im an attorney by trade - one of the most often used terms is "to weigh the evidence" At no time did Jesus say that one would burn in hell forever. dont conflict the term everlasting lake of fire with everlasting punishment -
Spartanmd,
The great white throne judgment, which takes place after the millennial period, is a judgment for the unrighteous dead throughout all of history to be held accountable for all of their sins. The church will have already been judged at the Bema seat of Christ after the resurrection takes place to receive reward or loss of reward and not for sin. The righteous do not appear for judgment at the great white throne.
the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus was just that a parable the last of five that he taught on that day.
The rich man and Lazarus is an actual event which Jesus is revealing to those reading. Parables use symbolism to represent what is literal. The rich man and Lazarus uses the real names of Abraham, Lazarus, Moses and the literal place of Hades. You people call this a parable and then ask for proof, which you get rid of by making it a parable.
why didn't the disciples or Christ simply state that if you don't accept Christ you will burn in hell forever - answer - it wasnt a doctrine known to them.
The Lord along with the disciples did teach eternal torment in everlasting fire. You just keep getting rid of the evidence!
"depart from me you who are cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." The emphasis of "everlasting fire" is on those souls who will be suffering in it. Once again, here is the scripture regarding those who worship the beast, his image and receive his mark:
"A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name."
First of all, the scripture states that, the wrath that they will suffer will be poured out full strength, which means that there will be no mercy mixed in with it. And second, that they will be torment with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb, would require those being torment to be existing in order to experience said torment/torture. And third, the scripture states that "the smoke of their torment will rise up forever and ever and they will have no rest day or night," which would also require those being tormented to be existing in order to experience said torment day and night.
the hell doctrine is a conglomeration of Coptic Egyptian , Greek and Roman doctrines that crept into the early church and wasn't codified until Charlemagne who by the way said it was and used it as a tool to control the church. They imagery many have of hell ca be traced back to the writing of Dante's Inferno - The Catholics picked up on that hard
The doctrine of Hell is proclaimed in the word of God. The above is just another repeated false apologetic.
That's where religion misses the mark so terribly - A Christian does what is right because he loves God and strives to please Him. If your doing what is right because you fear hell then you need to examine your heart. Using hell as a bullwhip to herd non believers through a church door isn't just wrong it evil. The Love of God and the Sacrifice of His only Son along with the Gentle prodding of the Holy Spirit was good enough for the early church and its good enough today
You misunderstand! Hell is not a bullwhip for believers, but a warning to unbelievers. For the word of God says, "whoever has the Son, has life. But whoever does not have the Son does not have life and the wrath of God rests upon that person.
I get back to weighing the evidence - I have and I come down firmly on that side that those not found in the lambs book of life are either .killed (the second death) or punished (different degrees of punishment) The evidence that persuades me IS the nature of God - his justice would not permit such a disproportionate retribution i know that and somewhere deep down you know that because the Holy Spirit tells you so. and his love - God IS Love - period - where in the sermon on the mount did Jesus teach that love gets payback? where in that sermon did Jesus teach that Love is paused by wrath?
At the time of death, the love, grace and mercy of God ceases for those who have died rejecting Christ and are therefore in their sins. Judgment at the great white throne will be decisive and final with no love or mercy mixed in. Once a person dies in there sins, their record is sealed.