Christians, a question regarding the Eternal Hell? Do you follow your Pastor or the Bible?

I follow Jesus, our Great Pastor, the Shepherd of our souls, the Word that became flesh.

I follow the Bible.

I use to be an atheist, and I sat down to read the Bible in order to prove it wrong.

It was while reading His word that God graciously revealed Himself to me.

It wasn't a "church" or a "Christian" or a "pastor" who "lead me to the Lord".

Therefore, like the Bereans of Acts 17:11...I receive messages from other people with great eagerness, but I examine the scriptures to see if what they say is so.

I appreciate everything you have said and your heart for those who are perishing. We certainly want there to be NO stumbling blocks to any of our hearers! Furthermore, we represent the Truth, so we desire to know and speak the truth.

...but if something is a stumbling block, should we avoid it completely, even if it is true? Of course not! The Gospel itself is a stumbling block to many people; Jews and non-Jews! (see 1 Corinthians 1:23)

Also, read Ezekiel 3:17-21!!!

To answer your question...

The parables are often spoken in such a way that the true meaning is not quite clear. Is "hell" then, nothing more than an abstraction, a parable, a symbol?

Well, one time we have Jesus explicitly explaining a parable. After the crowd left, His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

Here is what Jesus said:

“The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear."

So, clearly, this states that all who do evil will be thrown into "the blazing furnace", where there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth". This isn't a parable, this is the explanation of the parable.

But, you may ask..."OK...but it mentions nothing about it being eternal, does it?"

Consider Matthew 25:31-46; I will quote two verses from it:

"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" (41)

"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." (46)

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I have quoted Jesus above, not some human church leader or "pastor".

If He said these things, shall I not say them?

If He used such descriptions, should we not?

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Regardless, the heart of your point (I believe) lies not with the actual destiny of the wicked and what that will be like, exactly. For this is usually NOT the true stumbling block for non-Christians, either!

Most times, it is a questioning of the JUSTICE of God. No matter what "hell" is like, people can't conceive of ANY "hell" being "just".

But the bottom line is this:

1) God is just.

2) God's punishment will be just

3) Whatever "hell" exactly is...and whatever "hell" is exactly like...and however "long" hell exactly lasts (a strange concept, actually...for a God who is outside of time, anyway)...

a) Hell is NOT a place you want to go!

b) Hell will be exactly fitting for sins ("more tolerable" for some, than others)

4) ALL of us underestimate the evil of our own sins

5) ALL of us justly deserve hell, in equal and exact proportion to our sins.

6) God did not HAVE to save any of us. He would have been JUST to send us all to hell.

...but the good news...

7) Whatever "hell" is exactly, and whatever you want to call it in whatever language or tongue....

Anybody, and ALL, can avoid this just and well-deserved fate ...by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, who willingly laid down His life as a propitiation for our sins. It is a free gift offered by God. All who call upon His name shall be saved.

And that is good news!

:)

Jesus has many names. The term Angel means simply messenger. It doesn't have to be a this or that choice here. Jesus is a messenger and he is God. He was also call the Son of Man too. He is not a created being. He is the son of God. This issue does not have any real influence on Adventist beliefs. It is usually brought up by other faiths to nitpick and that is all. Adventists do believe in the trinity of the Godhead that is God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. Adventists do indeed believe that the dead know nothing. They believe Jesus will raise them up from the dead at the second coming. They believe this because that is what the Bible says. The literal translation of Hell from the Greek (the original language of the New Testament writers) is simple the grave. Adventists don't believe in a hell of eternal torment, as this is unbiblical. How can Satan torment sinners for ever when the Bible clearly says that he will be held to account for his actions and destroyed? Sin cannot exist in the presence of God. The result of rejecting God is eternal separation from God. Since God is life - that means eternal death or a state of no existence. God is a merciful God.

This is a really good question. What you are talking about is called Annihilationism. The belief that all unbelievers eventually die off, as opposed to eternal suffering.

But unbelievers WILL be thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:14 "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death."

Of course that doesn't really answer the question of whether they live there forever or they die off while in there.

Some use Mark 9:48 "where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'" to defend the idea that they are tortured forever, saying that the worm is representing the unbeliever.

Here are some other good passages arguing for eternal torment:

"A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." (Revelation 14:9-11)

"The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: "Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?"" (Isaiah 33:14)

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal (aionios) fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ... Then they will go away to eternal (aionios) punishment, but the righteous to eternal (aionios) life." (Matthew 25:41,46)

I doubt anyone will really know for sure, until they are dead of course. Good question though.

I agree that your question is too long BUT

depending on which translation of the bible you read

hell is the 'common grave' of mankind i.e. death

and/or the eternal 'cutting off' from a loving God.

the concept of eternal torment and suffering was taught by the catholic church to keep the members afraid!!

read your bible which also tells you that you must seek out the TRUTH for YOURSELF as there are many false Gods.

I'm wavering between the belief of Hell as the grave, where the dead are unaware of anything, and Hell as simply a place where the dead are away from God and left eternally to reflect on the place that their refusal to follow God in life has separated them from Him in death.

The Bible teaches it. (Ps. 9:17; Dan. 12:2; Matt. 25:46; Rev. 20:15) are just a few verses that teach there is a Hell.

Jesus Himself taught there is a Hell. In (Luke 16) Jesus describes it as a literal place. In (Mark 9:43-48) Jesus gave physical characteristics of hell.

Tartarus existed in the Greek mythology too. Only there was no devil.

Answering the question (ignoring the wall of text)

I Follow God, if my pastor veers, I ignore Him

Hell is where the lost await judgment day....then the lake of fire

I follow the Bible, and don't believe the Bible teaches eternal torment.

But just an FYI, your question/comment is way to long and I doubt anyone is going to take time to read it.

(including me)

Mormons have no hell dear, they have Outer darkness only for those like me an ex-mormon who had supposedly denied the HG.