Revelation 20:13-14. Beginning in verse 11, John describes a great white throne and a day of judgment. He continues: �And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [hades] delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell [hades] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.�
This is an important passage for understanding hell, for even though the word hades means �the grave,� this scripture rules out the traditional idea of hell as a place of permanent torment from which one cannot be delivered. Here �hell� is required to deliver up its dead. Ultimately, both death and the abode of the dead are destroyed in a lake of fire.
At the end of JB's postings you'll see a quote by Saint Julian of Norwich, from "Revelations of Divine Love." Apparently one of her laments was that after being in the presence of Christ so much, she couldn't understand Divine Grace if in fact even one soul were to perish/suffer eternally. For those who credit the revelations of saints with a high degree of validity, the reply she apparently received from Christ was of great comfort, even though it remains somewhat inscrutible. She is told that "all be well, you will see, all shall be very well indeed, for I shall do a great thing" or something to that effect (check with JB or Phil).
My Carmelite friend speculates that this may mean either Christ will institute some special dispensation of grace for those whose hearts open to God at the resurrection of the dead(consistent with Catholic theological anthropology, I think), or even return to the void/nothingness created souls who cannot/will not open and would only suffer interminably in a fire that couldn't eventually purify them, such as in the notion of Purgatory.
For myself, I cannot conceive of any other kind of Divine Fire than one which purifies the creatures It loves beyond measure.
In Catholic theology, at least, heaven and hell begin as a permanent state with death in what is called the "particular judgement." The final execution of this judgment with the blessing of glorious body will come at the general judgment of the living and the dead on the "last day."
Click here for a compreshensive discussion of hell from the Catholic Encyclopedia. See section III in particular.
Maybe we can broaden the topic a bit and see what people think about hell?
I believe "hell" is not a place but a state of being during our lifetime. I know this is not in keeping with mainstream Christian thought, although the Christian group I have the most contact with now (yes, a peace church ) and a non-Christian group I often attend both hold this view.
I believe the common phrase is "separation from God."
shanti
Posts: 144 | Location: USA | Registered: 01 September 2002
) and a non-Christian group I often attend both hold this view.