Originally Posted by countmeworthy
Here are my thoughts and findings FWIW.
The judgment seat of Christ is for believers.
The Great White Throne judgment is for unbelievers. I hold the same basic beliefs as ZNPaaneah:
I am however going to take it one step further.
I have always wondered IF people who die rejecting Jesus and His Precious Blood, and their spirits and souls go to hell while their bodies turn to dust, what is the purpose of the Great White Throne which occurs after the thousand year reign? Why doesn't God just transfer them from hell, which is in the middle of the earth to the lake of fire after the millennium?
Hell is a temporary holding place, jail if you will while the lake of fire is an eternal prison.
I have concluded that (uh-oh) it might be possible for people in hell to get saved. Not saying that I am certain but there seems to be some indication in the bible it could be possible.
Hell is called Sheol in the OT. Sheol is the Hebrew name for it. In the NT (Luke 16:23) Hell is called Hades. (Greek name).
Other names for hell are: the abyss and the bottomless pit. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep, into the abyss (Luke 8:31)
Ezekiel 31:14 refers to hell as the deep hole, a place of death.
All of that is to differentiate Hell/Hades/Sheol/the bottomless pit from the Lake of fire.
Another scripture that differentiates the difference between hell and the lake of fire is in Revelation 20:14-15
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
Watch what Psalm 139:8 says:
If I go up to heaven, you will be there.
If I go down to the place of death, you will be there.
and Psalm 116:3-4
The cords of death encompassed me
And the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow.
Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!”
For those who might say 'it's a figure of speech', that David did not really go to hell, I believe David did visit hell. And God saved him: I was brought low, and He saved me.
I have read and heard the testimonies of many people who have visited hell either through a NDE or a vision. Others have visited heaven.
I choose to believe most of the accounts.
After this study, it made sense that is possible, SOME people in hell MIGHT BE crying out to the Lord Jesus in repentance and thus when they go to the Great White Throne for their judgment, their names might actually be found written in the book of Life.
Again, watch what Revelation 20 says
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it.......book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds....if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
So why would God pull them out of from the pit of darkness, take them into the Throne of LIGHT, open the book of Life, 'knowing' their names are not there and then throw them into the Lake of Fire? What's the point??? In this verse, God says IF anyone’s name was not found written in the book of Life... Looks to me there could very well be a name or 2 whose name is found in the book of Life.
Otherwise God would have said "AND NO ONE'S NAME was found written in the book of Life.
Just saying, my findings lead me to think there is a possibility people in hell right now MIGHT be able to cry unto the Lord with a heart of repentence for rejecting Jesus and thus have their name written in the book of Life when they stand before the Judge at the Great White Throne.
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