[Elmer G. White]

Originally Posted by MitzaLizalor

I have a question. Hell. If there are degrees of torture available, is it possible to be "demoted" as it were, to some more wretched status than one enjoyed previously? If the arrow of time is contiguous with our waking experience here on earth, with or without a timeless interlude at the boundary, doesn't that suggest possible "promotion" to another place where conditions are less repulsive? I was thinking that if there were no place to be repelled to, conditions would not be repulsive at all.

Of course, certainly and indeed, Jesus as God has designed eternal punishments that - while agonizing - can be less agonizing than others. To assess this, we have to first understand that each and every non-True™-Christian sinner has committed an infinite number of sins:

James 2:10
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Second, we need to understand that even false Christians/atheists can understand some issues, and a Mathematician called Georg Cantor discovered that not all infinities are of the same size. And size does matter. Countable infinities (real numbers) are less than non-countable infinities (irreal numbers or whatever). Thus, one sinner can have committed fewer sins than another although both have committed infinitely many sins. It's simple and elegant.

How to punish these somewhat lesser sinners? Jesus has the answer!

Acts 2:35
Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

Being a footstool for a True Christian™ for eternity does not perhaps seem so bad but, imagine this, after a few bezillions of years, your spine will become crooked, your joints become fixed without any relief from the pain and torture. It's probably less agonizing than tungsten enemas administered on a regular basis. It is quite possible that some of the less godless presidents are at this very moment residing in a fetal position with Jesus laughing heartily and resting His elegant legs on their backs.




Yours in Christ,

Elmer

[WWJDnow]

There are certainly different levels of punishment in Hell and reward in the afterlife. Jesus said in the Book of Revelation:

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. Revelation 22:12.

I don't know about promotion or demotion after you're there.

[Johny Joe Hold]

Originally Posted by WWJDnow

I don't know about promotion or demotion after you're there.

Other so-called Christians do not have a Pastor Zeke making afterlife arrangements for us. Surely, this gives us an inside track to a glorious position in heaven.

I think God was talking directly to those of us at LBC when He wrote "...rejoice insofar as you share Christ's suffering, that you may rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed." (1 Peter 4:13)

[MitzaLizalor]

I appreciate all those responses. Hell, it seems, is like lines and rays. From wherever you stand, a ray extends infinitely in one direction only. Lines extend infinitely in both directions. Both are of infinite length. Which (line or ray) contains the most points?

[Dennis Lukes]

Originally Posted by MitzaLizalor

I appreciate all those responses. Hell, it seems, is like lines and rays. From wherever you stand, a ray extends infinitely in one direction only. Lines extend infinitely in both directions. Both are of infinite length. Which (line or ray) contains the most points?

Sounds like one of those trick questions formulated by secular scientists to mock the Lord, like "Can God create a stone so heavy that even He can't lift it?" The answer, of course, is to shout in their face that they're going to Hell.

[MitzaLizalor]

Originally Posted by Dennis Lukes

"Can God create a stone so heavy that even He can't lift it?"

Creatures proposing that line of reasoning are often philosophy buffoons. It's worth knowing something of their error, to point out where they're going wrong in terms they can understand, but generally it's like talking to a brick wall. Unlike legitimate brick walls however, these have the additional property of making you feel sick.

I Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

To lift something, its location needs to change. From on the floor to on the table, say. “But does the universe itself have a location?” I've tried asking them. “Because if it doesn't then how can God have a location? And if God has no location then nothing He ever did could be described as ‘lifting.’” All this is within the three dimensional universe, containing time, but applies equally to any number of dimensions. There could be a trillion dimensions and God would surpass them all in capacity, regardless of whether He has a location in the spiritual realm because a rock is not a spiritual thing. If it were, they wouldn't ask the question in the first place.

Then they say, “Yes, but Can God create a stone so heavy that even He can't lift it?” which is about the same as asking How loud is yellow? As I say, it just makes you sick.