What's your view on Hell?

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by diakonos

I read this book when I was 18. Ruminated on the thought for years.

https://www.religion-online.org/book...n-of-the-dead/

Hey, thanks for the link. Looks very interesting.

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by Amanah

Was there ever, is there now anyone practicing pure religion untainted with any trace of paganism or false doctrine? The people in the bible never seemed to get it right from the garden, to the flood, through the exodus, the utter corruption and downward spiral of the judges, the monarchy, the Babylonian exile, the hellenization and corruption of the second temple period. The division of the early church between judaizers and hellenizers. The paganism of Christianity that continues to this day.

The long suffering and mercy of God is past understanding. We can come into His presence and He meets with us, leads, guides, and directs us as flawed as we are.

[1 God]

Originally Posted by coksiw

I think soul-sleep believers have good points. I also believe there are misunderstandings of the Scriptures in their teaching. I also believe there are misunderstanding in non-soul-sleep believers, which is my camp. I believe that in part the misunderstanding in non-soul-sleep believers is the result of mistranslations, i.e. "hell" for two Greek words that mean theologically different things, and as result, they can't see in plain reading the differences. The famous preaching "your first night in hell" is an example of such misunderstanding, or also comments or even songs saying that when you die, you will go to heaven and walk on streets of gold, and see again your deceased relatives and church friends, and such, promises which are instead associated with the resurrection, not with the intermediate state before resurrection.

What we know about our intermediate state is that we will be with Christ, and it is a place of rest.

JW are not the only ones believing in soul-sleep, Seventh-day Adventist also.

I don't see it as a salvation issue to be honest.

Doubting Jesus’ literal words about eternal hell and the rich man in it seeking a drop of water to cool his tongue is a salvation issue. Obviously, the dead, rich mans soul was not asleep. We are not given the luxury to second guess what Jesus meant in the passage.

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by 1 God

Doubting Jesus’ literal words about eternal hell and the rich man in it seeking a drop of water to cool his tongue is a salvation issue. Obviously, the dead, rich mans soul was not asleep. We are not given the luxury to second guess what Jesus meant in the passage.

Why do you doubt God's literal words in the Psalms and Ecclesiastes? You don't have that luxury.

[Evang.Benincasa]

Originally Posted by 1 God

Doubting Jesus’ literal words about eternal hell and the rich man in it seeking a drop of water to cool his tongue is a salvation issue. Obviously, the dead, rich mans soul was not asleep. We are not given the luxury to second guess what Jesus meant in the passage.

The rich man and Lazarus is a story about Israel, Abrahamic promise, the untouchable non Judean, and the soteriological power of understanding Moses.
Heaven isn't a reclining couch, where we can watch people suffer in torments.

[coksiw]

It is pretty obvious from the text that the OT saints had a simple understanding of death, our at least the angle was very focused on life on earth. Soul in their language had multiple meaning: self, life, emotions, person, desire, etc... depending on the context about how people used it. The meaning of a soul as a human spirit remaining conscious in a place after death is mainly an NT understanding.

[coksiw]

Originally Posted by Evang.Benincasa

The rich man and Lazarus is a story about Israel, Abrahamic promise, the untouchable non Judean, and the soteriological power of understanding Moses.
Heaven isn't a reclining couch, where we can watch people suffer in torments.

Jesus taught through parables, not through fairy tales.

[1 God]

Originally Posted by Esaias

Why do you doubt God's literal words in the Psalms and Ecclesiastes? You don't have that luxury.

Jesus was not quoting them

[1 God]

Originally Posted by Evang.Benincasa

The rich man and Lazarus is a story about Israel, Abrahamic promise, the untouchable non Judean, and the soteriological power of understanding Moses.
Heaven isn't a reclining couch, where we can watch people suffer in torments.

Good point. At the end of the world and the beginning of the new, there will end all contact between the two.

[1 God]

Originally Posted by coksiw

It is pretty obvious from the text that the OT saints had a simple understanding of death, our at least the angle was very focused on life on earth. Soul in their language had multiple meaning: self, life, emotions, person, desire, etc... depending on the context about how people used it. The meaning of a soul as a human spirit remaining conscious in a place after death is mainly an NT understanding.

Yes, notice that nobody asked Jesus if that was a parable or a true story. That came 2000 years later.