Is it truely a firey place of torment as some Religions teach? Or is it just the grave, as another Religion teaches?
What REALLY is Hell?
by defd 47 Replies latest watchtower bible
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JH
Hades = Sheol = first death = unconsciousness = awaiting resurrection
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LittleToe
What do you THINK it is?
Away from the face of "God" in outer darkness, tormented by what may have been? Some face that even in this life.
For me it would be to be without Christ. As simple as that.
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Jeffro
The word 'hell' is from an Old English word related to another Old Enlgish word, 'helan', meaning 'cover', 'bury', 'inter'. Hell literally means the place where corpses are buried. Anything else is a metaphorical, mythological or superstitious usage.
I used to think I work in an office, but I have come to realise that it is actually hell with fluroescent lighting. -
sonnyboy
Hell is a scare tactic used by "Christian" leaders to keep their flock in line.
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NeonMadman
For me it would be to be without Christ. As simple as that.
Amen, bro!
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PaulJ
Being a Jehovahs Witness.
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Terry
Hell is being around people who believe in hell.
T.
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NeonMadman
Being a Jehovahs Witness.
Well, yeah, there's that...
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peacefulpete
There have been a number of extensive and well researched threads on this topic here so I will just summarize. Sheol meaning "place of questioning" in early Palestinian cult was a shadowy place where the dead lay powerless but in some way alive. The best they could do was grieve their condition and arise to welcome newcomers, it was where everyone went. Under influences from Egyptian,Persian and later Greek cult Yahwehist priests and theologians developed the notion of reward more fully. Paradise was a corner or layer of Hades (Greek underworld) that had considerably better accomodations where the good guys awaited a resurrection. Eventually Paradise was relocated to one of the layers (varying number though often 3) of heaven. Hades was a place of suffering and torment for those unworthy to enter Paradise. The Lake of Fire and Gehennah were Jewish descriptions and lables for this place of torment. The NT reflects some changing theological notions taking place in Judaism under Greek influence. So does the NT have a burning Hell? Yes of course. Does it also teach a resurrection, yes of course. Are the two fully compatible, not without a great deal of convoluted explanation. That is why there were controversies about the topic in the first century.