Evidence for the existence of God

[senseinobaka]

appolose said:
Revelation 20: 15 directly states "And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire". Jesus himself refers to the judgement of Hell, e.g., "... It is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell". There are many, many other verses that say the like. And furthermore, contrary to popular belief, the devil doesn't actually reign over hell. He is supposed to be sent there in the end as well.

 Close. Very Close. However there is more to revelation 20 than just verse 15. Just go back one more verse to Rev. 20:14. Interestingly, we see other things being thrown into the lake of fire. Hades was thrown in, and death. You read that right. DEATH was thrown into the lake of fire. Does this mean that god plans on tormenting death forever? Ofcourse not, thats absurd. Verse 14 goes on to explain that the lake of fire means the second death. Second death means destruction or no longer existing at all. In other words, God intends on destroying satan, death, hades or grave, and satans followers. What you failed to do was show me where God mentions eternal suffering. That idea is nowhere to be found.

It could also be explained this way. The lake of fire is a reference to an actual place near Jerusalem. A place called Gehenna. It was a large landfill of garbage that was always on fire to burn the refuse. What God is saying at Revelation 20: 14 and 15 is simply. "I will take out the garbage" Further in Revelation and Rev 21: 4 and 5 it is written that after God takes out the garbage then there will be no more death, no more satan, and no more suffering.

And Jesus' references to hell are correct. However, when basing your religion on a book that has been translated from another language it is prudent to learn a little about the original language. In the bible Hell is translated from the words Sheol and Hades.Sheol is defined as the grave or mankinds grave. It is not defined as a place of eternal torment and fire. Hades is the greek word that means "the unseen place." It is used in the greek scriptures to render the hebrew word Sheol, again meaning grave and carrying not mention of torment.