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Recap. Images of Hell (Grim Reaper Movie). Dante, C.S.Lewis, Etc. Nobody wants hell to exist (except for those who deserve judgement, of course). 87% of Americans believe in Heaven... Hell? Not so much. Problems of Hell: 1. Justice (not fair) 2. Divine Mercy (God is good).
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Nobody wants hell to exist(except for those who deserve judgement, of course)
Problems of Hell: 1. Justice (not fair)2. Divine Mercy (God is good)
Heaven and Hell are not what the Story is all about... God is up to something bigger than that
There are human beings who will say to a loving, just and holy God, “My will be done,” and God will ultimately say, “Ver well.”
Sheol (Hebrew)“grave,” “pit,” “abode of the dead” “shades” without personality or strength
Daniel 12:2"Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt."
Gehenna (Aramaic) “ge-hinnom” The valley of Hinnom Site of the worship of Moloch Ammonite god - child sacrifice Became the garbage dump Fit with Jewish “purgatory”
Matthew 5:22 whoever calls someone "you fool" will be liable to Gehenna.Matthew 5:29 better to lose one of your members than that your whole body go into Gehenna.
Matthew 5:30 better to lose one of your members than that your whole body go into Gehenna.Matthew 10:28 rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
Matthew 18:9 better to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna.Matthew 23:15 Pharisees make a convert twice as much a child of Gehenna as themselves.
Matthew 23:33 to Pharisees: you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to Gehenna?Mark 9:43 better to enter life with one hand than with two hands to go to Gehenna.
Mark 9:45 better to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.Mark 9:47 better to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna
Luke 12:5 Fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into Gehenna
Do you notice how he focuses mostly on people who are on the “inside” rather than the “outside?”
Luke 16:19-31“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me...
and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers.
Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Gates of Hell - Caesarea Phillipi child sacrifice symbols of the Empire Jesus establishes his Church
1. God is God and you are notare you comfortable with a God who doesn’t fit your categories?
2. We can choose to say no to the good of God’s creation.There will be no barbed wire in the kingdom of GodThe locks on the door to hell...
3. Judgement is necessary and inevitableDesmond Tutu & ReconciliationUltimate Dehumanization - image of GodPoena Damni - pain of loss
4. Being on the “Inside” vs. the “Outside”Those who confess God with their lips and deny him with their actions - may be surprised
It’s not about figuring out all of the mysteries of God, but embracing Him and cherishing Him---even when it doesn’t make perfect sense to us.
There are human beings who will say to a loving, just and holy God, “My will be done,” and God will ultimately say, “Ver well.”