Hell Fire

[Rollo Tamasi]

Revelation 20: 15: NIV

"Anyone whose name was not found in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire".

Sounds horrible, doesn't it?
I certainly don't want to go there.
But really, what is it?
Does it really burn?
How?
Why are we told it is a lake of fire?
What's the purpose behind it all?
Does the Bible tell us?

 

[chessman]

Why are we told it is a lake of fire?
What's the purpose behind it all?
Does the Bible tell us?

Song of Solomon 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.​

As compared to Sheol (i.e. Death)

Song of Solomon 8:6 Sheol;its flashes are flashes of fire;it is a blazing flame. ​

 

[Butch5]

Revelation 20: 15: NIV

"Anyone whose name was not found in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire".

Sounds horrible, doesn't it?
I certainly don't want to go there.
But really, what is it?
Does it really burn?
How?
Why are we told it is a lake of fire?
What's the purpose behind it all?
Does the Bible tell us?

I believe it's a reference to Gehenna which is outside of Jerusalem where the Israelites sacrificed their children to the false Gods. God said He would call it hte valley of slaughter. Jesus said the wicked would burn here and John said the wicked would burn in the lake of fire. The only way I see to reconcile the two is to understand the lake of fire is Gehenna. Regarding your question, will it burn forever, the answer is no. Jeremiah prophesied that Gehenna would one day be made holy to the Lord

 

[clark thompson]

Hell is not a place where God is so it will be a place of endless hope. A place where forever you are separated from Jesus this is bad enough for me.

 

[TimothyW]

I believe that the lake of fire burns up anything that is thrown into it. The Book of Revelation records a vision that John had. The lake of fire is a vivid description of the lost perishing.

Jesus said "fear the one who is able to destroy both body and soul in Gehenna". This is another description of the fate of those who reject God.
The lost will perish, they will be destroyed, they will not have eternal life.

The second part of John 3:16 says "whoever believes in him shall not perish but will have eternal life".
The lost will perish, they will not have eternal life in hell being tormented.

This is what I believe, and I believe that this is the message of the Bible. One day we all will die because of the fatal disease of sin, but God himself has taken on our sins, and thrown them away, so we can be resurrected after we die and we can have eternal life with Him. The wages of sin is Death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

 

[Kathi]

Hell is a literal place.It is a place of torment and suffering that will be experienced by Satan,his angels and unbelievers.
Matthew 8:12
Matthew 25:41
2 Thessalonians 1:6-9
Revelation 20:10
Hell was prepared by God for the devil and his angels.Satan is not in charge of hell like the Farside Cartoons portray.
God is in charge of hell Revelation 1:18.

 

[TimothyW]

Hell is a literal place.It is a place of torment and suffering that will be experienced by Satan,his angels and unbelievers.
Matthew 8:12
Matthew 25:41
2 Thessalonians 1:6-9
Revelation 20:10
Hell was prepared by God for the devil and his angels.Satan is not in charge of hell like the Farside Cartoons portray.
God is in charge of hell Revelation 1:18.

Hi Kathi,
None of the scriptures you posted support your statement that Hell is a place of torment and suffering. Jesus said that the body and soul will be destroyed in hell.
(Gehenna, see Matthew 10:28)
If the body and soul are destroyed, what is left to experience torment and suffering?

 

[Kathi]

Hi Kathi,
None of the scriptures you posted support your statement that Hell is a place of torment and suffering. Jesus said that the body and soul will be destroyed in hell.
(Gehenna, see Matthew 10:28)
If the body and soul are destroyed, what is left to experience torment and suffering?

So you think the body and soul will be destroyed and no eternal sufferering?I am thinking you hope you are right and many,many unbelievers.

 

[TimothyW]

So you think the body and soul will be destroyed and no eternal sufferering?I am thinking you hope you are right and many,many unbelievers.

I believe Jesus Christ who said that the body and soul will be destroyed. Why do you think that unbelievers hope that Jesus and I are correct that they will be destroyed? Do you think that being destroyed is a good thing? That doesn't make sense to me. Can you explain this to me? It seems to me that even if the unbelievers think that being totally destroyed is a really good thing, that doesn't change Jesus Christ's words that say that they will be destroyed in Gehenna.

 

[Kathi]

I believe Jesus Christ who said that the body and soul will be destroyed. Why do you think that unbelievers hope that Jesus and I are correct that they will be destroyed? Do you think that being destroyed is a good thing? That doesn't make sense to me. Can you explain this to me? It seems to me that even if the unbelievers think that being totally destroyed is a really good thing, that doesn't change Jesus Christ's words that say that they will be destroyed in Gehenna.

Please show me scripture that Jesus said the body and soul will be destroyed and will not longer exist.The body and souls of the unbeliever will experience and eternity of conscious torment in hell.
Matthew 25:46
Daniel 12:2

 

[reba]

Hey guys we have had a ton of these threads started ... they all seem to end up in some pretty strong battles .. be respectful to each other even if and when you disagree...

Staff

 

[Deborah13]

Please show me scripture that Jesus said the body and soul will be destroyed and will not longer exist.The body and souls of the unbeliever will experience and eternity of conscious torment in hell.Please see post #6

My point in posting this scripture is not to take sides in this matter but only to point out why other Christians who love and honor God's Words may see it differently than you and many others do.

Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy [apollumi] both soul and body in hell.

I don't know for sure what Jesus is saying here but He compares killing the body to destroying both body and soul.

Mat 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish [apollumi], and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

It seems He is saying, "and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell" because it will perish [apollumi].
So if the body perishes how can it be roasting in hell? But this scripture doesn't make the same reference to the soul as the other does.

 

[Kathi]

My point in posting this scripture is not to take sides in this matter but only to point out why other Christians who love and honor God's Words may see it differently than you and many others do.

Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy [apollumi] both soul and body in hell.

I don't know for sure what Jesus is saying here but He compares killing the body to destroying both body and soul.

Mat 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish [apollumi], and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

It seems He is saying, "and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell" because it will perish [apollumi].
So if the body perishes how can it be roasting in hell? But this scripture doesn't make the same reference to the soul as the other does.

I have posted scripture.Everyone can read the scripture and decide for themselves.

 

[TimothyW]

Please show me scripture that Jesus said the body and soul will be destroyed and will not longer exist.The body and souls of the unbeliever will experience and eternity of conscious torment in hell.
Matthew 25:46
Daniel 12:2

Hey guys we have had a ton of these threads started ... they all seem to end up in some pretty strong battles .. be respectful to each other even if and when you disagree...
Staff

Hi Reba, Is is okay if I answer Kathi's question? I want to be respectful and also understood. It is a very good question because if Jesus never said that the body and soul would be destroyed in hell and if the Bible doesn't say that the souls of the wicked will perish, be destroyed and no longer exist - Then I should NOT be saying that He did say that and the Bible says that.

So, Jesus said in Matthew 10:28 that the body and soul can be destroyed in hell.
In Ezekiel 18:4 the Bible says that the soul who sins shall die.
The Bible says in Psalm 37:20 that the wicked shall perish, and Psalm 37:10 says that the wicked shall be no more.
Psalm 37:38 says that all sinners will be destroyed.

Matthew 25:46 doesn't say that the wicked will experience eternal torment, it say eternal punishment. You and I agree on this point. We just differ on what the eternal punishment consists of. I believe that the eternal punishment is death, which lasts forever. Death is a punishment, and everlasting death is eternal.

Daniel 12:2 says that SOME of the dead will awake to everlasting life. If the theory of Eternal Conscious Torment is correct, then EVERYONE would awake to everlasting life. Some in heaven and some in hell. But Daniel 12:2 doesn't say that. I believe that the everlasting contempt spoken of in Daniel 12:2 is the contempt a person feels for a corpse. They awaken on Judgment Day, and to their shame they have missed out on eternal life. They perish. Those who remain alive (the people who have eternal life, aka Christians) only feel contempt for those who rejected Jesus Christ and therefore missed their opportunity for eternal life. The main point though is that Daniel 12:2 says that only SOME people awake to everlasting life. This proves that the others do not awake to everlasting life, and so Daniel 12:2 is better proof that the lost do not have eternal life in hell being tormented than it is proof that they do.

It's okay if you and I disagree. I just want to point out why I believe what I believe. I think that my belief is true to scripture.
God bless you.

 

[Kathi]

I am going to leave this thread.Some do not believe in hell.Some believe that when you get to hell you will just be destroyed.I am very sad to hear that people have these beliefs.So I will move on.

 

[Deborah13]

I am going to leave this thread.Some do not believe in hell.Some believe that when you get to hell you will just be destroyed.I am very sad to hear that people have these beliefs.So I will move on.

Kathi, why does that make you sad?

 

[Willie T]

Kathi, why does that make you sad?

A VERY interesting question. Wouldn't we, as Christians, want less than eternal, agonizing torment for others? I mean it! Will you stand and say that you want others to be subjected to the most horrible thing you can think of? Frankly, that's a mindset I find myself questioning.

 

[Deborah13]

A VERY interesting question. Wouldn't we, as Christians, want less than eternal, agonizing torment for others? I mean it! Will you stand and say that you want others to be subjected to the most horrible thing you can think of? Frankly, that's a mindset I find myself questioning.

You know Willie there two sides as there usually is.
I have absolutely no desire to see anyone tortured and burned for eternity and frankly can't see how that is of any benefit to the kingdom in anyway. But then I'm not God.
However, if no one were to believe in everlasting torment and it's true, who would warn people about it?

 

[Willie T]

You know Willie there two sides as there usually is.
I have absolutely no desire to see anyone tortured and burned for eternity and frankly can't see how that is of any benefit to the kingdom in anyway. But then I'm not God.
However, if no one were to believe in everlasting torment and it's true, who would warn people about it?

I dunno. The OT Jews knew of no such thing as a Hell, yet they came to the river every year to get baptized, and to send that poor ol' ram somewhere, carrying their sins. Somehow, they knew they had done wrong... even if it was only from checking a list of do's and don'ts.

 

[jeff77]

I am going to leave this thread.Some do not believe in hell.Some believe that when you get to hell you will just be destroyed.I am very sad to hear that people have these beliefs.So I will move on.

Kathi, what I have learned about this doctrine is that a lot of the disagreement is about several words, like "perish", "death", "destruction" and a few others. I have read these words in the Bible since I was a kid growing up (I'm 37) and I never once came to the conclusion that they meant annihilation. In Matthew 25:46 it says "And these will go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal". I cant see how the unsaved receive any kind of punishment if they don't exist. So in my opinion words like "death" are being used in a descriptive way to describe that the unsaved have lost their chance to enter the kingdom of God.