What is your concept of "hell"?

Question

I do not believe that Hell as the place of "fire and brimstone" could possibly exist. First, two traits that are almost universally assigned to God are that He and all of His attributes are perfect, and that God is beyond human understanding. Therefore His justice must be perfect as well. If instead of killing himself, had Adolph Hitler been captured what would have happened to him? Would he be put into a cage and a fire made under the cage for the rest of his life? Even though the man was a monster, that sort of punishment defies our sense of human justice, and would not have happened because we then become the monsters. Because God's justice exceeds human justice it would be impossible for Him to have the type of hell which is preached by some.

Secondly, when we die we are no longer physical beings but spiritual ones. A spiritual being would not be able to feel pain in that way.

Therefore the concept of hell as described must be metaphorical. I believe that, since God is love, that hell might be closer to, although still being loved by God, we would have closed our minds to it and would be existing totally without love with others who exist without love.

Comments?

Answer 1

I agree with your logic completely and one my major problems with mainstream Christianity is the depiction of hell as a place of endless torment. I would not wish hell upon my worst enemy, yet God, who is love, would wish hell on everyone who hadn't been in good standing with him when they died? Such a god isn't worth worshiping. I see hell as simply non-existence. That is, only good people receive an afterlife, and there is no bad afterlife. In fact, the Bible tends to refer to hell as where the soul is "destroyed", not "tormented forever", if my memory serves me correctly.

Answer 2

https://answersrip.com/question/index?qid=20101121091546AA1s56M&r=w#Gcx4GzDrOTMHQ3JOXh1V



HELL IS THE EARTH'S OUTER CORE.

EARTH WILL BE DESTROYED BY FIRE (2 Peter 3:10).

THE EARTH'S CRUST WILL BE THROWN INTO THE EARTH'S OUTER CORE (Revelation 20:13-14)!!!!



"Secondly, when we die we are no longer physical beings but spiritual ones. A spiritual being would not be able to feel pain in that way."



People who go to hell will inhabit special physical bodies God made and prepared for them that cannot die or rot.



Matthew 22:31-33 indicates that the dead are presently alive. 2 Cor. 5:8 and Phil. 1:23 suggests that the ones who are in Christ will go to heaven immediately. Luke 16:22-23 indicates that it is immediate. Furthermore, if Luke 16 is merely a parable, then why does it make a reference to a great chasm (Luke 16:26)?



Finally, those who deny hell deny the reality of the devil (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10).



Comment:



Hell is NOT:



-eternal separation from God's presence. It is PERCEIVED separation from God's presence. Scripture clearly states that we cannot be separated from God's presence (Psalm 139:7-8) and His love (Romans 8:38-39).



-the grave. While Sheol can refer to the grave, Hades almost always refers to the lake of fire. While Gehenna does refer to a place outside of Jerusalem, it can also refer to the lake of fire. If Sheol always refers to the grave, then what is the Sheol mentioned in Numbers 16:29-34? Job 26:5-6? And how did John know that the earth's core was fiery (Revelation 9:2-3)? Greek mythology dictated the underworld was a dark, cave-like place.



-eternal death. This is not punishment. This is an act of mercy. Matthew 18:34-35 clearly indicates eternal torture.



-temporary. Hell is eternal.



-spiritual torture. It is physical torture.



-abyss. The abyss is a prison for only demons. It is the earth's inner core. Tartarus refers to the abyss, not the lake of fire.

Answer 3

If you seriously want to know about hell, there are plenty of visionaries who claim to have seen hell. Believe them or not. Most who go to hell are the ones who don't believe in hell.



Why would God love you if you reject him during your life??



Jesus revealed:

"I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy. Write: before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice..."



The link below is an interesting revelation from hell. Read it and laugh if you don't believe it. But in the end, you can never say that you had no idea of what hell might be like. For sure, in our physical state, we can never imagine what it could be like. But the power of the Almighty God is so great. He is the power of the universe. His love for you while on earth has been great. Should you reject it, you will have to experience HIS WRATH, which is more terrible than any mortal can imagine.



I personally believe that we will burn in an unending fire which will not consume us. And if you believe that a soul cannot burn, then consider that at the final judgement, we will be reunited with our bodies. Then you will surely be physically burning. Don't take any chance. Have faith in the mercy of Jesus and your concerns of hell will be moot.

Answer 4

Actually has a simple answer: The people writing the bible at that time had a good grasp of fire and barely understood metal working. Explaining space and time and using numbers over 10 was kinda pointless, we are called his children, which we are/where. Think about explaining something to a child you know they can't understand, but you have to break into terms that they do?



I believe (idk the book or whatever) hell is described as being away from god's love (light). Hell and your images where created by the church mostly. (Christian)



I believe in a heavenly father. I believe we are all right and wrong, If I'm english and call a cup a cup and you are chinese and call a cup dingdong, then why can't we call god different names and worship different ways. Belief doesn't kill people, People forcing their beliefs on others is what causes the wars.

Answer 5

The doctrine of eternal hell has been introduced into the church during the mid eval and it has no scriptural authority. Yet, modern churches us it as it is an effective way to motivate people to go to church.



The thought of a “loving” God torturing people in hellfire for all of eternity for bad things they do over the course of, at most, a 100-year lifetime, seems, at best, confusing, and, at most, downright evil.



It's no wonder then that so many people find it difficult to reconcile a God who is perfectly just with a punishment that is clearly unjust. Fortunately, the Bible is very clear on this teaching.



First, God is love (John 1:1). The Bible says as much as we love our children, God loves His even more. And you are His child! The Bible says He is patient, kind, merciful and forgiving. It says He loves justice, but that He loves mercy even more.



Second, the Bible does indicate there is a hell. Jesus says there is (Matthew 10:28). But here is what Jesus says about hell in Matthew 13:40: “As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world.” What can we make of this statement?



First, hell won't exist until “the end of this world.” Wouldn't that mean nobody today is burning in hell?



Second, it says the “tares” (in this case, it means the wicked) are “burned.” This isn't just some uncomfortable separation from God, as some preach. This is a real place where “children of the wicked one” (verse 38) will be “burned.”



But the Bible doesn't say hell will last forever. It teaches that hell destroys the wicked, once and for all. It makes it clear that hell is a place where the wicked perish in fire. They will burn up as “stubble” and will “become ashes” (Malachi 4:1, 3). Psalm 68:2 says, “as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.”



Even the most popular verse of the Bible supports this position. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Notice that the wicked “perish.” They die. They cease to exist. The righteous, in contrast, have everlasting life.



Finally, where did this idea of eternal suffering in hell come from? Satan. His very first lie was that Adam and Eve would live forever, even if they disobeyed God. Hell is a “doctrine of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1) that is an attack on God's character and has turned many people away from Him.



The purpose of hell, according to the Bible, is to destroy sinners forever and create a universe without sin.

Answer 6

You are right.

In fact every word in the Bible (especially the Torah part) is symbolic, and none of those words describe anything physical.

Hell is the furthermost state we are from our most optimal state, and this is where we are right now.

Our inherent nature is selfish egoism, and this nature is the cause of all the negative things, problems humanity is facing at present. This is not our "sin, or flaw" as we were born like this without any free choice.

Our free choice starts from here, when recognizing this "negative" nature of ours we can choose to want to change.

We can achieve "Heaven" in this life if we use all the means that are available for us in order to change our inherent inner nature, and become similar to the all encompassing force of Nature, unconditional love and giving.

http://www.laitman.com/2009/12/what-is-hell/

http://www.laitman.com/2009/12/why-do-we-perceive-a-divided-reality/

http://www.laitman.com/2010/01/how-are-we-to-understand-the-torah/

I hope this helps, all the best.

Answer 7

Hades was a dump outside the walls of Jerusalem. If you were bad your dead body was thrown there to burn with fire and sulpher which burned the garbage. If you were good you got to gp to Heaven which was a well kept cemetery. Jesus said he would make them a stone that would last forever. That was a tombstone of marble.

Answer 8

pst: Hell is what follows the Death rider (Law): Rev 6;

and perhaps it has something to do with LAW<--Law.



ask a grieving widow if it feels like HELL after a Death



ask a PTSD person what HELL (follows sacrifice) feels like



the point is to leave such LAW<--Law to "go on" to Grace;

Grace-->will have Mercy-->which is what multiplies Peace,

which is perhaps why AD-->only goes one way, fwd only,

and doesn't turn back to LAW calling LOUDly from behind,

nor to Law, which gives place to Revelation 13 LAW<--Law,

thereby life to vengeance is MINE saith the LAW to the Law.



when comparing spiritual things (laws) with spritual (grace),

then law is "done away" because it's "ministration of death",

which is followed by hell in both the even-ing and mourn-ing,

which is what we leave when going on to the seventh day

notably has no even-ing and mourn-ing law law, only grace,

for Grace will have Mercy, is what multiplies Peace



The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ with you all. Amen.

Answer 9

My concept of hell,having to listen to Justin Bieber music 24/7.

Answer 10

The concept of hell is exactly what God says it is. It's a place inside the Earth of eternal fire and acrid air. The spirit is always alive it goes to hell and heaven along with the soul. When you are in spirit form you are acutely aware of everything, time, space and how long you've been there.

Answer 11

My concept of hell is being forced to answer questions in R&S without using any form of sarcasm or lul-inducing humor.



I hope God doesn't have an ironic sense of justice.

Answer 12

Everyone has their own personal hell and mine would be another era in the USA where the republicans have total control. Bush gave us 8 years of hell.

Answer 13

Hell is eternal separation from God. It's the place that God created for fallen angels to live in after being sent out from Heaven after sinning. Then it became the place for eternal human sinners.

Answer 14

A horrifying state of mind as in a dream....



Not a physical place or location.

Answer 15

Hell is a mistranslation of Gehenna and Sheol. Neither of these things as described in the Bible even come close to representing hell as we know it. The only eternal punishment is death. And Revelation's supposed "lake of fire" is better translated as: Tested by being purified in God's divinity until the revelation is complete.



In the OT hell is not present when read in Hebrew. Instead the word Sheol is used. Sheol in Judaism is the common grave of all mankind. In Christianity it was altered a bit, in Christianity it is a sort like a waiting room for unsaved souls until judgment day, but it is still not a punishment. "The dead know nothing" Ecc 9:5 "for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going." Ecc 9:10



In the NT hell is also not present when read in it's original form off Aramaic. Instead you find Sheol just like in the OT, but you also find Gehenna. Gehenna was a burning trash heap outside of Jerusalem in the Valley of Hinnom. It burned for over a century and was used as a capital punishment for criminals. When the Bible says "unquenchable fires of hell" the correct translation is "unquenchable fires of Gehenna". What Jesus was saying is that mortal sin makes you worthy of that punishment in the eyes of the people. The people he was talking to understood that, it's us 2000 years later that don't.



When translated into Greek, Sheol and Gehenna became Hades and Tartarus. Those were already places of afterlife in Greek mythology and readers assumed that Sheol and Gehenna possessed the same characteristics which they don't. When translated into Latin they changed names again, and when translated into the common tongue they ended up being hell. Hell is actually a place for the dead in Norse mythology so once again the understanding of it was changed.



Lastly is the "lake of fire" in revelation. The word fire is a mistranslation of the word "theion" which means sulphur or divine since the Greeks saw sulphur AS divine. The word was not meant to infer fire ... rather it meant divinity. The word "tormented" was also a mistranslation ... the correct translation is actually "tested" or "examined". The words "eternal" or "forever and ever" are translations of "olam" which actually means "the world to come" which infers until the end of the world. So being cast into the lake of fire to be tormented forever and ever ... is actually: Tested by being purified in God's divinity until the world ends. Since revelation is concerned with the end of the world ... eternity just got a lot shorter. Those who are judged as wicked and do not get into heaven cease to exist for "thge wages of sin is death", also called the second death for it the one from which none will ever recover as the dead did from Sheol when Christ came to judge them at the second coming.



God himself forbade the people to torture with fire, condemning it and calling it an abomination which never came into His mind. -- Leviticus 18:21; 20,2-5; Jeremiah 19:5; 32:34, 35



Summary: The only eternal punishment is death. These are poor translations that have changed their meanings over time. The church was not only aware of this but added to the misconception by adopting Dante Alighieri's work of fiction "The Inferno" as church doctrine. It is false doctrine, they knew it, but capitalized on the fear of hell that it put into the people. To this day they mislead the masses and allow this misconception to continue. Not exactly my idea of "the truth".

Answer 16

Hell is the imaginary place you end up when you didn't follow the things that are practiced in religion. You go there because they say theres a higher being who has low self esteem, high tolerance and a huge ego.

Answer 17

A place which does not fit my concepts

Answer 18

" Therefore the concept of hell as described must be metaphorical "

I can expand on that theory... " Therefore the concept of God must be metaphorical " Simples.

Answer 19

Five minutes with an American style fundie.

Answer 20

Hell is a real place not a metaphor.



http://armageddonangelsufos.com/new_page_13.htm Hell

Answer 21

hell is chrstianitys biggest lie because it keeps people in line and makes them afraid to question

Answer 22

...when I was married and my Mother-in-Law was living next door !

Answer 23

Y!A R&S.