Levels of hell

Rev. 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.

yes there are levels of hell.

 

Um, that doesn't say anything about levels.

 

they will be judged according to their works.
Their names were not found in the book of life. Why else would God judge them according to their works?
if the sentance to hell was the same why then would they be judged for how evil or how good they were while they were living?
I think this passage of scripture plainly shows that the more evil the unbeliever is, the harsher their eternal sentance will be.

 

I don't know if there are levels, but Jesus seems to indicate that there are different degrees of punishment:

 

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.
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.

 

I don't know if there are levels, either. But there are degrees of punishment as the scriptures quoted above clearly indicate.

Likewise, there are degrees of reward for the saints in the heavenly Kingdom.

 

Why do you think there is a judgement? Everyone is judged according to their works. The reason lost people are judged in the first place is because the outcome of that judgement is the degree of punishment they will receive forever. Let me say this, the best, moral, kind person we know, that dies without receiving Christ as their Savior, will end in the Lake of Fire. The top of the Lake is no picnic, even for Grandma.

 

I think the idea of levels may have come from Dante's Inferno. I am not sure if he got that idea from someone else or not.

Actually, Dante had circles of hell, but it is similar to the idea of levels in that each circle was more intolerable than the previous one, so that the further you went, the more wicked you were and the more you suffered.

As far as I know, there is nothing about levels in hell in the Bible.

 

Note that Rev. 20:12 says "...according to their works," NOT "...according to their sins." Christ has already borne the punishment for their sins.

The next question, then, is: Is the punishment less or more when works have been performed? I've never seen any indication that "Mother" Teresa was ever born again. So, if that be the case, is her punishment in hell less than...or more than...that received by Hitler? In other words, when good works are done outside of Christ, does that increase or decrease the degree of punishment? I'm inclined to believe the former, but it's difficult to establish Scriptural justification.

(Yes, I'm aware of Rom. 3:12b, but that must be considered in the light of Luke 6:33.)

 

So you think Hitler will receive less punishment than Mother Theresa?

 

This popular song is supposed to be all about crossing the levels of hell!

http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Chris-De-Burgh/Dont-Pay-The-Ferryman.html

 

Yes.

 

So you think Hitler will receive less punishment than Mother Theresa? </font>[/QUOTE]MT 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

MT 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

MT 25:35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

MT 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

MT 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

MT 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

MT 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

MT 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

This passage seems to be saying that whatever good is done, it will be seen as done unto Christ, whether you knew it or not.
Things like this in the Bible make me wonder if it's possible to accept Christ and serve Him without knowing it in the traditional way most of us believe is the only way...through knowing and understanding the story of the cross.
And yeah I know that that's very unlikely, but I still do wonder at times when I read passages like this. Is it possible that the one and only way, Jesus, can be accepted in more than one fashion?
Gina

 

MT 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

These are the "righteous." That is, they possess the only righteousness recognized by God: the righteousness of His Son. Every believer receives that righteousness when God saves him (justification). Presumably, neither Hitler nor Teresa were justified. Since the sin problem, for both Hitler and Teresa, was resolved at the cross, there remains only the resolution of the matter in which works affect punishment.

Perhaps there is "X" degree of punishment and each work results in a deduction. To me, this is inconsistent with the Scriptural presentation of the workings of God.

Rather, I would see each work, accomplished without recognition of man's dependence upon God (as evidenced by the individual's refusal to accept His salvation), as a further denial of the grace of God and worthy of His wrath. So, while I would certainly not be dogmatic on the matter, I would see Teresa's punishment as more severe than that received by Hitler.

 

Gina, this view of knowing Christ without knowing him specifically is called Inclusivism, a topic that was being discussed recently on another thread.

I don't think this passage supports that view because it would contradict more clear passages that say Jesus is the only way (Jn 14.6 and Acts 4.12, for example). The less clear should always be seen in the light of the more clearly explicit passages, and scripture should be compared to scripture.

If you took the passage in Matt 25 to be the main teaching on salvation, one could conclude that one is saved by good works, and we know that is contradicted by many passages in the NT.

 

Thanks Marcia. Do you happen to know the name of that thread so I can try to look it up?
Gina

 

The Apocalypse According to St. Peter graphically describes hell in great detail and teaches that the punishments in hell are tailored to fit specific sins.