Is Hell an Allegory?

[MorningGlory]

um.. a friend of mine tells me he believes in an unconditional loving God, that all men will go to heaven despite how they live their lives.

This is not what the Bible tells us about Heaven and Hell. It sounds more like New Age, made up, feel good doctrine and is totally false. I hope your friend comes to the Truth and rejects these beliefs.

[hopper]

Edited April 17, 2008 by hopper

[Openly Curious]

Do you think it is "figurative" or "fire and brimstone"?

For I know it is fire and brimstone as Jesus said it would be better to lose a limb or to pluck out your eye than to end up in hell. If hell wasn't real then we wouldn't have gotten all those warnings from Jesus to stay away from hell. Hell is not an allegory to think like this is to be in error in what the scriptures teaches us about hell. An allegory is a story that makes a point about a fictious story that teaches a truth. Like the book Pilgrim's Progress. And the bible is not a fictious book but it is truth the more sure word of prophecy.

If you think hell is and allegory then tell us what the ficticous point or truth is in the story you call an allegory.

OC

[Honeybee88]

Thank you, hopper, for a very comprehensive and realistic look at this subject. I had never thought along this angle before, but it makes so much sense. Of course I believe hell is eternal, but looking at it as something we can't ever truly grasp makes as much sense as heaven being beyond our understanding. So, I believe it's eternal, even though I don't know what all it entails. Thanks be to God, I will never know!

[EricH]

Do you think it is "figurative" or "fire and brimstone"?

It is real

[patricia1]

nope!! I wish...

[irishcowboy]

Do you think it is "figurative" or "fire and brimstone"?

nope not figurative at all.....

some sects are saying it is, and that just about everyone will be going to heaven in their own way.... hopefully, there will be people placed in their paths before it is too late, for if they do not get on track and stop trying to lead others astray, they too, will share in the rewards of the Lake of Fire...

mike

[irishcowboy]

um.. a friend of mine tells me he believes in an unconditional loving God, that all men will go to heaven despite how they live their lives.

This is not what the Bible tell us about Heaven and Hell. It sounds more like New Age, made up, feel good doctrine and is totally false. I hope your friend comes to the Truth and rejects these beliefs.

your friend has been mislead, and can lead to your friends destruction, it would be best to teach your friend that not everyone will make it to heaven.....

lets say you are a parent of 6 kids....... each and every one of them is loved by you the same... you give them each tasks/chores to do, and the chores are to be done by a certain time, and if they complete the chores by that time they get rewards, if they do not get them by that time, you give them a secondary time, with no rewards, and if they do not complete them by that time they get punished....... sound fair???

well, God loves each and every person on this earth the same, unconditionally......NONE OF US deserve to make it to heaven, NONE OF US are righteous in our own, we are all sinners, we have been leading others astray, we have been doing things our way, and not meeting the deadline God has set for our rewards...... WE ALL DESERVE ETERNAL PUNISHMENT for our lives we have lead....... no one has met the primary or the secondary deadline......

now, being God is more JUST and FAIR then we can ever be, He has given us one provision that we can use to join His Family....... THE SALVATION THAT IS FOUND ONLY THROUGH HIS ONLY NATURAL SON, JESUS.

those that do not take Christ, have missed the boat, those that do, have eternal life.....

one of the verses that is used to build this universalism doctrine, is EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, AND EVERY TONGUE WILL CONFESS ......... the problem with this is, those that rely on this have not read the rest of the Word of God, and what God says about it........ while it is true, Every Knee Will Bow, and Every Tongue will Confess Jesus IS Lord, some will be doing it in PRAISE AND WORSHIP AT HIS FEET AS HE SITS ON THE THRONE, and others will be doing it as they are drug off to the lake of fire as it is written..... those that do not have Christ, will be sharing the Lake of Fire with satan and his cronies.....

study to show yourself approved.... study to ensure you are not being lead astray..... Romans is a good book for this, as is John and Revelation tells what will happen should they choose not to accept Christ....

mike

[Mudcat]

Hi OC,

Seems I've gotten a lot of responses, thanks all. Wanted to take minute to address your statement.

Do you think it is "figurative" or "fire and brimstone"?

For I know it is fire and brimstone as Jesus said it would be better to lose a limb or to pluck out your eye than to end up in hell. If hell wasn't real then we wouldn't have gotten all those warnings from Jesus to stay away from hell. Hell is not an allegory to think like this is to be in error in what the scriptures teaches us about hell. An allegory is a story that makes a point about a fictious story that teaches a truth. Like the book Pilgrim's Progress. And the bible is not a fictious book but it is truth the more sure word of prophecy.

If you think hell is and allegory then tell us what the ficticous point or truth is in the story you call an allegory.

OC

No, I don't believe the Bible is a work of fiction either. I believe it is Gods word. I don't have a real formal opinion on Hell other than its real, Gods not there, its eternal and I don't want to be their either. However, I would say that there are a lot of different things used to describe both Heaven and Hell in the Bible. The places that are being described are not of this world, and I think the Bible does its best to describe both, in as much as it will fit human language.

I think a good comparison would be trying to describe a rainbow to a person that was blind from birth. Could you communicate it in such a way that they would 'get' the picture? Do you think it might be possible that this is what Bible is trying to do on the subject of Hell...Describe something that we can't comprehend, in language we can understand?

I am wondering what people think Hell will actually be like?

Here is a verse in the Bible, that is off topic...but makes the point..to a degree

Psa 59:7 Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?

I don't think the men that David referred to here had swords in their lips....its a metaphor.

[Openly Curious]

Hi OC,

Seems I've gotten a lot of responses, thanks all. Wanted to take minute to address your statement.

Do you think it is "figurative" or "fire and brimstone"?

For I know it is fire and brimstone as Jesus said it would be better to lose a limb or to pluck out your eye than to end up in hell. If hell wasn't real then we wouldn't have gotten all those warnings from Jesus to stay away from hell. Hell is not an allegory to think like this is to be in error in what the scriptures teaches us about hell. An allegory is a story that makes a point about a fictious story that teaches a truth. Like the book Pilgrim's Progress. And the bible is not a fictious book but it is truth the more sure word of prophecy.

If you think hell is and allegory then tell us what the ficticous point or truth is in the story you call an allegory.

OC

No, I don't believe the Bible is a work of fiction either. I believe it is Gods word. I don't have a real formal opinion on Hell other than its real, Gods not there, its eternal and I don't want to be their either. However, I would say that there are a lot of different things used to describe both Heaven and Hell in the Bible. The places that are being described are not of this world, and I think the Bible does its best to describe both, in as much as it will fit human language.

I think a good comparison would be trying to describe a rainbow to a person that was blind from birth. Could you communicate it in such a way that they would 'get' the picture? Do you think it might be possible that this is what Bible is trying to do on the subject of Hell...Describe something that we can't comprehend, in language we can understand?

I am wondering what people think Hell will actually be like?

Here is a verse in the Bible, that is off topic...but makes the point..to a degree

Psa 59:7 Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?

I don't think the men that David referred to here had swords in their lips....its a metaphor.

First you have a good response to the things that I said. However the last part I do not necessarily agree with as I do not see Psalm 59:7 as a metaphor at all. But David was saying that the voice of the enemy had swords in the mouth as the things they were shouting out while in battle. But David trusted in the Lord and God gave them triump over their enemies and David prayed that God would let him see his desire over his enemies vs. #10

OC