You know........I've been looking a lot at the news, as well as reading quite a few things on this board about Heaven and Hell, who gets in, who doesn't.
Seems that most of the people who believe they are going to Heaven are trying to exclude others from getting in. But this brings up one question.......Is God a Loving God or not?
Now, after watching quite a bit of History Channel, as well as studying Torah on places like GLC (God's Learning Channel), as well as a place on the 'net called The Universal Torah Network, I've learned a few things.
First........Hell (as portrayed by Christians and Dante) is a myth.
I'll let that sink in.
It's a myth.
Seems that when Rome sacked Jerusalem, not only did they take the gold and the treasures of the Temple, they also took some of their beliefs. Now, Rome at the time was a pagan empire, full of many gods, as well as many beliefs, which they bastardized to further their own needs of controlling the people. Need proof? Yeshua (Jesus), was born sometime around late summer, early fall. He was also resurrected a few days after Passover. But, because the Romans couldn't get all of their subjects to accept that, they made a few changes, namely that Easter (the resurrection) was changed to not to be after Passover, but rather to coincide with the Spring Solstice. Need proof? Read your Bible and see that Yeshua was in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover (Palm Sunday). Also, they changed His date of birth to coincide with the Winter Solstice (December 25th). Why? The pagans wouldn't listen to the new religion unless it dovetailed with those 2 times of the year.
They also created the myth called Hell. Why? Simple........people were more likely to attend church if they were in fear of being lost forever. What (at the time) was the most horrible way to die? Fire. Fear of being burned alive was the most dreadful way that anyone could think of going.
The Romans took the concept of Gheninom and twisted it into something totally different. Gheninom (as I currently understand it from what I've learned from rabbis), is not so much a place of torture, as it is a place of spiritual refinement. Think of it as "recycling" a soul, as in all the sin (impurities) are burned out, leaving nothing but the true essence of your soul. The Roman Catholic Church found that if they told fire and brimstone stories, two things happened.........first, the church pews were full, and second, the people would give money as well as toe the line.
Only trouble is (like with any lie) they went too far.
Now, considering that EVERY PERSON has a beginning, they are finite, as they didn't exist before they were born, and so therefore could not be eternal. So why is it that most preachers like to tell you that you will be in a lake of fire for eternity? You can't. Humans are not eternal, only God is.
It also states in the Torah as well as the Lost Gospel of Thomas that nobody stays in Hell forever. Eventually everyone gets out, at least as soon as they have all the sin purged from their soul, thereby allowing them entrance into Heaven.
It's also contained in the concept of forgiveness.
Which means that even people like Atilla the Hun and Hitler will eventually be allowed into Heaven, even in spite of the atrocities that they committed while here on Earth.
I just find it kind of messed up that people keep believing in this myth.
Seems that most of the people who believe they are going to Heaven are trying to exclude others from getting in. But this brings up one question.......Is God a Loving God or not?
Now, after watching quite a bit of History Channel, as well as studying Torah on places like GLC (God's Learning Channel), as well as a place on the 'net called The Universal Torah Network, I've learned a few things.
First........Hell (as portrayed by Christians and Dante) is a myth.
I'll let that sink in.
It's a myth.
Seems that when Rome sacked Jerusalem, not only did they take the gold and the treasures of the Temple, they also took some of their beliefs. Now, Rome at the time was a pagan empire, full of many gods, as well as many beliefs, which they bastardized to further their own needs of controlling the people. Need proof? Yeshua (Jesus), was born sometime around late summer, early fall. He was also resurrected a few days after Passover. But, because the Romans couldn't get all of their subjects to accept that, they made a few changes, namely that Easter (the resurrection) was changed to not to be after Passover, but rather to coincide with the Spring Solstice. Need proof? Read your Bible and see that Yeshua was in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover (Palm Sunday). Also, they changed His date of birth to coincide with the Winter Solstice (December 25th). Why? The pagans wouldn't listen to the new religion unless it dovetailed with those 2 times of the year.
They also created the myth called Hell. Why? Simple........people were more likely to attend church if they were in fear of being lost forever. What (at the time) was the most horrible way to die? Fire. Fear of being burned alive was the most dreadful way that anyone could think of going.
The Romans took the concept of Gheninom and twisted it into something totally different. Gheninom (as I currently understand it from what I've learned from rabbis), is not so much a place of torture, as it is a place of spiritual refinement. Think of it as "recycling" a soul, as in all the sin (impurities) are burned out, leaving nothing but the true essence of your soul. The Roman Catholic Church found that if they told fire and brimstone stories, two things happened.........first, the church pews were full, and second, the people would give money as well as toe the line.
Only trouble is (like with any lie) they went too far.
Now, considering that EVERY PERSON has a beginning, they are finite, as they didn't exist before they were born, and so therefore could not be eternal. So why is it that most preachers like to tell you that you will be in a lake of fire for eternity? You can't. Humans are not eternal, only God is.
It also states in the Torah as well as the Lost Gospel of Thomas that nobody stays in Hell forever. Eventually everyone gets out, at least as soon as they have all the sin purged from their soul, thereby allowing them entrance into Heaven.
It's also contained in the concept of forgiveness.
Which means that even people like Atilla the Hun and Hitler will eventually be allowed into Heaven, even in spite of the atrocities that they committed while here on Earth.
I just find it kind of messed up that people keep believing in this myth.
