Are the wicked died instantly in hell when it started? Then this is "a nice death in hell" wihtout prolonging pain, torture and suffering.

Or do they die at different time depend to the greater sins they had committed or the lesser? In this case is there a time limit? 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 1 year ..... etc?

I asked this question because I had heard some people saying that the wicked would die at different time in hell. The greater their sins are, the longer they live in the burning hell, experienced pain, torture and suffering.

Is there any legal basic to this idea? The bible or SOP?

In His love

James S

The Bible speaks of people receiving recompense according to their sins. EGW is more specific about punishment being proportional. She says that some suffer for hours, others for days. I believe this suffering is not something God imposes upon them for the purpose of making them pay for their sins, but is rather the consequence of their own choices and decisions. As the truth is made known, they suffer. The more light that was rejected, the more sin one took place in, the more suffering.

I don't believe the "burning hell" they live in means they are being burned by literal fire, their flesh in flames, while God supernaturally keeps them alive until their time is up. That would be "torture," to use one of the words you use.

As I see things, "torture" would not apply, but "pain" and "suffering" would.

James, long time no see or hear. Glad to see here gain. I've missed you. Regarding your question, yes, sinners will suffer in duration and in proportion to their sinfulness in the lake of fire. That the fire is literal is clear from the many passages that talk about it. The following passages speak to the truth you asked about:

Jeremiah
25:14 For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.

Matthew
16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Luke
12:47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not [himself], neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many [stripes].
12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few [stripes]. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

Revelation
20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

EW 294
Satan rushes into the midst of his followers and tries to stir up the multitude to action. But fire from God out of heaven is rained upon them, and the great men, and mighty men, the noble, the poor and miserable, are all consumed together. I saw that some were quickly destroyed, while others suffered longer. They were punished according to the deeds done in the body. Some were many days consuming, and just as long as there was a portion of them unconsumed, all the sense of suffering remained. Said the angel, "The worm of life shall not die; their fire shall not be quenched as long as there is the least particle for it to prey upon." {EW 294.1}

MM, none of the Scripture passages you cites say anything about the wicked being burned by fire.

A question to consider is whether the judgment of the wicked involves God's imposing some punishment upon them which would not happen to them if God did not so act, or if their punishment is the consequence of the decisions they've made. All the Scripture texts you've cited can be understood as the wicked experiencing the result of the choices they've made.

Here's a SOP statement:



We note:
1.The destruction of the wicked is not an act of power imposed by God.
2.The rejecters of His mercy reap what they have sown.
3.They separate themselves from God, and thus cut themeselves off from life.
4.They receive the results of their own choice.

The next paragraph states:



5.At the beginning of the GC, the angels did not understand this (i.e. points 1-4)
6.God could not allow Satan and his host to reap the full result of their sin, or this would have been misinterpreted.

Something worthy of notice is that EGW explains this in the context of the chapter of "The Desire of Ages" which is devoted to an understanding of what Christ accomplished at the cross. Thus one of the things Christ accomplished by His death was to make clear the principles involved in the destruction of the wicked. Thus by a right understanding of Christ's death, we are led to a right understanding of the destruction of the wicked. Understanding the one unlocks the key to understanding the other.

Tom, in relation to James' question, we can both agree there will be nothing "nice" about the wicked perishing in hell, right?

Of course not. This seems like rather a callous question, when one considers how much God loves those who will perish, as well as the loved ones of the unrighteous, and their guardian angels.

Is the law descriptive or prescriptive? Is it designed to tell us what to do to be righteous or tell us how far we are from being righteous? Paul says that the law is a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ, but once we find Christ we are no longer under the schoolmaster.

It seems that the law stands in condemnation of the sinner with no remedy for sin. It just continues to remind us over and over that we are sinners until we finally either reject it or bow to the love of the Savior.

Much of the Bible is the same way. So many times we see God talking, but in actuality what we see in God's words are more of a reflection of what is in our hearts rather than His. Anyone defending the justice of eternal burning has bitterness and hatred in their hearts. They have created God in their image.

Could the same be said about how we view the suffering of the lost in the end?

scott

Scott, do you believe the death in hell will be "nice"?

MM, is there some reason you are asking this question?

I don't believe in Hell at all!

The word Hell comes from a word that means "the grave". Once there all the suffering will be over!

A burning place of torment is a Greek myth, not a Hebrew or early Christian doctrine!

scott