Zita
Solitary Eclectic Witch
I don't even believe in the bible and yet I knew that "hellfire" is not satanically inspired it is biblical scripture,and also scriptures saying people will be thrown into a fiery hell to be tormented for all eternity. whew; what a Loving thought from the word of God! still think it's satanically inspired?When indoctrination governs belief instead of Bible truth, it sets up roadblocks to reevaluation of our concepts. When we want to believe something, we will hang onto it in spite of evidence to the contrary.
As one who was raised with Christendom's doctrines, I find that rather amusing. I was convinced that humans were endowed with an immortal soul too, and when I first came into contact with JW's that concept was the hardest to accept, but the easiest to dismiss just by reading the Bible. Learning about what the ancient Jews believed about death, and reading about Jesus raising Lazarus, I realised that the dead are "sleeping"....in a state of complete inactivity. Where was Lazarus before Jesus resurrected him? (John 11:11-14) If he was in heaven, then Jesus did him no favours by bringing him back to this life, only to die again. But by resurrecting him, Jesus changed his whole destiny. Do you know how?
Since I have no belief in all Christians going to heaven, it is very apparent from reading the Bible that a relatively small group of faithful ones will join Jesus as Kings and Priests in heaven (Revelation 20:6) but the majority of humankind will live forever on the earth, just as God originally intended.
When Daniel speaks about the resurrection, he too is talking about an earthly resurrection. Since both the "righteous and the unrighteousness" have been "sleeping", both willl be brought back to human life under the rulership of God's Kingdom here on earth, some will be already be faithful ones, but the unrighteous will be under a period of judgment in order to prove to God that they can qualify for permanent residency. If they fail to bring their lives into harmony with God's requirements, then the everlasting contempt will be expressed when God consigns them to eternal death.
Everlasting death IS everlasting punishment....who said it was spent in consciousness? A person has to be alive and conscious to suffer.....but according to Solomon, "the dead are conscious of nothing".....they don't think, feel or plan anything. (Ecclesiastes 9:5; 10) The ancient Jews did not believe in an afterlife. Resurrection meant being called from your grave which is why you will see Jewish cemeteries with such ornate tombs.
Having one's body thrown into Gehenna, meant not having a burial tomb from which to be resurrected. It was a symbol of eternal death.....not worthy of life at all. Jesus sentenced the Pharisees to Gehenna.
Does a person need to be alive and conscious to experience torment? Are the dead alive? Not according to the OT. (Psalm 146:4; Psalm 115:17) Jesus was Jewish, so he had no belief in an immortal soul. It was adopted from Platonic Greek ideas. It is found in nearly all false worship....but not in ancient Judaism, so it was not believed by the first Christians, who were all Jewish and who wrote the Christian scriptures.
What exactly is "the smoke of their torment" that ascends forever?
The word in Greek for "tormenter" had reference to a jailer who tormented his charges in the dungeons. To suggest that a loving God would keep souls alive in some kind of fiery dungeon to torment them forever is to do him a grave injustice. Satan would do something like that....not God. It is totally contrary to his nature....and totally contrary to his justice. Not something he would ever contemplate. (Jeremiah 7:31)
When fire is used to symbolise complete destruction, we can imagine the aftermath of a wildfire that has decimated a wide area and destroyed many homes.....the smoke ascending from the ashes is a reminder of what happened. It is not the torment that lasts forever but the smoke or memory of it.
I believe that the whole concept of "hellfire" is satanically inspired. It engenders fear, not love.
Matt 5:22
But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Fool!' will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, 'You moron!' will be subject to hellfire.
Matt 18:9
And if your eye causes your downfall, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, rather than to have two eyes and be thrown into hellfire!
Matthew 13:40-43 "So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth
Matthew 5:22
"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
Isaiah 66:16
For the LORD will execute judgment by fire And by His sword on all flesh, And those slain by the LORD will be many.