the same thing: an "age" or it can also mean "eternity") But why would a good and loving God who created us relegate us to a hell of eternal burning if our lives were lived even 80 or 100 years and we were evil? It says the weights and balances of God are just. How could it ever be just to repay 80-100 years of sin with ETERNAL suffering?!!? That would make God the worst monster of all: you might as well refer to him as EVIL. Jesus HAS the keys to hell and death. Keys are not just for locking people in. They are for unlocking the prison doors and letting people go when their sentence has been served, and the fires of conviction have shown them all of the reasons why they should've chosen to do good, and each time they chose to do wrong. But God says that no chastisement seems pleasant at the present time, but when it's accomplished, then the person who is chastised and changed is grateful (a paraphrase, because it's late and I don't want to reopen my E-sword to search for the exact wording!) Anyway, as I have said: you are 100% correct. Hell is not a place of eternal darkness. It is a place where God has gotten total victory. That's why the bible says, "O,death, where is your victory? O grave, where is your sting?!" The answer is: GONE! Because Jesus has gotten the victory!
God bless you in the Truth. He is MERCIFUL, even though we've taught each other He's not. He says He's a God of Love. You can't assign someone to an eternal hell and be a God of love. And so the truth is: God DOES NOT DO THAT! He does save all. Everyone in the end!

Answer 8

1 If there is no Heavn or Hell, why are we here?

2 If we born to live and die, what sense does it make?

3 If the world exist without a cause, make me a glass of sweet water without additional mixture, such as sugar if you can.

4 If there is no God, then there is no Human.

5 If there are Humans, there MUST be a God, the cause of our existence.

6 The world is not a cartoon where things happen without a cause.

7 Why do we born to die? Evolution is what controls us they, the fool, say. But where Evolution come from? Did it just appear like that similar to what we see in cartoons? Yes if, how do you know what?

8 I regret answering this question.

9 Hell is where the misleads will all go to burn eternally. You burn and never die.

10 Where did God come from?

We can only partially comprehend the notion of God's existence. To do so, we must use human concepts to speak of God: "without beginning or end"; "eternal"; "infinite", etc. The Bible says that He has always existed: " . . . even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God" (Psalm 90:2). And, "Your throne is established from of old; Thou art from everlasting" (Psalm 93:2). Quite simply, God has no beginning and no end. So, where did God come from? He didn't. He always was.
To us, the notion of time is linear. One second follows the next, one minute is after another. We get older, not younger and we cannot repeat the minutes that have passed us by. We have all seen the time lines on charts: early time is on the left and later time is on the right.


We see nations, people's lives, and plans mapped out on straight lines from left to right. We see a beginning and an end. But God is "beyond the chart." He has no beginning or end. He simply has always been.
Also, physics has shown that time is a property that is the result of the existence of matter. Time exists when matter exists. Time has even been called the fourth dimension. But God is not matter. In fact, God created matter. He created the universe. So, time began when God created the universe. Before that, God was simply existing and time had no meaning (except conceptually), no relation to Him. Therefore, to ask where God came from is to ask a question that cannot really be applied to God in the first place. Because time has no meaning with God in relation to who He is, eternity is also not something that can be absolutely related to God.


God is even beyond eternity.
Eternity is a term that we finite creatures use to express the concept of something that has no end -- and/or no beginning. Since God has no beginning or end, He has no beginning. This is because He is outside of time.
It cannot get any simpler than that. And if you can't grasp it, then that means you willfully refuse to.

Answer 9

there are different Greek words in the Bible that are translated as hell. but most refer to the grave. the lake of fire was possibly translated as hell once. so 1 and 2 are both correct. it is taught that the unsaved wait in 2 until the judgment and then go to 1. sorry I can't give you the scripture as I am on break at work. hope I've helped.

Answer 10

i am a christian and i believe that 1. Hell is a place of torment, suffering, and pain and is often a place depicted as forever burning in flames. and that it is eternal death and separation from God