What to expect in hell

[Bill]

.
FAQ: Doesn't 1Tim 2:4 say it is God's will that everyone be spared?

REPLY: It was likely God's will that no one perish in the Flood, but many did
anyway.

● 2Pet 2:4 . . God did not spare the ancient world when he brought the Flood on its
ungodly people; but saved only Noah plus seven others.

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is a fair warning of terrors yet to come.

● 2Pet 2:6 . . He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to
ashes; making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly.
_

It would be nice if everyone could be spared. I was present at the Alter of God, when a man chose to go to hell. The whole thing blew my mind, that someone would chose hell. But i saw it with my own eyes

 

[Beetow]

Covid 19 is potentially lethal but not necessarily fatal, viz: should you contract the
disease, the likelihood of your getting past it is very good.

The global death toll as of 07/31/2023 was in the neighborhood of 6,903,467 out of
692,525,972 cases. In other words; the odds against losing your life from the virus
are about 100.3 to 1

Of course folks down below no longer concern themselves with diseases; they have
a whole other world of problems to cope with; mostly thirst, despair, and anxiety. I
should think that finding a place to sit down would occupy their thoughts quite a bit
too.
_

 

[Beetow]

The New Testament often speaks of the afterlife by means of the Greek word
háidēs (a.k.a. Hades) which was doubtless borrowed from Hellenistic influences
prevalent in that day.

Hades was believed to be a conscious afterlife where everybody went when they
died regardless of age, race, gender, or religious preference; which of course
implies that not only was the rich man of Luke 16:19-31 in Hades but so were
Abraham and Lazarus; even Jesus did some time there. (Matt 12:40 & Acts 2:25
31)

Hades is sometimes thought to speak of people's graves, but the correct Greek
word for grave in the New Testament isn't Hades, it's actually mnemeion (mnay-mi'
on), for example:

● Matt 27:52-53 . . And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints
which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into
the holy city, and appeared unto many.

● Matt 27:59-60 . . And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean
linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and
he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed.

● John 11:18 . . Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four
days already.

● John 11:38 . . Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It
was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

● John 12:17 . . The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out
of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record.

Those are only a smattering of examples from the New Testament where grave is
properly translated from mnemeion. Bible committees that render Hades as grave
do so arbitrarily, i.e. by interpretation rather than by translation.
_

 

[Beetow]

● Zech 1:5 . .Where are your forefathers now? And the prophets, do they live
forever?

My parents are gone, and the great preacher Billy Graham; he's gone too. My
favorite rock and roll guitar player during the years I was a teen-ager was Chuck
Berry. He's gone. When I was a sophomore in high school, me and a buddy went to
see "The Blob" starring a rather unknown actor at the time named Steve McQueen.
He's gone. My eldest brother entered the Catholic priesthood and anon became a
Friar. He's gone. My bestest friend ever, whom I'd known since the 2nd grade in
elementary school back in 1951, is gone too; shot to death by law enforcement at
only 37 years old.

There's hardly a month goes by without someone passing away that at one time
was very important to me; a constant reminder that nobody lives forever and
neither will I. At my current age of 79, and diagnosed with esophageal cancer, I'll
be passing away not too long from now. Most of my life has already been lived and
I'm in the home stretch; heading for the exit. When I was a youngster, life's
horizon seemed forever far away; but now, looking at my deteriorating body, it
seems I'm walking on the horizon's edge.
_

 

[bdavidc]

What to expect in hell. Separation from God.

God's Wrath, no i would not put it that way. At least when God is angry with you, He is thinking of you.

God turnning away from you. Separating Himself from you, that is Hell

Don't fool yourself. Guess you have not read to the end of the Bible:

And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.
~ Revelation 11:5

And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!” The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.
~ Revelation 16:7-11

 

[Bill]

Don't fool yourself. Guess you have not read to the end of the Bible:

And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.
~ Revelation 11:5

And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!” The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.
~ Revelation 16:7-11

"And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.
~ Revelation 11:5"

This scripture is not talking about God or Hell.

 

[Bill]

Don't fool yourself. Guess you have not read to the end of the Bible:

And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.
~ Revelation 11:5

And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!” The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.
~ Revelation 16:7-11

You asked about what hell is like.

The wrath from God that you speak of is not Hell, not even close.

Those in hell do not get God's wrath, like you are implying, for them it would be a break. Hell is much worse.

At least in God's wrath, God is still present. But in hell, God is not present

 

[Bill]

Don't fool yourself. Guess you have not read to the end of the Bible:

And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.
~ Revelation 11:5

And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!” The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.
~ Revelation 16:7-11

Rev 11.15 is talking about the Two Witnesses

 

[Jonathan_Gale]

You asked about what hell is like.

The wrath from God that you speak of is not Hell, not even close.

Those in hell do not get God's wrath, like you are implying, for them it would be a break. Hell is much worse.

At least in God's wrath, God is still present. But in hell, God is not present

Hell is eternal separation from God and eternal union with your idols. Anything torture, judgement and anguish compared to that is secondary.

 

[Bill]

Hell is eternal separation from God and eternal union with your idols. Anything torture, judgement and anguish compared to that is secondary.

Exactly

To experience wrath from God here on earth, at least God is not separating Himself from you. And although God is angry with you, at least He is still here.

Hell on the other hand, as John said, God separates Himself from us. Removes you from His mind. "I never knew you"

 

[bdavidc]

Rev 11.15 is talking about the Two Witnesses

Sure is and who do they represent?

 

[Bill]

Sure is and who do they represent?

Would you be able to recognize one or two ? Just as the real person of the anti-Christ is alive today, so are those who will become the Two Witnesses

 

[Beetow]

I would like it very much if my friends, associates, and loved ones down in Hades
were allowed visitor days in the afterlife because after they're transferred to the
lake of fire depicted at Rev 20:11-15, I may never get to be with them ever again.

Christians are sometimes asked how they can possibly be happy in Heaven while
aware that their loved ones are imprisoned in an eternity of suffering. Well; Rev
21:4 predicts there will neither sorrow nor tears in the future cosmos, apparently
made possible by starting over from scratch and leaving all else behind, including
memories of the past.

● Rev 21:5 . . He who was seated on the throne said: I am making everything new!
Then he said: Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.

* It could be that we will forget our favorite people, but to be expected they will
never forget us. For example the rich man in the story told at Luke 16:19-31
retained memories of his previous life.
_

 

[Bill]

I would like it very much if my friends, associates, and loved ones down in Hades
were allowed visitor days in the afterlife because after they're transferred to the
lake of fire depicted at Rev 20:11-15, I may never get to be with them ever again.

Christians are sometimes asked how they can possibly be happy in Heaven while
aware that their loved ones are imprisoned in an eternity of suffering. Well; Rev
21:4 predicts there will neither sorrow nor tears in the future cosmos, apparently
made possible by starting over from scratch and leaving all else behind, including
memories of the past.

● Rev 21:5 . . He who was seated on the throne said: I am making everything new!
Then he said: Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.

* It could be that we will forget our favorite people, but to be expected they will
never forget us. For example the rich man in the story told at Luke 16:19-31
retained memories of his previous life.
_

You can not go there, to hell. For one the fire is too hot. 2nd you will never make it there, unless you reject God.

On a side note, it would blow your mind how many people go to Hell daily. The one thing that causes those who go, Mans inhumanity to mankind. People who have contempt for others, be warned

 

[Beetow]

On a side note, it would blow your mind how many people go to Hell daily.

According to Matt 7:13-14 and Matt 22:14; relatively few make it to safety in the
afterlife compared to relatively many that don't. Bear with me while I flesh this out.

According to the US Census Bureau: as of Aug 05, 2023 @ 02:09 pm New York
Time, the resident population in the United States was approximately 335,189,760
with a death rate of approximately one every 11 seconds; which translates to an
average of 7,854 American deaths of all ages, races, and genders during just one
24-hour calendar day.

According to 2009 US Census data; roughly 27.3% of America's daily deaths were
under the age of 19, which would indicate that approximately 5,710 of the current
daily death rate per 24 hours are adults.

Giving the "many" the benefit of the doubt by limiting their maximum percentage to
51%, would indicate a minimum of 2,912 American adults transferring to perdition
every day: which translates to roughly 121 per hour. That's a very conservative
estimate as Christ didn't really specify exact percentages to represent the
quantities of "few" and "many".

Using the ratio of 2,912 condemned souls per 335,189,760 population: computing
the number of condemned souls worldwide from a currently estimated global
population of 7,986,510,748 people, would suggest something like 69,383 new
arrivals in the fiery sector of the netherworld every 24 hours; which translates to
roughly 2,891 souls every sixty minutes on the clock.

Yankee Stadium's football seating capacity is 54,251. At the rate of 2,891 souls per
hour, those seats would be filled in roughly 18 hours and 46 minutes. In other
words: by 12:46 am NY time tonight the stadium's seats would be maxed if the
world's daily number of condemned souls started filing into the stadium at 06:00
am NY time this morning.

Christmas and New Year are even worse. A study done of 26 years of death
certificates shows that coronary fatalities are, on average, 11.9% higher on those
days than any other days of the year; with non-heart deaths spiking to 12.2%
higher.

The netherworld never closes; no, not at all: it's open for business 24/7/365
nonstop and indifferent to climate change, Wall Street crashes, massive layoffs,
outsourcing, school shootings, terrorism, tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes,
storm surges, nuclear meltdowns, pandemics, air, water, and soil pollution, a
mission to Mars, freeway pile-ups, brown-outs, threatened species, the price of oil,
Falun Gong organ harvesting, election fraud, pipelines, student debt, GMO, trade
deficits, Antifa, Black Lives Matter, the war in Ukraine, North Korea's nukes, the
national debt, factory recalls, overpopulation, desertification, genocides,
revolutions, civil wars, acid rain, road rage, oil spills, conscious decoupling, ISIS,
LGBT marriage, transgender confusion, blood diamonds, fracking, the Russian
collusion hoax, Hunter Biden's laptop, and/or former US President Donald Trump's
legal problems.

If standard Christianity's perception of Jesus Christ and the hereafter is correct;
then it's apparent that souls never stop cascading into the abyss in an endless
procession like the unbelievable millions of poultry broilers passing annually
through Tyson chicken-processing plants on their way to Wendy's, McDonalds,
Carl's Junior, Jack in the Box, Burger King, Chic-fil-A, KFC, A&W, Arby's, Dairy
Queen, Taco Bell, et al; and to supermarkets and restaurants all over the USA and
wherever else Tyson vends its meats. The slaughtering and the butchering never
stop.
_

 

[Beetow]

In the story told at Luke 16-19-31, the beggar Lazarus died and was carried by
angels to the afterlife. Curiously, the rich man's transportation isn't specified.

One of the most disturbing scenes I've yet to observe in a Hollywood movie occurs
in "GHOST" starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. When someone marked for
the wrong side of the afterlife passes away, these eerie phantoms emerge, having
the appearance of black oily smoke, uttering awful moans, and drag their panic
stricken captives down into the ground.

I don't know if that's how the rich man in Luke's story was transported, but if so; I
can well imagine just how shocking and horrifying it must've been for him at death
to suddenly be able to see menacing spirit creatures surrounding him with looks on
their faces that could only convey but one unmistakable intent; and I suspect those
sinister beings had been hovering around that poor man and stalking him every day
and night of his entire life without him knowing it and patiently waiting for the
green light to take him down.

So, I wonder if the angels that provided Lazarus transportation were not also
assigned as security to protect him from being shanghaied by something similar to
those dark mists.
_

 

[Bill]

In the story told at Luke 16-19-31, the beggar Lazarus died and was carried by
angels to the afterlife. Curiously, the rich man's transportation isn't specified.

One of the most disturbing scenes I've yet to observe in a Hollywood movie occurs
in "GHOST" starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. When someone marked for
the wrong side of the afterlife passes away, these eerie phantoms emerge, having
the appearance of black oily smoke, uttering awful moans, and drag their panic
stricken captives down into the ground.

I don't know if that's how the rich man in Luke's story was transported, but if so; I
can well imagine just how shocking and horrifying it must've been for him at death
to suddenly be able to see menacing spirit creatures surrounding him with looks on
their faces that could only convey but one unmistakable intent; and I suspect those
sinister beings had been hovering around that poor man and stalking him every day
and night of his entire life without him knowing it and patiently waiting for the
green light to take him down.

So, I wonder if the angels that provided Lazarus transportation were not also
assigned as security to protect him from being shanghaied by something similar to
those dark mists.
_

I thought the depiction in the movie Ghost of the separation good versus bad , pretty good.

Although the penny flip could be debated. Lol

 

[Meditation]

Hi all

I am very interested in your interpretation of scripture on hell / eternal lake of fire.

I think a poll will show this. Feel free to explain why you believe as you do.

I mention pets as they speak to a more humane living condition. Many unrepentant sinners love pets and treat them well. It would be extra torturous if pets were not in hell.

There will be no judging or debating here, each entitled to their own belief on an unknown future event.

I will ask mods to remove any post mocking a belief.

__________________________

I select ''Eternal torment - limited suffering, not such a bad place''.

For this reason:

Scripture says God is good Psalm 136:1, the definition of 'love' 1 John 4:7, righteous in all His ways Psalm 145:17, light with no darkness in Him at all 1 John 1:5, Impartial Acts 10:34, a just judge who does not pervert justice Job 34:12, rewards each according to their deeds Rom 2:6.

Scripture also teaches us that many righteous are barely saved 1 Pet 4:18, meaning there are many unrighteous barely not saved. I am not implying God is a fool that would send someone to hell if they would one-day desire true repentance of sin. I just feel it is important for us to grasp that there are levels of sinners. Just as there will be levels and rewards among the saints.

I believe Hell will be a place a good person would create. I say this because in Gen 3:22 we read God explaining that humans now know what is good and evil. Exactly as He and the angels know. Very important fact to consider. God has not got a code of ethics separate to us / something we cannot make sense of. When David says God is good in Psalm 136:1, I believe he meant it. When Jesus says 'only' God is truly good in Mark 10:18, I believe He meant it.

As such, I believe hell will be a place a good person approves of and one better then the Geneva convention (what the 'good' unsaved people of the world approve of). The Geneva convention started when the WW2 allies needed to separate and punish those Germans that were guilty of the greatest crimes against humanity. So, I would propose a good person will agree with the Geneva convention stipulations for those in hell, a Christian should do better and God...well since He is on the absolute side of perfection and love as only He is truly good Mark 10:18, even better. Many will propose that if God does something evil, we can't call Him out on it as He is ''God'', but this is not true. Abraham calls God out on the destruction of Sodom in Gen 18. God explains Himself to Abraham and he approves. We see this with Moses and the Hebrews worshipping the golden calf too in Exo 32.

God mentions four things about hell that I feel deserve explaining for much needed context. Before I start with them, I want you to consider how God mentioned only a few things to Adam and Eve on what awaited them after their sin. Gen 3 mentions, 1. Pain in childbirth, 2. Husband will rule over wife, 3. Cursed ground, 4. Dust to dust / no eternal life on earth. But what God did not mention was: 1. Nice fruit, 2. Beautiful beaches, 3. Having the ability to create tools to plough the field, 4. Create medicines and painkillers to help with childbirth, etc etc. Earth would and could be a very nice place if ''only'' the people on it were not evil. So why does God not mention all the good things about Earth and the life that awaits them in Gen 3? I am going to propose that He did not need to as Adam and Eve 'knew' it was a 'given' as they 'knew' God is good. We need to consider the same when using only a few verses as the A-Z explanation of eternal hell.

The four most impactful scriptural statements on hell to consider 1. Weeping and gnashing of teeth, 2. Darkness, 3. Eternal torment, 4. Fire.

1. Luke 13:28 says people in hell weep and gnash their teeth because they look up and see the saints and Jesus. They weep because they are cast out of heaven. This is a suffering linked to separation, not fire. I believe this is a very important fact to grasp.

2. In John 3:19 we see that Jesus says people love the darkness because their deeds are evil. Proposing that hell is not a place where the lights are permanently off. Darkness is a metaphor for a place where evil takes place. This makes sense as those in hell will be unrepentant sinners.

3. Eternal Torment. It makes sense to me that a good God gives true free will. ''Accept me, come be with me. Reject me, go be somewhere else''. God keeps the evil alive for all eternity as not doing so would be evil. 'No free will' is evil. Just ask any unlucky lady forced into an arranged marriage. As you are surrounded by unrepentant sinners and have fire, it will be a place of torment when compared to heaven.

4. Fire in hell I believe is badly mistaught.

We know from the story of the rich man speaking to Abraham, that he was able to have a conversation and asked for a drop of water on his tongue Luke 16. If you are on fire, will you ask for a drop of water or have a rational conversation with someone?

Scripture teaches us that there ''has'' to be a punishment for sin. God has set this in place as an absolute rule. Christians have the blood of Jesus covering them from all their sins, current and future. Those in hell, don't. As such, I firmly believe that fire is God's chosen method of punishment. Example: On year fifty in hell, you decide to stab your neighbor in the leg. A fire of sort for X amount of time will be on you. As evil continues forever among those that are in hell, so too does 'fire'.

Why not start at the... BEGINNING!
Adam was created as a SOUL (not ANYTHING immortal).
He and his wife DIED (just as God said they would)- not having any 'immortal soul' flitting off to another destination.

Sheol / Hades literally mean "grave, pit", and then you have RELIGIOUS definitions that say OTHERWISE.

 

[Beetow]

I obtain quite a bit of useful information from YouTube; for example how to replace
a microwave oven motor, resolve a computer issue, adjust an electric guitar's
intonation, the proper way to position a lawnmower for an oil change, and/or the
lyrics to an old song I'd all but forgotten.

I also tour the world with YouTube, visiting amazing man-made wonders and
natural wonders too. I will likely never travel and get to see those wonders for
myself as they really are before I'm dead; but out ahead is coming a one-thousand
year era on Earth wherein I've no doubt there will be plenty of opportunity to see
everything in the next life that I missed in this one.

● Rev 20:6 . . Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection.
The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of
Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

I suspect that God is keeping a massive, fully comprehensive library that can
satisfy all my curiosity-- an archive of information far exceeding the contents of the
great library of Alexandria. For example: how did the ancient Egyptians build the
pyramids? How did the people of Easter Island move those massive stone heads
into position? Is there an end to space; and if so, what's on the other side? Things
like that; but also nature's secrets too. How did nature fashion those remarkable
rock formations in Utah? Or carve out the Grand Canyon?

There are many mysteries like those that I sincerely hope to find answers to some
day. But people in Hell won't be allowed access to God's library. They will never get
answers to their deepest questions about the cosmos; nor be allowed to travel to all
the exotic places on Earth that they missed in this life before passing on to the
next.

Another benefit to the coming era is safety. I will have nothing to fear from the
animal kingdom like I do now, and plus; those of us who make the cut will be
immortal; so we won't fear heights, nor speed, nor any other risk. I love to explore,
but don't like to explore places that might cost me my life, lose an eye, or put me
in a wheel chair. Well; in the future, I'll be able to explore every corner of the globe
to my heart's content in perfect safety and thoroughly enjoy myself without
worrying about hazards associated with the journey like piranha, head hunters,
frost bite, hypothermia, violent storms, hijackers, terrorists, bandits, and/or
shipwreck.

One thing that prevents many of us from touring the world is old age. Well,
diminished capacity will never again be a factor dictating what I can eat and drink,
were I can go, nor whether I can make it.

● Rev 20:5-6 . . But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years
were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in
the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power.

People in Hell are not only in terrible discomfort, but they're also missing out on the
pleasures of adventure, discovery, and exploration; which are three very
stimulating activities that, just about everybody I've ever met would agree, make
one's existence worthwhile.
_

 

[Beetow]

● Matt 8:11-12 . . I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west,
and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.

"children of the kingdom" is very likely Jacob's posterity; the Jews. Well; for sure,
not all of his people will be permitted citizenship in the kingdom predicted in the Old
Testament. According to Ezek 20:33-38 a number of them will be culled from the
herd and sent elsewhere.

Outer darkness is again spoken of in Matt 22:13 and Matt 25:30

It appears, from comparison of the available data, that "outer darkness" isn't a
location, rather, a state of mental anguish characterized by the deepest possible
feelings of grief associated with loss.

It's akin to the day that God announced to Moses' people they were going to have
to stay in that awful Sinai outback until they were dead. They missed their
opportunity to enter the land of milk and honey and there was no way to regain it.

The people must've been pretty upset over that; no doubt they had all been joyfully
looking forward to a new life over there; and there was no use in praying about it
because God had made up His mind.

I've only experienced deep personal grief associated with irreversible loss but one
time; that was when my No.1 nephew passed away suddenly of natural causes at
the age of 51. I had held him in my arms upon returning home from three years in
the Army when he was only a couple of weeks old.

News of his passing has thus far been the only time in my 79 years that I actually
clenched my teeth, sobbing out of control, and choking, while clinging to a handrail
in the front room to keep from losing my balance and falling to the floor. Matt 8:11
12 is likely speaking of a similar depth of grief, or possibly worse.
_