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Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife

Book by Bart D. Ehrman · 1 quotes · Christianity, Last Judgment, Nephesh

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Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife Quotes

“Jesus compares the coming judgment to a fisherman who brings in his haul of fish and separates the good fish from the bad (Matthew 13:47–50). What does he do with the bad ones he doesn't want? He throws them away. He obviously doesn't torture them. They simply die. So too, Jesus says, at the final judgment angels will separate the righteous from the wicked and toss the latter into the furnace. They will go up in flames. For first-century listeners, this "destruction by fire" would not conjure up images of eternal hellfire but rather a house fire—or the execution of criminals by burning. Someone burned at the stake weeps and screams in anguish while dying. But they don't weep and scream for ten days or ten millennia or ten billion years. They die.”

Last Judgment
Book:Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife
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