Is God in Hell?

[Que]

We are having a discussion in our office which you may be able to help us with. If God is omni present and inhabits all that he creates is he present in Hell?

Your comments would be greatley appreciated.

Que

 

[Brian45]

Originally posted by Que
We are having a discussion in our office which you may be able to help us with. If God is omni present and inhabits all that he creates is he present in Hell?

Your comments would be greatley appreciated.

Que

The word hell has three different meanings . See link below .

http://www.davidandcindy.com/HTMLKJV/nave/nave2284.htm

Which one are you refering to ?

 

 

[AngelAmidala]

Since this isn't directly related to the Trinity, I'm going to move it into General Theology where it seems more suitable.

 

[Que]

Which Hell I am not to sure. What about all three.

Q

 

[psycmajor]

After He was crucified, Jesus was in hell for 3 days.

 

[LouisBooth]

I'd say no, hell as we know it is the absence of God and all good.

 

[Julie]

Psalm 139
7   Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8   If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

 

[LouisBooth]

check your hebrew.

 

[fragmentsofdreams]

God is in Hell. The problem is that those there don't realize that He is there.

 

[Job_38]

Originally posted by psycmajor
After He was crucified, Jesus was in hell for 3 days.

 

 I was wondering, where in the Gospel is that in?

 

[Divinus]

Job_38,
I believe the scripture used is this:

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which he went and preached to the spirits in prison.

There's another one too, but I can't remember where it is.

-Divinus

 

[jko]

theres only one hell, and no God is not in hell

 

[SavedByGrace3]

(Webster) If I ascend into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

 

[Received]

God in Hell? Hmmmmmmm, I'd have to say yes-no.

We tend to define God as either

1) an omnipresent spirit
2) a manifest spirit

The difference between the two is all the difference in the world.

2 Corinthians 3:17 "Now the Lord is spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty"

Psalm 139:7 "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?"

The Lord's spirit is everywhere, but if so, why is not everyone rejoicing in the liberty of it? Because they are not in the manifest presence. You join the manifest presence when you come to grips with the Holy Spirit.

But I would have to say that God is in Hell - His spirit is, mind you. Also, I doubt that Hell is a literal place, more like a realm. Also, speaking terms of the Hebrew, Sheol is what David was talking about in 139. Sheol was the old testament rendition of the grave. The New testament (Greek) is called Hades. Revelation 20:14 says Death and Hades are cast into the lake of fire. Fire represents judgment in the bible. You can only have judgment if you have a judge. Saying God is not in Hell is giving someone a bit more power than they should have. How else are things to go about without the one who started things in their processes to begin with? I find that difficult. Also, I would agree with fragmentsofdreams. God will be in Hell, but the pride of the people there will keep them from seeing Him, just as it was on the earth. Frustration will roll on for eternity, as people well in their pride. A saying: "hell is hell, not from its own point of view, but from the heavenly point of view".

Any thoughts?

blessings,

John

 

[Julie]

Ephesians 4
8   Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9   (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10   He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

 

============================

"I was wondering, where in the Gospel is that in?"

Matthew 12:40
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

 

[Amatire]

hobart that scripture reads if I go up into the heavens and if I go down into the place of the dead. not hell. in the old testament there was no real understanding of heaven or hell.. the heavens were more to do with the stars and the planets etc and the place of the dead was sheol and it was for all people.. they beleived to a certain extent that people just died, there was no "afterlife" concept. that is why david said "dead people cannot praise you" because if you are dead you are dead.. nothing else.. as with the the law.. which wasnt revealed until moses.. salvation.. which couldnt be fully understood until christ.. the trinity.. which wasnt revealed until the new testament though all these things were hinted at earlier.. hell and heaven and eternal life were new testament concepts.. so that quote does not apply to this discussion it is talking about something else.

 

[Amatire]

I always thought that the whole point of hell is that God is not there.. that is what defines the place. not sulfur or fire or anything like that.. just an absence of God. that is why there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.. in the parables like the ten virgins. you could see where the bridegroom was. but you couldnt get to him.

but then if hell is a created place. doesnt that mean that God HAS to be there? he is in all creation... but hell is also the absence of all good and God is good so where God is goodness must be also.. so God ISNT in hell.. but if hell is an absence of all good then as far as augustine is concerned it cannot exist seeing as existance in itself is a good thing (he said that evil was a lack of good.. God is 100% good and anyone else lacks a percentage.. but if you lacked 100% you would cease to exist because God is the source of all things and he created everything good to begin with. so even the devil is 0.1% good in the fact that he exists.) so if that thinking is right is Hell an absence of anything? do those who go to hell cease to exist at all? because Jesus said that to believe in him was to recieve eternal life, so those that dont beleive dont have eternal life, so do they stop existing? but then where did the concept of eternal damnation come from? and the 5 virgins in the story still existed.. they had to in order to weep and gnash teeth etc.. so erm...

ok ok people i have logicked myself into a corner.. help?

 

[fragmentsofdreams]

Originally posted by Amatire
I always thought that the whole point of hell is that God is not there.. that is what defines the place. not sulfur or fire or anything like that.. just an absence of God. that is why there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.. in the parables like the ten virgins. you could see where the bridegroom was. but you couldnt get to him.

but then if hell is a created place. doesnt that mean that God HAS to be there? he is in all creation... but hell is also the absence of all good and God is good so where God is goodness must be also.. so God ISNT in hell.. but if hell is an absence of all good then as far as augustine is concerned it cannot exist seeing as existance in itself is a good thing (he said that evil was a lack of good.. God is 100% good and anyone else lacks a percentage.. but if you lacked 100% you would cease to exist because God is the source of all things and he created everything good to begin with. so even the devil is 0.1% good in the fact that he exists.) so if that thinking is right is Hell an absence of anything? do those who go to hell cease to exist at all? because Jesus said that to believe in him was to recieve eternal life, so those that dont beleive dont have eternal life, so do they stop existing? but then where did the concept of eternal damnation come from? and the 5 virgins in the story still existed.. they had to in order to weep and gnash teeth etc.. so erm...

ok ok people i have logicked myself into a corner.. help?

People are in Hell because they refuse to acknowledge God. God is in Hell with them, but they refuse to see Him there. To them, God is not there.

 

[ZiSunka]

The Bible clearly states that God is present everywhere in the physical universe, but it doesn't say a word about his presence in the spiritual universe.

 

[mellymell]

Technically, yes He is there. His glory cannot be confined to one portion of this world. And everywhere you look, you can see His glory. The problem is that in hell, His glory is not revealed. He knows all and sees all, but in hell, His presence (while technically there) is not revealed and that's why there's the idea that hell is the total absence of God, which is true. Absence because there is NO revelation of His glory, not even slight, even though again, technically He's everyone-omnipresent.

Hope that helps.
I love you and God bless.