Holy Bible question

I'm not sure that the conventional idea of hell as a place of torment is really founded on anything solidly biblical. I'm sure Dante would disagree, but the fact is there is almost no mention of hell in the Old Testament (there is mention of a place under the earth, but that is more just a place where people who are dead go, no indication that they receive punishment there, also, all people go there, not just the wicked) and only a few times in the New Testament. If I had to give an answer to your question it would probably be that anyone who goes to hell chooses to do so by not accepting God at the Judgement Day, but really I say that with hesitation because the idea itself is so speculative. Both heaven and hell hold privileged places in Christianity but really they are two things we know the least about since no one who is alive can ever really 'know' what these two places are. I think that the bible makes the point that it is much more important to try and live a good life while we are here and not worry so much about what comes next. Jesus tells people to get ready for the Kingdom of God by performing good deeds for one another and loving each other. These are the things God really cares about, I think. And really I think that Christians have done a disservice to the rest of the world by focusing on such abstract concepts as heaven and hell. I don't know for sure what happens to my body or soul when I die, but I do know for sure that I can help other people's bodies and souls, and my own, in this world right now by performing acts of kindness and generosity.

But how you know this...("God put good people who reject Christ in Hell for eternity")????

The ultimate question is about Sovereignty. How sovereign is God? No answer, for there is no level of sovereign with God. He IS sovereign above all.

Man has a choice.
His choice does not supersede God's sovereignty.
Ultimately God understood all before the world was created and understands all right now and understands what will be.

Our problem is what we understand 'choice' to be.
How can God create, knowing full well the entire result from beginning to eternity, in fact how can He create it so PLANNING for it to be this way?

I am tired, and only human, so I cannot explain how this works. It is far far beyond my understanding.

Some people try to take this away from God. They say he can't see the future, or that He can ONLY see the future. To ascribe total creation, even things we dislike and outright condemn seems to place God in a position of indifference and mute, which contrasts with His character; God is love.

It's unfathomable. The secrets of the universe, and of creation, and time, can never be understood in this life, or this 'dimensional plane'.

That's putting it in a clearer perspective :)

God can only create two places for souls to spend eternity.

1. A place where God IS.

2. A place where God ISN'T.

How can being in God's raw presence NOT be Heaven to those who know Him?

How can being in a place completely void of God NOT be Hell?

God is benevolent. Ultimately, He is only giving us what we ask Him for. If we want Him, we get Him. If we don't, we won't.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Why can't God just sort of overlook people's rejection of Him and His salvation, and just let everyone into Heaven?

Well, let's take, for example, a Muslim. He has spent his whole life nurturing a love for Allah. If he steps into eternity, and finds Himself in the presence of JESUS, he will find himself in the presence of a deity he DOES NOT love. That is Hell.

If you're a Christian who has developed and nurtured a genuine love for Christ, would stepping into eternity and finding out that the Hindu god, Kali, is the supreme god, would you ever feel like you were safe and secure in her presence? Would it ever feel like Heaven?

It will be the same for a Muslim once he discovers that Christ is supreme. Those eyes of flame can only be a torment to him. Heaven for us, is Hell to him.

I came across this in a debate with Zoroastrian. His god, Ohrmazd, is a god that eventually brings all humanity to him. It is a religion that entails universal salvation. No Hell at all.

So I asked him a question.

If I have spent my life loving Jesus as a bride loves her husband, and Jesus is my "beloved", how is being in the presence of this god who is unknown to me supposed to be "Heaven"?

For a genuine Christian, being forced into the presence of another god for all eternity, even if it is a place of peace and safety, is equivalent to Hell.

Of course, he said that my eyes would be opened to the beauty of Ohrmazd, etc. But I said, "So, what you're saying is that I will need to forfeit my individuality, and this god will essentially 're-program' me to love him?"

And, of course, he could not answer that. No one wants to market a god who simply turns His adherents into robots, operating like a machine, in a caste society where all the "machines" are alike.

True, Christianity is a religion where you lose your individuality and your identity... But you find your individuality and identity in Christ, and become so much more than who you were before... In losing your identity, you become the bride of Christ, reconciled to God.

Think about it.

You are God's enemy. The creator of the Universe has you in His crosshair and is about to pull the trigger.

Yet, God Himself, in the man Jesus Christ, steps in front of you and takes the bullet. In so doing, reconciles you to God. RECONCILED TO GOD!!!

Now there's a concept worthy of deeper contemplation.

What defines good and evil in man's eyes and in God's eyes are two different things. God is the precedent from which everything else follows. God being good is an attribute that He possesses as is God being holy or just or righteous. these are characteristics of him or adjectives used to describe how He acts and speaks. There is a word in the Scriptures that rightly defines what and who God is. 1 John 4:8 states that God is love. So, everything that love is God is. Now, love has several meanings. In both the Hebrew and Greek languages there are a handful of words that are translated into the English word "love." There's one for a family kind of love, one for a romantic kind of love, one for a loyalty kind of love, and then there is the word Agape(Greek) or Ahava(Hebrew) which is translated "a love not based on conditions." This is a love that always is and has no beginning or end. Now, where am I going from this. When 1 John uses love in 4:8 it is using Agape. God is Unconditional Love. Now, understand one thing. Love is based on choice. It's one person making up his/her mind to look after the other's welfare even if it means sacrificing himself. If you read the New Testament, God did just this.

Now, why would a loving God send anyone to hell? Here's a question. He showed love to us when He created us with a free will. The ability for us to choose whether to believe in Him or not is the result of His love. If He didn't love us, He would have created us in a way where we had to follow Him no matter what and wouldn't have a choice not to. That wouldn't be very cruel.

Then, He showed another aspect of love: by making a sacrifice for mankind after they had chosen to disobey Him and doubt Him. After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, before casting them out of the Garden of Eden, God clothed them. When Cain killed Abel, God gave him a mark of protection saying that what any man would do to Cain, it would be worse for that man. He did these kinds of acts repeatedly up until the time of Jesus. Then He sacrificed His only Son as a way of paying for every act or thought or word of disobedience. and gave one concession: That we would trust Him. and those who do not trust Him have chosen Hell for themselves. He has not.

And also, God is not in our timeframe. He is Eternal meaning He can see all aspects of time at one glimpse. He sees Adam sinning, Jesus' sacrifice, and the Judgement and Redemption all at the same moment. We see things as: Past, Present, and Future while He sees things as "NOW."

So, basically, it's not based on what good things we do or what bad things we do. it's based on whether or not we trust him. because God created us for a relationship, not for work. think about 1:26. He created man to be in His image, to have a partner, and to take care of Earth. He made us relational, not ritualistic. Religion and Rituals are our way of not trusting in him, but in our own way.

When God gave His laws, He knew only He could fulfill them and so He did and if we trust in Him, we are adopted as His children and inherited His righteousness as children inherited their parent's qualities.

Your question is a very good one but when we look at it from this angle: a God who sent his only begotten to this world to die. It’s our choice to pick because he said I put before you life and death. If a man (Sinner/Unbeliever) has decided to pick death then hell is a must for that person.

Henry wrote: "I've read most of this Bible and I am overwhelmed by the idea of Hell. How can a loving God put even a criminal in eternal torment? Couldn't he just wipe out the bad ones and give the good ones h..."
The thing is, Henry, Hell was not initially intended for man...Hell was intended for Satan and his angels alone. Likewise, Heaven was not intended for man either. Read the book of Revelation and you'll see that man does not stay in heaven forever. The ones who refuse to repent of their sins are doomed to eternal torment with Satan because God, loving as He may be, can't abide with sin. The rest will eventually come to live in the new Jerusalem with God when it comes down out of Heaven.

I suppose I would add eternal torment is only one view of hell. The two views of Hell book is at least worth a read to get another perspective along side the eternal torment view, also known as the traditional view. Thou it is not a particularly good read, it at least presents two sides of the issue. And is far shorter then Fudges tome The fire that consumes, which only presents the conditionalist or annihilationist view, which I doubt most would care to read, or would at least be very weary to read.

I would highly recommend you read the book "Explicit Gospel" by Matt Chandler. He goes to core of the Bible, and really explains in an easy-to-understand way about God, Jesus, Man, ect. It's biblically sound too. Please get yourself a copy. The Explicit Gospel

God created Hell for Satan- the angel (oringinally called Lucifer) who betrayed God. When people die they either end up in Heaven or end up in Hell. At first, we all belong to Satan in a way because we a surrounded by sin, even if we grow up in a religious family, we are still bound by sin unless we ourselves allow Jesus into our hearts- we cannot live off others faith. As we give our life to God and follow Him, we are then adopted into His family. At the end of our life, we go to who we serve- who we 'belong to'. This however, does NOT mean innocent children are sentenced to Hell. Once people come to the age of understanding- which is different for everyone- and they can make choices for themselves and know the consequences of their actions are they at risk of going to Hell. A child who has not yet reached this age of understanding will not neccesarily know the full extent of the consequences and will pretty much get a "go to Heaven for free" card.

I'd say yes, and the answer is, oddly enough, grace. God loves us and wants us all united with Him, but in His infinite grace he gave us the choice to accept HIM. And to keep His glory perfect for those that chose him, he had to have "Option B" for those that chose to reject him and all that is Holy.

Does this make sense? I think it clearly but don't seem to articulate it well.

when god created the earth the devil was always beside him when the devil (the only angel saw)when he saw all this he thought he could do it then he started a fight with god taking more than half of gods angels and he lost so he got kicked out of heaven. so god said that when the end of the world comes the devil will burn in the river of fire and all the people with him not because god dosent love his people its cause they do not fear him any more he gives everyone a chance just only a few people take it

If you've read the Bible you would know there is hardly any mention of Hell. The Old Testament does not mention a Hell at all and the New Testament only mentions it from Jesus in the form of parables, which are not meant to be taken literally. Fortunately, we know the idea of an afterlife is absurd wishful thinking anyways.

Henry wrote: "I've read most of this Bible and I am overwhelmed by the idea of Hell. How can a loving God put even a criminal in eternal torment? Couldn't he just wipe out the bad ones and give the good ones h..."

Henry wrote: "I've read most of this Bible and I am overwhelmed by the idea of Hell. How can a loving God put even a criminal in eternal torment? Couldn't he just wipe out the bad ones and give the good ones h..."

Those people really aren't good, they look good on the outside but on the inside, the way God see's them as, is dirty, unclean,and not pure. Think of it as punishments and rewards. When you do something good you get a reward, like candy, the movies, presents, or just a good feeling inside of you. When you do something wrong you get a punishment for it. Examples are no friends, no movies, or raking leaves. If we don't except christ into our hearts and believe he died for us then Hell is our big punishment. If we do believe in him and we ask for forgiveness then Heaven is our reward. that reward is the best reward you could ever have. You would die here on earth but you would be alive forever and you would get to see him in person and you would never get to stop praising his name, that is what we are made to do.

Well said Blakely

Yes, because He is a Holy God. That is, he cannot go against his own nature. And remember that he gives man free will, so we have the power to decide if we accept God's love or not. So, really it's our choice.

How blessed we are that we could even consider this question.

I have the answer...

In Kosovo, my platoon caught a pedophile serial killer. I had to search his room. He kept souvenirs that I had to catalog. The story is here:

by
Matthew Akers

May God richly bless you all.