Some Christians have trouble believing in a fiery hell. They say they can’t imagine Jesus lighting the eternal flame, forever barbecuing the people he died to save. They ask if instead of reading literally the Bible descriptions of hell, they should be reading this literally: “God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross” (Colossians 1:20 NLT). 100 Tough Questions about God and the Bible, p. 83.
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Seems to me it would be impossible even for God to reconcile me to Himself if my choice is rejection of Him. I think it goes back to, the gift is there if we choose to accept it. As for literal hellfire and brimstone, I doubt that, but who can really say what “fire” is like in the world we cannot see? My view is, complete separation from God is the ultimate worst punishment, brought on mainly by, again, individual choice.
Thanks Tom.
My friend showed me your book, pictured on your give away book a week. In Rev.
is a picture of an orthodox Jew and describing taking Gods mark. She was confused.
Is there a literal mark for God/ Christ? I never read it in the bible. I explained to her that I think the mark of God would be the sign of how we live our lives. Do we live as God would want us to ??? Am I close to that or not. ??
Hi, Bonnie. I’m not sure what you’re talking about. What book are you referring to?
My two main concerns are:
The eternity of hell; a gazillion years is just the beginning. Seems like an unfair punishment for approximately 70 years of (even the worst kind of) sinning. What purpose does it serve? How does it honor God? If you’re in hell, being really, really, REALLY sorry doesn’t seem to change God’s mind. And if you’re in heaven, I can’t see you praising God for torturing Uncle Fred forever.
The root of sin. We’re taught that we inherited our sinful condition through Adam, which makes it not our fault. I doubt if people reject Jesus because they believe in God, but hate him. They may doubt certain doctrines of Christianity because of observed Christian behavior, among other things. It seems if folks end up in an eternal hell due to free will, then God appears to have failed, starting with creation.
I would rather see people follow Jesus because of his love, compassion and clear teaching. Nowhere in his 3-year ministry did he go around preaching the gospel message that is often presented today.
So I’m going with the reconciliation thing.
Thanks Steve.