Hell's Population Clock

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Gen 2:15-17 is a favorite among critics because Adam didn't drop dead
within 24 hours of tasting the forbidden fruit. In point of fact, he continued
to live outside the garden of Eden for another 800 years after the birth of his
son Seth. (Gen 5:4)

Some say Adam died a so-called "spiritual" death, and that's true, but not
entirely true, viz: the explanation isn't misinformation, rather, it's missing
information. In other words: human life came out of the box with perpetual
youth, which Adam lost when he tasted the forbidden fruit.

The aging process is a lingering death rather than sudden death, i.e. it's
slow, but very relentless. Mortality feels neither pain nor pity, nor remorse
nor fear; it cannot be reasoned with nor can it be bargained with, and it
absolutely will not stop-- ever! --until our useless corpse is ready for burial.

● Eccl 7:2 . . It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house
of mirth, for death is the destiny of every man: the living should take this
seriously. (cf. Luke 12:16-21)

NOTE: Superhuman bodies like Arnold Swarzenegger's look indestructible
while young, but their youth isn't permanent. Today Arnold is pushing 76
and taking on the appearance of spoiling vegetables.

Pop Clock Update: 3,469 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If
the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 203,217,489
new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 10, 2014.
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● 1Cor 4:4 . . My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent.

During former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's assassination back in 2011,
he was overheard to complain: Why are you doing this? I've done nothing
wrong.

Former US President Richard Nixon once stated-- in so many words --that
when a President breaks the law, it's not a crime.

Those two men serve to demonstrate just how unreliable the human
conscience can be at times.

Man was created with as near a perfect conscience as a creature can be
given.

● Gen 1:27 . . God created Man in His own image, in the image of God
created He him.

But then came the forbidden fruit incident by which Man's near-divine
conscience underwent something that caused it to become that of a tin God.

● Gen 3:22 . . The Lord God said: The man has now become like one of us,
knowing good and evil.

Man was able to discern between good and evil before his fall, but that was
by means of a conscience influenced by its maker. The forbidden fruit
incident altered Man's conscience to become his own influence, i.e. Man
became defensive, and he rationalizes a lot too. (Rom 2:14-15)

I think the writer of 1Cor 4:4 was well aware of just how tricky Man's
conscience can be so he was reluctant to insist upon his innocence-- a little
sophistry here and a little rationalizing there, and even incorrigible monsters
like Communist China's Xi Jinping and North Korea's Kim Jong-Un can be
persuaded in their own minds to believe themselves okay guys.

● Jer 17:9-10 . .The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately
sick; who can understand it? . . . I, The Lord, search the heart, I test the
mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the
results of his deeds.

The upside is: Christ's crucifixion not only serves to rescue people from their
sins, but according to Heb 9:8-14 his death atones for their conscience
too.

Pop Clock Update: 3,475 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If
the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 203,568,975
new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 10, 2014.
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One of my favorite lines from the movie Titanic is when Mr. Ismay protests
that the ship can't sink; and Mr. Andrews responds: She's made of iron, sir!
I assure you, she can... and she will. It is a mathematical certainty.

There are folks at large all across the internet, and around the globe,
sincerely believing that Hell isn't a place of conscious suffering. They, like
Mr. Ismay, will be utterly stunned and bewildered to the limits of human
astonishment to discover it's exactly that.

Pop Clock Update: 3,480 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If
the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 203,861,880
new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 10, 2014.
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In the movie "Shawshank Redemption" a man is given two life sentences for
murders he didn't commit. At first he feels very strongly that the truth will
come out that he's innocent and doesn't belong in prison: he expects to
eventually be exonerated and set free.

Well, one of the old-timers cautioned him about that with the advice: "Hope
is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane. It's no use on the inside.
You'd better get used to that idea."

I'd imagine that most new arrivals in Hell take quite a while to get used to
the idea that it is what it is, i.e. they're never getting out.

Were Hell a normal penal colony like San Quentin or Riker's Island; then I
think most folks would eventually settle down and accept it as a way of life.
But the element of fire makes adjustment very difficult. If only there was at
least a little water to help folks beat the heat, that would be very helpful. And
maybe recreation and/or something to occupy their minds like reading,
writing, art, and construction projects. I really don't know how people keep
from running mad with insanity from mental atrophy down there; and where
do they sit down; on top of each other?

Pop Clock Update: 3,485 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If
the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 204,154,785
new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 10, 2014.
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There are folks at large-- e.g. Jehovah's Witnesses, et al --who insist human
life is entirely organic and does not survive the termination of one's material
body. If it turns out those folks are resting upon a false premise, their
disappointment will be very grievous.

● Eccl 12:7 . . For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will
return to God who gave it.

The million dollar question is: What does God do with people's spirit once He
gets it back?

And another: Is it possible peoples' spirits are transferable to a different
form of existence than the one they have now: maybe even an existence
that can withstand incineration?

Those are very, very disturbing questions; especially for Jehovah's
Witnesses because they believe the angel Michael's life force was transferred
to Mary's womb so he could exist as a human being without losing the
essence of his identity; and then when his human existence passed away on
the cross, Michael's life force was transferred back so he could pick up where
he left off as an angel. Were I a JW, the Society's thoughts about life force
would make me very nervous.

Pop Clock Update: 3,492 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If
the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 204,564,852
new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 10, 2014.
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● 1Tim 6:7 . .We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can
carry nothing out.

That rather blue note impacts everyone: both saint and sinner alike.
Regardless of one's afterlife destination, we all suffer the loss of everything
we hold dear: our photos, our collections, our souvenirs, our hobbies, our
favorite sights, sounds, and locations along with every project and every
endeavor. I should think that even Heaven, though no doubt a nice enough
place, is nevertheless a difficult adjustment for nostalgic folks.

Pop Clock Update: 3,497 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If
the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 204,857,757
new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 10, 2014.
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There are those that are deceased, and then there are those dead on the
hoof.

● John 5:24 . . Verily, verily, I say unto you: He that hears my word, and
believes on Him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

● John 5:25 . . Verily, verily, I say unto you: The hour is coming, and now
is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear
shall live.

● Eph 2:1 . . As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins

FAQ: According to Rev 20:14, John saw Death discarded in a lake of fire.
Well; death is an abstract. How then can it be spoken of as an object that
can be picked up and thrown like a baseball or a javelin?

REPLY: That passage is likely speaking of Death as a category consisting of
everything and anything one can possibly imagine that God considers dead
to Himself, i.e. everything with which and/or with whom, He prefers not to
associate; including of course those poor slobs dead on the hoof.

In that respect, the lake of fire could be thought of as a sanitary landfill, viz:
there's a really big Spring cleaning pending on God's to-do list: not only at
the great white throne event, but also upon Jesus' return per Matt 13:40-42.

BTW: The first time ever that I heard of Jesus' return I became nervous
because at the time, I had a lot to answer for.

Pop Clock Update: 3,502 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If
the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 205,150,662
new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 10, 2014.
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FAQ: Do people in Hell have immortality?

REPLY: No; when people pass on, they leave their bodies behind.

FAQ: Do people in Hell have eternal life?

REPLY: No; eternal life is a gift from God to folks who've bought into the
gospel.

FAQ: If so that people in Hell have neither immortality nor eternal life, then
how can it be possible their conscious suffering is perpetual?

REPLY: The afterlife is something about which I know very little.

However, it's readily seen from Isaiah 14:4-20 and Luke 16:19-31 that folks
on the other side are conscious, sentient, and recognizable; plus, they
exhibit human characteristics, e.g. Abraham has a bosom, Lazarus has a
finger, and the rich man has a tongue. From all appearances, people over
there appear fully human. Exactly how that is, I don't really know. That
world over there is obviously very different than the world with which I am
familiar over here

Pop Clock Update: 3,508 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If
the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 205,502,148
new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 10, 2014.
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● Gen 3:19 . . For dust you are, and to dust you will return.

● Heb 9:27 . . Man is destined to die once

It's boggling to contemplate the number of people who came and went
before we all came along.

"Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone
you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human
being who ever was, lived out their lives on that mote of dust suspended in
a sunbeam-- every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every
creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young
couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and
explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar,
every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species
lived here." (Adapted From Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot)

The Earth is a literal death star, flying thru space, looping around and
around the Sun many times over and again: a floating grave yard whose
soils and seas are filled with the dead from many centuries stretching back
to Abel: the first of its passengers to return to the dust from whence they
came.

● Eccl 7:2 . . It is better to spend your time at funerals than at festivals. For
you are going to die, and you should think about it while there is still time.

Ergo: The time for people to be thinking about the afterlife is not when they
get there, but before they get there.

Pop Clock Update: 3,513 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If
the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 205,795,053
new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 10, 2014.
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● Gen 28:15 . . Remember, I am with you: I will protect you wherever you
go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done
what I have promised you.

Hardly any of those promises were fulfilled in Jacob's lifetime. So how could
God say: "I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you"

Well; I think it best to take it that God remained Jacob's provider even in the
grave, i.e. when God's people pass away, they don't become dead to Him;
whereas when the wicked die, they no longer make any difference; for
example:

"As to whether the dead will be raised-- Moses proved this when he wrote
about the burning bush. Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died,
Moses wrote of The Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob. So he is the God of the living, not the dead. They are all alive
to him." (Luke 20:37-38)

God has always been with Jacob, and never left him even once-- all these
many years; better than three-thousand of them by now. And all this whole
time Jacob has lived under God's protection because God promised He would
protect Jacob wherever he went; and in order for that promise to be3
meaningful, it has to include the afterlife. (cf. Ps 139:7-10 & Matt
16:18)

Pop Clock Update: 3,518 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If
the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 206,087,958
new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 10, 2014.
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● John 5:22 . .The Father has entrusted all judgment to His son

For that reason, people really ought to be afraid of Christ because he intends
to go about the business of law enforcement no differently than the fire and
brimstone practices of the God of the Old Testament, by whom Jesus has
been trained to take the reins.

● John 5:19 . . I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he
can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father
does the Son also does.

The very first time I was informed of Jesus' return to take over the world, I
became alarmed because at the time I had a lot to answer for. Well; I didn't
know it then but my anxiety was spot-on.

● Ps 2:7-12 . . I will proclaim The Lord's decree. He said to me: You are my
Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the
nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule
them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.

. . .Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve
The Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry
and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Pop Clock Update: 3,523 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If
the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 206,380,863
new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 10, 2014.
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● Heb 12:29 . . For our God is a consuming fire.

That's a quote from Deut 4:24 which, in context, doesn't describe God's
physical characteristics, rather, it's a figure of speech illustrating rage:
defined by Webster's as violent and uncontrolled anger. It's hard to imagine
Christianity's divine patron ticked off to that extent, but there it is.

* A consuming fire is one that cannot be extinguished, i.e. once it gets
going, there's no stopping till all that's aflame is utterly destroyed beyond
recognition, viz: a conflagration.

Pop Clock Update: 3,523 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If
the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 206,380,863
new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 10, 2014.
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FAQ: Does Matt 25:31-46 depict the final judgment?

REPLY: It depicts a culling from the herd of Tribulation survivors relative to
their treatment of the Jews during a time of unequaled anti-Semitism. If the
Jews thought they had it bad in the Holocaust: something worse is yet to
come.

Pop Clock Update: 3,528 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If
the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 206,673,768
new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 10, 2014.
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According to Matt 10:28, the body and the soul are perishable. However;
though the body is perishable by any means, the soul is perishable only by
divine means; i.e. the deaths of body and soul aren't necessarily
simultaneous, viz: the soul lives on until such a time as God decides to give
it either a thumb up or a thumb down.

This is interesting because if we can take Luke 16:19-31 to mean something
real; then we may safely assume souls are transferrable to an afterlife
situation wherein people retain some of their human characteristics. For
example: Lazarus has a finger, Abraham has a bosom, the rich man has a
tongue; and all are sentient beings, i.e. lucid & conscious.

NOTE: If there is such a thing as soul sleep I won't know it, here's why:

I've been under anesthesia once for appendicitis, twice for hernias, once for
a scalp lump, once for a kidney stone, twice for total knee replacements,
once for a colonoscopy, once for lung cancer, once for wisdom teeth, and
twice for an endoscopy.

In none of those procedures was I aware of the passage of time. The very
moment I went under was simultaneous with awakening. So if soul sleep is
like that, I'll be in paradise as if I went from here to there in less than a
second of time on the clock, i.e. instantaneously. The same can be said for
folks on track for the wrong side of the barrier separating Abraham from the
rich man. (Luke 16:26)

Pop Clock Update: 3,538 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If
the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 207,259,578
new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 10, 2014.
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COMPLAINT: I am very envious of those people in the Old Testament; to the
point of hatred because God took a special interest in people like Noah,
Abraham, Hagar, Isaac, Jacob, Ruth, Samson, et al, but not me, no; I'm
marginalized in a haze of uncertainty about my afterlife.

REPLY: Actually, that was yours truly at one time before discovering that
God was thinking of me when Jesus went to the cross for the sins of not
just part of the world rather, all of the world. I was definitely on His guest
list and so are you.

● Isa 53:6 . .We all, like sheep, have gone astray-- each of us has turned to
his own way; and The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Now all you have to do is RSVP, out loud or under your breath, and let God
know, in your own words, you have yet to live up to His standards and likely
never will. Then, tell God you'd like to take advantage of His son's crucifixion
to protect yourself from retribution.

* Don't be reluctant to do as I say because God and His son have gone to a
lot of trouble and inconvenience to set this up and we do not want to
disappoint them like those silly morons who talked their way out of the banquet
per Luke 14:16-24.

Pop Clock Update: 3,544 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If
the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 207,611,064
new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 10, 2014.
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