Friar Ted's Inferno...

Expanded from my Facebook 7.02.10

Is Hell a Dante'-esque Theme Park of Agony? Not according to the Bible.
Christ tells of Aionion Fire & Cutting-Off,
Weeping & Gnashing of Teeth (a sign of rage, not sorrow),
Outer Darkness, Undying Worms,
Plucked Eyes & Severed Limbs.
The whole Bible Genesis-to-Revelation identifies that Fire-
YHWH God's Sheer Unmuted Presence.
In the End, everything will be enveloped in God thru Jesus
& there will be no worst Hell than to be locked inside of God & raging to get out.

Genesis 15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates...

Gen 19: 24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;...
27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:
28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

Exodus 3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

Exo 13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night

Exo 19:18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

That was from Torah. Next the Prophets...

Isaiah 30:30 And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones...
33 For Tophet (Gehenna) is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.

Daniel 7:9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

Malachi 3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

Finally, the New Testament...

Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

II Thessalonians 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

Revelation 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone IN the presence of the holy angels, and IN the presence of the Lamb...

Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

The Fire of Abraham's Covenant and Sodom's Destruction,
the Blaze of Moses's Bush and Israel's Exodus,
the Flaming Stream which Isaiah saw as God's Breath & Daniel saw flow from God's Throne,
the Refining Fire of Malachi,
the Baptism of the Holy Spirit & Fire foretold by John the Baptist,
the Tongues of Flame at Pentecost,
the Brightness of Christ's Coming destroying the Wicked One seen by Paul,
the Consuming Fire of God in Hebrews,
and the Presence of Christ in the Lake of Fire & Divine Sulfur...
it's all the Same Fire-
the Fury of the Love & Justice of YHWH-Jahshua-Shekinah-
the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit-
delight & glory to those who love Him
and terror & travail to those who hate Him.

Appended comment:
Actually, the concept is from Eastern Orthodoxy. While I do think Sheol-Hades in "a place" that lost souls inhabit until The Resurrection & Last Judgment, I think Gehenna/The Lake of Fire is more an experience the anti-God rebels endure in God's Inescapable Presence.

A Scripture I forgot from Jesus Himself-
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

I can very easily see Satan & all who commit to him cowering Gollum-like forever with their head tucked under their arms trying to shield themselves from the Unflinching Light & Love of Christ.
God does not torture them, nor does He have them be tortured by demons.
The only thing torturing them is their own self-absorbtion & refusal to surrender to the Embrace of God.