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Snowcat

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How often did the Apostle Paul mention the word Hell. If Eternal Damnation is such a threat, you would think Paul would have warned us at least once in every one of his epistles.

:screwloose
 
A very good question...

I suppose a simple answer might simply be that it wasn't Paul's style of witnessing. Perhaps what Paul stated @ Mars Hill would be the clearest example of Paul's "Style" where he takes what is already known, and builds upon it while directing the focus on God and Christ.

I would assert that Paul was more concerned about shedding the truth of the Gospel as good news, which it is, than by means of fear which would simply had been rejected.
 
theLords said:
Jesus thought it was important enough to mention. Would you say ":screwloose" of Him?
Click to expand...

Jesus spoke about a place outside the walls of Jerusalem, where trash was burned and even bodies were thrown in, thus fire and worms. These flames and worms consumed all that was thrown in, and for those present during this time, it was a continuous happening. In my understanding all these Gehenna passages, they were warnings from Jesus what would soon happen to Israel, Jerusalem and the Temple, which was total distruction by the Romans and the surrounding nations who acccompany them. You would be hard pressed to make these passages support eternal punishment.
Bubba
 
The Bible speaks about an eternal place of hellfire that Satan and his demons will be cast into. The Bible says we are either children of the Lord, God the Father, or children of Satan, the Father of Lies.

All those who chose to serve the Lord in His kingdom will dwell with Him in His eternal paradise the kingdom of heaven.

All those who chose to follow Satan will rule with him in his kingdom of hell.

Makes sense to me, ya know? Satan's been imitating the Godhead since he got kicked out of heaven. For me, from that I infer that there is an eternal hell that was never intended for man.

It doesn't make sense to let one group live eternally, but allow the other group to poof and disappear and stop existing. God could have done that in the garden with Adam and Eve, poof they disappear, and He could've started again.

Eh, :shrug
 
You would be hard pressed to make these passages support eternal punishment.
Click to expand...

Perhaps, but then we could simply listen to Jesus when He says things like "Depart from Me accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels" and "these will go away into eternal punishment".

:chin That word "eternal" has a ring of longevity about it.
 
theLords said:
It doesn't make sense to let one group live eternally, but allow the other group to poof and disappear and stop existing.
Click to expand...

And punishing/torturing someone eternally simply for not believing in God DOES make sense ...? :shame

According to the Bible the righteous receive eternal LIFE while the unrighteous receive eternal DEATH. One group lives, the other group dies. What doesn't make sense about that?
 
Why is this subject such a contraversial one with such strong proponents? Why is it so misunderstood?
The concept of Hell as we know it today is foreign to scripture. It seems however that those who translated the NT into its modern form were fans of the concept of Dante', however as they choose to use the word hell as opposed to GeHenna, Hades, the grave, or Tartarus. Their deliberate translation dishonesty has led to misconceptions on this subject and tons of confusion.

A better focus would be on the lake that burns with fire and brimstone mentioned in Revelation 20.
 
Snowcat said:
How often did the Apostle Paul mention the word Hell. If Eternal Damnation is such a threat, you would think Paul would have warned us at least once in every one of his epistles.

:screwloose
Click to expand...

theLords said:
Jesus thought it was important enough to mention. Would you say ":screwloose" of Him?
Click to expand...

I believe there is a hell, but I don’t think we get sent there forever unless we never stop sinning.
 
Questions to ponder.

1. When does Hell begin?
2. Is it burning right now or will it only be commissioned after the judgment?
3. What happens to the mortal "spirit beings" that go there?
 
KCKID said:
And punishing/torturing someone eternally simply for not believing in God DOES make sense ...? :shame

According to the Bible the righteous receive eternal LIFE while the unrighteous receive eternal DEATH. One group lives, the other group dies. What doesn't make sense about that?
Click to expand...

Yes, it makes much more sense because of the Law of Cause and Effect. Every sin must be punished. A Christian's sin has been paid at the cross of Christ. Hell is a place where those who reject God finally come into the knowledge of His pure, lovingkindness, but must live separated from Him eternally. That is the biggest torture anyone could ever endure.

If Life is received through Christ and abiding in Him then those who are dead are those who do not abide in Him. You're thinking of the earthly definition of death, but I'm speaking about the spiritual definition of death.
 
Snowcat said:
How often did the Apostle Paul mention the word Hell. If Eternal Damnation is such a threat, you would think Paul would have warned us at least once in every one of his epistles.

:screwloose
Click to expand...

Hell is talked about a lot in the NT, but Jesus gets top billing, and that is more than appropriate. The way to avoid hellfire is through Him.
 
handy said:
Perhaps, but then we could simply listen to Jesus when He says things like "Depart from Me accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels" and "these will go away into eternal punishment".

:chin That word "eternal" has a ring of longevity about it.
Click to expand...

On the Word “Eternalâ€
In His book “God’s Methods with Man†the Rev. G. Campbell Morgan says this about the word “eternalâ€: “Let me say to Bible students that we must be very careful how we use the word “eternity.†We have fallen into great error in our constant use of that word. There is no word in the whole Book of God corresponding with our “eternal,†which, as commonly used among us, means absolutely without end. The strongest Scripture word used with reference to the existence of God, is–“unto the ages of the ages,†which does not literally mean eternally. Let us remember however that the self-same word, which is thus used in connection with the existence of God, is also applied to the loss of the human soul. Men have divided the Church, separated from each other, and persecuted one another, upon a thought conveyed by an English word which has no equivalent in the Bible.â€
George Campbell Morgan

Good reading, Bubba

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
theLords said:
The Bible speaks about an eternal place of hellfire that Satan and his demons will be cast into. The Bible says we are either children of the Lord, God the Father, or children of Satan, the Father of Lies.
Click to expand...

Quote from J. Preston Eby’s article:
“In my study of the lake that burns with fire and brimstone I was very much helped and impressed by the understanding given by Charles Pridgeon and I would like to quote from his scholarly work on the subject of BRIMSTONE. He says: "The Lake of Fire and Brimstone signifies a fire burning with brimstone; the word 'brimstone' or sulphur defines the character of the fire. The Greek word THEION translated 'brimstone' is exactly the same word THEION which means 'divine.' Sulphur was sacred to the deity among the ancient Greeks; and was used to fumigate, to purify, and to cleanse and consecrate to the deity; for this purpose they burned it in their incense. In Homer's Iliad (16:228), one is spoken of as purifying a goblet with fire and brimstone. The verb derived from THEION is THEIOO, which means to hallow, to make divine, or to dedicate to a god (See Liddell and Scott Greek-English Lexicon, 1897 Edition). To any Greek, or any trained in the Greek language, a 'lake of fire and brimstone' would mean a 'lake of divine purification.' The idea of judgment need not be excluded. Divine purification and divine consecration are the plain meaning in ancient Greek. In the ordinary explanation, this fundamental meaning of the word is entirely left out, and nothing but eternal torment is associated with it"

Not as simple as you might think, Bubba
 
So Satan and his demons are going to a lake of fire and brimstone to be purified?

I've never heard that idea before.
 
theLords said:
So Satan and his demons are going to a lake of fire and brimstone to be purified?

I've never heard that idea before.
Click to expand...

I have. It is what Universalism pushes.

Of course no purification took place at Gehenna, did it? That was the perpetual burning dump outside Jerusalem. It is a parallel situation with hellfire, which is not for purification, but for the containment of evil, and the permanent (eternal) separation of evil from all that is holy.
 
Questions to ponder.

1. When does Hell begin?
2. Is it burning right now or will it only be commissioned after the judgment?
3. What happens to the mortal "spirit beings" that go there?
Click to expand...

From what I understand,

1. Hell is happening right now.

2. Unsaved people go to hell which is a holding area which is also filled with torment and is burning with fire. After the Judgment, Death, Hell, Satan and his angels, and unsaved people are cast into the Lake of Fire which is the final destination of all the doomed.

3. They are eternally doomed and spiritually dead.
​
 
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