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I believe one way a christian can share his or her faith is the discussion of what happens after we die. Do Heaven and Hell really exist? Are they actual places? Is Hell simply the grave, or a fiery place? Let's discuss.
"It is appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgement." (Hebrews 9:27)
"Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:15)
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21)
"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in Hell." (Matthew 10:28)
"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven." (Matthew 10:32)
i am not sure-- nobody ever comes back to discuss it so no way of knowing.
i have seen some pretty good imitations of hell. the japanese got a word "duka"
it means wanting what you cannt have. i think we got a lot of that here dont you?
my uncle in mississippi says bunky, livin in california is like livin with a beautiful woman,
that has a headache all the time.
I believe one way a christian can share his or her faith is the discussion of what happens after we die. Do Heaven and Hell really exist? Are they actual places? Is Hell simply the grave, or a fiery place? Let's discuss.
Hi I believe that heaven does exist and that Gehenna is an actual place, but I don't believe that Gehenna is a fiery place that exists for all of eternity in the afterlife. I believe that Hades is the condition or state of the soul when people die and that the body resides in the grave or wherever it is upon or after the death of the body. I have found it helpful to study the original meaning of words like "eternal", "hell", "perish" and "destroy" and how they are used in the scriptures. God bless.
Last edited by ShanaBrown; 12-12-2007 at 07:10 PM..
All I know is that we are made up of energy and that energy doesn't die out, it flows somewhere, hopefuly somewhere nice and peaceful after living on this earth...i think most here, deserve that.
Hi, many Christians believe the Bible and do not believe that it teaches that hell is eternal This has existed since the beginnings of Christianity. So, respectfully, if a Christian does not believe that hell is eternal this does not necessarily mean that he or she does not believe the Bible. God bless.
"There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores. And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: The rich man also died and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said. Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou are in tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us; that would come from thence.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house. For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
And he said, Nay, father Abraham; but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." (Luke 16:19-31)
Heaven awaits the believer, and Hell the non-believer. Heaven and Hell are real!!!
Hi, many Christian believe that this is a parable that Jesus spoke and is symbolic in nature and that it is not a literal presentation of what happens in the after life. If it is, it conflicts with the many scriptures which speak of the dead as being dead or asleep. For example if it is to be taken literally,
How could a drop of water cool the tongue of a spirit in in the spirit world?
Do spirits have eyes, tongues, and fingers?
How would one drop of water benefit someone who is supposedly in eternal flame?
Will all believers go to Abraham’s bosom upon their death? Are all believers who have died at Abraham's bosom now?
If Abraham and the Lazarus were across the wide gulf that no one could cross how were they able to carry on a conversation with the rich man?
Does this mean that the saved people in heaven will be able to see and hold conversations with those who are tormented in hell for all of eternity?
How could the rich man be speaking at all if he is in a literal flame of fire?
Many Christians believe that this story existed many years before Jesus taught it and it is believed to be contained in a group of writings called Gemara Babylonicum which contained ideas that the Jewish people collected from pagan influences or that it is a story that existed from the Babylonian captivity. The audience that Jesus spoke to would have been very familiar with this story and it is believed that he used this familiar story to teach them about the lost sons of Abraham or the Gentiles and the religious leaders, for example.
Notes:
"It may be proper to remark in this place, that this story was not original with the Saviour, but was simply used by him to illustrate his subject. The story was probably familiar to his hearers and our Saviour for that reason took occasion to make a practical application of it. In "Paige's Selections," we find the following from Dr. Whitby--"That this is a parable, and not a real history of what was actually done, is evident (1) Because we find this very parable in the Gemara Babylonicum whence it is cited by Mr. Sheringham, in the preface to his Joma. (2) From the circumstances of it, viz. The rich man's lifting up his eyes in hell, and seeing Lazarus in Abraham's bosom, his discourse with Abraham, his complaint of being tormented with flames, and his desire that Lazarus might be sent to cool his tongue; and if all this be confessedly parable, why should the rest, which is the very parable in the Gemara, be accounted history!"--end footnote) Annot in loc."
Tentmaker
I do believe that many will experience hell (torment, pain) but I don't believe that it is everlasting or that this is a place of everlasting torment. God bless.
Last edited by ShanaBrown; 12-12-2007 at 07:59 PM..
Hi, many Christians believe the Bible and do not believe that it teaches that hell is eternal This has existed since the beginnings of Christianity. So, respectfully, if a Christian does not believe that hell is eternal this does not necessarily mean that he or she does not believe the Bible. God bless.
You're right, I should have worded my post different. I do believe that the Bible teaches there is an eternal hell.
Hi, many Christian believe that this is a parable that Jesus spoke and is symbolic in nature and that it is not a literal presentation of what happens in the after life. If it is, it conflicts with the many scriptures which speak of the dead as being dead or asleep. For example if it is to be taken literally,
How could a drop of water cool the tongue of a spirit in in the spirit world?
Do spirits have eyes, tongues, and fingers?
How would one drop of water benefit someone who is supposedly in eternal flame?
Will all believers go to Abraham’s bosom upon their death? Are all believers who have died at Abraham's bosom now?
If Abraham and the Lazarus were across the wide gulf that no one could cross how were they able to carry on a conversation with the rich man?
Does this mean that the saved people in heaven will be able to see and hold conversations with those who are tormented in hell for all of eternity?
How could the rich man be speaking at all if he is in a literal flame of fire?
Notes:
"It may be proper to remark in this place, that this story was not original with the Saviour, but was simply used by him to illustrate his subject. The story was probably familiar to his hearers and our Saviour for that reason took occasion to make a practical application of it. In "Paige's Selections," we find the following from Dr. Whitby--"That this is a parable, and not a real history of what was actually done, is evident (1) Because we find this very parable in the Gemara Babylonicum whence it is cited by Mr. Sheringham, in the preface to his Joma. (2) From the circumstances of it, viz. The rich man's lifting up his eyes in hell, and seeing Lazarus in Abraham's bosom, his discourse with Abraham, his complaint of being tormented with flames, and his desire that Lazarus might be sent to cool his tongue; and if all this be confessedly parable, why should the rest, which is the very parable in the Gemara, be accounted history!"--end footnote) Annot in loc."
Tentmaker
I agree that this is a parable. This is one of several in a succession of parables. Most of them start with..there was a certain rich man.
As far as heaven and hell..I believe in both, For 40 years of my life I believed in a literal flaming eternal damnation of hellfire. I was raised in the church from an infant. There were times that a literal eternal hellfire just seem to be against Gods nature to me but I couldn`t get around the English word eternal in my bible. It didn`t seem right but I would look in my bible and yep..there it was, in black and white,the word eternal. I have come to learn that word is mistranslated in a lot of English bibles. The word should be aion which can mean age or a specific period of time. Also the word for fire means more of refining type of fire. this is what changed my belief. suddenly it made a lot more sense to me. It seem to fit more with God`s nature and other passages of the bible. Anyway, I believe that there will be people in hell,whatever that really is. I also believe it to be a type of punishment and a period of sadness and regret. How long will it last? I don`t know,days,weeks,years,hundreds of years,maybe even thousands of years for some people. Maybe for some it will be of a different length and severity. But I also believe it will not be eternal and there will come a time or age when God will finally reconsile all things to himself and the son will hand the kingdom over to his father and God will be all in all. I agree with Shana,some christians don`t want to believe that a person can believe that God will save his creation and still be a christian, they think you must believe in eternal hellfire and damnation or you can not be a christian. I believe in the bible. I believe that Jesus is God`s son. I believe that he died and was resurrected for man`s sin. I believe in heaven and hell. I believe there will be punishment and torment but I do not believe it will last for eternity.
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This has existed since the beginnings of Christianity. So, respectfully, if a Christian does not believe that hell is eternal this does not necessarily mean that he or she does not believe the Bible. God bless.
