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Originally Posted by elainevdw  Hi Zach,
I find it funny that I'm asking you this, since I was a pretty tight Christian not very long ago myself. But it was one of my biggest struggles. Do you believe in hell? If so, can you describe it (in the way you described spritual dormancy until the return of Christ), and tell me how you cope with it? |
Hell is a very, very controversial topic. I think the most widely believed concept of "hell" is a place where "bad" people go for eternal torment. Once you get there you're pretty much stuck there for all eternity, burning, getting poked by Satan, whatever nonsense like that
I definitely do not believe "hell" to be like this. There is not, and will never be a literal hell somewhere out in space, under the earth's crust, or anywhere else. It just doesn't make sense.
For one, if God is so loving and caring, why would he send people to be tortured for eternity, while all the "good" people stand by and watch, make little jokes, and giggle at the scene?
This section of a Wikipedia page gives a pretty good explanation of my beliefs. A quote:
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Originally Posted by Wikipedia Furthermore, SDA's say the concept of an everlasting torture chamber, presided over by God, terribly misrepresents God's true character of love, justice and free will. How could a God of love, torture people forever? How could a God of justice, punish a few years of sin with an infinity of torture? How could a God who is committed to free will force a person to stay alive throughout eternity and torture them for ever and ever? |
Second, it is commonly believed that Satan (the devil) is the ruler of Hell and is the main interrogator. In the Bible it says that he will be destroyed, so then why would he be an immortal torturer?
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Originally Posted by Wikipedia SDA's say that an ever burning hell would make Christ's victory on the cross only a partial victory. Hebrews 2:14 says that Jesus' death made it possible for Him (Jesus Christ) to "destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil." The Bible makes it clear Christ's victory over Satan is a total victory. If that is true, then why would God have to settle for a stalemate with sin, with the screams and cries of sinners and Satan echoing through the universe for all eternity? SDA's say that since Christ's victory over Satan was total and complete, one day the universe will be cleansed of all sin and sinners. It will then be restored to its former sinless state. |
Thirdly, here is another quote:
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Originally Posted by Wikipedia Finally, SDA’s believe that God will create a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1, Isaiah 65:17) and “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Revelation 21:4. The text says "all" crying and sorrow and pain and death and tears will be "wiped away". SDA’s say there will not be an ever burning hell where those things go on forever. The entire universe will have been restored to its original sinless state. Sin and sinners will be no more and every heart will throb with joy as the redeemed gaze on the face of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who saved them by His grace. Adventists conclude that it will then be clear that in the entire war between God and Satan, God will have never violated His character of love and justice and He will never have violated mankind's free will. |
If God says that in his word, the Bible, then it is truth. God never changes, so he never changes his promises to us. That quote says, "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” How could that be true if screams from hell can be heard in the distance?
I believe that the concept of hell and purgatory was created in the early 300s as a result of Roman emperors mixing their pagan concepts with Christian beliefs. Eventually these beliefs continued until the Roman Catholic Church was established, and continues to this day for many of the Christian denominations.
If I'm not mistaken, Roman Catholics believe that once a person dies, their spirit immediately goes either to Purgatory to be tortured until their "sins are paid for". And during this time, the friends and loved ones of this poor soul continue to pray that the soul doesn't have to spend long in purgatory. If the soul is cleansed by then, it gets go to to heaven. Otherwise, it's down to the big oven
. And, this concept was a result of the blending of ancient Roman paganism and Christian beliefs.
I completely reject this view, as I said earlier that the soul or consciousness of a person remains dormant once they die. They become completely unaware, unconscious of their surroundings until the return of Christ, and they are judged.
Now, about my views of hell. I believe that "hell" is the cleansing of the earth after the return of Christ, when all evil is erased from history, all pain is obliterated, all suffering is eliminated forever. It is also when those who have not accepted Jesus' invitation are destroyed. Jesus says that everybody has a choice for either life, or death. All we have to do for eternal life in paradise is to accept the invitation.
As I said earlier, God is a god of free choice. He allows us to choose to be with him, or not. Eternal life is like a birthday present waiting to be opened, all you need to do is unwrap it.
I hope I explained this as understandable and brief as possible, and explained myself fully, and also that I didn't offend anybody. It can be quite difficult to comprehend this topic sometimes.
If anybody has more questions please feel free to ask them.
