• AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet
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    3 months ago

    Or they understand that hell is not eternal torture. John the Disciple said:

    This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

    –Revelations 20:14.5-15

    How much more clearly does it need to be said? He says it’s the second death. We all know what death is. You have to redefine the word death for the argument of eternal torture to make sense. Yes, it’s eternal punishment, because death is eternal. Not being granted eternal life is the punishment.

    The word hell is translated from the Hebrew word Sheol, which means grave or place of the dead. So you have the original word that literally represents death, and you have Jesus’ disciple John saying it’ll be death. And yet people think a loving god known for his grace is now going to torture people forever rather than just not granting them eternal life like he talked about throughout the entire new testament?

    The modern concept of hell didn’t become common until hundreds of years after Christ’s death. Unfortunately I don’t remember the exact period, but the meaning has been twisted for the purpose of manipulation and power, and then popularized by fire and brimstone pastors in the 18th and 19th centuries. I did a ton of research on this subject as a young adult because the whole thing didn’t sit right with me. It seemed very suspicious, given every other message in the new testament. Anyways, I came to the conclusion that hell as it is taught today does not exist in the scriptures. If you aren’t in the book of life, then you are thrown into the lake of fire where you die, and remain dead forever. You will not be tortured in hell forever. You will be dead.