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of course; that's the litmus test! Have the wrong idea and straight into the gulag.:cool:Obviously, billions of humans who don't believe in Hell.
No, that's the obvious. Hell will be filled with people who don't believe in Hell. Jesus said so.of course; that's the litmus test! Have the wrong idea and straight into the gulag.:cool:
I think everyone would do a Bible study about the key words used concerning "hell" (Sheole/Hades, the Gehenna, the Pit/ Abyss, eternity/Aionios, kolasis, destruction/perish, etc.)Obviously, billions of humans who don't believe in Hell.
I think everyone would do a Bible study about the key words used concerning "hell" (Sheole/Hades, the Gehenna, the Pit/ Abyss, eternity/Aionios, kolasis, destruction/perish, etc.)
You will find that Hades is not Hell. Hades is a place where unbelieving souls await their final judgement, which is to be thrown into the Lake of Fire (hell) and destroyed. The Bible states that Hades and death will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. Destroy mean just that, to put an end to. You can't continue to burn a piece of paper in the fire forever, nor can a person survive more than minutes. I like to use that scenebwhen Gollym falls into the lava lake inside the volcano. He was toast in seconds.
Otherwise concept of destruction kn hell has a different meaning in the Bible than in reality. Can there be an indestructible destruction or imperishable perishing? Sounds contradictory to me. And one must ask about the word "aionios". It has variable meanings. When referring to God or His domain, it means eternal. But when it is used to refer to anything in our temporal realm, it is temporal: ages, lifetime, generations, epoch. The world will pass away along with Hades and allbwhobare in it. The Bible says all former things will pass away. In 2 Peter 3:10, we see that the first heavens and earth will burn in a fervent heat, melt, dissolve, be destroyed. This the Lake of Fire, on earth, and at a particular time - so it is an event, the final Judgment.
"to the ages of the ages". Aionios has variable meanings.Revelation 20
10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night (forever and ever).
Hmm, not destroyed!
Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;Revelation 20
10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Hmm, not destroyed!
So what you're saying is that you don't believe in Hell, right? And that's because nobody believes that belief alone determines our eternal destiny. An example: if I believe I'm going to Heaven, then I must, of necessity, go to Heaven. And contrariwise, if I don't believe in Hell, I'm certainly not going to go there!Obviously, billions of humans who don't believe in Hell.
if we push the question further; can life exist if one distances oneself from life?.....and God is lifeSo what you're saying is that you don't believe in Hell, right? And that's because nobody believes that belief alone determines our eternal destiny. An example: if I believe I'm going to Heaven, then I must, of necessity, go to Heaven. And contrariwise, if I don't believe in Hell, I'm certainly not going to go there!
Hidden beneath this question is an angry outburst against the whole concept of Hell. Who in their right mind would believe in a Good God who tortures people in the flames of Hell hour after hour for all eternity?
Well, that's a good point, if it was true. That would be utterly inconsistent of God to torture people endlessly, as if God enjoys watching people suffer. God is not a masochist! He gave laws to people not to do just that!
So I don't think it's true. I think Hell is metaphorically described as a "fire" to indicate that people are utterly removed from this earth, or from God's Kingdom on earth. Not a trace of their inheritance here is left. Nothing of their presence here remains.
But this "fire" is not flames to torture men, although it may indeed frustrate and torment them. It torments them in the sense it convicts them of their own foolishness, and stands eternally opposed to their own self-centeredness and choice to live independent of God.
Being separated from the blessings of God's Kingdom on earth forever is a frightful prospect indeed, but hardly a "torture chamber." I have no doubt that human beings who live endlessly throughout all time and eternity will find a place in God's purpose. It just won't be in any close proximity to the blessedness that comes from being in God's presence and in His good graces.
So believe what you may, but the Creator gets to decide the rules. He decides our destiny. Our choices make His judgment inevitable.
The real Hell is called, in Scriptures, "Outer Darkness." It is our removal from His blessed Kingdom of Light. If you don't like God you simply can't go into His Kingdom of Light. He doesn't want people who don't want Him!
"to the ages of the ages" is VAGUE at best. Nearly every English translation says "forever and ever"."to the ages of the ages". Aionios has variable meanings.
>>Nights will come to an end after the first earth is burned up. There will be no more nights, darkness. So that age will be over and a new one will come, a new heaven and new earth. Pain and suffering and death will not exist. Remember, death is thrown into the Lake of Fire and destroyed. Why would God feel glorified by sustaining the torment of billions of souls in a torture chamber for eternity? That is not a merciful God. Justice is weighed according to and in proportion to the crime. It is as if you would think a child stealing a bar of candy should get life in prison with hard labor and that would be fair to you. This eternal judgment is not a fair justice. Putting an end to their suffering is all that is necessary.
"and the Devil, who is leading them astray, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where [are] the beast and the false prophet, and they shall be tormented day and night -- to the ages of the ages." YLT
“and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give water to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life, without cost. The one who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and sexually immoral persons, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Rev. 21:4-8
>>So after the second death, NO MORE DEATH,
NO MORE CRYING OR PAIN, ANYWHERE – THEY WILL PASS AWAY.
"And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth [s]will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed;" Rev. 23-25
>>Here again we see no night which nullifies the tormenting that went on day and night for a time – but it ended.
Extremely wrong! Jesus clearly warned us of "the everlasting fire".So what you're saying is that you don't believe in Hell, right?
Oops, sorry--I was having one of those days when I read things backwards! ;)Extremely wrong! Jesus clearly warned us of "the everlasting fire".
Revelation 20
10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Hmm, not destroyed!
No one burns in hell forever. That's only in the lake of fire.Obviously, billions of humans who don't believe in Hell.
Revelation 20
10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Hmm, not destroyed!