What is Hell?

[cirillo]

In Medieval Christianity, the point of Hell was "sadistic gratification" - one of the "perks" of being in Heaven was looking down at all the people being tortured in Hell. It was supposed to be entertainment, I guess. I understand that this idea survives in Islam.

agree, but it is not a bible teaching

 

[cirillo]

Its really just the grave

exactly!

 

[loopus]

agree, but it is not a bible teaching

Agreed, it is not. But many people believed it anyway, and it was taught by the church.

 

[cirillo]

Hell is a threat designed to keep the flock in check.

right,invented by the catholic church.

 

[janeebananee]

Hell is the absence of God

God is never absent. God is everywhere, in everything. God's essence is in the fabric of all Creation.

 

[VioletVortex]

Hell is a state of being. It could be internal or external, like in the Inquisition.

 

[crowfeather]

When you've seen Heaven, hell is N/A.
The only experience I've had of hell, is the state of Godlessness a human may so easily become entrapped in.

 

[CogentPhilosopher]

Fire inherently produces some manner of light. Either it's eternally dark or it's on fire, you don't get to have both.

MMMMMMAAAAAGGGGGIIIIICCCCC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ChristineM]

Hell is not in original bibles but ois in some modern (for the hard of thinking) "rewrites" so many Christians claim it as theirs to threaten children and those who don't follow their interpretation of the particular version of the book they choose as their own

The concept used today derives from a 14th century story by Dante Alighieri and the works of Hieronymus Bosch around a a similar time

 

[URAVIP2ME]

Hell is Eternal Darkness, Fire And Punishment
Jesus Christ gave a few literal statements about Hell being a place of fire: "The Son of man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 13:41-42 "So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and will throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 13:49-50
Jesus also gave a few literal statements about Hell being eternal and a punishment. The same word in the Greek language in which the New Testament was originally written was used in these passages. The word means eternal, everlasting, without end, never to cease. "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." Matthew 25:41 "And these will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous eternal life." Matthew 25:46

To me, the ' eternal punishment ' of Matthew 25:46 is connected to 2 Thessalonians 1:9 with being punished with 'everlasting destruction'. 'Everlasting destruction' as in the ' wicked will be destroyed forever ' according to Psalms 92:7.

Does anyone righteous go to hell ? _______
I find the day righteous Jesus' died, that the dead Jesus went to biblical hell according to Acts of the Apostles 2:27.
So, if the Bible's hell was eternal darkness, then Jesus is still in 'eternal darkness, fire and punishment'.
If biblical hell is ' everlasting, without end, never to cease ', then Jesus is still in hell.
I find the ' everlasting fire of Matthew 25:41 for the devil ' is the ' second death ' of Revelation 21:8
Jesus will destroy Satan according to Hebrews 2:14 B, so ' second death ' is a fitting term for: destruction.

KJV Bibles have translated the word Gehenna into English as hellfire. Gehenna was a garbage pit outside of Jerusalem where things were destroyed forever and Not kept burning forever.
So, Gehenna is a word for destruction as is the symbolic ' second death ' is a fitting term for: destruction.

If No one can get out of biblical hell, then how could everyone in the Bible's hell be ' delivered up' ( resurrected ) out of hell according to Revelation 20:13-14. So, to me, then emptied-out biblical hell is then cast vacant into that symbolic ' second death ' for vacated biblical hell, thus showing the Bible's hell is temporary. So to speak, temporary biblical hell, the grave, dies out of existence.
A temporary hell, or mankind's grave, until Jesus uses the keys to unlock hell according to Revelation 1:18.
There would be No reason for resurrected Jesus to have the keys to hell and death if he could Not use them.

So, what was dead Jesus doing while in hell but ' peacefully sleeping ' as Jesus likened ' death to sleep ' at John 11:11-14 before Jesus resurrected his friend out of the grave. Jesus learned the sleeping condition about the dead from the old Hebrew Scriptures which also teach sleep in death at Psalms 115:17; Psalms 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:5.

Since 'the soul that sins dies' according to Ezekiel 18:4,20, then Jesus will resurrect dead souls out of biblical hell or man's temporary grave on Resurrection Day meaning Jesus' coming millennium-long day of governing over Earth when even enemy death will then be No more on Earth according to 1 Corinthians 15:24-26; Isaiah 25:8

 

[URAVIP2ME]

Hell is not in original bibles but is in some modern (for the hard of thinking) "rewrites" so many Christians claim it as theirs to threaten children and those who don't follow their interpretation of the particular version of the book they choose as their own
The concept used today derives from a 14th century story by Dante Alighieri and the works of Hieronymus Bosch around a a similar time

I appreciate what you mention ^ above ^, and I agree, ' hell ' is Not in the original biblical manuscripts, but Not as many Christians claim, but rather as: so many ' so-called Christians ' claim. There is a difference.
Gospel writer Luke forewarned us that false shepherds (the so-called Christians of Christendom) would try to fleece the flock of God according to Acts of the Apostles 20:29-30.

I find it's false clergy who use ' fire ' as a scare tactic to try to control the flock of God, when in Scripture fire can be symbolic of destruction such as the wicked will be 'destroyed forever' according to Psalms 92:7.
The biblical choice according to 2 Peter 3:9 is: to either ' repent ' or ' perish ' (be destroyed) No burning.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

hell is just the common grave.The dead cannot suffer

.....and could you tell us how you arrived at your ^ above ^ conclusion that the dead do Not suffer.

 

[Fool]

Hell is Eternal Darkness, Fire And Punishment

Jesus Christ gave a few literal statements about Hell being a place of fire: "The Son of man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 13:41-42 "So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and will throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 13:49-50

Jesus also gave a few literal statements about Hell being eternal and a punishment. The same word in the Greek language in which the New Testament was originally written was used in these passages. The word means eternal, everlasting, without end, never to cease. "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." Matthew 25:41 "And these will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous eternal life." Matthew 25:46

how can it be eternal darkness if there is fire there? how can you be in pain; if there is no carnal body to sense it?

 

[Ricktheheretic]

Hell is Eternal Darkness, Fire And Punishment

Jesus Christ gave a few literal statements about Hell being a place of fire: "The Son of man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 13:41-42 "So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and will throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 13:49-50

Jesus also gave a few literal statements about Hell being eternal and a punishment. The same word in the Greek language in which the New Testament was originally written was used in these passages. The word means eternal, everlasting, without end, never to cease. "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." Matthew 25:41 "And these will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous eternal life." Matthew 25:46

What gives you the right to decide which of Jesus' words should be taken literally and which are figurative or metaphorical?

"If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell." Mathew 5:29-30 RSV

Who would take this literally? BTW a footnote on this verse in the RSV Bible I quoted from says that hell is really Gehenna. Gehenna was a place where garbage was burned outside Jerusalem that had been the site of heathen worship and child-sacrifice. There is some interesting stuff in the back of Jehovah's Witnesses New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures that explains how Gehenna represents eternal destruction since dead bodies thrown over the hill into Gehenna to be cremated were those of common criminals and people thought unworthy of having a resurrection. The Jews saw death as unconsciousness until the body is made to live again at the resurrection on the last day when the Moshiach arrives. Did Jesus ever say anyone was in "hell"? He said dead people were not dead, but sleeping Mathew 9:24. As to death and the state of death "hell" or "hades," where even Jesus spent time Acts 2:27 and Acts 2:31, the Lord will destroy both on the last day Revelation 20:14 along with people who are truly unrepentant. I read something into Revelation 22:2 about the "leaves" which "were for the healing of the nations," nations in the Greek NT can alternatively mean gentiles "goyim" non-Jews or non-Christians. As a Christian I believed that many on the last day would find God and avoid the final judgement, I still think that's more in the spirit of Jesus Christ than the doctrine of hell for anyone who isn't "saved."

 

[TheTruthGivingDragon]

hell is a nice relaxing place where dragons can hang out and relax while toying with the humans who have been bad. It is fun because we hate humans anyways and being able to rip them apart and throw them around without them dying. Apparently that evil god wants us to do that for some reason.

 

[shmogie]

If our soul leaves the body at the time of death, and our soul is just a wisp of energy, how could fire hurt it anyway? We would have no nerve endings or brain to register pain either.

How can there be any "gnashing of teeth" where no one has any teeth? Why would a wisp of energy need teeth?

Also, I've heard many people with near death experiences claim to see a "bright light" that they're heading towards. The nearest "bright light" might be the Sun, but the Sun is also on fire.

So, if the evil souls go to a fiery place called "Hell," and the good souls go to a fiery place called "Heaven," then is there any real difference between the two places? Maybe they're actually both the same place. It may only seem different depending on the individual soul. If the goal is to be "one with God," then "one" might have to give up one's individuality and identity, merging one's soul with everyone else.

But then, there might be those who can't bear to do that, whose identity and individual egos are/were so important to them in life that they just can't bear to give it up. Those who lived their lives believing that they're better than everyone else may find it demeaning to be considered "equal" with those they considered lesser in life, so if they choose to retain their individuality in a place where their energy is designed to merge with everyone else - it might actually seem like a pretty hellish existence.

There is another set of beliefs that are totally Biblically consistent.

First, what constitutes a soul ? It is first mentioned in the Book of Genesis When God created a physical body, and gave Adam the breath of life, and he became a living soul. So a soul must have a body and life. A dead person does not constitute a living soul. This is why the resurrection is so important in Christian theology. If one pops into heaven or hell at death, why would the resurrection be so important ? If the judgement comes after the resurrection, and people are already in heaven or hell, the final judgement is irrelevant and who decided at death where these people are going. ? Can someone at the judgement be tossed into hell from heaven, or vice versa ?

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

hell is a nice relaxing place where dragons can hang out and relax while toying with the humans who have been bad.

Only in Náströnd

 

[ChristineM]

I appreciate what you mention ^ above ^, and I agree, ' hell ' is Not in the original biblical manuscripts, but Not as many Christians claim, but rather as: so many ' so-called Christians ' claim. There is a difference.
Gospel writer Luke forewarned us that false shepherds (the so-called Christians of Christendom) would try to fleece the flock of God according to Acts of the Apostles 20:29-30.

I find it's false clergy who use ' fire ' as a scare tactic to try to control the flock of God, when in Scripture fire can be symbolic of destruction such as the wicked will be 'destroyed forever' according to Psalms 92:7.
The biblical choice according to 2 Peter 3:9 is: to either ' repent ' or ' perish ' (be destroyed) No burning.

You cannot dictate who is and who is not Christian, the 200+ versions of the babble are open to interpretation by the 50,000+ versions of Christianity. All claim to be true Christian, many would say you are false one. That's Christianity for ya.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

No it isn't! She had a choice. She could have just done what she was told but she didn't. So she deserved to go to hell. It was her choice. So obviously she must like it. I mean, if she hadn't have behaved the way she did then it wouldn't have happened, right?

I trust that's sarcasm.

 

[Rival]

I trust that's sarcasm.

It's my native language.