Does eternal punishment make sense ?

Question: Does eternal punishment make sense !?

I am a Christian but I do not believe this!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

Yes, it does!.

It is counter-intuitive to us mortals!.!.!. because we live in a world where we believe that a punishment should suit the crime!. But isnt that just a cultural bias on our part!?

Does eternal punishment make sense!? Well, does eternal reward make sense!?

We live a finite life, and perform finite good deeds, and worship God with a finite love, and devote to him for a finite amount of time!.!.!. but we are rewarded infinitely!?

That makes just as little sense!.!.!. but notice how no one criticizes that!. We only criticize the infinite punishment!.!.!. because -that- is what we dislike!.!.!. another bias on our part!.

I think its better not to weigh crime with punishment!.!.!. we shouldnt weigh a good devoted live with reward either!. Neither make sense to us!. From a quantitative perspective!.

But do you know what does make sense!? Weighing infinite punishment with infinite reward!. Now, THAT makes sense!. We live a finite life!.!.!. and receive a single infinite outcome from it!. Be it a good outcome or a bad one is irrelevant to the finiteness of our live, but entirely up to us!.

====
As for repentance!.!.!.

The point is that we are supposed to devote to God in life!. We dont know God is real!.!.!. not logically, not scientifically!. Just as atheists say, we have no legitimate reason to believe!.

But thats the point!. Thats the test!.

Once you die, you know if you still exist!.!.!. and if you know you exist after death, your faith in god has real evidence!.!.!. and its no longer faith, but a rationalized belief!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

It depends on how "eternal punishment" is understood!.

There is apparently a continuum among hell, purgatory, and heaven!.

Where the soul is, in terms of loving God, determines placement!.

The placement can change, as the person's soul changes!.

The change is how one loves Love!. If one has a hateful idea, one is in hell!. If and when one gives up that hate, becomes more loving, one moves from the eternal hell to the purgatorial level and then to the heavenly!.

A good explication of this is given in "The Great Divorce," C!. S!. Lewis!.
"Expecting Adam," Martha Beck, is also good!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

It is very difficult for the human mind to comprehend eternal hell fire, but
on the other hand, God sent heaven's best to avoid our going there, and what do we humans do !? Mock and make fun of all that is holy and Godly, God's will is already explained; not willing that any should perish, but all come to repentance and have everlasting life, if we don't accept heaven's best, we will get hell's worst!. God did not create hell for his creation, but for the devil and his angels, so who do we cast our lots with !? They are not bible scholars if they revise scriptures and read into them what they would like for them to say, that is why I like the KJV version bible, most revised versions add or take away context and meaning from scripture!. If you are saved and living right, you don't have to live in fear, not even of dying, you should have peace and joy and hope and faith!. also, repentance takes place while you are breathing, there is no purgatory[holding place] for someone to pray you out of, Paul said; to be absent from the body is to be present with the lord, it is not easy to be a christian, but neither is it hard, we have someone to call on who is able to do something about our problems and he has answered my many prayers, he has kept not only me and my wife, but all my children and grand children even in these trouble laden times, I have seen his hand in my affairs too many times to remember!. God is faithful !Www@QuestionHome@Com

Worshiping a God who would torture people for eternity just because they were not submissive and servile would be the same as worshiping an evil demon!. Unfortunately that is what most "Christians" worship!. And it shows in their relationship with others as they emulate the evil that they worship!.

Glad you have grow up spiritually and realize that the "Word of God" is also in part how you interpret the scripture!. The art of hermeneutics is not easy but a little common sense is helpful!. If a religion cannot improve then it is dead!. There is no reason to think that the last book of the Bible has been written (and I am not implying the Book of Mormon, which I consider religious fantasy)!.

The fire and brimstone approach to religion, while popular in the USA, simply means that most people are worshiping at a primitive cult level that just turns their ideas about the world we live in into their own mental hell!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations!. Matt!. 25:31, 32!.

The repentance required of those who seek God is that repentance that needeth not to be repented of,-a repentance manifested in a radical change of mind and heart!. The heart must be brought in subjection to Christ, and a repentance that works such a result can never be brought about by man; it can only proceed from Christ, who has ascended on high, and has imparted gifts unto men!. Christ said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me!." When the heart and mind submit to the drawing power of Christ, the love of Jesus will lead the sinner to repentance, and as he earnestly seeks help from God, power from on high will be given him!. The Saviour says, "Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me!."

God designed that the Prince of sufferers in humanity should be judge of the whole world!. He who came from the heavenly courts to save man from eternal death; !. !. !. He who submitted to be arraigned before an earthly tribunal, and who suffered the ignominious death of the cross--He alone is to pronounce the sentence of reward or of punishment!. He who submitted to the suffering and humiliation of the cross here, in the counsel of God is to have the fullest compensation, and ascend the throne acknowledged by all the heavenly universe as the King of saints!. He has undertaken the work of salvation, and shown before unfallen worlds and the heavenly family that the work He has begun He is able to complete!. !. !. !. In that day of final punishment and reward both saints and sinners will recognize in Him who was crucified the Judge of all living!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

The Word of God tells us not only that today is the day of salvation but also that it is appointed unto man to die and after that to face the judgement!. Repentance is required of us and salvation in Christ made available to us while we live!. Christ laid down His life for us and we are to give to Him our life and be living sacrifices to Him!. This is what He has commanded!. That can only be done by the living!.

The existence of the eternal lake of fire was spoken of clearly by Jesus Christ, having proceeded directly from the mouth of our Lord!. The subject of eternal separation from God and the torment that results appears numerous times in Scripture including the Revelation of Jesus Christ!. These Scriptures were provided in an earlier question!.
The Gospel message to repent or perish is the most urgent message known to mankind and the reason why the regenerated man or woman must soberly and faithfully preach the message of the cross to a lost world!.

God is eternal and holy!. Sin committed by man has eternal consequences!. Man is finite yes, in the sense that he lives and dies within the natural world!. God has put eternity into man so while he does die, his soul continues to go on!. He will go on to eternal life or eternal death!.
Remember then when Jesus Christ takes the sin of man unto His own back, He has dealt with it eternally!. If a man refuses the sacrifice of Christ, then that man takes his sin with him to the grave and to the Great White Throne Judgement and he must then deal with it eternally!. For a man to be annihilated after death while the sinless Christ took on human flesh and died a gruesome death bearing the sin of mankind would only serve to make a mockery of the cross and ultimately of God's own Son!. God has given man every opportunity to repent and in His mercy, many warnings!.

Bear in mind also that many "scholars" do not believe in the existence of an eternal hell!. Neither did Charles Taze Russell the founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses!. This belief along with the denial of Christ's divinity is the earmark of a cult!.

May God bless you as you continue to study His Word and seek the prompting of God the Holy Spirit!.

Please note also that the"fire and brimstone approach" as mentioned above is NOT popular in the USA!. The Word of God is not popular, period!. It is embraced in it's fullness however in places like underground China etc!.!. It has brought about great revivas throughout the last 300 years!. Men like John Knox, Wesley, Spurgeon and Jonathon Edwards to name but a few understood the Scriptures and made no attempt to bend them to their liking - instead they preached faithfully on it and faced much opposition!.
Paul would not have been in chains nor Peter crucified upside down to hope to spare man from the threat of non existence!.

Please google - Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God!.

So yes, eternal punishment does indeed make sense!.
When Jesus saves, what does He save a man from!?
He saves him from eternal punishment in the lake of fire which is the sure and final destination of the wages of sin!.
Many a man will say that he is happy enough not to exist after death but God has declared that that is not even an option!.
A man could rape and murder and go undetected by man's law and go to the grave undealt with by God!. Then why did Christ die!? We don't even have to talk about "big" sins like this; even "everyday lying" which many engage in is sin and an affront to the holiness of God!.
The poster above said that a religion that does not improve is dead!.
God the Son is utterly perfect and cannot be improved upon!
For God to change would render Him unreliable and this is not the God that is!.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Luke 16:19-31
Malachi 3-4
Rev 18-22
Matt 24-25
Mark 3

The modern "religious" movement pushes that "god" would not have a hell!.God is not bound by men's doctrines and traditions!.People have to choose to hold on to their sin and wickedness or repent of all (100%) sin and seek Jesus to forgive and give them eternal salvation!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

It makes sense to me and I agree with Posters CogitoEr, Armored Saint, Robert P, and New Creation!.

You and I both know according to the scriptures that God is an eternal being that had no beginning or end!. While angels and humans are created beings and will exist eternally as well!. Since God does not do things without a purpose then he planned both fates before he created us!.

As mortals everyone both believers and unbelievers are challenged to understand certain eternal natures of God!. God does not expect us to!. Instead a loving God would tell man truth that is true from one generation to the next or from Adam and Eve until our time now and into the future generations!. That truth would not change!. Thankfully God did not leave man clueless but gave us one book that speaks with authority on all these matters and that is the Bible!.

And that is the whole premise of this question!. Do we believe in what the Bible teaches or do we believe in what makes sense to our mortal mind!.

I choose to agree with God's eternal word the Bible as the only accepted authority on this very important matter!. No other book answers questions like this one!. That is why I agreed with the posters listed above in thought with scripture references!.

Another thought and I'm not sure if any poster addressed this, perhaps they did!. God's salvation plan was in place long before he created the universe and his plan was to save all man from sin!. And Jesus said no greater love hath no man than that he gave up his own life for his friend!. Jesus Christ considered all unbelievers including athiests as his friend because of God's eternal mercy and gave himself up for theirs and our salvation!.

No man can accuse God that they rejected God eternally when he has already made an eternal way of escape for them!. If we reject God's eternal sacrafice (that once and for all sacrafice) then we are saying no to God's eternal plan of salvation that was already in place long before God created the universe!. We then make a mockery of what Jesus Christ who was God in the flesh, did on the cross only once but it is for all time!.

We live and die once and after that the (eternal) judgement the scripture teaches!. Today is the day of (eternal) salvation!.

God is the word!. And Jesus is the Word made flesh!. It is eternal and cannot change!. What is written is written!. The Spirit of God makes the word living new and can come in and convict of sin!. The Bible convicts man of sin because the Nature of God is present in His word to save sinful man!.

The notion that we can be saved after death is not found in the scriptures at all!. Remember that God has an eternal plan and once one phase is completed he has a new one in place!. The Bible teaches that God will create a new heaven and a new earth!. The old one had passed away!.

I said a lot!. But your question is very serious and needs thoughtful answers based on God's word the Bible!. We know of evil people who will never repent of their sin and die that way who are in jail now!. We know that the devil and his angels will never accept God's ultimate authroity in their lives and will continue to do so until their time of punishment!. It makes more sense to me that evil beings would not accept God's love at any time and at any place!. Even if there is a hell, they would not accept God's love to escape it!.

So that is their choice and it is a sad one!. Armored Saint tells about the consequence of such!.

Take care and God bless!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

im sure this is as close as repentance as you can get but im sure when your gone it wont have any effect in whether you go from torment to heaven!.

'If they do not hear(AM) Moses and the Prophets,(AN) neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead!.'"
( im sure this shows you have to have made your choice in whether JESUS is ur savior or not while you were alive!.!.

The rich man also died and was buried, 23and in(AC) Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and(AD) saw Abraham far off and Lazarus(AE) at his side!. 24And he called out,(AF) 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and(AG) cool my tongue, for(AH) I am in anguish in this flame!.' 25But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that(AI) you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish!. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us!.' 27And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28for I have five brothers[g]—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment!.' 29But Abraham said, 'They have(AJ) Moses and the Prophets;(AK) let them hear them!.' 30And he said, 'No,(AL) father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!.' 31He said to him, 'If they do not hear(AM) Moses and the Prophets,(AN) neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead!.'"Www@QuestionHome@Com

Just because you don't believe it doesn't mean it isn't true!.

GOD DOES NOT LIE!!!

You are betting your eternal soul on it and you are being deceived by Satan, but it isn't too late to find the TRUTH because you are still on this side of the dirt!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

aha, thanks, i finally understand what is almighty GOD now! thanks sweetie! it's Always better than chuck norris because i use commandos and he's now a the Governor of CA

it's Arnold Schwarzenegger! hahaWww@QuestionHome@Com

If you do not believe it, then you do not believe in the Word of God

I bet people did not believe in Noah's time that rain was going to come!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Christian!.!.!.then you must've been briefed about repentance!.!.!. it's one thing to be wrong and it's another thing to be remorseful about it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

That's not the Father I know either!.

People project their own judgment on God!.

I can see how one could get himself in so much fear/anger/sadness that it SEEMS like he's stuck there forever!.

There is no "after death" There is only life!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

that would suckWww@QuestionHome@Com

no it doesn'tWww@QuestionHome@Com