Hell Is for Real

   

     Hell is a real and important place. Many rattle off, "I'm saved." Hell is the place from which Christians are saved. Without Hell there is no salvation. Without Hell, there is no need for Heaven because it is the place of refuge from Hell.
     People must get out of mind that Heaven is just a spiritual place, for it is not. Heaven is for real both physically and spiritually. It's 3-D materiel was the Garden of Eden, and its unseen dimension is called Heaven. Jesus himself was of the same substance: flesh and spirit. Likewise, Heaven is as well! Within the words of Scripture is much symbolism. The books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are synoptic: three different sets of eyes who saw Jesus from different angles. Those gospels are Jesus in 3-D.
     On the other hand, although John was the author, within that books pages, many sets of eyes looked at Jesus. John writes the words of many. John was the "beloved" for a reason; he knew the spiritual Jesus fully. John described Jesus before he was even born (John 1). Think of the Book of John as Jesus in  a spiritual dimension. Thus, John's viewpoint is Jesus in a fourth dimension, one we don't fully understand. Believing in Jesus, the Son of Man, is tangible. Believing in Jesus, the Son of God, is called "faith".
     We believe that Jesus is in Heaven because his body ascended there. What remains of Jesus on earth? His Holy Ghost - Pneuma. Likewise, the Garden of Eden, called Paradise, was on earth. Now it is the home of Jesus who is in Heaven. Like Jesus, the "ghost" - or pneuma - of Paradise is what remains of earth. "Jerusalem" means foundation of peace. The foundation stone of the world is on a precipice in Jerusalem. Thereon lies the foundation of the world with its beautiful Garden. Adam's dust, Jews believe, was gathered there for his creation. All that remains of the Garden are the walls of the City of David and the stone. The City of God is no longer there, but in Heaven where only those with special eyes can see it. I have special eyes because I am a "peculiar person":

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. (1 Pet 2:9)

     Peculiar people are those who are born again. Regenerated people have re-generated vision. We can see what Adam and Eve saw in the beginning. God's throne sits on a transparent sea of glass (Rev 15:2). John the Beloved saw through that sea of glass. He saw God on His throne in the Person of Jesus.
     Faith allows one to see that vision because new creatures have new bright eyes that can see the unseen. That is faith! The divine essence emanating from the foundation of the world - Jerusalem - is hope! Because there is a foundation, I know that there is still a City of God!
     That Great City will return, someday, to its foundation. (Rev 12:10). Where is that "Great City" now? It is New Babylon - the harlot Babylon (Rev 8:21). That same "Great City" will be cast down into Hell to be replaced with a purified and real New Jerusalem. Worldly Jerusalem is the harlot Babylon. Like the prostitute in the Bible, Jerusalem is symbolic of her or visa versa. She fornicated with the world, and so did Jerusalem, and still does! Jesus told the woman to go and sin no more. (John 8:11). That story is in scripture probably for various reasons, but I believe that story is a "picture" of the harlot Babylon becoming cleansed - New Jerusalem!
    For those with faith, God has given us a gift of spiritual vision. We can see through the fog, and see Heaven clearly. I don't hope Heaven is for real. The regenerated creatures can see the prize which must be attained!
     As hope is the spiritual existence of Paradise, Hell is the dismal existence of the lost. Where is Hell? Its foundation is as real as Jerusalem. The foundation stone is the hope of mankind. Tophet is the place of regret. Isaiah spoke of Heaven and Hell. Let us look at the real place - Tophet.

Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. This is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord. For Tophet 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. (Isa 30:1-3,9, 33)

     First off where and what is Tophet? It is a real place, as real as the foundation stone. It is Gehinnom - the valley of Hinnom - which is "a place of torture". That would seem that someone was tortured at that valley. They were:

And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee,  And say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle. Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter. (Jer 19:2-6)

    The valley of Hinnom or Tophet is the physical existence or evidence of Hell, the very same a place of torment! The Jews believe that the Old City of David, specifically Bethel, is where Jesus ascended. Nearby is the foundation stone - the very place of Ornan's threshing floor. Ornan is another name for the priest Aaron. The stone represents the place of judgement, and the threshing judgment itself. Those who worshipped Baal in high places would be thrown down into the valley of Hinnom. Hell is for real!
     At Tophet, parents sacrificed their own children into the belly of Molech. Molech is representative of Satan. I believe that Gehennom is the physical foundation of Hell, and the access to spiritual Hell is beneath the foundation stone. There is an abyss which has never been explored beneath that rock. Jews believe that is the route to spiritual Hell. Between the foundation stone and the abyss is the Holy of Holies - the place where God was met in "person". Only by God can anyone be saved, and His Name is Jesus (Mat 1:25).
     Isaiah used Egypt with symbolism. Egypt was a foreshadowing of living in iniquity (sin), and Pharaoh was symbolic of the  Devil. For those who lived in Egypt and were not threshed out by the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, their destiny was Tophet - or Hell. Hell is and must be a real place. I can see it in Scripture. My hope is not to go there, and my real hope is to be rewarded with a real Heaven!