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HELL NEVER EXISTED?

GildartsTale

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What do we mean by "hell?"

To put it simply: "hell" is the "bad" afterlife.
More thoroughly: "hell" is the "bad" afterlife reserved for the unsaved who have committed acts of evil against themselves and others (all of us) whereby righteous justice in judgment is enacted by God for those evils.

In the Old Testament, we see that the description of this place is called "Sheol." To be frank, "Sheol" is described as the place ALL who die go, including the righteous (Gen 37:35; 42:38; 44:31). However, Psalm 73:23-26 indicates that the righteous will not stay in Sheol, but instead escape Sheol to be with God. Since God has no end, it follows that those who are with God have no end.
However, in the OT we also see that Sheol is the place where the "giant clans," considered demons by Second Temple Jewish theology, are assigned (Job 26:5-6; Proverbs 9:18; Deut 2:11; 1 Chron 20:4; Ezekiel 32:21), where fire burns endlessly (Prov. 30:16; Job 31:12; Abaddon in Job 26:6), where God enacts judgment on those who do great evil and hate Him (the "giant clans" hated God and hated the Jews), and a place that is never-ending. While not a fully developed doctrine of hell, the OT clearly paints a picture of a "bad" afterlife where judgment is enacted upon those who commit evil, and it is done through destroying that evil ("fire").

In the New Testament, this doctrine of a "bad afterlife" is developed even further demonstrating it is, indeed, a "bad afterlife" being a place of judgment on evil, filled with destructive "fire," for the purpose of destroying evil, and a place with eternal implications and consequences (Matthew 13:42; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 14:10-11; Luke 16:23-24; Revelation 20:10; 9:43-47; Matt 7:19, 13:40, 25:41; Mark 8:36).

Indeed, hell DOES exist. The question now is: what is the NATURE of hell? In other words, what is hell like? There are at least TWO Biblically faithfhul views of hell, and ONE Biblically questionable view of hell*:

[1] Traditionalism (Eternal Conscious Torment)
[2] Annihilationism (Conditional Immortality)
[3*] Restorationism (Universal Remediation)

[1] Traditionalism (Eternal Conscious Torment)
This is the majority view of hell with wide biblical support that maintains that all people will be judged once for all at death to determine whether they experience eternal bliss or eternal condemnation. Some (and possibly even the majority of the human race) will not be saved. Hell is eternal, conscious punishment (torment) and pain for sin. It is described spiritually as pain/torment of being separated from the love of God, and sometimes as physical torment/pain. Revelation 20:10-15 are key texts. (Some proof-texts in defense: Matthew 25:31-46; Matthew 18:21-35, Luke 16:19-31, Revelation 14:9-11, 20:10; 14-15; Matthew 18:8; Mark 9:48; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10) See: Denny Burk, Eternal Conscious Torment, Chapter 1 of "Four Views on Hell"

[2] Annihilationism (Conditional Immortality)
This is an historic view of hell that has wide biblical support and maintains that the punishment of hell is the complete and utter destruction of the body and soul. Those who are not saved cease to exist, and this is the punishment of hell. This is derived from many passages, but one clear passage would be Jesus' words in Matthew 10:28 where he calls for repentance and fear of the God "who can destroy both body AND SOUL in hell." As physical death is the annihilation of the body, so "the second death" is the annihilation of the soul. This punishment is ETERNAL, as the unsaved cease to exist for eternity. (Some proof-texts in defense: Matthew 10:28; Hebrews 10:26-27; 2 Peter 3:7; Romans 2:7; Genesis 3:19; Psalm 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:5; Ezekiel 18:20; Malachi 4:1–3; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; 2 Peter 2:6; Revelation 20:14–15) See: John Wenham, “The Case for Conditional Immortality”

[3*] Restorationism (Universal Remediation)
This is a view of hell that has some Biblical support, but relies on questionable interpretations of biblical passages, yet must be included here out of intellectual integrity. Restorationism maintains that hell is TEMPORARY and that the unsaved will suffer punishment in hell according to their level of evil, but all in hell will ultimately be saved after this time of punishment as Christ "restores all things," as made clear in Acts 3:21. Some differ on this and believe that only those who repent after punishment will be saved, but that some may remain in hell as long as they refuse to repent. Ultimately, however, all WILL repent and be saved. (Some proof-texts in defense: 1 Jn. 2:2, 2 Cor. 5:14, 1 Tim. 2:3-6, Heb. 2:9, Jn 1:29, 3:17 & 12:32, 2 Pet. 3:9, 1 Cor. 15:22, Rom. 5:18, Col. 1:19-20) See: Robin Parry, "The Evangelical Universalist"
 

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