Posted on 04/26/2011 3:41:53 PM PDT by NYer
Book marked for later reading.
Because He chooses to.
sure there can...God is free to reward/punish us as He sees fit....while I have more trouble with Hell, I absolutely believe in Heaven...
Matt. 3:12; Luke 3:17 - John the Baptist said the Lord will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. This unquenchable fire is the state of eternal separation from God, which the Church has called "hell" for 2,000 years. Some Protestant communities no longer acknowledge the reality of hell.
Matt. 25:41 - Jesus says, "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."
Matt. 25:46 - Jesus says, "they will go away into eternal punishment" which is in reference to this eternal fire.
Mark 9:47-48 - Jesus refers to hell as where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. It lasts forever.
2 Thess. 1:6-9 - the angels will come with flaming fire and the disobedient will suffer punishment of eternal destruction. It is important to note that "destruction" does not mean "annihilation," as some Protestant denominations teach. It means eternal exclusion from the presence of God.
Jude 6-7 - the rebelling angels, and Sodom and Gomorrah, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
Rev. 14:11 - the worshipers of the beast suffer and the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever.
Rev. 20:10 - they're tormented in the lake of fire and brimstone day and night forever and ever.
Isaiah 33:14 - "Who of us can dwell in the everlasting fire?" This is a reference to hell which is forever.
Isaiah 66:24 - their worm shall not die and their fire shall not be quenched. We cannot fathom the pain of this eternal separation from God.
Jer. 15:14 - in my anger a fire is kindled which shall burn forever. Hell is the proper compliment to the eternal bliss of heaven.
Judith 16:17 - in the day of judgment the Lord will take vengeance on the wicked and they shall weep in pain forever. Hell is a place that sinners have prepared for themselves by rejecting God, who desires all people to be saved in His Son Jesus Christ. God sends no one to hell.
Hell is a very real place.
Describe what you mean by eternal death.
How I look at it is, we know there will be different levels of awards in Heaven, so why not different levels of punishment in Hell, with Satan and his Demons receiving the worst possible punishment that can be dealt out, the Lake of Fire, along with the worst of the worst of Humans. With others, you may be right, it may be just separation from God. Just my opinion. I hope I won't the opportunity to know for sure.
The Bible continually warns us of Hell. There are over 162 references in the New Testament alone which warns of hell. And over 70 of these references were uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ!
>Pastor Rob Bell is arguing that there may be no Hell.<
.
Is the Pastor wishing or betting his soul that there is no hell? You’d better make up your mind pastor.
“Hell is a place where God is not..”
Ummm, like New Jersey?!
What if there is?
If there is a just God then there is a hell,whether its eternal torture or not is debatable
**What if there is?**
Very good question.
While we are alive we live in the era of the Mercy of God.
At the moment of our death we move into the Justice of God.
Maybe you need to go back and read these Scriptural references.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2710906/posts?page=24#24
Thank you for a reasoned argument.
I cannot think of anything worse than beholding the Glory of God, being judged and then cast out into the darkness of eternal death.
Cut completely off from Him, never to know His wisdom and Glory.
It will be especially hard for those who knew Him through Scripture, yet rejected Him.
That is my definition of Hell.
Pitchforks, demons and eternal life of torment? You would still know of Him and where there’s life, there’s hope.
I agree, God is love and if it were up to Him nobody would go to hell.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us,not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Pet. 3:9
And hell was not created as a place for punishment for men.
Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Matt 25:41
HOWEVER, God gave us free will and any man who chooses hell over heaven will get his wish! Salvation is free for all.
If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Ro. 10:9
As for my Catholic breathren, I do not consider the book of Maccabees to be Scripture. Can you give me another reference for the value of praying for the dead? I think that death is the final moment, the point of no-return, if you are not saved then it is too late for you.
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment Heb. 9:27
There is physical death, the promise of resurrection and judgment.
Eternal death means you’ve been judged and found wanting. At which point the spiritual body is cast off, killed, ended.
See also my post at #34.
Regards.
“It is important to note that “destruction” does not mean “annihilation,” as some Protestant denominations teach”
Actually, it does:
Ecclesiastes 9:5-6
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Matthew 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 both soul and body in hell.
Revelation 2:11
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Revelation 21:8
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
What’s being described is the second death. The torment you described is for the devil and his henchmen.
Hell is having knowledge of God and being separated from Him.
Being denied access to God through eternal death is just punishment.
I think that might seem unpleasant, if you had much time to contemplate it, but after the fact it seems pretty cushy. Have you ever been completely knocked out for surgery? Was that unpleasant? It’s nothingness. I don’t see that as much of a punishment. I would certainly opt for that over what I envision Hell as being. Of course, being a Christian anything short of being with God and Jesus are not my preference, but if I were a non believer, why would I care if I simply died and was eternally not aware? That just doesn’t seem in any way awful. As I said, for one moment I might be unhappy when I realized there had been another option but then, I would be over it, eternally.
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