Thursday, September 15, 2011

Hell is the place of eternal punishment, the state or place of total and final separation from God. Hell as a place of punishment translates 'Gehenna' the Greek form of the Hebrew word that means "the valley of Ben-hinnom[Hinnom]" - a valley just south of Jerusalem. In this valley the Canaanites worshiped Baal and the fire-god Molech by sacrificing their children in a fire that burned continuously. Ahaz and Manasseh, king of Judah, were guilty of this terrible, idolatrous practice.

But Manasseh, in his distress he sought to appease Yahweh his God, humbling himself deeply, and he prayed and God relented at his prayer, all his sins, his unfaithfulness, hearing his plead and bringing him back to Jerusalem and his kingdom. The rest of the history of Manasseh, can be found in the Annals of the King of Israel. - 2Chr. 33:1-20 -

Ahaz was twenty years old when he came to the throne and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what is pleasing to Yahweh, as his ancestor David had done. He followed the example of the kings of Israel, even having idols cast for the Baals; he offered incense in the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom and caused his sons to pass through fire, copying the shameful practices of the nations which Yahweh had dispossessed for the sons of Israel. He offered sacrifices and incense on the high places, on the hills and under every spreading tree.

 Yahweh his God delivered him into the power of the king of the Aramaeans who defeated him and took great numbers of his people captive, carrying them off to Damascus. He was also delivered into the power of the king of Israel who inflicted a crushing defeat on him. - 2Chr. 28:1-5 -

The prophet of Jeremiah predicted that God would visit such destruction upon Jerusalem that this valley would be known as the "Valley of Slaughter"

Yes, the sons of Judah have done what displeases me - it is Yahweh who speaks. They have put their abominations in the Temple that bears my name, to defile it; they have built the high place of Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, to burn their sons and daughters; a thing I never commanded, a thing that never entered my thoughts. So now the days are coming - it is Yahweh who speaks - when people will no longer talk of Topheth or the Valley of Ben-hinnom but of the 'Valley of Slaughter'. Topheth will become a burial ground, for lack of other space; the corpses of this people will feed the birds of heaven and the beasts of the earth and there shall be no one to drive them away. - Jer. 7:30-33, 19:1-6 -

In his religious reform in Judah, king Josiah put an end to this worship. He defiled the valley in order to make it unfit even for pagan worship. The king ordered Hilkiah with the priest next in rank and the guardians of the threshold to remove all the cult objects that had been made for Baal....... He desecrated the furnace in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, so that no one could make his son or daughter pass through fire in honour of Molech....... and covered the places where they had stood with human bones. - 2Kings 23:4-14 -

In the time of Jesus the Valley of Ben-hinnom, Valley of Slaughter was used as the garbage dump of Jerusalem. Into it were thrown all the filth and garbage of the city, including the dead bodies of animals and executed criminal. To consume all this, fires burned constantly. Maggots worked in the filth. When the wind blew from that direction over the city, its awfulness was quite evident. At nighr wild dogs howled and gnashed their teeth as they fought over the garbage.

Jesus used this awful scene to described 'Hell'. In effect he said, 'Do you want to know what hell is like? Look at the Valley of Ben-hinnom, Valley of Slaughter. So hell may be described as God's "cosmic garbage dump". All that is unfit for heaven will be thrown into hell. So the word 'Hell' as a place of punishment is used by Jesus in the Gospels and James in the New Testament by Him who is the essence of infinite love. - Matt. 5:22,29-30, 18:8-9; Mark 9:42-47

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. - Matt. 10:28 -

Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte and when you have him you make twice as fit for hell as you are. - Matt. 23:15 -

Serpents, brood of vipers, how can you escape being condemned to hell? - Matt. 23:33 -

And if your eyes should cause you to sin, tear it out; it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell where their worm does not die nor their fire go out. - Mark 9:47 -

Repeatedly Jesus spoke of outer darkness and a furnace of fire where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. - Luke 13:28; Matt. 8:12, 13:41-43,50, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30 -

The Book of Revelation describes hell as "lake of fire burning with brimstone". Into hell will be thrown the beasts and the false prophets. And the end of the age the devil, wicked, evil one and Satan himself will be thrown into it, along with death and hades and all whose names are not in the Book of Life. "And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever". - Rev. 19:19-21, 20:7-10, 21:8 -

The sea gave up all the dead who were in it; Death and Hades were emptied of the dead that were in them; and everyone was judged according to the way in which he had lived. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the burning lake. The burning lake is the second death; and anybody whose name could not be found written in the book of life was thrown into the burning lake. - Rev. 20:14-15

The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible exhausts human language in describing heaven and hell. The former is more glorious and the latter more terrible than language can express.

                                                                     Page 1  
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -


No comments:

Post a Comment

The devil is only permitted to tempt thee as much as is profitable for thy exercise and trial, and in order that thou, who didst not know th...