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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Torments of hell.	peter	Saturday, April 14, 2007
Question: Could you please give me your thoughts on why the torments of hell are so severe. The Bible says "The fire and the worm are real" I know. Wouldn't you think just being banished from God forever would be enough. Some of the more liberal people think that God through His mercy will one day take hell and all who are in it out of existence and the souls and demons will no longer exist. Thanks for your thoughts, May God bless you and your ministry. Peter.
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM Dear Peter: The imagery of the Bible is analogous imagery. The writers of the Bible are trying to convey that separation from God is so terrible that it is fire and brimstone. The idea of fire that never goes out and being burned in such a fire forever is an image that is about as horrible as a human can imagine. That was the point. It is not that hell is "literally" fire. It is that choosing to separate oneself from the light and Truth of God will be "as if" we are burned in molten fire forever. As our holy and saintly Pope John Paul II said, that hell is mostly a state-of-mind. That is, hell is not so much a physical place, but a state of mind in which we imprison ourselves. Those in hell are surrounded by the presence of God (God is everywhere). But the sorrow is that although God is all around them they cannot see him or experience his warmth and grace because they choose not to. It is sad indeed. As for God bringing all people to heaven. If God did that he would be a cruel and heartless God. One of the primary attributes of Himself that he lovingly gave to human beings was free will. We are made in the image of God and that image is a God that can free choose. God loves us so much that he gave us the freedom to choose. We can choose Him or we can choose to reject Him, it is our choice. God will not deny us our choice. He will not force us. If we choose to live without Him, he allows it. Think about it. Is love truly love if it is forced? Love must be freely given and freely received. It cannot be forced. In fact in 1 Cor 13 where we get a definition of the Love of God (agape) we read that "love does not demand its own way." God does not demand His own way. He respects the choice we make, no matter how sad our choice is. No, people who go to hell choose to go there because they have chosen to thumb their nose at God's grace and offer of forgiveness. Their choice is permanent. They will never get out of hell because they choose to stay there forever. The gates of hell are locked from the inside. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Torments of hell.

peter

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Question:

Could you please give me your thoughts on why the torments of hell are so severe. The Bible says "The fire and the worm are real" I know. Wouldn't you think just being banished from God forever would be enough.

Some of the more liberal people think that God through His mercy will one day take hell and all who are in it out of existence and the souls and demons will no longer exist.

Thanks for your thoughts,
May God bless you and your ministry.
Peter.

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM

Dear Peter:

The imagery of the Bible is analogous imagery. The writers of the Bible are trying to convey that separation from God is so terrible that it is fire and brimstone. The idea of fire that never goes out and being burned in such a fire forever is an image that is about as horrible as a human can imagine. That was the point.

It is not that hell is "literally" fire. It is that choosing to separate oneself from the light and Truth of God will be "as if" we are burned in molten fire forever.

As our holy and saintly Pope John Paul II said, that hell is mostly a state-of-mind. That is, hell is not so much a physical place, but a state of mind in which we imprison ourselves. Those in hell are surrounded by the presence of God (God is everywhere). But the sorrow is that although God is all around them they cannot see him or experience his warmth and grace because they choose not to. It is sad indeed.

As for God bringing all people to heaven. If God did that he would be a cruel and heartless God. One of the primary attributes of Himself that he lovingly gave to human beings was free will. We are made in the image of God and that image is a God that can free choose.

God loves us so much that he gave us the freedom to choose. We can choose Him or we can choose to reject Him, it is our choice. God will not deny us our choice. He will not force us. If we choose to live without Him, he allows it.

Think about it. Is love truly love if it is forced? Love must be freely given and freely received. It cannot be forced. In fact in 1 Cor 13 where we get a definition of the Love of God (agape) we read that "love does not demand its own way."

God does not demand His own way. He respects the choice we make, no matter how sad our choice is.

No, people who go to hell choose to go there because they have chosen to thumb their nose at God's grace and offer of forgiveness. Their choice is permanent. They will never get out of hell because they choose to stay there forever.

The gates of hell are locked from the inside.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.