Should We Take The Descriptions Of Hell Literally?

Frank Turek informs us as to whether or not the Bible is being literal in its descriptions of hell.

[sidwhiting]

Turek gives a reasonable answer. Is he 100% correct? I don't know for certain, and I'd prefer not to find out personally.
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I think too about heaven. Some people think of heaven as a "city" that has "streets paved with gold." Why would humans in resurrected, perfect bodies care about gold, other than it is a standard of purity? When we say someone's word is "good as gold", that means it is pure and tested, something you can rely on. That person will do what they say. It doesn't mean literal gold is falling out of their mouths. Symbolic language, perhaps. There are other references to things "like lapis lazuli", a precious gem.
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I like that Dr. Turek contrasts the fire with the outer darkness. There's no human way to explain this apparent contradiction between blinding light and utter darkness, so what is the best we can do but say Hell is a terrible place of torment. Jesus says it is a place, "where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." He also talks about the fire that is not quenched and "their worm the does not die". Is it all meant to be taken literally? I do not know.
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What I do know is that those who repent of their sins, turn to Jesus Christ, and confess him as Lord and Savior will be saved from experiencing whatever Hell is, and Jesus' descriptions--whether literal reality or metaphoric--are more than enough to help me realize that I want to be with him rather than apart from him.

[xipus]

If GOD is spirit and spirits are immaterial then how is GOD sitting on a throne? Point being it is my understanding that what is on earth mirrors what is in Heaven ie the temple etc. Therefore, If we have fire on earth then there must be some kind of spiritual fire as well. Thus, the literal burning of one's soul is totally possible. Just a thought 😄

[Johnnytorres]

Did we forget where satan and all lost souls will be thrown in the lake of fire after judgement day ?

[Riles]

I feel safe to say that Heaven is that much better, and hell that much worse, then any vast imaginative description our limited brains can come up with.

[HalChaffee]

Luke 16:19-31 seems to indicate that it is literal fire. The fact that Hell is spoken of as being in the heart of the earth lends to this idea--the center of the earth is hot. And is not hard to imagine that there would be a literal lake of fire in the middle of the earth. And we must remember, that those cast into the lake of fire will indeed have physical bodies--bodies that cannot be destroyed (John 5:28-29). As far as the devil and his angels, they may not have physical bodies, but they do have some kind of form that is subject to the spiritual world. And since the physical world often reflects the spiritual world, it is easy to comprehend the idea of some kind of equivalent for fire in the spiritual world. Therefore it is perfectly logical that hell could be both spiritual and physical.

[leroyjennings]

I agree there are a lot of symbolizations and metaphors in the bible. For instance Jesus saying I am the door, or the bread of life, or living waters etc.. He isn't those things, but uses it as imagery to get the point across. Hell is indeed a real place and anybody says otherwise doesn't know their bible to well. It is hard for us to grasp total eternal destruction and fire, darkness etc, are things we can relate it to in our material world of what hell will be like. It will be awful, it will be like torture for the soul and nashing of teeth like a dog nashing his teeth in anger where the "fire" never is quenched because of the utter torment and anguish they will "feel" for all eternity. Even when John was receiving revelation for the book of revelations he would often say it looked like, or had the appearance of, because he couldn't really describe what he was seeing but using things we are familiar with to grasp or understand the visions.

[seedfarmer]

Hell is a literal place, and it is not a separation from God, even though hell is a complete opposite of who and what God is.
Psalms 139:8 - If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, THOU ART THERE..

Hell is a literal place where rebellious spirits ( fallen Angels), Demons ( offspring of the fallen Angels ), and living souls of humans that refuse the free gift of God through Christ are/will be reserved pending final judgment in the Lake of fire.

[Left-is-right-]

If you don’t want to find out, you’re a Christian because of fear and your god is no better than mafia boss who rules with an iron fist.

[marylamb]

Hades and Gehenna were myths developed by Jews during the intertestamental period. In Enoch and Judith we can see that between 300-100 BC, pagan Jews developed a
Sheol/Hades/Gehenna that was quite lively: souls being burned alive, bodies being eaten by worms, darkness, screams of pain, etc. These Jews were influenced by the Greeks, and they liked Greek myth more than the Old Testament. Christ came to a Jewish world quite familiar with the pagan Jewish afterlife, although we can see that not all Jews believed in Gehenna or Hades. Paul wrote mostly to non-Jews, and he wasn't going to use Jewish thought to a mostly Gentile audience. "The wages of sin is death" might not sound so dramatic, but it's more plain to non-Jews like us.

[adidude]

First Viewer. Love you Frank! Christ is king!

[kurooaisu]

God uses a lot of metaphors in Bible, and that could even include the explanation of Hell. In fact, if you go to Hell, you'll HOPE it's just a lake of fire, because if it's not, it's something much worse. In fact, God also use the similar fashion to explain the forbidden fruit: when He said to Adam and Eve they will die, what it means is being separated from the presence of God, which is so much worse than death.

[Irunwithscissors]

Another apologist who proclaims 'metaphor' when something doesn't appeal to him! He'll be saying Job 38 is 'poetic' next.

[thecreatonaut]

Murder is far different then not believing. What about the millions who worship Buddah? Does it come down to the luck of the right demographic birth? I know the rebuttal to that is "Well one sin isn't worse then another in Gods eye's" I always hear the term evildoers. I know many people who live good moral lives that are atheist. Some are so good you might even call them a Christian from their mirrored actions of Jesus. They're far from the definition of evildoers. So being a compassionate, loving, charitable and selfless human being warrants an eternity in Hell? They can't enter Heaven even with those qualities? They can only enter Heaven if they know Christ. Only through him. 4600 religions on this planet. With my free will. I've asked priest, pastor and the local Dunkin Donuts clerk. I can never get a coherent answer. This is coming from a person who kept the faith for many years. I've been saved countless times. I've been baptized in an ocean, lake and river. Prayed many times. Wanna know what I prayed for...? Besides family, friends and people who needed it. I prayed for a real relationship with God? I watched members of the church sing, cry and raise their arms in the air claiming the Holy Spirit. Love was just overwhelming them. Not once did I receive that presence of God. I opened my heart. I read the scripture. Most people want to believe in Heaven. My mother and father were good Christian people. I lost my mother in 2005 and my father in 2017. Don't you think I want to see them again? Loved ones. Friends and family I've lost over years. Don't you think I want to be in a place where their is no pain, no tears and bask in the glory of God. Ofcourse I do. When you pray for God to show his love. I haven't prayed for financial gain. I haven't even prayed for good health. I lost my faith because of deaf ears. I lost my faith because leader's of faith have failed to answer questions. The contradictions are to vast. The cherry picking of scripture and the convient reinterpretation of another. It's madness sometimes. I've kept my heart and soul open for change. I don't even need a giant sign from God. The fear of God and Hell kept me in the faith for many years. I was just asking for a little love or presence of God. I would talk God's head off anyways. I have way to many questions. Maybe my prayers are powerless. Maybe yours will carry more weight.

[jesusstudentbrett]

THE SERPENT SAID IN THE BEGINNING "DID GOD REALLY SAY?" THEN TWISTED AND CHANGED HUMAN'S UNDERSTANDING OF GOD'S WARNING.
Frank's description he often gives limiting hell to simply "separation from God" does not make sense, since the ungodly in this life are separated from God yet living it up. YOU ARE DAMAGING GOD'S INTENT. Luke 16 refers to Hades not Gehenna (2 words the KJV mistakenly translate as one word Hell) as a place of literal FIRE and great suffering. The NT contrasts Gehenna (post-judgment day eternal destination of eternal weeping, regret, gnashing of teeth)
Likewise 2 Peter 2 Peter 3: 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the Word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same Word, are RESERVED FOR FIRE until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.... 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?"

[benjaminchuawenbin]

Hello guys. I am not sure if I have replied to some of you in the comment section here in this video, if I have, here is my apology.

I know I have replied to many of your comments ridiculing, even being rude to you guys and even talked condescendingly towards your views on hell. And also forcing my views on what hell is and whether eternal or not. I wanna apologise to all those whom I have replied and I am sorry for those whom I have offended, whether knowingly or unknowingly, and hope you guys can forgive me.

Ben

[SOULSafeProductionZ]

I don't disagree with Dr. Turek, but just because demons are immaterial does that mean that our Omnipotent God cannot create a fire that can torment, torture and even destroy them? This is my personal opinion, but I think He can and has...There are metaphorical terms for fire, but that which Satan and his demons will be tossed into, NOT SO MUCH

[robertmccully]

The whole point of heaven and hell is separation from God, or being with God. Just watch the news, all the wicked people, and the good people. There will be a split of all people to heaven or hell. I for one do not want to spend eternity with all the wicked people on the news today, or from time gone by. To me choosing to reject God and choosing being with wicked people forever would be like living in torment/ fire. What could possible be worse than that!

[jollyrancher]

The original words translated as "hell" in some Bibles ("Sheol" in Hebrew and "Hades" in Greek) basically refer to the grave. The Bible describes the grave as a place of unconsciousness and nothingness. Ecclesiastes 9:10 states "Neither work, nor reason, nor wisdom, nor knowledge, shall be in hell." Therefore, those who go to hell do not suffer or feel pain. The punishment for sin according to Romans 6:23 is death, not eternal torment. The lake of fire ("Gehenna" in Greek) is a symbol of eternal death or destruction.

[kvelez]

0:51
May I ask a question?
What do I do about Daniel 12 that seems to suggest new eternal bodies for both the saved and the condemned?

[ranchbarbie]

Sinners will be destroyed....not tormented in "hell" for an eternity. Immortality is only offered to the saved....
2 Thessalonians 1:9
“Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;”

Psalms 92:7
“When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:”

Psalm 37:38
But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;
The posterity of the wicked will be cut off.

Proverbs 14:11
The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
But the tent of the upright will flourish.

Psalm 94:23
He has brought back their wickedness upon them
And will destroy them in their evil;
The Lord our God will destroy them.