What the Hell?

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Lately, hell has become a hot topic; all pun intended.

It might be surprising for you to realize that there is rising, legitimate debate concerning various views of hell. I know what some of my readers might be inclined to think, “But it’s so straight forward in the Bible.”  To that, others would add, “so if anybody has any kind of debate about it, they must be moving away from the plain teachings of the Bible.”

Honestly, I understand that kind of sentiment, I really do. In the past, I had my own list of topics that were “no brainers” when it comes to what one should believe and what the Bible “says.”  My Evangelical grooming as a pastor convinced me that the more you grow as a Christian, the more black and white issues should become to you. Furthermore, once you land on a conclusion that fits with what prevails in Evangelical-world and puts you in good company, you can take off your thinking cap and put your heart and mind on autopilot.

However, when I encountered the Gospel of God’s Grace in its purity, it has caused me and challenged me to revisit beliefs and assumptions I have long held. I mean seriously, if I could spend 42 years of my life and become a highly trained and competent pastor, and yet completely miss the most important thing, the real Gospel, it only makes sense that it would be wise for me to reexamine a lot of spiritual things. Furthermore, once you discover that “God is love” and Jesus is to be the ultimate focus and example, one’s understanding of the Bible and how it addresses certain issues is completely viewed through a different set of lenses. Grace changes everything!

In fact, my move away from feeling so strong and sure about the current, popular Evangelical understanding of hell as the place God justly sends people to be punished with an eternity of excruciating torture who don’t believe and/or obey Him, began with the revelation that “God is love.”  This is where all theology and belief must begin and end, and ultimately be judged.

Since God is love, EVERYTHING that comes from Him must come from and confirm that love. Love is not part of His nature, it is His nature. Furthermore, Jesus is the highest manifestation and example of that love.

So, with that in mind, did Jesus have anything to say about Hell? Well, yes and no.

The single word “Hell” we use today and associate as “Hell” (a place of fiery, eternal torture) is actually not found in the Bible.  Nowhere, and in no manuscripts. There are four words in the Bible that are mistranslated as “hell.”  These words are: one Hebrew word sheol, and three Greek words hades, tartarus and gehenna. These words do not mean hell as we typically think of it today.

Sheol occurs 65 times in the Hebrew Manuscripts of the Old Testament, and it means the grave (the place of the dead) or the pit, as correctly translated in most modern versions of the Bible.  Hades occurs 11 times in the Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament and it is the direct equivalent of the Hebrew word sheol; thus it also means the grave or the pit.  Tartarus occurs only once in the Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament in the verse below.

2 Peter 2:4  For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell (tartarus) and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment.

Please note that God cast the angels (not humanity) who sinned down to tartarus and chained them in darkness, to be reserved for judgement.

Gehenna occurs 12 times in the Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament, and each time that gehenna occurs, it has been mistranslated to mean hell in several versions of the Bible. Jesus Himself who uses the word gehenna 11 out of the 12 times that gehenna occurs in the Bible, for example in Matthew 18:9.

Matthew 18:9
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell (gehenna) fire.

When Jesus uses the term gehenna fire, I don’t believe He means everlasting, tormenting hell fire in the bottom of the earth as we typically think of today. By the term gehenna fire, Jesus means something much different. Gehenna takes its name from a valley located in Jerusalem called the valley of Hinnom. During Jesus’s time on earth, this valley was used as the city dump. A fire was constantly kept to burn up and consume all of the city’s unwanted junk.

It’s extremely interesting and profound to me that Hebrews 12:9 refers to God as an “all consuming fire.”

Could it be that Jesus was poetically hinting at another entirely different kind of experience for those who reject and rebel from God, one that is actually in the presence of God, the all consuming fire? Keep reading to find out.

It is clear to me that scripture has no one unified word nor description of “hell.” Furthermore, the times Jesus uses the word Gehenna, one must assuredly allow for poetic and symbolic uses thereof.  To allow colorific use of a concept such as “pluck your eye out” as not to be taken literally and yet tie down the use of “Gehenna” in the same sentence to mean a literal place in the bottom of the earth where people are tortured by the wrath of God in eternal flames is a huge stretch at best. Furthermore, that kind of place and reality goes directly against the nature of God, who is love.

So, what is hell? What was Jesus talking about? Is it a real place? How does the God (who is love) have connection to hell? Do I have to believe in a hell that is a never-ending torture from the wrath of God upon people who don’t believe and/or disobey, in order to be faithful to the Bible?

Here are some thoughts…

Hell is real- 

Everybody spends eternity somewhere. We are eternal beings having a physical, bodily experience here on earth. Heaven and hell are two real, eternal experiences.

However, I am not convinced that the reference to actual places associated with words (Sheol, Hades etc.) that are interpreted as “hell” are automatically to be taken literally in interpretation. These descriptions have a far greater chance of being intended to be figurative or symbolic.

Hell is connected to God- 

To suggest that God just allows hell to exist outside of himself and beyond his influence or control is to me, a misguided assertion.

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” John 1:3

“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” Colossians 1:16

There are no realities, eternal or temporal that do not come from God. God does not take a hands off approach to anything, including “hell.”  If you believe in a torturous, flaming, eternal existence of punishment, you must also believe God is the author and sustainer of it, as He is of everything else.

This is of course, a problematic notion for many. It is the primary issue of the atheist and a growing issue among Christians. God (who is love) would create such a place? The same Jesus who befriends sinners is willing to burn them eternally, no matter how potentially justified? Really? This is God, this is love? The God who is love, who delights in His creation, who sets the stars in their places….this is the best idea He could come up with?

Hell is a reality that takes place in the presence of God- 

Many, in order to justify their view of an angry, torturing, violent God who is justified in sending people to an eternity of unimaginable suffering due to their disbelief and/or disobedience, have interpreted hell to be outside of the presence of God. As if God looks away, can wash His hands, and out of holiness, let hell happen. To them, a fiery, tortuous hell is God’s best idea of what to do with unbelievers. And, they will allow/portray God to take some theological distance from burning, screaming humanity so that He remains holy, and justified in doing so.

I am often amazed how when many allow God to have some inconsistencies, it’s on the side of a willingness to allow Him to be a more violent, torturous, and retributive God instead of a more gracious, loving, merciful, and accepting God. Furthermore, they will go to virtually any interpretive and theological length to prove that God is a violent God who punishes the wicked with internal torture beyond imagination and is Holy, just, and loving in doing so. Some, wanting to kind of disconnect God from it all use statements like, “God doesn’t send anybody to hell, they chose it.” For so many years, I used statements just like that.

But then I realized, that’s like me creating a fire-pit in my backyard, determining it to be a place my kids could go if they don’t believe and act correctly, and then say, as I shrug my shoulders while they scream as their skin melts for all eternity, “Well, I didn’t send them there, they chose it.”  Really? My parental hands are clean, free and clear?

Fortunately, this view of hell as being outside the influence and sustainment of God meets the buzz saw of scripture in passages such as…

“The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.” – Revelation 14:10  KJV

 “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” – Psalm 139:8   KJV

In both these passages, the concept of hell is described as being a reality that is IN the the presence of God.

Ruh, roh, Scooby.

Hell is not God doing something contrary to His nature (love), rather doing more of it.

Here is where we come to the interesting issue of God’s wrath.  It is widely asserted that God’s wrath is the aspect of God that is violent and angry, and desires and executes retribution upon disbelieving humanity.  It is God’s wrath that justly punishes the unrighteous.

However, a deeper look reveals something completely different.

The Greek word for “wrath” in the New Testament is the word “Orge”

Unfortunately, the way this word has been translated has been shaped greatly by our pre-existing concepts of God as being angry and temperamental.

The word “orge” actually means  “any intense emotion” it’s where we get words like  “orgy” and “orgasm” from.

It has to do with a very strong passion, not even associated to anger.  In fact, the root of “orge” actually means “to reach out in a straining fashion for something that you long to possess.” 

What if the wrath of God is not God pouring out anger and vengeance, or retaliation, but rather furious love; grasping, reaching, shaking to possess every person that they might experience His Grace? Wow, now there is a revelation!

Now for some, that is going to feel like wrath. Why? Because there is nothing more torturous than to be loved by someone who you don’t want to be loved by. To be given love when you don’t want it. To be given Grace when you want no part of it. In all truthfulness, that’s hell.

In fact, the writer James articulates in the Bible that when you love your enemies, it’s as if you were pouring out heaping coals of fire over their heads.

The wrath of God isn’t an expression of God’s hate and contempt, but rather a furious, passionate expression of His love and Grace, reaching, grasping for people to experience His love.

God is not schizophrenic, God is not hate and love at the same time.

Daniel 7:10 refers to a river of fire that flows out from thrown of God. What is that? It’s the white hot love of God.

See, the same sun that hardens clay melts wax. Some people will experience the furious, pure love of God as hate, because they hate being loved by God, they hate pure Grace, trusting in His Grace.

The presence of God is the same. When Moses first met with God being present in a cloud to receive the 10 commandments, he saw that experience as one of glory; a powerful, positive opportunity. Yet, the other people who witnessed that same cloud saw it as an experience of fear. Why? Because they didn’t believe and rebelled against the goodness of God.

Paradise is the love of God, wherein is the enjoyment of all blessedness… I also maintain that those who are punished in Gehenna are scourged by the scourge of love. For what is so bitter and vehement as the punishment of love? -St. Isaac the Syrian

So what is hell?

Hell is an eternal existence in the presence of God who is love, furiously pouring out His love that all people might experience Grace. It is God (who is love) being God (pouring out more and more love), forever.  It is hell for some because they reject and despise Grace. They hate Jesus and His unconditional love. The same Grace and love that is heaven for many, is hell for some.  The difference is in belief. The difference is in heart.

“The flames of heaven will be hotter for some than the flames of hell could ever be”  -Dallas Willard

It’s interesting that in truth you can’t reject Grace. You can’t stop it’s presence, pursuit, favor, or blessings over your life. You can only love or not love it. Loving, believing, trusting Grace fills your life with heavenly rest. Not loving, believing, and trusting Grace serves to fill your life with hellish frustration and angst. It never leaves you, you can never leave it. Only love it, or not.

God never changes. He is love.

I love how Robert Capon states it…

“Grace is the celebration of life, relentlessly hounding all the non-celebrants in the world.”   -Robert Capon

 

4 Comments

  1. daniel

    Great post chris very very interesting indeed many need to read this and to say hey maybe the whole ideal of hell is indeed way off from what we have had put into our heads by friends and family growing up

  2. Daniel

    Hey chris i have been doing a ton and i mean a ton of Study and Reserch into the topic of Hell and this has come to my mind and i need to ask if you could see this in any way the same light that i do ok to start i have been taught since i was a kid Hell is away from god in a pit where you are burned and burned forever and ever. Now when God told adam not to eat from the Tree what did he tell adam what would happen did he say you will burn forever and ever No he told him You will Die and since we know the only way you can have Eternal life is faith in Jesus now god said in John 3:16 he should not Parish well that word Parish does not mean to Burn forever and ever and ever it means to Die that was Adams Curse from sin that came to all of us like wise now in the Bible it says Jesus is the Savior of All Men Espy those who Belive now if Jesus didnt save Everyone or All from Hell then shouldint the bible say Jesus is the Savor of only those Who have Faith and Trust in him but it does not then it says in All Died in Adam so All will Live in Christ now what do you do with passges like that ? to Burn in Hell we would have to have Eternal life to Burn after death here on Earth forever and ever and ever but god Says the only way you can have Eternal life is to trust in Jesus now how does that work with all this and more i have been looking into i have to say i do not bevile in Hell at all now if you dont share my views that is fine 🙂 just plz tell me im not insane so many have already wrote me off because of this do you feel i might be on to something ? i mean i can not understand why for the Life of me why God would not have told Adam ok you ate from the Tree you will Die and Be burned and Punshed forever and ever but he didnt he just said you will Die and the bible says the Wages of Sin is Death and nothing more. so i just need to know if i am going insane or not

    • ckratzer

      Good thoughts Daniel. You have some solid points. No, you are not insane. 🙂

  3. Daniel

    Thank you for the kind words Chirs means alot yeh i just cant not match Hell as America knows it and talks it to God who is Love and nothing else but Pure Love forever and ever and ever to put people into a Place such as Hell and like i said i have been kicked out of the Church i was in so that really hurt me just for thinking on this been told im going to burn in hell heard that before….and much more nasty stuff and i found it funny how people that dont bev in Hell Love people way way more then those who hold the View of Hell aint that strange? and you know to me Christains dont really bevil in Hell for 1 if they did they would spend pretty much every waking sec of there lives going around the world trying to save all from such a godawful place but we dont see them putting that much effort in it and also why is it that those who hold to the view of Hell will say a prayer for the dead even if that person didnt bevil in god at all and ask god to take that person into his family and i find it amazing how people who hold the view of Hell will say that if a Kid dies they go to heaven right away when the Bible talks no where about that if you bevli in Hell and that the only way to be saved from it is Jesus and to fully trust and know him then Kids are lost but i will not and can never accpt such a view of God and here i wanted to share some views of hell i asked my Church and this is why they kicked me out i asked these what im about to show you. Number 1 Please understand, the English word “Hell” and its concepts are NOT in the Hebrew nor Greek. They come into the English through Northern European mythologies, NOT from the roots of Christianity. If Hell is real and describes a real place, why does the English word “Hell” come from a pagan source instead of the ancient Hebrew writings of the Bible? Why is the word “Hell” not found in the Jew’s Bible which is the Christian’s Old Testament? Furthermore, the word “Hell” has completely disappeared from the Old Testament Scriptures in most leading Bibles. Why? Because the best scholarship demands it. (The word “Hell” comes from the Teutonic “Hele” goddess of the underworld “Hell” of northern Europe . The description of this ancient mythological place has very little resemblance anymore to the modern Christian image of Hell. • If Hell as a place of everlasting tortures was the real fate of all mankind unless they did something here on earth to prevent it, why didn’t God make that warning plain right at the beginning of the Bible? God said the penalty for eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was DEATH. He did NOT define death as eternal life being forever tortured in burning fire and brimstone. • If Hell was real why didn’t Moses warn about this fate in the Ten Commandments or the Mosaic Covenant consisting of over 600 laws, ordinances, and warnings? The Mosaic Law simply stated blessings and cursings IN THIS LIFETIME for failure to keep the Mosaic Law. If Hell was real, since most historians would acknowledge today that Origen was perhaps the most outstanding example of early universalism in the church, when Methodius, Eusibius, Pamphilus, Marcellus, Eustathius, and Jerome made their lists of Origen’s heresies, why wasn’t universalism among them? Could it be perhaps that it wasn’t a heresy in the original church? If Hell was real why did not a single Church council for the first five hundred years condemn Universalism as heresy considering the fact that they made many declarations of heresy on other teachings? If Hell was real, why did not a single Christian writer of the first 3 centuries declare universalism as a heresy? • If Hell was real and a place of no escape, why did the early church teach Jesus went to Hell (Hades), preached to them and led captivity captive? (Eph. 4:8,9; Psalm 68:18; 1 Peter 3:18-20)

    • If Hell was real and the grave settled the matter forever, why did the early Christians offer up prayers for the dead? • If Hell is real, why don’t the Jews, many who know the Old Testament better than most Christians, not believe in the modern Christian concept of Hell? They say they don’t believe it because it is not in their Scriptures. Most scholars today can not find Hell in the Old Testament. Most leading Bible translations no longer contain the word Hell in the entire Old Testament. (Genesis through Malachi.) • If Hell is real and if good people go to heaven and bad people go to Hell, why does EVERYONE, good or bad, go to the same place in the Old Testament? They ALL go to Sheol which the King James Version translated “Hell” thirty-0ne times, “grave” thirty-one times and “pit” three times? Are we all destined to go to Hell or did the King’s translators make some gross translation errors? If Hell was real and the belief that there is no Hell is a deception from Satan, why is it that those born from above Christians who DON’T believe in Hell seem to manifest more of the nature and fruit of the Spirit than those who teach Hell? Surely those who believe that Jesus is the Savior of all mankind manifest more love towards their enemies than do serious Hell-fire types. Could it be that we begin to manifest what we worship? If we believe God loves all mankind and plans to save it, then we have no excuse but to do the same. However, if we believe God will cast away most of mankind, then we begin to manifest the very same spirit here on earth. If Hell is a real place of merciless endless torture, since God knows the beginning from the end, why didn’t God just kill Adam and Eve and end the long terrible chain of misery that passed to their offspring before it began? After all, the Scriptures say that all died BECAUSE of Adam. (Rom. 5:18) If Hell is real and everlasting, why does Psalm 30:5 say His anger is but for a moment?

    • If Hell is real one would never know it by the actions of most Christians. They go through life pretty much like atheists, pagans, etc. If they really believed in Hell, they would spend their entire life trying to snatch their friends and relatives from the burning flames. If Hell is real, why don’t they do this? If Hell is real, in Romans 5:19, the “many” who were made sinners were actually “all” of the human race. Why is the “many” who were made “righteous” not equally be “all” of the human race? “For as by one man’s disobedience MANY were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience MANY will be made righteous.” If Hell was real and all died NOT because of their transgressions but because of Adam’s transgression (Rom 5:18), why do many Christians not see what is plainly written, that “even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to ALL MEN, resulting in JUSTIFICATION OF LIFE!” (Rom. 5:18) This Scripture declares the FACT that all are justified due to Christ’s righteous act. No one “decided” to die in Adam, it was “reckoned” to us. Equally no one “decided” to “receive eternal life,” it is also “reckoned” to us. (A thorough understanding of Romans Chapter five carefully comparing several English translations would be a very good exercise. The omission of the definite article “the” in Rom. 5:15 before the word “many” in some translations has caused some great misunderstanding of this most important chapter of the Bible.) If Hell was real and a serious heresy, why was it not until the sixth century when Justinian, a half-pagan emperor, tried to make universalism a heresy? Interestingly, most historians will acknowledge that Justinian’s reign was among the most cruel and ruthless. If Hell is real and the devil and all his works and people are to be thrown into it to stay alive forever, doesn’t that violate Jesus’ statement that He came to “destroy” the works of the devil? (1 John 3:8) If Hell is a real place of everlasting punishment and if Jesus died in our place to save us from this fate, wouldn’t Jesus have to be eternally punished if in fact He took our punishment upon Himself? But He’s NOT being eternally punished. He DIED which is what the penalty of the wages of sin is, DEATH, NOT everlasting life of unending torture or eternal death (annihilation). If Hell is real and a place of eternal separation from God, why would Paul the apostle say the goal of God’s creative plan was to ultimately be “all IN all?” (1 Cor. 15:28)

    • If Hell is real since there is only one name under heaven by which men might be saved (Acts 4:12), why did God wait thousands of years and millions of souls after Adam’s fall to provide the name and means of salvation? Are all those before Jesus’ birth damned forever because they never heard of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ? Would that be just? (Remember the Mosaic Law can never “save” anyone and it was only for Israel . Rom. 3:20) If all things were made for GOD’S pleasure, is it conceivable that God would derive pleasure from seeing those He created endlessly tortured?

    • If there is a Hell and according to most denominations of Christianity the majority of mankind will go there, could you really enjoy heaven knowing your mother or father or children or best friend are suffering everlasting tortures the likes of which would make the Holocaust seem like a picnic? If the Rich Man and Lazarus story (Luke chapter 16) is real and NOT a parable, then we will be able to converse with our loves ones who did not make it into heaven. Would heaven really be paradise if this were true? If the Lake of Fire is actually a place of everlasting burnings, why isn’t it defined as such? The Bible calls it the “second death,” that is, the death of the first death. One would think that the death of death would be LIFE, which is a good thing! (Rev. 20:14) Even in mathematics two negatives make a positive.

    • If there is a Hell and all who have sinned are destined to go there (which is everyone) unless they figure out how to avoid it, does that not consign all aborted babies and most children to Hell? (Dear Reader, while some denominations teach a so-called “age of accountability,” it is NOT found anywhere in the Bible. It is just some people’s way of trying to make God more humane than the Hell teaching makes Him out to be.) If Hades is Hell and there is no escape from it, why is it emptied and cast into the Lake of Fire along with death. (Rev. 20:14) If Hell is real, since God will have all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:3 KJV), does that mean God’s power is not strong enough to have His will fulfilled? Is man’s will more powerful than God’s? If Hell is real and most find their way to it, was Jesus lying when He said that He would “draw” (“drag” in the original Greek) all mankind unto Himself? (John 12:32) If Hell is real and God’s wrath abides upon billions of human beings FOREVER, some being your relatives and friends (or it could be you), doesn’t that violate the Scripture which says His anger WILL come to an end? (Isaiah 57:16-18)

    • If Hell was real and you went there, would you consider that good? (Psalm 145:9 says all will praise Him.)

    • If Hell was real and you were consigned to it, would you praise Him for sending you there? (Psalm 145:10)

    • If Hell is real and most of mankind will fall into this fiery pit, if there is not escape out of it, would this not violate the Scripture that says He raises ALL who fall? (Psalm 145:14)

    • If Hell is really a place from which there is no escape, why does God turn man to destruction and then give the command to return from it? (Psalm 90:3) If Hell is “everlasting” destruction,” how can man return? (2 Thess. 1:9) If Hell is real, since some people receive many chances to “get saved,” some receive only a few chances and billions have never even received one chance, does that make God a respecter of persons? (Acts 10:34, James 3:17)

    • If Hell is real and is the fate of all mankind because of Adam’s transgression, if all are not saved through the last Adam, Jesus Christ, does that not make the transgression of the first Adam greater than the redeeming act of Jesus? (Rom. Chapter 5)

    • If Hell is real and most of mankind is doomed to go there, does that not violate the declaration of Paul who said that Christ’s righteous act on the cross gave ALL mankind a free gift resulting in justification of life?! (Rom. 5:18) If Hell is real and most of mankind ends up there, how can God have promised Abraham that in him ALL the families of the earth will be blessed? (Gen. 12:3)

    • If Hell is real and Matthew chapter 24 says and means that the goat nations will go to “everlasting punishment,” how can God promise to Abraham that “all the nations of the earth shall be blessed by him? (Gen. 18:18) Does God not keep His promises?

    • If Hell is real, does that mean that motherly love is more powerful and enduring than God’s love? Do you know of normal mothers who would endlessly torment most of her kids. Do you know “normal” Fathers who would do such a thing? Why do we believe our heavenly Father, who is millions of times more loving than all of us combined, could do such an evil, wicked thing? If Hell is real and the greatest part of mankind eventually goes there, wouldn’t Jesus be considered a great failure considering the fact He was sent to save the whole world? And if He failed so miserably this time to accomplish the will of the Father, can one really trust that He won’t fail again? (1 Tim. 2:3,4 KJV; Heb. 10:9) We who believe that Jesus will save the world obviously do NOT believe He failed?He will save all of us.

    • If Hell is real it must have been created at some time. Why doesn’t the Bible tell us when Hell (as traditionally taught) was created? Could it be that the Bible fails to mention its creation because it was never created in the first place?

    • If Hell is real and it is plainly seen in the original languages of the Bible, why is there such a great discrepancy among Bible translations as to which words should be translated Hell? If 150 Bible scholars swear to a statement of faith that there is a Hell of everlasting punishment before that are allowed to work on a translation which they will be paid to produce, what are the odds that the translation they produce will contain a Hell of everlasting punishment? (That is the case with the NIV, and most other Bible translations produced by committees.) If Hell is real, will you judge your mother, son, or other non-believer to Hell? “Do ye not know that the saints “shall judge the world”? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?” 1 Corinthians 6:2-3

    • If Hell is real and an eternal separation from God, why does ” tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb” mean? If this “torment” is endless suffering in a literal lake of fire, how would you feel if it was your mother, father, wife, husband, children, or best friend in that lake IN your presence? (The Greek word for “tormented” does NOT mean “tortured,” it means “tested.”) If Hell is real and universalism is a heresy, why is it that those who believe God loves all and will save all find it easier to love all people than those who believe most people are going to Hell? (Think this through very carefully.) • If Hell was real, does that mean Jesus raised the wicked from an unconscious state, make them alive only to be endlessly tortured? Wouldn’t it be more merciful to just leave them eternally unconscious (which some believe)? (Ecc. 9:5; John 11:11) If Hell was real and the “full” gospel was designed to reach all mankind, doesn’t that make the results of the “full” gospel pretty “empty” considering that fact that most people are in Hell according to traditional theology? If Hell is real, would that not violate the plain Scripture of the “restitution of all things?” (Acts 3:21)

    • If Hell is real and eternal separation from God, why does the Scripture say, “All flesh will come to God?” (Psalm 65:2-4)

    • If Hell is real and most people don’t get “born again,” doesn’t that make abortionists the greatest evangelists of all since they kill the babies before they can enter the world to begin their life of sin? (Gory thought, but think about it.) asking these things is what got me Kicked out of Church and at the time i didnt even say i didnt bevil in Hell i was just asking for some helpfull answers to these and they kicked me out i mean i got a Look like i was the devil himself 🙁 and to close i want to point out one more great Proof that Hell is not real and that is Found Genesis when god told adam what his Curse was for eating from the tree look at what he said he put at the end of it Till you return from the ground for out of it you were taken For Dust you are And to Dust you shall return and then he put them out of Eden so they could not eat from the Tree of Life why???? so they would not Live forever now see how Hell goes ag the Bible ag God and Jesus because God would have to done this for Hell to be real he would have to taken Everlasting Life from Adam and we know he did then when Adam died he would had to give Adam back everlasting Life to Burn forever and ever and ever and ever but we know this cannot be because the Bible says the only way you get Everlasting Life is by JESUS nothing else so i hope with this you can even see more how Hell can not exsit 🙂

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