Posted on 04/21/2014 11:30:24 AM PDT by GonzoII
It has become fashionable in some Catholic quarters these days to question where there are now or will ever be any souls populating hell. Hell, it is taught, is a "real possibility," but whether there are any souls actually there, or whether there will ever be any souls there, is unknown to us.
It is, of course, true that hell is a "real possibility" for each of us. And that is a sobering thought. But it is also true that souls are actually in hell now, and will be for all eternity. This is a teaching of our Catholic Faith.
If you think of hell as the place where the unsaved people go after their death, that is the punishment side of Sheol, then yes there are lots of people there. They are being punished with real flames, waiting for the resurrection when they will have to face the White Throne Judgment.
If you think of hell as the place of eternal punishment, that is the Lake of Fire, nobody will be there until after the White Throne Judgment (except for the Anti Christ and the False Prophet who are thrown there at the end of Armageddon), but everybody will be tormented there for eternity.
To me, the bottom line is that there are people who are suffering in Sheol now, and there will be people suffering in the Lake of Fire later on and for eternity. It should spur us to try to reach these people before it is too late, rather than argue whether Sheol, the Lake of Fire, or both, are hell
The dead know not anything. I read that somewhere.
Will Many Be Saved?: What Vatican II Actually Teaches and Its Implications for the New Evangelization
Book Description
Publication Date: September 7, 2012
The question of whether and how people who have not had the chance to hear the gospel can be saved goes back to the beginnings of Christian reflection. It has also become a much-debated topic in current theology. In Will Many Be Saved? Ralph Martin focuses primarily on the history of debate and the development of responses to this question within the Roman Catholic Church, but much of Martin’s discussion is also relevant to the wider debate happening in many churches around the world.
In particular, Martin analyzes the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, the document from the Second Vatican Council that directly relates to this question. Contrary to popular opinion, Martin argues that according to this text, the conditions under which people who have not heard the gospel can be saved are very often, in fact, not fulfilled, with strong implications for evangelization.
The dead know not anything. I read that somewhere....I see it in Congress every day.
Sort of like 0bama and congress and senate.
Look around.
God knows, I only have to know that it is a possibility and I don’t want to go there.
“some Catholic quarters”, should correctly read “Some so-called Catholic quarters.”
No. That happens at the Great White Throne judgement. See the closing chapters of Revelation.
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
Ps. 9:17
but the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremonters, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Rev. 21:8
Lazarus
Luke 16
“Many are called, few are chosen.”
**Are There Souls in Hell Right Now?**
At the moment of our death, we undergo what Catholics call the particular judgment.
Then souls are sent to three places: Heaven, Purgatory or Hell.
At the General Judgment everyone else will know about it when the sheep are divided from the goats.
I’ll be happy with Purgatory, for I know after I am purified I can enter heaven.
PFL
Hades is temporary, the lake of fire is permanent. The suffering in either one is probably the same.
I’d take Jesus word on the subject....
FYI- There are ways to shorten or eliminate purgatory for yourself and others, including among them:
Wearing the Scapular and the Five First Saturdays of Reparation to Our Lady -—
http://themostholyrosary.com/appendix2.htm
The 30 days of St. Gregory the Great -—
http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/how-to-help-the-holy-souls-in-purgatory/ The Pious Union of St. Joseph is the least expensive place I’ve found to say these Masses — 30 Masses for $200. A priest or a monastery, etc., has to receive some type of official approval to say these Masses.
http://www.piousunionofstjoseph.org/mass/mass-stipend/gregorian-masses/
The Twelve Years Prayers of St. Bridget of Sweden. (Very easy to say. Don’t be intimidated by the ‘12 Years’. It includes other benefits as well, but the individual who says them is promised to avoid Purgatory completely.) -—
http://www.jesusmariasite.org/Salvation/pdf/12PrayersStBrigit.pdf
The Prayer for souls by St. Gertrude the Great:
http://olrl.org/pray/stgertrude.shtml
Thanks I do some of those already, but others I had not heard of.
Yes, and they’re still voting Democrat.
I know I have been purified by the blood of Jesus, I have been imputed His righteousness, and there isn't anything else needed.
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