Darkness.
Physical agony.
Emotional agony
Pure torment.
It’s fiery.
HELL REFERENCES IN
THE BIBLE
The Bible contains hundreds of references to
hell, so I’ll just list a few off the top of my head (and then I’ll, umm, type
out some of my favorite quantum physics theorems also from the top of my head,
and, well, maybe I’ll just look it all up)
In Matthew 5:28-29, the Bible makes it clear that
the punishment for adultery is being thrown into hell. “But I say to you,
everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her
in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it
away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole
body thrown into Gehenna.”
"And if thy hand scandalize thee, cut it
off; it is better for thee to enter into life, maimed, than having two hands to
go into hell, into unquenchable fire; where their worm dieth not, and the fire
is not extinguished" (Mark 9:42)
"[A]nd the devil who had deceived them was
thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet
were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
(Revelations 20:10)
And if thy hand, or thy foot scandalize thee, cut
it off, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to go into life maimed or
lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting
fire”(Matthew 18:8)
“A fire that is not kindled shall devour
him.” (Job 20:26)
“A fire is kindled in my wrath, and shall burn
even to the lowest hell.” (Deut 32:22)
Which of you can dwell with devouring fires?
Which of you shall dwell with everlasting
burnings (Isaiah 33:14)
“Their worm shall not die, and their fire shall
not be quenched, and they shall be a loathsome sight to all flesh. (Isaiah
66:24)
“He will give fire, and worms unto their flesh, that
they may burn, and may feel forever.” (Judith 16:21)
“I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24…where the rich man in hell cries
out to Lazarus)
“Let him pass from the snow water to excessive
heat, and his sin even to hell.” (Job 24:19)
“we have erred from the way of truth, we wearied
ourselves in the way of iniquity and destruction and have walked through hard
ways. What hath pride profited us? Or what advantage hath the boasting of
riches brought us?…Such things as these the sinners said in hell.” (Wis.
5:6-14)
“Before I go and return no more, to a land that
is dark and covered with the mist of death: a land of misery and darkness,
where the shadow of death, and no order, but everlasting horror dwelleth.” (Job
10:22)
“Depart from me into everlasting fire.” (Matthew
25:41).
“The wicked shall be turned into hell, all the
nations that forget God.” (Ps 9:18)
“It were better for him, if that man had not been
born.” (Mt 26:24….Christ speaking of Judas)
“In those days men shall seek death and shall not
find it: and they shall desire to die, and death shall fly from them.” (Rev.
9:6)
FROM THE BOOK OF
REVELATIONS
“And I saw a great white throne, and one sitting
upon it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, and there was no place
found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence
of the throne, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is
the book of life; and the dead were judged by those things which were written
in the books, according to their works . . . .
…And whosoever was not found written in the book
of life, was cast into the pool of fire.” (Rev 20:11-12, 15)
************************************************************
For the latest breaking developments on hell, see:
“What Will Hell Be Like?” by
St. Alphonsus Liguori
http://www.cin.org/users/james/questions/q103.htm
(Did Jesus descend into hell?)
http://www.cin.org/users/james/questions/q095.htm
(Can souls in hell hurt us?)
http://www.catholic.com/library/Hell_There_Is.asp
(Church Fathers on Hell)
http://www.catholic.com/library/Mortal_Sin.asp
(Church Fathers on Mortal Sin)
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/3543/hells.htm
http://www.marianland.com/hellbooksec.html
(books on hell, hell quizzes)
http://www.unitypublishing.com/Apparitions/DoorTheWideRoad.html
(Mary granted the children at Fatima a vision of hell)
**************************************************************
THE FOLLOWING IS STRAIGHT
FROM THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm#1033
IV. HELL (Catechism)
1033
We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot
love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against
ourselves: "He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his
brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in
him."612 Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him
if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are
his brethren.613 To die in mortal sin without repenting and
accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by
our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion
with God and the blessed is called "hell."
1034 Jesus often speaks of "Gehenna" of "the
unquenchable fire" reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse
to believe and be converted, where both soul and body can be lost.614
Jesus solemnly proclaims that he "will send his angels, and they will
gather . . . all evil doers, and throw them into the furnace of
fire,"615 and that he will pronounce the condemnation:
"Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire!"616
1035
The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity.
Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin
descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal
fire."617 The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation
from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was
created and for which he longs.
1036
The affirmations of Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church on the
subject of hell are a call to the responsibility incumbent upon man to make use
of his freedom in view of his eternal destiny. They are at the same time an
urgent call to conversion: "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide
and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are
many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those
who find it are few."618
Since we know neither the day nor the hour, we should
follow the advice of the Lord and watch constantly so that, when the single
course of our earthly life is completed, we may merit to enter with him into
the marriage feast and be numbered among the blessed, and not, like the wicked
and slothful servants, be ordered to depart into the eternal fire, into the
outer darkness where "men will weep and gnash their teeth."619
1037 God predestines no
one to go to hell;620 for this, a willful turning away from God (a
mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end. In the
Eucharistic liturgy and in the daily prayers of her faithful, the Church
implores the mercy of God, who does not want "any to perish, but all to
come to repentance":621
Father, accept this offering
from your whole family.
Grant us your peace in this life,
save us from final damnation,
and count us among those you have chosen.622
1861
Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It
results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is,
of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's
forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of
hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning
back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense,
we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.
1862 One commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter,
he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he
disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without
complete consent.
1863
Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created
goods; it impedes the soul's progress in the exercise of the virtues and the
practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and
unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin.
However venial sin does not break the covenant with God. With God's grace it is
humanly reparable. "Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying
grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness."134
While he is in the flesh, man cannot help but have at
least some light sins. But do not despise these sins which we call
"light": if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when
you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass; a number of drops
fills a river; a number of grains makes a heap. What then is our hope? Above all,
confession.135
1864 "Therefore I
tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy
against the Spirit will not be forgiven."136 There are no
limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his
mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation
offered by the Holy Spirit.137 Such hardness of heart can lead to
final impenitence and eternal loss
****************************************************************************************************************************************
VISION OF HELL GRANTED TO CHILDREN IN 1917
The Portuguese children to whom the Lady of Fatima (Mary) appeared
in 1917 were granted a vision of hell, so they would know how vital it was to
pray for souls. They were told many souls would go to hell because they had
nobody to pray or make sacrifices for them.
As you may recall, the Lady of Fatima performed the Miracle of the Sun
where 80,000 people saw the sun zig-zag, plunge and rise.
One of the children, Lucia, is now in her 90s and is a
cloistered nun. The following is a transcript of Sister Lucy’s description of
Hell as she saw it (http://fatima.org/hell.html)
"She opened Her hands once more, as She had done
the two previous months. The rays [of light] appeared to penetrate the earth,
and we saw, as it were, a vast sea of fire. Plunged in this fire, we saw the
demons and the souls [of the damned]. The latter were like transparent burning
embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, having human forms. They were
floating about in that conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames
which issued from within themselves, together with great clouds of smoke. Now
they fell back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or
equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us
and made us tremble with fright (it must have been this sight which caused me
to cry out, as people say they heard me). The demons were distinguished [from
the souls of the damned] by their terrifying and repellent likeness to
frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. That
vision only lasted for a moment, thanks to our good Heavenly Mother, Who at the
first apparition had promised to take us to Heaven. Without that, I think that
we would have died of terror and fear."
***************************************************************************************************************************************************
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