What in the hell? According to the Bible, eternal is not hell and torment (hellish torment), but fire, smoke
I can’t believe that the Lord will allow people to suffer eternally in hell. He is the ideal of love and mercy, how can he allow the eternal (!) hellish (!!) torment of people? You can’t gain so much in your entire life and then be subjected to torture forever.
Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:
Dear Oleg! Since the afterlife is divided into heaven and hell, your letter inevitably implies a statement that you do not directly make: after the end of history, all people should be in heaven. In response to your letter, the question inevitably arises: where should Divine Justice place the people guilty of the brutal extermination of tens of millions of people (the leaders of the most odious totalitarian regimes of the 20th century). Where will Justice place the people who, with sophisticated and vile cruelty, killed schoolchildren, pregnant women, and helpless disabled people? How do you imagine the life in paradise of those who left this world with unhealed ulcers of their criminal conscience, in malicious enmity with God? Life in paradise will be built on the principles of perfect love. How is the harmony of a blissful life in the Kingdom of Heaven possible with the participation of those whose souls are ossified in a state of satanic malice?
When talking about heaven and hell, it is unacceptable to be guided by a simplified legal view that has nothing to do with the laws of spiritual life and a correct understanding of the nature of good and evil. Heaven and hell begin in the human soul. The saints, having purified themselves and sanctified themselves by deeds and deeds of love, were so united with God while still on earth that they experienced heavenly bliss within. The Kingdom of Heaven for them is the absolute fullness of joy, which began here. For others, sin and crime have become the meaning of life. They rejected Divine love, trampled His commandments and deliberately chose darkness rather than light. Hell for them is only the logical conclusion of what they had during their lives. If they, having free will, chose darkness, then how can they be forcibly sent to heaven?
Two exclamation points after the word “hell” show that you are fundamentally opposed to hell. But then the entire structure of spiritual and moral life is destroyed to the ground. If a person, risking his life, saved others, and a criminal, who made cruelty and killing people his profession, receive the same reward (paradise), then good and evil are equalized. The fundamental difference between them disappears.
In the letter there is one exclamation point after the word “eternal”. Confusion about the eternity of hell again reveals a narrow legal understanding of the issue. Hell is eternal not because Divine Justice wishes it so, but because a soul fused with sin remains that way forever. And if she remains like this forever, then the gates of heaven are forever closed to her. If on earth, despite Divine calls to repentance and despite the edifying examples of the saints, sinners with unshakable persistence choose darkness, then how will they be transformed and corrected in hell, being deprived of God’s guiding grace. If hell re-educated sinners, they would be saved without Jesus Christ, who is the only way to salvation.
Denial of hell testifies to the corruption of human nature. Here a hidden or obvious reconciliation with sin and the incompleteness of our faith are revealed. The Son of God, having diminished Himself, united with our limited human flesh, took upon Himself all the sins of perishing humanity. In order to save us from eternal death, He drank the full cup of bitter suffering, sorrow, humiliation and went to the most painful death. Why are we not horrified by the cynicism with which humanity, like the prodigal son, insults the greatness and holiness of its Heavenly Parent? The Holy Fathers, fully aware of the vile essence of sin, were amazed at Divine forbearance. May we never imagine such lawlessness as to call God unmerciful! Oh, how wonderful is the mercy of God! Oh, how amazing is the grace of God and our Creator! What a force that dominates everything! What immeasurable goodness, why<Он>Our nature in us, sinners, again leads to re-creation! Who has the strength to glorify Him? He raises up those who have transgressed His commandment and those who have blasphemed Him, and renews the foolish dust(St. Isaac the Syrian. Words of asceticism. Homily 90).
The Savior of the world, by His death on the Cross, deprived the devil of power over the human race and destroyed the power of death. I will redeem them from the power of hell, I will deliver them from death. Death! where is your sting? hell! where is your victory?(Hos. 13:14). After the Resurrection of the Savior, people themselves drive themselves into hell, choosing darkness rather than Light.
The Bible states that demons themselves will suffer along with people after the Day of Judgment, when death and hell will be thrown into the lake of fire and into outer darkness [Matthew 5:20; Revelation 20:14. — Approx. author.]. The Bible says this: “And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).
However, I also believe that Scripture indicates that currently in hell (sheol, or the underworld), God allows demons to torment lost souls. I have listed some verses that lead to these conclusions. This conclusion may not be found in the Bible, and some theologians may not agree with this understanding, but I am sure that there are many verses that indicate that torment in hell is not just a guess and a guess. What matters is not what I say, but what Scripture says. I'm just talking about events that took place in my life. I really experienced these torments, but it is up to you to decide whether to believe me or not. Search the Scriptures, as the wise believers of Berea did (see Acts 17:11), and then make a decision.
The Bible encourages us to ponder and search so that we can put together the broken pieces that often happens in the process of finding answers. The prophet Isaiah says: “And the word of the Lord became unto them: commandment upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:13). Proverbs tells us to seek wisdom, knowledge, and understanding as one seeks hidden treasures (see Proverbs 2:4). Elsewhere in Proverbs it says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to investigate a matter” (Proverbs 25:2). So let's look at some Bible verses.
Jesus said: “...and he will cut him in pieces, and cause him to suffer the same fate as the hypocrites; There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 24:51; see also Luke 11:46). The Greek word dichotomeo means “to cut, dissect, cut in half or into pieces.” This word was used to refer to “(1) a cruel method of execution used by the Jews and other peoples, in which a person was cut into two parts; (2) cutting of the flesh as a result of cruel scourging" [Strong's Complete Symphony.English:Strongs Exhaustive Concordance, RSStudy Bible V3.2 F (www. biblesoft. com: INibleSoft, 1998), s. v. dichotomeo. — Approx. author.].
These two verses talk about the severe punishment that those who end up in hell are subject to. Some theologians argue that this word does not mean a literal cutting into two parts, or in two, but simply severe punishment or rejection from God. Maybe yes, maybe not. One way or another, it confirms the fact that hell is cruel torment.
The following verses describe what the Lord will do to those on earth who have resisted His Word. But is it possible that it also talks about the punishment awaiting sinners in hell?
I mention this precisely because in the first three verses the first lines talk about hell or the Day of Judgment.
- For fire has kindled in My wrath, burning to the depths of hell... (They) will be exhausted with hunger; destroyed by fever and fierce infection; and I will send upon them the teeth of beasts and the poison of things that crawl on the earth. Deuteronomy 32:22, 24
The first verse refers to hell, the second talks about torment on earth. However, “exhausted by hunger, destroyed by fever” and “teeth of beasts and poison” can also be attributed to the realities of the underworld.
- ... put me in a dark place, like someone who died long ago; he surrounded me with a wall... he made my chains heavy, and when I cried and cried out, he delayed my prayer; I have blocked my roads with stones, I have perverted my paths. He became for me like a bear in ambush, like a lion in a hidden place; He perverted my ways and tore me to pieces, bringing me to nothing. Lamentations 3:6-11
- ... why do you need this day of the Lord? He is darkness, not light, the same as if someone ran away from a lion, and a bear came towards him... and leaned his hand against the wall, and the snake bit him. Amos 5:18, 19
- ... they forgot Me... I will... rend the container of their hearts, and devour them there, like a lioness, the beasts of the field will tear them to pieces. Hosea 13:6, 8
- The Lord will wipe out those who argue with Him... 1 Samuel 2:10
- The chains of hell are upon me... 2 Samuel 22:6
- and his soul approaches the grave and his life approaches death. Job 33:22
- Understand this, you who forget God, lest I tear you into pieces, and there will be no deliverer. Psalm 49:22 [In translationNewInternationalVersionBible. — Approx. transl.]
- ... his sovereign handed him over to the torturers... Matthew 18:34
- ... and he will be cut up... that slave... there will be many beatings. Luke 12:46, 47
- Do not grumble, as some of them grumbled and were killed by the destroyer. 1 Corinthians 10:10
- She (the Star) opened the well of the abyss... locusts came out to the ground... and she had teeth like lions (description of demons from the abyss - they really have teeth like lions. - Author's comment). Revelation 9:2, 3, 8
Note the repeated warnings: “tear to pieces,” “teeth like lions,” “exterminator.” But who tears into pieces and who destroys? Who “tortures” or “destroys”?
The ninth chapter of the Book of Revelation describes demons from the Abyss (see Revelation 9:7-12). In a book about what the world is coming to, Pastor Chuck Smith, referring to this passage, says: “She had as king over her the angel of the deep, whose name in Hebrew was Abaddon, and in Greek Apollyon.” Both names mean "fighter". Satan is the destroyer. He is the king over demons [Smith, “Where the World Goes.” English:Smith, What the World Is ComingThat, 97. - Approx. author.].
Dr. Grant R. Jeffrey, in his book on the journey to eternity, gives an analogy and paints us the following picture: “Imagine for a moment the people with whom you will have to be in hell. These are people who stubbornly resisted God's mercy to the very end - Hitler, Stalin, and with them every murderer and torturer in history. Imagine for one horrific moment what an ordinary, normal citizen would face if he were sentenced to the worst of America's prisons and at the mercy of the most vicious and twisted inmates. Imagine that in this prison there are no guards, no bars and doors that could protect him from the rage and cruelty of the most heartless criminals located in the same prison. However, people who refuse the salvation of Jesus Christ will, until the very end, be doomed to situations much, much worse than what we have outlined for you.” [Grant Geoffrey, “Journey to Eternity.” English:Grant R. Jeffrey, JOurneuInto Eternity (Minneapolis, MN: WaterbrookRgess, 2000), 221. — Approx. author.].
Proverbs says, “The Lord is far from the wicked...” (Proverbs 15:29).
Hell is a place where there is nothing good, because all good things come only from God. Everything we enjoy, such as fresh air, clean water, food, sunshine, freedom, health, pleasant temperature, beautiful scenery, good relationships, and so on, is absolutely impossible without God. The Bible says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness or shadow of turning” (James 1:17).
Dr. Charles Stanley, who pastored a large and healthy church for thirty-five years, once said, “The people in hell will be forever separated from God and all that is good.” [Charles Stanley, Charles Stanley's Guide to Christian Living.Stanley, Charles Stanleys Handbook for Christian Living, 248. - Approx. author.].
I believe that many of the verses that describe the punishment of rebels on earth are also key to our understanding of the suffering that awaits sinners in hell. But even if these verses refer to the suffering of people living on earth without God, imagine how much more painful it will be in hell! I give you the opportunity to come to your own conclusions.
I hope these studies have helped you better understand what the Bible says on this topic. Let me say it again: my experience has only served to draw your attention to God's Word.
Daria, Berdsk
Do demons torment sinners in hell?
In hell, are sinners tormented by demons or do they receive mechanical torment like fire or worms? The fact is that if sinners are tormented by demons in hell, then they are destroyed, demonized, particles of God decompose, consciousness is demonized. Isn't the Creator sorry for this? Maybe this mechanical torment is for the purification of the soul? Is it difficult to imagine that a person was born to end up in hell? It’s better not to be born then! If I know for sure that I will not go to heaven, can I hope that at least in hell the demons will not demonize me and teach me their traits?
I agree with you that “it’s better not to be born at all in order to end up in hell.” But I can’t agree with the rest. The ideas you presented about the afterlife are far from Orthodox teaching. What does “demons demonize me” mean? And the demons are trying to “teach people their traits” now, in this temporary life. And if a person has adopted these properties and sins, then for this the Lord will condemn him to eternal torment. This flour really exists, but it " Prepared for the devil and his angels"(Matthew 25:41), and not to people. To people " from the foundation of the world" the kingdom of heaven is prepared(Matt. 25:34). This is why God gave us a revelation about hell so that we would not go there.
If you are interested in this topic, then I can recommend the book by St. Gregory Dvoeslov, “An Interview on the Life of the Italian Fathers and on the Immortality of the Soul.” In the middle of the 19th century. Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov, in his book “The Word on Death,” collected a large number of patristic sayings about the posthumous fate of people. You may also find the book by an English writer and apologist for Christianity of the twentieth century interesting and useful. Clive Staples Lewis' The Great Divorce. This is an allegorical story about Hell and Heaven, it is not about the destruction of a family, but in the form of a parable it sets out a Christian view of the afterlife of people.
But first and most importantly, I would advise you to turn to the Gospel. This is a book of books, the title of which is translated as “good, joyful news.” In it you will find answers to all questions. It shows us the path to eternal life, and not to condemnation. You will learn about the great love of God, to which a person can also respond with love. Because you can live and truly do the will of God only out of love, and not out of fear of hell.
Listen to these words from God himself:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”(John 6:37-40).
“Whatever the Father gives Me will come to Me; And the one who comes to Me I will not cast out, for I came down from heaven not to do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I should not destroy anything, but should raise it all up on the last day. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day"(John 6:37-40).
If you realize that you have committed crimes and sins worthy of hell, then do not despair, but resort with repentance to the merciful Heavenly Father. There is no sin that He would not forgive you, and no death from which He would not resurrect you.
« Repent and believe the Gospel(Mark 1:15).
One paralytic, exhausted in the spirit of patience, with a cry asked the Lord to end his suffering life.
“Well,” said the Angel who once appeared to the sick man, “the Lord, as indescribably good, deigns to answer your prayer. He ends your temporary life, only on the condition: instead of one year of suffering on earth, do you agree to spend three hours in hell? Your sins require cleansing through the suffering of your own flesh; You should still be in relaxation for a year, because both for you and for all believers there is no other path to heaven except the cross, paved by the sinless God-man. You are already bored with that path on earth; experience what hell means, where all sinners go; however, just try it for three hours, and then - through the prayers of the Holy Church you will be saved.”
The sufferer thought about it. A year of suffering on earth is a terrible continuation of time. “I’d better endure three hours,” he finally said to the Angel. The angel quietly took his suffering soul into his arms and, confining it in the depths of hell, departed from the sufferer with the words: “In three hours I will come for you.”
The darkness prevailing everywhere, the cramped space, the reaching sounds of inexplicable sinful cries, the vision of the spirits of evil in their hellish ugliness, all this merged for the unfortunate sufferer into inexpressible fear and languor.
Everywhere he saw and heard only suffering, and not a sound of joy in the vast abyss of hell: only the fiery eyes of demons sparkled in the underworld darkness and their gigantic shadows rushed before him, ready to crush him, devour him and burn him with their hellish breath. The poor sufferer trembled and screamed, but only the hellish abyss responded to his screams and cries with its fading echo and the bubbling flames of Gehenna. It seemed to him that entire centuries of suffering had already passed: from minute to minute he was waiting for a luminous Angel to come to him.
Finally, the sufferer despaired of his appearance and, gnashing his teeth, groaned and roared with all his might, but no one listened to his cries. All the sinners, languishing in the darkness of the underworld, were busy with themselves, with their own torment.
But then the quiet light of angelic glory spread over the abyss. With a heavenly smile, an Angel approached our sufferer and asked:
- What, how do you feel, brother?
“I didn’t think that there could be a lie in the mouths of angels,” the sufferer whispered in a barely audible voice, broken by suffering.
- What's happened? - objected the Angel.
- What is it? - said the sufferer. “You promised to take me from here in three hours, and yet whole years, whole centuries, it seems, have passed in my unspeakable torment!”
- What years, what centuries? - the Angel answered meekly and with a smile. - An hour has only passed since I left here, and you still have two hours to be here.
- How about two hours? - the sufferer asked in fear. - Two more hours? Oh, I can’t stand it, I have no strength! If only possible, if only it is the will of the Lord, I beg you - take me from here! It would be better for me to suffer on earth for years and centuries, even until the last day, until Christ’s coming to judgment, just get me out of here. Unbearable! Have pity on me! - the sufferer exclaimed with a groan, stretching out his hands to the bright Angel.
“Okay,” answered the Angel, “God, as the Father of generosity, surprises you with His grace.”
At these words, the sufferer opened his eyes and saw that he was still on his painful bed. All his senses were in extreme exhaustion; the suffering of the spirit was reflected in the body itself; but from that time on he happily endured and endured his suffering, bringing to mind the horror of hellish torment and thanking the merciful Lord for everything (“Letters of the Holy Mountainer”, paragraph 15, 1883, p. 183).
“For a long time, under the N. church, Gabriel Ivanovich Gonchar served continuously as church warden, a little short of reaching his fiftieth birthday. There was not a single election in which parishioners said anything other than the same words: “We have no one more just than Gabriel Ivanovich, and more zealous for God’s temple, there’s nothing to say about that, we’re afraid to even think, How can you replace him, we ask that he walk without a shift until his death.” And he served in the church until his death, which he was honored to receive on Friday, Easter week.
He had ideal honesty, immeasurable meekness and truly Christian love. God did not give him children; he lived with his wife, brother and nephew. No one ever saw him for a moment without difficulty, and God knows that he always performed mental prayer. He looked like the holy elder Seraphim of Sarov, in the year of whose canonization he died.
He did not drink any alcoholic beverages or tobacco and always meekly “punished” others for drunkenness and smoking. Even when he received the Holy Mysteries, he washed it down with clean water. I served with him already in the last years of his life, but all the people said that they knew grandfather Gabriel as a teetotaler for as long as they could remember.
Several times I asked him why he was such a strict teetotaler, maybe he didn’t listen to the doctor when he was sick, or he drank wine when he was sick; Grandfather refused and started talking about something else. A year before his death, we went with him to the city (he put a small amount of money as an eternal deposit for the needs of the church and his commemoration). Usually silent, grandfather was very talkative this time and talked a lot about the Holy Land and Athos, where he fell ill and lived for a month. What struck him, a teetotaler, was that at every meal everyone was given wine, and they gave him... “But I can’t...”.
It was then that I begged my grandfather to tell me why he couldn’t drink even a small glass of weak wine and water.
“I was the only son with my father, we had plenty of everything. My parents taught me to be smart and did not give me will. But people know how they go: they gather for parties, hire music, drink vodka, and in exchange for vodka and gifts for the girls, they steal all sorts of godly (grain) from the Bateks. I was like that too, and although my father punished me, I kept dodging it, and it was possible to drag out our house for a long time and nothing would be noticed. I got into the habit of going to parties, and at parties I began to get involved: without vodka, I became bored. And then my father died. He had his own will and did not obey his mother. My mother married me, she thought I would improve, but I became a completely lost person, and would have disappeared if the Lord had not looked back at me.
It happened that I once took him to the city to sell a cart of flour. Having sold it, I drank well there, drove home with my friends and also drank everything on the way.
I don’t remember how we arrived home. Now, father, there are people who do not believe that there will be eternal torment, eternal fire, that there is no hell, but I, the damned one, have already suffered in this world with eternal torment of fire and remember it every minute, although it was a long time ago.
I woke up and saw that there was fire all around, I felt that I was tied up, I couldn’t move my arms or legs, but they were standing all around me... (he never called the name of the demon and at the same time he was always baptized) and they were burning me with fire, but not such as on earth, this one can be tolerated, but the most cruel. Yes, it’s just as painful, and just as hot (he said almost with tears) as it was now, and yet more than fifty years have passed since I was in agony, and how it was that night! And the fire is fierce, and they burn me and scorch me, but they themselves... it’s impossible to say!..
My savior! Mother of God! I prayed here, but there was no end to the torment. It seemed like a whole century had already passed, but I only suffered for one hour. Apparently, the Lord punished me to admonish me, but had mercy.
Suddenly everything disappeared at once, I felt that my arms and legs were untied, I turned around and saw: a lamp was burning in front of the images (it was just before the Dormition), and my mother was standing on her knees, tearfully praying. It was then that I remembered and realized that it was correctly said: “A mother’s prayer lifts you up from the bottom of the sea.” And my mother’s prayer rescued me from hellish torment.
I got up healthy, as if I had never taken anything drunk. My mother said that an unconscious horse brought me to me. They carried him in as if he were dead and laid him on a bench; there was no sign of breathing. Mother began to pray with tears... Since then, I have not been able to forget this hour for the rest of my life.
How will it be for us, sinners, if we suffer like this for a whole century! Merciful Lord, You punished me once on earth, punish me here many times with fierce torment, and deliver me from eternal torment.”
I ask: “Did you, grandpa, tell anyone about this?” - “There was once, besides my spiritual father (in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, where he went annually during Lent, although he fasted very often in his church), I told one person, so he laughed and said that I imagined it when I was drunk. God be with him, I haven’t told anyone else except you, father.”
And grandfather was smart to not tell anyone about this. He was glad that the Lord enlightened him and did not want to allow the enemy of the human race to again incline himself to the path of destruction through fruitless reflections and explanations.
Such admonitions often occur, but they often pass without a trace for the benefit of those admonished, for they try to explain them by natural causes, forgetting that in the world, and especially in human life, everything happens not for any natural reasons, but according to the Providence of God." Helmsman", No. 18).
“In the sixties, I lived in the village of Krasnoye, on the Raevsky estate, with my son Victor,” says Bernasconi, an old woman of sixty-five years old. “He was a wonderful child, active, intelligent, developed beyond his years, and, moreover, was distinguished by remarkable piety. Everyone around him loved him, not excluding the common people. When he was five years old, he fell ill with diphtheria. One morning he says to me: “Well, mom, I have to die today, so you give me a bath so that I can appear to God clean.” I began to object that this would make him worse, he might catch a cold, but he persistently demanded a bath, and I gave in to his request - I washed him, dressed him in clean linen and laid him on the crib. “Now, mom, give me the little icon here that I love so much,” he asked, and I fulfilled his request.
“Hurry, mom, give me a candle in my hand, I’m going to die,” the child demanded, and I lit a wax candle and put it in his hand. “Well, now goodbye, mom!” - were the last words of the child: he closed his eyes and died immediately.
For me, the loss of this child was a hopeless grief, I cried day and night, not finding consolation in anything. But then one winter, I woke up in the morning and heard from the left side of my bed the voice of my son Victor, who was calling me: “Mom, mom, are you awake?”
Amazed, I answered: “No, I’m not sleeping,” and turned my head in the direction from which the voice came, and - lo and behold! - I saw my Victor, standing in light clothes and looking at me sadly. The light seemed to come directly from him, because the room was so dark that without it I could not have seen him. He stood so close to me that my first impulse was to rush to him and press him to my heart; but as soon as this thought flashed through my head, he warned me: “Mom, don’t touch me, you can’t touch me.” And at these words he moved back a little. I began to silently admire him, and meanwhile he continued to say: “Mom, you keep crying about me, why are you crying? I feel good there, but it would be even better if you cried less. Don't cry." And disappeared.
Two years later, Victor appeared to me again in reality when I was in the bedroom: “Mom, why do you need Olya, she’s superfluous to you,” he said. (Olya is my daughter, who was about a year old at that time.) When I asked if they would really take her, he said: “She’s superfluous,” and disappeared. Two weeks before her death, he appeared again and said: “Mom, Olya is superfluous to you: you are all big, she will only bother you.” I was sure that my daughter would die, and two weeks later, when I came home, I was not at all surprised when the nanny announced that the child had a fever and then two days later my Olya died” (“Rebus”, 1893, No. 2).
Monk Jonah’s son Cosmas, a novice at the Chudov Monastery, died. On Friday, Lazarus Saturday, around midnight, Jonah got up to adjust the lamp and saw that the door had opened, his son came in in a white shirt, and behind him were two boys, beautifully dressed.
“Cosma, why did you come, don’t touch me, I’m afraid of you,” said the father.
Don’t be afraid, father, I won’t do anything,” he answered and kissed his father.
“Guys, don’t leave, don’t leave me alone with him,” Jonah said. - How do you feel, Cosma, there?
Thank God, father, I feel good.
The father still wanted to ask about something, but the son stood up and hurriedly said: “Forgive me, father, I need to visit the elder,” and, without saying which one, he and the boys left the cell (“Monastery Letters”, paragraph 16 ).
“On the night of September 28-29, I dreamed,” reports Count M.V. Tolstoy, “as if I was standing in my living room and heard the voices of children coming from the living room. I look - different children pass me into the hall and between them Volodya, our deceased son. I happily rushed to him, he smiles at me with his old angelic smile. I extended my hands to him:
Volodya, is that you? - He threw himself on my neck and hugged me tightly. - Where are you, my joy, are you with God?
No, I am not with God yet, I will soon be with God.
Are you feeling good?
Okay, better than yours. And I visit you often, everyone is around you. I am almost alone, only Mary Magdalene is with me. Sometimes I get bored.
When are you bored?
Especially when they cry for me. But it consoles me when they pray for me, when they give to the poor for me. I keep praying, praying for my mother, for you, for my brothers, for Pasha (sister), for everyone who loves me. Hug my dear mother for me, like this, tightly.
You should have seen her, my joy.
And I’ll see you, I’ll definitely see you.
When?
When will the crying stop? Then I heard my wife’s voice from the corridor, I turned there to look at her, then looked back - he was no longer there.
I woke up with an increased heartbeat, in such excitement that I could not resist the loud sobs with which I woke up my wife. At that very moment I wrote down on paper what I had seen in the dream word for word as it was” (M. Pogodin. “Simple speech about tricky things”),
“One doctor, named Gennady,” says Blessed Augustine, “doubted the immortality of the soul and future life. One day in a dream he sees a young man who tells him:
Follow me.
He followed him and came to some city. Then, after some time, the same young man appeared to him in a dream another time and asked:
Do you know me?
“Very good,” answered the doctor.
Why do you know me?
You took me to some city, where I heard unusually pleasant singing.
What, did you see the city and hear singing there in a dream or in reality?
And what am I talking to you now, do you hear in a dream or in reality?
“In a dream,” he answered.
Where is your body at this moment?
In my bed.
Do you know that at the present moment you cannot see anything with your bodily eyes?
What are these eyes with which you now see me?
The doctor did not know what to answer, but the young man told him:
Just as at the present moment you see and hear me, although your eyes are closed and all your feelings are inactive, so you will live after your death: you will see, but with spiritual eyes, so do not doubt that after this life there will be another life" ( A. Kalmet, p.95).
* * *
One of our acquaintances, a person with a higher education and worthy of complete trust, A.N.S-in, told the following incident from his life.
“Several years ago,” he said, “I fell in love with a girl with whom I had the intention of entering into a legal marriage, and the day of our wedding had already been set. But a few days before the marriage, my bride caught a cold, developed transient consumption, and died three or four months later. No matter how great the blow was for me, time took its toll - I forgot about the bride, or, at least, did not grieve for her as much as in the first time after her death.
It happened to me one day, on business, to pass through a city in our Ya-province, where I had relatives, with whom I stayed for one day. I was given a separate room for the night. I had a dog with me, smart and loyal. The night was, as I remember now, moonlit, at least read it. I had just started to fall asleep when I heard my dog start to grumble. Knowing that she never grumbles in vain, I thought that, probably, a cat had been accidentally locked in the room, or a mouse had run through. I got up from the bed, but didn’t notice anything, but the dog grumbled louder and louder: apparently, it was scared of something; I look and her fur is standing on end. He began to calm her down, but the dog became more and more frightened. Together with the dog, I was unconsciously afraid of something, although by nature I was not a coward; Yes, I was so scared that the hair on my head began to rise. It is remarkable that my fright intensified as my dog became frightened, and reached such an extent that, it seems, in another minute I would probably have fainted. But my dog began to calm down, and with it I began to calm down, and at the same time I began to seem to sense someone’s presence and was expecting an appearance, without knowing who. When I had completely calmed down, suddenly my bride came up to me and, kissing me, said: “Hello, A.N.! You don’t believe that there is life beyond the grave, so I appeared to you, look at me, you see - I’m alive, I even kiss you. Believe, my friend, that a person’s life does not end with death.” At the same time, she indicated to me what to read from the Holy Scriptures about the afterlife and from other various spiritual works. She told me something else that she forbade others to tell. When I got up the next day, I saw myself completely gray overnight, so that my family were afraid when they saw me at morning tea.
At the same time, I must admit that until this incident I did not believe in anything: neither in God, nor in the immortality of the soul, nor in the afterlife; for several years he did not go to church, remaining without confession and Holy Communion, he laughed at everything sacred; fasts, holidays and sacred rites of the Orthodox Church did not exist for me. But now, by the grace of God, I have become a Christian again, a believer, and I don’t know how to thank the Lord that He pulled me out of the abyss of harmful delusions.”
“My father, being very ill, asked me to visit him,” says one official. - He lived quite far from me, in Chicago. He believed in the return of departed souls to earth, but he never managed to convince me of this. When I came to him, he said that he was especially glad to see me, since he did not have long to live on earth.
“How,” I said, “do you really think that you are going to die soon?”
No,” he answered, “I will not die, but will only leave my earthly body; I will soon pass into the spiritual world, clothed in a spiritual body, and I wanted to see you so that you would give me one promise. When I go to another world, I will come and show myself to you. Promise me: when you see and get to know me, you will believe that souls can return and you will admit this publicly. To this I answered him:
Okay, father, but now you shouldn't talk about death; perhaps you will recover and live a long time.
“I’m telling you that I won’t die,” he objected, “and I will live, but you will no longer see me in my earthly shell after this meeting of ours.” Don't forget your promise.
When I said goodbye to him, he was calm and felt well, but he repeated that he would soon move to the spiritual world and from there he would come to me.
About ten days after my return home, having received no bad news from my father, I decided to give a friendly dinner to several of my friends.
I had to spend the whole day in trouble, and I went to bed thinking about tomorrow and about preparations for the upcoming dinner. I had just managed to fall asleep when I suddenly woke up immediately, without my usual interval between sound sleep and awakening. I looked around, looking for what exactly could have woken me up. And then at the opposite end of the room I saw a bright light, in the form of a bright spot the size of my palm. I began to peer closely at it and became convinced that the light could not penetrate from anywhere outside. It was a gentle, white light, like moonlight, which had a wave-like movement and seemed to tremble, as if alive. Soon the bright spot began to approach me, growing larger and larger at the same time in volume. It seemed to be moving towards me. As it approached, I began to gradually discern a full-length figure in it. My father stood in front of me so that I could examine in detail all the features of his face. Nothing about him had changed, only his face seemed younger, less tired than it had been during our last date, and his whole figure was straighter and more cheerful. He spoke, and his voice was so similar to my father’s voice that I could no longer doubt it. Smiling his gentle smile, he said:
Do you remember your promise? Behold, I have come to you, as I said before.
Father, are you dead? - I asked him.
You must not forget your promise.
I don’t understand why I suddenly asked him:
Father, what time is it now?
Exactly four minutes past twelve,” he answered.
So you died at night? - I asked.
“I repeat to you,” he answered, “I have not died, I am quite alive, I want you to fulfill your promise.”
Then he said goodbye to me, and his figure crumbled into a light cloud and gradually disappeared just as it had appeared - it seemed that darkness had swallowed it up.
The next day, when my friends gathered for a dinner party, suddenly, during dinner, the doorbell rang and they brought me a telegram with the following content: “Father died today at midnight” (“Rebus”, 1889, No. 49).
Prince Vladimir Sergeevich Dolgoruky, while in the rank of envoy at the Prussian court, became infected with freethinking there, so that he did not believe in God or the afterlife. Having learned about this, his brother, Prince Peter, more than once wrote letters to him, in which he convinced: “Believe, brother, that without true faith there is no happiness on earth, that faith is essential for the future life,” etc. But everything was in vain. Prince Vladimir Sergeevich laughed at the beliefs of his devout brother.
One day, returning from the king and feeling very tired, he undressed hastily, threw himself into bed and soon fell asleep. Suddenly he hears that someone is pulling back his blanket, approaching him and touching his hand with a cold hand, even squeezing it. He looks, sees his brother and hears from him: “Believe!” Delighted by the unexpected appearance, the prince wants to rush into his brother’s arms, but suddenly the vision disappears. He asks the servants: “Where did your brother go?” - and hearing from them that they have not seen any brother, he tries to assure himself that this is a dream, a dream, but the word “believe” does not cease to ring in his ears and does not give him peace.
He wrote down the date, hour and minute of the vision and soon received news that on that very day, hour and minute his brother, Prince Pyotr Sergeevich, died.
Since then, he became a devout and believing Christian, and often spoke about this vision to others (Monk Mitrofan, “How Our Dead Live,” vol. 1).
“In our time,” one hermit said, “there was Brother John, who bore the obedience of the reader. Some time after his death, he appeared not in a dream, but in reality to his spiritual father Savva. John stood in the doorway of his cell, naked and burned like coal. With bitter tears, he asked himself for alms and forgiveness, confessing to his spiritual father his hidden sin, for which he was now tormented there, and asked to tell all the monastic brethren about this sin, otherwise he (the confessor) himself would answer in death” (“Prologue” , August 23).
Hell is a place created by Allah Almighty for the just punishment and torment of unfaithful and disobedient slaves from among people and jinn.
Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran: Meaning: “But a barrier will be erected between them and whatever they desire.”(Surah As-Saba, verse 54).
Indeed, this verse contains a comprehensive meaning regarding punishment in Hell. Whatever good a person who ends up in Hell wants, he will be deprived of it there.
Torment in Hell with heat and cold is terrible and endless. Our earthly fire is a particle of the fire of Hell, which was thrown into the sea seven times to cool. The fire that is on earth cannot be compared with the fire of Hell. In Hell there are snakes, poison (zakum), hamim (a drink so disgusting and hot that, when brought to the mouth, it burns the whole face).
For someone who is subjected to punishment in Hell, to enhance the punishment, the body is enlarged many times. One human tooth is the size of Mount Uhud. The skin is 70 times thicker than normal, and each time after burning it is restored again to subject a person to punishment again and again. Under the feet of the one who deserves the weakest punishment, a fire burns that makes the brain boil. In Hell, people will not be allowed to die and get used to torment. All this is narrated in the verses of the Quran and the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah.
Hell has seven levels. Believing sinners whose sins have not been forgiven by the Almighty are thrown into the highest level of Hell. On the other stages of Hell there will be infidels who will remain there forever.
The topmost layer is called Jahannam, below are Lazza, Khutamat, Sair, Sakar, Jahil. The lowest one - Haviyat - is intended for hypocrites. The Koran and Hadith talk about Hell. In Hell, people will be punished by severe frost, and this punishment will be more painful than punishment by fire.
The collection of al-Bukhari says: “Most often the Prophet (PBUH) used this prayer:
Meaning: “Our Lord! Grant us goodness in this world and goodness in the hereafter, and protect us from torment in the fire of Hell.”(Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 201).”
And at-Tabarani in the book “Al-Awsat” reported: “Once Jibril appeared to the Prophet (PBUH) at an unusual time. The Messenger of Allah stood up and asked: “Jibril, why do I see that your face has changed?” He replied: “As soon as I appeared to you, Allah, He is Almighty and Great, ordered the Fire to be fanned.” Then the Prophet (PBUH) asked: “O Jibril, describe the Fire to me!” Jibril said: “Allah Almighty ordered - and Gehenna was burned for a thousand years until it turned white. Then He, Allah, He is Almighty and Great, ordered - and she was burned for a thousand years until she turned red. Then He, Allah, He is Almighty and Great, gave the order - and she was burned for a thousand years until she turned black. There is blackness and darkness in it, its sparks do not glow, and its flame does not go out. I swear by the One who sent you with the truth as a Prophet, if a hole the size of a needle’s eye is formed in Gehenna, then everyone on earth will die from its heat. I swear by the One who sent you with the truth as a Prophet, if one of the guardians of Gehenna appears before the inhabitants of this world, then the entire population of the earth will die from the deformity of his face and his fetid odor. I swear by the One who sent you with the truth as a Prophet, if one of the links in the chain of the inhabitants of Hell, described by the Almighty in His Book, is placed on the mountains of this world, then they will shake and come out of their state of rest, and then completely go to the lower earth.”
Then the Messenger of Allah said: “Enough is enough for me, Jibril! Otherwise my heart will hurt and I will die!” Then the Prophet (pbuh) looked at Jibril and saw that he was crying. He said: “Are you crying, Jibril, while you occupy the position you occupy with Allah?!” He replied: “How can I not cry? Moreover, I should cry, perhaps, and Allah knows best that someday my position will become different from the one I occupy now. I don't know, maybe I will be tested the same way Satan was tested, because he was among the angels. I don’t know, perhaps I will be tested the same way Harut and Marut were tested.”
Then the Messenger of Allah began to cry, and Jibril also cried. So they cried until they were addressed: “O Jibril! O Muhammad! Verily, Allah Almighty has protected you from disobeying Him!” Then Jibril stood up, and the Prophet (PBUH) came out and saw a group of people laughing and playing. He said: “You laugh even though Gehenna is behind you?!” If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and cry a lot. You would not be able to enjoy food and drink and would go out into the mountains, howling to Allah, He is Almighty and Great.” Then they turned to him: “Muhammad! Do not lead My servants to despair, because I sent you as a harbinger of good news, and not to make it difficult!” And the Messenger of Allah said: “Follow the true path and be prepared!”
Ibn Majah and al-Hakim, who considered this hadith authentic, reported: “Verily, this fire of yours is one seventieth part of the Fire of Gehenna. And if you didn't extinguish it with water twice, you wouldn't be able to use it. And he asks Allah, He is Almighty and Great, not to bring him back.".
And al-Bayhaqi said that ‘Umar read:
Meaning: “Whenever their skin burns, We will replace it with another skin so that they taste the torment” (Surah An-Nisa, verse 56) - and he said: Ka’b, tell me about the interpretation of this. If you tell the truth, I will believe you, and if you lie, then I will object.” He replied: “The skin of the son of Adam burns and is renewed within an hour, or six thousand times a day.” And he said, "You're right."
And al-Bayhaqi reported that Hasan al-Basri said about this verse: “Fire consumes them seventy thousand times a day. As soon as he eats them, they are ordered: “Return!” - and they again become the same as they were.” And Muslim says: “They will bring one of the inhabitants of Hell, who lived the best on earth, and will lower him into the Fire for a moment and ask: “O son of Adam! Have you ever seen anything good? Have you ever lived in goodness? And he will answer: “No, Lord, I swear by Allah!” Then they will bring one of the inhabitants of Paradise, who lived worse than anyone else on earth, and for a moment they will lower him into Paradise, and then they will ask: “O son of Adam! Have you ever seen anything bad? Have you ever experienced difficulties? And he will answer: “No, Lord, I swear by Allah, I have never seen anything bad and have never felt any need!”
And Ibn Majah said: “Weeping will be sent upon the inhabitants of Hell, and they will begin to cry until their tears dry up. Then they will begin to cry blood, so that large channels form on their faces...”
And Abu Ya'la said: “People! Cry! And if you can’t cry, then pretend to cry! And, verily, the inhabitants of Hell will cry so that tears will flow down their cheeks like streams until the tears run out. Then blood will flow and their eyes will be covered with sores.”
Muslim reported from Ummu Mubashshir al-Ansari that she heard the Prophet (PBUH) say at Hafsa: “Not one of those who took an oath under that tree will enter Hell, if Allah wills it.” She objected: “No, O Messenger of Allah!” He interrupted her, then Hafsa said:
Meaning: “Each of you will certainly come there (to Hell)”(Sura Maryam, verse 71).
And the Prophet (PBUH) replied: “But Allah Almighty said: Meaning: “Then We will save the God-fearing, and leave the oppressors, the wicked there on their knees” (Sura Maryam, verse 72).
And al-Hakim said: “People will enter the Fire, and then they will be saved from there in accordance with their deeds: the first of them is like lightning, then like the wind, then at the speed of a galloping horse, then at the speed of a camel under a person, then – at the speed of a running man, and then – at the speed of a walking man.”
These are the types of torment of Gehenna in a nutshell. Her troubles, sadness, grief, trials and pain are endless. But the heaviest of those types of punishment is grief from the fact that they will not know the joys of Paradise, will not see Allah Almighty, will be deprived of His pleasure, knowing that they sold all this for an insignificant price, a few coins, because they sold it all for despicable desires for short days, which, moreover, were not cloudless, but were full of grief and frustration. And they will say to themselves: “Woe to us! How did we destroy ourselves by disobeying our Lord?! Why didn't we force ourselves to be patient during those few days?! If we had suffered, then these days would have already passed, and now we would already be close to the Lord of the worlds and enjoying His pleasure!
The Prophet (PBUH) said: “There are four things in Hell that are worse than Hell itself:
1) eternal stay in it;
2) censure by the angels of the infidels;
3) proximity to the shaitan;
4) the wrath of the Almighty."
Imam al-Ghazali, giving descriptions of Hell and its torment in his book, then, turning to the reader, writes: “I am surprised at you! How do you laugh, amuse yourself and go about the petty affairs of this worldly life, not knowing what decision has been made regarding you? And if you say: “How would I like to know where I will end up? Where will my final abode be and what decision has been made regarding me?”, then I will answer: “There are signs by which you can find out the answers to your questions: look at your condition and your affairs, for everyone has an easier path to what they want. what it was created for. And if the path of good is open and made easier for you, then rejoice, for you will be far from Hell. And if it happens to you that as soon as you want to do something good, then obstacles arise that prevent you from doing this, and when you want to do something bad, then the paths for this open up before you, then know that everything it has already been decided regarding you. For this indicates the outcome, just as rain indicates the growth of plants and smoke indicates the existence of fire.
Allah Almighty said:
Meaning: “Verily, the pious will find themselves in the bliss of Paradise. And, verily, the wicked, the sinners, will end up in Hell."(Surah Al-Infitar, verses 13-14).
Study your position in the light of these two verses, and then you will know which of the two Houses you will find yourself in.”
May Allah Almighty protect all Muslims from Hell by His mercy! Amine!
From the book “The Essence of Death and Funeral Rites.”
