RiverRat; You are correct. The wording isn't there exactly that way. Neither is the word "rapture" found there. Trinity isn't written anywhere in the scriptures. The sinners prayer is also not found. What Is found is this, Jesus said, "behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in and sup with Him". What and where is this "door" that he knock on? What is ment when he "knocks" and then he says "if any man hear my voice" why didn't he say, "if any man hear me knocking"? What did Jesus mean as he continued saying, He shall be unto me a son, and I shall be unto him a Father. The bible plainly says, we have One God, and father of all", who is above all, through all, and in you all". Hath not one God created us all?
I prefer to talk about what IS in the bible, rather than what isn't there. One is judged by what is written in the "Books", not by what isn't found written.

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Snooky you have raised an excellent point. And I have been guilty of this in the past to. It is easy to start twisting Bible verses so that they seem to blend into worldly beliefs. Doing this detracts from the Biblical message and can weaken the faith of some. Mel

I understand your point, however, just because the wording isn't there does not make the concept or truth irrelevant. The Trinity is very relevant, and as you've pointed out, "Trinity" is not in the Bible; but the concept is clearly laid out, so therefore it is in the Bible. We have just coined terms to define concepts and truths that are in the Bible.

Along the same lines, Hell is not where the lost will spend eternity, but rather they will be in the Lake of Fire. Hell in Hebrew (OT) comes from Strong's 7585-Sheol-Hades, or world of the dead, or grave. In the Greek (NT) Strong's 86-Hades, or place of departed souls, or grave, & 1067-Geena or Gehenna-Valley of Hinnom, a valley of Jerusalem, -used as a name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment-hell.

Gehenna was a place (valley) outside of the city (Jerusalem) where people burned their trash-a garbage dump, where the fire burned continuously. So when Jesus talks about it being better to cut off a hand, or pluck out an eye, than have two and to be cast into Hell, he said Gehenna, a place the Jews were very familiar with and could relate to.

So, although the place the lost will spend eternity is the Lake of Fire, we have termed it "Hell". Partly because of etymology, or use of the word in TRANSLATIONS the Bible, but also because you'll remember in Revelation it states "And death and Hell (Hades) were cast into the lake of fire [...]."

Who would've thought you'd come to a Coon Hunting forum and learn so much.....LOL.

In Christ

_________________
Brian
'PR' Brian's Blue Banshee

For the sake of discussion and not arguement, let me ask a couple of questions.
Death and hell are cast into the lake of fire. Does the lost sinner go to Hell upon his death, or does he go to another "holding place" and then later go to Hell?
Jesus tells of Lazerus and the "certain" rich man. Lazerus was carried by the Angels unto Abrahams bossum, but the rich man lifted up his eyes from Hell and saw Lazerus. The rich man could see, hear, speak, experience thirst & torment and knew that the source of his torment was from the "Flames". What is a scriptural difference between the "flames" of Hell, and the "fire" of the Lake?

I'm glad you asked because I did not fully understand the Hades/Hell quandary until now. I've been confused by this for a while, but upon your question I did some more research: in three different Study Bibles and Vine's Expanded Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words.

Before I go further, if there is a Pastor, or a Brother or Sister in Christ, who knows I have this wrong, please let me know, as I use informal research, and have no formal training.

Here are the notes that I found:

"Sheol and Hades both refer to the place of suffering where the unsaved go until they are released [cast] into Hell (Gehenna) [Lake of Fire]" (Ed Hindson, Nelson KJV Study Bible, 1578). That is the second death, and at that point Death and Hell are no longer needed (Hindson, 2014).

Prior to Christ's ascension, and his victory over sin on the cross, those who were lost were in Hell (Hades), not the ultimate Hell (Gehenna), but a compartment in the pit at the earth's center (Henry Morris, New Defender's Study Bible, 1556-57). The Jewish believers went to "a separate compartment in the great pit at the heart of the earth, Abraham's Bosom" (Morris, 1556-57), which may or may not be what Jesus referred to when he said "today thou shalt be with me in Paradise". Remember then that Jesus took the believers from Paradise to Heaven, referenced in Eph 4:8-10 as "led captivity captive", which is whole different study I have yet to enter into. I'm only aware of it at this point.

Sheol of the OT corresponds to Hades of the NT, "In the AV [...] unhappily rendered 'hell', or 'the grave', or 'the pit' [...] it never denotes the grave, nor is it the permanent region of the lost; in point of time it is, for such, intermediate between decease and the doom a Gehenna" (Vines 517-518).

So after the long dissertation/quotation, in short, they are two different places. Hades-Hell is the place of suffering (with torments of fire as Luke 16 states) the lost go to after they die, until they are cast into the Lake of Fire (Gehenna-Hell) after the final judgment, at which point Hades (and death) is also cast in because it is no longer needed. So yes, my understanding is you are correct in the "holding place" you suggested. I'm not sure of Scriptural difference of the "flames" of each, other than that the flames of Hades is currently in the center of the earth, and the flames of Lake of Fire will not be in this earth because it will be "passed away" (Rev. 21:1), nor the new earth because it will be the home of the Lord God Almighty [and the Lamb] (Rev 21:22), and those in eternal punishment will be in "everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power (II Thess. 1:8-9) (Morris 2039).

Thoughts?

In Christ

There is so much here to concider, I am still chewing on what has been said, trying to sort everything out correctly.