A question on the Christian doctrine of Heaven and Hell?

Question

From what I understand, one must accept Jesus to be given eternal life, correct?

But if you do not do this in a prescribed amount of time - generally considered either during your lifetime or before the 2nd Coming, you will be damned to eternal torment in hell.

I'm with ya so far.

This is, apparently, my choice. I can choose to believe in Jesus or I can choose hell, right?

Okay... hold on, new topic.

God loves us, even if we deny Him. Right?

Okay.

BUT WHY does God put people in Hell? Even if they choose torment, often I hear that it will be "too late" to accept Jesus once He returns. Is there some physical law beyond God's power that makes Him incapable of releasing people from torment? Who's rule is that anyway? It just seems rather arbitrary to me.

primoa, but could not God forgive that if He so desired?

So once you're passed the "sell by date," God no longer has the ability to forgive, redeem, or save you? Or He just doesn't want to?

(NB: I'm not thumbs-downing anyone on this question. Just because I don't accept the doctrine doesn't mean it isn't the doctrine.)

Mike, I resent the fact that you seem to know what my "problem" is and how I live. I could shock you with moral things about myself that 99% or more cannot clam, so don't presume to tell me what my "problem is."

Lamboram, that 's a weekend, not eternity. If my kid fought with his sister and I grounded him for the rest of the year that would be overkill, let alone forever. eternity. If I loved the kid, eventually, I'd say "okay. go to the movies and don't fight with your sister next time."

Guys, I get that we condemn ourselves. But can't God un-condemn us? Or doesn't he want to? Is tehre a third option I'm not aware of? Like the people who don't believe in God might wake up in hell and say "Ow ow ow that burns... but at least I'm not hangin' out with that God dude"? That makes NO SENSE. If I spend my life believign that God is a myth, and then my eternal soul is tormented, I would probably reconsider that belief based on the evidence of my own existence where I expected myself to not exist. But it would be "too late"? Why?

Answer 1

Your sin is what puts you in hell....not God.

All of us are born in sin........sin is the problem. But Jesus Christ is the solution to the problem.
And by turning to Him alone for repentance, you will be granted eternal life in heaven.

If you reject Him.......you go to hell

Edit:
He will only forgive you through the atoning blood of Christ......all sin must be punished if not covered by the blood.

Edit:
At that point, you pretty much already made your choice.....and it will be too late.

Answer 2

Judgment and damnation are metaphors that illustrated the way humans understood god at teh time - including Jesus, whose human knowledge of God was demonstrably limited because it changes during the course of the Gospels and because Hebrews says he was made man in every way. Step one is toss the court room metaphor for judgment, toss and Heaven and Hell as locations.

Rather, think of it like this - God is Love and is on offer. He's not a huge guy who needs to be coddled or acknowledged or else he takes his toys and goes home. It would be inaccurate to say he wants, needs, thinks, believs, feels anything at all. We talk about him like he's human because how else could we understand The Divine It?

Same with the afterlife. We talk about it like there's this great place Heaven and bad place Hell. But Heaven in Hebrew is Eden, the mythical place of perfection, and Hell refers to Hel, Norse god of the underworld, and is inserted to refer to either Gehenna, the physical place where Jerusalem burned its garbage, or Hades, the abstract Greek idea of a liteal underworld. These are metaphors and abstractions.

The reality seems to be that we have the capacity to connect with the divine and be channel of love and selflessness or we can be selfish and fearful and closed off. To the extent we love we are already living eternally right now (Luke 10:28) and to the extent we hate we are spiritually dead and tortured already. Given that we believe humans are physical manifestations/inc arnations of spiritual beings (souls) it makes sense that this arrangement will continue into the afterlife. What that will look like we really do not know. But I simply can't believe in a God who's a giant bearded white guy sitting in a huge throne dispensing eternal boons and banes based on whether we intellectually assent to his existence and kiss his massive butt. Easier to just see that God is Love and that becoming Love is what life and death is really about.

Answer 3

here is the law Poeple are not tourtured in Hell. Hell sheol hades are all just words for grave. In fact some translations actually say Jesus went to hell. Obviously Jesus the perfect son of God did not go to a place for sinners. So it must mean grave.
If you are not doing what God says you ought to be doing now then when Jesus comes like a thief in the night it will be too late. and you will be destroyed, not tourtured for our God is a god of Love.

Answer 4

I've always found it hard to believe that God, who is pretty economical and logical in the laws he/she/it set for the universe, would waste energy "eternally tormenting" anyone. Even if the heaven/hell thing has some truth to it, I have to believe hell would just be being "snuffed out," rather than an infinity of torture that will not accomplish anything.

Also, I tend to believe he/she/it would have been a lot clearer and left less room for interpretation if there were one particular way that we are supposed to believe.

Answer 5

"Eternal life", of "eternal salvation", is
"through" Jesus --> Christ --> unto God.

You're already in the Jesus part of such,
is only temporal life + death = dead end.

Go on to the Christ part: the end of law;
dying to the law, instead of by the law,
and thereby become e-alive, unto God.

In other words flush all your law as dung,
is the only way to become alive to Grace.

It's a once and for all deal, done for you all.
But if entangled again with the law, then it's,
recover yourself, since deliverance is once,
and for all, not for some only as many do say.
For "there is no respect of persons with God".

Hence it's a globe-all matter, all or none at all.
Yet all the KofG is within you, so then you = all.
What happens to you applies to all within you.
That's why "you all" in the end begins with you.

Mystery solved. Now simply get going fwd-->
and make it to the end written alive unto God:

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with you all. Amen.

Answer 6

The wages of sin is death. Sin separates us from God. Hell is the grave not a place that burns for ever and ever. A loving God would not let people suffer torment for endless ages. But also that would mean that would would have eternal life if you burned forever and ever. Eternal life is a gift from God for the righteous

Answer 7

I don't like people telling me that is how it is done because it was always done that way. I don't like being told that you wouldn't understand. So I will try to explain how I see it. Far be it from me to put words in God's mouth because I am not worthy to be his interpreter.

Problem is trying to "interpret" what is in God's head other than what is provided for in the bible is impossible.

One thing that the bible is clear on is that people go to hell by choice alone.

Physical laws do not apply to God, therefore none would apply.

God's rule is absolute, it does not matter if it is fair or not. Fairness to a human being is always subjective anyway.

Answer 8

If you are a good person doing good deeds, then you are rewarded in this life itself because people around you will help you in many ways & give you respect. This is heaven for you on this Earth. If you are a bad person,you will be cursed and punished by the people around you. This is hell for you. There is no heaven or hell outside this Earth and nobody goes anyhere after death. Death is the end of `YOU`

Answer 9

What you need for you to be permitted to ascend into heaven is for you to adjust yor ways of life according to the Will of God while you are here on earth.It must become an integral part of your being.

Hell is a product of men not created by God.The choice to ascend into heaven or descend into hell is free.God does not condemn His creatures rather the creatures condemn themselves through their free will

Answer 10

It's not that God is incapable of releasing people. It's that he already gave them a choice, and they chose not to do what was right.

For example, if you told your kid to be good, and if they were good you would take them to the movies, or if they were bad, they could spend the weekend cleaning the garage... and they chose being bad... when the time comes, you're not going to take them to the movies, right? They can't just say "hey, I chose fighting with my sister, but now I want to go to the movies anyway." They already made their decision. You gave them the options, and they made the choice. It's the same way with God, he gives us a whole lifetime to make our call, we make our decisions, and then we get one of the two consequences he's laid out.

Answer 11

yes if we accept JESUS before we die and truely repent of our sins we are destined for heaven but if we stay after the rapture the only way to enter the 1000 of CHRIST is by not taking the mark of the beasst and to go to heaven doing that times would be to die by your faith and yeas GOD trully loves us so much that we wont live for ever in heaven in the Bema seat of Judgement all in hell and in earth will be judge again Revelation 20:11-14