Will people burn in hell forever?

If someone doesn't want to say the words, "Yes, I am a Christian," that's between them and God. It's not my issue, so I'm done.

Y'all can carry on.

 

true.

what i mean is.

should people on planes be putting on parachutes to be able to improve their flight or should people on planes be putting on parachutes because they've been warned that they'll have to jump 25,000 feet?

how do we flee from the wrath to come? by desiring to be righteous like Christ. so in being righteous in God's eyes... we're fleeing from the wrath to come. we dont want to jump without the parachute. what other option is there? to put the parachute on.

 

i agree with you its all out of love.

but out of that love... would you not warn people of the wrath to come?

 

Re: serving God in fear

Just a thought concerning your post, we read many times in scripture to "fear God" we are told that fear is the beginning of wisdom. For example I fear heat, snakes, large ugly spiders and other things I am not paranoid in my fear of these things but I stay away from them because they can do great damage under the right circumstances. Our fear of God is prompted by what God is capable of doing and our love of God is based on the same principle. God can and does love the vilest of sinners and he can and will judge the most righteous of men (apart from Christ).

Paul said work out your salvation with fear and trembling. He did not say work for your salvation.

James says in Jude 1:23 and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

Therefore we are to have a very healthy fear of God Psalms 89:7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

Thjplgvp

 

i dont have the references...

but wanted to add the verses that talk about the terror of the Lord... i think thats the right wording... not sure.
---

going to school. wont be back till sunday night. later ya'll!

 

Ex-disciple,

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the importance or level of truth of the following?

a) God as Creator.

b) Jesus as Saviour.

c) Me as a Sinner.

d) Bible reliable truth for past, present, and future.

e) Daily personal prayer/Bible study.

f) Attending church regularly.


Thanks,
Ciela

 

This very thing could have been said of Peter who denied Christ. There is a two word deterent that can cause a true believer to avoid saying they are believers...sin nature.

 

Ex-disciple,

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the importance or level of truth of the following?

a) God as Creator.

b) Jesus as Saviour.

c) Me as a Sinner.

d) Bible reliable truth for past, present, and future.

e) Daily personal prayer/Bible study.

f) Attending church regularly.


Thanks,
Ciela

 

Okay, I'll bite, but this is just repeating what I've said before.

I don't think the Bible teaches that hell is a place of eternal torment. I know that this view has been quite popular during the church's history, but I think this is due to two main factors. First, Platonic philosophy crept into the church pretty early, bringing with it the idea of an indestructible soul that even God cannot (or will not) destroy. This is in direct contrast to Scripture (for starters, look at how the Bible talks about the tree of life, especially in Genesis 3:22-24). Second, in the Middle Ages, the idea of the wicked burning for eternity was actually quite popular -- it was a favourite choice for art and literature -- perhaps due to the mindset of the time.

The eternal torment view seems to be based on taking literary passages literally while reinterpreting the clearer passages. For instance, Revelation 14:10-11 and 20:10-15 describe torment in the lake of fire, but what is interesting is who all is being tormented. Revelation 20:14 says, "Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire." To me, this seems to not be literal, since I don't see how something like death can be tormented by fire. We know from other passages that death will be conquered and be no more. This passage seems to be a picture of that rather than a concrete, literal reality.

The other main prooftext is the story of the rich man and Lazarus, and personally I think there's strong reasons for considering that story to be a parable. It may even be a Jewish story that was already commonly known that Jesus turned on its ear by giving it a new twist. Taking the story as an accurate picture of hell raises other issues, such as why the wicked and righteous can see each other and speak to each other. Many who take it literally instead view this as in intermediate state at that time, and not representative of the final fate of the wicked. In any case, I don't think a doctrine on hell should be formulated mainly from a symbolic vision and a possible parable.

The more prosaic descriptions of hell often seem to point to eventual destruction. John 3:16 presents two options: to gain everlasting life or to perish. While I do think everyone will be raised to face judgement, I don't think everyone will also be given everlasting life to spend in a different location. Matthew 10:28 says, "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." Other similar verses include 1 Corinthians 1:18, 2 Peter 2:12, and 2 Peter 3:9. The eternal torment view has to constantly redefine words like "perish" and "destroy" so they don't mean what they seem to mean.

There's also interesting examples used of what the eternal punishment is like. Jude 1:7 says that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah serves as an example of the punishment of eternal fire. The only way to add eternal torment to that is to say that the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah are now being tormented eternally by fire. But, that requires reading a presumption of eternal torment into the text regardless of what it states, and it also negates the historical example of what happened to the cities, which is what Jude refers to. Mark 9:43-48 speaks of a place where flames and worms are eternal, but it does not say that those thrown into this place will live forever. In fact, by checking the passage Jesus quotes in Isaiah 66:24, we see that it is talking about dead bodies being consumed by worm and flame in a garbage dump, and not about torment of living souls.

This view also allows a more literal interpretation of the passages that talk about hell being more bearable for some, and of some being beaten with more blows than others. There may be a form of torment (varying from person to person), but the end of it is destruction. To me, that seems more likely that a Dante-esque hell broken into sections with different settings on the thermostat.

Finally, this view seems consistent with the idea that hell is separation from God. According to 2 Thessalonians 1:9: "They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might..." While people can be separated from God today, ultimate separation must result in ceasing to exist, because God is the eternal I AM. Because God is and God is omnipresent, to be totally separated from God is to not be. As a result, that wonderful prophecy from 1 Corinthians 15:28 can some day be fulfilled: "When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all." God may be all in all because in eternity nothing will exist that is in rebellion to God.

About the only verse that gives me second thoughts about this view is Matthew 25:26: "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." But even here, destruction is a punishment with eternal consequences: those who ultimately reject God, the author of life, will not exist for all eternity.

 

Isa 66:24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

HP: Here is but another example of hell being clearly defined as a place of eternal torment and suffering. The same idea is repeated several times in the NT as well.

 

I agree. If annhilationism were true, hell would be looked on more as a trip to the dentist where the pain would end eventually. This is not what Scripture teaches.

 

Who is cute? :laugh:

If you run out of "good" questions I know of a site that may give you more inspiration. ( godlessgeeks.com ) Check it out. :smilewinkgrin:

 

It's a real site!!! I'm not kidding.... www.godlessgeeks.com :wavey:

BTW, are you a christian? You still haven't answered.