Is Hell the Same for All

Yes. it's 100% ansence from God. Permanently.

 

I am not aware of different levels of hell, however Jesus said that some would have greater damnation than others. (Matt 23:14)

But even one sin will send a person to hell. If you break one commandment, you have broken them all.

 

From what I see in the bible, God sees sin, period. Whether it is t single sin of not accepting salvation or a lifetime of everything imaginable, it is all the same. That sin, be it great or small, condemns that person to hell.

As for a greater condemnation, I don't think it means a greater punishment. Hell, followed by the lake of fire and being cut off from God's presence forever, is as bad as it gets. I seriously doubt, despite what some preachers say, that there are any spots hotter reserved for certain people/acts.

 

I think the NT supports different depths/levels of punishment. Jesus talked about those who would receive more "stripes" and "greater condemnation." I think it is impossible for us to imagine exactly how this would be applied, but I believe God is fair and just and so the experiences will differ.

 

Hell is bad enough...we don't need to read into texts and make it worse.

 

Hell is hell because of the complete absence of God's presence. How can there be levels to that? I do not beleive in levels, why would there be, unsaved are seperated by sin from God, that is hell. For there to be levels God would have to be in hell, keeping some atres (levels) from seeming so bad to some.

 

Matthew 11

21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

HankD​

 

Again, Hell is Hell. It's 100% ansence from God, permanently. There are not different levels of being 100% absent from God.

 

God created 110% absence just for liberals... :laugh:

 

Not according to Dante Alighieri in his book The Inferno

 

Psalm 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.


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JohnV,
We had to take art appreciation and humanities in high school to graduate. I despised that class as much as any one I ever took. It was worse than Shakespeare. Anyway, one of our projects was to draw a portrait of someone, so I spent about two minutes and drew a stick figure and named it Hardy. Then we had to make a play set out of materials, and it had to be quite detailed after some play of our choice. I found a play where the play was a person reading a book to the audience, so I took a shoe box, cut out a side and glued one of my sister's playhouse chairs to it. Needless to say for that marking period, my jaw about dropped when I got an F+. I expected an F. The teacher would never explain the grade, and I did pass with a D. I say all of this because the F+ reminds me of the subject of this op.

 

I don't think I'd ever liken an art appreciation class to hell. Purgatory, maybe, but not hell. :tonofbricks:

 

Well the point was, and F is an F. Hell is hell. The + was meaningless.

 

Yes there are different punishments in hell, or if you will levels.. Why else would the lost people be judged for their works when they stand in judgment?

The Believers will be judged for works for rewards.
Believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:10
(10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

The Unbelievers will be judged for works for levels of punishment.
The lost will stand in the great white throne judgment.

Revelation 20:11-12
(11) Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
(12) And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, [109] and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.


I thought ALL Baptists believed this.. honestly I did... I was taught this in EVERY Baptist church I grew up in. I remember hearing old time Baptists preach this alot when I grew up.


NOW, granted, I wouldn't want anyone going to Hell with the lightest of punishment.. Separation from God would be bad enough!

 

I don't think the concept of varying punishment is the same as varying levels, if you will. This is one of those concepts which it's difficult to get our minds around, since we're trying to describe a spiritual realm while being limited by the physical realm.

I don't think the scriptural verses are describing a "person A gets less punishment than person B". I think it's more of a severity based on spiritual condition, not quantity based on action. For example:

Imagine that an old woman dies. She leaves behind three grandchildren, all of whom loved her and respected her equally. One grandchild was mildly upset at her grandmother's death, while another was moderately upset, and a third was so upset that she needed counselling for years, but eventually coped. The three grandchildren all experienced the same death, and in the long run, each dealt with it equally. But the severity and ability to deal with it affected each grandchild according to their ability to deal with the death, at the time it happenned.

I know that's a very poor analogy, but I think it makes the point. Hell is the same for all. The severity described depends on the individual's spiritual state, but in the long run, all in Hell suffer the same consequence, which is complete ansence from God.

 

I used to think this but now wonder if hell is separation from God's mercy and grace and the consequence of that. I have not been able to accept for sure that there is a place where God is not since He is by nature omnipresent.

I just read today an interesting view of hell (which I think is biblical but not necessarily correct - it's just a view) which discusses hell as a place of extreme shame for having dishonored and rejected God. Those most rejecting of God are trying to escape Him, because being in His presence is torture for them. Think of Adam and Eve trying to hide from God in the Garden.

And also Rev. 6:16:

And Rev 14:9-11

The article is an interesting read:
http://www.tektonics.org/uz/2muchshame.html