Questions about Hell?

[Benjamin1981]

Is it true that all people that don't accept Jesus as their lord and savior are going to hell? It breaks my heart when I think about it. I can understand that satan deserves eternal torture, and maybe demons, but people who just didn't believe, in my opinion don't deserve it.. It is said that penalty for sinning is death (being apart from God=life), but through Jesus we can be united with Our father. Isn't logical that unbelievers just stop to exist, and not burn for the eternity? I can't believe that God who loves us so much could ever put people in hell. Every soul is valuable.What does the bible say about hell? I guess Jehovah's witnesses think little bit similar.

What about half of the population world? They don't even have a clue who Jesus is. And what about the people who can't make a rational decision for example retarded and autistic? I don't think that God is so incapable of saving. My theory is that after our physical body dies, we are given an option, do we accept the gift of grace from God, eternal life, or do we want to burn in hell for eternity. This way EVERYBODY has the chance to be saved.

[Jayangel81]

Hello :hug::wave:
Is it true that all people that don't accept Jesus as their lord and savior are going to hell? It breaks my heart when I think about it. I can understand that satan deserves eternal torture, and maybe demons, but people who just didn't believe, in my opinion don't deserve it.. It is said that penalty for sinning is death (being apart from God=life), but through Jesus we can be united with Our father.
Yes it is true you must repent for your sins and accept Jesus as their Lord and savior. Our sins are justified by faith in Christ.

It breaks my heart when people reject Christ and the gift of salvation. It also breaks my heart when we tell non believers of Christ and they spit on us and tell us theyre gonna kill us...so forth and so forth.. Satan deserves hell and we are sinners to we do to.

Why does someone have to die tho? Why cant a person stop their wickedness and accept Jesus? Doesnt make sense to me. Wait I know it is because people choose to do what they want and not what God wants :( God has done everything to help us so we didnt have to go to Hell, even sent His only Son to take Gods wrath for us.
Why? So we may be reunited to God through Jesus Christ.


Isn't logical that unbelievers just stop to exist, and not burn for the eternity? I can't believe that God who loves us so much could ever put people in hell. Every soul is valuable.What does the bible say about hell? I guess Jehovah's witnesses think little bit similar.

Theyre are some people who believe hell is eternal and theyre are some people who say your soul will be destroyed.

You need to understand that God is Holy,Righteous,Just, love and Mercy. God is bound to His law. The last thing God wants to do is send someone to hell. He loves you more than you can imagine. But he cannot be corrupt. Every soul is valuable. your very valuable to God, thats why He took care of the punishment for you, how great is that?

All you need to do is accept the free Gift of Salvation. But will people accept the Gift? Im afraid alot will not. And God will take no pleasure in banishing the wicked..

I can just picture His face now, Him dripping with tears. Only if people will repent for their sins..:(

[nopekp]

haha i laugh at photograf of funny hat people

[SharonL]

God does not send anyone to hell - it is of our own choosing.

The Bible tells us that we do not even need a teacher because the Holy Spirit will bring us into all truth.

The people who prefer to worship false gods is of their own choosing - the Bible shows many times of God bringing Israel out of the pits they put themselves in because of false worship and at one point God even says call upon your false gods to help you.

It is hard for people to realize that we are responsible for our actions and that no matter what we do they expect God to just say that's ok - and that is not the way it works. There is accountability for all that we do. But God cannot be blamed for people who choose to go the wrong way - God has given us ever opportunity to be saved and if we reject it - it is not God's fault.

[Larry D. McCarty]

Let me see if I can help you with this fact>
Hosea-4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of God, I will also forget thy children.

Hosea-4:9
And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doing.

[silverlining*]

A view I've heard is that if you spend your life searching for God, you'll find Him when you die, but if you're only searching for fulfillment from other things, maybe you'll always be searching. This would seem to tie in with the view that hell means separation from God, not a place where a person is actively tortured by Satan for eternity. I definitely don't believe in the 'fire and brimstone' view of hell anyway. If you look at it logically, Scripture talks about hell being a place of darkness AND a lake of fire - it can't be both, and it doesn't exactly seem reasonable to suggest that God, who loves unconditionally, inflicts eternal punishment on some people after death. Rather, they might choose to reject His love, and separate themselves.

I think that your theory that a person's choices don't immediately end with death is very sensible:D And many many people don't believe it's true that those who haven't heard of Jesus or are mentally ill etc. will never meet God. I quite like the saying that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus, but not everyone will know him by the same name that we do. (There are three main schools of thought on to what extent it's true that only Christians go to heaven - exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism. I don't mean to sound patronising if you knew that already, just wanted to point out that there's not a definitive Christian view on this!)

[Bouke285]

Hell was never ment for us. It was created before our existance for satan and his demons. Satan defines, and drives evil how evil exist for eternity anywhere other than hell? Think about that for a while. In choosing not to believe Jesus dying for our sins we are choosing not to have our sins forgiven and the same time choosing to go to hell. Like you said the autistic and people around the world All Get the chance here on earth in some way to either accept or not accept the gift available for their taking. Everyone has the choice

[Bouke285]

This would seem to tie in with the view that hell means separation from God, not a place where a person is actively tortured by Satan for eternity. I definitely don't believe in the 'fire and brimstone' view of hell anyway. If you look at it logically, Scripture talks about hell being a place of darkness AND a lake of fire - it can't be both, and it doesn't exactly seem reasonable to suggest that God, who loves unconditionally, inflicts eternal punishment on some people after death.

God does not allow Satan to have any controll over hell. You see then it wouldn't be a place of eternal punishment it would be the devils get away.

However Your theory about Hell not being of Fire adn Brimestone has come up many times. You see the bottomless pit and lake of fire are two differen't places occuring at two different times. The pit was the holding place before jesus died for our sins there was paradise and a rift. The pit was on the other side of that rift where all of the lost went untill Christ died for our sins. The lake of fire is where all the lost souls will go after the Tribulation the final resting place of fire so great it can burn from miles away.

[Criada]

You know, Benjamin, this is an issue which I have struggled with, as I think have many people. It is a very difficult concept, and one on which Christians have many different ideas. I think it is clear that God does not condemn the very young, the mentally ill, those who never heard the gospel.... these are judged differently to those who have knowingly rejected God.
I tend towards the opinion that perhaps everyone does have a moment of choice.. whether before or after death... and whilst I could give scriptures to back this up, I am aware that others could give scriptures to 'disprove' it.
But what it comes down to in the end, I think, is that God is God... and whilst He is just, He is also merciful and infinitely loving. And because of what I know of His nature, and because my human limitations mean that I will never really know until I see Him, I know that I can trust Him totally.
And so, how He chooses to deal with people is in His hands, and He will do it in a perfect way :)

That was a little garbled.. I hope it makes sense!

[MintyAngel]

It makes perfect sense, Criada, and very well put :clap: (I wrote this before, but silly tabbed browsing deleted it for me!!).


I agree with you, too, Ben. Every soul is valuable to God, and as such I don't believe that anyone is sent to Hell without a very good reason!

When I was Pagan, I didn't believe in Hell, so I was never going to go there. I believed in somewhere called Summerlands, where I would rest and reflect on the life I had just lived and then choose lessons to learn in my next life and then I would be reincarnated into it, and so on and so on, until there was nothing left to learn and then I would go to the equivelant of Heaven and be with the Gods.

As a Christian now, I can see the appeal of the former, but feel that it is quite empty. I would rather live a good life here and then get to spend eternity with the people that I love and with Jesus (that's Heaven! :))

In answer to your questions, I believe that people that are not able to accept or deny Jesus (the mentally ill, autistic, young children, etc..) are guaranteed a place in heaven as they are innocents. If the concept of sin cannot be understood, then how can that person know that they are doing wrong? I look after an austitic boy and even though he is 14 he has no clue about anything outside of his little world. Although he was baptised a Catholic, even if he hadn't been, he would still be going to heaven as he is an innocent.

As for people that have never heard of the Gospel or of Jesus? How can they spend eternity in a place that has no meaning for them? Every culture on the earth has their own system of belief about what happens after death, and just because Christian heaven is the place that I am hoping to go to, I cannot discount their beliefs just because I think mine are better, that is arrogance, and that is wrong.

The God that I adore would not be vengeful about people that have never heard of His glorious name. He has enough to do with His own followers without worrying about followers of other Gods. The only people that need to worry about going to Hell are Christians and those that actively reject God.

I once heard that whatever you believe will happen to you after death is what will happen as your belief brings it into being. If you believe that you will spend eternity dressed as a clown and riding a pink horse round and round in a circle then that is what you will do. Who am I to tell you any different. Your soul, your choice.

I must admit to not liking evangelists all that much, if someone wants to know what I believe then I will tell them, but I'm not going to force it onto someone as it tends to push people in the other direction.

Don't worry too much about the souls of others, Ben (you'll end up worrying yourself into an early grave :().

[Benjamin1981]

It makes perfect sense, Criada, and very well put :clap:

Don't worry too much about the souls of others, Ben (you'll end up worrying yourself into an early grave :().

I agree. Perfect sense.

Yaicks I hope I don't worry too much, early grave doesn't tempt me. ;)

Thank u for answers everyone and God bless! :)

[Benjamin1981]

I’d like to add this, maybe it’s not interesting.. My grand father was a strong atheist, he lived in communist Soviet Union, and he converted many away from Christianity. When he was on his dead bed, he had been still and eyes shut for a long time. Then he just burst to tears (without sound) tears were just flowing from his eyes quietly, then he opened his eyes and grinned peacefully. It seemed that he wanted to say something but then he died. Maybe he met someone? :confused:

[Benjamin1981]

Here’s 1 more point that nobody brought up. In my opinion this life that we’re living now IS the punishment. Due to Adam’s first violation, people were sent to earth, away from God with disease, death, trouble etc. That’s a big penalty, being without our loving Father. Why would God want to punish twice by putting people hell? I think hell is for satan and demons not people that don’t believe in Jesus. We have the chance to redeem ourselves through Jesus and get reunited with our Father in the heavens.

This is quite stupid thought.. If we really have to accept Jesus in order to get saved, maybe God feels so sorry about sinners that he gives them a second chance on earth. That's why the second coming of Jesus is taking so long. Imagine that we are the most stubborn people, who are having their fifth or sixth chance in the world. I know it is said that we only live 1 life in the world, but what is the best way to motivate... THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!! :D

[LilLamb219]

Think about Original Sin. That means we are all ill with that disease and need a cure. No cure, no salvation. God has to be true to His Word and He has told us that without Christ, no one comes to Him.

We are not being "punished" by living here on this earth. There are consequences to our sin, but not punishment! By no means!!

God cannot be near sin...if someone rejects Him, that person is damning himself, God isn't the one doing it. That person deserves hell. It's not God putting him there.

[Benjamin1981]

Think about Original Sin. That means we are all ill with that disease and need a cure. No cure, no salvation. God has to be true to His Word and He has told us that without Christ, no one comes to Him.

We are not being "punished" by living here on this earth. There are consequences to our sin, but not punishment! By no means!!

God cannot be near sin...if someone rejects Him, that person is damning himself, God isn't the one doing it. That person deserves hell. It's not God putting him there.

Ok consequence or punishment. Yes it's more of a consequence, but it feels like a punishment. ;) U are right that God cannot live with sin, but I don't think that if somebody rejects God that person deserves hell. But it's not for us to decide. We just need to put our trust in God because everything He does is for our best interest.

[Bouke285]

Think of it like this The gift is there (eternal life) by not accepting it... We are choosing TO go to hell.

Hell was there already it wasn't ment for us, but sin can exist no where else but hell in eternity.

[Adam.121]

To me their is something MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUUUUUUUUUUUCH worse than going to hell
Knowing your going to hell
Its painful
you know your just waiting to go into eternal torture....

[paperneck]

i'm not sure what the true answer is to this question. sometimes i think hell, demons, and satan are all things that exist within us, things we are born damned to exist in and that only through christ shall we be pulled out of it.

another perspective i carry is that life on earth is part of the creation process. the act of taking God in is what allows you to be brought towards god, the act of rejecting god is what moves you to hell(where he can't be felt). in this way it makes sense to me that there is a divide between those who follow god, and those that reject him.

the one thing i think is possible that may be controversial here is this: many people may have surrendered to Christ and not realized it. they may take him by a different name, or story.

paul told us that if a man believes then he will call out the true name of the lord and pledge themself to him.

the problem is that most christians called the messiah "Jesus" which is a pagan variation of his true name(Yahushua). of course christ knows we love him even if we get his name wrong. the question that comes to my mind over this: Is it possible to surrender to Christ without realizing exactly who you are surrendering to? for example: might there be a muslim who is unknowingly following christ, and might he be a model servent.


obviously God is the judge and i am not. i have faith in that alone.

[JoshButler]

Yes, those who do not repent and believe that Jesus is the son of God and place their faith in his salvation are going to hell, which is real. That's scriptural, and scripture is God's word and should be heeded to better understand God.

This present world has been like a giant waiting room since Adam and Eve gained the knowledge of good and evil. The key is that God gives everything to everyone freely, including free-will; we may choose whether or not to love God. But to hate the source of everything you are that has given you everything, including the ability to rebel, is a deep sin. Love is also free; it doesn't cost anyone anything to love.

If I were you, I'd be careful about leaning on your own understanding. You'll save yourself a lot of heartache if you bear the fruit of the spirit in patience. Study scripture and do the will of God, and pray for wisdom if you really want to know some of these things. They are very good things to know, indeed! Yet haste is not profitable.

[Radiata]

You know, Benjamin, this is an issue which I have struggled with, as I think have many people. It is a very difficult concept, and one on which Christians have many different ideas. I think it is clear that God does not condemn the very young, the mentally ill, those who never heard the gospel.... these are judged differently to those who have knowingly rejected God.
I tend towards the opinion that perhaps everyone does have a moment of choice.. whether before or after death... and whilst I could give scriptures to back this up, I am aware that others could give scriptures to 'disprove' it.
But what it comes down to in the end, I think, is that God is God... and whilst He is just, He is also merciful and infinitely loving. And because of what I know of His nature, and because my human limitations mean that I will never really know until I see Him, I know that I can trust Him totally.
And so, how He chooses to deal with people is in His hands, and He will do it in a perfect way :)

That was a little garbled.. I hope it makes sense!


I don't feel that it is very difficult. Only that people make it out to be. Why does God send a good person to hell for the sole reason that he doesn't believe in Him? It's quite simple. Heaven is perfect, and nothing imperfect can enter heaven. We as human beings have sinned and will continue to sin until the day that we die. Therefore, we have been tainted and are broken. So much that Malachi compares the best of them to a thorny hedge. If that's the case, what chance do we have for going to heaven? The only way for our sin to be forgiven is through Jesus. And not by our good works because they do not nullify our previous sin. One of the most common verses in the bible "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Hell accepts all people. It doesn't matter if "hypothetically" you have only committed one sin in your entire life, you cannot enter heaven unless you are perfect. And perfection comes only through Christ Jesus.


Here’s 1 more point that nobody brought up. In my opinion this life that we’re living now IS the punishment. Due to Adam’s first violation, people were sent to earth, away from God with disease, death, trouble etc. That’s a big penalty, being without our loving Father. Why would God want to punish twice by putting people hell? I think hell is for Satan and demons not people that don’t believe in Jesus. We have the chance to redeem ourselves through Jesus and get reunited with our Father in the heavens.

This is quite stupid thought.. If we really have to accept Jesus in order to get saved, maybe God feels so sorry about sinners that he gives them a second chance on earth. That's why the second coming of Jesus is taking so long. Imagine that we are the most stubborn people, who are having their fifth or sixth chance in the world. I know it is said that we only live 1 life in the world, but what is the best way to motivate... THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!! :D


We people are stupid as a whole. Remember all those times Israel strayed away from God just because things were looking up at the time and they figured that they would be better off without paying their respects and honor to God? Every time they did they fell into enemy hands, or went through famine, or plague. In the entire long history of Israel, there wasn't one perfect king. Every last one of them had some sin or another recorded in Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. If all these people anointed by God Himself had flaws, how can we hope to become better then them and overcome our sinful nature? We can't. It is only through the blood of Jesus Christ that we are able to overcome our transgressions.

Ok consequence or punishment. Yes it's more of a consequence, but it feels like a punishment. ;)U are right that God cannot live with sin, but I don't think that if somebody rejects God that person deserves hell. But it's not for us to decide. We just need to put our trust in God because everything He does is for our best interest.You are right. No one actually deserves hell. During the course of our lives, we can only commit a finite amount of sin. Even if they spend their life sinning intentionally, their sin would still not be endless. Yet hell is eternal punishment. Is that a fair ruling? If a person commits murder and receives a triple life sentence without chance for payroll, is that fair? 3 lives of punishment for one? Of course not.

But you must look at the flip side. We humans are flawed and sinful, and heaven is perfect. Is heaven a suitable place for Christians to be allowed in? I'll quote Reliant K "The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair." The fact that Christians go to heaven isn't fair as well. That is what grace is all about. We are given the chance to receive what we don't deserve. The only question remains, where do you put your trust?

[Nadiine]

I agree w/ your post

The problem is, we are focusing on us being "good" people & have ideals of what love means (when it comes to God - but we often ignore His attributes of holiness, justice, wrath & righteousness to embrace the attribute of love).
We're also not focusing on our depravity and capability for evil. We also tend to think of sin on a scale & compare ourselves to worse people than us to decide how good we are - we also justify our actions and make them to be lesser than they really are in reality.

"Gee, I don't go out mass murdering other people like Charles Manson, so I must be good", "Gee, I give to charity and do good to my friends & family,... I Must be a good person, not deserving of such a place eternally". "Gosh, I only cuss and tell some lies, how is that deserving of hell?"

Until we learn the concepts of God's Holiness (what God expects of us), our utter depravity and the necessity of blood for atonement of sin, we won't think we deserve hell or that a loving God could send us there.

The truth is, all active sin is either atoned for (paid & forgiven), or it remains active to work against what is Good & righteous. If God doesn't send unpaid sin into "quarentine" where it cannot "escape" to harm His recreated kingdom, you won't have any end to active evil and death/disease/pain/suffering will always continue like it does. It'll be like it is on earth forever. (which would make God evil for not ending it).

It's got to be paid & punished or it's active. (this is the same law of the OT - demanding life for life. Blood sacrifice. Only Jesus' blood can atone for our sin - completely removing it.

Leviticus 17:11 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=3&chapter=17&verse=11&version=49&context=verse)
'For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls;
for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.'

Hebrews 10:4 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=65&chapter=10&verse=4&version=49&context=verse)
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Matthew 26:28 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=26&verse=28&version=49&context=verse)
for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

Romans 3:25 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=52&chapter=3&verse=25&version=49&context=verse)
whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith
This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

(prior to Christ, sin was overlooked w/ blood sacrifice; not removed until His death on the cross)

[FrederickM]

Does not matter, for all will be revealed on judgement day. I for one will be on my knees begging the lord for the mercy of my atheist friends. The lord loves us not hate us, we should not believe in the lord because of fear of hell, but instead because of his unconditional love for us all.