by kzjw 24 Replies latest watchtower bible
Greetings!
I'm having the whole heaven & hell discussion again w/ the wife...brought up Matthew 25:41-46 as proof it exists,then the wife balked & looked to the friends for help. The good news is that my wife now respects the fact that I won't read anything printed by the filthy slave, but the fight's still not fair. Can anyone give me more scriptures of the Bible to use? She just sent out her call to an elder & field service partner today,so I know part 2 is coming....
Thanx in advance
Here are a few more. Quoted text is from the New Jerusalem Bible.
Matt 5:29, 30 "If your right eye should be your downfall, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of yourself than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And it your right hand should be your downfall, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of yourself than to have your whole body go to hell."
Matt 18:8, 9 "If your hand or foot should be your downfall, cut it off and throw it away: it is better for you to enter into life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown intio ternal fire. And if your eye should be your downfall, tear it out and throw it away: it is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the hell of fire."
Rev 20:13-15 "The sea gave up all the dead who were in it; Death and Hades were emptied of the dead that were in them, and every one was judged as his deeds deserved. Then Death and Hades were hurled into the burning lake. This burning lake is the second death; and anybody whose name could not be found written in the book of life was hurled into the burning lake"
GLT
If Hell does exist, Heaven is surely empty.
Judge Dread
Hell is a myth to control people by fear.
There is no way Hell could be worse than my childhood......................AND I DIDN'T GROW UP IN THE TRUTH.
Judge Dread
Hi KZJW,
Here you go. Note that "hell" encompasses both the first death and the second death for the unsaved. The first is darkness and biblically is Hades (Hell). The second death is the Lake of Fire into which death and Hades are thrown after the judgement, see Rev 20.
2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.
15 and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly
22 "As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me," declares the LORD, "so will your name and descendants endure. 23 From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the LORD. 24 "And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."
6 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
This has some useful thoughts
Blessings,
Stephen
Hell is the complete absence of God, being away from his Grace.
We need to remember that, when they wrote about Hades or Ghenna, which some translate as Hell, we need to remember that the wroters of the NT bookes and letters were writing to a people of a certain time and it was what THOSE people thought of when they heard the words "hades" or "ghenna" that makes up for THEIR view of "hell".
A Dozen different views of Jesus and the Bible, no wonder people get the look on when its discussed.
Sorry kzjw, we can't use the Bible to prove an imaginary place exsist. The verses that Chalam posted all speak of a destruction of the wicked, not of enternal consciousness where people will be torturedforever. There's so many things wrong with the whole hell doctrine: How can a spirit be harmed by fire? If Jesus is the only way to attain eternal life why do those who reject him still recieve eternal life in hell? If we have immortal souls what was the point of Jesus' sacrifice? I suggest you use serveral Encyclopedias and do some research on the word "Hades" and "Gehenna" and see what thse words met in Jesus' time. You will find that those words don't have the same meaning of the word hell in english Bibles.
I think hell can be proven or disproven with the bible, it all ends up in trading proof-texts.
Eternal punishment, even the newer, softer church of England version, is morally bankrupt.
It has been a very powerful tool to keep the minions in line and the coffers full.
"As soon as the coin in the coffers ring,
a soul from purgatory springs" - John Tetzel 15th Century
