Hell - what is it or what will it be like

[Bat-Man]

Hell is generally referred to as a place where people will experience a LOT of pain, usually described as unquenchable fire.

I often think of it as a place where people will feel ashamed, or embar***ed, for having done some really... well, less than intelligent... things.

For example, I often think about how people like Father_JD and BrianH and Bob Betts would feel if they later found out that they had actually been fighting against Jesus Christ by fighting against his true church, which is now known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

How embar***ing and humiliating that would be for them, even if they later repented.

We are told that our memories will be restored so that we will remember everything that we have ever done, and I suspect we'll also find out how what we have done has influenced other people either for good or for evil.

Have any of you ever done anything that was so embar***ing that you wish you could just hide your face in shame, or just make all of the pain go away ?

What do you imagine Hell will be like, from your perspective ?

[Vlad III]

What do you imagine Hell will be like, from your perspective ?

Like America under the Obama administration. <ba-dum--ching>:D

But really, I agree that a big part of Hell will be the torment that people will feel that will be inflicted by their own recollection of their unrepentant deeds and the knowledge that had they heeded the Holy Spirit they could've had a greater reward.

[PostTribber]

What do you imagine Hell will be like, from your perspective ?

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity."

... to have His last words replayed in my mind over and over throughout all eternity would be Hell enough.

[gripper]

Personally, I watch the movie Christmas Carol every year. There's a scene that one of the Christmas Past character shows Scrooge. The scene is of those individuals doomed to walk the earth who realize that they could have done more for good but did not. There's also a scene in the Wizard of Oz where at the end the Wizard in speaking to the Tin Man states something like, it's not how much you love, it's how much others love you. I think it's remembering all that you did and all that you did not do.

[Bat-Man]

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity."

... to have His last words replayed in my mind over and over throughout all eternity would be Hell enough.
A very good answer.

In summary, I think you are saying that your idea of Hell would be what you would feel if you had heard Jesus Christ tell you he never knew you while also telling you to depart from him while that moment kept living on in your mind throughout all of eternity as something that he had once said to you.

I think that would be Hell to me, too, if I ever heard my Lord tell me that, and to keep that from ever happening I do my best to make sure that I know my Lord, and he knows me, personally.

[Bat-Man]

Personally, I watch the movie Christmas Carol every year. There's a scene that one of the Christmas Past character shows Scrooge. The scene is of those individuals doomed to walk the earth who realize that they could have done more for good but did not. There's also a scene in the Wizard of Oz where at the end the Wizard in speaking to the Tin Man states something like, it's not how much you love, it's how much others love you.I think that scene is in need of some editing, personally.

It's not about how much others love you; it's about how much you love others.

Jesus Christ is a perfect example of that, because he loves everyone even though not everyone loves him, and a person can't get any better than Jesus Christ.


I think it's remembering all that you did and all that you did not do.
Yes, what YOU did, personally, including what you did NOT do which you could have done, which was in your power to do.

You can't always affect the actions of other people, though.

You could love everyone as much as you know how to love, while being the best person you can possibly be, and still not everyone would love you or do what you would like them to do, even when what you would like them to do would be in their own best interest.

Again, Jesus Christ is a perfect example of that, because he is doing everything within his own power to help all of us, including loving all of us in the best way possible for anyone to love anyone else, and still other people will not do what he would like them to do, even when what he would like them to do would be in their own best interest.

We are accountable for our own actions, with or without anyone else's help.

[PostTribber]

I think you are saying that your idea of Hell would be what you would feel if you had heard Jesus Christ tell you he never knew you while also telling you to depart from him while that moment kept living on in your mind throughout all of eternity as something that he had once said to you. I think that would be Hell to me, too, if I ever heard my Lord tell me that, and to keep that from ever happening I do my best to make sure that I know my Lord, and he knows me, personally.


always a good idea to contemplate what we've been saved from; the torment and agony of being separated from the One who created us. makes us thankful for God's gift: Jesus' sacrifice, and eternal life. :rolleyes:

Hell is a good thing if it drives us to our knees. some people like to think of Hell as being some eternal rock concert, with Satan handing out promos and back stage p***es. but you can't rock out when the only music you'll hear is the weeping and gnashing of teeth. :mad:

[SarahC]

I think hell will be a place without God. Simply unimaginable. Life would be quite painful without God and I don't mean without believing in God, but with God's removal of his blessing, his presence, his love, etc. :(

[PostTribber]

I think hell will be a place without God. Simply unimaginable. Life would be quite painful without God and I don't mean without believing in God, but with God's removal of his blessing, his presence, his love, etc. :(

I think Bat-Man did a good thing opening this post. by capturing the essence of Hell; breaking it down to it's most fundamental abhorrence, we make it as personal as Jesus did in His determination to conquer it. makes us take our salvation personal, our Lord personal, our sin personal.

[Russ]

For example, I often think about how people like Father_JD and BrianH and Bob Betts ....

Hey!

What about me?!

(I feel so, .... so, .... left out.... <sniff>)

Don't I deserve Mormon wrath too?

[Russ]

Like America under the Obama administration. <ba-dum--ching>:D

But really, I agree that a big part of Hell will be the torment that people will feel that will be inflicted by their own recollection of their unrepentant deeds and the knowledge that had they heeded the Holy Spirit they could've had a greater reward.

Hell (Outer Darkness, it's called) in Mormonism is reserved for ex-Mormons who lost their testimony after having their calling and election made sure.

LDS folks aren't telling the whole LDS story. It's not only about "suffering unrepentant deeds," but rather about going to a place where only certain ex-Mormons can go, huh.

As a Christian, I can tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Jesus said that all who die without Him as Lord and Savior will experience eternal separation from God in hell, a place where the fire never ends.

Even if it isn't "politically correct" these secular days to say that a person will go to hell, Jesus didn't mind saying it, over and again. It's that important.

[SarahC]

I think Bat-Man did a good thing opening this post. by capturing the essence of Hell; breaking it down to it's most fundamental abhorrence, we make it as personal as Jesus did in His determination to conquer it. makes us take our salvation personal, our Lord personal, our sin personal.

I agree. I wasn't shoot him down :) I have no problem talking about hell. I believe it is a very real place and a reality for those who have not put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I don't think we can really imagine what hell will be like, I'm not sure I really want to :( I am glad I am ***ured that I no longer have to fear that consequence of my sin though :) My sins have been removed, forgiven and forgotten.

[Russ]

I think that scene is in need of some editing, personally.

It's not about how much others love you; it's about how much you love others.

Jesus Christ is a perfect example of that, because he loves everyone even though not everyone loves him, and a person can't get any better than Jesus Christ.


Yes, what YOU did, personally, including what you did NOT do which you could have done, which was in your power to do.

You can't always affect the actions of other people, though.

You could love everyone as much as you know how to love, while being the best person you can possibly be, and still not everyone would love you or do what you would like them to do, even when what you would like them to do would be in their own best interest.

Again, Jesus Christ is a perfect example of that, because he is doing everything within his own power to help all of us, including loving all of us in the best way possible for anyone to love anyone else, and still other people will not do what he would like them to do, even when what he would like them to do would be in their own best interest.

We are accountable for our own actions, with or without anyone else's help.

Will you advance to such a state that you will die for me?

[nrajeff]

Russ, maybe hell is a place where people ban you for quoting excerpts from Billy Graham emails. :)

[alanmolstad]

So lets deal with a real down to earth question here on this topic:

being that all Mormons are lost because they worship a false god, what will the afterlife be like for them all?

I have given this a lot of thought....
There is a clear idea in the bible that 'fire' or a 'lake of fire' is the fate of the lost.

But is a phrase like a "lake of fire" a symbol?......I think so.

So what would be a lake of fire in more clear wording?.....I have no idea.
I think that is why we see so much symbolism in the Bible when dealing with both what Heaven will be like for us Christians, and what hell will be like for the lost.
normal words and ways of understanding and describing the universe don't seem to be much help on this issue for the bible's writers.

There is the idea I learned back in my younger days at bible school, that hell is a place where the Lost will feel an "Ever-burning feeling of loss at what they are missing out on due to their foolishness"

The Lost seem to be able to see the Saved Christians in heaven (as we learn in a story told by Jesus), so there is the idea that while heaven and hell are separated , they are yet always within spotting distance of each other....my guess is that this actually burns their hearts the most....to be able to see glory and yet its never to be in reach due only to being so foolish.


So, being that we dont have all that great of an idea what hell is like for the lost, I have to then do a bit of thinking and speculating as to what the lost Mormons will experience in hell...


the speculation I have is that the Mormons "wander"..........in hell.

[alanmolstad]

I like the last part of my answer...

[James Banta]

So lets deal with a real down to earth question here on this topic:

being that all Mormons are lost because they worship a false god, what will the afterlife be like for them all?

I have given this a lot of thought....
There is a clear idea in the bible that 'fire' or a 'lake of fire' is the fate of the lost.

But is a phrase like a "lake of fire" a symbol?......I think so.

So what would be a lake of fire in more clear wording?.....I have no idea.
I think that is why we see so much symbolism in the Bible when dealing with both what Heaven will be like for us Christians, and what hell will be like for the lost.
normal words and ways of understanding and describing the universe don't seem to be much help on this issue for the bible's writers.

There is the idea I learned back in my younger days at bible school, that hell is a place where the Lost will feel an "Ever-burning feeling of loss at what they are missing out on due to their foolishness"

The Lost seem to be able to see the Saved Christians in heaven (as we learn in a story told by Jesus), so there is the idea that while heaven and hell are separated , they are yet always within spotting distance of each other....my guess is that this actually burns their hearts the most....to be able to see glory and yet its never to be in reach due only to being so foolish.


So, being that we dont have all that great of an idea what hell is like for the lost, I have to then do a bit of thinking and speculating as to what the lost Mormons will experience in hell...


the speculation I have is that the Mormons "wander"..........in hell.

There can sometimes be some confusion between Hell, and the Lake of Fire.. Since hell is actually cast into the Lake of Fire they are not the same place.. Since Jesus took captivity captive we can see that Abraham's Bosom is NOT Heaven..

Do I know that there actually is a Lake of Fire? No, the book of Revelation is filled with symbolism. The Lake of Fire doesn't need to be anything we can really understand here in this life. John described it in that terrible way so that we could understand the horror of that final estate of the wicked. The torment suffered there could be different for all people so ***igned but the description of being a Lake of Fire makes God's wrath clear to be a terrible thing.. I first saw the quote "It's a terrible thing to fall into the hands of an angry God" reading the sermons of Doctor Barnhouse. I agree with him. What ever the Lake of Fire actually is it will be far more than anyone can bear but for each individual ***igned there there will be no way out.. IHS jim

[alanmolstad]

"13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.""

The way I think this set of verses read, it is not saying that "death and Hades" are real places that are tossed into the lake of fire, rather it builds on both the verse before it and the phrase that come right after it, giving the meaning that "Death and Hades" are talking about the "members"

The "members" or the "people" who have died are tossed into the lake of fire.

I dont believe that "death" is a thing itself, rather in this context the word "death" must be talking about all the people that died unforgiven.

I think this is also true for the term "Hades" when it is said to also be tossed into the lake of fire, It is talking about tossing all the people that died unforgiven into the lake.

I never believed that "death was a place, just as I dont believe that "Hades is a "place" in the physical way we know a "place" to be....





The other way I have looked at understanding this set of scriptures is to view "Death and Hades" as to be simply very symbolic terms...

So when they both get tossed into the lake of fire, nothing is actually done physically to anything, rather the verse is simply talking about that the "idea" of death and hell is p***ed into forgotten history with no more need to talk about it anymore.

[James Banta]

"13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.""

The way I think this set of verses read, it is not saying that "death and Hades" are real places that are tossed into the lake of fire, rather it builds on both the verse before it and the phrase that come right after it, giving the meaning that "Death and Hades" are talking about the "members"

The "members" or the "people" who have died are tossed into the lake of fire.

I dont believe that "death" is a thing itself, rather in this context the word "death" must be talking about all the people that died unforgiven.

I think this is also true for the term "Hades" when it is said to also be tossed into the lake of fire, It is talking about tossing all the people that died unforgiven into the lake.

I never believed that "death was a place, just as I dont believe that "Hades is a "place" in the physical way we know a "place" to be....





The other way I have looked at understanding this set of scriptures is to view "Death and Hades" as to be simply very symbolic terms...

So when they both get tossed into the lake of fire, nothing is actually done physically to anything, rather the verse is simply talking about that the "idea" of death and hell is p***ed into forgotten history with no more need to talk about it anymore.

I don't know any authoritative statement from scripture that says you must believe in hell to avoid it.. This is just one more issue we will have to agree to disagree over.. IHS jim

[alanmolstad]

I don't know any authoritative statement from scripture that says you must believe in hell to avoid it.. This is just one more issue we will have to agree to disagree over.. IHS jim
Im not sure you understood my point....

What I tried to say is that I believe there are two very good ways to understand the verse that says > "14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.


Now the first way is that when the verse says that "death" was tossed into the lake of fire it is talking about the "people" that have died.
In other words, the "members", or the "membership" of they who have died are all tossed into the lake of fire.


the other way that i think works to understand this verse is to believe that the verse is talking about the "symbol" of the idea of "death" being forgotten.
This means that because from now on no one will ever die, the whole idea of "death" or of a limited lifespan will be replaced....it will be done away with....that the "idea" of death will be in effect, "killed" as the last thing we will ever say "died"
So that would mean that the whole verse is talking about symbols and using very symbolic language to just say that > "From now on no one else dies"

[alanmolstad]

but...for the most part, I interpret the wording, about "Death and Hades" being tossed into the lake of fire as meaning that the people that are lost and therefore condemned will be tossed into the lake of fire....

so its the "membership"of the dead in hell that are tossed to burn forever....