"I confess to Almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters that I have sinned through my own fault in my thoughts and in my words...in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do. I ask the blessed Mary ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God." (A penitential rite from the Novus Ordo)
My dear brothers and sisters, today we consider a most dreadful topic: Hell. Certain people claim that Hell is but a temporary place; they claim that in the end, all people shall be saved; they seem to think that even Satan himself shall be saved; they seem to think that nothing we do really matters, for Christ saves all….
This is Hogwash! Such thinking is heretical at best and absolutely perilous for the soul at worst!
I shall show that a sinner who dies in his sin shall burn forever in the fiery pits of hell for all eternity, and be flayed alive and roasted by the Devil and his angels for ever and ever, and there they shall burn in agony day and night without cessation nor relief.
I shall show this in the following ways:
A) Direct and Indirect Scriptural Verse (With the assumption that the New American Catholic Bible is a good translation)
B) By Reductio Ad Absurdam
C) As according to infallible decree and tradition
D) As according to modern revelation
E) By sheer logic keeping in mind the nature of sin
A) By Direct and Indirect Scriptural Verse
Revelations 20:10
“The Devil who had led them astray was thrown into the pool of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever”
And then it continues on in 20:15
“Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the pool of fire.”
Matthew 25:41
“Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'”
This continues in 25:46
“And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Matthew 22:12
“He said to him, 'My friend how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' Many are invited, but few are chosen."
Matthew 21:43
“Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”
To this I comment: If there is only Heaven and Hell (in the end) and the Kingdom of God is taken away from those who don’t produce fruit, that obviously leaves them…where? Survey says…HELL!
Matthew 24:24
“False messiahs and false prophets will arise, and they will perform signs and wonders so great as to deceive, if that were possible, even the elect”
Note the distinction between Elect and non elect.
Mark 3:29
“But whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin."
Note how he specifically said “Will never have forgiveness,” and “Everlasting sin.”
John 3:18
“Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
If hell were not everlasting, then could it truly be considered condemnation?
Matthew 10:28
“And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.”
If Hell is only temporary, then why should there be need for fear?
There are other verses, but I believe that those should suffice.
B) By Reductio ad Absurdam
First, Let us presume that indeed the word translating to “everlasting” does not indeed mean everlasting. Indeed, the term “Seculum Seculorum” (sp?) means, word for word, “From age to age,” but is considered to mean to same as “forever and ever” or “everlasting.” Let us, however, presume that it does mean a definite time. Then the same thing applies when Christ says “everlasting life.”…did Christ really mean “You will have life from age to age (as meaning a definite time period) if you believe in me”? That is absurd and, therefore, cannot be held as true. Christ's salvation is not for a finite period of time.
Second, let us presume that even a single soul does not desire salvation. Universal Salvation mandates that every soul be saved. If Universal Salvation is held as true, that must mean that man does not have free will. That is absurd (for obvious reasons) and, therefore, cannot be held as true.
C) By Infallible Decree and Tradition
Papa and the Magisterium said, therefore it is so. Nuff said.
D) As According to Modern Revelation
“Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be under the earth. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in a huge fire, without weight or equilibrium, and amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repulsive likeness to frightful and unknown animals, all black and transparent. This vision lasted but an instant. How can we ever be grateful enough to our kind heavenly Mother, who had already prepared us by promising, in the first Apparition, to take us to heaven. Otherwise, I think we would have died of fear and terror. “
The first part of the First Secret revealed by the Blessed Virgin Mary to the children at Fatima.
From the diary of St. Faustina on this link:
http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/mercy/coming.htm
“You will prepare the world for My final coming. (Diary 429)
Speak to the world about My mercy ... It is a sign for the end times. After it will come the Day of Justice. While there is still time, let them have recourse to the fountain of My mercy. (Diary 848)
Tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My justice, is near. (Diary 965).
I am prolonging the time of mercy for the sake of sinners. But woe to them if they do not recognize this time of My visitation. (Diary 1160)”
F) As according to Sheer Logic as touching the nature of Sin and the nature of Eternity
First, let us define sin. “St. Thomas (II-II, Q. x, a. 3) arrives at the same conclusion thus: ‘All sin is an aversion from God A sin, therefore, is the greater the more it separates man from God.’”
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07256b.htm
That being said, sin is properly divided into mortal and venial sin. (Or, for those of you who prefer Pauline terminology… ‘sin that is deadly’ and ‘sin that is not deadly’) Mortal sin is a sin which completely cuts off the sinner from God. Catholic teaching states that those who die in a state of unrepentant mortal sin shall burn forever in the fiery of hell. The logic is simple: When a person dies, he passes from time into eternity. (Evidence is found in one of the Pauline letters…”This mortal must put in immortal…etc.) Eternity is by necessity static.
http://www.ccel.org/a/aquinas/summa/FP/FP010.html#FPQ10A1THEP1
That being said, if a person passes from death to eternity in a state of aversion from God, then, by necessity of the Staticity of Eternity, he must remain as such.
In short, Universalism is bull.
My dear brothers and sisters, today we consider a most dreadful topic: Hell. Certain people claim that Hell is but a temporary place; they claim that in the end, all people shall be saved; they seem to think that even Satan himself shall be saved; they seem to think that nothing we do really matters, for Christ saves all….
This is Hogwash! Such thinking is heretical at best and absolutely perilous for the soul at worst!
I shall show that a sinner who dies in his sin shall burn forever in the fiery pits of hell for all eternity, and be flayed alive and roasted by the Devil and his angels for ever and ever, and there they shall burn in agony day and night without cessation nor relief.
I shall show this in the following ways:
A) Direct and Indirect Scriptural Verse (With the assumption that the New American Catholic Bible is a good translation)
B) By Reductio Ad Absurdam
C) As according to infallible decree and tradition
D) As according to modern revelation
E) By sheer logic keeping in mind the nature of sin
A) By Direct and Indirect Scriptural Verse
Revelations 20:10
“The Devil who had led them astray was thrown into the pool of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever”
And then it continues on in 20:15
“Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the pool of fire.”
Matthew 25:41
“Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'”
This continues in 25:46
“And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Matthew 22:12
“He said to him, 'My friend how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' Many are invited, but few are chosen."
Matthew 21:43
“Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”
To this I comment: If there is only Heaven and Hell (in the end) and the Kingdom of God is taken away from those who don’t produce fruit, that obviously leaves them…where? Survey says…HELL!
Matthew 24:24
“False messiahs and false prophets will arise, and they will perform signs and wonders so great as to deceive, if that were possible, even the elect”
Note the distinction between Elect and non elect.
Mark 3:29
“But whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin."
Note how he specifically said “Will never have forgiveness,” and “Everlasting sin.”
John 3:18
“Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
If hell were not everlasting, then could it truly be considered condemnation?
Matthew 10:28
“And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.”
If Hell is only temporary, then why should there be need for fear?
There are other verses, but I believe that those should suffice.
B) By Reductio ad Absurdam
First, Let us presume that indeed the word translating to “everlasting” does not indeed mean everlasting. Indeed, the term “Seculum Seculorum” (sp?) means, word for word, “From age to age,” but is considered to mean to same as “forever and ever” or “everlasting.” Let us, however, presume that it does mean a definite time. Then the same thing applies when Christ says “everlasting life.”…did Christ really mean “You will have life from age to age (as meaning a definite time period) if you believe in me”? That is absurd and, therefore, cannot be held as true. Christ's salvation is not for a finite period of time.
Second, let us presume that even a single soul does not desire salvation. Universal Salvation mandates that every soul be saved. If Universal Salvation is held as true, that must mean that man does not have free will. That is absurd (for obvious reasons) and, therefore, cannot be held as true.
C) By Infallible Decree and Tradition
Papa and the Magisterium said, therefore it is so. Nuff said.
D) As According to Modern Revelation
“Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be under the earth. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in a huge fire, without weight or equilibrium, and amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repulsive likeness to frightful and unknown animals, all black and transparent. This vision lasted but an instant. How can we ever be grateful enough to our kind heavenly Mother, who had already prepared us by promising, in the first Apparition, to take us to heaven. Otherwise, I think we would have died of fear and terror. “
The first part of the First Secret revealed by the Blessed Virgin Mary to the children at Fatima.
From the diary of St. Faustina on this link:
http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/mercy/coming.htm
“You will prepare the world for My final coming. (Diary 429)
Speak to the world about My mercy ... It is a sign for the end times. After it will come the Day of Justice. While there is still time, let them have recourse to the fountain of My mercy. (Diary 848)
Tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My justice, is near. (Diary 965).
I am prolonging the time of mercy for the sake of sinners. But woe to them if they do not recognize this time of My visitation. (Diary 1160)”
F) As according to Sheer Logic as touching the nature of Sin and the nature of Eternity
First, let us define sin. “St. Thomas (II-II, Q. x, a. 3) arrives at the same conclusion thus: ‘All sin is an aversion from God A sin, therefore, is the greater the more it separates man from God.’”
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07256b.htm
That being said, sin is properly divided into mortal and venial sin. (Or, for those of you who prefer Pauline terminology… ‘sin that is deadly’ and ‘sin that is not deadly’) Mortal sin is a sin which completely cuts off the sinner from God. Catholic teaching states that those who die in a state of unrepentant mortal sin shall burn forever in the fiery of hell. The logic is simple: When a person dies, he passes from time into eternity. (Evidence is found in one of the Pauline letters…”This mortal must put in immortal…etc.) Eternity is by necessity static.
The blessed Saint Thomas Aquinas said:“ I answer that, As we attain to the knowledge of simple things by way of compound things, so must we reach to the knowledge of eternity by means of time, which is nothing but the numbering of movement by "before" and "after." For since succession occurs in every movement, and one part comes after another, the fact that we reckon before and after in movement, makes us apprehend time, which is nothing else but the measure of before and after in movement. Now in a thing bereft of movement, which is always the same, there is no before or after. As therefore the idea of time consists in the numbering of before and after in movement; so likewise in the apprehension of the uniformity of what is outside of movement, consists the idea of eternity.
Further, those things are said to be measured by time which have a beginning and an end in time, because in everything which is moved there is a beginning, and there is an end. But as whatever is wholly immutable can have no succession, so it has no beginning, and no end.
Thus eternity is known from two sources: first, because what is eternal is interminable---that is, has no beginning nor end (that is, no term either way); secondly, because eternity has no succession, being simultaneously whole.”
http://www.ccel.org/a/aquinas/summa/FP/FP010.html#FPQ10A1THEP1
That being said, if a person passes from death to eternity in a state of aversion from God, then, by necessity of the Staticity of Eternity, he must remain as such.
In short, Universalism is bull.