What happens after death, Let's discuss Heaven and Hell!!!

[ShanaBrown]

Some notes on the word, basanizo, which has been translated as "torment" in the passage,

"The original idea of the verb is “to put to the test by rubbing on a touchstone.” Then it means “to question by applying some test or torture to discover whether true or not.” The original idea was to test some metal that looked like gold to find whether it was real or not. It also signifies “to torture in order to extort a confession.” The meaning and usage of this word harmonizes with the idea of divine purification and the torment which is the test to find whether there has been any change or not in the sufferer. "

THE LAKE OF FIRE AND BRIMSTONE - Charles Pridgeon....

"basanizo=primarily to rub on the touchstone, to put to the test, then to examine by torture
W.E. Vine

Alternate perspective to the previous commentaries.

"When these (those tormented in the lake of fire) realize the presence, or the character of the Lamb, they are tortured in their consciences, for in the Light of the Lamb they see themselves for the wretched little devils they are. The very presence of truth torments the deceitful and the liar. The very presence of holiness torments the immoral and corrupt. The very presence of love is torment to the mean and hateful...The very presence of the life of the Lamb is the most awful torment and torture to all the opposing forces, both deceiver and deceived, until all the deceit and hostility has been taken out of them, and they come to know the Lord..."

The Lake of Fire

God bless.

[bradm]

Thanks shanabrown. The explanations you provided make a lot more sense to me than the commentaries.

Either Jesus is in their presence for ever to increase the "exquisiteness" of the pain of the sufferers and the joy of the onlookers of the spectacle as the commentaries state, OR, Jesus is there to turn them and restore them.

Perhaps someone else will offer another explanation.

Kind regards,

bradm

[ShanaBrown]

Bradm, I found a good description of the purpose of the lake of fire from the perspective of another universalist and it parallels what happens to those in the lake of fire Old Testament symbolism, if you are interested. God bless.

Chapter 3: The Lake of Fire,

[SeekerSA]

I have purposefully ignored this thread as it is also discussed in another thread in part. A much earlier post referred to Lazarus and the Rich man.

I did a study of all the occurrences where the word hell appears in the gospels. Every single one of them was directed at the scribes and Pharisees and the religious elect.

The Lazarus and the Rich man is also symbolic of the religious elect and the poor man symbolic of the gentiles. I did not need to publish my own stuff as I found an article that said it 100% for me as I understand it.

For those interested, the studies are on my blog and the links here.

Teeth Gnashers
Jesus' teachings on Hell, part 1
Jesus' teachings on Hell, part 2
Jesus' teachings on Hell, part 3
Jesus' teachings on Hell, part 4
Jesus' teachings on Hell, part 5
Jesus' teachings on Hell, part 6
Jesus' teachings on Hell, part 7
Jesus' teachings on Hell, part 8
[SIZE=2]Lazarus and the Rich Man[/SIZE]

A snippet from the last article.

But the blessings there promised to all men, could not be enjoyed in this life, only through faith in Christ. This they found to be the case, and were at the same time reminded of the great privileges and blessing which they had enjoyed, while the Gentiles were left to grope in heathen darkness.

But a change had taken place, and the Gentiles by embracing the gospel, had become the recipients of "good things," while the Priests, by rejecting the gospel, had brought upon themselves the "evil things," which their pride and unbelief merited. They had moreover continued in unbelief, and had opposed the gospel so long, that God had for a time given them over to blindness of mind, "a great gulf was fixed" between them and the Christians, so that they could not believe in Christ as the true Messiah, however ardently they might desire to become partakers of the joys of those who had embraced the gospel.
Blessings

[contracheck]

Originally Posted by spm62

I also wanted to add my opinion about what I think happens when we die. Again, I used to believe we went to heaven(in a conscious state) the second we breathed our last. Now I believe that our spirit goes back to God who gave it but it is not in a conscious state. I believe it is akin to a sleep state or state of rest until we get our glorified bodies at Christ return.Many times in the bible death is referred to as a person sleeping. But I believe your next conscious thought will be Christ second coming and your resurrection. So it will be as if no time had elapsed at all. I will admit that I am still studying on this but it seems to be what I believe the most scripturally correct. I`m not absolutely dogmatic about it but either way,after I die,it will be as if no time had passed.

I so agree with the theory of this very well written, eloquent piece !