Is there such thing as a bad enough sin as for to deserve eternal damnation?

Do you think God is unfair? Has He predestined some human beings—made in His image—to burn in hell, with no genuine opportunity for salvation? Shockingly, this idea of a cruel and capricious God is commonly taught in the name of "Christianity." But it is wrong! God’s plan will give every human being a genuine opportunity to be saved. Contrary to much popular opinion, the Bible does not teach that human beings have immortal souls. The phrase "immortal soul" never appears in your Bible! Certainly there is a "spirit in man" which sets us apart from the animals (1 Corinthians 2:11). That human spirit, and human brain, constitute the human mind. But this is not an immortal soul; it can be destroyed. Remember what Jesus warned us: "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). God can destroy the soul. The "soul" is not immortal! Many people have wondered why, if God is such a just God, He condemns people to suffer for all eternity when they have never had a real chance to hear, believe or act upon the gospel. The answer is simple: He does not do that! God is just and fair.

Another passage that graphically illustrates the utter destruction of the wicked is to be found in the book of Malachi. "'For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,' says the LORD of hosts, 'that will leave them neither root nor branch'" (Malachi 4:1).

It is Satan and his angels who will be tormented forever. Satan wants us to believe that his fate, as a spirit being, will be the fate of humans! Satan "deceives the whole world" (Revelation 12:9). Contrary to Satan’s propaganda, God will not allow humans to suffer forever!

Many who call themselves Christian have been unable to reconcile God’s love, mercy and justice with the idea of eternal hellfire for those who have never heard the message of Jesus Christ. Yet the Bible plainly teaches, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

How can we reconcile this apparent contradiction between God’s mercy and His justice? Your Bible reveals that billions of people will have their very first opportunity for salvation in the White Throne Judgment, described in Revelation 20:11–12. God’s plan of salvation may be difficult for some to believe. But it is very encouraging when you understand the hope it brings to all of humanity. Those who have suffered from their own sins in ignorance, and those who have been innocent victims of war, oppression and genocide will be resurrected to understand the Bible—the Book of Life. They will have their first true opportunity to understand God’s love for all humanity. In the White Throne Judgment, billions of human beings who were previously spiritually blinded will finally learn from the pain of the past, and they will be given the opportunity to truly repent, believe the gospel and eventually inherit the Kingdom of God. As Peter wrote, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

But what about those who have seared their consciences, and knowingly rejected God’s truth, love, knowledge and forgiveness in favor of rebellion, hatred and sin? These willful sinners will be burned up in a lake of fire! Notice: "Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:14–15).

Here is the second death—the eternal death penalty from which there is no resurrection! Those who have sealed their minds never to repent or surrender to Jesus Christ will be totally burned up—destroyed!

In Luke 16, the parable of Lazarus and the rich man illustrates the torment unrepentant sinners will experience before they are totally burned up. Notice that the rich man is about to be thrown into the lake of fire. Notice also that he is in hades—he is in the grave, not in Gehenna fire. He is resurrected for final judgment, as described in Revelation 20. So what does he ask for? A drop of water to cool his tongue. He did not ask for buckets of water to be poured over him. The rich man was in deep mental torment and anguish just before his destruction. The incorrigibly wicked will suffer the torment of knowing their fate before their final execution. But a loving and merciful God will put them out of their misery for all eternity. They will be totally burned up and destroyed forever, annihilated in the lake of fire—a fire that will spread over the whole earth!

Yes, the whole earth will be purified by fire. "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness" (2 Peter 3:10–11).

Those who have sealed their own fate—who have determined never to repent of their evil attitude and nature—will be totally burned up and will become ashes! They will not be tormented forever. They will receive their eternal punishment, not eternal punishing. Their death, their eternal punishment, will last for eternity!

This is what the Bible teaches. The incorrigibly wicked will be totally destroyed—annihilated. But they will not be destroyed capriciously, or unfairly, or because God predestined them never to hear Christ’s message. As we have seen, no one can be saved without accepting the message of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). Through the White Throne Judgment, those human beings who have not previously had their minds opened by God’s truth will have their first genuine opportunity for salvation.

So, who is burning in hell? . The answer is:..."No one!" There is a future lake of fire that will burn up, consume, and annihilate the wicked forever. That fire will purify the earth for the new heavens and earth promised in Revelation 21. We can all be thankful for God’s justice, fairness, and plan of salvation through Christ.

Your question is logically and reasonable. It is unfortunate that so many people have been taught to believe that man possesses an immortal soul that survives the death of the body. Millions, maybe billions, believe that man is endowed with a soul that moves on to another world or plane of existence at death or is reincarnated as another creature. (The teaching on Hell-fire is dependent on the teaching of the immortality of the soul.) What does the Bible say about the soul? You will find the following questions intriguing and illuminating. For the answers, I suggest that you check the scriptures that are cited.

1. Was Adam created in heaven, or on earth?—Genesis 1:26-28.

2. Was Adam created mortal, or immortal?—Genesis 2:15-17.

3. If Adam had not been disobedient and sinned, would he have died?—Romans 6:23.

4. Did Adam’s course of action prove he was mortal, or immortal?—Genesis 3:19; 5:5.

5. By his sin, did Adam lose an earthly home, or a heavenly one?—Genesis 1:26-28.

6. If Jesus came to restore that which was lost by Adam’s fall, what will be restored?—Psalm 37:29; Romans 5:18, 19; Revelation 21:1-4.

7. Was Adam composed of two distinct parts, the soul and the body?—Genesis 2:7; 1 Corinthians 15:45.

8. If you believe that Adam was a soul and a body, which part sinned, the soul or the body?—Psalm 51:1-4.

9. If you answer, “The soul,” why must the body suffer?

10. If you answer, “The body,” why must the soul be saved?

11. If man gets to heaven by dying, does that not prove that sin and death are a blessing rather than, as the Bible says, a curse?—Romans 5:12; 6:21-23.

12. What penalty was imposed on Adam for his sin—death, or continued existence elsewhere?—Genesis 2:16, 17; 3:19.

13. Was there one penalty for the body and another for the soul?—Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; Ezekiel 18:4.

14. Did God even conceive of everlasting torment in hellfire?—Jeremiah 7:31.

15. According to Paul, what are the wages of sin?—Romans 6:23.

16. Does Paul mention everlasting torment in hellfire?—Romans 6:7.

17. If hellfire really does exist, why would a person suffer for all eternity to pay for only a short lifetime of sin? Is God’s justice less than man’s?—Romans 9:14.

18. Did the faithful men of old believe that they had a soul that went either to heaven or to a fiery hell?—Genesis 37:35; Psalm 89:48; Acts 2:34.

19. What is the true hope for the dead?—John 5:28, 29; 11:23-26; Acts 24:15.

20. If there is no immortal soul, how do some come to reign with Christ in the heavens?—1 Corinthians 15:42-49, 53, 54.

To answer your question about if there is such a thing as an unforgivable sin. Jesus said the answer is YES! Matthew 12:31, 32--"On this account I say to YOU, Every sort of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven. For example, whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the holy spirit, it will not be forgiven him, no, not in this system of things nor in that to come."

So many people have asked that question because we as humans know that we mess up and we don't want to think about the consequences. The real question is why do you want to wait to get to Hell to make a decision to follow God. Once you are there of course you are going to want to follow God because you are going to be tormented for eternity. But God wants us to choose Him now when we have the option to choose. That is why we have free will. So that we can freely choose Christ or we can freely deny Him. I know that Hell is a terrible place but God has given us so much instruction on how to live and what is right and what is wrong (in the BIBLE). The free gift of eternal salvation is open for anyone to receive. We just have to make the decision to receive Him. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ." (Romans 3:23-24)

Actually there is a rather "short list" of sins that are deemed unforgiveable and might land someone squarely in HELL for eternity. Those are premeditated murder and blasphemy against the Holy Ghost - which few people understand what it actually means! Everything else is covered by Christ's atoning sacrafice, grace, mercy & love. Some things can not be "REPENTED" from - which is why murder (in many forms) is unforgiveable. To repent implies that you have confessed, forsaken and restored that which was lost or damaged etc.... ONE can not unmurder someone - thus, repentence is not possible in some cases, right? HELL is a place of torment I BELIEVE because it will be the only place in our heavenly existence where its inhabitants can not and will not progress, continue to learn, grow, or have any increase whatsoever. That is to be truly damned by definition. I think most people truly do not understand the plan of salvation and all aspects of judgment, heaven and so forth... lots of misconstrued ideas and misinterpretations etc - no big surprise there though huh? : )

Many have this concept that there will be some that will go to Hell and burn forever. Consider the interpretations of these two phrases:

Eternal punishing

Eternal punishment

I, (obviously), don't know it all. I do believe, however, in the resurrection of the dead for a chance to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I also believe that some won't make it. Those that won't, will be (painlessly) removed, symbolized by the fire in Hell. Their souls extinguished, gone forever, will unknowingly (I mean they're gone) have eternal punishment (it won't be reversed) not eternal punishing (burning forever in pain)

Hell in the Bible is referred to as a place where God is not. To be any place where God is not for eternity would be Hell. God is simply telling us that to be with Him for eternity...Believe. We all have that choice to make while on earth. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the one unforgivable sin, Suicide doesnt leave one with the option of forgiveness (and is therefore unforgivable), and disbelief means an eternal life without God. And knowing that Hell is eternal is enough to make me believe. God does not take pleasure in punishing us. He does however, punish those he loves. I love my kids, and I punish them feeling horrible for the rest of the day! Jesus went to hell after he died to tell those who were there the truth so they could choose to repent and believe (thereby going to heaven with Him), this he did after giving those on earth the same choice. Hell is final, but Heaven is also final and this we know now........there are no second chances.

Eternal damnation is there for those who decide NOT to reform them self's. Look up redemption, your choice

i'd say blowing up the entire universe merits eternal damnation. assuming the person that did so is not suffering from mental problems.

Yes the sin of unbelief!

Unbelieving

Webster dictionary says, “The definition of unbelief is: incredulity or skepticism especially in matters of religious faith.”

The bible says, “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." (Revelation 21:8)

If we do not believe in our hearts that Jesus is the Christ, Son of the Living God, and our personal savior, then we have not part in heaven. If you do not believe Jesus is God in the flesh, then you will die in your sins. Nowhere in the bible will you see the unbelieving have a place in heaven. Jesus is the only way to heaven. All other religion’s paths lead to hell.

The Jesus says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)

Many will find the road to hell. There are many false prophets to follow on this road. Friend do not be an unbeliever, but listen to your heart. Jesus wants to lead you on the narrow road to heaven. This is the way that leads to life. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

It's sad to think that someone could actually believe they would burn in Hell forever.

You've never had a moment of disbelief (or other sin), even in passing? If you answer "yes" or if you have to pause to think about it, I suppose you will burn in Hell forever.

Some great rhetoric to instill guilt and fear...

I would go as far as to say that even Hitler doesn't deserve eternal damnation, what he deserve is eternal banishment.

Someone must be eternally sadist to come up with the idea.