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Debate:Does God punish sinners for eternity? (view source)
Revision as of 15:52, August 6, 2014
, 15:52, August 6, 2014no edit summary
Yes that's true, but God also loves every person and if they repent then he does not punish them. The fable "The Last Judgement" by Carel Kapek is very helpful to understand one theory about the trials of sinners.
Yes that's true, but God also loves every person and if they repent then he does not punish them. The fable "The Last Judgement" by Carel Kapek is very helpful to understand one theory about the trials of sinners.
==Punish? Technically no==
There are some very strong scriptures that are used in the bible which people use to show that God punishes people forever, but look at it this way...if your child did something wrong, would you punish him forever? Why would God, who made us in his image, be any different?
Also, note this scripture, Revelation 20:10. The word "torment" can also mean "jailed". So continuing from this scripture, we see these false prophet and the wild beast being tormented forever here, but a few verses later, it says this, in verse 13. "And the sea gave up those dead in it, and death and Hades (Hell or the Grave) gave up those dead in them, and they were judged individually according to their deeds. And death and Hades were hurled into the lake of fire. This means the second death the lake of fire. Furthermore, whoever was not found written in the book of life was hurled into the lake of fire."
So, if "Death" is hurled into the lake of fire, then is death a person, or is it symbolic of something? Also, what is this hades? How is hades hurled into the lake of fire? The scripture actually explains it, by saying it is "the second death". In other words, when Christ spoke of memorial tombs, and a resurrection, those who receive the second death have no more need for a memorial tomb, for they won't be remembered, but will be destroyed forever. This is what happens to death, and this is what happens to "hades", or the grave. There is no more memorial tombs as such, but there is only life, and everlasting cutting off.
So no, God doesn't punish sinners for eternity. When someone is dead, they are dead. Yet there is a resurrection for those who are asleep in the graves as such until this time when Revelation is fulfilled. To understand the state of death, we can consider Ecclesiastes 9:5. Have a look for yourself.
As for punishing every sin, the bible states that "the wages of sin is death", so that those who have already died have already paid for their sin. Therefore, when they are resurrected, for instance when "the sea gives up the dead in them, and death and hades give up the dead in them", they will be judged according to their deeds during a period of time. This is why it says in Revelation 20:5 "The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended), as they are still "dead" in the sense of not having the full application of Christ's ransom over them as they are still able to die, as they would have to live a life which shows their submission to their creator during that period.
For more information, I suggest going to jw.org.