Is Hell eternal?

I agree with Michel: Hell is the absense of God. We either choose to be with or without God.

God will not force us to have a relationship with him: it is optional. I can choose to live with him in paradise or without him in eternal darkness. It is my decision alone and no one can make it for me.

To that end, I experience heaven right here on earth when I am doing my Lord's work. As a few of you have already pointed out, it's possible to experience hell right here on earth as well. My hope for you is the former, and not the latter.

 

Hell​

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Definition: The word "hell" is found in many Bible translations. In the same verses other translations read "the grave," "the world of the dead," and so forth. Other Bibles simply transliterate the original-language words that are sometimes rendered "hell"; that is, they express them with the letters of our alphabet but leave the words untranslated. What are those words? The Hebrew she’ohl´ and its Greek equivalent hai´des, which refer, not to an individual burial place, but to the common grave of dead mankind; also the Greek ge´en·na, which is used as a symbol of eternal destruction. However, both in Christendom and in many non-Christian religions it is taught that hell is a place inhabited by demons and where the wicked, after death, are punished (and some believe that this is with torment)

 

s0eaking on the diversity scale
i would have to say hell
as the essence of eternal fire
can only be real if someone
is chosen to or convinced
that it is real through punishment or etc.

hell is basically a word world
damnation realignment
from the souls of the past it is its own architect
from the souls of the prophetic future it is its own waiter
feeding upon the very souls of those who believe in it.

now if one sees hell as a lie eternal damnation
or punishment would lead the material humanity
into de-evolution and a timebomb
of children having children once born
which is stupid and evil...not to mention Risky .

 

Jesus Talks of Eternal life and Eternal punishment or destruction. I believe whatever the "Eternal" means thats exactly what it will be either way. It can't mean to live forever one way then have a different meaning for the other way, Eternal is Eternal..

 

Can I get an Amen....:jam:

~Victor

 

I think you might find this information valuable please take your bible and reason with the scriptures. WHATEVER image the word hell brings to your mind, hell is generally thought of as a place of punishment for sin. Concerning sin and its effect, the Bible says: Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned." (Romans 5:12) The Scriptures also state The wages sin pays is death. (Romans 6:23) Since the punishment for sin is death, the fundamental question in determining the true nature of hell is: What happens to us when we die?The Bible states: God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life." (Genesis 2:7) Though breathing sustained his life, putting "the breath of life" into his nostrils involved much more than simply blowing air into his lungs. It meant that God put into Adam's lifeless body the spark of life—"the force of life," which is active in all earthly creatures. (Genesis 6:17; 7:22) The Bible refers to this animating force as "spirit." (James 2:26) That spirit can be compared to the electric current that activates a machine or an appliance and enables it to perform its function. Just as the current never takes on the features of the equipment it activates, the life-force does not take on any of the characteristics of the creatures it animates. It has no personality and no thinking ability.

What happens to the spirit when a person dies? Psalm 146:4 says: "His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish." When a person dies, his impersonal spirit does not go on existing in another realm as a spirit creature. It "returns to the true God who gave it." (Ecclesiastes 12:7) This means that any hope of future life for that person now rests entirely with God.

Since the dead have no conscious existence, hell cannot be a fiery place of torment where the wicked suffer after death. What, then, is hell? Examining what happened to Jesus after he died helps to answer that question. The Bible writer Luke recounts: "Neither was [Jesus] forsaken in Hades [hell, King James Version] nor did his flesh see corruption."* (Acts 2:31) Where was the hell to which even Jesus went? The apostle Paul wrote: "I handed on to you . . . that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, yes, that he has been raised up the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4) So Jesus was in hell, the grave, but he was not abandoned there, for he was raised up, or resurrected.

Job prayed for protection in hell



Consider also the case of the righteous man Job, who suffered much. Wishing to escape his plight, he pleaded: "Who will grant me this, that thou mayest protect me in hell [Sheol], and hide me till thy wrath pass?"[size=-1]#[/size] (Job 14:13, Douay Version) How unreasonable to think that Job desired to go to a fiery-hot place for protection! To Job, "hell" was simply the grave, where his suffering would end. The Bible hell, then, is the common grave of mankind where good people as well as bad ones go.

Hellfire—All-Consuming?

Could it be that the fire of hell is symbolic of all-consuming, or thorough, destruction? Separating fire from Hades, or hell, the Scriptures say: "Death and Hades were hurled into the lake of fire." "The lake" mentioned here is symbolic, since death and hell (Hades) that are thrown into it cannot literally be burned. "This [lake of fire] means the second death"—death from which there is no hope of coming back to life.—Revelation 20:14.

The lake of fire has a meaning similar to that of "the fiery Gehenna [hell fire, King James Version]" that Jesus spoke of. (Matthew 5:22; Mark 9:47, 48) Gehenna occurs 12 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures, and it refers to the valley of Hinnom, outside the walls of Jerusalem. When Jesus was on earth, this valley was used as a garbage dump, "where the dead bodies of criminals, and the carcasses of animals, and every other kind of filth was cast." (Smith's Dictionary of the Bible) The fires were kept burning by adding sulfur to burn up the refuse. Jesus used that valley as a proper symbol of everlasting destruction.

As does Gehenna, the lake of fire symbolizes eternal destruction. Death and Hades are "hurled into" it in that they will be done away with when mankind is freed from sin and the condemnation of death. Willful, unrepentant sinners will also have their "portion" in that lake. (Revelation 21:8) They too will be annihilated forever. On the other hand, those in God's memory who are in hell—the common grave of mankind—have a marvelous future.

Hell Emptied!

Revelation 20:13 states: "The sea gave up those dead in it, and death and Hades gave up those dead in them." Yes, the Bible hell will be emptied. As Jesus promised, "the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear [Jesus'] voice and come out." (John 5:28, 29) Although no longer presently existing in any form, millions of dead ones who are in God's memory will be resurrected, or brought back to life, in a restored earthly paradise.—Luke 23:43; Acts 24:15.

In the new world of God's making, resurrected humans who comply with his righteous laws will never need to die again. (Isaiah 25:8) God "will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore." In fact, "the former things [will] have passed away." (Revelation 21:4) What a blessing is in store for those in hell—"the memorial tombs"! This blessing indeed is reason enough for us to take in more knowledge of Jehovah God and his Son, Jesus Christ.—John 17:3. Any questions please feel free to ask.

Imani

 

I have recently had this conversation with many other people. The fact is that this view cannot be substantiated by Scripture. When Jesus referred eleven times to "gehenna," commonly translated "hell" He was referring to the lake of fire in Revelation 20. There, those whose names are not written in the book of life are thrown into the lake of fire with the devil, the beast, and the false prophet. We are told that the devil was thrown into the lake of fire to be tormented "forever and ever" (TNIV).

There has been much debate over the words "aionios ton aionion," used here in Revelation 20:10. It has been claimed that they refer to a period of time, but not forever. The fact is that these words compounded denote eternity.

Other references to "hell" that you might find in the translated bible are generally rendered from either "Hades" or "Tartarus," which, in the Greek really refer not to hell but to the waiting place of souls. When a person dies, he does not immediately go to either hell or heaven. Rather, that person is relegated to a waiting place (sheol) until the judgment. This judgment is the Great White Throne Judgment mentioned in Revelation 20:11-15.

All in Christ,

Brandon

P.S. Be careful accepting interpretations of Scripture that you "like" because you like them. I know that's why you brought this question to this forum, and that was wise, but I know all too many people who have fallen into the trap of accepting doctrine that they "like" because it fits in their desired view of God.

 

ETERNITY of neverity equates one second divide that by 24 hours and multiply that times 4,what is your answer?.

 

Whether or not this particular view is true, as I believe it not to be, do not get away with confessing your sins on Earth just because you will only be in hell for a little while. You may wind up being wrong.

 

okay *smiles*

 

I don't think that anyone has taken up my POV, so I'll chime in then.

First of all, I think that God is omni-present, so God is everywhere, even in hell. Second, everyone has a relationship with God. Those destined for hell are simply not in "right" relationship with God. God is what makes hell so terrible.

Anyway, I side with several Christians throughout history who ignore St. Augustine's interpretation of hell as durative eternal punishment. That is, Augustine taught that hell is constant eternal fire. Many other Christian interpreters understand God's judgement as eternal in consequence. That is, hell is annihilation - God destroys those whom he judges according to righteous judgement.

Some points:

1) St. Augustine's eternal punishment is dependent on Plato's anthropology. That is, humans must possess an eternal soul by nature in order to live in hell for eternity. The New Testament teaches that only Jesus gives eternal life and not that humans are eternal beings by nature.

2) St. Augustine's eternal punishment is not just. Finite sins are punished infinately.

3) The words in the NT for hell mostly express finite destruction.