What sends us to hell?

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Hello everyone,

I have heard that God does not send us to hell, we send ourselves there by rejecting his love. My question is, if this is true, why is there a need for final judgment? Wouldn’t that be God deciding to send us to hell?
 
There are two judgments-- once, when you die; and once, at the end of the world.

Suppose you die. You have three options available.

Number one, you died in a state of total purity. No spot of sin is on you. You see God, and you’re filled with love for him. You’re allowed into Heaven-- to participate in the Beatific Vision and remain in the presence of God-- for the rest of eternity immediately.

Number two, you die, but you still have some stain of sin remaining on your soul. You see God, and you’re filled with love for him. But you’re embarrassed that God sees the imperfections you have upon you. God allows you to purify away the last remaining stains in Purgatory, but once you are presentable, you’re allowed into Heaven to participate in the Beatific Vision and remain in the presence of God for the rest of eternity.

Number three, you die, but say you spent your life rejecting God. You wanted no part of God in your life, and you haven’t changed your mind after death. But there’s God standing right in front of you, and even though you’re not sorry for your attitude, you still can’t bear to be in his presence. And so you flee to hell, which is defined by the absence of God.

At the end of the world, though, God’s plan is concluded. Everything is wrapped up. And we all get to see the full extent of the effects of our deeds, both good and bad. Some people’s good and bad works resonate through decades, centuries, even millennia. The Final Judgment can’t take place until everyone’s totally finished with their life’s work. This is where the part about the sheep and the goats and the shouting from rooftops bit comes in.

So yes, there are two judgments-- one personal/particular, one general-- but the first determines our basic fate, while the second shows everyone in the world who’s ever existed the full extent of our deeds and their impact on God’s creation.
 
To add to the wonderful and informative post above me

God cannot force ANYTHING on his creatures. Did he force Lucifer to return to him after he betrayed him and all lof Heaven? He gave them, and us the gift of freedom. He respects our choices even if we abuse this free will. But he does not wish to see not one of his children lost to him. That is what one has to ponder over again and again. God doesnt put us into hell, WE do it on our own.
 
brickwall said:
Hello everyone,

I have heard that God does not send us to hell, we send ourselves there by rejecting his love. My question is, if this is true, why is there a need for final judgment? Wouldn’t that be God deciding to send us to hell?
Click to expand...
Why do we hold trials for murderers? Isn’t that a judge DECIDING that someone was murdered and therefore SENDING someone to jail?

But what would happen if we ask the murderer if they deserve incarceration? What murderer would willingly send themselves to prison? After all, our jails are FULL of people who say they “didn’t do nothing”.

The reality is that the murderer CHOSE to murder, thus chosing to seperate himself from the upstanding within society. The judge merely reviews the choices of the murderer and condemns him to the consequences of his own choices, because the murderer certainly isn’t going to incarcerate themself.

The same with sinners. It is our choice for sin that seperates us from God. God simply views the effects of our choices and sends us away to the destination we have selected by our actions throughout our lifetimes.
 
promethius said:
Why do we hold trials for murderers? Isn’t that a judge DECIDING that someone was murdered and therefore SENDING someone to jail?

But what would happen if we ask the murderer if they deserve incarceration? What murderer would willingly send themselves to prison? After all, our jails are FULL of people who say they “didn’t do nothing”.

The reality is that the murderer CHOSE to murder, thus chosing to seperate himself from the upstanding within society. The judge merely reviews the choices of the murderer and condemns him to the consequences of his own choices, because the murderer certainly isn’t going to incarcerate themself.

The same with sinners. It is our choice for sin that seperates us from God. God simply views the effects of our choices and sends us away to the destination we have selected by our actions throughout our lifetimes.
Click to expand...
👍👍

Great Answer !!

We are “choosing” heaven or hell with every action and every day of our life.

Peace
James
 
brickwall said:
Hello everyone,

I have heard that God does not send us to hell, we send ourselves there by rejecting his love. My question is, if this is true, why is there a need for final judgment? Wouldn’t that be God deciding to send us to hell?
Click to expand...
Because God has nothing to hide. In this way all will see the justice of this outcome.
 
The reality is that the murderer CHOSE to murder, thus chosing to seperate himself from the upstanding within society. The judge merely reviews the choices of the murderer and condemns him to the consequences of his own choices, because the murderer certainly isn’t going to incarcerate themself.

The above is true (in most cases. There are people locked up for murder
who really did nothing more than defend their person, home and property against
an intruder by using deadly force).
People are rejected by God because, through unrepentance,
they have chosen to reject God and His ways. Such folks may not want to suffer,
but at the same time, they would never want to live in the presence of a holy and
charitable God, either.

re: “the upstanding within society.”
That is really relative. In the eyes of God, very few people if any
are REALLY innocent and upstanding. For example,
since 1973, tens of millions of American women have become de facto felons
(even though the State no longer recognizes abortion as the crime it IS) by murdering their own children via abortion. And God knows how many doctors are guilty of this now, too.
Yet since the State does not formally punish this anymore, and even condones it,
these people regard themselves, and society in general regards them, as upstanding,
Law-Abiding citizens. The same goes for those who willfully purchase and view porno,
and fornicators, adulterers, sodomites, blasphemers, etc. TRULY “upstanding” people
do not do these things, yet these things are widespread, very widespread, in American society. And this unrepentant, very corrupt society we live in, prides itself on being
tough on ((other people’s)) lawlessness.
Judgment Day is going to be very interesting for all of us.
And it’s scary to believe that all of our sins, and their after effects,
are going to be made known to everybody else on Judgment Day.
I sometimes wonder if that is literally true. After all, God’s word says
that He blots out our sins and remembers them no more.
So what purpose is served by trumpeting people’s sins to the whole world
after those sins have been forgiven?
It just seems to me that that would cause scandal to the redeemed and saved
on Judgment Day…
 
brickwall & promethius & callmeChris
I would like to point out… The Angels and Demons have already been judged!
The Angels have been judged righteous… Angels can’t hate, they would never want to hate!
The reverse is true for demons, they can’t love, they would never, ever want to love.

The man in Gehenna (the lake of fire) is there because, he was unloving when he was alive on earth… He will try all manner of ways to die, to end his agony; All his attempts to die will only increase his suffering! He will never, ever think it was his actions that put him there in the first place. He will curse Jesus, it will be Jesus’ fault that he can’t die; That he lives forever.
On earth he never wanted to die, he wanted to live forever, feeding his every desire, his selfish attitude will put him into Gehenna and his selfish “me only” attitude will cause him to blame Jesus for his predicament. He will desire the reverse in Gehenna, he will only want to die, and will not be able to!!

In the end he will think: "I will enter the burning lake, for-sure the lake will kill me. But no, he will meld, he will become one with Satan and his demons, burning with white hot hate in the center of the lake. The man will become; “One with Satan” as the man man in heaven becomes “One with Jesus”!
🙂
 
According to St Catherine despair at the end of our lives and not trusting in God’s mercy is a sin very offensive to him. If we despair in thinking that God can not forgive our sins or won’t forgive our sins at the moment of death I think we risk hell.

I have a feeling that those who go to hell, have a cold heart and rather than excepting God’s offer of love and Mercy, they choose to remain cold and refuse to accept the forgiveness of their sins.
 
Andrew1980 said:
According to St Catherine despair at the end of our lives and not trusting in God’s mercy is a sin very offensive to him. If we despair in thinking that God can not forgive our sins or won’t forgive our sins at the moment of death I think we risk hell.

I have a feeling that those who go to hell, have a cold heart and rather than excepting God’s offer of love and Mercy, they choose to remain cold and refuse to accept the forgiveness of their sins.
Click to expand...
Matthew 13:47
“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.
48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.
49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous
50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.
“Yes,” they replied.
52 He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

Andrew1980 we are the “Net”! What we keep and what we retain at our death is what will save us!
🙂
 
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