T
Hell will not be a place, hell is a condition of being under God's wrath. At the end of the world, people will either be saved and have eternal life, or they will be lost and perish. Jesus said to fear God who can destroy both body and soul in hell (gehenna). Gehenna was the place outside of Israel where they burned up their trash and refuse. It was continually burning. It was a fit description of the destruction of the unsaved at the end of the world. God will not eternally torment people in a literal place called hell. God is just and will meet out to each lost one what they deserve. Jesus said that the one who knew the masters will and didn't do it will be beaten with many stripes; but the one who didn't know will be beaten with few. If God inteneded to eternally tormant people this verse would not make sense. I hear people saying that this verse teaches degees of hell. But whether you are beaten with many or few stripes, what difference would it make if it went on unceasingly??? I recommend a book by Edward Fudge called "The fire that consumes". I too used to believe in eternal conscious torment, but if we let the verses of the Bible say what they say, we will see it clearly. It's curious that there is no teaching of hell in the old testament. And in the new testament there are only two verses in Revelation (a highly symbolic book) that seem to teach eternal torment. The vast majority of the new testament verses teach the destruction and death of the wicked, but eternal life for the saved. The contrast is always between life and death. Jesus says I give to them eternal life, and they shall never perish. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes on Him shall not PERISH, but have eternal life. If everyone will have eternal life (the saved and unsaved) this verse too would make no sense.
The problem came in in the early centuries of the church with the teaching of the immortality of the soul. It was carried over from greek philosophy. The greeks taught that the soul is immortal, but the Bible does not. The Biblle says that only God is immortal, and that he grants immortality to those in Christ. I could go on, but I really encourage people to get get the book, "The fire that consumes" by Edward Fudge. It is quite exhaustive on the subject.
God bless!!!!!!!
Tom
The problem came in in the early centuries of the church with the teaching of the immortality of the soul. It was carried over from greek philosophy. The greeks taught that the soul is immortal, but the Bible does not. The Biblle says that only God is immortal, and that he grants immortality to those in Christ. I could go on, but I really encourage people to get get the book, "The fire that consumes" by Edward Fudge. It is quite exhaustive on the subject.
God bless!!!!!!!
Tom