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Quote (theodorej @ Sep. 05 2008,22:47) Quote (John3:3 @ Sep. 05 2008,05:27) Quote (t8 @ Aug. 27 2008,00:04) Quote (John3:3 @ Aug. 23 2008,03:11) T8, I was shown a waking vision of Hell in 1978 when I became saved. My experience sounds very close to yours. Total Blackness, Indescribable physical and mental torment and having your concious mind stripped of anything that was ever good, lovely or pure in this world during your lifetime. Only the memory of evil and sin and the realization that there is no more time, just an eternal NOW. Only way I can describe the pain is like every atom of your being is on fire. The pain is so terrible you cannot put it in human terms. Human terms are finite, and the suffering is infinite, because the God that you sinned against is infinite. The “worm that dieth not” rips at your mind with all the chances to accept Christ in this life that you rejected. Every second of every day you lived was a chance that you had to accept Christ and give him your heart and life.
4 words echo through your mind for eternity “THERE IS NO HOPE”
This terrible fate will never let up, never subside, never cease.
How great and awesome is the foregiveness for our eternal sins that Jesus paid on the cross by his eternal sacrifice!!! We will never fully know in this lifetime I can assure you.
Thanks for sharing that. In my vision, I knew what it was like to experience no love, no light, no hope, and it was truly terrible beyond description. A sort of negative dimension if you can consider our existence a positive one because of God's love and mercy for us.
But I think this torment does end because Death and Hell were thrown into the Lake of Fire, the second death.
This hell is a temporary abode of the wicked, till the Lake of Fire judgement. Then will the saying come to pass that the wicked will perish. “That the wicked shall be destroyed.”
Some people think that there will be an eventual end to the punishment in Hell (generic term I am using for Sheol,Hades,Gehenna), when these are cast into the lake of fire.This is the doctrine of annhilation.When Death and Hell are cast into the lake of fire along with Satan, The Antichrist and the False Prophet, as it mentions in Revelation, my belief is that the temporary holding place for the unrightous dead (Hades,Gehenna,Sheol) will no longer be needed. This does not, however, mean that the Lake of Fire is any less of a punishment or that there will be an end to the torment of the wicked.
Many people have a problem reconciling God's love with the idea that God/Jesus can cast those that reject Jesus into Hell to suffer an unspeakable fate forever.
God is a God of love, no doubt, and he is also a God of Mercy and Justice. Those that have heard the Gospel and still don't accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior by faith alone as the only way to heaven will have rejected God's mercy and foregiveness and only his wrath (Justice) awaits them after they die.
I would like to believe that there will be an eventual end to the suffering that those in Hell/ Lake of Fire will experience, and I wrestled with this for a long tiime after I received the vision of Hell.
The Holy Spirit eventually gave me the wisdom to understand, although it's still diffcult to comprehend, the fact that when we willfully sin against God, even one sin, there can never be a way to pay it off by any amount of suffering in this life or the next. Our mortal minds cannot fully understand how aggregious to God even one sin is.
Look at what the consquences of 1 sin committed in the Garden of Eden has done to mankind for the rest of history. that will give you perhaps a small idea of what I am talking about.
The question that many should be asking God rather than “How could you send a person to Hell to suffer for eternity” should be “Why should ANYONE deserve to go to heaven after sinning against a God that is infinite”
A sin may take only a momemt to commit, but it is a sin against an infinite God and therefore the sin is infinite. That is why man can not “work or suffer off his sins” . Man is a finite creation and sin is an infinite debt.
That is why Jesus Christ,as God incarnate, had to die in our place and why God laid the sin debt for the whole world on Jesus while he was on the cross. The infinite nature of Jesus paid the infinite debt that we cannot pay.
That is why, when one rejects Jesus, he must pay infinitely for his sins. To believe otherwise, gives one hope, even if that hope is for annihlation eventually. In Hell, There is no hope, as I mentioned previously.
Greetings John….You present a frightning scenerio of which there is no hope….I fail to see a loving mercifull God in your depiction of death and hell…of which Iam not sure is opened for business yet….( Hell that is )…”For the dead no nothing”,I would think that scripture means just.. that !
The scripture is saying they know No torment they are just asleep…awaiting a resurection to judgement…At which time all will have an opportunity to know God through Jesus' rule over his kingdom/government of which he will preside as King of Kings and Lord of Lords..There will those who reject Gods government/kingdom,they will be cast into the lake of fire and consumed never to exist again…
Thanks Theodorej,You know, these types of visions doesn't go over very well with the average person. I have actually only told a few people about it over the years because I don't really think it will make a difference to most people. (As in the case of the Rich man in Luke asking if he can warn his brothers)
The Holy Spirit needs to draw people to God and all we can do as Christians is be available to speak to people that are searching for God to point our the true way of salvation and try to live out the Christian ideal everyday so as not to ruin our testimony.
I think there are a small percentage of people that will accept Christ as savior for fear of going to Hell. If they truly are converted, the Holy Spirit will lead them into all truth and show them the unbounding love that God and Jesus have for all mankind.
There is a lot I can't explain about what the Lord revealed to me but all I can do is share what I know with whomever is willing to listen. People need to know what it is that they are being saved from. If they don't believe there is a Hell, what's the motivation?
That is actually how I received this vision. I was filled with the spirit (Had no clue what that was at the time either) when I got saved and while meditating and thanking Jesus for what he has done for me about an hour after I accepted Christ, I heard a distinctive voice in my head saying “Ask me anything you want”
The only thing I could think of asking was “What was I saved from”? (My concept of Hell awas a guy in a red suit running around w/ a pitchfork being really mean to the murderers etc. there)
Then I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to close my eyes and in an instant
I was there!Everyone wants to hear about how wonderful heaven will be but nobody really likes to talk about the only other alternative, the one that Jesus said will be the fate of the majority of people. I do not wish Hell as a fate for even the most vile person that ever lived on th earth.
I know purgatory is a false teaching, but I kinda wish it was true. The end is final when their books are closed, when people arrive in Hell they fully know why they are there. Paul says in Romans “They are without excuse” and that is the truth.
I would much rather talk about God's love, grace and Mercy he freely gives us everyday.
Whenever the Lord does give me a chance to witness to people about becoming Born Again and accepting Jesus as the only way to heaven, I do not give them a Hellfire and Brimstone speech, but I do bring up the fact that Hell is a real place and Jesus mentioned Hell in the bible more than he did Heaven.
I really feel like the time is growing short and we need to get the word out about to all we can. All of us need to pray for each other to boldly speak the word of truth.
There is so much false teaching out there that is is really scary how many people are being led away from the truth.
Sorry for the long soapbox. I'll get off now
I really enjoy your take on the scriptures. It’s very refreshing. You defy the age old held beliefs and challenge them with logic and intellect . I’m sure you’ve upset more than a few clergymen with these precise views you have . It’s interesting too that you seem to be in line with the beliefs of the Jehovah’s witnesses.
Thanks David. I also agree with many denominations and even cults on certain things because many of these cults and denominations agree or confess that Jesus is the son of God, the messiah, and the Lord. I also agree as do the JWs that the Trinity is a false doctrine. But on many of their other doctrines and ideas, I do not agree with or should I say more accurately, I do not see them in scripture. I guess that all cults, denominations, and belief systems have elements of truth.
Jesus Showed Me Hell & Why People Go There
Jesus shows a woman what it is like for someone just entering Hell and why we must pray like never before. Make a U-turn. Repent before it’s too late. Hell was not created for you.
Gehenna-Valley of (the sons of) Hinnom ( The abode of condemned souls).
Tartarus (Greek)- the deep abyss of torment and suffering.
Hades-The grave. The place of bodily decay.
Sheol-A place of darkness to which the dead go. (Also known as Hades.)
All are different names for hell but, all describe the same torment and suffering.
**condemnation: to declare to be reprehensible, wrong, or evil usually after weighing evidence and without reservation.
Would a loving God who considers every life precious send His creation into a fiery furnace to burn for evermore?
Is hell literally a fiery place of eternal torment?
MILLIONS of people have been taught by their religions that hell is a place where people are tormented. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “The Roman Catholic Church teaches that hell . . . will last forever; its suffering will have no end.” This Catholic teaching, the encyclopedia goes on to say, “is still held by many conservative Protestant groups.” Hindus, Buddhists and Muhammadans also teach that hell is a place of torment. No wonder that people who have been taught this often say that if hell is such a bad place they do not want to talk about it. But, talk about it we must.
Did Almighty God create such a place of torment? Look to scripture and see what God’s view was when the Israelites followed the examples of people who lived nearby began to burn their children in fire. God says in Jeremiah 7:31 “And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.”
Think about this. If the idea of roasting people in fire had never come into God’s heart, do you believe that He would create a fiery hell for people who chose not to serve Him. 1 John 4:8 “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
Would a loving God really torment people forever? Would you do so? Knowing of God’s love should make us want to turn to scripture to discover what hell is, who goes there and how long will they be there.
(Webster’s Dictionary says that the English word “hell” is equal to the Hebrew word Sheol and the Greek word Hades.)
The English translators of the Authorized Version, or King James Version, translated Sheol 31 times as “hell,” 31 times as “grave,” and 3 times as “pit.” The Catholic Douay Version translated Sheol 64 times as “hell.” In the Christian Greek Scriptures (commonly called the “New Testament”), the King James Version translated Hades as “hell” each of the 10 times it occurs.—Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27, 31; Revelation 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 14.The question is: What kind of place is Sheol, or Hades? The fact that the King James Version translates the one Hebrew word Sheol three different ways shows that hell, grave and pit mean one and the same thing. And if hell means the common grave of mankind, it could not at the same time mean a place of fiery torture. So, do Sheol and Hades mean the grave or do they mean a place of torture?
Let’s be clear that the Hebrew word Sheol and the Greek word Hades mean the same thing. This is shown by looking at Psalm 16:10 “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” in the Hebrew Scriptures.In Acts 2:31 “He seeing this before spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption” in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Notice that in quoting from Psalm 16:10 where Sheol occurs, Acts 2:31 uses Hades. Notice, too, that Jesus Christ was in Hades, or hell. Are we to believe that God tormented Christ in a hell of fire? Of course not! Jesus was simply in his grave.
When Jacob was mourning for his beloved son Joseph, who he thought had been killed, he said: “I shall go down mourning to my son into Sheol!” (Genesis 37:35) However, the King James Version here translates Sheol to “grave,” and the Douay Version translates it “hell.” Now, stop for a moment and think. Did Jacob believe that his son Joseph went to a place of torment to spend eternity there, and did he want to go there and meet him? Or, rather, was it that Jacob merely thought that his beloved son was dead and in the grave and that Jacob himself wanted to die?
Yes, good people go to the Bible hell. For example, the good man Job, who was suffering a great deal, prayed to God: “O that in Sheol [grave, King James Version; hell, Douay Version] you would conceal me, . . . that you would set a time limit for me and remember me!” (Job 14:13) Now think: If Sheol means a place of fire and torment, would Job wish to go and spend his time there until God remembered him? Clearly, Job wanted to die and go to the grave that his sufferings might end.
In all the places where Sheol occurs in the Bible it is never associated with life, activity or torment. Rather, it is often linked with death and inactivity. For example, think about Ecclesiastes 9:10, which reads: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” (grave, King James Version; hell, Douay Version. So the answer becomes very clear. Sheol and Hades refer not to a place of torment but to the common grave of mankind. (Psalm 139:8) “If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in [a]hell, behold, You are there.” Good people as well as bad people go to the Bible hell.
Can people get out of hell? Consider the case of Jonah. When God had a big fish swallow Jonah to save him from drowning, Jonah prayed from the fish’s belly: “And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.” Jonah 2:2.
What did Jonah mean by “out of the belly of hell?” That fish’s belly was surely not a place of fiery torment. But it could have become Jonah’s grave. In fact, Jesus Christ said regarding himself: “Just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.” Matthew 12:40.
Jesus was dead and in his grave for three days. But the Bible reports: “His soul was not left in hell . . . This Jesus hath God raised up.” (Acts 2:31, 32, King James Version) Similarly, by God’s direction Jonah was raised from hell, that is, from what would have been his grave. This happened when the fish vomited him out onto dry land. Yes, people can get out of hell! In fact, the heartwarming promise is that hell (Hades) is to be emptied of all its dead. This can be seen by reading Revelation 20:13, which says: “The sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [Hades] delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”—King James Version.
Yet a lot of people will deny it saying: ‘The Bible does talk about hellfire and the lake of fire. Does this not prove that hell is a place of torment?’ True, some Bible translations, such as the King James Version, speak of “hell fire” and of being “cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched.” (Matthew 5:22; Mark 9:45) All together there are 12 verses in the Christian Greek Scriptures where the King James Version uses “hell” to translate the Greek word Gehenna. Is Gehenna really a place of fiery torment, whereas when Hades is translated “hell” it simply means the grave? Clearly, the Hebrew word Sheol and the Greek word Hades do mean the grave.
Well, then, what does Gehenna mean? In the Hebrew Scriptures Gehenna is “the valley Hinnom.” Remember, Hinnom was the name of the valley just outside the walls of Jerusalem where the Israelites sacrificed their children in the fire. In time, good King Josiah had this valley made unfit to be used for such a horrible practice. (2 Kings 23:10) It was turned into a huge garbage, or rubbish dump.
So during the time Jesus was on earth Gehenna was Jerusalem’s garbage dump. Fires were kept burning there by the adding of brimstone (sulfur) to burn up the garbage. Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, Volume 1, explains: “It became the common lay-stall [garbage dump] of the city, where the dead bodies of criminals, and the carcasses of animals, and every other kind of filth was cast.” No live creatures, however, were cast there.
Knowing about their city’s garbage dump, Jerusalem’s inhabitants understood what Jesus meant when he told the wicked religious leaders: “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? (Matthew 23:33) Jesus plainly did not mean that those religious leaders would be tormented. Why, when the Israelites were burning their children alive in that valley, God said that to do such a horrible thing had never come up into his heart! So it was clear that Jesus was using Gehenna as a fitting symbol of complete and everlasting destruction. He meant that those wicked religious leaders were not worthy of a resurrection. Those listening to Jesus could understand that those going to Gehenna, like so much garbage, would be destroyed forever.
What, then, is “the lake of fire” mentioned in the Bible book of Revelation? It has a meaning similar to that of Gehenna. It means not conscious torment but everlasting death, or destruction. Notice how the Bible itself says this at Revelation 20:14: “And death and Hades [hell, King James Version and Douay Version] were hurled into the lake of fire. This means the second death, the lake of fire.” Yes, the lake of fire means “second death,” the death from which there is no resurrection. It is evident that this “lake” is a symbol, because death and hell (Hades) are thrown into it. Death and hell cannot literally be burned. But they can, and will, be done away with, or destroyed.
What does it mean that the Devil will be tormented forever in “the lake of fire”? ‘Yet the Bible says that the Devil will be tormented forever in the lake of fire,’ someone may point out. (Revelation 20:10) What does this mean? When Jesus was on earth jailers were at times called “tormentors.” As Jesus said of a certain man in one of his illustrations: “And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.” (Matthew 18:34, King James Version) Since those who are thrown into “the lake of fire” go into “second death” from which there is no resurrection, they are, so to speak, jailed forever in death. They remain in death as though in the custody of jailers for all eternity.
The wicked, of course, are not literally tormented because, as we have seen, when a person is dead he is completely out of existence. He is not conscious of anything.My opinion is, wouldn’t be separated from God been enough torment?
Yes, it is the grave. But as Jesus taught. There were two divisions. One a place of torment for the wicked where the rich man went and the other where Lazarus went where Abraham was.
When Jesus died he proclaimed victory over death and preached here.
Then the graves broke open after Jesus resurrection.
At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After Jesus’ resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people.…
So I see it like this. The righteous are raised to be with Jesus and the wicked stay in hell in torment. And for how long? Eternity? No. Hell is thrown into the Lake of Fire at the end of the Millennial reign. After that, there is a new heaven and earth. There is no more crying, suffering, pain. God will be in all and there will be no darkness. Only good will exist.
The wicked will clearly perish and be no more. But not before they are cast into Hell and await the judgement.
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