| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"James" |
| Date: |
02 Mar 2007 11:51:59 AM |
| Object: |
Re: Who goes to Hell ? |
"GatherNoMoss" <saints2060@yahoo.com>
Re: Who goes to Hell ?
People don't go to hell because God wants them to. That's what
Islam teaches, not Christianity. Anyone who believes God wants anyone
to be in hell should be treated as a non-believer. The scripture is
clear that God doesn't willingly allow anyone to perish.
People go to hell because they don't want to be with God.
Hello,
But to answer the question above "Who goes to Hell ?", the answer is
most all who have ever died. That is because the "hell" of the Bible
is not some tormented fiery place that Christendom erroneously
teaches, but rather is the common grave of dead mankind. Here is the
Bible proof:
First, God's inspired word clearly says the dead are not conscious and
therefore could not experience emotional or physical pain. Solomon,
under inspiration, wrote at Ec 9:5,10,
"5. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing;
they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.
10. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in
the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning
nor knowledge nor wisdom." (NIV)
Concerning death, the Psalmist writes at Ps 146:4,
"His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; In that very day his
thoughts perish." (NASB)
So there isn't an "immortal soul" that survives the body at death.
God's inspired word says that a soul can die, it is not immortal. The
prophet Ezekiel wrote under inspiration at Eze 18:4,
"Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the
soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die." (KJV)
So then what is the Bible "hell"? It is taken from the Hebrew word
"sheol" and the Greek word "hades". And it means the common grave of
dead mankind. For example, the World Book Encyclopedia under "hell"
says,
"In Old Testament times, the Israelites believed that all the dead,
both good and evil, went to a dark, unhappy place called Sheol."
That is why the righteous man Job wanted to END his suffering by going
to hell. (dying, going to the grave) Job 14:13,
"O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, [sheol; hell] that thou
wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest
appoint me a set time, and remember me!" (KJV) [brackets mine]
Obviously, if "hell" was a literal hot and painful place, that is the
last place that Job would want to go to. But he knew from God's word
that it was cold and silent; the grave. And notice that the KJV
correctly translated the word "sheol" here to mean what it really
does; the grave.
The Hebrew word "sheol" (hell) is also found at Ps 16:10,
"For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell [sheol]; neither wilt thou
suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." (KJV) [brackets mine]
When the apostle Peter quoted Ps 16:10 at Ac 2:31, he just showed the
Greek word that was equivalent to the Hebrew word "sheol". It was the
Greek word "hades". Thus if "sheol" referred to a place where "all the
dead, both good and evil, went to a dark, unhappy place", then "hades"
represented that same place, since the Bible says that all Scripture
is inspired of God. (2 Ti 3:16)
But some may object and point to Re 20:14,15 as 'proof' of hellfire.
Re 20:14,15 reads,
"14. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake
of fire is the second death. 15. If anyone's name was not found
written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
(NIV)
Does this not speak of a literal "hellfire"place?
No. Notice that two items are thrown into this "lake of fire", death
and Hades. Can death be burned? Death is an abstract concept, not a
literal thing that can be picked up and set on fire.
Also Hades is tossed into this "lake of fire". What is Hades? Recall
above, it means the same thing as "sheol", the common grave of dead
mankind. It is the word that is translated as "hell" in the King James
Bible. The KJV Bible reads Re 20:14 this way: "And death and hell were
cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."
Would tossing a fiery hell into a lake of fire do any harm? If Re
20:14 is to be taken literal, then there must exist two hells and one
will eventually be tossed into the other.
Staying literal, we would have to conclude that the wicked dead will
eventually get out of hell. Re 20:13 says, "...and death and hell
delivered up the dead which were in them...." (KJV)
So, what is this "lake of fire"? We already read the answer. Verse 14
says, "the second death". The first death is Adamic death, or death
that we received genetically as a result of the sin of Adam. (1 Co
15:22) Those people that have, are in their "graves" awaiting a
resurrection. (again see Ac 24:15)
After the resurrection, if certain people remain unfaithful, then God
will punish them by the "second death" that is, non-existence, just
like the first death was. (see vs 15) But they will not have the hope
of a resurrection from this "second death". It is eternal
nonexistence. The Bible always contrasts life and death, not life, and
life of torture.
And just one more thought using your common sense. Do loving human
parents ever burn their disobedient children for punishment? Well, God
is much more loving that any human. (1 Jo 4:8) So neither does God
torture any living thing with fire, or anything else.
Sincerely, James
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| User: "duke" |
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| Title: Re: Who goes to Hell ? |
02 Mar 2007 02:48:03 PM |
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On Fri, 02 Mar 2007 12:51:59 -0500, James <bireda@allvantage.com> wrote:
"Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the
soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die." (KJV)
Meaning it will spend all eternity in the torment of hell, while the soul that
has life will spend all eternity in the loving arms of God.
duke, American-American
*****
"The Mass is the most perfect form of Prayer."
Pope Paul VI
*****
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