Keep The Faith

Rethinking Hell: Why Grief and Sorrow May Be the Real Fire For years, I believed hell was a place of physical torment. But through Scripture, study, and personal experience, I’ve come to see something different. I believe hell is the deep grief and sorrow we feel when Father God lifts the veil and we finally see the truth about ourselves. Grief as Fire When I saw the ugliness inside myself, the grief was overwhelming—like being consumed. Scripture describes grief and sorrow with words like anguish, torment, woe, and heartbreak. These same words are used in descriptions of hell. Even Jesus is called “a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” ( Isaiah 53:3 ) The Worm That Never Dies When grief eats at a person, we sometimes say they are “eaten up inside.” Scripture says, “where their worm never dies.” This imagery aligns with internal anguish, not external torture. Everlasting Judgment Many things in Scripture are called “everlasting,” yet clearly did not...

In the Unity Series, I’ve been rethinking long-held beliefs about judgment, restoration, and what we call “hell.” This reflection looks at hell not as an eternal torture chamber, but as the painful truth of who we are without God. Rethinking Hell: Shame, Revelation, and the Unchanged Heart I’ve been thinking again about the traditional belief in hell. In its simplest form, that belief says this: if a person has not accepted Jesus as Savior and made Him Lord of their life before death, they will go to a place of never-ending torment—a place they can never leave. Before I go on, I want to be clear: I do believe Jesus is the Messiah. He died for the sins of the whole world— the good, the bad, and the ugly. Through His work, God can keep us. I have asked Jesus to be Lord of my life, but not because I fear a place called hell. In fact, I don’t believe hell is a “place” in the way many imagine. At the same time, I ...

We have had this idea of hell being a place of unending torment for so long it has become ingrained in us; it will be difficult to think of it in any other way. I know I have struggled with this for several years now and even today I ask myself sometimes, “Am I wrong? Am I not seeing this correctly?” I know that in my heart I believe that this hell talked about in the Bible is SHAME; shame that will come to most all of us when God judges justly. Because Father God knows me perfectly, whatever shame I must endure will be my just reward. I trust Him to judge me fairly. I know that there are many Christians who will disagree with me venomously and adhere to traditional teaching. I have a great burden in this and wish we could all see this in the same way but in my small faith, I don’t see that happening. God is bigger than my small faith and I know that whatever I do or say does not change His truths. I know He WILL accomplish His wonderful plan. When you study the scriptures,...

Great Joy for All People: Why Eternal Hell Cannot Be True The angel announced “good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” If hell is everlasting torment for multitudes, then this promise cannot truly be good news for all. In this post, we look at Scripture and the character of our loving Father God to ask a hard but necessary question: Can eternal torment really be His final plan? The angel’s promise of great joy Luke 2:10 (NIV) “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” If the traditional view of hell is correct—that countless souls suffer forever—then this announcement is not “great joy for all the people,” but joy for a few and horror for the rest. The gospel, by definition, must be truly good news for all, or we have misunderstood it. God’s revealed heart 1 Timothy 2:4 (KJV) “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Jeremia...

“This Is Eternal Life”: How John 17:3 Opened My Eyes Sometimes the Lord slows us down in ways we don’t expect. What I thought would be a simple Bible study through the book of John has instead become a journey of re‑examining things I once believed without question. I’m sharing these thoughts not as doctrine, but as the path God has been walking me through. My cousin and I have been getting together for Bible study for quite a while now—usually once a week if we can. Lately we’ve been meeting on Mondays, and since today is Monday, we just finished up a little while ago. We agreed to work through the book of John, but we haven’t made much progress. Before my vision—the one I described in my post “ My Beliefs Have Changed ” —we probably would have been in great harmony in our beliefs and sailed right through John. The slow pace isn’t because of John; it’s because of my sidetracks. I used to fit into the “Once Saved, Always Saved” group, you might say. If you had to pl...