can people in hell repent and turn to God

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TMS

Senior Member
Mar 21, 2015
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Australia
if people are naturally mortal, does that mean when people go to hell, they don't suffer for all of eternity
Yes
they only suffer while they have life. And the time that they have life is determined by God who give life to us.
A Just Judgement,
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 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.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
 

oyster67

Senior Member
May 24, 2014
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No one is created immortal.
Yet every soul is destined to spend eternity in one place or the other. Must be careful about wording. Men shall either be given eternal life in Heaven, or eternal damnation in Hell...

John
5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
 

Ahwatukee

Senior Member
Mar 12, 2015
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Adam and Eve's death was not just spiritual, but physical as well. Though Adam lived to be 962 years old, he still died. Once the water circling the earth was used in part to create the flood, the ages of mankind began to drop drastically.

Ultimately, Death has to do with both the spirit and the body. For there will be both a resurrection of the righteous and the wicked. The word 'anastasis' translated as 'Resurrection' means to stand up again in the same physical body that one is born with. Those wicked who are resurrected will also receive eternal bodies, except they will spend their eternity in the lake of fire in that resurrected body.

"and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked."

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Strong's Concordance
anastasis: a standing up, i.e. a resurrection, a raising up, rising
Original Word: ἀνάστασις, εως, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: anastasis
Phonetic Spelling: (an-as'-tas-is)
Definition: a standing up, a resurrection, a raising up, rising
Usage: a rising again, resurrection.

HELPS Word-studies
386
anástasis (from 303 /aná, "up, again" and 2476 /hístēmi, "to stand") – literally, "stand up" (or "stand again"), referring to physical resurrection (of the body).

Christ's physical resurrection is the foundation of Christianity, which also guarantees the future resurrection of all believers (see Jn 6:39,40,44).

[386 /anástasis ("resurrection") refers to the physical, bodily resurrection of Christ – and people (both of the redeemed and the unredeemed).]

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Life = eternal conscious existence in the joy of the Lord in the kingdom of God in an immortal and glorified body

Death = eternal conscious existence in separation from God in the lake of fire in an indestructible resurrected body

The ultimate death always has to do with the whole person, body, soul and spirit and not just the body.

When the wicked die in their sins, their spirits go down into Hades to begin their punishment, just as the rich man's did (Luke 16:19-31). At the end of the millennial kingdom, those spirits of the wicked who went into Hades, will be released and united with their resurrected bodies, where they will face their official legal sentencing at the great white throne judgment, where they will be thrown into the lake of fire.

Final death of the wicked always includes the whole body, soul and spirit.
 

oyster67

Senior Member
May 24, 2014
11,887
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Can you show me that in scriptures?
Genesis
3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
 

TMS

Senior Member
Mar 21, 2015
3,888
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Australia
If one person sinned and didn't repent 6000 years ago, for a few small sins, I trust Gods judgement.
And another person has a knowledge of God and wilfully rebels like Satan and commits many hideous sins in their life and died a week ago, i trust God will judge them right as well.
Would it be fair if the first person has suffered for 6000 years and the second person just enters hell to suffer.
 
Aug 14, 2019
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Genesis
3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
I don't see how that excludes the possibility that they were eating from it while they lived in the Garden.
 

Ahwatukee

Senior Member
Mar 12, 2015
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If one person sinned and didn't repent 6000 years ago, for a few small sins, I trust Gods judgement.
And another person has a knowledge of God and wilfully rebels like Satan and commits many hideous sins in their life and died a week ago, i trust God will judge them right as well.
Would it be fair if the first person has suffered for 6000 years and the second person just enters hell to suffer.
Yes, it would be fair, because the person who just enters Hades will then be resurrected, judged and thrown into the lake of fire.

The rich man of 'the rich man and Lazarus' fame, is still in Hades in torment in flame. And the unsaved are filling Hades up day and night. In the end, all of the wicked will suffer eternity in the lake of fire regardless of who died first or how long they have been there. The end of them is eternal punishment in the lake of fire.
 
T

taylorswiftfan

Guest
If one person sinned and didn't repent 6000 years ago, for a few small sins, I trust Gods judgement.
And another person has a knowledge of God and wilfully rebels like Satan and commits many hideous sins in their life and died a week ago, i trust God will judge them right as well.
Would it be fair if the first person has suffered for 6000 years and the second person just enters hell to suffer.
do you believe that people go to heaven or hell right after they die

or do you believe that everyone will be judged at some future time and then either rewarded or punished after that judgement ???
 

oyster67

Senior Member
May 24, 2014
11,887
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I don't see how that excludes the possibility that they were eating from it while they lived in the Garden.
Genesis
3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden
, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
 
Dec 31, 2020
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Research postmortem evangelism. It is Biblical that souls in prison have been preached to before. Whether or not this is a regular practice that God does or if it is only for special circumstances I do not know either. This isn't a popular doctrine, but it's Biblical. Consider these verses:

Death does not separate us from God's love:
Romans 8:38-39
38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This verse refers to the permanency of the change the Holy Spirit causes to happen to us when we accept Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah as our savior, this resurrection of our human spirit to life is permanent (everlasting life). No created thing or being can ever separate us from G*d again. This is why El tore the curtain that separated the holy of holies from man. Do not call unclean what the Lord G*d has made clean.


The dead who have not heard the Gospel of Christ are given it in order for them to have a chance to be fairly judged:
1 Peter 4:5-6
5Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. 6For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

This refers to people from places in the world who have not yet been reached with the gospel, infants who die before gaining self awareness and certain individuals born with certain conditions that would otherwise prevent them from receiving the gospel.

The dead will also hear the voice of Jesus:
John 5:25,28
25Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
28Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

This may actually refer to the dead in Christ rising first from their graves, receiving their resurrection bodies and meeting the Lord in the heavens.

The wicked who died in the days of Noah went to "prison" and later got preached to, after death:
1 Peter 3:18-20
18For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
The wicked and disobedient from the days of Noah were the Nephelim. It is hard to say what is meant by 'prison' here since Hades is not the same as Tartarus, Sheol,ect. The nature of Nephelim makes it difficult to say where they are before the final judgement.
 

CS1

Well-known member
May 23, 2012
13,013
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do you believe that people go to heaven or hell right after they die

or do you believe that everyone will be judged at some future time and then either rewarded or punished after that judgement ???
the Bible says there is once appointed for man to die , then the Judgement
 
Aug 14, 2019
1,374
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Genesis
3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden
, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Gen 3:22

22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
 

Lucy-Pevensie

Senior Member
Dec 20, 2017
9,386
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Yes
they only suffer while they have life. And the time that they have life is determined by God who give life to us.
A Just Judgement,
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 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.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

This is why the one who is omnipotent is in charge of these things. The one who searches hearts and minds. It really is beyond our scope to call eternal judgements. There is an advocate on high for man and vengeance is his for a reason. Because he is the only one qualified. It sounds like you aren't comfortable with God's justice system. Man-made Moral Relativism will go into the lake of fire along with all other works of the flesh.

Rev 16
5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:
‘You are just in these judgments, O Holy One,
you who are and who were;
6 for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.’
7 And I heard the altar respond:
‘Yes, Lord God Almighty,
true and just are your judgments.’

Psalm 89:14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.

2 Thess 1
6 God is just: he will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might


Spirits don't cease to be as the body does. That is why their punishment is eternal.
 

Journeyman

Well-known member
Jan 10, 2019
2,107
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Don't overlook that God prevented them from eating of the Tree of Life after sinning
specifically to prevent them from attaining to life ever after in their fallen state.
If you can stand a little correction, in Gen.3:22, the term "for ever" does not always mean "eternally" or "immortal" (like God live for ever). The term "for ever" can and in Gen.3;22 should be interpreted as " a long time", or "for the duration of Adams earthly life".

The tree of life is symbolic of Christ on earth Compare Psa.1;1-3, where Christ is being described, with Rev.2:22, the tree of life.

God sent Adam from Eden so that he would not partake of Christ in an unworthy manner for the rest of his earthly life.
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
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If you can stand a little correction, in Gen.3:22, the term "for ever" does not always mean "eternally" or "immortal" (like God live for ever). The term "for ever" can and in Gen.3;22 should be interpreted as " a long time", or "for the duration of Adams earthly life".

The tree of life is symbolic of Christ on earth Compare Psa.1;1-3, where Christ is being described, with Rev.2:22, the tree of life.

God sent Adam from Eden so that he would not partake of Christ in an unworthy manner for the rest of his earthly life.
Thank you, Journeyman :) I am aware of that, and posted about it just recently also. Most do not like to hear that forever does not mean without end, but as you and others have pointed out, translators did not always interpret words properly. It can also mean until God's purpose has been fulfilled :) I find it disturbing how many cling to the conscious torment forever after schism.

I agree with you :D
 

1ofthem

Senior Member
Mar 30, 2016
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The rich man was in Sheol and Lazarus was in Abraham's Bosom (a.k.a. Paradise). These are separate from the place of the final judgement.
Yes, you are correct. The parable didn't say they had already entered into final judgement. I am at the point to where I just don't really know. Need to pray about all this more now, and seek more guidance from the Lord on it.

I'm not sure what the difference in Heaven, Paradise, and just going to sleep in Jesus really are. I'm really not totally settled on where we go after death until the final judgement. I have recently lost people in my life and would like to believe they are in a better place and already in heaven, but I don't know that for sure. There are many scriptures on these things that I need to take more time studying and praying about.

I may be wrong here, but I really can't see anyone having the chance to repent after death. The scripture says in many places we will be judged by our works on this earth. Pretty much did we accept Jesus and put our faith in him while we were alive or not? And yes, scripture says Jesus went and preached to the souls in prison. This may just completely be my opinion, but I believe this was only because they died without having any hope in Jesus. They died before his atonement. Without his atonement and sacrifice there would be no hope; we would all be lost.