Is Hell for Real?

A half truth is more dangerous than a bold-faced lie. Is there a hell? Yes, yes there is. But maybe the better question is; will there be a hell? There is no place right now where people go when they die. They don't go to heaven, nor do they go to hell. They're asleep.

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Genesis 2:7
 
"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Ecclesiastes 12:7

The spirit, or the breath of life is returned to God at every man's death. They do not roam the earth as spirits, nor look down on us from heaven as is commonly thought.

"For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing...
Also their love, and their hatred and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in any thing that is done under the sun." Ecclesiastes 9:5,6

Now that we've established that the dead are no more, let's talk about the concept of hell. Like I said before, there is hell. Hell will be at the end of the world, when Jesus comes to pass his judgement upon us all. But make no mistake, Jesus is not looking forward to hell at all, in fact, it hurts Him to think that his creations will perish in hell. Hell was not prepared for human beings, it was prepared for the devil and his angels. However, those humans who choose to disobey God and partake of the vices that are under the devil's government will also have their part in hell. God is a just God, so even as he loves, he must mete out justice.

"Then he shall say unto them on His left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Matthew 25:41

"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise... but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9

Now, is hell going to last forever? From reading the Bible, one might think so. A lot of the verses that I have read pertaining to hell call it 'everlasting fire.' So I see where the misconception that people will be tormented in hell forever comes from. But I already said, God is love. I cannot imagine the God that I have come to know tormenting people in hell forever for their wrong doings. That is not love, that is cruel. When the Bible speaks of hell being everlasting, it means the consequences of it are everlasting

Sodom and Gomorrha is an example of this.

"Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Jude 7

Now, the text says that Sodom and Gomorrha suffered eternal fire, but is Sodom and Gomorrha still burning today? No, it's not. So it stands to reason that hell fire will not go on forever as some people believe, just the effects of the fire are everlasting, just as they were everlasting to the people of Sodom and Gomorrha.

Also consider:

"For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be." Psalm 37:10

"And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet..." Malachi 4:3

The wicked will cease to exist, they will be turned to ashes by hell fire. So they will not be burning forever. Now, to be honest, I have my doubts about hell aside from the truths discussed above that I truly believe. Like, one of the questions I still have is; will the people burning in hell be able to feel themselves burning? I haven't yet found a text in the Bible that answers that question. People I've spoken to have different opinions. All I know is, God is in control. He knows what he is doing, and what He plans to do in the future. I have chosen to trust Him.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8,9

A Mighty Fortress

A mighty fortress is our god,
A bulwark never failing;
Our helper, He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great;
And armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing,
Were not the right man on our side,
The man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He, Lord Sabaoth is His name,
From age to age the same,
And he must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim, We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo! His doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers,
No thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him who with us sideth;
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill,
God's truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

-Martin Luther

I love this hymn. Not only the music that goes with it, but the words are so inspiring. It makes me smile.

Which Nature do you Feed?

I was watching a sermon and the speaker gave an analogy to the sinner's struggle that I found to be very relevant to my own life. Inside every human being are two different sides - There is the nature that we inherited from the first Adam. It is sinful and self-serving, there is nothing good in it: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Romans 5:12
But there is also a nature that can be imparted to us by the second Adam, Jesus Christ: "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Romans 5:19

These natures are constantly at war within us for dominance. One nature has the devil as the master, and the other has Jesus Christ as the Saviour. The analogy that the speaker gave was this: You have two dogs, and they are in your care for two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, they have to fight against each other. You let one dog loose in the yard, so it can run about and exercise; you feed it the best food, and make sure it has plenty of water. The other dog, you tie up and put inside a dog cage. You never let it out, and you don't give it food or water. At the end of the two weeks, when these dogs have to fight, which dog do you think will win? (Never mind the fact that the one in the cage will most likely be dead, it is an analogy after all).

It's the same with our spiritual life. I wonder sometimes at how weak I am when it comes to resisting temptation. And there is my answer. What nature to I feed? Because at the end of the day, the stronger nature will win, and strength is determined by whether that nature is fed. Do I read my Bible more than I watch television? Do I spend more time talking to God, or more time gossiping about my brothers and sisters? When we waiver before temptation, it is because we have not strengthened ourselves to resist. Every temptation is a dog fight, and the stronger dog will always win.

That being said, we can always call upon God when we need Him, and He will always answer.

"But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul." Deuteronomy 4:29