"[Hell]'s the place for people who want nothing to do with God. Heaven is not for anyone who doesnt want to spend eternity in Gods presence.
God offers each of us reconcilliation and forgiveness...but if you spent your whole life ignoring or avoiding life with God, he's not going to compel you to live with him."
A friend said some things like that her pastor this Sunday had said about "hell." If they can't distinguish the various underlying Greek or Hebrew words that "hell" has been pasted over that Scripture nowhere says are to be equated then I know they likely haven't done much study in the word concerning it or are only trying to please men, which is worse. But that digresses.
Scripture says that those in the lake of fire are "tormented in fire and sulphur in the sight of the holy messengers and in the sight of the Lambkin." (Rv 14:10, CLV)
"...for in Him is all created, that in the heavens and that on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or sovereignties, or authorities,
all is created through Him and for Him, and He is before all, and all has its cohesion in Him." (Col 1:17, CLV) The phrase, "all has its cohesion in Him" is rendered by Young's Literal as, "the all things in him have consisted." Lightfoot says of this, "He is the principal of cohesion in the universe." Of this phrase Lohse says, "God Himself is the unifying band which encompasses everything and holds it together. This applies not only to the largest things of the universe, but also to the smallest things of the universe."
Also, what The New English Bible rendered as, "He's the Source, and the Guide, and the Goal of everything everywhere," is more literally "...out of Him and
through Him and for Him is all..." (Romans 11:36, CLV) "Through," Greek:
dia, is more intimate than just "by the means of" Him. It speaks of an intermingling, an interdependance. Where there is no God there is nothing at all. "By Him all things consist."
I think this has been derived from Jesus telling the sheep nations or the workers of lawlessness to depart from Him. But again, Scripture says, "Yet now, in Christ Jesus, you, who once are far off, are become near by the blood of Christ. For He is our Peace, Who makes both one...And, coming, He brings the evangel of peace to you, those afar, and peace to those near..." (Ephesians 2:13-14, 17, CLV) It is not to be gone from God only gone farther away. To depart from Him on His word, which is precious seed, is to learn something, as it says, "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." (Psalm 126:6, AV)
As far as putting ourselves in the lake of fire, Scripture, whenever it describes how it happens (to death and hades, the beast, the devil and the false prophet -- the only things we can quote actual Bible words that directly say what goes into it) it says, "...were 'cast' into," which means"forcibly thrown," not voluntary climbing into.
These things are part of "hell lite" which is popular with those who are ignorant of Scripture in more ways than one. They don't like God to look so bad, unless they are just trying to please their donors. Hopefully their conscience will kick in and they'll go looking for Scripture explanations. Even a little logic might induce a search for something more internally consistent. Like, the title of this thread, "Hell: the place for people that want nothing to do with God!" These are the people who neither know God nor are they supposed to be allowed to, being wicked and God is holy, etc. How could they be justly judged with an unceasing for ever evil for rejecting what they never knew? John says judgement is based on light. Don't get me started...
