Why do Christians believe in a place of torment called Hell?

The whole church once believed that when Jesus comes He comes to reign for a 1, 000 years but in the 4th century the church decided to drop the teaching in favour of Amillennialism .

Re-discovering the Millennial doctrine has opened a whole new understanding of the 2nd coming for me, I am set FREE from believing that millions and millions of human souls will spend eternity in hell. The wicked will go there.

Because when He comes next He comes not to judge but to take us home and to deal with sin and to begin to reign in righteousness from Jerusalem ... and the rest of mankind can come in.

After the 1, 000 years comes the resurrection of the living and the dead and we come with Him to judge. Therefore.

Therefore the church cannot be those who are represented by the sheeps on His right hand, we are already saved and will have been with Him for a 1, 000 years. We are represented by "these My brethren"

Those sheeps are the meek who shall inherit the earth ... the goats represent the wicked and they are a minority.

I have never felt led to study such teachings as Amillennialism or Millennialism. I have read Revelation a number of times and have some favorite verses from it but overall and generally speaking when I see people arguing over such things as are written in a highly symbolic and apocalyptical book? It often gets ugly because many cannot disagree without making derogatory remarks of a personal nature, regardless of the topic at hand, and I know many find this off-putting and discouraging, while others seem to revel in it. Thank you for being one of the good guys I appreciate it

Revelation 22:16-17


Isaiah 45:22 + Revelation 3:20

Yo Maggie

You definitely have a ministry here on CC.

When you read the Millennium as The Kingdom of Heaven or as The glory that is to be revealed you see it is in every page of the NT.

No wonder the crowds came running when Jesus came preaching "the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" for the Jews knew it was what Isaiah prophesied that Israel would become the greatest nation and Jerusalem the capital of the world and Messiah would reign in peace and prosperity and righteousness for all and all the nations would flock to Jerusalem to learn about God ... no more war.

That's what we's supposed to be preaching, That's what the world longs for.

It is delayed but still it will come to pass. We have it spiritually but then what we have spiritually will become the reality manifest to all. We are not sent to establish this kingdom but to bear witness to Jesus who is it's King.

Eternal life is the inheritance of the Children of God. Where is justice to torment someone for 70 years in a fallen world for ever. God speaks of the second death.
But its your thing what you want to believe

They initially go to hell for not being found in Christ. They temporarily die in hell, after a period of torment, to later be resurrected to face judgment.

How is this possible? It's what the Bible says. If God can create the universe out of nothing then it shouldn't be a problem to resurrect a body and soul that has been destroyed.

This is all about righteousness. People need to understand what is happening and why.

Amen. God's revealed written Word makes clear that those who reject Him do so knowingly, since:
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
And:
What can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible
attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the
creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

What does the man of un/disbelief do throughout his lifetime? Make excuses why not to believe!
I know because I was once one of them. Thank you God, for calling me out of my rebellion.

I got some Bible exposure as a teen, but didn't really look at it again until I was an adult.

What I've found is that a lot of things in the Bible that people say are true are misrepresented or missing from the text.

Eternal torment in hell is definitely a doctrine of man. I think hell will be painful, but people do perish there, are destroyed, and ultimately experience death.

I was raised in a fairly strict religious home environment... nothing too extreme but we did attend church regularly in our Sunday best of course, and received the sacraments and observed the traditional holidays (which I do have fond memories of) quite faithfully... but it was a fairly legalistic system and I was not born again, so by the time I was 16 I was ready to bolt, being bored by the repetition of it all and realizing I really neither believed nor understood any of it... and I was allowed to stop attending. However, when I would subsequently meet someone who was brought up with no belief in God, it struck me as very strange! This was close to fifty years ago and these days it is not so unusual for people to be raised as atheists even if many of today's atheists were yesterday's pew warmers... a fact which I would point out to atheists who would claim Hitler was a Christian simply because he was raised in a Christian home! Ha. Being raised in a Christian home does not make one a Christian.

But I was curious, and knew there was something, having had various spiritual experiences from the age of being a young girl, but could not accept that it was the Biblical God or believe that there was much value or Truth to be found in the Bible. I got entangled in many things: alcoholism, drug addiction, bad/abusive relationships, new age spiritism, occultism, mysticism, shamanism, while I was seeking and searching for answers, which all eventually and inevitably came to a head when God repeatedly, powerfully, profoundly, and personally revealed himself to me, the last time truly literally as if a question were being put to me, of: will you believe? I found could not. Even then I was not willing to surrender my life to Him until some inexplicable things happened which I could understand only in light of the Truth of Scripture. It took quite a while but I was finally able to realize, while going through the Alpha Course (for I had started attending Christian services), which seemed geared to convincing people of the Truth of God's revealed written Word, that I no longer needed any more convincing. Oy! So I can understand how rebellious and recalcitrant and reluctant people are to believe, how stubbornly set against Him the natural man can be. My first few years online as a Christian were almost exclusively devoted to dialoguing with non-believers.

So, we have no excuse! How I characterize some of those seeking years now is by acknowledging that I was aware of something existing beyond/behind/alongside the material world; and in earnestly desiring to know what that was, my seeking was sincere and diligent... which Scripture promises God will reward! For God knows we are not seeking Him, yet the Truth I was seeking was surely embodied in the Person and work of Jesus Christ, for there is none other. The question at the heart of man's seeking is undeniably, what is the purpose of life, and that question cannot satisfactorily be answered unless the God question is addressed quite thoroughly.

The idea of hell no doubt scares people, and it is true too that fear of God is the beginning of wisdom

So as much as I dislike and disbelieve and find the idea of eternal conscious torture and torment to be un-Biblical and abhorrent, I can still see that the doctrine itself, even if erroneous and detestable, may serve a purpose in the grand scheme of things, for we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose

In reading your posts, the first thing I would like to comment on, is how tiresome people are with promoting God's Love and Mercy ABOVE His other Attributes. He is a GOD of Judgement. He is also a GOD of Wrath. His attribute of Love is not greater than His other attributes. They are equal in every sense.

In order that God might show His Love, Scripture teaches that He first had to satisfy His Holy Justice. This is a Biblical Fact, look it up. His Holy Justice was satisfied in Christ Jesus for many.

BUT what about the judgement of those who are not saved?

It has become quite a "FAD" today to believe in eternal "destruction" verses eternal "punishment". Of course, those who are not saved, would like to believe in eternal destruction because this is a far better end than eternal punishment. Without getting into a lot of back and forth on Scripture: I submit - this is the problem with the concept of "eternal destruction".

1) God is Eternal
2) That which God brings into being, will continue forever because what God creates is Eternal with Him. Once God creates with the spoken Word, He cannot take it back. He speaks out of His Eternal being, not out of a Temporal existence like ourselves. What we say today, we may change tomorrow. This cannot happen to an Immutable God.
3) God may, at His pleasure, alter what has been created. This in no way alters what God said before. Example: If God said, "Let there be light." Light will be forever. However, God is free to move the light where He pleases. The source of the light can change, from a natural source to a Divine source for instance. God cannot say: "Let there be Darkness where there was Light." because this would put His Eternal Decrees at odds with one another.
4) Sin is against an Eternal God. Thus, once a sin is committed, it continues with God unless it is covered by an eternal sacrifice.
5) Jesus Christ's Eternal Righteousness wrought out on the Cross for many, is the Eternal Covering for those who are saved.
6) For those who are Lost... Their sins remain uncovered with an Eternal God.
7) God's Holy and Eternal Justice, requires that those who have their sins remaining - MUST pay for those sins eternally. Since their sins are against and with an Eternal God - the punishment must be equal to the crime.

God breathed life into Adam and he became a living soul. In no other earthly created beings, is it said that God breathed into them. (Sorry, your cat or dog is not going to be waiting for you in Heaven). That breath (the soul), is Eternal because it came from an Eternal Source. The Soul will remain forever. The body will change, for there is an Eternal Body for the saved in Glory and an Eternal Body for the lost in punishment. This is why the term Resurrection is used for both. Both will put on a body not made by humanity but right from God.

This subject is to complicated to go into every detail and pull every Scripture verse but I hope you see what I am getting at.

Because Jesus taught about eternal damnation and they believe the lords word and before that it’s in the prophets and after that it’s in the epistles

hell was created for Satan and the angels who followed him

“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:

…And these shall go away into everlasting punishment:

but the righteous into life eternal.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25:41, 46‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Belief is why people believe that

“But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭2:5-11‬ ‭KJV‬‬

It’s throughout the Bible is most likely why they think that it’s more that they just believe the word of God and don’t “ out think it “ and don’t make our thoughts his thoughts

Forgive me, as I may be reading your post wrong. I agree with everything else you wrote, but why would the millennial teaching set you free from believing that millions and millions of human souls will spend eternity in hell? Who are the millions and millions that you were referring to?

The "Second Death" is another name representing the lake of fire. It says nothing about annihilation or anyone ceasing to exist.

Think about it: the previous poster attempted to show that the term "Second Death" as meaning annihilation. Yet, when they died the first death, i.e. the death of the body, they still existed. Scripture makes clear that those who take part in the Second Death will be conscious and aware, existing forever. As I made clear in an earlier post, scripture states that those who are cast into the Lake of fire will be tormented "Day and night" with the smoke of their torment ascending up forever and ever. In order to be tormented day and night, one would have to be existing in order to experience that. Why do you ignore these supporting words within the context? Is it because they do not support your belief?

================================================================================
And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand, he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

"And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."
=====================================================================

No as true believers in Christ, we have the hope of eternal life. However, those who die in their sins will be cast into the lake of fire where they will be conscious and aware forever and every. The same punishment that Satan and his angels about suffer, is the same punishment that his followers will suffer. As I made clear before, in order to have 'No rest Day or Night" one would have to be existing in order to experience that. Have you lost all reasoning and logic? Those scriptures alone should be enough to give you understanding of eternal punishment.

"They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might" - 1 Thess.1:9

HELPS Word-studies
3639 ólethros (from ollymi/"destroy") – properly, ruination with its full, destructive results (LS). 3639 /ólethros ("ruination") however does not imply "extinction" (annihilation). Rather it emphasizes the consequent loss that goes with the complete "undoing."

If you will notice what I have highlighted in red above, the definition of the word olethros translated as 'destruction' in the scripture above, does not imply 'extinction" (annilation). Since this is the definition of the word, should you not pay attention to it and apply it to the meaning of their destruction as stated in the scripture above? In other words, since the word olethros does not imply annihilation, then we cannot apply that as the meaning of those who are being destroyed and therefore must mean something else, said meaning being complete loss of well being, eternal ruination.

The punishment is death, a death that is everlasting. No possible resurrection from that death.

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.

It's not the second life but second death.

And just as the spirits of the wicked are conscious and aware after the first death, so will they also be conscious and aware in the second death. Otherwise, if we were to use your reasoning, after the first death people should become nonexistent.

The event of the rich man and Lazarus is a good example of this: Both the rich man and Lazarus died, yet their spirits were down in Hades. The rich man could see Abraham, had a conversation with him and was in torment in the flames. However, those who believe in annihilation distort and circumvent this scripture by making it a parable in order to get rid of the information contained in it.

Second Death = Conscious eternal existence in separation from God in the lake of fire

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭9:27‬ ‭

“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 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.”
‭‭John‬ ‭5:28-29‬ ‭KJV‬‬

again we have to hear and believe the gospel or it is foolishness to us . If we hear it and then say “ no that’s not true “ it’s never going to open our eyes to the truth .


When our body dies it erodes to nothing but our spirit goes here it’s an appointment our living souls all face and it’s a jidgement in the soul accounting for what we have done while in our body

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5:10-11‬ ‭KJV‬‬

the gospel offers us an escape through remission of sins but everyone great and small good and evil has to appear and be judged for things done on earth .

“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. 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. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭20:12-15‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Accepting and believing the gospel is this other promise

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭5:24‬ ‭KJV‬‬

the punishment isn’t what you think or I think it’s what the lord clearly said throughout the prophets and epistles the exact same judgement Jesus preached and taught us to accept now so we can go to him without sin

Then we agree with Jesus that those who hear Jesus' words, and believe on Him that sent Jesus, will have everlasting life. All others will be condemned to death with no chance of having any sort of eternal life in hell.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”‭ ‭John‬ ‭5:24‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The name of your doctrine is formally called annihilation. In Church History it is a very novel and recent doctrine.

I forget where did Joseph name Jesus Emmanuel ??? I agree Jesus is God. I just don't see the Father of Jesus naming him Emmanuel.

Fun Fact: In binary 01 + 10 = 11 which is 3 in decimal.