I am sure others struggle with this.. Thanks
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Eternal hell does not exist. See John 3:16
Sorry, I actually deleted my comment because it was originally aimed at you as well. I misunderstood “annihilationism” to mean an eternal suffering in hell but looked it up and realized it meant the opposite and that you were actually sharing my understanding.
But I absolute agree, Q posts are fashioned after the Bible, in that focusing on any specific point will trip up anyone with the wrong mindset, because they will start believing whatever they want by assuming context that isn’t there. It’s only when you reconcile with the rest of Scripture will the true meaning of everything fit together like a perfect puzzle.
It’s easy to read “for God so loved the whole world” and not understand how God could eternally punish someone He once loved, or even understand that God has even hated specific individuals like Esau, or to even look into how Hebrews of the time interpreted their word for “world”, as it likely didn’t even mean the entire planet. You must also reconcile with God hardening Pharoah’s heart when he began to soften it and turn to God.
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/what-does-world-mean-john-316
I agree with you. Different Bible reading people and different Bible groups form ideas concerning how they WANT God to be, and so they hunt around cherry picking verses which seem to support certain pre-conceived notions. Universalist Christian professors I have met just can't stand the idea that a certain portion of mankind is destined for hell, so they ignore the verses which indicate that this is so, and quote universal salvation-sounding passages out of context. As for annihilation of the wicked, such persons only hope to avoid punishment for sins they deny having committed. Eternal sleep is no punishment. In my childhood there was a popular song that said, "I swear there ain't no heaven and I pray there ain't no hell." This is the hope of annihilationists.
I believe this as well. But the punishment is to perish/experience death(cease to exist), not be burned in a fire forever. See below, three red letter examples right out of the mouth of Jesus.
Define perish. Look at the Greek and Hebrew sheol was translated to hell around the 3rd century of my memory serves me correctly.
Kek. You don’t seem to have a problem debating with everyone else. Dispute what I said, I’d love to be proven wrong about hell being a scare tactic, please also use translations as close as possible to the original text.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
The fire is everlasting, the punishment is everlasting, the life of the righteous is eternal.
You literally just said “eternal hell does not exist”
How is fire and punishment everlasting without hell everlasting? You do realize the term hell is referencing the place where fire and punishment is held? Separated from Moses’s bosom?
Everlasting is to the end of time. Eternity is beyond time.
Yes hell = sheol in the original translation. Equivalent of our modern day shale, or a layer of the earth. Like you said, the place where fire (lava core of earth) and punishment (life without God) exist. But remember they exist until the end of time, not beyond time. Meaning that as long as there are people the punishment and fire will exist, not that a person will endure the punishment and fire forever.
R U NUTS? God says it exists and that it is eternal. He must be mistaken.
Show me where. Please use translations as close to the original text as possible.