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re: This is about man, not the “devil”. And you quoted Revelation. It is one of my favorite books of the bible, but it is very, VERY symbolic in its language. I never use it as a primary proof of anything, but as supporting other biblical proofs.

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Even books that have symbolism in them MUST have some form of literalism in it, otherwise words become meaningless.

So, do the words “tormented forever and ever” mean what it says, or should it be understood symbolically? if so, why?

So, do the words “tormented forever and ever” mean what it says

Sometimes Bible translators can be victims of their own assumptions. It is necessary to examine closely the terms of the original and what their range of meaning might have been to those who used them.

So, do the words “tormented forever and ever” mean what it says, or should it be understood symbolically? if so, why?

The bible was not written in english. There are some posts above that touch on the meanings in the original language. Blueletterbible and biblehub.com also give some wonderful clarity on the language and the meaning of words.

There are many clear meanings one can glean from the writings in Revelation, but once one sees the churches as literal lampstands, they may be missing the deeper point of the scripture.

The deep point regarding the fate of the lost is that they do not receive eternal life in the presence of God, hence they are removed from the saved, and they will regret their choice.

To suggest that a person who reached the age of accountability, and was never taught about Christ before dying, is going to spend literal “time without end” in conscious torture does not fit with the personality of the God of the bible. Even in the OT time before Christ, if he was not pleased, people were simply destroyed, not tortured. Torturing is what despots do.

And remember, according to the bible the road is narrow, meaning most people will not be saved, meaning the fate of the lost is the default condition for most of humanity. It implies that God continues to allow people to be born by the billions, knowing full well that most of them will not be saved. And if the eternal suffering message is true, this makes Him kinda creepy and sadistic.

Sorry, it just does. But that is not the personality of the God of the bible in all his dealings with man. His wrath means death. I would that nobody comes to Jesus just because they are scared to death of what happens if they don’t. Rather, my God gives us a fair choice. Eternal life with him or the ecclesiastes life of “eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of your labor, and then you die.” The fate of animals and the pure natural man.