As if anything said in the Bible makes much logical sense anyway, I was just thinking about Hell and how much it makes no sense. First, Hell is portrayed as all fire and brimstone. That is probably because of geographical assumptions of Hell. How it's "below." But I always have and always will associate cold not warmth with death. The geographical assumptions of Hell are void because it's a spiritual place so it can't even be a real place even if you believe in it. The other part about Hell that I really don't get is the torture part. I don't get it. You sin and follow Satan all of your life, then you die and go to Hell and he punishes you for sinning and following him? Why doesn't he greet you with a high five in one hand and a gift basket of guns, money, double bacon cheeseburgers and women in the other? What could you possibly do in Heaven to pass the time? Hell seems a lot more exciting.
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There are two Greek words for the abode of the dead. (Greek is the language in which the New Testament of the Bible was originally written.) Hell (Geenna in Greek, also called the lake of fire and the eternal fire) was made for the Devil and his minions (Matthew 25:41) and will be occupied by all the unrighteous after the last judgement (Revelation 19:20-21 and 20:10-15). There is no biblical evidence that anyone has gone there or will go there until after Jesus' Second Coming (Revelation 19:11-16). The Old Testament teaches life after death, and that all people went to a place of conscious existence called Sheol. The wicked were there (Psalm 9:17; 31:17; 49:14; Isaiah 5:14), and so were the righteous (Genesis 37:35; Job 14:13; Psalm 6:5; 16:10; 88:3; Isaiah 38:10). The New Testament equivalent of Sheol is Hades. Prior to Christ's resurrection, Luke 16:19-31 shows Hades to be divided into two realms: a place of comfort where Lazarus was and a place of torment where the rich man was. The word hell in verse 23 is not "Gehenna" (place of eternal torment) but "Hades" (place of the dead). Lazarus's place of comfort is elsewhere called Paradise (Luke 23:43). Between these two districts of Hades is "a great gulf fixed" (Luke 16:26). Jesus is described as having descended into Hades after His death (Acts 2:27, 31; cf. Ephesians 4:9). At the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it seems that the believers in Hades (i.e., the occupants of Paradise) were moved to another location. Now, Paradise is above rather than below (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). Today, when a believer dies, he is "present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:6-9). When an unbeliever dies, he follows the Old Testament unbelievers to Hades. At the final judgment, Hades will be emptied before the Great White Throne, where its occupants will be judged prior to entering the lake of fire (Revelation 20:13-15). God bless!
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