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†. Luke 16:25 . . Abraham said to him: Son, remember
I should think that one of the negative aspects of hell is memory. How people down there retain their memories sans the brain cells they left behind with their corpse, I don't know; but they do, just as the rich man is able to experience thirst sans a flesh and blood tongue.
The older one gets, the more memories they accumulate, and many of those memories haunt us with terrible regret. However, the people in hell not only have to cope with their bad memories, but also the good ones too, and I should think it is remembering the good things they enjoyed in life that makes their situation only worse in the heat. They say it is better to have loved and lost, rather than not to have loved at all. I disagree. I suspect it is far better to not know what you're missing. Ignorance really would be bliss in the once-rich man's situation.
Just think: that poor man is still in anguish down there to this very day; something like 1,955 years since Luke penned his gospel. In the grand scheme of things, that man is only just getting started on eternity because 1,955 years is little more than a warm-up for the main event. To put that in perspective: 60 AD was something like 1,432 years before Columbus discovered America.
Pop Clock Update: 30 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 1,669,560 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since July 25, 2015.
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* Toxic Troll - Negative Nancy
Good thing there are no universalists hanging around
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†. Gen 6:5 . .And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
It's freaky to contemplate that the Bible's God has a way to eavesdrop on one's mental processes on a level with which people are mostly unfamiliar.
†. Matt 15:18-19 . . For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts
So then, it's not how your mind works that defines you, no, it's how your heart works that defines you; and a man's heart is easily capable of hoodwinking his own consciousness.
†. Jer 17:9 . . The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?
There is a part of us that psychology labels the subconscious; which in Freud's opinion is a repository for socially unacceptable ideas, wishes or desires, traumatic memories, and painful emotions put out of mind by the mechanism of psychological repression. However, the contents do not necessarily have to be solely negative. In the psychoanalytic view, the subconscious is a force that can only be recognized by its effects-- in other words: your mind's thoughts can be construed not as replicas of your hearts thoughts; but rather, as symptoms of your heart's thoughts.
The key word in the above is: repression. God is able to de-suppress those repressed contents and submit them as evidence in the prosecution's case against the accused. That means He will be confronting people with things that they never before really knew about themselves; and that's why I sometimes say only a fool would take their chances with the Bible's God. They have no clue the extent of the psychological tsunami they're walking into.
Pop Clock Update: 33 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 1,833,546 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since July 25, 2015.
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Fiction can be defined as stories about people and events that, though untrue; are plausible; viz: realistic.
Fantasy can be defined as stories about people and events that are not only untrue; but implausible; viz: unrealistic.
For example: a story about a boy like Pinocchio is unrealistic; while a story about a boy with autism is realistic. The difference between Pinocchio and a boy with autism is that the one is compatible with normal reality; while the other is far removed from normal reality.
I have yet to read even one of Jesus Christ's parables that could not possibly be a real-life story. They're all actually quite believable. Now; if he had told one that alleged the moon was made of green cheese; we would have good reason to believe that at least that one was fantasy; but none of them are like that. At best; Christ's parables might qualify as fiction; but never fantasy because none of them are so far removed from normal reality that there is no possible chance of it ever being true.
Luke 16:19-31 is commonly alleged to be a parable; which of course implies that the story is fiction; and some would even say fantasy. But the parable theory has a fatal flaw. Abraham is not a fictional character: he's a real-life man; held in very high esteem by at least three of the world's prominent religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. And he's also the friend of God (Isa 41:8). I simply cannot believe that Jesus Christ-- a man famous among normal Christians for his honesty and integrity --would say something untrue about a famous real-life man; especially about one of his Father's buddies.
And on top of that, the story quotes Abraham a number of times. Well; if the story is fiction, then Jesus Christ is on record testifying that Abraham said things that he didn't really say; which is a clear violation of the commandment that prohibits bearing false witness.
There is something else to consider.
The story of the rich man and Lazarus didn't originate with Jesus Christ. No, it originated with his Father. In other words: Jesus Christ was micro-managed.
†. John 3:34 . . He is sent by God. He speaks God's words
†. John 8:26 . . He that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of Him.
†. John 8:28 . . I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught me.
†. John 12:49 . . I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
†. John 14:24 . .The word which you hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me.
So, by implying that Luke 16:19-31 is false, the parable theory insinuates that God is a person of marginal integrity who can't be trusted to tell the truth about people, not even about His own friends, which is ridiculous seeing as how Titus 1:2 and Heb 6:18 testify that God cannot lie.
Pop Clock Update: 36 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 2,003,472 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since July 25, 2015.
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†. Luke 9:35 . . A voice came from the cloud, saying: This is my son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.
The chosen son referred to in that verse isn't Solomon; it's Jesus Christ. So then, it was the voice's command that the three apostles who accompanied the son listen to him rather than listen to anybody else.
Now, that's very important because Jesus Christ testified that people continue to exist after they die; while Solomon believed just the opposite.
Solomon spoke of death; but there's no textual evidence in the book of Ecclesiastes indicating that he had ever seen beyond death for himself to know what he was talking about. In contrast, there is an abundance of textual evidence indicating that Jesus Christ not only spoke of death, but he had seen beyond death for himself to know what he was talking about. (e.g. John 3:13, John 3:31-32, John 6:33, John 6:38, and 1John 1:1-3) So in my estimation, Christ's eye-witness reports carry far more weight than Solomon's opinions.
When people insist that we listen to Solomon instead of listening to Jesus Christ, they are insinuating that the voice in the cloud steered the apostles in the wrong direction. That's a terrible thing to insinuate seeing as how the speaker was God.
†. 2Pet 1:17-18 . . For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying: This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
Can you just imagine how insulted Jesus Christ's Father must feel when people choose Solomon over His son; especially when it's a matter of record that God wasn't well pleased with Solomon?
You know, if I was going to interpret somebody's teachings about the afterlife as figurative language; it wouldn't be Jesus Christ's teachings; no, it would be somebody's else's in order to avoid insulting Christ's Father. Better to err on the safe side.
Pop Clock Update: 39 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 2,170,428 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since July 25, 2015.
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OBJECTION: The Christian hell doesn't make sense that a loving God would torment people in a fiery prison forever and ever.
RESPONSE: Human life's common sense is produced by a 3-pound lump of flabby organic tissue that can alter one's personality with little more than an aneurism or a blow to the head. Just how sensible can a flabby organic sense really be compared to the sense of a powerful, supernatural being with enough intelligence to invent, design, and construct a fully functioning cosmos with all of its forms of life, matter, and energy? A flabby organic sense isn't even a dunce in comparison: it's a sub dunce; if even that.
Pop Clock Update: 42 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 2,337,384 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since July 25, 2015.
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Human life is fragile; so much so that even something as thin as the air can snuff it out.
†. Isa 40:6-7 . . All flesh is grass, and all its grace is like the blossom of the field. The grass shall dry out, the blossom shall wilt, for a wind from the Lord has blown upon it; behold the people is grass.
According to a report released on March 25, 2014 by the World Health Organization; air pollution kills, on average, seven million people per annum; and is linked to one in eight deaths (12.5%) world-wide. Think of it. That percentage represents approximately 908.9 million deaths linked to air pollution per annum out of a currently estimated 7.271 billion people.
An estimated 4.3 million people died in 2012 as a result of indoor air pollution, mostly from cooking inside with coal or wood stoves in developing countries, according to a report by the public health agency of the United Nations.
Air pollution is so lethal because it exacerbates other conditions like cardio vascular diseases, cancer, and respiratory illnesses. Were people with those conditions permitted to breathe clean air free of hazardous chemicals and toxic particulates, they would live longer.
Pop Clock Update: 45 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 2,504,340 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since July 25, 2015.
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The wrath of God is interesting. For example:
†. Isa 13:9 . . Behold, the day of The Lord comes-- cruel; with both wrath and fierce anger
The Hebrew word for "wrath" in that statement is 'ebrah (eb-raw') which indicates an outburst of passion. In other words: the wrath of God won't be weeping big wet crocodile tears while it's slamming the dead at the Great White Throne event depicted at Rev 20:11-15; no, they will be terminated with extreme prejudice; viz: their judgment will be administered with choler. (cf. Isa 63:1-6, Rev 19:15)
Webster's defines "fierce" as: a behavior exhibited by humans and animals that inspires terror because of the wild and menacing aspect of fury in attack. Ferocity is an aspect commonly seen among roaring, snarling lions savagely attacking prey. There's neither sportsmanship nor sympathy in ferocity; only sheer terror, brutality, and blood lust.
"cruel" is defined as: disposed to inflict pain or suffering; viz: devoid of humane feelings
†. Heb 10:27 . . A certain fearful expectation of . . . fiery indignation
"fiery indignation" is quite a bit more severe than ordinary indignation. It speaks of someone who is seriously ticked off; and so angry that they're actually red in the face.
There are people out there in pews all around the world who have been so coddled by sappy versions of Christianity that they have no concept of the magnitude of the lethal tsunami of rage and violence coming their way to get them.
Another interesting aspect of the wrath of God is the person appointed to administer it-- none other than the sweet little baby away in a manger.
†. John 5:22-23 . .The Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.
†. Acts 17:31 . . For God has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.
†. Rev 19:15 . . He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
You know all those horrors depicted in the book of Revelation? Jesus Christ has been designated to supervise every one of them.
†. Rev 1:1 . .The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants.
Pop Clock Update: 48 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 2,671,296 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since July 25, 2015.
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Creeping up the blind side, shinning up the wall,
stealing through the dark of the night.
Climbing through a window, stepping to the floor
checking to the left and the right.
Picking up the pieces, putting them away;
something doesn't feel quite right.
Help me someone, let me out of here.
Then out of the dark was suddenly heard:
Welcome to the Home by the Sea
Coming out the woodwork, through the open door,
pushing from above and below.
Shadows with no substance, in the shape of men;
round and down and sideways they go.
Adrift without direction, eyes that hold despair
then as one they sigh and they moan:
Help us someone, let us out of here.
Living here so long undisturbed,
dreaming of the time we were free
so many years ago
before the time when we first heard:
Welcome to the Home by the Sea
Sit down . . Sit down
As we relive our lives in what we tell you
Images of sorrow, pictures of delight
things that go to make up a life.
Endless days of summer, longer nights of gloom
waiting for the morning light.
Scenes of unimportance, photos in a frame
things that go to make up a life.
Sit down . . Sit down
Cause you won't get away,
no with us you will stay
for the rest of your days.
So sit down as we relive our lives in what we tell you.
Let us relive our lives in what we tell you.
Home By The Sea
Genesis, 1983
Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford
The lyrics of that song are so sad because it depicts how the only thing people have to do down in the netherworld to help pass the time is tell each other about their previous lives. There is, of course, nothing to tell about their lives in hades since the colloquialism "get a life" is a non sequitur in that place. Nobody has a life down there; nor any hope of getting one.
†. Ecc 9:10 . . Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in sheol where you are going.
Pop Clock Update: 51 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 2,838,252 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since July 25, 2015.
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†. 2Ths 2:11-12 . . God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
In other words; there's coming a time when God's patience will reach its reasonable limits, and He will purposely, willfully, and deliberately make sure that a certain category of people have no chance whatsoever to be spared the wrath of God.
Back when Noah was preparing the ark, no doubt his neighbors all mocked and poked fun at him like one of those deranged souls that go around with a sandwich board that reads: Repent; The End Is Near! But when the rain started, I bet those very same neighbors panicked and tried to get Noah to open up and let them in. But even had Noah wanted to; he couldn't. The hatch of the ark was sealed from the outside; and God was the only one on earth who could open it-- He chose not to.
†. Rev 1:18 . . I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
†. Rev 3:7 . .These are the words of him who is holy and true: who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
Pop Clock Update: 54 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are within reason, then something like 3,005,208 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since July 25, 2015.
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