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Hell, what is it?

Nathan said:
Another thread prompted this discussion. So I figured we could begin by knowing what exactly hell is.

What is it?

Was it created, or did it always exist?

Who goes there?

Why do they go there?

I think we often don't like to talk about it for some reason, but sometimes it's nessesary to understand things.
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What ever you do not understand bout Hell, understand this. You don't want to go there!!! It is worse then having a millstone tied around your neck and being thrown into the sea.. (Luke 17:1-3) A better study would be, How do I avoid hell?
 
th1b.taylor said:
God, being a Spirit Being, does not "look" like us. We have so many different looks that such a thing is not possible anyway.
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But God took on flesh and became man in Jesus of Nazareth and "He is the image of the invisible God,.." Col 1:15
And we "...whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son,..that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.." Rom 8:29

I think that's worth a "Wowzers!" or, at least a "Golly".

jim
 
Jim Parker said:
But God took on flesh and became man in Jesus of Nazareth and "He is the image of the invisible God,.." Col 1:15
And we "...whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son,..that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.." Rom 8:29

I think that's worth a "Wowzers!" or, at least a "Golly".

jim
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But Jim, that is one third of the God Head and the other two thirds had to support him while He was Here, where as He create this whole thing... when He was a Spirit, worthy of thought and study I think.
 
The nature of them is In Jesus.Im Him Dwelleth the eternal Godhead.

Bear in mind I was an ardent antitrinitarian and also didn't believe in Hell.
 
th1b.taylor said:
But Jim, that is one third of the God Head and the other two thirds had to support him while He was Here, where as He create this whole thing... when He was a Spirit, worthy of thought and study I think.
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I believe we are in God's image as Christ is the image of the invisible God.
Just as Christ is the visible, physical image of the invisible, non-physical Godhead, so those who are in Christ are also the image of the invisible God.

jim
 
Jim Parker said:
I believe we are in God's image as Christ is the image of the invisible God.
Just as Christ is the visible, physical image of the invisible, non-physical Godhead, so those who are in Christ are also the image of the invisible God.

jim
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No one has said differently except you sin and read into the posts what is not there, why so angry about what I did not say?
 
Yes, Hell is one of Jesus' clearest teachings. This cannot be denied. You cannot simply write "Hell" out of your theology and still call your theology "Christian."

Is the lake of fire literal or is it hyperbole? Was Jesus' commandment to pluck out your eye if it causes you to sin literal or was it hyperbole? Do you think one was hyperbole and the other wasn't - and, if so, why?

Since I'm a Christian, I don't believe I have to concern myself with the nature of Hell. I am confident that, whatever Hell is, we will see that is worthy of the perfectly holy, perfectly just and perfectly loving creator of the universe. The nature of Hell will not be inconsistent with the nature of God.
 
Runner said:
Yes, Hell is one of Jesus' clearest teachings. This cannot be denied. You cannot simply write "Hell" out of your theology and still call your theology "Christian."

Is the lake of fire literal or is it hyperbole? Was Jesus' commandment to pluck out your eye if it causes you to sin literal or was it hyperbole? Do you think one was hyperbole and the other wasn't - and, if so, why?

Since I'm a Christian, I don't believe I have to concern myself with the nature of Hell. I am confident that, whatever Hell is, we will see that is worthy of the perfectly holy, perfectly just and perfectly loving creator of the universe. The nature of Hell will not be inconsistent with the nature of God.
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Good Post.
 
Runner said:
Yes, Hell is one of Jesus' clearest teachings. This cannot be denied. You cannot simply write "Hell" out of your theology and still call your theology "Christian."

Is the lake of fire literal or is it hyperbole? Was Jesus' commandment to pluck out your eye if it causes you to sin literal or was it hyperbole? Do you think one was hyperbole and the other wasn't - and, if so, why?

Since I'm a Christian, I don't believe I have to concern myself with the nature of Hell. I am confident that, whatever Hell is, we will see that is worthy of the perfectly holy, perfectly just and perfectly loving creator of the universe. The nature of Hell will not be inconsistent with the nature of God.
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Runner,

It's the nature of hell that concerns me when I read the NT.

I accept that the biblical writers used metaphorical and not literal language. My main reasons for such a view are:

Hell/Hades could not be represented as literal fire because it is also described as a place of darkness (see Matt 8:12; 22:13; 25:30; 2 Peter 2:17; Jude 1:13). Fire and darkness are mutually exclusive terms so hell’s description cannot be literal.

Let’s use Jude as an example. He described the after-life as ‘eternal fire’ (Jude 1:7) but that is contrasted with ‘utter darkness’ (Jude 1:13). For the angels, Jude writes of ‘gloomy darkness’ (Jude 1:6). Again, literal fire and literal darkness would be contradictory – from my human perspective.

This issue is made knotty by the ‘lake of fire’ (Rev 19:20; 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8. This hardly conforms with the ‘blackest darkness’.

John the Baptist and Jesus also describe hell as ‘fire’ (Matt 3:10; 25:41) but also as ‘darkness’ (Matt 8:12; 22:13; 25:30).

Also Matt 25:41 describes hell as a place for the devil and his angels. They are spirit beings. How is it possible for fire to work on non-physical beings?

Therefore, I accept a metaphorical understanding of hell/Hades/Gehenna. It does involve conscious suffering/torment (cf Luke 16:23-24) , but its nature is unknown to me because of the language used (taken from my article, Is there literal fire in hell?)

Oz
 
OzSpen said:
Runner,
It's the nature of hell that concerns me when I read the NT. I accept that the biblical writers used metaphorical and not literal language.
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Well, I suppose God could do anything He wanted, up to and including a roaring fire that produced no light. Water supporting the weight of a man seems equally incongruous, if we're going to look at things in purely physical terms. My point is more like, "I really don't care or have any reason to care." Whether the descriptions in the Bible are literal or metaphorical, I'm confident Hell will be something infinitely undesirable in comparison to eternal life in God's kingdom but still worthy of the perfectly holy, just and loving Creator. I'm always kind of amused, or perhaps perplexed, by nonbelievers who seem to take some sort of weird "comfort" in notions of Hell being "mere" annihilation or separation from God, as in: "Oh, well, if the only consequence is that I'm going to be annihilated, let's party!" or "Hey, I may be separated from God, but I'll still be with most of my friends!"
 
Runner said:
Well, I suppose God could do anything He wanted, up to and including a roaring fire that produced no light. Water supporting the weight of a man seems equally incongruous, if we're going to look at things in purely physical terms. My point is more like, "I really don't care or have any reason to care." Whether the descriptions in the Bible are literal or metaphorical, I'm confident Hell will be something infinitely undesirable in comparison to eternal life in God's kingdom but still worthy of the perfectly holy, just and loving Creator. I'm always kind of amused, or perhaps perplexed, by nonbelievers who seem to take some sort of weird "comfort" in notions of Hell being "mere" annihilation or separation from God, as in: "Oh, well, if the only consequence is that I'm going to be annihilated, let's party!" or "Hey, I may be separated from God, but I'll still be with most of my friends!"
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That's why discussions on the nature of hell for unbelievers from what the Scriptures state, should be important to us.

There are excellent biblical reasons why annihilation is not biblical.

Oz
 
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