I get lots of different stories about hell. That its the grave, that its eternal fire, that its just a place of darkness, by yourself, crying and weeping because you rejected Jesus. Some say hell is inside the earth, and that people are theyre today.
Jesus Christ says in Matthew 25:41, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into EVERLASTING FIRE, prepared for the devil and his angels."
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That sounds awful hateful of him.
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2007-09-27 03:46:28 · 37 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I dropped religion. Was baptised and conformed christian, but am now Athiest after reading the bible and realizing that it contradicts itself over and over. Religion is a fantasy created by man in order to make themselves feel safe and keep them in order. If any religion was correct, then multiple religions wouldnt have been made. They would have all made the same. Why would god only visit certain people, and leave the rest of the world to form their own religions. In gods eyes everyones equal and he loves everyone, but then he contridicts himself saying that homosexuallity is wrong and are going to hell. Wait, but didnt he just say everyone was equal and he loved em? Thats a perfect example of the rambling nonsence of religion. To finish up, no heaven or hell. Just a decay into protein where you feed the worms, that feed the birds, that feed the multiple animals that are eaten by people.
2007-09-27 04:00:30 · answer #1 · answered by Bob 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The idea of people having an "immortal soul" comes from greek paganism, not the Bible. If you notice in Genesis, Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden of Eden specifically so they could NOT eat of the tree of life and become immortal. It also says numerous places, that "the dead are dead and know nothing," and "their thoughts perish" for example:
Psa 146:3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
Psa 146:4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
The Bible teaches a resurrection of the dead which results in being changed into an immortal being. No one except Messiah has undergone this process to this point.
1Ti 6:14 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah:
1Ti 6:15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
1Ti 6:16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
The lake of fire was prepared for haSatan and his angels precisely because they ARE immortal and cannot die - and are in the process of attempting a palace coup.
The false "trinity: of the devil, the false messiah, and the false prophet are tormented forever but there is no evidence that anyone else is - a non-immortal being would simply perish in the lake. God has no interest in sadistic torture, but Hellenism was a strong influence on later Jews and early Christians and a lot of that ideology has been adopted now by both camps. That doesn't make it accurate, though.
2007-09-27 04:05:15 · answer #2 · answered by Ahavah B 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hope I never find out. Hell's descriptions vary depending on the intent of the describer. Jesus was attempting to scare people straight. Those who believe that actions have no negative consequences believe that hell is fictitious and/or mildly disconcerting. From my experience on earth, nothing I do happens without some consequence, good or bad. It makes me think before I do something what will the likely outcome be? Am I hurting anyone by doing this (including myself)? If I can say that my expectations of my completed actions should produce something good, then I proceed.
Hell is likely the place where no one cares about you, eternally.
2007-09-27 03:53:32 · answer #3 · answered by Goethe's Ghostwriter 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, it does sound like the fire in hell burns forever. But we need to take other texts into consideration when trying to understand what the Bible says.
We read "as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of ETERNAL fire."(Jude 1:7, emphasis supplied).
Does it mean the fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah is still burning since it is said to be "eternal"? No. The fire burns only as long as it destroys everything in its path.
"For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." Malachi 4:1).
That does not sound like EVERLASTING FIRE to me.
2007-09-27 04:16:11 · answer #4 · answered by Andy Roberts 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hell is not a permanent place, as Revelation says our Creator will destroy death and hell in the Lake of Fire.
Hells are a number of dimensions. They can be dark, cold, and lonely. I think the hellfire is just the feeling one gets when they get closer to the magnetic, and molten center of the Earth, but on another dimensional level.
People who say they travel in the spirit world describe rooms full of souls. But walking around without anybody talking to anybody. Some describe visons of hateful faces, spitting at them and cursing. Snakes climbing on them.
One guy went to a place where they just kept watching a murder happen over and over and over. The possibilites are as endless as our fears. As our spirit is mind, and mind creates the reality.
2007-09-27 04:00:37 · answer #5 · answered by THE NEXT LEVEL 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It will be your worst fear multiplied by an infinity. There is nothing on Earth to compare to Hell, a place not created for Humans. To me the worst part of Hell would be being seperated from Jesus Christ for eternity. Knowing no matter how much, I repent or how much I pray for an end to eternal torment that I had chosen, that the Lord God would not answer me. That is Hell.
2007-09-27 03:52:23 · answer #6 · answered by fire_side_2003 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
From various descriptions of hell mentioned in different religious texts, it seems any terrorism infested place is hell.
Look at present day Iraq, with so much uncertainity, daily suicide bombings (fire), people crying, dying.................doesn't it sound like hell?
Heaven and hell are very much on earth. Depends on where we live. If we live peacefully, in a rich society with few worries then it is heaven.
If we have to constantly live in fear, and can't live freely, then it is nothing short of hell.
2007-09-27 03:59:28 · answer #7 · answered by skdonweb 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nobody has been there and back to report the situation in hell so we take the descriptions as told in the bible/Koran.
But the type of hell here on earth that befall the wicked could be imagined compared the not yet seen hell.
2007-09-27 03:58:28 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hell is eternal separation from His light and love. That is all.
"That sounds awful hateful of him."
Then is sounds like you would rather live for eternity outside of His light and love. So, really, who's fault will it be where you end up? God does not send anyone to hell. In fact, scripture shows clearly that it is not God's will at all.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that ANY should perish but that ALL should come to repentance.
But God will not interrupt any man's free will to choose. We go there because we choose not to be with Him. If you do not want God, He will send you where none of His light or love exists. Jesus describes this as a place of eternal torment and outer darkness.
God has provided a free ticket out of outer darkness. If you refuse it, who will be there to blame, God or YOU?
2007-09-27 03:49:32 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 2⤋
Your worst nightmares come true... all in an instance. Sort of.
Some Christians get waaaayy too literal when they should be more creative, some get a wee too creative when they should be more literal. Some other don't even bother to ponder about what's there in the Bible. They're satisfied enough with whatever interpretations their preachers throw at them.
Fire: destruction, death, pain, and so on.
Everlasting: Isn't it clear enough?
2007-09-27 04:10:55 · answer #10 · answered by 2kewl_arrow_anna 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋