Question: What is the destiny of the unevangelized? Answer: This is a hard question. How can one come to grips with what the Bible seems to teach and with the desire in our hearts? Does not the Bible teach that Jesus is a loving God that wants all to go to heaven? How can a loving God send anyone to hell? If Christ indeed sends some to hell how can we say He is loving? These are all great question and ones that are hard to answer but there is an answer. God does everything He does, for a reason (Romans 8:28), and God does want all to come to Him (John 1:12; Romans 3:10). I have always believed that it is necessary to know and understand Jesus, repent of you sins and call on Him for salvation (Romans 10:13). What do we do with Romans 1:20 which seems to indicate the even the unevangelized are going to be held responsible for their chose to receive God? If they are being held responsible for their chose, does this not indicate that they could have chosen salvation? It would appear that we are judged on what we know. If a person would have believed in Jesus Christ if they had the opportunity than maybe that is all the faith they need. However, if that were the case why would we need missionaries? Missionaries then in a way are only making it harder for the unevangelized. This all seems to go directly against Romans 10:14, which says how can they hear without a preacher. This question is like so many others in scripture, i.e. does man come to God by choosing Him? Or, does man come to God because He has chosen them before the foundation of the earth? It is both, both are clearly taught in the Bible and both or true. We may never really know exactly how these two go hand in hand but the Bible teaches that they do. ... ... middle of paper ... ...darkness more than light” (john 3:19). In summary hell is very real and it will last forever. It is just for at least two reasons. The fist is that Christ is eternal and therefore sin against him is eternal. Therefore, the punishment of that sin is just in being eternal. Secondly, it is people that lock Christ out just as they did while living. Even more so, then when they were live-in, as they harden their hearts in hell. They have hardened their hearts so much and hate so much that they would never consider unlocking the door to hell to let Him In. Works Cited The Bible: English New American Standard Version. Ryrie Study Bible, Charles Ryrie, 1978. Boyd, Gregory A and Eddy, Paul R. “Across the Spectrum Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology.” Baker 2008. Eighth edition. Grand Rapid, MI Lewis, C.S.”The Problem of Pain.” Pg. 122-123.
For centuries humans have been drawing parallels to help explain or understand different concepts. These parallels, or allegories, tell a simple story and their purpose is to use another point of view to help guide individuals into the correct line of thought. “The only stable element in a literary work is its words, which if one knows the language in which it is written, have a meaning. The significance of that meaning is what may be called allegory.”(Bloomfield) As Bloomfield stated, it is only how we interpret the words in an allegory that matters, each person can interpreted it in a slightly different way and allegories are most often personalized by a reader. Dante’s Inferno allegory is present throughout the entire poem. From the dark wood to the depths of Dante’s hell he presents the different crimes committed in life as they could be punished in death.
Fire and brimstone, flames engulfing people, and the endless cries from the souls that are suffering are all things that are commonly associated with hell. It’s not thought of as some place of just punishment, but filled with pain and torment. The question raised is whether or not it is actually full of fire and heat, or is it something different. When we read about hell in Dante’s Inferno, he describes the place not only full of fire, but also of ice, wind, and rain. All of the elements sit on different levels that have been thoughtfully laid out by Dante himself. Carol Forman speaks of how Dante set up his hell, “Hell is structured around Dante’s concept of sin.
Jonathan Edwards is able to use powerful scare tactics to convince his congregation to undergo an emotional conversion. Edwards is a Christian preacher and theologian who stimulated the “Great Awakening.” Edwards is known for using powerful language; he creates images of absolute horror and images of delight. Edwards uses specific wording that lingers in his listeners mind. In Jonathan Edwards’s sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Edwards’s use of negative imagery, negative diction, and positive imagery and diction is able to convince the congregation to undergo an emotional conversion.
Hell is like a government. The bureaucracy is, of course, run by their “Father Below” who is Satan (Lewis 6). In other words, the system is a dictatorship. Additionally, the demons in Hell think that they can only “advance at the expense of another” (Schultz 368). Hell was not the intention God had when He gave His people free will, but it was rather a side effect (Hill and Smith). Hell was a consequence for what Satan and his followers tried to do. God created Hell for everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46). In return, Satan and his followers have devoted themselves to corrupt societies so it is easier to tempt those societies (Schultz 368). This consequence had eternal effect on everyone including God and His angels (Hill and
These two literary works, 40 Hours in Hell by Katherine Finkelstein and Third World by Dexter Filkins, both present diverse perspectives on what occurred during the World Trade Center attack. Although both texts approach the coverage of this attack differently, as reporters, they both base their news using normative theory. Normative theory is the consideration of what is morally correct or incorrect. In relation to normative theory is the Social Responsibility Theory. This theory deals with how an individual must complete their civic duty, since they are apart of the press, as well as their actions must benefit society. Nonetheless, of these two texts, 40 Hours in Hell best fulfills the requisites of the Social Responsibility Theory.
pits, different cells in hell and there is a heart of hell. As Mary and JESUS went through hell their were people there who are begging god to let them in heaven and god says no because judgement has been set. He said there has been many people their way to introduce them to god and they refused. Souls are in hell begging for repentance and the answer is no because they had their chance and they turned their backs on god. Some souls even were at one time of another saved and they were going through something to make them stronger in the word and they though god was being unfair to them and blamed god for the mistake; therefore turning their backs on god. There are many false prophets in hell. As god walks through and stop to talk to these prophets they beg and pled for forgiveness and when god says judgement has been set they began to curse god and talk to him in the manner where they are really disrespecting god.
Experiencing salvation looks differently for every person; not everyone experiences salvation in the same place or at the same time. We often put human restrictions on God’s actions, saying exactly how and when Jesus will show up. As humans we do not obtain the authority or ability to say how or when Jesus will show up, only God has this power. There are many times people feel pressured into salvation or forced into religion; I believe this is something which drives people away from God and the church. Langston Hughes felt pressured into an artificial salvation, and this caused him to turn away from Jesus.
The Romans Road method of evangelism is well known by many Christians and may feel like one of the safer ways to evangelize. The “road” is a road map of biblical verses laid out in such a way to help bring someone to Christ. It is a very logical way of evangelism. The first step in the road to romans is that All Have Sinned. Romans 3:10 states, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” Again, in Romans 3:23 we are told, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 5:12 tells us, “Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” When Adam sinned, he brought the curse of sin upon all mankind. This is why everyone is born with a nature to sin; it has been passed down since Adam. Second, there is a Penalty for Sin. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Death is the penalty for sin, Physical Death and a Second Death. We are born spiritually dead. Adam and Eve died spiritually the moment they sinned, and all of their descendants since have been born spiritually dead. This is why a person must be born-again spiritually. God's Holy Spirit is that spiritual life. The Bible also speaks of a Second Death, which means ...
The average person wants one thing more than anything else, and that thing is to belong. Usha, a young girl from Calcutta, is no different. Already trying the find her place in the world, Usha must now assimilate into cultural society within the United States. Usha’s uncle, Pranab Kaku, came from Calcutta as well having first come to America, his experiences start off worse than Usha’s, which causes him to join the family in an act of social grouping. With the Old World trying to pull them back and the New World just out of reach, both must overcome tradition and develop their own personal values.
It’s a fairly formidable task to come to a conclusion on a Bible verse that there simply isn’t an answer for. What I am referencing is Revelation Chapter 20: 1-6 in which we see a picture of Satan being thrown into an abyss for a thousand years and Christ ruling over the earth. As I dissected the research paper directions for this assignment I dove into the process of learning about each of the views that scholars would contend for. There were several and each of them fairly complex. Very early on in the assignment I easily came to one conclusion; this wasn’t going to be easy. This assignment certainly is not for the faint of heart and cannot be answered by looking at a few verses and then reaching a conclusion. If it were that easy then there would be no debate over the meaning of this eschatological (end times) passage. Simply stated here is the topic; what is the meaning of Revelation Chapter 20? Should we regard the thousand years that is referenced in the chapter as symbolical or literal? Certainly, it has sparked an interesting debate but how should we view this span of time taught to us by the Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos? Opposing views that mainstream Christians hold today help us to get to the heart of that very question. There are a few questions we must explore to fully grasp the topic; (1) what are the three main views that believers hold today, (2) what happens during the millennium, (3) how long is it, (4) who will be there (and what is the relationship of Israel and the church to the millennial kingdom), and finally (5) when does it occur in relation to the Second Coming of Christ.
Hell has been described in many different texts, all explaining how Hell may be organized. There have been many examples in the Bible, myths, folktales, and music through out time. One example in particular is in Dante's, The Inferno, where hell is described as having many layers, which are categorized by individual sins, such as thievery, and are punished for an eternity. In Dante's model, more sin centered, a soul would be sent to a certain layer of hell for one sin that he had committed. However, perhaps a more personalized Hell, sinner-centered, that deals with each sinner individually for each sin committed and its severity, would allow for people to be punished more effectively.
One of the biggest questions of mankind hovers over many people, and yet, some individuals chose to ignore the fact that the question even exists. Whether a person goes to church every Sunday, or doesn’t attend church at all, the person is still responsible for knowing whether or not they will go to heaven or hell. Many misconceptions are flowing around the minds of people across the world about what gets you into heaven. The drama Heaven’s Gates and Hell’s Flames is based on an evangelical interpretation of the Gospel, and presents the message that one must believe in Jesus in order to be saved and go to Heaven, or face eternal punishment in Hell. The production of Heaven’s Gates and Hell’s Flames displays the consequences of our actions, both positive and negative, revealing that one must believe in Jesus Christ to live for eternity in Heaven.
The idea of making up a "Hell", or inferno, is not an experience in which I, even in my wildest thoughts, had started to imagine. Call me an optimist, but the idea of imagining Hell never appealed to me. However, as I read through the Bible, I have come across many images of hell and will now attempt to create a partial picture.
Hell is other people, which means that you always have to keep in mind; maybe other people will do something bad to you. Hell is other people, this is your choice, if you look at this world in a very negative way, and with resentments, then the whole world will become a hell for you. The wrong thinking makes people weak, makes people torture each other.
The Bible describes Hell as a place of darkness, a lake of fire and brimstone. Matthew 25:41, describes Hell as a pit of fire that is prepared for Satan the devil, his demonic cohorts, and the other souls that chose to serve him during the trials of life on earth. The citizens of Hell will be populated with the souls of those who died without accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. These souls will experience the nashing of teeth, endless pain from the tortureous fire, and ultimately eternal death. The citizens of Hell will not reunite with God`s presence. The Bible states in Luke 16:19-28, that souls cannot pass from Hell to Heaven or vice versa. Fire is not the only form of eternal punishment. Eternal thirst and great pain are other forms of punishment that will be experienced by the citizens of Hell. Christians believe that the souls in Hell will be able to see the souls that are in Heaven and vice versa. The souls in Hell simply chose a life of sin, non-repentance, and rebellion against God Word. Revelations 20:12-15, states the following: "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for aeons of aeons."