Hell's New Arrivals

[Odë:hgöd]

.
One of my favorite lines from the movie "Titanic" is when Mr. Ismay protests that the
ship can't sink; and Mr. Andrews responds: She's made of iron, sir! I assure you,
she can . . . and she will. It is a mathematical certainty.

There are folks at large all across the internet, and around the globe, sincerely
believing that Hell isn't a place of conscious suffering. They, like Mr. Ismay, will be
utterly stunned and bewildered to the limits of human astonishment to discover it's
exactly that.

UPDATE: 379 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 26,288,956 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
In the movie "Shawshank Redemption" a man is given two life sentences for
murders he didn't commit. At first he feels very strongly that the truth will come
out that he's innocent and doesn't belong in prison: he expects to eventually be
exonerated and set free.

Well, one of the old-timers cautioned him about that with the advice: "Hope is a
dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane. It's no use on the inside. You'd
better get used to that idea."

I'd imagine that most new arrivals in Hell take quite a while to get used to the idea
that it is what it is, i.e. they're never getting out.

Were Hell a normal penal colony like San Quentin or Riker's Island; then I think
most folks would eventually settle down and accept it as a way of life. But the
element of fire makes adjustment very difficult. If only there was at least some
water to help folks beat the heat, that would be very helpful. And maybe recreation
and/or something to occupy their minds like reading, writing, art, and construction
projects. I really don't know how people keep from running mad with insanity from
mental atrophy down there. And where do they sit down; on top of each other?

UPDATE: 384 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 26,635,776 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
There are folks at large-- e.g. Jehovah's Witnesses, et al --who insist human life is
entirely organic and does not survive the termination of one's material body. If it
turns out those folks are resting upon a false premise, their disappointment will be
very grievous.

● Eccl 12:7 . . For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to
God who gave it.

The million dollar question is: What does God do with people's spirit once He gets it
back?

And another: Is it possible peoples' spirits are transferable to a different form of
existence than the one they have now: maybe even an existence that can
withstand incineration?

Those are very, very disturbing questions; especially for Jehovah's Witnesses
because they believe the angel Michael's life force was transferred to Mary's womb
so he could exist as a human being without losing the essence of his identity; and
then when his human existence passed away on the cross, Michael's life force was
transferred back so he could pick up where he left off as an angel. Were I a JW, the
Society's thoughts about life force would make me very nervous.

UPDATE: 389 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 26,982,596 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
● 1Tim 6:7 . .We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry
nothing out.

That rather blue note impacts everyone: both saint and sinner alike. Regardless of
one's afterlife destination, we all suffer the loss of everything we hold dear: our
photos, our collections, our souvenirs, our hobbies, our favorite sights, sounds, and
locations along with every project and every endeavor. I should think that even
Heaven, though no doubt a nice enough place, is nevertheless a difficult adjustment
for nostalgic folks.

UPDATE: 395 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 27,398,780 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
There are folks at large-- e.g. Jehovah's Witnesses, et al --who insist human life is
entirely organic and does not survive the termination of one's material body. If it
turns out those folks are resting upon a false premise, their disappointment will be
very grievous.

● Eccl 12:7 . . For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to
God who gave it.

The million dollar question is: What does God do with people's spirit once He gets it
back?

And another: Is it possible peoples' spirits are transferable to a different form of
existence than the one they have now: maybe even an existence that can
withstand incineration?

Those are very, very disturbing questions; especially for Jehovah's Witnesses
because they believe the angel Michael's life force was transferred to Mary's womb
so he could exist as a human being without losing the essence of his identity; and
then when his human existence passed away on the cross, Michael's life force was
transferred back so he could pick up where he left off as an angel. Were I a JW, the
Society's thoughts about life force would make me very nervous.

UPDATE: 400 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 27,745,600 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
● 1Tim 6:7 . .We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry
nothing out.

That rather blue note impacts everyone: both saint and sinner alike. Regardless of
one's afterlife destination, we all suffer the loss of everything we hold dear: our
photos, our collections, our jewelry, our clothing, our souvenirs, our hobbies, our
favorite sights, sounds, and locations along with every project and every endeavor.
I should think that even Heaven, though no doubt a nice enough place, is
nevertheless a difficult adjustment for nostalgic folks.

UPDATE: 405 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 28,092,420 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
FAQ: According to Rev 20:14, John saw Death discarded in a lake of fire. Well;
death is an abstract. How then can it be spoken of as an object that can be picked
up and thrown like a baseball or a javelin?

REPLY: That passage is likely speaking of Death as a category consisting of
everything and anything one can possibly imagine that God considers dead to
Himself, i.e. everything with which and/or with whom, He prefers not to associate;
including of course the poor slobs on the wrong side of the afterlife.

In that respect, the lake of fire could be thought of as a sanitary landfill, viz: there's
a really big Spring cleaning pending on God's to-do list: not only at the great white
throne event, but also upon Jesus' return per Matt 13:40-42.

UPDATE: 410 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 28,439,240 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
FAQ: Do people in Hell have immortality?

REPLY: No; when people pass on, they leave their bodies behind.

FAQ: Do people in Hell have eternal life?

REPLY: No; eternal life is a gift from God to folks who've bought into the gospel.

FAQ: If so that people in Hell have neither immortality nor eternal life, then how
can it be possible their conscious suffering is perpetual?

REPLY: The afterlife is something about which I know very little.

However, it's readily seen from Isaiah 14:4-20 and Luke 16:19-31 that folks on the
other side are conscious, sentient, and recognizable; plus, they exhibit human
characteristics, e.g. Abraham has a bosom, Lazarus has a finger, and the rich man
has a tongue. In addition; both the rich man and Abraham are capable of speech;
and the rich man has his memories. From all appearances, people over there are
fully human. Exactly how that is; I don't really know. Their world there is obviously
very different than the world with which I am familiar here

UPDATE: 415 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 28,786,060 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
"Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you
love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who
ever was, lived out their lives on that mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam-- every
hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of
civilizations, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and
father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt
politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the
history of our species lived here." (Adapted From Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot)

The Earth is a literal death star, flying thru space, looping around and around the
Sun many times over and again: a floating cemetery whose soils and seas are
filled with the dead from many centuries stretching back to Abel: the first of its
passengers to return to the dust from whence they came.

● Eccl 7:2 . . It is better to spend your time at funerals than at festivals. For you
are going to die, and you should think about it while there is still time.

Ergo: The time for people to be thinking about the afterlife is not when they get
there, but before they get there.

UPDATE: 421 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 29,202,244 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_

 

[Eleanor]

● Eph 1:4-5 . .He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we
should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as
sons through Jesus Christ to Himself,
Predestination isn't random; it's typically always the consequence of foreknowledge.
In other words: God has always known, from the very beginning who will, and who
won't, come to faith in His son.

The problem with that is God's foreknowledge (prognosis) means of what he is going to do, it does not mean of what man is going to do.
And God knows in advance what he is going to do because he has decreed that he shall do it.

God's foreknowledge is not about basing any decisions on what he knows man is going to do.

And seeing as how He had that information at hand
early on, then it was safe and practical to go ahead and establish their adoption in
advance seeing as how it's a sure thing.

● Rom 8:29 . . For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the likeness of His son.

FAQ: If God predestined Christ's followers to be conformed to the likeness of His
son, then wouldn't that mean He predestined Christ's opponents to be conformed to
the Devil?

REPLY: I should think that a reasonable assumption. In point of fact, passages like
John 8:44 and Eph 2:1-2 strongly suggest that the process of conforming folks to
the Devil's likeness is the default, i.e. everybody starts out on that path.

UPDATE: 13 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 901,732 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_

 

[Eleanor]

FAQ: The Bible thumpers say it's a "must" to believe in Christ in order to be spared
the wrath of God. How is that fair to peoples of the world who were never afforded
an opportunity to know about him?

God is not "fair," God is just--giving everyone his due--what one has earned, what one is owed.
God owes no one anything more than that.
As Adam's descendants, we inherit his nature, which is fallen, sinful, and
the guilt of his sin is imputed to those of Adam (Ro 5:11-14)--it being the pattern (Ro 5:14) for Christ's righteousness being imputed to those of Christ (Ro 5:18-19).

We are all born already condemned (Ro 5:18), objects of God's wrath (Eph 2:3, Ro 5:9), because of our sinful nature and Adam's guilt imputed to us (Ro 5:18).
God owes salvation to no one. . .he is free to give it to whomever he pleases, and no one can rightly call him unjust for not giving it to all.

REPLY: According to Ps 19:1-4, Rom 1:19-20, and Rom 2:14-15; the realm of
nature + conscience, becomes the basis upon which God judges people who've
somehow gone through life without ever hearing the Bible taught or preached.

And seeing as how the justice of God is described as righteous (Rom 2:5) then no
doubt their punishment will be quite a bit more lenient than the punishment in
store for the gospel's detractors. (cf. Luke 2:47-48 and Heb 10:29). Unbelievers
are immediately condemned-- no delay and no waiting period. (John 3:16-18)

UPDATE: 27 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 1,872,828 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
● Gen 28:15 . . Remember, I am with you: I will protect you wherever you go and
will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have
promised you.

Hardly any of those promises were fulfilled in Jacob's lifetime. So how could God
say: "I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you"

Well; I think it best to take it that God remained Jacob's provider even in the grave,
i.e. when God's people pass away, they don't become dead to Him; whereas when
the wicked die, they no longer make any difference; for example:

"As to whether the dead will be raised-- Moses proved this when he wrote about the
burning bush. Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, Moses wrote of The
Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. So he is the
God of the living, not the dead. They are all alive to him." (Luke 20:37-38)

God has always been with Jacob, and never left him even once-- all these many
years; better than three-thousand of them by now. And all this whole time Jacob
has lived under God's protection because God promised He would protect Jacob
wherever he went; and in order for that promise to be meaningful, it has to include
the afterlife. (cf. Ps 139:7-10 & Matt 16:18)

UPDATE: 426 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 29,549,064 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_

 

[Alive]

“For the living know that they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor do they have a reward any longer, for their memory is forgotten.”

(Ecclesiastes 9:5 NAS20)

Accordance

accordance.bible

 

[Eleanor]

.
● Gen 28:15 . . Remember, I am with you: I will protect you wherever you go and
will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have
promised you.

Hardly any of those promises were fulfilled in Jacob's lifetime. So how could God
say: "I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you"

God promised an everlasting possession (Ge 17:8, 48:4), which was fulfilled in the heavenly land (Heb 11:13-16).

Well; I think it best to take it that God remained Jacob's provider even in the grave,
i.e. when God's people pass away, they don't become dead to Him; whereas when
the wicked die, they no longer make any difference; for example:

"As to whether the dead will be raised-- Moses proved this when he wrote about the
burning bush. Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, Moses wrote of The
Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. So he is the
God of the living, not the dead. They are all alive to him." (Luke 20:37-38)

God has always been with Jacob, and never left him even once-- all these many
years; better than three-thousand of them by now. And all this whole time Jacob
has lived under God's protection because God promised He would protect Jacob
wherever he went; and in order for that promise to be meaningful, it has to include
the afterlife. (cf. Ps 139:7-10 & Matt 16:18)

UPDATE: 426 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 29,549,064 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
FAQ: Why do Solomon's remarks in the book of Ecclesiastes conflict with some of
Christ's teachings in the New Testament?

REPLY: According to 2Tim 3:16, Solomon was inspired to write Ecclesiastes, but the
catch is: his comments essentially represent a thinking man's world view-- a
philosophy of life under the sun --rather than a book of either history, revelation, or
prophecy.

In other words: Solomon's observations are restricted to the scope of empirical
evidence and human experience, i.e. a perception of reality moderated by what we
can see for ourselves going on around us in the natural rather than the
supernatural-- which is at least one of the reasons why Ecclesiastes appeals to
cultists, atheists, and agnostics, et al.

Solomon's world view is punctuated with pessimism; which is basically a mindset
inclined to dwell on the negative in human experience rather than the positive. For
example:

You only go around once, so do it with all the gusto you can get!

That was a Schlitz beer slogan some years ago. It's worldly wisdom thru and thru
rather than Christ's. Compare it to a couple of Solomon's remarks:

● Ecc 9:5 . . The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they
are conscious of nothing at all.

● Ecc 9:10 . . All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is
no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the place to which you
are going.

That wisdom reflects Schlitz beer wisdom, viz: it's earthly wisdom rather than the
wisdom that comes from above.

Solomon was a very wise man, in point of fact: the brightest intellectual of his day.
But Solomon didn't know everything there is to know, nor had he seen everything
there is to see, nor been everywhere there is to go. Solomon's knowledge was
incomplete, whereas Christ's knowledge is unlimited.

● Col 2:3 . . Carefully concealed in him are all the treasures of wisdom and of
knowledge.

And as his alter ego The Word per John 1:1-3, Christ has seen everything there is
to see, and been everywhere there is to go.

So then, it only stands to reason that Christ would have more to tell about the
afterlife than Solomon, whereas Solomon didn't see anything beyond the grave
when he penned Ecclesiastes.

A good rule of thumb to apply when the teachings of Solomon and Jesus contradict
each other, is to keep in mind that Jesus is Solomon's superior, viz: Jesus' thoughts
trump Solomon's.

● Matt 12:42 . .The queen of the south will be raised up in the judgment with this
generation and will condemn it; because she came from the ends of the earth to
hear the wisdom of Solomon, but, look! something more than Solomon is here.

● John 3:31 . . He that comes from above is over all others.

And Jesus comes highly recommended too.

● Matt 17:5 . . This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved; listen to him.

So then, when encountering remarks in the book of Ecclesiastes that are out of step
with Jesus' teachings in the New Testament; my unsolicited spiritual counseling is
to marginalize Solomon's view of the afterlife and go with the wisdom of "my Son".

● John 8:12 . . I am the light of the world. He that follows me will by no means
walk in darkness, but will possess the light of life.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
● John 5:22 . .The Father has entrusted all judgment to His son

For that reason, people really ought to be scared of Christ because he intends to go
about the business of law enforcement no differently than the fire and brimstone
practices of the God of the Old Testament, by whom Jesus has been trained to take
the reins.

● John 5:19 . . I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do
only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also
does.

The very first time I was informed of Jesus' return to take over the world, I became
nervous because at the time I had a lot to answer for. Well; I didn't know it at then
but my anxiety was spot-on.

● Ps 2:7-12 . . I will proclaim The Lord's decree. He said to me: You are my Son;
today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your
inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron
scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.

. . .Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve The
Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be
destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who
take refuge in him.

UPDATE: 431 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 29,895,884 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
● Heb 12:29 . . For our God is a consuming fire.

That's a quote from Deut 4:24 which, in context, doesn't describe God's physical
characteristics, rather, it's a figure of speech illustrating rage: defined by Webster's
as violent and uncontrolled anger. It's hard to imagine Christianity's divine patron
ticked off to that extent, but there it is.

* A consuming fire is one that cannot be extinguished, i.e. once it gets going,
there's no stopping till all that's aflame is utterly destroyed beyond recognition, viz:
a conflagration.

UPDATE: 437 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 30,312,068 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
FAQ: Does Matt 25:31-46 depict the final judgment?

REPLY: No, rather; it depicts a culling from the herd of Tribulation survivors relative
to their treatment of the Jews during a time of unequaled anti-Semitism. (If the
Jews thought they've had it bad in the last 100 years with the Holocaust, Egypt,
Syria, Iran, Iraq, the Hamas, the Hezbollah, the ISIS, and the Al Qaeda: something
much worse is yet to come.)

UPDATE: 442 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 30,658,888 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_

 

[Eleanor]

.
FAQ: Does Matt 25:31-46 depict the final judgment?
REPLY: No, rather; it depicts a culling from the herd of Tribulation survivors relative
to their treatment of the Jews during a time of unequaled anti-Semitism. (If the
Jews thought they've had it bad in the last 100 years with the Holocaust, Egypt,
Syria, Iran, Iraq, the Hamas, the Hezbollah, the ISIS, and the Al Qaeda: something
much worse is yet to come.)

UPDATE: 442 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 30,658,888 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.

Prophecy is given in riddles and not clearly (Nu 12:8) and is subject to more than one interpretation, the only rule being interpretation must in in agreement with apostolic teaching, which this is not.

 

[Odë:hgöd]

.
According to Matt 10:28, the body and the soul are perishable. However; though
the body is perishable by any means, the soul is perishable only by divine means;
i.e. the deaths of body and soul aren't necessarily simultaneous, viz: the soul lives
on until such a time as God decides to give it either a thumb up or a thumb down.

This is interesting because if we can take Luke 16:19-31 to mean something real;
then we may safely assume souls are transferrable to an afterlife situation wherein
people retain some of their human characteristics. For example: Lazarus has a
finger, Abraham has a bosom, the rich man has a tongue; and all are sentient
beings, i.e. lucid & conscious.

NOTE: If there is such a thing as soul sleep I won't know it, here's why:

I've been under anesthesia once for appendicitis, twice for hernias, once for a scalp
lump, once for a kidney stone, twice for total knee replacements, once for a
colonoscopy, once for lung cancer, once for wisdom teeth, and twice for an
endoscopy.

In none of those procedures was I aware of the passage of time. The very moment
I went under was simultaneous with awakening. So if soul sleep is like that, I'll be
in paradise as if I went from here to there in less than a second of time on the
clock, i.e. instantaneously. The same can be said for folks on track for the wrong
side of the chasm separating Abraham from the rich man. (Luke 16:26)

UPDATE: 447 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the OP's figures are in
the ball park, then something like 31,005,708 new arrivals have checked into the fiery
sector of Hades since July 04, 2023.
_