Page 287 … for those on the Left
Next you quote Matthew 25:41, which states, “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, ‘Depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.’” … There are actually a few interesting facets of this verse: Firstly, that “fire” was actually a positive reference for Jesus; the cleansing baptism (a la Matthew 3:11) that comes whenever sin is purged from us by our chosen shifts in focus & behavior – from selfish to selfless; from arrogant to humble; from bigoted to accepting; from fearful to Loving … Secondly, that the reference to those on “the left hand” being tossed into the fire is an intriguing one, primarily because the left hand for the Jews was the hand of taking – the opposite mentality to The Way of Jesus Christ (which is a philosophy of radical Giving). This interpretation is fully supported by the verses that immediately precede the one in question – verses that quite clearly encourage us all to feed the hungry, to be kind to strangers, to clothe the bare, to tend the sick and to comfort the imprisoned (vv 34-36) … And thirdly, that those who are on the side of sin in this tale – those on the “left hand” of taking – are referred to as “goats”, animals renowned for their incredibly selfish appetites!
“For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of my Gospel, will save it” ~ Jesus Christ (Mark 8:35)
Then you move on to Mark 9:43-48, where much of the same “Hell” imagery is rehashed (related to Matthew 5:29-30). I have already covered the contents of this particular passage previously, and yet Mark’s original version thereof does contain the additional image of undying worms – yet another affirmation in support of the fact that Jesus was not describing an eternal, spiritual postmortem place of torment, but rather Gehenna, a very real, actual, physical pre-mortem place of despair – namely, the ever burning (and almost certainly ever-worm-infested) garbage dump located on the outskirts of Jerusalem in Jesus’ day; a place that provided his audience with a vivid symbolic representation of the pain they would indeed continue to feel as long as they remained bound to their arrogance towards those who believed differently than they did, their callousness towards those suffering more than they were, &/or their selfishness related to gathering and hoarding more than they needed.
P.S. Lucy, the more I dig into this long list of pro-Hell verses that you have provided, the more I am wondering why it is that you are trying so hard to make God appear to be so cruel. Will you please give me at least a hint as to why you are doing so? After all, there are so many more verses in the Bible that show God’s Love to be far greater & His grace to be far more complete.
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” ~ Jesus Christ (Luke 6:36)
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