Does the Abrahamic God forgive people if they repent while in Hell?

Question

If not is he really that forgiving?

For example, if my friend does something that hurts me, I don't require my friend to apologize within a set period of time. If he/she comes to me a year later and apologizes, then we can usually get past the initial transgression.

God, however, seems to require us to repent for sins we didn't commit (original sin) in a very short (compared to eternity) period of time. Is this really fair? What if some people take longer to learn than others?

Answer 1

Who said God has to be fair? God does exactly what he wants and fairness has nothing to do with it. He can make you burn forever for no reason whatever, and there may be some in Hell just cause God didn't like the looks of them. Don't complain, if you know what's best for you.

Answer 2

As an extreme Christian Theologian who is highly paid for his services, I feel that I am most qualified to give an answer here.

For free.

Of course God forgives those in Hell. In fact, there are some of us who believe that Satan himself repented in 1764 and was whisked back to Heaven.

Don't you dare underestimate the forgiving mercies of Jehovah!

You see, my friend, God is no longer the judgmental and jealous warmonger He was in the Old Testament. He has repented several times for many things, as it shows in Holy Scripture.

Today, God is kinder and gentler. In fact, He has repented of Hell as well, and in the seventies, He made it not such a bad place, and in the nineties, He made it completely temporary, where people just have time to reflect and then they will obviously choose to go quickly to Heaven.

I mean, what fool would want to stay in a place where there is no cable TV, no telephones, no bathrooms and they play flute music by Zanfir on loudspeakers 24/7!?!?

Eventually, everyone cracks and goes on to Heaven to eternal bliss.

We have wagered bets, here are the God-Headquarters in Cleveland, that God will nix Hell altogether. Probably sometime in the next 20 years or so.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

God could just punish you with what you deserve the first time you sin. If you commit a sin like lying or stealing then he could just banish you from Himself forever right then and there. But, by God's grace you get to keep living. And not just living either, you get good things. How many people deny that God even exists and then get to enjoy a wonderful dinner or get a raise at work or whatever.

However, to answer your question, once you are in Hell it is too late. You get a life time to choose Christ. If you deny Him all your life, then He will say that He doesn't know you when the decision comes for you to go to heaven or hell.

Answer 4

There is no such thing as Abrahamic God or Christian God or Islamic God. There is only one God. People invent different names for the same one and only God.

The sky, stars and all planets would have collapsed and destroyed long ago in the fight between gods if there were more than One God.

Do you see two fathers of a child, two presidents of a country, two CEO's of a corporation. Can two heads of any organization work? No never?

Then how can be two Gods to keep this entire world going?

Does it make any sense to you?

I thought America has highest level of education and people are lot smarter than people of rest of the world. Reading questions on this programs, it seems generally Americans
are not that smart.

Answer 5

From what I understand, there is absolutely no hope in Hell. A person in Hell is there because they don't know God, so as they suffer the torments of Hell, they will not even know to call onto Jesus to save them, because having the ability to do so, would require hope, and there's no hope in Hell.

There was a "Christian" who claimed God sent him to Hell. He described how awful and painful Hell was, and even described the demons that were beating him and tearing him apart. The whole time the thought of Jesus never once entered into his mind.

But then Jesus came and took him away from Hell, and he asked Jesus why he didn't think to call out for his help, and Jesus replied by telling him that there is no hope in Hell, and there are no good thoughts in Hell.

In case you're wondering why God sent him to Hell, it's so that he can come back and "warn" us of how terrible Hell is. Because that's what God likes to do. He likes to show us how terrible life is without Him, and let us know just how much we need Him.

Like any evil sick sadistic person would do. "You must worship and obey me, because I love you, but I'm sorry if your do not, then I must allow this evil man to take you away to torture you. Now choose, love me, or burn in Hell."

Answer 6

I only know what happened to me. I ended up in hell during a near-death experience (having grown up agnostic) and turned to God for the first time and prayed for deliverance. My prayer was answered. That was at age 20; I'm 39 now.

Answer 7

Jews don't believe in the Christian hell of eternal torment. The Chistian hell was borrowed from Zoroastrianism -- not Judaism!

Try using your head for a change instead of blindly following majority opinion.
.

Answer 8

We make our own Hell here on earth. It is too late to repent after you die. Live a good clean life, be kind to others, and follow the Golden Rule and the 10 commandments. Then you will have a heavenly life.

Answer 9

By 'Abrahamic G-d' I assume you mean the Jewish G-d?

In Judaism we have no concept of original sin.

Also, we don't focus much on the idea of 'hell'. It's mentioned in Jewish scriptures but is more of a limbo, where a spirit is distant from G-d. It is nothing like the eternal fire and damnation of the Christian hell.

Answer 10

The bible says the punishment is eternal.

Matthew 25:46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

If the punishment is eternal, then there is no possibility of escape. If you say the punishment is not eternal then you are saying the words of Jesus are not true, and thus you would have no hope as how could you trust in a liar. But the words of Jesus are true, every last one of them.

Matthew 18:8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.

Why is Hell reasonable?

JAMES 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

This says if you commit one crime against God, you are guilty of all of them, and the consequences for sin is eternity in hell. Let's determine if this is reasonable.

If you lied one time in your life, and it is to your friend, what would be the consequences? Probably not much. What if you lied to your parents? If you're young enough they would punish you. What if you lied to a judge under oath? That judge could put you in jail for perjury. What about to the king of a land? Couldn't than king cut off your head for the crime against him?

What's the difference between these lies? It is the one who was offended. When you lie, your primary offense is against God Himself, because He commanded you to not lie in the 10 commandments.

What would the punishment be for a lie? Here is what Jesus said...

Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

God is the Supreme Authority, and God is Eternal. Because God is eternal His punishment is eternal, and because God is SO Holy and Good and Perfect, even the crime of a lie deserves hell.

Often times criminals don't consider their crimes to be that bad. A gang member who tags a wall doesn't see anything wrong with it, but he could be put into jail for that crime, and possibly shot for trespassing. People usually don't weigh the consequences for their actions.

Jesus said this about sin...

MATTHEW 5:28 But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Every time you look with lust, you commit adultery with that woman in your heart. God judges based on everything you do, say, and every thought you think. So try this...

Add up every time you've broken one of the ten commandments... Lying, lusting, stealing, coveting (desiring something that's not yours like a car, tv, video game, etc), blasphemy (taking God's name in vain), etc.

Let's say you average 10 crimes a day. that's 3650 crimes a year and the past 10 years was 36,500 crimes against God. And we all sin much more than that.

So how can you die and not end up in hell? God made a provision by becoming a man in Jesus Christ, and living the perfect, sinless life. Jesus was God Himself and he went willingly to the cross to completely forgive your sin. By dieing on the cross he traded your sins for His goodness so that if you do repent and trust in Him alone, He will grant you eternal life.

We're not talking about friendships. Were talking about justice. If a crime is done, someone must get punished. It's just like a court room. If you stood in court and was guilty of murder, rape, and theft and simply apologized to the judge, the judge will still put you in jail, but if someone came in and paid the fine you have so that you can go free, then if you accept that offer, you can go free.

Jesus took the death penalty that you deserve so that you can go free in God's courtroom. So what will you tell the judge today? Will you surrender today to the judge and accept the Judge's mercy while He is still offering it? Or will you wait until the angel of death arrests you and takes you to God's courtroom. At that point it will be too late. If you try to repent there, God will simply say that He gave you opportunity after opportunity to repent while you were alive, but now that you've been forced to the court room, you will have to give an account.

God gives people life, and God chooses when they will die. God gives everyone opportunities to repent and trust Jesus for their salvation. Will you repent and trust today? Tomorrow is promised to no one.