What is Hell?

[JamesLovesGod]

Hi all,

I was just reading and studying about sin and i came accross this passage.

'If anyones name was not found in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire' REV:20:15

Firstly, It mentions 'WAS' why does it reffer to past tense?

Secondly, is hell a place sinners live or is it a place were mortal souls burn and die for ever? I noticed throughout the bible that 'THE LAKE OF FIRE' is mentioned a few times, could this mean hell isnt what the T.V and the werstern world perceive it as? It would make sence that HELL is a firey pit, but the thing im asking is:

Is it a pit were people live forever in, but live in fire and darkness, or is it a pit for souls to burn ( just like our bodys when cremated )?


Im not by all means trying to reinvent the wheel or anything like that, im just a bit puzzled.

Regards

 

[bibleberean]

John is watching a future event that will take place at the end of the millennium.

He is writing what he "saw" so it is written in the past tense.

Revelation 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Here is what is written about the Lake of Fire and it's torments....

Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

From the above verse we can read that the "false prophet" of anti-christ and the beast (anti-christ) are already in the lake of fire before the millennial reign of Christ.

The torment of the lost appears to go day and night for ever and ever...

Revelation 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,

Revelation 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

Revelation 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

One thing is certain I don't want to go there...

 

[JamesLovesGod]

I feel the same way, i dont want to end up in hell. Although i often get scared and worried to were i will end up. Im trying really hard at the moment to do good in christs eyes.

 

[bibleberean]

I feel the same way, i dont want to end up in hell. Although i often get scared and worried to were i will end up. Im trying really hard at the moment to do good in christs eyes.

It is a right to live a life pleasing and acceptable to God.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Do you know that good works cannot save us?

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Salvation is a gift. We receive this gift through believing that Christs death on the cross, his burial and ressurection will save us...

1 Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

1 Corinthians 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

1 Corinthians 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Salvation is a gift from God and a gift cannot be earned or it is not a gift.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

We are saved for good works not by them...

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Jesus said that if a man believes in Him he will never perish but has been given eternal life.

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

If you put your complete trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross you need not worry about going to hell.

That is why the gospel is called "good news". :D

 

[Quath]

It is up to the denomination and individual beliefs about what hell is. Here are some from Secular Web:

• Southern Baptists - Dante's Inferno type hell, suffering for eternity.[/*:m:19789]
• Christian Science - Basically a state of mind.[/*:m:19789]
• Lutheran - Dante's Inferno type hell, suffering for Eternity. Some sects see hell as a separation from God.[/*:m:19789]
• Eastern Orthodox - Precise form of punishment not known.[/*:m:19789]
• Oneness Pentecostal - Lake of fire, eternal fires, Dante's Inferno, suffering for eternity, etc.[/*:m:19789]
• Roman Catholic - Used to believe the level of torture in hell will be dealt in accordance with the seriousness of the individual's sin. Most individuals who are not destined to hell first suffer punishment in purgatory where they are "cleansed" and then admitted into heaven. On July 28th, 1999 the Pope decrees that hell is: "the pain, frustration and emptiness of life without God." (i.e., separation)[/*:m:19789]
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Hell exists but very few people will stay there very long. If you have not heard Christ's Gospel, you will exist in a spirit prison. This spirit prison is where you wait to hear the Gospel.[/*:m:19789]
• Jehovah's Witness - Hell is the grave where one waits with hope for resurrection. Hell will be destroyed after the 1,000-year reign of Christ. True sinners cease to exist.[/*:m:19789]
• Quakers - Up to individual interpretation.[/*:m:19789]
• Church of Christ - Generally, a separation from God. (some sects vary)[/*:m:19789]
• Disciple's of Christ - Separation from God.[/*:m:19789]
• Episcopal Churches - Hell is not eternal torment; rather, it's the final and irrevocable choice made by man that ends in total non-being.[/*:m:19789]
• Methodist - Differing opinions, some interpret hell as symbolic, others believe hell will be a separation from God.[/*:m:19789]
• Presbyterian - The most current statement I could find comes from a 1974 paper on universalism adopted by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. It mentions judgment and promises hope, acknowledging that the ideas of heaven & hell seem to be "in paradox." This statement concedes how God works redemption and judgment still remains a "mystery" to man.[/*:m:19789]
• Seventh-Day Adventist - There will be a thousand-year reign of Jesus with His saints in heaven between the first and second resurrections. During this time the wicked dead will be judged; the earth will be utterly desolate without living human inhabitants, but occupied by Satan and his angels. At earth's close, Jesus with His saints and the Holy City will descend from heaven to earth. The unrighteous dead will then be resurrected and judged with Satan and his angels. Finally, fire from God will consume them all and cleanse the earth.[/*:m:19789]
• United Church of Christ - Does not teach that heaven and hell are actual places in the universe. Adherents make up their own minds about the nature of heaven and hell through scriptural precedent, though most believe that heaven and hell are states of mind.[/*:m:19789]

Quath

 

[JamesLovesGod]

I understand that you cannot be saved by good works, i was baptsied back in Febuary becuase i belived that Jesus Christ was my saviour and he could save me. I uderstand he was baptised in the Jordan by John and all the sins of the world were placed upon him. H ewas crucifed for our sins just as the farther said. The onlt problem is im scared that this isnt enough. As i dont go to church at the moment the only thing i can trust is my bible and gods word.

 

[bibleberean]

It is important to note that Quath is a missionary atheist.

He does not believe in God, the authority of scripture etc.

The bible calls atheists fools.

Proverbs 17:16 Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?

 

[bibleberean]

I understand that you cannot be saved by good works, i was baptsied back in Febuary becuase i belived that Jesus Christ was my saviour and he could save me. I uderstand he was baptised in the Jordan by John and all the sins of the world were placed upon him. H ewas crucifed for our sins just as the farther said. The onlt problem is im scared that this isnt enough. As i dont go to church at the moment the only thing i can trust is my bible and gods word.

That is why it is important to live a good life well pleasing to God.

Sin will place confusion and doubt in the life of a believer.

Christ's one time sacrifice is enough to save you.

Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

We can have confidence in Him for salvation.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Philippians 1:7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.

If there are things you need to clean up in your life ask God to help you.

Here is a website you may find useful.

http://www.biblebelievers.net/

Take your time and read what is on this site. Check out everything and search the scriptures and reject anything that does not conform to the teachings of the bible.

Be a Berean...

Acts 17:10-11 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

God bless,

Robert

 

[Quath]

It is important to note that Quath is a missionary atheist.

He does not believe in God, the authority of scripture etc.

I don't try to get people to become atheists. I just like for people to think about issues instead of falling into dogma.

So in this case, all these denominations come up with stances on hell. They felt led by the Holy Spirit to come up with their beliefs. So which people do you trust to determine what hell is?

Other things to think about:

Why did Jesus die for all sins except for the sin of disbelief?

Could God be considered good if He makes a place of eternal torment? It would be much nicer if He just removes hell bound people from existance.

Is the afterlife a physical realm where our bodies are remade or a spiritual one? Could a lake of fire burn a spirit?

Why does God make Hell for Satan, and yet Satan is always wandering about uncontained in the Bible?

Hell is a New Testament concept. It was not present in the Old Testament. Why did no one before Christ know about this when they knew of heaven? ("Sheol" in the OT means "grave", not "hell".)

Lest Bibleberean brand me a fool once again, I will leave the answers up to those that wish to think about them.

Quath

 

[bibleberean]

Quath gives his atheist testimony to whoever asks and tells people exactly why he is an atheist an that he is sure that God does not exist.

He casts dispersions on the word of God and God Himself.

He is not only a missionary but an atheist apologist.

Watch out for him... ;-)

 

[JamesLovesGod]

Dont worry, Quath has no effect on my beliefs.

God died for all sins! To be saved by Jesus Christ and take your place in the kindom of heaven you must first belive that god died for your sins. If you cant accept this you do not belive. Quath just contradicts himself. He is basiclly saying you should be saved even if you dont belive (Dis-Belif), but if you dont belive who can save you?

Thats like saying 'Even though i know tooth fairys are not real they should still give me money for my tooth' OR 'You dont belive in the easter bunny but you still expect to recive easter eggs from the easter bunny'.

 

[bibleberean]

Dont worry, Quath has no effect on my beliefs.

God died for all sins! To be saved by Jesus Christ and take your place in the kindom of heaven you must first belive that god died for your sins. If you cant accept this you do not belive. Quath just contradicts himself. He is basiclly saying you should be saved even if you dont belive (Dis-Belif), but if you dont belive who can save you?

Thats like saying 'Even though i know tooth fairys are not real they should still give me money for my tooth' OR 'You dont belive in the easter bunny but you still expect to recive easter eggs from the easter bunny'.

Good point James,

Here is some OT information on hell.

Psalms 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

Saved people and unsaved people die and get put into graves. If "sheol" is only the grave, then only wicked people get buried!

Psalms 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Jesus said...

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost." Luke 23:46.

The body of Christ went into the tomb, His spirit returned to God, and his soul went to the paradise section in the lower parts of the earth.

There are two compartments in the earth where the soul went before Christ's resurrection.

Excerpt from:

26 Heaven and Hell
Rightly Dividing the Word, by Clarence Larkin, 1920

"In the account of the experience of the "Rich Man" and "Lazarus" in the other world (Lu 16:19-31), Jesus gives us a description of "The Underworld" as it was in His day.

According to the narrative, for it is not a parable, for parables do not give proper names as Abraham and Lazarus, both the "Rich Man" and Lazarus had died and their bodies had been buried, and what happened to them in the "Underworld," was descriptive of what happened to them in their "disembodied state."

In that state they were conscious, could see, hear, speak, and recognized each other. The difference was that Lazarus was in the "Paradise" section of the "Underworld"typified by Abraham's "bosom," while the "Rich Man" was in the "Hell" section, not the final Hell, which is "Gehenna" (Lake of Fire), but in the section of the "Underworld" where the "souls" of the "Wicked" dead go, and remain until the resurrection of the "Wicked" dead.

Between the "Paradise" section, and the "Hell" section of the "Underworld" there is an "Impassable Gulf", (Lu 16:26), which reveals the fact that there is no possibility of the "Wicked" dead ever getting out of "Hell" into "Paradise."

BB concludes:

Hell, is the place of the damned. It is a place of destruction. Job speaks of the grave as a place of rest, and Jesus spoke of Lazarus as sleeping.

Proverbs 15:24 The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.

Proverbs 23:14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

How can a person be delivered from the grave by rebuke and discipline? Everyone will end up there someday no matter what! (Unless you are saved and Christ comes before you die.

Satan has not been cast into the lake of fire yet. That event is yet future.

Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

The Lake of fire was originally prepared for Satan and His angels.

This is where Satan will be cast.

Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Anyway I hope this info is helpful. There is a lot of things to learn in the scriptures.

God bless,

Robert

 

[JamesLovesGod]

Thanks for the info. I dont mean to come along as a hypocrite. God has works for everyone , even you quath, its never to late to belive. I will include you in my prayers and if you need any support im always here.

 

[Quath]

God died for all sins! To be saved by Jesus Christ and take your place in the kindom of heaven you must first belive that god died for your sins. If you cant accept this you do not belive. Quath just contradicts himself. He is basiclly saying you should be saved even if you dont belive (Dis-Belif), but if you dont belive who can save you?

Thats like saying 'Even though i know tooth fairys are not real they should still give me money for my tooth' OR 'You dont belive in the easter bunny but you still expect to recive easter eggs from the easter bunny'.

It is closer to saying that you have a gift, even if you do not know who it is from. As it is, it is not a gift, because there are strings attached. You must believe that Jesus exists. A true gift has no strings attached.

Thanks for the info. I dont mean to come along as a hypocrite. God has works for everyone , even you quath, its never to late to belive. I will include you in my prayers and if you need any support im always here.

That is kind of you. If God reveals Himself to me one day, I will be a believer. Until then, I remain skeptical.

Psalms 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

Saved people and unsaved people die and get put into graves. If "sheol" is only the grave, then only wicked people get buried!

The NIV translation is
"The wicked return to the grave, all the nations that forget God."

So grave does make sense there.

Psalms 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

NIV: because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

Quath

 

[Orthodox Christian]

It is important to note that Quath is a missionary atheist.

He does not believe in God, the authority of scripture etc.

I don't try to get people to become atheists. I just like for people to think about issues instead of falling into dogma.

That's cool. I don't think questions should be greeted with rancor.

I am suspicious of anyone who has glib, pat answers for difficult questions. This includes religious and non-religious persons.

So in this case, all these denominations come up with stances on hell. They felt led by the Holy Spirit to come up with their beliefs. So which people do you trust to determine what hell is?

My answer to this question should obvious. :wink:

Other things to think about:

Why did Jesus die for all sins except for the sin of disbelief?

He died for the sin of disbelief, also. We ALL struggle with disbelief in some sense. But let us carefully distinguish between disbelief, meaning normal human doubt, and disbelief that is not doubt as much as it is rebellion and resentment. It is not necessarily atheists/agnostics who struggle with the latter.

Could God be considered good if He makes a place of eternal torment? It would be much nicer if He just removes hell bound people from existance.

In all actuality, it is people who make their own place of torment. There is no place where God is not- so it is heaven if one loves God (believes), and hell is one hates God and His ways (disbelieves).

Everyone seems to think that seeing God would change the hearts/minds of the hateful. In point of fact, the hateful spit in the face of love everyday, and use and abuse those who give them love. If the shadow of love only brings out the worse in such, how much more so the Shining Light of Love.

Is the afterlife a physical realm where our bodies are remade or a spiritual one? Could a lake of fire burn a spirit?

The Resurrection involves enfleshment of all, in the understanding and belief taught in the scriptures. The like of fire may or may not be an idiom or figure of speech.

Why does God make Hell for Satan, and yet Satan is always wandering about uncontained in the Bible?

Not always- only until the end of days.

Hell is a New Testament concept. It was not present in the Old Testament. Why did no one before Christ know about this when they knew of heaven? ("Sheol" in the OT means "grave", not "hell".)

There is an unfolding revelation of God from the Old Covenant to the New. As it is written

Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets..But now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he made the universe and everything in it.

When God revealed Himself to Avraham, He did so in a promise. Avraham celebrated God's goodness to him by giving an offering to the priest Melchizedek, who gave Avraham bread and wine (prefiguiring the fulfillment of that promise in the Church, and in her Eucharistic celebration).
When He revealed Himself to Moses, He met with Him in an intimate way, but the people of Israel only wanted to know God's power and vengeance.

In the fulness of time, He sent His Word. His Word brought correction to human misunderstanding of who God is, and what we are in relationship to Him.

In this, it was revealed what the end of man would be, should man not love his neighbor as himself, and love God: Endless darkness.

I hasten to add that there are some who disbelieve that there is a God, who, nonetheless, love that which is what God is. I do not know what mercy God may show such persons, I suspect that they will know Him upon seeing Him. I do feel confident that those who claim to know Him, yet act as if they do not by being spiteful, arrogant, judgemental, cruel, and self-centered will suffer in the ages to come- perhaps some of these eternally.

We Orthodox do not see heaven and hell as a simple 'if/then' proposition. For us, there is life, and then there is what you do with life. In the walking out of life, people are transformed, for good or bad.

By way of analogy: Think about how you feel when you are in love, versus how you feel when you are resentful and embittered at someone who has wronged you (assuming you've ever felt that way). Resentment has a certain draw and appeal to it- people "nurse" grudges. Hell has its own special appeal. This is why Jesus said "they loved the darkness."

Most of our Evangelical counterparts believe in a pretty cut and dried 'say the prayer and believe or burn' perspective. They say "believe, and you are saved." We see that as works of righteousness draped in spiritual sounding language.

What does it actually mean to believe? What does it mean to love?

We haven't got pat answers for these questions: this is why we say we are being saved- and not by our works, not by our Church, not by our faith- but by Christ Himself.
Warmly
James

 

[Orthodox Christian]

It is closer to saying that you have a gift, even if you do not know who it is from. As it is, it is not a gift, because there are strings attached. You must believe that Jesus exists. A true gift has no strings attached.

I suspect you don't feel this way about those you love. Love is a cord that binds us, and there is no greater gift. One must be faithful in love, or the cord breaks.

The gift of salvation is not like a check for $X. Rather, it is another way of saying 'the marriage between us and God.'

Of course there are cords that bind, then.

The gift of love will cost you everything, in this life and the next.

 

[JamesLovesGod]

It is closer to saying that you have a gift, even if you do not know who it is from. As it is, it is not a gift, because there are strings attached. You must believe that Jesus exists. A true gift has no strings attached.

There are no strings attatched. The Farther is simply saying you can enter heaven if you belive that Jesus died for all sins. Its amazing that we are granted eternal life for beliving in the lord, this is a gift that no-one else can give.

That is kind of you. If God reveals Himself to me one day, I will be a believer. Until then, I remain skeptical.

You will see god, but by the time you see him it will be to late. Seeing is not beliving, you dont need to see something to belive it. Satan is pulling the wool over peoples eyes, just like yours, as he did mine. Im 20 years old, and had a friend who was a christian and im part of a family of athiest. I used to try and nit-ick parts of the bible, and argue with christians, hoping to catch them out, but belive me, you wont. You cant argue with the truth, you cant proove wrong the truth. You have some great wisdom but your using it in the wrong way. From speaking to you it sounds like you activley seek answers and study to try and proove people wrong, but how many people in this world can truthly put there hand on heart and proove the bible wrong? You could be positivley using your wisdom and strength to learn in the opposite direction. There are thousands of examples i could give you, but at the end of the day only you can belive, i cant try to force you.

Stubborness is stopping you from getting through. Im going through alot of changes and hard times at the moment that could change the way my mind thinks, and at times it does have me questioning, but my heart will always know the truth, so when times get hard i pick up the bible and read.

You must have a bible with you, please for yourself and for me read mathew, without picking faults, just read, like you were reading a story. The bible wasnt made to be questioned, the same as the dictionary wasn't made to be questioned. Everything in there are words from god. Please if you can do that for me.

Im available to talk on MSN if you want to discuss what im going through and how i changed from a athiest to a christian. PM me if you want my MSN details.

My Love and Prayers go to you.

 

[Vic C.]

According to the narrative, for it is not a parable, for parables do not give proper names as Abraham and Lazarus, both the "Rich Man" and Lazarus had died and their bodies had been buried, and what happened to them in the "Underworld," was descriptive of what happened to them in their "disembodied state."

Actually, this is a parable and the only one where Jesus uses proper names. He did this for a reason. This parable is very symbolic. One needs to understand who the Rich Man represents, why He chose the name Lazarus (it's meaning) and what exactly is the "Bosom of Abraham". This parable is more about the spiritual state of the Jews, their lack of faith and the chasm they created between Man and God than it is about the state of the dead.

I digress here. We have discussed this parable in the past. If I can find that thread, maybe I will bump it up for continued discussion.

 

[bibleberean]

Greetings James,

Proverbs 27:20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

Isaiah 5:14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

Isaiah 14:9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

Many verses speak of a place prepared for the Devil and his angels, this does not describe the a shallow hole in the ground.

Isaiah 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.


Isaiah 28:15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

How many people have made a covenant with a hole in the ground?

Isaiah 28:18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

Isaiah 57:9 And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.

Ezekiel 31:16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.

Ezekiel 31:17 They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.

Ezekiel 32:21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

Ezekiel 32:27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

In the preceding verses, even if one take the position that the verses are figurative, one cannot get the picture of a graveyard from these verses.

Amos 9:2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:

Jonah 2:2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

The thing to understand is that Jesus describes hell and He quotes the OT. to describe hell. Just because skeptics cannot see this is not a valid reason to reject it.


The New testament reveals much that was concealed in the Old. This is not a doctrine Christians make up as they go along.

For example:

Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,


Ephesians 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

Ephesians 3:4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

Ephesians 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

The Jews certainly did not refute Christs teaching on hell.

The future of Satan was not clearly revealed in the OT but the information above shows that it was there and the New Testament reveals the truth of it.

Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

We know that this isn't a hole in the ground. ;-)

 

[Vic C.]

... We haven't got pat answers for these questions: this is why we say we are being saved- and not by our works, not by our Church, not by our faith- but by Christ Himself.
Warmly
James

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the Word of the cross is foolishness to those being lost, but to us being saved, it is the power of God.
LITV

:angel: