can anyone answer this?
 

As a past Christian I am confused. I mean no disrespect here but can someone answer this question.
If the main lesson of Christianity is forgiveness and god forgiving all our sins, how can there be eternal hell?
Its a question I have asked numerous people who have skated around the issue and not been able to offer a straight answer. I struggle to understand this.:smile:

Well Starlight I can give you a straight answer...:smile:
There is no hell, it isn't mentioned in the bible so I wouldn't worry about it.

John 5

22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.

John 8

15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one.

1 John 4

8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is Love.

1 Corinthians 13

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Examine the four verses. Love (GOD) keeps no records of wrongs. The Son honors the Father by judging no man. God honors the Son by giving him judgment of men, but Jesus judges no man, forgiving them before passing life on the cross (Father forgive them!). At the end of days, the Saints of God are given judgment over Angels. How will we honor God?

As 1 John 4 will easily point out, you must forgive to be forgiven. Love must be the basis of who you are, or you don't yet know God. Why? God is Love, with all that Love implies.

Love places value on all beings. Those who do not love are not of God, as 1 John 4 clearly states. Love is the key. In Buddhism, it's the Dharma, or universal nature of all things, which is Dzogchen, or Neutral (do not judge) / Positive. You can verify this by examining the basis for all physics. Neutrons are neutral and Protons are positive. This is the Strong Force in nature. A neutral (non-polarized state) protects the positive. This overrules the weak force of electrons (-). The only reason for the breaking of symmetry (bread) is for individuation. Once you are made an individual from a perfect copy of God, he then restores your image back to perfection. How?

Matthew 18

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. [11]

The Angel is your Groom (you in Sattva / Truth). You are the wandering sheep in this parable, or Eve (divided from Adam). For each birth below, there is a parallel birth of an Angel above (your Adam). You are the bride, which is why Paul constantly corrected women. All of us are the weak force of Adam (feminine mind in a wilderness / children). If you read context to this at the top if Matthew 18, it is a question: Who is the greatest of them in heaven? They were mistaken. It is the child of God growing (mind in a wilderness). Once the mind is individuated, this happens:

Matthew 22:30

29 Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

Like the Angels is back in the image of God (both male and female), or the union of Groom and Bride. Christ is the Lord, or collective mind of all humanity, while we are the bread in slices. The bread basket is endless. Love is the marker of liberation back to your Angel, or the one you will be expected to forgive. Forgive for what?

It's another answer, but I won't spoil the ending. I think you will figure it out.

NOTE: If the Lord judges you, he judges himself. You are him. Also, fear is hell. Hell is a state of mind. Love and Fear are the only two emotions. Overcome with Love.



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In the greater reality and truh, the Eternal, apart from time, there is both Heaven and Hell.

Revelation chapter 20 is rather graphic about it, unvolving two particular personages being "cast alive".
(Sky)
Revelation 13, 14, and 15.

Verse 14, also...
"and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire."

Revelation 20 is apocalyptic wording, not meant to be taken as literal. All of the book of Revelation is this type of imagery. The parallel is both 1 Kings 18 and Matthew 3. There are five baptisms.

1) Earth (Adam and the Garden) - Mark is Carbon (6 protons, 6 neutrons and 6 electrons)

2) Air - Breath Nitrogen (777) and Oxygen (888)

3) Water - Baptism for bearing fruit (Matthew 3)

After this, the next two are listed in Matthew 3.

4) Fire

5) Spirit

Fire are trials. Spirit is Conscience / Mind / Will. Hell on Earth, but also a baptism. The point is to convert the person from their lower nature. Shiva must come.

Beautiful quotes. Thank you.

Ok I'll try to answer for a fellow light being and past Christian. My answer and my beliefs includes reincarnation so is hybrid between religions and I have no problem merging that with Christian principles of love and connection with God.

Why hell is thought of as eternal is because there is only one eternal now so whatever state of mind you are in now feels like forever. Similar to a child having a strong emotion and they believe it is going to last forever. But after a while it subsides and they move on to e new eternal now experience.

In the afterlife there is a stage of reconciliation or rectification where the soul must transition from earthly awareness to heavenly awareness. This may involve going through an intense emotional hell-like state. It depends on the person and life events how intense this process is. I think this memory is where the eternal hell comes from because we have done it many times.

The hell-like state is part of the eternal now while your are in it but at the same time it is a transitional state that does not last forever. And it is not a punishment though many people regard it that way. Instead I think of it as a necessary soul-rebalancing process that happens as needed. No one is really doing it "to" you but you feel out-of-control and harsh while in it so it gets projected to an experience as if it is coming from an external source. So then God gets the credit/blame for these projections. As you reconcile your genuine feelings with your true self and God the hell dissipates and you are restored.

Thank you so much to you all for your replies. It is something to think about. I respect Christianity..as I do all religions but I sometimes struggle to understand some statements especially if they are preached a certain way in church. I have found this in the past. My position on it now is that I do not hold with one belief as I have found truth in lots of faiths. I find interest in it all and fully respect peoples views.

Thank you again.

Thank you so much to you all for your replies. It is something to think about. I respect Christianity..as I do all religions but I sometimes struggle to understand some statements especially if they are preached a certain way in church. I have found this in the past. My position on it now is that I do not hold with one belief as I have found truth in lots of faiths. I find interest in it all and fully respect peoples views.

Thank you again.

The genuine answer we can give is that we do not know. All scripture is wrong view unless understood with right view. My favorite way to see this is a quote from Rumi the Sufi. If you like this and want more, download his Discourses. After reading the Discourse, move to the Masnavi. From there, any book store has his poetry. He's the most read poet in America.

“Within us are many things. There is mouse in us, and there is bird. The bird carries the cage upwards, while the mouse drags it down. A hundred thousand different wild beasts are together within us, but they are all converging on that moment when the mouse will renounce its mousehood and the bird its birdhood, and all become one. For the goal is neither going up or down. When the goal shows itself clearly, it will be neither above nor below.”

A woman lost something. She looks left and right, in front and behind. Once she has found that thing she no longer searches above and below, left and right, in front or behind. All at once she becomes calm and collected. Similarly, on the resurrection day all people will be of one eye, tongue, ear and understanding.

When ten friends share a garden or a shop in common, they speak as one, they plan as one, and their work is with one thing since their objective is the same. So, on the resurrection day, since the affair of all will be with God, they will all be one. In this world everyone is preoccupied with a separate affair. One is in love with women, one is in love with wealth, another is engaged in acquiring possessions, another in acquiring knowledge.

Everyone believes that their cure, their joy, their pleasure and comfort can be found in that one thing. And that is a Divine mercy, because when they search they cannot find, and so they return. After they have waited a while, they say again, “That joy and pleasure must be looked for. Perhaps I didn’t try hard enough. I will search again.” Then they look again, but still they cannot find their desire.

So they continue, until that time when Truth removes Its veil. Then they know. But God has certain servants who know even before the resurrection.