The Truth About Hell (Gospels, Epistles, abominations, myths)
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Do you believe in Hell? Is it a place or something else to you? Do you know the history of Hell? Read on.
Among the first concepts of Hell as a place was the Hinnom Valley outside of Jerusalem. This place was, in ancient times, a place noted for child-sacrifice and unspeakable evils. The earliest mention of the Valley of Hinnom is in Joshua 15:8; 18:16, where the boundary line between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin is described as passing along the bed of the ravine. On the southern brow, overlooking the valley at its eastern extremity, Solomon erected high places for Molech (1 Kings 11:7), whose horrid rites were revived from time to time in the same vicinity by the later idolatrous kings. Ahaz and Manasseh made their children "pass through the fire" in this valley (2 Kings 16:3; 2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6), and the fiendish custom of infant sacrifice to the fire-gods seems to have been kept up in Topheth at its southeast extremity for a considerable period (Jeremiah 7:31; 2 Kings 23:10). To put an end to these abominations the place was polluted by Josiah, who rendered it ceremonially unclean by spreading over it human bones and other corruptions (2 Kings 23:10,13-14; 2 Chronicles 34:3-5). From that time it appears to have become the common cesspool of the city, into which its sewage was conducted to be carried off by the waters of the Kidron, as well as a laystall, where all its solid filth was collected. From its ceremonial defilement and from the detested and abominable fire of Molech, if not from the supposed ever burning funeral piles, the later Jews applied the name of this valley Ge Hinnom, "Gehenna," to denote the place of eternal torment. The name by which it is now known is Wadi Jehennam, or Wadi er Rubeb.
After a time, and during the life of Jesus, all the rubbish of Jerusalem was burnt here. Its interesting to note that Aceldama (Field of Blood) was here in this valley, too. It was an evil place filled with stench, fire, and death.
So how does Hell become a place of punishment?
When a Jew died, he was to be buried before sundown that his life be honored. But for evil men, including murderers and traitors, who were not to be honored but rather ridiculed and shamed, the body might be cast into a fire or a rubbish heap. This sometimes occurred with enemies of Israel, too.
To be condemned to Gehenna can only mean a verdict that, besides condemning a man to death, also ordains that, after death, his body should be cast into the loathsome Valley of Hinnom. This being the sense of Gehenna in the Hebrew Scriptures, I am confident that this is the sense in which Christ used it.
"Gehenna" appears in the Greek Scriptures twelve times (Matthew.5:22,29,30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5; James 3:6). Not one of these passages has reference to the so-called "final state." The Lord explicitly identifies Gehenna with Isaiah 66:23,24 by speaking of it as the place of "unextinguished fire, where their worm is not deceasing, and the fire is not going out" (Mark 9:46).
To be cast unto the rubbish heap instead of being buried, in Jesus' day and in his faith, was to be separated from God. Heaven was being in proximity to God; Hell was being separated or far from God. Being cast into Gehenna guaranteed being separated from God.
The concept of Hell has changed over the millennia, but today's ideas were first put forth in the Italian vernacular by Dante in his Divine Comedy. In such a common language, it met a much wider audience than most writings of its day. The nine layers of Hell, with degrees of punishment to "fit the crime," became extremely popular and resulted in numerous paintings and depictions of Hell and the Devil (or Satan). To this day, images and concepts of Hell are close to Dante's vision than to the real history and the beliefs and understandings of Jesus.
This all makes sense. I have always believed that hell would be a place one would go and that it was a place completely separated from God for eternity.
Reading what you have said gives a picture of the reality that it is.
I believe people can not comprehend this place because today as it is that God reigns on the just and the unjust. So even someone who chooses not to believe in their state of being lost, and to accepted why Christ came for the salvation of the world, can not see that He came to deliver such a one from that state of being.
We as it is today can not imagine a world without God. But this truly pictures a place of sort and is very real. Because God will one day destroy the sin of the world. And for those who choose not the Truth of God and not believe in His plan to destroy sin will be in this place.
The old testiment reveals the reality of sin. God was always telling them to get it out of the camp. He destroyed nations and sort to show His justices about it and their unbelief.
Am I making any sense?
There will be no sin in heaven. I believe this is what God is always trying to deliver people from. Not that He wants any one to perish, but sent His only begotten Son to deliver people from. But their are alot of people who don't want to believe it. Because we have never lived or seen a place that God wasn't there! Because God has always been in the world..... and has always reign on the just and unjust.
God Bless!
"Gehenna" appears in the Greek Scriptures twelve times (Matthew.5:22,29,30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5; James 3:6). Not one of these passages has reference to the so-called "final state."
I believe that many experience Gehenna but it is interesting to note that Jesus is to fill all things according to Ephesians 4 so how will someone be separated from God for all of eternity? If Gehena is the state of eternal separation/torment/hell for the majorty of individuals why wasn’t this mentioned to Adam or the chosen people of God and why wasn’t this preached to the Gentiles? It sees that it was referred to 12 times on 8 occasions in the ministry of Jesus and apostles and in the gospels and epistles. Why didn’t Paul, John, Peter or Jude ever speak of it? Just some thoughts.
God bless.
Last edited by ShanaBrown; 01-21-2008 at 10:07 AM..
I believe that many experience Gehenna but it is interesting to note that Jesus is to fill all things according to Ephesians 4 so how will someone be separated from God for all of eternity? If Gehena is the state of eternal separation/torment/hell for the majorty of individuals why wasn’t this mentioned to Adam or the chosen people of God and why wasn’t this preached to the Gentiles? It sees that it was referred to 12 times on 8 occasions in the ministry of Jesus and apostles and in the gospels and epistles. Why didn’t Paul, John, Peter or Jude ever speak of it? Just some thoughts.
God bless.
And ironically, all the hell texts were in discussion with the Pharisees, the teeth gnashers and believe it or not, the famous Lazarus and the Rich man.
Many say Jesus taught more on hell than anything else. A simple word search on e-Sword on "hell" and "kingdom of" shows different results.
I have done a study of all the hell teachings by Jesus on my blog and teeth gnashers etc. If you're interested, read here all listed at the bottom of the profile.
Yes I believe hell is a real place and I believe it is eternal and I believe the only way to Heaven is through Jesus.
Matthew 25:41 "Then the King will turn to those on the left and say away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons".
John 14:6 "Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth, and life, no one can come to the Father except through Me".
Yes I believe hell is a real place and I believe it is eternal and I believe the only way to Heaven is through Jesus.
Matthew 25:41 "Then the King will turn to those on the left and say away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons".
John 14:6 "Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth, and life, no one can come to the Father except through Me".
And who was the king referring to?
Just because you believe hell is real does not make it so. We are all going to hell, hades aka the grave, so yes from that perspective, I guess it is real.
As for Jesus being the doorWAY, I say amen.
When you view satan as ol' red guy I suppose it makes sense the way you see it. satan is a name for adversary and the biggest adversary you have in this life is your mind, your carnality. So that is also destined to hell, the grave.
Just weird folk can believe in a God who hates sin, sends His Son to pay the ultimate price only to save a few, even stranger is that folk are resurrected sin and all while death takes the dominion of sin away.
But if you can believe in the nephilim aka horny angels aka third cast out aka rebelling angels that all of a sudden cannot do it again, does not make heaven to be a place of bliss and order and even less where an Omniscient God is in control.
Luckily, I do not wrestle with these myths and I am a Christian.
Just because you believe hell is real does not make it so. We are all going to hell, hades aka the grave, so yes from that perspective, I guess it is real.
As for Jesus being the doorWAY, I say amen.
When you view satan as ol' red guy I suppose it makes sense the way you see it. satan is a name for adversary and the biggest adversary you have in this life is your mind, your carnality. So that is also destined to hell, the grave.
Just weird folk can believe in a God who hates sin, sends His Son to pay the ultimate price only to save a few, even stranger is that folk are resurrected sin and all while death takes the dominion of sin away.
But if you can believe in the nephilim aka horny angels aka third cast out aka rebelling angels that all of a sudden cannot do it again, does not make heaven to be a place of bliss and order and even less where an Omniscient God is in control.
Luckily, I do not wrestle with these myths and I am a Christian.
Blessings
I believe he is referring to those who have refused Jesus as Savior, unbelievers. You're right, just because I believe hell is real and eternal does not make it so, but I believe that is what the teaches and to me that makes it so. I do not believe we are all going there, just people who have rejected Jesus. Luckily I do not wrest with myths either and I am a Christian.
Last edited by I LOVE NORTH CAROLINA; 01-24-2008 at 02:30 PM..
Reason: left out word
Hell is a great mystery.
I believe it's abject loneliness. It's not fiery red, it's gray
And it is filled with those who have chosen it.
Well God did not ask me to believe in mysteries. Just weird how Omnipresence ceases to exist in your hell. I would love to hear how one chooses hell.
This is a hard question as if hell is not real then folk ask:
What are we saved from then? (Matt 1:21)
Why bother sharing?
Thus I can pretty much do as I please? (like playing in the mud?)
Hell was not the focus of Jesus' ministry
References to "hell" in the gospels (e-Sword word search on hell NKJV)
Matthew 5:22; Matthew 5:29; Matthew 5:30; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 11:23; Matthew 16:18; Matthew 18:9; Matthew 23:15; Matthew 23:33; Mark 9:43; Mark 9:45; Mark 9:47; Luke 10:15; Luke 12:5; Luke 16:23;
References to Kingdom of in gospels (e-Sword search on "kingdom of" NKJV)
Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 5:3; Matthew 5:10; Matthew 5:19; Matthew 5:20; Matthew 6:33; Matthew 7:21; Matthew 8:11; Matthew 10:7; Matthew 11:11; Matthew 11:12; Matthew 12:28; Matthew 13:11; Matthew 13:24; Matthew 13:31; Matthew 13:33; Matthew 13:43; Matthew 13:44; Matthew 13:45; Matthew 13:47; Matthew 13:52; Matthew 16:19; Matthew 18:1; Matthew 18:3; Matthew 18:4; Matthew 18:23; Matthew 19:12; Matthew 19:14; Matthew 19:23; Matthew 19:24; Matthew 20:1; Matthew 21:31; Matthew 21:43; Matthew 22:2; Matthew 23:13; Matthew 25:1; Mark 1:14; Mark 1:15; Mark 4:11; Mark 4:26; Mark 4:30; Mark 9:1; Mark 10:14; Mark 10:15; Mark 10:23; Mark 10:24; Mark 10:25; Mark 11:10; Mark 12:34; Mark 14:25; Luke 4:43; Luke 6:20; Luke 7:28; Luke 8:1; Luke 8:10; Luke 9:2; Luke 9:11; Luke 9:27; Luke 9:60; Luke 9:62; Luke 10:9; Luke 10:11; Luke 11:20; Luke 12:31; Luke 13:18; Luke 13:20; Luke 13:28; Luke 13:29; Luke 14:15; Luke 16:16; Luke 17:20; Luke 17:21; Luke 18:16; Luke 18:17; Luke 18:24; Luke 18:25; Luke 18:29; Luke 19:11; Luke 21:31; Luke 22:16; Luke 22:18; Luke 23:51; John 3:3; John 3:5
References to heaven in the gospels, particularly by Jesus (e-Sword search on "heaven" excluding "kingdom of" NKJV)
Matthew 5:12; Matthew 5:16; Matthew 5:34; Matthew 5:48; Matthew 6:1; Matthew 6:9; Matthew 6:20; Matthew 7:11; Matthew 10:32-33; Matthew 18:18; Matthew 19:21; Matthew 23:9; Matthew 24:35; Matthew 28:18; Mark 10:21; Mark 11:25-26; Mark 12:25; Mark 13:31; Luke 6:23; Luke 10:20; Luke 12:33; Luke 15:7; Luke 15:21; Luke 18:22; Luke 21:11; John 6:31; John 6:32
Well from that, Jesus was obviously more focused on Kingdom and heaven rather than hell. Let's see what the Apostles had to say:
Hell
James 3:6; Revelation 1:18; Revelation 6:8; Revelation 20:13; Revelation 20:14
Hmm, strangely few verses.
Heaven? (esp. references to Heaven as where God is)
Well God did not ask me to believe in mysteries. Just weird how Omnipresence ceases to exist in your hell. I would love to hear how one chooses hell.
This is a hard question as if hell is not real then folk ask:
What are we saved from then? (Matt 1:21)
Why bother sharing?
Thus I can pretty much do as I please? (like playing in the mud?)
Hell was not the focus of Jesus' ministry
References to "hell" in the gospels (e-Sword word search on hell NKJV)
Matthew 5:22; Matthew 5:29; Matthew 5:30; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 11:23; Matthew 16:18; Matthew 18:9; Matthew 23:15; Matthew 23:33; Mark 9:43; Mark 9:45; Mark 9:47; Luke 10:15; Luke 12:5; Luke 16:23;
References to Kingdom of in gospels (e-Sword search on "kingdom of" NKJV)
Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 5:3; Matthew 5:10; Matthew 5:19; Matthew 5:20; Matthew 6:33; Matthew 7:21; Matthew 8:11; Matthew 10:7; Matthew 11:11; Matthew 11:12; Matthew 12:28; Matthew 13:11; Matthew 13:24; Matthew 13:31; Matthew 13:33; Matthew 13:43; Matthew 13:44; Matthew 13:45; Matthew 13:47; Matthew 13:52; Matthew 16:19; Matthew 18:1; Matthew 18:3; Matthew 18:4; Matthew 18:23; Matthew 19:12; Matthew 19:14; Matthew 19:23; Matthew 19:24; Matthew 20:1; Matthew 21:31; Matthew 21:43; Matthew 22:2; Matthew 23:13; Matthew 25:1; Mark 1:14; Mark 1:15; Mark 4:11; Mark 4:26; Mark 4:30; Mark 9:1; Mark 10:14; Mark 10:15; Mark 10:23; Mark 10:24; Mark 10:25; Mark 11:10; Mark 12:34; Mark 14:25; Luke 4:43; Luke 6:20; Luke 7:28; Luke 8:1; Luke 8:10; Luke 9:2; Luke 9:11; Luke 9:27; Luke 9:60; Luke 9:62; Luke 10:9; Luke 10:11; Luke 11:20; Luke 12:31; Luke 13:18; Luke 13:20; Luke 13:28; Luke 13:29; Luke 14:15; Luke 16:16; Luke 17:20; Luke 17:21; Luke 18:16; Luke 18:17; Luke 18:24; Luke 18:25; Luke 18:29; Luke 19:11; Luke 21:31; Luke 22:16; Luke 22:18; Luke 23:51; John 3:3; John 3:5
References to heaven in the gospels, particularly by Jesus (e-Sword search on "heaven" excluding "kingdom of" NKJV)
Matthew 5:12; Matthew 5:16; Matthew 5:34; Matthew 5:48; Matthew 6:1; Matthew 6:9; Matthew 6:20; Matthew 7:11; Matthew 10:32-33; Matthew 18:18; Matthew 19:21; Matthew 23:9; Matthew 24:35; Matthew 28:18; Mark 10:21; Mark 11:25-26; Mark 12:25; Mark 13:31; Luke 6:23; Luke 10:20; Luke 12:33; Luke 15:7; Luke 15:21; Luke 18:22; Luke 21:11; John 6:31; John 6:32
Well from that, Jesus was obviously more focused on Kingdom and heaven rather than hell. Let's see what the Apostles had to say:
Hell
James 3:6; Revelation 1:18; Revelation 6:8; Revelation 20:13; Revelation 20:14
Hmm, strangely few verses.
Heaven? (esp. references to Heaven as where God is)
So what do you think, was Jesus Kingdom orientated or Hell orientated?
I'm sorry, but my memory of scripture is not that good, and I have no intention to read all of your references.
We'll just have to agree to disagree.
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Reality!
