Hi -
Many have been taught that the wicked go to a
burning hell? Is that really true?
Sheol means hell or the
grave in Hebrew.
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I've included here comments from Vernetta Levels and Robert M Dickerson -- used by permission:
Sandra Hicks asked, "Do you believe that GOD sends people to hell, Robert?"
Robert responded, "No....I tell people all the time would you send your
child to an everlasting punishment because of some thing they did and
had hardly no understanding of, yet you gave your wife for your son to
live...REALLY?"
Vernetta commented, "The English bible is a
translation, and translates that Hell/Hades is a place of eternal
punishment in hell-fire---forever and ever! Hell/Hades is the same as
the Hebrew word Sheol, and simply means the grave!"
Sandra
commented, "What are the benefits/advantages of walking in truth with
GOD and abiding in the Lord if there is NO burning hell for the wicked,
y'all?"
Vernetta commented, "Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Note--- the wages for sin is death, not eternal punishing and torment in Hell."
Robert commented, "Sheol is correct it meant grave..PERIOD in the
oldest and most accurate teaching it was said, that when you died, you
were dead. PERIOD. Solomon says' the dead know nothing. Done deal, later
in history as the Greeks came along they began to expound into the
spiritual realm, moving further they added hell as a way of controlling
people, especially when the Romans and the catholic church, when the
Messiah came it was to give eternal life . The second death in the
original way written was -- you were wiped out of Gods memory. Done
deal, nothing more nothing less, when Christ came he came to give
eternal everlasting to that everlasting, whats the opposite of
everlasting life... The benefit was they curtailed bad human behavior"
Robert commented, " BINGO...Not BURNING BUT DEATH.......Now, where does the fire come?... Ms Levels you're onto it...."
Robert commented, "ALSO HOW CAN YOU BURN FOREVER when his mercy endures forever
"Contradiction of statement mercy vs punishment"
Vernetta commented, "John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.
"There are only two choices
presented. Believers will receive eternal life, but the unbeliever will
perish. Eternal life or eternal death. The wicked will not receive
eternal life or eternal punishment, they will die, which means to
perish! When you die, you are gone, you no longer exist, not even in
some spirit form."
Sandra commented, "So what, in your
estimation, Robert M Dickerson, is the deal with the folks who claim to
have visited heaven and/or hell?"
Robert commented, "They were visiting realms and other dimensions they had no business being in."
Vernetta commented, "In many places the Bible confirms that death is
like a sound sleep. Note that sleep cannot be limited to the mortal
body. It is what happens to the conscious mind. When you fall asleep and
sleep soundly, you have no knowledge of how long you have slept. You
lose track of time and reality. When you awake it is as if only a moment
has passed, yet it may have been many hours. Death is exactly the same.
Upon your death your thought processes cease, and you sleep in the
grave until your resurrection.
"2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
"So
2 Cor 5:8 cannot be used to prove instant ascension to heaven, not
in view of the many many verses in the Bible that clearly call death a
sleep."
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Psalm 106:1 - KJV
. . . his mercy endureth for ever.
Here's a link to more information that sheol means hell or the grave in Hebrew:
Link: http://www.logosapostolic.org/hebrew_word_studies/7585_sheol_hell_grave.htm
Below is a link to a Facebook group discussion about the subject matter:
Link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritleaddiscussion/permalink/829422323746402/
Update: Well, today, September 30 2014, there's more to seek the Lord about . . .
I'm reading a book, link below, that I haven't finished
yet so I can't say that I agree with the total of it . . . These two
paragraphs from the book's "Introduction" struck me:
"The
traditional Christian view of hell is such an uncomfortable, illogical
and contradictory teaching that currently a significant number of
Christians believe that, on the Day of Judgement, God will destroy or
annihilate all those who have not believed in Jesus Christ during their
earthly live
s. In other words, they
believe that there is no conscious endless suffering in hell, but total
destruction of unbelievers, meaning that they will cease to exist.
"We can empathise with some Christians who cannot accept that God would
torture unbelievers forever, and thus have opted to believe in
annihilation. However, we also reject this view as unbiblical. What a
massive defeat the belief in annihilation represents to God, His
purpose, and His love for all people, whom He created in His own image,
and for whom His Son Jesus Christ died, if He were to end up destroying
the vast majority of them out of existence."
Link to book: http://www.godsplanforall.com/
