Does the Bible Actually Teach that People Will Be Tormented for Eternity?
Dr. Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez answer caller questions. Key questions answered in today's show: 1. Why do so many churches teach that hell is a place of eternal torment when it says in the New Testament that only believers will put on immortality and in the Old Testament it teaches that the wicked will be destroyed and the New testament it teaches that death is the punishment for sin, for example in John 3:16. John's very clear about the symbolism of the lake of fire being the second death. I don’t understand why so many mainstream churches teach this place of eternal torment. It doesn’t make any sense when people say God is a God of justice. This is very serious to me because it seems like blasphemy against God to say that he is wicked and like Satan and to go against Scripture. 2. I have friends who have struggled to find a church because they did not feel like there was genuine community in most churches. In your opinion what is Biblical community? 3. I’m the only Christian in my family and I’m always getting into arguments because my family thinks I’m crazy and can’t understand why I have “given up on reason and embraced religion.” I would like to be able to tell them that I haven’t abandoned reason but when I try, they ask me to prove the Bible is true. Can you help me out in this area? 4. When was the blessed mother filled with the Holy Spirit? I read in the Bible that when they took Jesus to Jerusalem to celebrate the passover he was 12 years old. They left and thought he was with them and he wasn’t. They went back to find him and when they did, he told her, "didn’t you know I would be about my father’s business?" At this point it seems to me that she wasn’t filled with the Holy Spirit. I believe she was filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts 1 where all the apostles and Mary was there also and filled with the Holy Spirit. Resources: "Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian in Community" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer; "Why Should I Believe that Jesus Rose from the Dead?" by Dr. Michael Horton; "The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important that Happens in Between" by Gregory Koukl. Request our latest special offers call 1-833-THE-CORE (833-843-2673) to request them by phone.
