Part 4 of 5: What Every Catholic Needs To Know About Hell

[AnFcowboy79]

@5:11 The Church does teach that Hell does exist and that there ARE souls there

[ronhanish]

(Rev 17:4 KJV) "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:"

(Rev 17:5 KJV) "And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

(Rev 17:6 KJV) "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus:

[esotericapeman]

Part 1: Good video--we do need a revived sense of holy fear in our world. I did want to address the reference to souls being "hated by Christ," though; this was a matter of great interest for me when I first heard about it. I believe, based on my consultations, that God, from His Perspective, truly hates no one. God can only love the beings He created. Here is the problem: those in hell have willfully blinded themselves to God's love, and so therefore they cannot experience that love...

[esotericapeman]

Part 2: It is part of God's nature that He never changes; He does not love someone at this point and then hate him the next. His love will be received according to the mode of the receiver, and sin has the natural and inevitable effect of obstructing the love of God. In describing hell, the focus is always on warning sinners of what they will experience; although they are not literaly hated by God, it will seem that way to them, because the ability to directly experience His love is now gone.

[DollyHot]

I have to admit, when I heard that, it got my attention also.

[esotericapeman]

Absolutely. Theological language always makes use of anthropomorphisms and such, and the goal tends to be "spiritual shock therapy" (to appropriate a term used by Fr. Robert Barron). On the spiritual path, more often than not the first step is for us to be shaken out of our comfort zones (just like many of the great figures of the Bible as well as many of the saints). Once that has happened and we take the Lord seriously, we can start to truly understand certain things we didn't before.

Peace.

[judaemic]

@DollyHot Your right.  In fact, the early Church never taught everlastin punishment, and nor did Jesus. In Greek, Eternal was translated from AION, meaning age enduring. Aidon meant Eternal, and Jesus never used that term, nor do the Scriptures. St. Paul specifically speaks of the restoration of all things countless times. Gods Judgment(hell) is out of love, in order to restore a sinner to goodness.

[shgibby61981]

@judaemic false. I wouldn't want to go to eternity thinking that there is not a possibility of eternal hell. Why would God restore those that have rejected him their whole lives to a state where they get to go to heaven? That would be contradictory. Jesus said, " Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven ( and he is speaking about self proclaiming christians, so what do you think will happen to those that out right reject him?)

[judaemic]

@shgibby6981 First off, I dont know what your whole attitude is, telling me that Im false. But why would he not restore those. What you have treaded into is the false assumption that our free will overrides Gods sovereingty. Remember in Isaiah, it specifically says Gods will is always done, and in Timothy, it specifically states that his WILL, when properly translated is to have all men saved, not some weak desire. There is also the age old argument that Hell is eternal. Aion means age.

[judaemic]

@judaemic Plus you are assuming that a person is going to willingly choose hell over heaven. If we are created for God, then you are always going to be drawn towards him. Plus its not logical to assume that any finite action merits infinite punishment. According to early Church leaders, such as Gregory of Nyssa, Origen and Clement of Alexandria, the free Creature is going to choose God once they have seen the evils of their ways. Plus that scripture you stated is for religious fanatics.

[shgibby61981]

@esotericapeman The bible states that God hates those that shed innocent blood.

[esotericapeman]

@shgibby61981 I'm aware of that. But this is not a literal description of God's attitude toward sinners. God does not change, so He can't love someone one instant and then hate them the next. His love, furthermore, is unconditional and non-contingent.

So what do such Bible verses as the one you cite mean? These are examples of Hebrew rhetoric, meaning the use of, for example, hyperbole to get across an important point. I'll talk about that more in my next post...

[esotericapeman]

@esotericapeman What this tells us is that there can be no fellowship between God and those who shed innocent blood, because such behavior goes against the very nature of God. It is good news, because it reassures the believer that the Lord of the Universe is not on the side of the cruel and murderous. But still, He loves them and desires that they repent and come back to Him. This is aptly illustrated in John 3:16 and in the parable of the Prodigal Son.

Hope this helps. God Bless.