I think this is a really well-expressed explanation of the fact. I wish more people understood this point.

Anyway, on that note, regarding the pain of hell:

The physical universe is a reflection of, and modelled on, the spiritual universe.

Here in earth, our physical selves (aka our bodies) require warmth, light, air + nutrition, food, water. Our bodies bring these together to burn the fuel, generate energy that allows us to act, to simply exist (keep our bodies running) and even multiply.

This reflects the design of the human spirit: to grow and be healthy, our spirit selves (aka our minds & hearts) require God's grace, God's truth, God's love + spiritual nutrition and healthy relationships.

The spiritual energy generated by the actions we live and perform with our own volition and effort are in essence, our spirit's source of nutrition. Don't act, become spiritually malnourished.

But there is a two-edged sword in this principle. Bad actions generate a sort of spiritual toxin, the wages of sin. Satanic spirits gravitate and resonate with those toxins. Conversely, good actions generate a spiritual energy that our spirits need to grow and develop, mature.

The purpose of our earthly life is to grow our spirit, our hearts, our minds, so that they are fully mature and capable of fully giving and receiving God's love as expressed by God and by ourselves and others. In this sense, love is like air, the oxygen of the spirit world.

Sin limits our God-given ability to grow our hearts and minds. Those that live evil lives develop, not naturally but in a twisted, distorted way, due to the spiritual toxins within their spirits. This is the origin of demonic spirits.

In spirit world, those that do not develop their God-given heart cannot breath love. Love is painful to them, so being in God's presence is incredibly painful to them. For those that Do develop their hearts, and have grown the capacity to breathe (in and out) love, the spiritual regions inhabited by those that survive on toxins is incredibly difficult. Like being submerged under water or in a vacuum, where no love is present.

The air of the spirit world is love. God's love is the source of all other loves - parental love, children's love, sibling love and conjugal love.

Heaven is where those who can freely give and receive God's love dwell in the spirit. Hell is the place where those who cannot receive or give God's love exist in the spirit.

In my view, however, the "eternal" question is one of perception. In the spirit, there is no past, no future, there is only the eternal "now". This is why there is "eternal life" - the state of being in the full presence of God, being able to function properly in the spiritual sense, and truly love. "Eternal death" is the state of being separated from God, unable to function normally and having to survive or exist in an atmosphere of poisonous spiritual toxin every moment.

However, in God's grace, at some point, all those originally from God must return to God. Those who have been destroyed and distorted by sin will need to be restored back to God at some point. In this sense, eternal does not mean "for ever". It means, in that state of being transcendent of time and space. In my view.

Something to ponder, fren:

https://www.thepathoftruth.com/teachings/restitution/mostfoolishquestion.htm

Why do you think Christ died on the cross? Do you think it was only for those who would believe on earth?

"For God so loved the world..."

The fact that He died so that all men would be saved is somehow lost on you people. It comes from a fundamental misunderstanding as to what hell really means and what it is.

Thanks 45. It's a good question. Here are a few that certainly indicate that.

Personally, I believe that before one reads scripture, one should pray for discernment and insight. Everyone has a different approach, but for me, scripture cannot be properly appreciated and understood without the insight of the Holy Spirit (aka in rapport with God's heart and spirit).

“All nations that You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify your Name” (Psalm 86:9).

All nations. One might interpret this as metaphor - "all nations" = most nations, or all nations but not all people, but a nation is made up of its people.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).

The world. Can God save the world if part of the world is condemned forever?

“And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (I John 4:14).

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9).

It says here that the Lord is not willing that any should perish. Doesn't this mean, that if some perish, the Lord's will is not done? How else could we interpret that? Yes, the Lord wills that none perish, but if some do, too bad? The Lord doesn't really will that none perish. He's OK with cutting his losses?

“All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before You” (Psalm 22:27).

Again, all. Can we interpret "all" in the scripture simply to actually mean "a large part of" or "at least half"?

In my understanding, the real issue here is that in the past, scholars, theologians and certain believers have not been able to logically reconcile their literal interpretation of "eternal" punishment, fire, damnation, with the scriptures that indicate very strongly that ALL will in fact be saved at the end of the salvation process. Therefore, they went with the more literal (and limited) understanding, and abandoned the scriptures that disagreed with that view, choosing to interpret those scripture .... conveniently (in a way that supports their literal understanding). It's understandable, psychologically, but as Paul very clearly stated: "NOW we see darkly, THEN we shall see clearly".

We do the best we can with what we can understand at the time. But unless we have an open heart and open mind so that God can upgrade our understanding of His word, we can easily become bogged down and rigid in clinging to our limited understanding (naturally limited, because our faith is not mature and perfect).

Wasn't this exactly what Paul was indirectly guiding us to understand in 1 Cor 13:11? If we are growing, then our understanding of should also grow. Am I growing in the Lord? My understanding of God's word should be growing (deepening) year to year. If my understanding is static, then is my faith also static? do I have the name of being alive but am I actually dead?

The child's understanding is not bad; it's appropriate. But in natural development, we have to recognize that growth, including growth in faith, growth in heart, and growth in the spirit, involves a constantly developing understanding, when we put aside previous understandings and are open to a more mature view.

“…having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He has purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him” (Ephesians 1:9-10).

All things.

“…Who will have all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth… Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (I Timothy 2:4,6).

Who? The Lord. What is his will? that all men be saved. Will the Lord's will be done, or not?

“…that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).

Every.

To reconcile the scriptures of eternal damnation and the scriptures that all will in fact be saved and restored to God in the end, we have no real choice but to logically understand "eternal" as in fact referring to the state of being beyond time and space, which is the realm that God the Father himself resides.

Otherwise, we must choose to interpret the scriptures that indicate all *** and every *** as being merely metaphorical, and not literal at all.

Isn't understanding the "'eternal" as referring to that life and/or suffering in that transcendent realm beyond time and space far more consistent with the perception of a loving parent who would never abandon any child. If God is actually willing that, in the end, some get saved, but some are discarded or relegated to a constant suffering without any recourse, what kind of love is that? Wouldn't God be in constant pain then too?

An immature child might think things work that way (cutting your losses, too bad for those that screw up), but a truly loving parent who would sacrifice everything he owns in order to rescue his child would never think that way, in my opinion.

Anyway, that's my faith and that's my conviction. Just sharing here in the hope that through the exchange of faith and understanding, we both (all) may grow closer to Him (and each other).

Be well, fren.

Maybe they have to work their way through the circles of Hell, poetry style

Fear of hell is not enough to get someone into heaven. Punishment may deter crimes, but what is in your heart is what is in your heart.