HELL. Is it real? What does the Bible really say?

Sermon Index ^ | David Wilkerson

[thefactor]

I like what Petersen had to say in his book. That Hell can exist in your mind. It’s a place you build. You can live in Hell every day if you don’t live correctly.

[af_vet_1981]

Comparison of Jesus’ Teaching on Gehenna vs. Roman Catholicism on Hell

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The Roman Catholic Encyclopedia ... What is the source of that list ? Is it from a website, article or book ? There is not sufficient source information to know its origin.

If one wants to accurately list the teaching of the Catholic Church on Hell, the primary source is the Catechism of the Catholic Church. For example:

IV. Hell

1033 We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves: "He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."610 Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren.611 To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell."

1034 Jesus often speaks of "Gehenna" of "the unquenchable fire" reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to believe and be converted, where both soul and body can be lost.612 Jesus solemnly proclaims that he "will send his angels, and they will gather . . . all evil doers, and throw them into the furnace of fire,"613 and that he will pronounce the condemnation: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire!"614

1035 The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal fire."615 The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.

1036 The affirmations of Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church on the subject of hell are a call to the responsibility incumbent upon man to make use of his freedom in view of his eternal destiny. They are at the same time an urgent call to conversion: "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few."616

Since we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly life is completed, we may merit to enter with him into the marriage feast and be numbered among the blessed, and not, like the wicked and slothful servants, be ordered to depart into the eternal fire, into the outer darkness where "men will weep and gnash their teeth."617

1037 God predestines no one to go to hell;618 for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end. In the Eucharistic liturgy and in the daily prayers of her faithful, the Church implores the mercy of God, who does not want "any to perish, but all to come to repentance":619

Father, accept this offering
from your whole family.
Grant us your peace in this life,
save us from final damnation,
and count us among those you have chosen.620

[af_vet_1981]

Did you lift that material it without attribution (or permission) from the author ? Did you know it was copyrighted by Samuel G. Dawson, a minister for many years among the Churches of Christ(CoC) denomination ?

© 2018 Samuel G. Dawson

[HarleyD]

That one is a hard one to address for me because I don’t see Hell in the bible.

It is hard for you to address simply because it is beyond your comprehension that God would call people into judgment. Yet it is stated throughout scripture that we will be judged. And if we are judged then there will be punishment.

Ecclesiates 12:13-14 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Hebrews 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment

We will be judged AFTER we die. We don't simply just die. The soul is eternal.

To say "I have the mind of Christ" and I've learned to be "compassionate" doesn't mean a whole lot. How it makes you "feel" is irrelevant.

[FNU LNU]

That list is from the conclusion of the article by Dawson, and yes, I used it with his permission.

Thanks for your response.

[cuban leaf]

Every knee will bow to Christ including those who “die” and not found the “Book”.

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I agree with the quoted scripture (the first part), but not the opinion (the latter part).

Not to put too fine a point on it, the god you describe in the rest of your post is a monster.

[cuban leaf]

It is hard for you to address simply because it is beyond your comprehension that God would call people into judgment.

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No, I actually get that. Where we disagree is on the nature of the punishment after the judgement.

[cuban leaf]

We will be judged AFTER we die. We don’t simply just die. The soul is eternal.

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I see nothing in the bible that even suggests the soul is eternal. Now, the born again spirit of the believer is “eternal” in the same way that Adam was eternal as long as he had the tree of life at his disposal.

[HarleyD]

So you seem to be saying that 1) after people die everyone is called into judgment, and 2) those who have not accepted Christ will be annihilated after judgment (their souls will be wiped out). Is that correct?

[af_vet_1981]

Patsy Rae Dawson is also listed with Samuel G Dawson on the copyright for 2007, but she divorced her husband of 46 years and went independent, still in the same business, as it were. Perhaps one needs Patsy's permission, or at least acknowledge her as the source with Sam.

"This life can be very strange."
-- Donald Jay Fagon / Walter Carl Becker

[cuban leaf]

From the 30,000 foot level, yes.

[Mark17]

I believe those descriptions are probably close to the reality of the Lake of Fire, except to say, that I don’t think there are any words we could dream up in a million lifetimes, to adequately explain it. Knowing this, it makes me wonder why the vast majority of people on the earth, choose the broad road that leads to destruction? I don’t get it, but that’s reality. 😇

[Luircin]

I don’t like the word ‘Hell’ as describing an eternal destination. Biblically, Hell is a waiting place for condemned souls, but the final judgment is eternal death, in which body and soul together are cast out of the presence of God.

[Luircin]

I’ll put in my two cents. See post 113 for it.

[cuban leaf]

I don’t like the word ‘Hell’ as describing an eternal destination. Biblically, Hell is a waiting place for condemned souls, but the final judgment is eternal death, in which body and soul together are cast out of the presence of God.

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That’s my take as well. However, I also am an adherent to the belief that outside the presence of God there is no existence at all. That’s why It’s called “death”.

[HarleyD]

Biblically, Hell is a waiting place for condemned souls, but the final judgment is eternal death, in which body and soul together are cast out of the presence of God.

If the condemned souls are "cast out of the presence of God" then God would not be omnipresent. As difficult as this is in understanding (even to me) God's Spirit (not Christ) will be with them in Hell.

[cuban leaf]

As difficult as this is in understanding (even to me) God’s Spirit (not Christ) will be with them in Hell.

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An easy way to understand it is to interpret the word, “Death” to mean what we normally mean when we use the word. Then the puzzle pieces all fit together. The fate of the lost is described all over the bible, and first mentioned in Genesis when God states the fate of Adam if he eats the fruit, which he did.

And the salvation from the fate of sin was pre-planned before the creation of the world. It is the fate of man to die (cease to exist) unless he is saved from death by belief in the power of Jesus sacrifice and resurrection.

The saved go on to eternal life. The lost die, never to be seen or heard from again. They are simply gone.

[HarleyD]

The saved go on to eternal life. The lost die, never to be seen or heard from again. They are simply gone.

You are forgetting judgment. And if in judgment God destroys them, is that, by your definition, very loving?

[cuban leaf]

You are forgetting judgment. And if in judgment God destroys them, is that, by your definition, very loving?

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Yes. He created them. They enjoyed life in whatever way they chose, and then they died. They were judged to not be worthy of eternity so they were permanently removed from the chess board. Gone. It’s completely fair.

If my father gives my brother and me each a race car and says “have fun with it and drive on the race track but stay on the track, I’ll be back in a week. If you stay on the track, you’ll go on to be one of my drivers in the racing circuit - and one of us stays on the track while the other just really enjoys off roading all over the grounds, don’t be surprised if dad says, when he gets back, that the former is one of his new race drivers and the latter has his car taken away from him.

It’s kinda like that. Sort of a “tough love” thing.

[cuban leaf]

You are forgetting judgment. And if in judgment God destroys them, is that, by your definition, very loving?

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But the difference here is that our father’s rules are simple: Believe. That’s all.

As one man put it. Christians are not saved by works. They are saved FOR works.