What to expect in hell

[Beetow]

● 1Kings 22:18-23 . . I saw the Lord God sitting on His throne, and all the host o
heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. And Jehovah said: Who will
entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said this while another
said that.

. . .Then a spirit came forward and stood before The Lord and said: I will entice
him. And The Lord said to him: How? And he said: I will go out and be a deceiving
spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. Then He said: You are to entice him and also
prevail. Go and do so. Now therefore, behold, The Lord has put a deceiving spirit in
the mouth of all these your prophets; and Jehovah has proclaimed disaster against
you.

That scene depicts a very strange alliance. God actually recruited a creature from
the demon world to do some dirty work for Him: a black op, so to speak. That
suggests to me that the demon world is neither totally useless nor totally in Satan's
control; some are actually assets, which can be defined as something useful in an
effort to foil or defeat an enemy, e.g. a piece of military equipment, a spy, or an
assassin.

It's likely that God still manages some of His affairs like that even today when He
wants certain individuals destroyed without getting His hands dirty. For example
from post No.1 it's seen that some folks are on a road to Hell while others are on a
road to something better, i.e. the few and the many. I really have to wonder if
maybe some of those many on the road to Hell weren't talked into going that way
by spirits recruited by God to do it for Him. Now that's scary. Can you just imagine
the horror of being targeted like that and not aware of it! (cf. 2Thess 2:8-12)
_

 

[Beetow]

Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot released a sentimental song back in 1975
that speaks volumes about sympathy. Its lyrics are very touching. Here's a few that
I feel especially appropriate when talking about things like sickness, death, and the
hereafter.

Rainy day people always seem to know when it's time to call.
Rainy day people don't talk, they just listen till they've heard it all.
Rainy day lovers don't lie when they tell 'ya they've been down like you.
Rainy day people don't mind if you're cryin' a tear or two.

I sometimes wonder how much sympathy one can expect in the fiery netherworld. I
mean; sure they'll understand how we might feel about the unfortunate
circumstances in life that led us down there, but once you're there, everyone's
pretty much in the same boat and the others are all longing for sympathy too.

In point of fact, I'd not be surprised if the competition for sympathy down there is
on the level of dog eat dog; and likely a fair number of sympathy hoarders
demanding total market share of it. I can just hear their feigned indignity; like this:

"Oh, stop whining already! Don't be such a baby. I deserve a lot more pity than
you. I've been down here for two millennia and you've only been down here for a
decade. What've you got to cry about? You should be grateful that your time down
here is shorter than mine."

I'd imagine that after a few years in that place the only sympathy that people can
feel after a while is sympathy for themselves because nobody is getting out down
there; they're all lifers so it's not unlikely that the only humanity that inmates pay
forward in that place is misery.
_

 

[Beetow]

● Matt 7:13-14 . . Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and
broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But
small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find
it.

● Matt 22:14 . . For many are called, but few are chosen.

Few and Many are relative quantities regardless of their amounts.

For example; no matter how many people are represented by the great
crowd depicted at Rev 7:9-10, their number will be less than the number of
folk represented by the dead depicted at Rev 20:11-15.

In other words: the number of people ultimately saved will be less than
those ultimately lost no matter how big or little their respective numbers
turn out to be.
_

 

[Beetow]

● 1Cor 1:26 . . Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in
the world's eyes, or powerful, or wealthy when God called you.

Faith in Christ isn't an achievement like a Nobel prize in chemistry nor as if one ran
for public office or climbed a corporate ladder. None of us would be an integral
member of Christ's body were it not for God's incredible IQ and His access to a
remarkable variety of supernatural resources.

● Cor 1:30 . . God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our
benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself
_

 

[Beetow]

Education and/or a high IQ have their uses; but are insufficient when it comes t
spiritual matters. In point of fact, too many smarts can actually be an impediment.
Take for example Carl Sagan. Had his knowledge and his IQ been a spiritual
advantage, then Carl would've stood on the side of intelligent design instead of
opposing it.

It's tragic that Carl went to his grave with his curiosity and so many scientific
questions about the cosmos unanswered, and to top it off, a day is coming when
even Carl's pale blue dot will no longer be available for study.

"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be
remembered, nor come into mind." (Isa 65:17)

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth
were passed away." (Rev 21:1)

Can you imagine how delighted Carl would've been to explore Heaven's libraries
where everything to know that can be known about the cosmos is stored? But alas,
Carl will never find out because he was at best an agnostic, at worst an atheist.
_

 

[Beetow]

People penned up in the netherworld may or may not be fully aware of all they've
lost. Many are doubtless aware of at least their loss of creature comforts; but I'm
not so sure they know about the bulk of their loss because not even that many
Christians are aware of all they've gained by their association with Christ.

We today are living in what's sometimes called the church age; which is an era that
began with the day of Pentecost per Acts 2:1-2 wherein Christ has been busy
assembling the "my church" he spoke of in Matt 16:18.

The "my church" is very fortunate because it is a joint-heir (a.k.a. heir in common)
with God's son in his Father's estate. (Eph 1:11 and Rom 8:16 17)

A joint-heir is different than a regular heir. Regular heirs are apportioned an
individual percentage of their benefactor's estate. But joint-heirs inherit, not a
percentage, but the entire estate, as community property, i.e. whatever the Father
bequeathed His son, He bequeathed everyone associated with His son.

For example: supposing a benefactor's estate totals 60 acres of land, 18 gold bars,
plus a hedge fund worth 200,000 US Dollars; and he left it all to six heirs in
common. In that situation; the heirs are corporately one beneficiary instead of six;
viz: all six inherit all the land, all the gold, and the entire fund as if each one were
the only heir.

The extent of the Father's estate is astonishing. It encompasses not only all that is
in Heaven, but also all in the entire universe, plus whatever pertains to the new
cosmos spoken of in Isa 66:17, 2Pet 3:13, and Rev 21:1; and I don't know what
else.

● John 3:35 . .The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand.

● John 16:15 . . All things that the Father has are mine

Point being: folks in today's era who fail to be accepted into the "my church" will
end up as miserable paupers in the afterlife, whereas those associated with God's
son will be wealthy and privileged beyond imagination.

● Heb 2:5 . . It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come.
_

 

[Beetow]

FAQ: The Bible says that a Christian's life on earth terminated the day they came to
faith in Christ; and from the day on, God stopped keeping a record of their sins. (Rom
6:3-7, Col 3:3, and 2Cor 5:19). What about the afterlife? What's to be done about the
sins Christians commit there?

REPLY: They won't be committing any sins in the next life because of a special
circumcision made without hands per Col 2:11.

* It must be very devastating when folks below find out too late about that circumcision;
and also when they find out too late about Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 36:24-27
which, according to the language, would've rendered them easily righteous enough to
associate with God permanently.
_

 

[Beetow]

For many of us working stiffs, the first day on a new job is stressful and quite an
adjustment. The night before that first day can cause enough anxiety to keep us
awake worrying about what we might expect.

I'd imagine that, whether we end up in the right place or the wrong place in the
afterlife, we will be just as stressed on our first day there as the first day here on a
new job.

The anxiety associated with death is to be expected seeing as how most of us have
no experience at all with that particular journey. But I think the majority of my
anxiety in regards to death is related to what comes after. Pity there are no guide
books available in print to prepare us in advance for the culture-shock tsunami with
which both sides of the aisle are sure to be slammed.
_

 

[Beetow]

Christianity is sometimes criticized as a license to steal because when people come
to faith in Christ, the file that God has been accumulating against them gets
demolished and from thence He does not begin compiling a new file.

● 2Cor 5:19 . . God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting
their trespasses against them

● Rom 4:8 . . Blessed is the man whose sin The Lord will never count against him.

The Greek word translated "counting" is logizomai (log-id'-zom-ahee) which means
to take an inventory; i.e. an indictment.

Christians have quite an advantage because when there are no books on people,
then there is nothing on record with which to accuse them, i.e. it's as though
they've never been anything but 100% innocent.

This may seem like cooking the books, but God has a way to do it on the up and up
without obstructing justice.
_

 

[Beetow]

● Luke 16:26 . . Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed

The barrier between Abraham's side of the netherworld and the rich man's is
curious. The Greek word is located nowhere else in the entire New Testament so we
can't compare it's application in other situations.

Chasm isn't necessarily a crevasse like a gorge or a canyon. It can also represent a
marked division, separation, or difference; for example there is a political chasm
between China's communist party and China's regular citizens.

A chasm then, can be likened to the contrast between good and evil, right and
wrong, wise and foolish, hate and love, the condemned and the innocent, the one
true God and the many tin Gods, the alive to God and the dead to God.

Anyway, this barrier in Luke's story isn't so expansive that people cannot recognize
familiar faces on the opposite side nor hear their voice. And if it's a literal gulf, then
I think it's reasonable to assume people have been trying to jump in to get away
from the flames.

The Bible says that God desires all men to be saved and that He derives no
pleasure from their misfortunes. However, once folks are lost in the netherworld,
God's attitude towards them takes quite a turn. Folks in Hell are dead to God, and
apparently He wants them to be dead to us too; even our loved ones and the BFF
for whom we care the most, i.e. personal contact with the other side for hugs and
kisses is not allowed.

● Luke 16:26 . .Those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone
cross over from there to us.
_

 

[Beetow]

I once heard a minister tell the story of a fictional busload of Hell's inmates who
were given a 30 day furlough for some R&R in Heaven. They all came back the first
night because God's world was such a bore.

There were no wild parties, no clothing-optional beaches, no bars, no night clubs,
no porn, no escort services, no pigging-out at buffets, no fights, no profanity, no
ribaldry, no free sex, no vulgar late-night comedy, no exotic dancers, no X-rated
movies, no junk food, no tobacco, no marijuana, no meth, no ecstasy, no LSD, no
hunting for sport, no fishing for sport, and no casino gambling.

And they had trouble seeing their way around. The light in Heaven was so bright
that they had to protect their eyes all the time with thick dark glasses.

And the hellsters didn't particularly care for the isolation. None of the good folk in
Heaven wanted to associate with them: they were ostracized, they were
segregated, and they were quarantined.

Heaven is a pleasant utopia. It's etiquette, its dress code, and its rules of conduct
and civility; were way too constraining for the hellsters. Especially suffocating is the
mandatory self control everyone has to exercise in their choice of words to avoid
hurting people's feelings.

Take for example Wall Street barracudas. Do you really think they'd be happy in
Heaven? Or sweat shop operators? Or influence peddlers? Or lobbyists? Or J
walking pedestrians? Or LGBTQ? Or greedy businessmen like Phil Knight, Bill Gates,
and/or Jeff Bezos? Or unscrupulous social networking moguls like Mark Zuckerberg?
Or cheap politicians? Or Communists? Or bookies? Or hoarders? Or black
marketers? Or militant activists? Or Critical Race theorists? Or 1619 Project
proponents? No. No. No. You see many of the interests that concern Hell's people
are unacceptable in Heaven; and in point of fact, none of Heaven's people even
want to hear about that stuff.

You know what else is lacking in Heaven? Religious tolerance. There is only one
religion up there. What's that tell you? Well; it tells me that the establishment
clause of the US Constitution's first amendment doesn't fly in Heaven. The
theocratic monarchy in Heaven insists upon dictating everyone's religious
preference.

In other words: Heaven's utopian society, coupled with its 24/7 Big Brother
oversight, universal surveillance, and strict morality, was just simply too much to
ask in exchange for some time off. To the hellsters, Heaven held little more appeal
for a get-away than one of North Korea's prison camps.
_

 

[Beetow]

● Luke 16:26 . . Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed

Luke portrays only a small portion of the geography where Abraham and the rich
man conversed; suggesting that the two locations of the chasm where the men
stood are peninsulas or narrow cornices.

But I rather suspect that the rims of the chasm are straight and parallel like the
banks of a canal; plus extending sufficient distance in either direction to
accommodate hundreds, maybe even thousands, of friends and relatives seeking to
connect with their loved ones and BFF over on the other side.
_

 

[Beetow]

If there is any good thing that can be said about the netherworld: it's the great
equalizer. Political bullies like Kim Jong-Un, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Benito
Mussolini, Xi Jinping, Fidel Castro, Mao Zedong, Idi Amin, Muammar Gaddafi,
Robert Mugabe, Pol Pot, and Saddam Hussein, are powerless down below; they're
just another nondescript skull in the gene pool.

● Isa 14:9-10 . . Sheol from beneath is excited over you to meet you when you
come. It arouses for you the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth. It
raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones. They will all respond and say
to you: Even you have been made weak as we. You have become like us.

Jesus once told a parable that advises folk it's wise to exercise kindness and
generosity on this side of life because people on the other side will doubtless
remember how you treated them here. The thing is: folks should expect to be
victims of a certain amount of cruelty on the wrong side of the netherworld because
down there what's the point in being civil? So it's wise to build up a following of folk
up here who owe you a favor so that when you arrive down there, you'll have some
friends instead of only foes looking to get even.
_

 

[Beetow]

Not everyone is going to be judged on the basis of hearing + believing the gospel of
Christ. There are untold millions who never heard, nor will ever hear tell, of Jesus;
let alone his crucifixion for the sins of the world.

However, the beauties and complexities of nature: on earth and out in the void,
speak loudly and clearly enough that the cosmos-- all its forms of life, matter, and
energy --is the result of intelligent design. And the human conscience intuitively
knows that there is going to be a reckoning. This is what's known as the everlasting
gospel (Rev 14:6-7) and it has been preaching to men all over the globe from the
very beginning. (Ps 19:1-6, & Rom 1:18-20, & Rom 2:14-16)

According to Rom 10:18, nature itself is accounted as a gospel. This is pretty cool
because by nature's gospel, folks all over the globe-- those categorized as barbaric,
primitive, and uneducated --can qualify for God's good graces.

* Can you just imagine the indignity and outrage of an educated genius like Mark
Zukerberg doomed to the depths of Hell while an illiterate aboriginal with a bone in
his nose is carried up to the comforts of Heaven?
_

 

[Sue D.]

People Can see through nature that there is something greater than they are that put the stars in the sky , etc. And do believe. And there are others observing the same thing that react entirely differently. They will make up there own 'god' and offer their children as sacrifice to appease an angry God who causes thunder and lightening. Those natives who Do acknowledge a power greater than themselves -- they are trusting in the unseen. As someone comes to share the gospel with them , they are eager to accept Jesus christ.

And there are rhe Mark Zuckerberg's who will wake up in hell.forever.

It's where a person places their faith thar matters.

 

[Beetow]

There's any number of ways the lost could be making their journey to the
netherworld. For example instead of being dragged underground by ghastly beings
such as those depicted in the movie 'GHOST", they may just fall down into the
ground like water through a sieve.

That's not a ridiculous idea seeing as deceased folk leave this world as disembodied
spirits. According to John 4:24 spirit is immaterial, i.e. it has no mass to speak of;
its movement isn't impeded by solid materials like metal and dirt, or wood and
stone.

And spirit takes up no space. For example the feral man of Mark 5:1-13 was
possessed by a community of spirits who labeled themselves Legion, define by
Webster's as the principal unit of the Roman army comprising 3,000 to 6,000 foot
soldiers with cavalry. The legion of spirits that left that man went out and took up
residence in a herd of about 2,000 swine.

That's a pretty good example of how spirits take up no room in the physical world;
nor do they crowd each other. All 3,000 to 6,000 of those spirits managed to fit
inside the bodily cargo area of just that one guy. Just imagine the number of spirits
that could fit into the passenger area of an SUV.

NOTE: Those spirits slipped right out of that man. There was no need to cut him
open so they could evacuate.
_

 

[Sue D.]

Regarding your Mark 5 passage. Vs 13 the demons begged Jesus to let them enter thr swine. The swine ran violently down the steep ace into the sea and drowned.

 

[Beetow]

FAQ: When are people judged: as soon as they die or sometime later?

REPLY: According to John 3:18 some folks are dead on the hoof.

For example: the rich man in the story told by Luke 16:19-31 is in flames down in
Hades when the judgment depicted at Rev 20:11-15 hasn't taken place yet. Well,
he was condemned before he died. The meanwhile he's being held in custody
awaiting the judgment phase of his condemnation which is where his ultimate just
deserts will be decided.
_

 

[Sue D.]

Now -- while a person is still alive -- is the time for salvation. Live life one day at a time with no regrets.
John 3: 18 He who believes In Him is not condemned ; but he who does Not believe is condemned already ; because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

Actually Everyone is born condemned. Romans tells us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord..

 

[Beetow]

all have . . . come short of the glory of God.

God has set the bar impossibly high. His own goodness is the gold standard and of
course nobody can even come close to equaling it let alone topping it.

However; God has devised a perfectly legitimate way to boost losers up to the level
of His goodness.

● 2Cor 5:21 . . For our sake He made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him
we might become the righteousness of God.

When I was a young guy coming of age, it occurred to me that if I were as naturally
pleasing to God as His son Jesus always is, then it would be very easy to attain to
Heaven and to stay in Heaven. Well; God must've read my thoughts because in the
course of time, someone came along to clue me into the fact that God had a way to
fix me up with exactly that.
_