Feeling annoyed with other Christians saying nonbelievers go to hell. Is hell real?

[stevenb]

I have never believed in hell, other then for a short period of time when I was going through psychosis. Now and for many years, believing or not I never believed in hell. Maybe it's because I have suffered so much in this life, to think after all that i'd go to a place even worse is just non believable. I also feel like when other christians preach about hell it really turns people off to faith.

This could just be me, but what are your guys thoughts on hell? I know the bible says there is no peace for the wicked but. I don't know. I just cannot fathom a hell.

 

[gordon777]

Hell is hell, earth is earth, heaven is heaven, satan has been in all places, all places are corrupt.

But the day of the Lord comes when nobody is aware, as a thief in the night, why would we hear the thieves any more ?



John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.



At this time when nobody is aware it is the end, they speak words of peace, of safety, yet that is sudden destruction they have taught, and they shall not escape is warned. Why be in darkness so that day overtakes us as a thief ?



1 Thessalonians 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.



Hell, earth, the heavens, shall be burned up and dissolved.

Whether unbelievers go to hell, is not the distraction we should be led on, but instead to be warned as told by the Lord for now, to be persons in all holy conversation and godliness, which means we are looking for the day of God.

If we look for that day, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness, ( it is not in this wicked world.) so the diligent hear only Gods warnings, ( not mans distractions) to be found of Him in peace without spot, and blameless.

If we overcome this world of deception, ( the many false teachers that rose to deceive many. Matthew 24:11. 2 Peter 2:1-2.) then we inherit the new Jeruaslem that comes down from God out of Heaven, seeing the new Heaven and the new earth, as the first are passed away.




1 John 5:19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.


Revelation 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

 

[Tenchi]

Since trying to believe again, I found myself getting mad at god.

What do you mean by "trying to believe again"? Is mere belief all that God requires from us as we approach Him for a relationship? No.

That you feel anger toward God is a testament, not to anything in God that deserves your anger, but only to how poorly you see God.

There was so little help in prayer and I am having trouble with trying to read my bible and listen to worship music.

If you expect God to answer your prayers, you'll have to make requests of God according to His principles and rules governing talking to Him. Here's some of them:

Ecclesiastes 5:2 (NASB)
2 Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.

Matthew 6:7 (NASB)
7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

Psalm 66:18 (NASB)
18 If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear;

1 Peter 3:10-12 (NASB)
10 For, "The one who desires life, to love and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.
11 "He must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.
12 "For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and his ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

1 John 5:14 (NASB)
14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

James 4:3-4 (NASB)
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Often, people take up the idea that they can approach God just as they like, that God's deity, holiness, truth and power make no difference to their coming to Him. But, as you can see in the verses above, this isn't the case. We observe certain protocols of courtesy and respect when we deal with one another and so we shouldn't be surprised when God has protocols of His own we must observe when we interact with Him. So, have you been meeting God on His terms or your own?

I try, it's just not appearing to be who I am.

Every one of us has been made by God for His purposes, to know, love, enjoy and glorify Him. There is no human being for whom this is not the case. Living in the manner for which God made you, though, requires submitting to His will and way in love and trust, and making Him the Center of your living.

A rational person might read this and not understand, but if you had my brain that attacks itself 24/7 you'd get it.

I used to struggle with OCD. I would go 'round and 'round in my head all day, arguing with myself. It was exhausting. When I began to interrupt my inner debate with God's truth, though, and made His word the last word on things, my inner debating began to subside and, as I persisted in holding to what God said rather than what I thought, or felt, or the world wanted me to think, I settled into a place of peace and rest - just as God promised in His word would happen. (Matthew 11:28-30; Isaiah 26:3-4; Philippians 4:9)

I do appreciate the answers from everyone, very insightful, I don't think i'll ever be on your guys level of understanding.

I'm an older fellow whose walked with God for a pretty long time now. I answer you from fifty years of experience with Him; I didn't get where I am with God overnight. You can get where I am (and beyond), too, I'm sure.

And I do agree that hell, if real, is a place not of god's doing but our own rebellion. I guess I always thought though that if there was a god, there wouldn't be a hell. Still can't wrap my brain around it, might just stop trying to.

Well, God's word doesn't appear to agree with you. Consider:

John 3:36 (NASB)
36 "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

Romans 2:3-6 (NASB)
3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?
4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
6 who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:

It's been a popular idea that God is somehow entirely passive in the sinner's ending up in hell. "The door to hell is locked from the inside," C.S. Lewis wrote. Not so. The wrath of God abides on the unrepentant, unbelieving sinner and it will be expressed in its fullness at the Final Judgment. God won't be saying to the unrepentant wicked, "Well, if you really want to go to hell, okay, go ahead." No, the Bible gives us a very different description of God's judgment upon the unrepentant wicked:

Revelation 20:11-15 (NASB)
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

 

[jeremiah1five]

I have never believed in hell, other then for a short period of time when I was going through psychosis. Now and for many years, believing or not I never believed in hell. Maybe it's because I have suffered so much in this life, to think after all that i'd go to a place even worse is just non believable. I also feel like when other christians preach about hell it really turns people off to faith.

This could just be me, but what are your guys thoughts on hell? I know the bible says there is no peace for the wicked but. I don't know. I just cannot fathom a hell.

Hell is merely the grave and mostly all go there when they die except those alive when Christ returns

 

[for_his_glory]

Since trying to believe again, I found myself getting mad at god. There was so little help in prayer and I am having trouble with trying to read my bible and listen to worship music. I try, it's just not appearing to be who I am. I do not encourage my sin, I hate it. But I am seriously upset with god. A rational person might read this and not understand, but if you had my brain that attacks itself 24/7 you'd get it.

I do appreciate the answers from everyone, very insightful, I don't think i'll ever be on your guys level of understanding. And I do agree that hell, if real, is a place not of god's doing but our own rebellion. I guess I always thought though that if there was a god, there wouldn't be a hell. Still can't wrap my brain around it, might just stop trying to.

I don't want to post on this thread anymore though because I didn't see the no debating rule until after I made this thread and I think this is kinda of an iffy subject, or at least if I continue with the questions I want to ask it might become that way.

Right now you can not realize that Satan is playing with your mind planting doubt and discouraging you to read the Bible or listen to Gospel music. Everyone has their own level of learning by how much time they put into studying the word of God. There is a big different between book smart and heart smart as one can be carnal and the other very Spiritual within your own self.

You have come to the right forum to ask questions, but many ignore that Q&A is not a debate forum and when we see the debating going on their postings are deleted so please do not concern your self with that. I would suggest that you dwell more on the Spiritual things of God like His mercy, grace and the love He has for you. We all have areas we struggle with, but yet our love, trust and faith in the Lord helps us when we do struggle in those weak areas as when we are weak His grace is sufficient for us for our strength is made perfect in weakness, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10.

 

[gordon777]

I have never believed in hell, other then for a short period of time when I was going through psychosis. Now and for many years, believing or not I never believed in hell. Maybe it's because I have suffered so much in this life, to think after all that i'd go to a place even worse is just non believable. I also feel like when other christians preach about hell it really turns people off to faith.

This could just be me, but what are your guys thoughts on hell? I know the bible says there is no peace for the wicked but. I don't know. I just cannot fathom a hell.

Hell is not an unknown place, it is described in the scriptures by God for us all, here in Proverbs below, is a perfect thought from the Lord. ( I hope the scriptures are not worthy of being deleted.)



With the flattering of the lips, with her much fair speech, they go right away, as an ox to the slaughter. ( to death.)

The dart strikes through their liver, as they do not know it is for their life.

Hearken then o the words of HIs mouth, let not our heart decline ( go downwards) to her ways, go not astray in her paths. Many are wounded and killed by her, her house is the way to hell, going down, ( declining) to the chambers of death.

When they hate, they dissemble with their lips, laying up deceit within.

When they speak fair, believe them not, seven abominations are in their heart, their hatred is covered, by deceit, their wickedness shall be shown before the whole congregation.



Proverbs 7:21 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
22 He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
23 Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
24 Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
26 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

Proverbs 26:24 He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him;
25 When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.
26 Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation.

 

[Randy]

Lets be clear. In regard to unbelief. Such peoples "guilt" of "their" sin remains as that guilt is only taken away through faith in Christ.
Judgment comes because of what they have done as in the wages of "sin" is death.

So while yes the faithless perish its because of their own sin.

If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.

Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

 

[gordon777]

Hell ( cursing) is the flattery of the lips, and not the trust in God only. ( blessing/eternal life.)...



Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

 

[gordon777]

If we want to escape hell, we need to be aware that many speak now, who are cursed children, and avoid that same cursing. (cursing= trust in what man tries to teach and deceive with.)

Here is the scriptures for the warning, for right now, for what the many false teachers, are actually doing right now. ( of course including this and every forum, that has them among us.)

The words tell us they sport themselves with their own deceivings, they are beguiling, ( the beguiling of the devil) and are unstable souls.

Satan comes to beguile us( completely trick us) by his ministers, they preach another Jesus, another gospel, they are deceitful workers, they transform themselves, it is time to be aware and beware, and be careful what and whom, we ask.



2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

2 Corinthians 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

2 Peter 2:13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.

 

[Randy]

Why is being given eternal life so one can be tortured 24/7 for eternity the only option for not meeting the requirements for salvation?

I read you are not a Christian. The removal of the guilt of your own sin (forgiveness) is found only in Christ.
Otherwise your "guilt" remains.

Why is Jesus the only way?
Because that it how "God" chose to forgive sin. (It's not for man to choose how to forgive sin)
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
People are judged according to what they have done. The wages of sin is death.

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
God gave proof of these teachings by raising Jesus from the dead.

Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

39He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. 42The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.

If your own arm can save you don't worry about it. Otherwise fear the wrath of God for you cannot bring about a change His judgment. And those so judged will be consigned to the lake of fire.

 

[WIP]

In this forum we need to remain focused on answering the OP's questions and not engaging others.

 

[gordon777]

Salvation is turning from darkness to light, from hell to heaven, satan began speaking in the garden to Adam, and now has a world full of ministers, hell is here in their tongue/text.


Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

2 Corinthians 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

James 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.



James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

 

[BB1956]

I have never believed in hell, other then for a short period of time when I was going through psychosis. Now and for many years, believing or not I never believed in hell. Maybe it's because I have suffered so much in this life, to think after all that i'd go to a place even worse is just non believable. I also feel like when other christians preach about hell it really turns people off to faith.

This could just be me, but what are your guys thoughts on hell? I know the bible says there is no peace for the wicked but. I don't know. I just cannot fathom a hell.

The Hebrew word Sheol which was used in the old testament simply represented where all the dead go whether they were righteous or unrighteous when they die. There was no consciousness there. This is the place where the righteous and unrighteous slept in death waiting for a resurrection of the dead.
When the Hebrew language was being translated into kione Greek, when they came across the Hebrew word Sheol they translated it Hades. Hades represented the same as Sheol, the place of the dead where righteous and unrighteous go who were sleeping in death waiting for a resurrection. They had no consciousness so didn't feel anything, thought anything, spoke anything. So when the Bible was translated into English language and came across either the Hebrew word Sheol or Greek word Hades they translated it Hell. It too represented a place where the dead, righteous and unrighteous go to when they died and slept in death until the resurrection. So when the word Hell was first used in the Bible when it was first translated to English, the word Hell was simply a place where the dead, both righteous and unrighteous went to and slept in death until the resurrection. Today however people believe Hell to be a place of firey torment where only the unrighteous go, which isn't biblical. So there is no place of firey torment where unrighteous go to be tormented by fire for eternity. In fact it's people who believe that human beings have souls that separates at death have gone beyond the scriptures. The scriptures don't say human beings have souls the scriptures say human beings are souls not that they have souls. So when a human being dies he stops being a living soul or living person. So since he/she is no longer a living soul or living person how can they think, feel, talk etc.

 

[Tenchi]

stevenb: Be aware that some on this thread are giving to you the standard false doctrines of the Jehovah's Witness cult: the human soul is just animating, divine energy and "hell" is just "the grave." If you want a good break-down of why these false doctrines are so spurious, read Ron Rhodes' "Reasoning From the Scriptures with the Jehovah's Witnesses." He does a great job of dismantling both the doctrines and the exposing the awful NWT (New World Translation) of the Bible that JW cultists use.

 

[gordon777]

Many false prophets/false teachers, rise to deceive many.

Every divided religion, cannot stand, it has no stability.

Christ was not divided, men are, and also the only real way to know the truth of God, is the love of God, laying His life down for us, we cant trust man who loves his own self, can we, because as told, love waxes cold is the sign for just before the end of the world.



Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

2 Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,


1 Corinthians 1:13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.


1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.