What is Hell? J.I. Packer

[dusty4007]

do's he know if there is a hell or did he get it out of a book.... ok old man i guss we will c when we go...

[veggiemite777]

@dusty4007 Not that I see it as my place to say so, but you have no idea who you are talking to. J.I. Packer is one of the foremost theologians/scholars of the western world and holds a fellowship at Regent Theological Seminary. Further, as to the question of whether he got it out of a book- having researched the subject thoroughly(holding the credentials to prove this), he has WRITTEN a number of books on various subjects. Again, I reiterate the fact that it is not my place to defend him.

[alyssafaithbaer]

This was hard to hear...

whatthehellbook . com

[philip2260]

i love packers books, but he makes me feel tired to listen to him

[TheSoren56]

We all make our choices, but in the end, our choices make us.

Ignore my last comment and this one.

[TheSoren56]

You know there ain't no rest for the wicked. We got bills to pay, we got mouths to feed, there aint nothin in this world for free. There ain't no rest for the wicked, until we close our eyes for good. And even then, there ain't no rest for the wicked. It's heaven or hell, it's demon or saint, aint nothin in your control. Because there ain't no rest for the wicked. You got family to see, you got torture to see, there ain't no rest for the wicked.

"We all make our choices, but in the end,

[SamWiseGingy]

@holybuckets

What's more likely? There are demons and angels and people living eternally in torture or that there are people exploiting other people's fear of death?

Which of those to explanations best describes the human situation?

[SamWiseGingy]

Terrorism, hell is terrorism.

Because religion doesn't appeal to reason it necessary to appeal to fear; and appeal to fear they do.

Come to Jesus or bad things are going to happen to you.

[obviouslyso]

At a certain point in our lives we need to stop for a moment and ask ourselves just how much we KNOW of God and not how much we BELIEVE, much less how much we believe in what the bible says of Him. Sure we can catch glimpses of God's actions in our lives and some may even feel His presence. But the question remains, how much do we KNOW?

I guess the question is - why does God (who loves us so much) require us to believe in Him when He could just show Himself and end the speculations?

[ashjesusfollower11]

@obviouslyso If He just showed himself, it could lead people to believe out of fear or indifference and not love. One day He is going to reveal Himself but by then it will be too late to decide.

[obviouslyso]

@ashjesusfollower11 Fear? Indifference? If you intend on saving people, would you not rather have them believe out of fear than condemn them to everlasting punishment? What possible use can hiding yourself be if you'll punish people who didn't believe you were present because you refused to show yourself? How can you claim you love such people?

If He showed Himself, it'll solve one thing. Anyone who chooses to turn his back despite the fact that He has identified Himself can get punished...

[ashjesusfollower11]

@obviouslyso You still don't get it. You can only be saved by truly believing that Jesus died, resurrected, you repenting of your sins and making Jesus your master. In following Jesus, you have to love Him or your not really following Him. Fear can be a tool to come to believing but the end result must be to love Him. The devil believes in the death and resurrection of Jesus but that didn't make Him saved because He refused to let Jesus be His master and to love Him.

[obviouslyso]

@ashjesusfollower11 I laughed at the last part. When did we switch subject matter from God to Jesus? Are they the same now?? If I may say, believing that Jesus died, resurrected and repenting of your sins and making Jesus your master does not mean one has to love him. One can do all that and still fear and/or hate Jesus. If God or/and Jesus showed up now, there'll be no doubt they do exist. There'll still be choice to turn from them or accept them. But at least they SHOWED you they cared by it.

[ashjesusfollower11]

@obviouslyso God=Jesus. He does care but He has His own plan. Sometimes He shows Himself in different ways. He doesn't have be physically be standing in front of you to prove that He cares about you. the thing with letting Jesus be your Lord (master) is that it is conditioned on love, unlike having masters here. Heaven is heaven because it is all about Jesus. If you don't love Jesus, heaven will be hell indeed.

[atzengruber]

@CanadaCraig 1.The suffering of hell is beyond any experience of misery found in this world.2.Hell is clearly included in the teaching of Jesus.3.There is no cruelty in hell. Hell will be a place of perfect justice.6.Hell is eternal. There is no escape through either repentance or annihilation.Biblical passages for reflection: Matthew 8:11-12, Mark 9:42-48, Luke 16:19-31, Jude 1:3-13,Revelation 20:11-15.

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[CanadaCraig]

@atzengruber Matthew 8:11-12 - has nothing to do with TIME. If I step on your toes - you might weep and your teeth might gnash. But not necessarily FOREVER. Mark 9:42-48 - No MAN can kill those worms OR quench that fire. That's what it means. It does NOT mean that the fire itself will go on FOREVER. Luke 16:19-31 - Even if one were to argue that this verse is NOT a parable - it STILL has nothing to with 'forever'. Jude 1:3-13 - simple question for you. Is Sodom and Gomorrah still burning?

[atzengruber]

@CanadaCraig So what you are saying is that every time the Bible mentions "eternal" or "forever and ever" when refering to Hell (Matt.25:46,2.Thess.1:9,Jude 7,12-13,Rev. 20:10) it doesn't really mean time without end ? And when Jesus said in Matt. 25:46:"And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life", he didn't really mean forever? If that is so, then you'd better readdress your "wake up-call" a bit closer to homebase and realize whom you reverbarate !

[NewDirection4us]

@atzengruber to be anniliated at death would be to lose life for eternity, would it not? I'm not saying there is no place called Hell, maybe there is, but I would think that God is more likely to destroy rather that torture forever. And what difference does it matter to anyone who is saved anyway? Better not to teach a doctrine that we are unsure of...better to concentrate on that which we know about for sure.

[CanadaCraig]

@atzengruber Is Sodom and Gomorrah still burning - or NOT?! That said... in Matthew 25:46 - the punishment is DEATH. Those who become DEAD [As in 'exist no more' - which are CHRIST'S WORDS] will never again become ALIVE. Therefore the punishment is 'eternal'. They will be forever and ever DEAD.

[Icannottolerateit]

Hell for some is going to be as "minor" as a pinch. Yet an eternal pinch that cannot be comforted is much worse than a sudden and extreme torment.

The false prophet is going to be the most extreme case of suffering, and it is not something we can put into thought.

[alvarez0591]

@globeescape ask God to make you more like Jesus Christ, not a man. I absolutely love the way God used this man's writing in my life.

[Thoughtland]

I tickled a baby boy's foot an hour ago and he laughed. If he died tonight would he go to Hell?

Would I go there if I died tonight because of all the things I've done in my lifetime but I spent time helping a baby enjoy life?

I really don't believe this guy or anybody else has got the ansewers.

[EZK37]

@Thoughtland well Jesus claimed he was God and then raised from the dead, and that is what he said.

[proud638]

@Thoughtland Children who are not yet old enough to understand the gospel yet automatically go to heaven. If you accept Jesus Christ as your personal savoir and believe you go to heaven. Jesus on the cross paid all of our sins. good deeds dosnt get you into heaven.

[Icannottolerateit]

@Thoughtland Who are you to say if you have done that baby or anyone else a favor? You just see the short term effects, and rarely do you even begin to see your true motivations. Motivations are not readily apparent to us...and they are usually far worse than we imagine them to be.

[turtle4aire]

When the LORD put in man the ability to be stupid or smart and totally left it up to him to be both or pick one and run from the other. Man will be stupid just for the ideal of being different from the others. You will see two brotrher when choosing a career in life and one chooses to be a Preacher. In a lot of cases you will see the other brother choose a career such as a lawyer to be different. So You see one brother choosing Jesus in their life and the other being different not to have him.

[Chiangmai007]

"It is difficult to talk about hell because it is more awful than we have words for. And if you know that...well, it sort of, it prevents you...well...it prevents me anyway, from saying anything, when what you say would fall so short of the reality. It is tragic when people leave this world without Christ. Really tragic."

Its painful to hear and to contemplate when shared by so gentle a heart. I fear he is completely convinced and correct.

[jgtheman84]

@Chiangmai007 he knows very well. heaven and hell are so real.

[rofyle]

"Knowing God" and "God's Words" - two books every Christian should read.

[EWE1953]

For my reader below, Time Magazine ranked J I Packer as being one of the most influencial evangelicals in America. Oxford trained and a friend of CS Lewis. He is the professor of Theologoy at Regent College in Vancouver and wrote many books including Know God which has sold over 1 million copies. That's who this guy is - a great, great theologican.

[crxpunkb16]

this guy doesn't make all that much sense really. i dont know who he is but wouldn't it be easier to just say hell is at death being rejected by God in a place of weeping and nashing of teeth? the place God made for Satan but will send humans if disobedient? Isn't this hell and not so much merely the negation of being happy? It sounds to much like humanism to me... I think this man has missed the target.

[ashjesusfollower11]

@crxpunkb16 He does believe all that but the point he was trying to say is that hell is hell because you don't have Jesus in any shape or form (His grace, peace, comfort, feeling of being loved, contentment, etc.). Jesus is that source of ALL things good, so without Jesus - hell... eternal spiritual and physical torment.

[globescape]

J.I. Packer: The Quintessential "Gentle"man. I am honored to have met him. If I can be (God allows me to be) at least 0.000000001 as him, I will be the most blessed.

[harry5144]

Dios bendiga a J I Packer. Que magnifico hombre de Dios

[DisturbedYetHappy]

This man talks alot of sense