If God is loving, why does He send people to hell?

[Yesua888]

Some read The Bible to seek for truth, allowing scripture to speak for itself.

Some interpret scripture and explain a different meaning.


Allowing scripture to speak for itself:

Matthew 10:34
New International Version
34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “’a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’

When we read verse 35 and 36 doesn't it help us to understand verse 34 better?

In Matthew 10:34, when Jesus says He came not to bring peace but a sword, He is not referring to a literal weapon of war or violence (that is not what Jesus is about, and scripture should not be viewed in isolation). Instead, the "sword" symbolizes spiritual and social division caused by the proclamation of the gospel. This division arises because Jesus' message demands a choice—acceptance or rejection—leading to conflict even within families

In Matthew 10:34–36, Jesus said He had come at this time not to bring peace to the earth, but a sword, a weapon which divides and severs. As a result of His visit to the earth, some children would be set against parents and a man’s enemies might be those within his own household. This is because many who choose to follow Christ are hated by their family members. This may be part of the cost of discipleship, for love of family should not be greater than love for the Lord. A true disciple must take up his cross and follow Jesus (Matthew 16:24). He must be willing to face not only family hatred, but also death, like a criminal carrying his cross to his own execution. True followers of Christ must be willing to give up, even to the point of “hating” all that is in our lives, even our own families, if we are to be worthy of Him (Matthew 10:37–39). In so doing, we find our lives in return for having given them up to Jesus Christ.

 

[Yesua888]

Could someone please show me the one scripture that definitely explains "Eternal Conscious Torment".

Not Eternal punishment, but more specifically "Eternal Conscious Torment"

Matthew 25:46 is the verse most often cited as the primary biblical support for the doctrine of eternal conscious torment, with Jesus stating that the wicked will go away into eternal punishment, while the righteous will enter eternal life

King James Bible
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Other verses frequently referenced include Revelation 14:11, which describes the smoke of torment ascending forever and the lack of rest for the wicked, and Mark 9:48, which mentions unquenchable fire and worms that never die, though interpretations of these passages vary significantly.

However, imho, herein lies the danger of just taking these references as meaning the same thing ... everything should be viewed in it's own context.

As far as I know the Old Testament was written in Hewbrew and was later translated into English.
The New Testament was written in Greek ... same thing applied.

Some will argue that Scripture is God inspired, and some will argue that Scripture has been translated and therefore some words were used incorrectly ...

Imho, I am here to keep an open mind, to listen to what is asked and replied to, to do my own due dilligence (bible study), and pray for clarity.

 

[Walter Gabriel]

Matthew 22:36-40
New International Version
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 25:40
Berean Standard Bible
And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

Luke 6:27
New King James Version
“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

So we believe differently, we still love God with all of our heart, and we love our neighbor as ourselves.
These are the two Greatest Commandments and this is what I focus on. Jesus did explain that the good news will cause division even in our own household, but he also gave us so many fine Instructions of how we should treat our brothers and sisters our neighbors and even our enemies.

Doesn't our neighbors and enemies believe a different way then we do?

 

[David]

Matthew 22:36-40
New International Version
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 25:40
Berean Standard Bible
And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

Luke 6:27
New King James Version
“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

So we believe differently, we still love God with all of our heart, and we love our neighbor as ourselves.
These are the two Greatest Commandments and this is what I focus on. Jesus did explain that the good news will cause division even in our own household, but he also gave us so many fine Instructions of how we should treat our brothers and sisters our neighbors and even our enemies.

Doesn't our neighbors and enemies believe a different way then we do?

Walter, no one here has said that we are to disobey the command to love God or love others. We all agree with that. But you are misusing those commands to justify false teaching, and Scripture does not permit that.

Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” ~John 14:15. Love for God is not determined by sincerity or focus but by obedience to His words. Love for neighbor does not mean agreeing with error or not speaking up when truth is being distorted. Scripture says, “Open rebuke is better than secret love” ~Proverbs 27:5, and “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” ~Proverbs 27:6.

Jesus Himself showed that love and truth are not contrary but joined. He spoke more about judgment and hell than any other, not because He was less loving but because He loved enough to speak the truth. Paul commands us to “speak the truth in love” ~Ephesians 4:15, not love apart from the truth. When doctrine is false, silence is not love.

Yes, people believe different things. That does not make all beliefs acceptable. Scripture says there are “false teachers among you” ~2 Peter 2: 1 and tells us to “earnestly contend for the faith” ~Jude 1:3. Love never requires us to soften, redefine, or contradict what God has plainly spoken.

 

[Walter Gabriel]

Eternal conscious torment has scriptural support with symbolic language.
Death, destruction, no life and eternal punishment has scriptural support with symbolic language.

 

[Yesua888]

Eternal conscious torment has scriptural support with symbolic language.
Death, destruction, no life and eternal punishment has scriptural support with symbolic language.

Walter, would you please quote the scripture that you are referring to, and explain a bit more of what you are saying or not saying?
Thanks LInda

 

[David]

Eternal conscious torment has scriptural support with symbolic language.
Death, destruction, no life and eternal punishment has scriptural support with symbolic language.

No. That framing is false. The Bible does not present two symbolic options. It presents one judgment described with clear language. Jesus says the wicked go into “everlasting punishment” while the righteous go into “life eternal” ~Matthew 25:46. That is not symbolism competing with symbolism. That is definition. Same word. Same duration.

Scripture also explains what that punishment is. Hell is a place “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” ~Mark 9:48. The lost “have no rest day nor night” and “the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever” ~Revelation 14:11. No rest and eternal torment do not describe nonexistence.

Words like death and destruction are biblical, but Scripture defines them as ruin and separation, not annihilation. Paul calls it “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord” ~2 Thessalonians 1:9. Everlasting destruction cannot mean a momentary act that ends consciousness.

The Bible does not teach two outcomes and let us choose. It teaches one final judgment, conscious and eternal, exactly as Jesus warned.

 

[Yesua888]

I'm kinda of lost as to what the question is really about?
Is the question raised by Walter needing to be explained further, and if so, what is the whole transparent meaning behind the question (no cryptic words).
Sorry guys, I am battling to understand ...

 

[David]

I'm kinda of lost as to what the question is really about?
Is the question raised by Walter needing to be explained further, and if so, what is the whole transparent meaning behind the question (no cryptic words).
Sorry guys, I am battling to understand ...

Let me try to simplify what’s going on, because the discussion has gotten tangled. We are commanded to love God and others ~Matthew 22:37–40. No one is denying this or arguing against it. Loving our neighbor, blessing our enemies, and walking humbly with God are crystal clear biblical imperatives.

The issue that is actually being debated, and the real point of contention, is over what Scripture actually teaches about final judgment. It is not a question of love. It is not a question of tone. It is not a question of symbolism in general. The question is simply this: Does the Bible teach that the lost will be consigned to conscious and eternal punishment, or to extinction?

When Jesus addresses that question directly, He says the wicked will go “into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal” ~Matthew 25:46. The same word is used to describe the duration of both. Scripture does not present two possible scenarios and leave it to us to pick our preferred one.

Jesus also says hell is a place where “their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” ~Mark 9:48. Revelation states that the lost “have no rest day nor night” and that “the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever” ~Revelation 14:11. Those are not descriptions of non-existence. They are descriptions of perpetual judgment.

Death and destruction are both biblical terms, but Scripture itself defines them as ruin and separation, not annihilation. Paul refers to it as “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord” ~2 Thessalonians 1:9. Everlasting destruction cannot be a moment that extinguishes consciousness.

The truth is straightforward. We are commanded to love, and we must obey that command. But love does not give us license to water down, re-define, or to contradict what Jesus clearly taught about judgment. If we love Him we keep His words ~John 14:15, even when they are difficult.

False teaching on hell is not a harmless opinion. It directly undermines the fear of the Lord. Scripture says, “By the fear of the LORD men depart from evil” ~Proverbs 16:6. If judgment is softened, delayed, or denied, repentance loses urgency. The gospel becomes advice instead of rescue.

It also calls God’s truthfulness into question. God warned Adam that sin brings death ~Genesis 2:17. Jesus warned repeatedly of eternal judgment. To redefine those warnings after the fact is to accuse God of exaggeration or deception. Scripture is clear that “God is not a man, that he should lie” ~Numbers 23:19.

Most importantly, denying eternal punishment cheapens the cross. If hell is temporary or non-conscious, then Christ did not bear the full weight of what Scripture says we deserve. Yet Jesus spoke of His death as a ransom, a substitution, and a cup of wrath He willingly drank ~Matthew 20:28, ~Isaiah 53:5, ~Luke 22:42. The severity of hell explains the necessity of the cross. Remove one and the other collapses.

 

[Yesua888]

Let me try to simplify what’s going on, because the discussion has gotten tangled. We are commanded to love God and others ~Matthew 22:37–40. No one is denying this or arguing against it. Loving our neighbor, blessing our enemies, and walking humbly with God are crystal clear biblical imperatives.

The issue that is actually being debated, and the real point of contention, is over what Scripture actually teaches about final judgment. It is not a question of love. It is not a question of tone. It is not a question of symbolism in general. The question is simply this: Does the Bible teach that the lost will be consigned to conscious and eternal punishment, or to extinction?

When Jesus addresses that question directly, He says the wicked will go “into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal” ~Matthew 25:46. The same word is used to describe the duration of both. Scripture does not present two possible scenarios and leave it to us to pick our preferred one.

Jesus also says hell is a place where “their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” ~Mark 9:48. Revelation states that the lost “have no rest day nor night” and that “the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever” ~Revelation 14:11. Those are not descriptions of non-existence. They are descriptions of perpetual judgment.

Death and destruction are both biblical terms, but Scripture itself defines them as ruin and separation, not annihilation. Paul refers to it as “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord” ~2 Thessalonians 1:9. Everlasting destruction cannot be a moment that extinguishes consciousness.

The truth is straightforward. We are commanded to love, and we must obey that command. But love does not give us license to water down, re-define, or to contradict what Jesus clearly taught about judgment. If we love Him we keep His words ~John 14:15, even when they are difficult.

False teaching on hell is not a harmless opinion. It directly undermines the fear of the Lord. Scripture says, “By the fear of the LORD men depart from evil” ~Proverbs 16:6. If judgment is softened, delayed, or denied, repentance loses urgency. The gospel becomes advice instead of rescue.

It also calls God’s truthfulness into question. God warned Adam that sin brings death ~Genesis 2:17. Jesus warned repeatedly of eternal judgment. To redefine those warnings after the fact is to accuse God of exaggeration or deception. Scripture is clear that “God is not a man, that he should lie” ~Numbers 23:19.

Most importantly, denying eternal punishment cheapens the cross. If hell is temporary or non-conscious, then Christ did not bear the full weight of what Scripture says we deserve. Yet Jesus spoke of His death as a ransom, a substitution, and a cup of wrath He willingly drank ~Matthew 20:28, ~Isaiah 53:5, ~Luke 22:42. The severity of hell explains the necessity of the cross. Remove one and the other collapses.

Hi David,
So sorry that you have to repeat yourself all the time, to teach us what we need to know. You are a very patient man : )

 

[David]

Hi David,
So sorry that you have to repeat yourself all the time, to teach us what we need to know. You are a very patient man : )

No need to apologize. Scripture itself repeats these truths because we all need to hear them again and again. God knows our frame. We forget. We drift. So He keeps pressing the same truth from different angles.

 

[Denise60]

You said you wish Scripture was simpler. You’re not alone in that thought. Sometimes we approach the Bible seeking a quick word from God and are faced instead with a well of truth so deep we need faith, patience, and the Spirit to clear it up. It can be frustrating, but that is the way He often operates. He’s not withholding truth from us; He’s refining us through the search. “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings” (Prov. 25:2). Growth comes through digging.

As for your questions…

1. Do people send themselves to hell, or does God send them?

Picture this, God designed the road, put up the signs, and sent His Son to stand in the middle of the highway waving His arms and shouting, “Don’t go that way!” But some of us still step on the gas. When they reach destruction, it is true that they have chosen to ignore the warning, but it is also God who hands out the judgment.

Romans 2:5 says the ungodly are “storing up wrath for themselves”, their own decisions fill that cup to the brim. But Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death”, and wages are paid by the employer. In other words, people freely choose rebellion, but God, in His righteous role as Judge, pays out the penalty.

Hell is not a place people stumble into by accident. People hear the truth, reject the truth, and choose to live their lives apart from God. And since God is the source of all life, to turn away from Him is the same as choosing death. But don’t miss this, it is still God’s judgment which makes it final. In Matthew 10:28, Jesus says to “Fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” God alone has that power.

2. Are people already in hell according to Matt. 25:41–46?

No, this passage is not referring to now, but to later. The Son of Man comes “in His glory” at the beginning of verse 41. That is not the present tense, it is the day of judgment. The picture we see in verses 41–46 is a courtroom, not a holding cell. Christ is on the throne. The nations are gathered. The verdicts are read. The righteous enter eternal life; the wicked into eternal punishment.

Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels, that’s what verse 41 says. It was not prepared for people. But when people reject Christ they are choosing to be numbered among the devil’s followers and will reap his punishment. Revelation 20:15 is in perfect harmony with Matthew 25:41–46, “Anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Hell, then, is a final place of punishment. But it is not a temporary one. It is for the unredeemed dead and that is why they are there, in John 3:18, in the “second death,” and there is no coming back. The rich man in Luke 16 was in torment but still waiting for that final verdict. Hell is not the “lake of fire” yet, for that is what it will become after Christ’s return and the Great White Throne Judgment.

The point is this: God does not want any person to go to hell. He made every provision through Jesus Christ to rescue us from hell. But if a person says to God, “I do not want You,” God will honor that choice eternally. Separation from God is hell, not because God is mean or vindictive, but because He is just.

So yes, the choice is real, but His mercy is also real. God is calling every person to take the exit off the highway of sin and step on to the narrow road that leads to life (Matthew 7:13–14). Jesus paid the price for that road with His blood. And if you are walking with Him, there is no place you will ever have to fear ending up.

You don’t have to live your life trying not to go to hell; you can live your life enjoying heaven right now by walking with Jesus Christ.

very true!!

 

[Yesua888]

Such an amazing response David ... thanks again

"1. Do people send themselves to hell, or does God send them?

Picture this, God designed the road, put up the signs, and sent His Son to stand in the middle of the highway waving His arms and shouting, “Don’t go that way!” But some of us still step on the gas. When they reach destruction, it is true that they have chosen to ignore the warning, but it is also God who hands out the judgment."

So well said!