Questions about Hell

[Rob83]

Payment for their sins.

Someone must pay the price for your sin (and mine, and everyone else). And there are only 2 choices:

1) You pay for your sins
2) Jesus paid for your sins

Sin is painful, it is ugly, it is separation from God. Why does Hell have fire? Because it was made for the angels who sinned, so that their imperfection would be eternally separated from God. The fire is punishment. It is probably there to make you regret every sinful second and regret not letting Jesus pay for your sins. However, Hell and the Lake of Fire was never reserved or intended for people, for we were originally created in a sinless environment. But when sin entered man through deception from the devil, the curse was also passed on to us. Hence, people who do not accept God's One and Only Way (faith in Jesus Christ) will also go to the same place as the fallen angels, because of their sin.

Jesus said, "It is finished" on the cross, then he gave up His soul and died. The finishing work He did on the cross was payment for every persons sins; past, present and future for all eternity. Whether you choose to have His Blood atone (cover) for your sins is up to you. Everyone else must make this same decision.

You see, our God is a JUST God. Justice will be served to everyone. In the end, God's love for us does not override His absolute Justice. His love gave us a way to be counted as righteous, and that was through the death of His only Son, Jesus Christ. So justice will be served: Either you pay for your sins, or Jesus paid for your sins.

I love the old hymm:

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin has left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

Im sorry.....I'm probably not explaining any of this very well, but it makes sense in my head

God bless,
- JIL

Isn't being rejected by God enough? Having to spend eternity realizing what you lost and having to reflect on that knowing there is no way out. Isn't that enough? To me the burning and "physical soul" torment seems to be excessive and still doesn't serve a point.

[futurehope]

To me the burning and "physical soul" torment seems to be excessive and still doesn't serve a point.

Hopefully, you will choose to avoid the "excessive". The Creator of the universe has graciously given us His Word, and His Word describes Him and His method of salvation.

Your thoughts and feelings in regards to biblical truth are irrelevant. It is the Lord who made you, and made this entire universe and the rules. He told us the Way to salvation, and the results for those who refuse.

You either choose Him and choose life, or you don't. If you do not like the consequences, I pray you choose life.

[Hootmon]

Isn't being rejected by God enough?

Its not God that is doing the rejecting.

Having to spend eternity realizing what you lost and having to reflect on that knowing there is no way out. Isn't that enough? To me the burning and "physical soul" torment seems to be excessive and still doesn't serve a point.

The Lake of Fire was prepared for 'the devil and his angels' (Mat 25:41). Presumably any perceived 'excessiveness' is due to that.

[JesusIsLord]

Isn't being rejected by God enough? Having to spend eternity realizing what you lost and having to reflect on that knowing there is no way out. Isn't that enough? To me the burning and "physical soul" torment seems to be excessive and still doesn't serve a point.

For someone who hates God, would being separated from Him really be "punishment"? Yeah, it would be to us who love Him. I think when someone understands just how Holy God is, Who is without ANY darkness, Who knows NO SIN, the all-powerful Creator of space, time, matter and life.....they will understand why the Lake of Fire is necessary. How would justice be served if those who hate him just continued on in death - doing what they have always done, only far away from Him? That's no punishment.....to them, that's utter ecstasy!

Sin has a price to pay, and being separated from Him for all eternity evidently was not enough to God. If you believe God is Just, like the Word says, then you must believe that the Lake of Fire is also a Just punishment....even if we dont fully understand it in our limited knowledge.

Maybe someone else has a better answer?

God bless,
- JIL

[Robert]

Isn't being rejected by God enough? Having to spend eternity realizing what you lost and having to reflect on that knowing there is no way out. Isn't that enough? To me the burning and "physical soul" torment seems to be excessive and still doesn't serve a point.

You seem to think that there should be a limit to this, as if the offense is limited.

It is because of WHO GOD IS that the punishment is so severe.

God is JUST, HOLY, PERFECT, and COMPLETELY INNOCENT. He is the most BEAUTIFUL, LOVELY, and WONDERFUL being that exists. He is creator and ruler of EVERYTHING that exists, and has not, cannot, nor ever will, do any wrong. To behold him in all his glory, beauty and splendor causes the "best" of us to crumple to our knees, fall on our faces, and bewail how unworthy we are.(Isaiah summed this up in Isaiah chapter 6, when he appeared before the Lord in his court in heaven).

AND ALL MANKIND SINNED AGAINST THIS BEAUTIFUL, SOVEREIGN GOD.

To put this in perspective: if you commit a crime against a man on the street, there is a sentence for that. If you were to commit the same crime against a governor or senator, the punishment becomes more severe. Against the president (or leader of whatever nation you live in), and the punishment becomes yet even more severe.

Now, take into consideration that God is INFINITE and HOLY. That he is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, and is totally innocent.

and you commit a crime against him...

HOW SEVERE DO YOU THINK YOUR PUNISHMENT SHOULD BE?

When you sin against an infinite, eternal God who is so great and mighty, your crime is infinite, eternal, and as GRAVE as God is great; thus, so is your punishment. And this is why we NEED salvation.

BTW: Hell was originally created for Satan and his angels. Man became subject to it when he sinned against God; so why should God lessen the degree of a pre-established punishment simply because man is now subject to it? Man got himself into this, and we have the monumental GALL to question why God would make literal flames in hell?

Man should be quaking in fear, not shaking his fist at God!!!

Yet, In his mercy, God made a way for us to escape it and be reconciled back to himself: repentant faith in Jesus Christ, his only begotten son. We didn't deserve such a thing, which is why it is called GRACE: unmerited favor.

[Christina]

Payment for their sins.

Someone must pay the price for your sin (and mine, and everyone else). And there are only 2 choices:

1) You pay for your sins
2) Jesus paid for your sins

Sin is painful, it is ugly, it is separation from God. Why does Hell have fire? Because it was made for the angels who sinned, so that their imperfection would be eternally separated from God. The fire is punishment. It is probably there to make you regret every sinful second and regret not letting Jesus pay for your sins. However, Hell and the Lake of Fire was never reserved or intended for people, for we were originally created in a sinless environment. But when sin entered man through deception from the devil, the curse was also passed on to us. Hence, people who do not accept God's One and Only Way (faith in Jesus Christ) will also go to the same place as the fallen angels, because of their sin.

Jesus said, "It is finished" on the cross, then he gave up His soul and died. The finishing work He did on the cross was payment for every persons sins; past, present and future for all eternity. Whether you choose to have His Blood atone (cover) for your sins is up to you. Everyone else must make this same decision.

You see, our God is a JUST God. Justice will be served to everyone. In the end, God's love for us does not override His absolute Justice. His love gave us a way to be counted as righteous, and that was through the death of His only Son, Jesus Christ. So justice will be served: Either you pay for your sins, or Jesus paid for your sins.

I love the old hymm:

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin has left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

Im sorry.....I'm probably not explaining any of this very well, but it makes sense in my head

God bless,
- JIL

Actually JIL, you explained that VERY well!

[Alex]

Rob83,
You have not answered the very inportant question Steve53 asked:

Is your name written in the Lambs book of life? Are you saved?

[Christina]

Isn't being rejected by God enough? Having to spend eternity realizing what you lost and having to reflect on that knowing there is no way out. Isn't that enough? To me the burning and "physical soul" torment seems to be excessive and still doesn't serve a point.

The thing is, every person will have the opportunity to accept Christ' atonement and will know the consequences of rejecting God...if a person knows this, the only thing that would stop them from accepting Christ' sacrifice is their disbelief because anyone who knows and believes what is coming for those that reject God, would surely turn to God.

You say rejection by God should be enough.....are you looking for the easy way? Do you truly believe in Hell, a place of everlasting flames?

Don't worry so much about why God does what He does and just know that if He said this is the way it's going to be, then you need to worry more about whether you choose to believe Him and accept Christ' sacrifice for your sins or whether you want to take the chance and see if God really means what He says.

We are not guaranteed another day Rob, think seriously about where you're going to spend eternity because you could die in the next 10 minutes.

[His Bride]

1) In a fire, smoke produced can obscure vision and even hide flames.

2) the dead are resurrected to physical form before they are judged:

"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." (John 5:28-29, KJV)

3) Giant tube worms live near hot volcanic vents in the ocean, and actually feed off of the sulfur that comes from these vents. Giant Tube Worm So the Lord can make worms that can actually THRIVE in this environment.

4) This is God we are talking about; he can pretty much do as he pleases.

Funny thing about God....He is God....capable of things we cannot even imagine....

[Buzzardhut]

Is there literal fire in hell? Or is the mention of it in scripture figurative?

Hell is hot

Eternity is looooong

[Buzzardhut]

http://www.gotquestions.org/fire-and-brimstone.html

The word the Bible uses to describe a burning hell—Gehenna—comes from a burning place, the valley of Gehenna adjacent to Jerusalem on the south. Gehenna is an English transliteration of the Greek form of an Aramaic word, which is derived from the Hebrew phrase “the Valley of (the son[s] of) Hinnom.” In one of their greatest apostasies, the Jews (especially under kings Ahaz and Manasseh) passed their children through the fires in sacrifice to the god Molech in that very valley (2 Kings 16:3; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Jeremiah 32:35). Eventually, the Jews considered that location to be ritually unclean (2 Kings 23:10), and they defiled it all the more by casting the bodies of criminals into its smoldering heaps. In Jesus’ time this was a place of constant fire, but more so, it was a refuse heap, the last stop for all items judged by men to be worthless. When Jesus spoke of Gehenna hell, He was speaking of the city dump of all eternity. Yes, fire was part of it, but the purposeful casting away—the separation and loss—was all of it.

In Mark 9:43 Jesus used another powerful image to illustrate the seriousness of hell.“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.” For most readers, this images does escape its own gravity—in spite of the goriness! Few believe that Jesus wants us literally to cut off our own hand. He would rather that we do whatever is necessary to avoid going to hell, and that is the purpose of such language—to polarize, to set up an either/or dynamic, to compare. Since the first part of the passage uses imagery, the second part does also, and therefore should not be understood as an encyclopedic description of hell.

In addition to fire, the New Testament describes hell as a bottomless pit (abyss) (Revelation 20:3), a lake (Revelation 20:14), darkness (Matthew 25:30), death (Revelation 2:11), destruction (2 Thessalonians 1:9), everlasting torment (Revelation 20:10), a place of wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30), and a place of gradated punishment (Matthew 11:20-24; Luke 12:47-48; Revelation 20:12-13). The very variety of hell’s descriptors argues against applying a literal interpretation of any particular one. For instance, hell’s literal fire could emit no light, since hell would be literally dark. Its fire could not consume its literal fuel (persons!) since their torment is non-ending. Additionally, the gradation of punishments within hell also confounds literalness. Does hell’s fire burn Hitler more fiercely than an honest pagan? Does he fall more rapidly in the abyss than another? Is it darker for Hitler? Does he wail and gnash louder or more continually than the other? The variety and symbolic nature of descriptors do not lessen hell, however—just the opposite in fact. Their combined effect describes a hell that is worse than death, darker than darkness, and deeper than any abyss. Hell is a place with more wailing and gnashing of teeth than any single descriptor could ever portray. Its symbolic descriptors bring us to a place beyond the limits of our language—to a place far worse than we could ever imagine.

http://www.gotquestions.org/hell-real-eternal.html

It is interesting that a much higher percentage of people believe in the existence of heaven than believe in the existence of hell. According to the Bible, though, hell is just as real as heaven. The Bible clearly and explicitly teaches that hell is a real place to which the wicked/unbelieving are sent after death. We have all sinned against God (Romans 3:23). The just punishment for that sin is death (Romans 6:23). Since all of our sin is ultimately against God (Psalm 51:4), and since God is an infinite and eternal Being, the punishment for sin, death, must also be infinite and eternal. Hell is this infinite and eternal death which we have earned because of our sin.

The punishment of the wicked dead in hell is described throughout Scripture as “eternal fire” (Matthew 25:41), “unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12), “shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2), a place where “the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44-49), a place of “torment” and “fire” (Luke 16:23-24), “everlasting destruction” (2 Thessalonians 1:9), a place where “the smoke of torment rises forever and ever” (Revelation 14:10-11), and a “lake of burning sulfur” where the wicked are “tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).

The punishment of the wicked in hell is as never ending as the bliss of the righteous in heaven. Jesus Himself indicates that punishment in hell is just as everlasting as life in heaven (Matthew 25:46). The wicked are forever subject to the fury and the wrath of God. Those in hell will acknowledge the perfect justice of God (Psalm 76:10). Those who are in hell will know that their punishment is just and that they alone are to blame (Deuteronomy 32:3-5). Yes, hell is real. Yes, hell is a place of torment and punishment that lasts forever and ever, with no end. Praise God that, through Jesus, we can escape this eternal fate (John 3:16, 18, 36).

http://www.gotquestions.org/not-go-to-hell.html

Some people believe they have to obey the Ten Commandments for their entire lives to not go to hell. Some people believe they must observe certain rites and rituals in order to not go to hell. Some people believe there is no way we can know for sure whether or not we will go to hell. None of these views are correct. The Bible is very clear on how a person can avoid going to hell after death.

The Bible describes hell as a terrifying and horrible place. Hell is described as “eternal fire” (Matthew 25:41), “unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12), “shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2), a place where “the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44-49), and “everlasting destruction” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). Revelation 20:10 describes hell as a “lake of burning sulfur” where the wicked are “tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10). Obviously, hell is a place we should avoid.

Why does hell even exist and why does God send some people there? The Bible tells us that God “prepared” hell for the devil and the fallen angels after they rebelled against Him (Matthew 25:41). Those who refuse God’s offer of forgiveness will suffer the same eternal destiny of the devil and the fallen angels. Why is hell necessary? All sin is ultimately against God (Psalm 51:4), and since God is an infinite and eternal being, only an infinite and eternal penalty is sufficient. Hell is the place where God’s holy and righteous demands of justice are carried out. Hell is where God condemns sin and all those who reject Him. The Bible makes it clear that we have all sinned (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:10-23), so, as a result, we all deserve to go to hell.

So, how can we not go to hell? Since only an infinite and eternal penalty is sufficient, an infinite and eternal price must be paid. God became a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, God lived among us, taught us, and healed us—but those things were not His ultimate mission. God became a human being (John 1:1, 14) so that He could die for us. Jesus, God in human form, died on the cross. As God, His death was infinite and eternal in value, paying the full price for sin (1 John 2:2). God invites us to receive Jesus Christ as Savior, accepting His death as the full and just payment for our sins. God promises that anyone who believes in Jesus (John 3:16), trusting Him alone as the Savior (John 14:6), will be saved, i.e. not go to hell.

God does not want anyone to go to hell (2 Peter 3:9). That is why God made the ultimate, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice on our behalf. If you want to not go to hell, receive Jesus as your Savior. It is as simple as that. Tell God that you recognize that you are a sinner and that you deserve to go to hell. Declare to God that you are trusting in Jesus Christ as your Savior. Thank God for providing for your salvation and deliverance from hell. Simple faith, trusting in Jesus Christ as the Savior, is how you can avoid going to hell!

Have you made a decision for Christ because of what you have read here?

[Amber Lynne]

Put it this way, Christ spoke more of Hell than He did of Heaven, I doubt He would spend so much time teaching on something and warning others of it if it was just figurative.

This. Amen. Literal and unquenchable.

[iSong6:3]

Rob - Not just the redeemed but unbelievers too will have their bodies resurrected. At the time satan and his followers (all those who refused to come to the Lord for His salvation) are cast into the Lake of Fire they will have bodies, they will not just be spirits.

[Christina]

Well Buzz, if one was not afraid of Hell before, they should be after reading those articles!

Praise God in His infinite mercy that He sent His Son to die for us, to pay our debt and that through the bloodshed of Christ and His Resurrection, we have a way to be reconciled to the Father and avoid the eternal lake of fire! Praise Your Name Jesus!

[WarriorOfGod]

Be careful to keep the various 'hells' seperated. The Rich Man was not in the Lake or Fire (aka Gehenna). He was in the 'torments' compartment of hades/sheol.

That's what I meant, the hell which is now is for the souls of those who rejected Jesus until they are resurrected to face Jesus at the Great White Throne before they are cast into the Lake of Fire. I don't know why you think I referred to Lake of Fire, but I didn't.

[Traveling Through]

Everything about pain is not caused by the physical. there is such a thing as torment of your soul and it's very real, and very painful. And in regards to hell being in the center of the earth. You'll note that in Rev. 20, AFTER the 1000 yr reign of Jesus, that death and hell were thrown into the lake of fire. The hell that exists now is only the holding tank until the final judgement, when the final separation takes place. You could say that the temporary hell is for what you did, while the final hell is for what you did plus what you caused by what you did. pretty scary stuff!!

"You could say that the temporary hell is for what you did, while the final hell is for what you did plus what you caused by what you did. "

Huh?

[JesusIsLord]

Actually JIL, you explained that VERY well!

Why thank you! I am often not well with words

[Traveling Through]

Isn't being rejected by God enough? Having to spend eternity realizing what you lost and having to reflect on that knowing there is no way out. Isn't that enough? To me the burning and "physical soul" torment seems to be excessive and still doesn't serve a point.

The suffering in Hell is decreed by God. He creates what He wishes and it is his right to create Hell in His way. I'm sure that those who find themself in Hell will wish that their situation wasn't excessive, excessive to their way of thinking, but telling God that His creation isn't right is not a very wise thing to do.

The most immediate consideration is where you are headed. It is a wise thing to make sure of your calling and election to eternal life.

[Hootmon]

I don't know why you think I referred to Lake of Fire, but I didn't.

Even if the original posted didnt realize it, the Lake of Fire was the subject of the original post.

Your post seemed a bit off-topic to me, thus the clarification.

[iSong6:3]

Rob - Think of it this way: God is giving people who reject Him what they want - to be away from Him. Acts 17:28 tells us that only in Him do we all speak and move and have our being. Even the unsaved enjoy His blessings in this life - *common grace* - Acts 14:16-17, Psalm 104:10-30, James 1:17.

His redeemed will be on the renewed earth or in His Kingdom, in His presence and enjoying His blessings.

Where would the unsaved be? In another earth-type place with oxygen, gravity, life-sustaining temperatures? These things are His blessings, He made these physical laws for us. Would you ask Him for His continued blessings of a temperate climate and a nice view for those who choose damnation? He will give them what they chose - total separation from Him and all that it means.

Conjecture: I believe also, in addition to that, the God-rejectors will lose their sound mental functioning and it will be a sense of going mad but not quite. God holds us all together. Without Him, we lose our minds too. That is another horror of the being without Him.