What is your view of hell?

[DarrenJClark]

There are three main views of hell in Evangelicalism.  There is the view that God will punish the wicked in hell forever (I will call this the eternal conscious punishment, or ECP view), there is the view that when God punishes the wicked in hell it will destroy or kill them (I will call this conditional immortality, or CI), and there is the view that God will refine the wicked in hell so as to ensure all are purified and eventually saved (I will call this purgatorial universal reconciliation, or PUR).  This by no means a comprehensive descriptions of these views of hell.

I am a conditionalist. 

I am wondering if people would please identify which view of hell they currently follow and list the single strongest argument for that view.  

I like to talk about how and why people hold to the doctrines they do rather than simply argue with them so I hope I can learn something new about these various views on hell.

Thankyou.

[DarrenJClark]

44 minutes ago, PepperS said:

I don't buy any of your 3 choices.

Hell is where we await the final judgement. Revelation tells us that death and Hell will be thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:14 King James Version (KJV)

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.

¹⁴ And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

 

Why do I believe this? Because I believe the Bible. Christ said so.

So, are you saying you deny the traditional doctrine of hell held as the majority view on the final fate of the wicked in the church throughout most of church history?  That is the first option. 

[DarrenJClark]

Just now, PepperS said:

I am saying that I believe what the scripture I posted says. 

So that is a no, you do not hold to the traditional view of hell.

[DarrenJClark]

15 minutes ago, PepperS said:

I am saying that I believe what the scripture I posted says. 

Most traditionalists argue that the lake of fire of Rev 20:10 symbolizes what happens in hell.  It is worth noting that the KJV translated four separate words as hell - Gehenna, Sheol, Tartarus, and hades.  In Rev 20:14-15 it is Hades and Death that are thrown into the fire, not hell per se.    In this passage it is the personification of Death and Hades (the grave or the underworld holding place of the dead) that are being being cast into the lake of fire.  That does not mean the lake of fire cannot be considered hell (the final destiny of the wicked).  That is how most traditionalists I have debated would respond.

[Behold]

2 things we know Hell isn't.

It isn't a myth, and it isn't the Lake Of Fire.

Yeshua actually spoke more about Hell then He spoke about Heaven.

[other one]

My usual point is what does it matter?   Jesus didn't come down here and die as a fire insurance policy...   he came here to make a way for us to spend eternity with him....    if you come to Jesus running from the fire, I think one is missing the whole point of his trip.

So to answer your question as to my view of hell.    well my view is it doesn't matter.   It's not part of my future so why should I care.

[Bible_Gazer]

well there seem to be many views

Here is one I seem to have heard of.

Matthew 23:15 (KJV)
¹⁵  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

This hell here would be the false religions. The proselyte went from one hell to another.

One place it says and it seem to be related is "the gates of hell". This may be talking about those false religious gates.

 

 

[WilliamL]

Hades (a.k.a Sheol) WAS the abode of all of the souls of the dead, up until the Resurrection of Christ. Up until that time, it included Abraham's bosom, a section of Hades wherein the souls of the righteous Hebrew dead were gathered.

Hades NOW is simply the abode of the souls of the unrighteous dead.

The righteous dead are now, through the atoning blood of Christ, able to enter into heaven, wherein God dwells, because they are no longer cut off from the Presence because of sin.

Hades will be cast into the lake of fire when heaven and earth are destroyed, because there will no longer be any purpose for its existence.

[Stu of Whoville]

My view is kind of in transition, but for the most part I would consider myself to be an annihilationist.  That would be quite similar to your second option.

Yes, it is true, that Jesus talked about hell more than he talked about heaven. However, people don't seem to realize also talked about the destruction of the soul in hell. There are several places where he speaks of the death of the soul.

However, there are also verses that seem to indicate eternal suffering as well. I am uncertain of which position to take because the Bible seems to indicate both options in various places.

For example, Jesus speaks about the death of the soul in verses like

• Matthew 10:28  Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
• Luke 9:24  “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?"

Both of those indicate death of the soul.

However, there are other verses that seem to speak of eternal torment. For example

• Revelation 14:11  And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."

Thus, I am uncertain.  In my heart, I am an annihilationist, but it might be that I am wrong.

Edited February 14, 2019 by Stu of Whoville

[missmuffet]

Question: "Is hell real? Is hell eternal?"

Answer: It is interesting that a much higher percentage of people believe in the existence of heaven than believe in the existence of hell. According to the Bible, though, hell is just as real as heaven. The Bible clearly and explicitly teaches that hell is a real place to which the wicked/unbelieving are sent after death. We have all sinned against God (Romans 3:23). The just punishment for that sin is death (Romans 6:23). Since all of our sin is ultimately against God (Psalm 51:4), and since God is an infinite and eternal Being, the punishment for sin, death, must also be infinite and eternal. Hell is this infinite and eternal death which we have earned because of our sin.

The punishment of the wicked dead in hell is described throughout Scripture as “eternal fire” (Matthew 25:41), “unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12), “shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2), a place where “the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44-49), a place of “torment” and “fire” (Luke 16:23-24), “everlasting destruction” (2 Thessalonians 1:9), a place where “the smoke of torment rises forever and ever” (Revelation 14:10-11), and a “lake of burning sulfur” where the wicked are “tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).

The punishment of the wicked in hell is as never ending as the bliss of the righteous in heaven. Jesus Himself indicates that punishment in hell is just as everlasting as life in heaven (Matthew 25:46). The wicked are forever subject to the fury and the wrath of God. Those in hell will acknowledge the perfect justice of God (Psalm 76:10). Those who are in hell will know that their punishment is just and that they alone are to blame (Deuteronomy 32:3-5). Yes, hell is real. Yes, hell is a place of torment and punishment that lasts forever and ever, with no end. Praise God that, through Jesus, we can escape this eternal fate (John 3:16, 18, 36).

https://www.gotquestions.org/hell-real-eternal.html

Edited February 14, 2019 by missmuffet