Am I saved from the Christian point of view?

[Right Divider]

Thanks for your reply, Right Divider. This gives me a chance to make myself clearer. My suggestion is that the Bible is saying that for the unrepentant and unsaved, there are two deaths. The first death happens to both the saved and unsaved, the body gets old and dies. But the unsaved, just as you say, are resurrected from death, then comes judgement, and then the unsaved are then thrown into hell, to be burned like the chaff in the verses above. Their path leads to destruction, annihilation, death. The Bible often contrasts the eternal life of the saved with the death of the unsaved. The saved will suffer the first death, so these verses that talk about eternal life, are talking about after the judgement, when the saved are go into eternal life, and the unsaved get death.

You are conflating death with annihilation. The Bible never says that anyone gets "annihilated". There is eternal life and eternal punishment. There is no other option.

Revelation 20, in fact, confirms what I am saying, that there are two deaths for the unsaved. Rev 20:14"Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; 15and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire." The second death occurs when everyone whose name is not written in the book dies in the lake of fire.

The Bible never says that anyone "dies" in the lake of fire. Their punishment in the lake of fire is everlasting.

Thanks for your response,

You're welcome.

 

[JudgeRightly]

The Bible never says that anyone "dies" in the lake of fire. Their punishment in the lake of fire is everlasting

Excellent point!

 

[Clete]

Hi Guys! (Sorry if one or more of you are gals),

I appreciate very much how much effort you've put into responding to my notes, especially Clete! However, some of my notes have been very long, so I thought I would limit myself to just one question this time. The email is still kind of long, but it's made up mostly by Bible verses.

The question is about an alternative, yet biblical, view of hell, the idea that hell is not about eternal suffering, but death. It's been in the back of my mind when looking at the verses in the Bible describing hell. I already brought up Matthew 13: 40: "Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!"

There are many verses describing how the "weeds" or "chaff" will be burned, while the good parts saved. See Matthew 13:30 "Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn." Also Matthew 3:12, Luke 3:17, John 15:6. Just as weeds are destroyed, so hell is not a place where souls suffer forever, but are simply destroyed. Souls go to heaven for eternal life, they go to hell to die.

Matthew 10:28: "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Destruction, not eternal suffering.

Matthew 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it." The easy road leads not to eternal suffering but to destruction.

In Matthew 25:46: "And these [the goats] will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” The opposite of life is death, perhaps the "eternal punishment" is simply death. The soul dies and is dead for eternity.

And I would be remiss not to mention the famous verses from Romans 10: "21So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. 22But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Once again, death, not eternal suffering is the opposite of eternal life.

There are a few places in Revelation in which it is clear that the suffering will go on forever, but only for specific individuals. For example, Revelation 14: "10they will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and they will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever." There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image and for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” This certainly sounds like a unique condition: It only applies to those who worshipped the beast and it's image and received the mark. And these are punished in the presence of Jesus and the angels.

Revelation 20:10 "And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." Again, specific individuals who are tormented forever. Other sinners are thrown into the lake of fire, but I don't see any mention of eternal suffering for them.

The Hebrew Bible doesn't have a joyful afterlife for one set of people and suffering afterlife for another. The only mention of afterlife is Sheol, a place of almost complete emptiness and inaction, where everybody goes, the righteous and unrighteous. So it has been a puzzle to me that the Jews, listening to Jesus, weren't wondering what He was talking about, one afterlife for the righteous and another for the sinners. A little study informed me that, at the time of Jesus, many Jews believed in an imminent time of judgement when God would destroy His enemies and resurrect the dead. The unrighteous would be resurrected along with the righteous, but the former only to face their judgment and be put back to death. God's Kingdom would be established on earth, and all who enter would enjoy a utopian existence. The important point here is that Jesus was not teaching something new; the Jews had some familiarity with what he was talking about; and that the ultimate fate of the unrighteous was not eternal suffering, but simply death.

But, of course, I am not a Bible expert and even (or especially?) Bible experts disagree. So my question is, are there any other verses in the Greek scriptures that clearly state that eternal suffering is the fate of all who end up in hell?

Thanks for any response you care to give,
Gary

Gary,

You are, by your own statement, an unbeliever. So, why do you care what the bible teaches about what Hell is? I find it fascinating that an unbeliever shows up here and gives the single most biblically substantive argument I've ever seen on TOL for what is believed, throughout most of Christendom, to be heretical (i.e. historically speaking).

Personally, I refuse to get dogmatic about this topic, even with believers, because, as you say, "bible experts disagree" and I won't even debate the issue with unbelievers at all. The one thing we all universally agree on (i.e. including you) is that if you end up in Hell, you're going to wish you hadn't. Hell is justice for those who reject God, whatever that happens to be. The rest, as far as I'm concerned, is academic at most and more often than not is mere trivial speculation. What I know is that God is just and that therefore, at the end of the day, the books are going to balance - perfectly. The only question is whether it will be you who pays the debt that you owe or will you allow the payment that God has made to be credited to your account. I can see no scenario where the later is not preferable.

Put another way, in a debate with an unbeliever about whether God is just or not, I would, for the sake of argument, concede on the point about whether Hell is ever lasting conscious punishment vs. destruction of the soul. It's takes away one of your potential arguments and prevents me from having to get into the weeds on a topic that is debated even within Christian circles.

Clete

 

[Right Divider]

I think that the "annihilation theory" allows unbelievers to feel that they can "get off the hook" for their unbelief.
The Bible seems to make the case that both eternal life and everlasting punish are just that. The same Greek word is translated as "eternal" and "everlasting" in Matthew 25:46

Matt 25:46 (AKJV/PCE)
(25:46) And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

 

[Hoping]

Garyflet,
Have you figured out yet whether or not you will be saved?

 

[Hoping]

Gary,

You are, by your own statement, an unbeliever. So, why do you care what the bible teaches about what Hell is? I find it fascinating that an unbeliever shows up here and gives the single most biblically substantive argument I've ever seen on TOL for what is believed, throughout most of Christendom, to be heretical (i.e. historically speaking).

Personally, I refuse to get dogmatic about this topic, even with believers, because, as you say, "bible experts disagree" and I won't even debate the issue with unbelievers at all. The one thing we all universally agree on (i.e. including you) is that if you end up in Hell, you're going to wish you hadn't. Hell is justice for those who reject God, whatever that happens to be. The rest, as far as I'm concerned, is academic at most and more often than not is mere trivial speculation. What I know is that God is just and that therefore, at the end of the day, the books are going to balance - perfectly. The only question is whether it will be you who pays the debt that you owe or will you allow the payment that God has made to be credited to your account. I can see no scenario where the later is not preferable.

Put another way, in a debate with an unbeliever about whether God is just or not, I would, for the sake of argument, concede on the point about whether Hell is ever lasting conscious punishment vs. destruction of the soul. It's takes away one of your potential arguments and prevents me from having to get into the weeds on a topic that is debated even within Christian circles.

Clete

Yeah, it is like choosing to be slapped in the kisser...or not.
Then arguing over if the slap will be right-handed or left-handed.
Pick not to get slapped !!!

 

[Clete]

I think that the "annihilation theory" allows unbelievers to feel that they can "get off the hook" for their unbelief.

Feelings lie to people all the time. Anyone who makes such a collosal decision based on feelings is a fool to begin with and they deserve what they get.

The Bible seems to make the case that both eternal life and everlasting punish are just that. The same Greek word is translated as "eternal" and "everlasting" in Matthew 25:46

Matt 25:46 (AKJV/PCE)
(25:46) And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

I don't disagree but Gary's post didn't ignore that passage and it seems fruitless to debate it anyway, especially with an unbeliever.

 

[Right Divider]

I don't disagree but Gary's post didn't ignore that passage and it seems fruitless to debate it anyway, especially with an unbeliever.

I agree, but in cases like this, I don't debate it... I just state it. It's a take it or leave it deal.

 

[garyflet]

Hi Everyone,

I notice that there seems to be some question as to why, I, an unbeliever, am bringing up a matter of doctrine. Well, as you may have noticed from my original post, I was terrified as a child by the possibility of eternal torment. So it brought me some relief to consider that so many verses contrast eternal life with death or destruction. Maybe the Bible doesn't preach eternal suffering! Maybe little kids brought up in a conservative Christian household need not be terrified!

As an unbeliever, and you may have the initial impression that such a person is up to no good. But note what I'm doing, I'm asking you to look at your Bible! That can't be bad, right! And I'm also not looking for a debate, just a consideration, based the Bible. Here are some more verses: Luke 13: 4Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” Jesus here is speaking of the final judgement when He talks about repentance, and is saying that they will perish just as people perished when a tower fell on them. Look at the words: The unrepentant will perish "just as they did": A quick death from being crushed!

John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."

John 10:28 "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish."

Romans 2:12 "All who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law."

2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance."

So we see in quite a few verses in my two notes that the fate of the unrepentant is described with words such as "death", "destruction" and "perish". But we apparently only have one verse that indicates that the punishment will actively go on forever: Matthew 25:46. So the question is, do we adjust our understanding of a great number of verses in order to accommodate a possible meaning of one? Or do we modify our immediate understanding of one verse and understand it in the light of a great many verses? I would say the latter is more reasonable, especially since the modification is slight: We understand the "eternal punishment" to be death! Simple. It means that the ones who are burned up in hell will never be resurrected.

There's also the matter of Revelation, and RightDivider says that "their [the unrepentant] punishment in the lake of fire is everlasting." But the Bible does not say that. Revelation makes it very clear that the punishment is everlasting for the devil, the beast and the false prophet. (Rev 20:10). But what does it say when talking about the fate of those whose names were not in the book of life? Rev 20:14) "This is the second death, the lake of fire." It simply does not say that their punishment is everlasting, for them it is the second death.

Put another way, in a debate with an unbeliever about whether God is just or not, I would, for the sake of argument, concede on the point about whether Hell is ever lasting conscious punishment vs. destruction of the soul.

Wow, Clete, I never thought I'd get this far with anybody here. Especially being a nonbeliever! You're almost saying that my position is a viable argument! At any rate, I'm happy to hear the information that this subject is a matter of disagreement among Christians. My efforts, of course, are puny.

However, I notice that no one has answered the question at the end of my original post on this question: "So my question is, are there any other verses in the New Testament that clearly state that eternal suffering is the fate of all who end up in hell?" Since no one has answered this question, I presume that there are no such verses.

Thanks again for your responses. I realize that you have a certain disdain for unbelievers. But even the dogs get the crumbs from the table!
Gary

 

[garyflet]

Garyflet,
Have you figured out yet whether or not you will be saved?

Of course, my question is from the Christian point of view. Whether my repeated attempts to get saved would be considered successful as a frightened child is perhaps doubtful. Although I believed all the necessary things, and tried over and over again, it was motivated by fear and I didn't really feel repentant.

 

[garyflet]

Yeah, it is like choosing to be slapped in the kisser...or not.
Then arguing over if the slap will be right-handed or left-handed.
Pick not to get slapped !!!

Well, there is quite a difference between eternal suffering and only a moment's suffering, don't you think?

 

[Yorzhik]

Hi Everyone,

I notice that there seems to be some question as to why, I, an unbeliever, am bringing up a matter of doctrine. Well, as you may have noticed from my original post, I was terrified as a child by the possibility of eternal torment. So it brought me some relief to consider that so many verses contrast eternal life with death or destruction. Maybe the Bible doesn't preach eternal suffering! Maybe little kids brought up in a conservative Christian household need not be terrified!

As an unbeliever, and you may have the initial impression that such a person is up to no good. But note what I'm doing, I'm asking you to look at your Bible! That can't be bad, right! And I'm also not looking for a debate, just a consideration, based the Bible. Here are some more verses: Luke 13: 4Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” Jesus here is speaking of the final judgement when He talks about repentance, and is saying that they will perish just as people perished when a tower fell on them. Look at the words: The unrepentant will perish "just as they did": A quick death from being crushed!

John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."

John 10:28 "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish."

Romans 2:12 "All who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law."

2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance."

So we see in quite a few verses in my two notes that the fate of the unrepentant is described with words such as "death", "destruction" and "perish". But we apparently only have one verse that indicates that the punishment will actively go on forever: Matthew 25:46. So the question is, do we adjust our understanding of a great number of verses in order to accommodate a possible meaning of one? Or do we modify our immediate understanding of one verse and understand it in the light of a great many verses? I would say the latter is more reasonable, especially since the modification is slight: We understand the "eternal punishment" to be death! Simple. It means that the ones who are burned up in hell will never be resurrected.

There's also the matter of Revelation, and RightDivider says that "their [the unrepentant] punishment in the lake of fire is everlasting." But the Bible does not say that. Revelation makes it very clear that the punishment is everlasting for the devil, the beast and the false prophet. (Rev 20:10). But what does it say when talking about the fate of those whose names were not in the book of life? Rev 20:14) "This is the second death, the lake of fire." It simply does not say that their punishment is everlasting, for them it is the second death.


Wow, Clete, I never thought I'd get this far with anybody here. Especially being a nonbeliever! You're almost saying that my position is a viable argument! At any rate, I'm happy to hear the information that this subject is a matter of disagreement among Christians. My efforts, of course, are puny.

However, I notice that no one has answered the question at the end of my original post on this question: "So my question is, are there any other verses in the New Testament that clearly state that eternal suffering is the fate of all who end up in hell?" Since no one has answered this question, I presume that there are no such verses.

Thanks again for your responses. I realize that you have a certain disdain for unbelievers. But even the dogs get the crumbs from the table!
Gary

You sound a lot like Saul Alinsky and his statement "Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules."

And while Saul has many effective tactics for disintegrating society, he wasn't a very good person. And we find this out by the witnesses of his life. There were many people that knew him and talked/wrote about him and he wrote many of his ideas in his books, and there were a lot of effects of people doing what he advocated which turned out either good or bad. So we have a fairly solid understanding of his nature.

It turns out that the God of the Bible has a similar situation. We know God by our own reading of the bible, by the lives of the people that wrote about Him, by looking at the effects of people doing the things that God advocates, and by looking at the universe He created. So if somebody takes an honest approach they can get a fairly solid understanding of God's nature.

What we find out about God's nature is that he is not the type to be mean without reason.

But even if you once thought that the only reason to reject God was because at one time you only were afraid of Him and saw no reason to love God because of God's love for us first? Does it matter? I have grown and changed my mind about a lot of things, even things about God, that I have learned were different as I got older.

I'd say it might be wise to take a step back from the details of Highly debated subjects such as annihilationism. Consider if God exists or not. Consider if a God made the universe would he make its sentient beings to be apart of a greater purpose. Try reading the Bible from cover to cover more as a novel and less as a group of verses sown together.

 

[Right Divider]

However, I notice that no one has answered the question at the end of my original post on this question: "So my question is, are there any other verses in the New Testament that clearly state that eternal suffering is the fate of all who end up in hell?" Since no one has answered this question, I presume that there are no such verses.

You presume incorrectly as I have already demonstrated.

Your choices are:

• Eternal life.
• Everlasting punishment.

Chose wisely.

Matt 25:46 (AKJV/PCE)
(25:46) And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

 

[Clete]

Hi Everyone,

I notice that there seems to be some question as to why, I, an unbeliever, am bringing up a matter of doctrine. Well, as you may have noticed from my original post, I was terrified as a child by the possibility of eternal torment. So it brought me some relief to consider that so many verses contrast eternal life with death or destruction. Maybe the Bible doesn't preach eternal suffering! Maybe little kids brought up in a conservative Christian household need not be terrified!

It doesn't matter, Gary! It's laughable that you're afraid of eternal torment but not of God. If you think you're getting off light, you've got another thing coming. It's the fear of God that is the beginning of wisdom, not of Dante's conception of Hell.

Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

As an unbeliever, and you may have the initial impression that such a person is up to no good. But note what I'm doing, I'm asking you to look at your Bible!

I couldn't care less what you're asking me to do, Gary. I've spent my entire life "looking at" my bible. I've forgotten more about the bible than you'll ever learn and I'm not even close to what anyone should consider a legitimate expert!

That can't be bad, right!

It can be presumptuous and condescending.

And I'm also not looking for a debate, just a consideration, based the Bible.

Well, this is, after all, a debate forum, so...

Also, a good number of us consider it a waste of time to have trivial conversations about disputed matters within Christianity with someone who is a self-proclaimed unbeliever. I can't imagine a bigger waste of time. You have no grounds for even having an opinion. Why would any of us take you seriously?

Here are some more verses: Luke 13: 4Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” Jesus here is speaking of the final judgement when He talks about repentance, and is saying that they will perish just as people perished when a tower fell on them. Look at the words: The unrepentant will perish "just as they did": A quick death from being crushed!

John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."

John 10:28 "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish."

Romans 2:12 "All who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law."

2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance."

So we see in quite a few verses in my two notes that the fate of the unrepentant is described with words such as "death", "destruction" and "perish". But we apparently only have one verse that indicates that the punishment will actively go on forever: Matthew 25:46. So the question is, do we adjust our understanding of a great number of verses in order to accommodate a possible meaning of one? Or do we modify our immediate understanding of one verse and understand it in the light of a great many verses?

Why would you care? Either way is sloppy hermeneutics. That isn't how proper bible study is done.

I would say the latter is more reasonable, especially since the modification is slight: We understand the "eternal punishment" to be death! Simple. It means that the ones who are burned up in hell will never be resurrected.

Why would any of us care what you, an unbeliever, thinks is a more reasonable understanding of a bible that you think is false? Can't you see that there's a bit of a disconnect there?

There's also the matter of Revelation, and RightDivider says that "their [the unrepentant] punishment in the lake of fire is everlasting." But the Bible does not say that. Revelation makes it very clear that the punishment is everlasting for the devil, the beast and the false prophet. (Rev 20:10). But what does it say when talking about the fate of those whose names were not in the book of life? Rev 20:14) "This is the second death, the lake of fire." It simply does not say that their punishment is everlasting, for them it is the second death.

The fact that you clearly believe that you've established your point biblically, is only proof that you picked up the very same sort of bad habits that led to your horrifyingly terrible doctrinal upbringing. You simply have no idea what you're talking about! It's more complicated than proof-texting, as are most doctrines. At best, you've got a 50/50 chance of having picked the right side of the "eternal torture" debate.

Wow, Clete, I never thought I'd get this far with anybody here. Especially being a nonbeliever! You're almost saying that my position is a viable argument!

I'm saying no such thing!
I'm saying that it isn't a hill worth fighting an unbeliever on. Believe whatever you want about Hell. I don't care. It's entirely irrelevant to the topic that I would be willing to debate which is whether God is just.

At any rate, I'm happy to hear the information that this subject is a matter of disagreement among Christians. My efforts, of course, are puny.

A sentence I have no argument with.

However, I notice that no one has answered the question at the end of my original post on this question:

There's about five hours worth of my posts alone that you've failed to respond to at all.

"So my question is, are there any other verses in the New Testament that clearly state that eternal suffering is the fate of all who end up in hell?" Since no one has answered this question, I presume that there are no such verses.

Presume what you like. What you don't have to presume is that I wouldn't point it out to you whether such a verse exists or not. It would be the equivalent to Gretta Thunburg (global warming alarmist/socialist) trying to get Destin Sandlin (missile fight test engineer) to pick up a debate about rocket fuel injector configuration. Gretta wouldn't know what she's talking about and Destin couldn't talk far enough down to communicate even the most basic principles of the topic to her.

Thanks again for your responses. I realize that you have a certain disdain for unbelievers. But even the dogs get the crumbs from the table!
Gary

I have no disdain for unbelievers, per se!
I do have a disdain for handing an unbeliever rational ground that they have no right to by picking up a debate that they have no basis from which to rightly dispute ANY position I might take on the subject. If I came at you with, "Hell is death by cotton candy", you'd have no grounds whatsoever upon which to dispute it! You might not believe me but so what? I think God exist and you don't believe that either! Seems like the existence of God is a necessary foundational question to answer before any discussion of Hell makes any sense whatsoever, because if God doesn't exist, neither does Hell, right?


I have a question for you....

Granting, FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT, that the typical unsaved person doesn't have eternal conscious torment to look forward to, on what basis would you claim that God is unjust?

Clete

 

[Clete]

Of course, my question is from the Christian point of view. Whether my repeated attempts to get saved would be considered successful as a frightened child is perhaps doubtful. Although I believed all the necessary things, and tried over and over again, it was motivated by fear and I didn't really feel repentant.

If you died today and found yourself before Christ and thus, that your current unbelief was in error, would you even want for your childhood "attempts to get saved" to have been effective?

If so, why?

 

[Hoping]

Of course, my question is from the Christian point of view. Whether my repeated attempts to get saved would be considered successful as a frightened child is perhaps doubtful. Although I believed all the necessary things, and tried over and over again, it was motivated by fear and I didn't really feel repentant.

Until the "turn from" sin is real, there is no hope of salvation.

 

[Hoping]

Well, there is quite a difference between eternal suffering and only a moment's suffering, don't you think?

The same principal is involved with both.
Choose the best alternative.
Don't go to hell.

 

[Rhema]

Hi Everyone, my question is whether or not I am saved.

The simple answer is not according to Catholic Rite, nor according to its daughter, the Protestant Offshoots (plural). And from a Modern Evangelical Perspective, most certainly not.

But I would suggest, though, that one might ask oneself... are you saved according to Jesus?

I was raised as a Christian Fundamentalist and believed the doctrine without question as a small child. I learned all about Jesus, etc

I am familiar with these teachings, and our upbringing might not be all that different.

I also learned about hell, that it was an eternal punishment to be avoided at any cost

Many different types of Christians teach many different fables. (The "polite" term might be "interpretations"....)

But Jesus never uttered the word "hell." Period. He did speak of ᾅδης (hades) and γέεννα (Gehenna), and being of Jewish lineage, likely spoke of Sheol as well, which simply means the hole in the ground wherein a dead body is buried. Obviously, there would be a difference between hades and Gehenna, or else Jesus would not have used different terms. But can one tell the difference in an English Bible? No. Both are typically translated as "hell."

But the Hell you know, from church stories or Hollywood movies is neither.

From what I have read, your belief was based upon fear. And yet while acknowledging fear, Jesus did teach to Fear Not.

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.​

(Matthew 10:28-33 KJV)

Just this passage should be enough to show that what you were taught as a child was wrong. Fear Not... you are loved. (Believe this.) And if there be fear, it should come from the teaching that there is one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Therefore, both body AND Soul (the YOU inside you that is you) are destroyed in hell, according to the very words of Jesus.

I see there are many posts since the OP, and I have not yet had the time to review these in detail, but I thought I should at least respond to a few of your initial points that I could address.

God Bless,
Rhema

So I asked Jesus to come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior, over and over again.

Where did Jesus teach that one should do this?

 

[Clete]

But Jesus never uttered the word "hell." Period.

Then, just a few sentences later...

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
(Matthew 10:28-33 KJV)

I will never understand it when people do this sort of thing!

The word "hell" is an English word and so, yes, of course, Jesus never uttered that particular word but, even by Rhema's own statement, He repeatedly used the words in Hebrew that convey the same meaning.

Now, if the point was to say that the modern use of the term hell has taken on meaning that Jesus never taught of spoke of then that might be a tenable position, but to say that Jesus never utter the word "hell" is all but meaningless!
Also, the fact that the various terms used in Hebrew that are translated as "hell" in English, all convey different ideas doesn't, by itself, prove that He wasn't talking about the place where the unsaved go after they die (i.e. Hell). Simply pointing out this the fact that the words have different dictionary meanings completely ignores their use as idioms and that the context of their use would indicate that they are indeed referring to what we would call Hell.

In short, it's a terribly sloppy way of doing theology that its almost entirely useless and lends itself easily to dishonesty.

If we want to know what Jesus thought Hell was like, one need look no farther than Luke 16...

Luke 16:19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and [h]fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with [i]the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.​

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24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’​

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27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”​

 

[Right Divider]

Jesus never uttered <insert any English word here>.

How silly!