Is Hell a Literal Place, Figurative, or Both?

[2bba]

I believe this is an important topic because a wrong concept of Hell could prompt some to prefer Hell over submission to Christ. Christians may not have a burden for souls if they feel that it really does not exist, or that it is an easy life there.

I have heard over the years comments from non-believers, or people that just plan reject Jesus, that suggest Hell is a party place where they will have fun with all their other sinful buddies for eternity.

At the other extreme I have heard the fire and brimstone preaching that the whole thing is totally literal, and the soul anguishes in a constant black fire, in a dark depth, and they see no one at all but themselves, while they are constantly falling forever - Sort of sounds like what astronomers call a black hole.

What do you think? Can you back it up with Scripture?

[cymba22]

In Revalations it says there will be weeping and knashing of teeth and i think(this is of the top of my head) one of the apostles discribes it as a firey furnace(words to that effect) and it was even called the place of eternal torment in the bible somewhere....

Mat 5:22  "But _I_ say to you*, every [one] being enraged at his brother without cause will be in danger of the judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Empty-headed fool!' will be in danger of the high council, and whoever says, 'You worthless fool!' will be in danger of the hell [Gr., gehenna] of the fire [or, the fiery hell].

Mar 9:45  "And if your foot is causing you to stumble [fig., to sin], cut it off! It is better for you to enter into the life lame, than having your two feet to be cast into hell [Gr., gehenna], into the unquenchable fire,

Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

[kittyjo]

There are many mentions of hell being a real place, a desination, here are a few...

Mark 9:43

"If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,

2Peter 2:4

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;

Matthew 7:13

"I, the Son of Man, will send my angels, and they will remove from my Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil, and they will throw them into the furnace and burn them. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the godly will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!"

Matthew 13:41-43

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that is thrown into the water and gathers fish of every kind. When the net is full, they drag it up onto the shore, sit down, sort the good fish into crates, and throw the bad ones away. That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the godly, throwing the wicked into the fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Matthew 13:47-50

Cowards who turn away from me, and unbelievers, and the corrupt, and murderers, and the immoral, and those who practice witchcraft, and idol worshipers, and all liars -- their doom is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.

Hell is a choice we make by rejecting God. Hell is also being forever removed form the presence of the Lord. Today we all have a choice, even if we walk away from the Lord, he is still near waiting for us to return to Him... In hell there is no choice, the judgement has been made by our own actions. When we choose to live for Him we are rewarded and can forever praise Him.

Eze 33:11

"Say to them, ' As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?'

God is a merciful God, by His mercy and love He gave us His Son so that we might live... But, Heven or Hell, it is our choice. That is a big tough pill to swallow and that's why there are many mixed up veiws. I've met many who 'believe' in God but refuse that Hell exists. I guess it's the same with reincarnation, people want to believe that 'they can have their cake and eat it too' without consequences.

[2bba]

kittyjo -

Thank you for the great list of scripture. I am going to go through each one so that everyone can see what I am trying to get at.

Mark 9:43

"If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,

The "unquenchable fire" could be exactly that, or it could be a place of indescribable loneliness. Because it is a persons bodiless soul that is in a place set apart from God. The Bible says that Judas went to his "own place".

2Peter 2:4

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;

What exactly is "pits of darkness"? Is it a literal pit that is dark or is it darkness because Christ casts no light there?

Matthew 7:13

"I, the Son of Man, will send my angels, and they will remove from my Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil, and they will throw them into the furnace and burn them. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the godly will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!"

Are they really go to put them into an actual "furnace and burn them"? You see in the previous example it said a dark pit. So could it be figurative, symbolic? Since a soul is immortal, they have to be put away from God

[cymba22]

2abba...if you view the bible as literal then lake of fire...will mean lake of fire...the only time i personally believe the bible not to be literal is when it mentions before hand a parable or a prophesy...then everything else becomes christal clearIMHO :hug:

[2bba]

2abba...if you view the bible as literal then lake of fire...will mean lake of fire...the only time i personally believe the bible not to be literal is when it mentions before hand a parable or a prophesy...then everything else becomes christal clearIMHO :hug:

cymba22 -

My last post should show you that there are other times other than parable or prophecy then that the Bible is not literal.

pits of darkness

furnace

lake that burns with fire and sulfur

Just in these examples there are 3 descriptions of the same thing, and you will be able to find more descriptions of Hell in the Bible. A pit is not a furnace and a furnace and a pit is not a lake of fire and sulfur.

[Adstar]

Revelation 20

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Whatever hell is it will be cast into the lake of fire. So in the end they end up in the lake of fire.

All Praise The Ancient Of Days

[Guest Calamity]

I believe it's real, eternal, and firey. However it works, it was originally created for the devil and his angels. They're not human, they're spirit, right? Well, if it can torment them, then it can torment man's spirit also, wouldn't you think?

Matthew 25

[41] Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

[46] And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

[Catsmeow]

Scriptures have been previously mentioned but I will add that people who've suffered cardiac arrest (who weren't believers) but were defilbulated and returned to their bodies were horrified beyond words by what they "saw"!

Personally, I don't even care what people think.

Somethings you just "know". I know hell is real; it's a place of horrible pain and torment and I know I don't want to go there.

I put my whole trust in the BLOOD OF JESUS to save me from that misery.

[Guest Calamity]

2abba...if you view the bible as literal then lake of fire...will mean lake of fire...the only time i personally believe the bible not to be literal is when it mentions before hand a parable or a prophesy...then everything else becomes christal clearIMHO :hug:

cymba22 -

My last post should show you that there are other times other than parable or prophecy then that the Bible is not literal.

pits of darkness

furnace

lake that burns with fire and sulfur

Just in these examples there are 3 descriptions of the same thing, and you will be able to find more descriptions of Hell in the Bible. A pit is not a furnace and a furnace and a pit is not a lake of fire and sulfur.

The bottomless pit could be referring to the fact that hell is never full, like it says in Proverbs.

Proverbs 27:20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

And, was Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by fire and brimstone? It refers to that as being like like the "smoke of a furnace", just like in Rev., where it's talking about the bottomless pit and smoke coming out of it "as the smoke of a great furnace".

Genesis 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

Genesis 19:28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

Rev.

9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Whatever you prefer to call it, there's a place of eternal torment, just as Heaven's eternal, and God is eternal.