The subject of Hell can be a matter of contradiction, but not irreconcilability between the Catholic Church and some NDE
accounts. CCC 1033-1037 confirms Christ’s teaching of an eternal Hell. Christ (Mt 25:41), and the apostles speak of eternal Hell, and the Church must also speak of it.CCCC In contrast some BBBB As designed, al of creation had both individual and communal attributes, and virtues had by one were shared by all. With the advent of sin, disorder was now also shared within the community of creation, (Ex 20:5,6).
Even unwilled illness has a link to its original wil ed disorder (devils). In Luke 13:10-16, Jesus attributes a crippling il ness to the Devil. In Luke 11:14
Jesus drives out a demon causing muteness. Other examples are the many instances of demons protesting as they are removed by Jesus as he heals an illness, (Luke 4:40-41). The apostle Peter was surprised to learn that even disordered thought retains this link (Mt 16:23).
CCCC “Eternal”, is the unified existence of cause and effect. It is usually used when describing God; God is the cause of God, and God is the effect of God.
All thought, will and action are internal to the closed cycle of God.
Creation is an incomplete act of God, requiring our action to complete it.
When God allows one of his actions to remain incomplete so to speak, it terminates outside of God; this is creation (which God desires to eventually reunite with). Each person is called on to complete God’s creation of that person, by reuniting with God. God never created anything to simply observe it, the plan was always reunion with the created.
Hell has its own sort of eternity in that it cannot escape itself. Hell is a closed cycle of self serving. God does have the ability to break this cycle of eternity, at one end by making creation outside of his eternal being, and at 100
NDE’s speak of Hell as a place of great but non-eternal punishment — a severe Purgatory.69 Hell and Satan do occur in NDE’s and are truly terrible; but when speaking of duration, NDE’s have Hell being ultimately conquered by Christ.
An idea of Hell common to both Catholic and NDE
teaching might be that of Jesus speaking to Cynthia H., “Some people chose to go to hell, I have already forgiven them; but they must forgive themselves. ”70
Where Hell is viewed in an NDE it is exceedingly horrible. Tammy H was shown relatives on fire in Hell for various uncorrected sins, and was told that she must correct herself in order to avoid Hell.71 In her NDE she was admonished not only for major sins, but also for cynicism, negative and mean disposition.
Catholic theology affirms the idea of Hell, just as Jesus spoke of it, but cannot say with certainty if anyone actually exists eternally in Hell. NDE’s state with certainty the existence of Hell, and its occupants, but also allude to, or state directly of Christ overcoming not only death, but Hell itself.
The Catholic faith does not insist upon Hell, it expects eternal Hell, and soundly so, based upon the teachings of Christ.
The Church would also welcome Christ’s ultimate triumph over Hell itself, and acknowledges this is within the abilities of God.
This article details the standard model of Hell, then the idea of universal salvation.
the other end by imposing his virtues upon the closed cycle of Hell.
The NDE life contract, which all persons agree to prior to incarnation, does raise a question on the eternity of Hell. Would any person choose to enter into creation with eternal Hell as a possibility? NDE’s have Christ conquering not only death, but Hell itself.
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When the angels cast themselves away from God, they did so with full knowledge of their act. They may not have had perfect knowledge of all consequences, but they knew perfectly that their action was in opposition to God.
Hell is an unintended by product of failed final communion. Just as humanity was created for the purpose of divine inclusion into Christ (CCC 398), so too were the angels. In making this inclusion into the divine Christ, no sin could be allowed. When Christ attempted communion with the angels, those owning sin could not make it, this was the first stage of Hell.
What we now call judgment, is this communion of Christ and the angels. Trinitarian Christ (human Jesus did not yet exist), made the communion, taking all goodness into himself. DDDD
Left behind was evil and those owning the evil…this was the formation of Hell. Those angels left behind had absolutely no goodness in them, they were unable to reach beyond self, and certainly could not reach out to God. They existed in a self perpetuating cycle of evil. They had truly condemned themselves DDDD Christ’s communion with the angels and the other orders of Heaven, makes Christianity as old as this first communion. The date for Christianity is pushed back thousands of years prior to Jesus Christ, to when Trinitarian Christ made communion with the nine orders of Heaven. We recal that Christianity at its core is communion into Christ. We are certain that the angels were judged, with some not making their intended union with the divine Christ, who we call the devils. This judgment was actually their intended communion into Christ, just like humans are intended for divine communion from the beginning, (CCC 398). The necessary conclusion is that other angels did make their intended union with Christ; this dates the formation of the extended body of Christ to a time earlier than the last supper, with the first communicants being the angels, rather than the apostles. Was St. Michael the archangel the first Pope of Christianity? Such an idea is not impossible if Christ appointed a leader angel.
This idea assumes that the angels were the first to make reunion with Christ, but it may have been any of the nine heavenly orders that we are aware of : seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominions, powers, principalities, virtues, archangels, angels.
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to existence without God. From this we see that Hell is a rejection of union with God, rather than God rejecting anyone.
Hell exists as a failure of final communion, and not as a deliberate punishment. God cannot make an act that has only an evil outcome, and condemning a person to Hell is an act with no possible final good. Those persons (human or angelic) owning (mortal) sin, cannot make communion with Christ.
Hell is produced by the condemned themselves and it occurs in two degrees. The first degree of Hell is internal to a soul, and occurs at judgment when that soul rejects and abandons God. The result of this willful separation is total internal corruption as goodness is abandoned. Catholic terminology for this first degree of Hell is the “particular judgment”. This particular judgment was intended as the
“particular communion”, and for many, still is. It was intended to occur in this life, not at a death which was never part of the plan.
The second degree of Hell is yet to come. This is the
“general judgment” when God unites with all goodness from creation. God will take with him all the goodness abandoned by the reprobate, what remains will exist undiluted with goodness, this will be the final Hell. This Hell is what remains after God reclaims all goodness abandoned by angels and humanity. This
“general communion” will not be the end of the world, but only the end of creation…all of creation will enter into the eternity of God.
Again, the personal communion planned by God is now corrupted by sin into the personal judgment, and now with Hell as a possibility. The general communion is now the general judgment with Hell as a possibility. This general communion was Christ’s desire to reunite with, and fulfill all of creation.
Everything comes from Christ, (Jn 1:3), and all is intended to 103
rejoin Christ (Rev 22:13), even the lion who lies down with the lamb in divine Heaven.EEEE
Donna experienced an NDE when her boyfriend raped and strangled her. He gained a drug induced demonic face as he assaulted her, and they both passed out. They had simultaneous NDE’s, it was his second NDE warning.
Donna had a classic early stage NDE, she saw her body on the bed and ascended in the light tunnel. She felt at peace, but was then thrust back into her body, which had just started breathing again as her boyfriend passed out, and released his grip. Donna started CPR and her boyfriend regained consciousness.
Those in Hell are entirely self. It is possible there are many, but there can be no community. Respect, organization, joy and fulfillment are virtues of Christ, and will not be found in Hell.
There is no master plan for Hell, and its inhabitants will be left to their own devices. From 1Jn 2:18, we learn that the Antichrist is not only a singular Devil in the end times, but all who share now in the corrupted spirit of the Antichrist.
EEEE This phrase does not exactly occur in any bible verse. Isaiah 6:6-9
comes close; “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
Incidentally, any pet, lion, lamb, cobra, tree or atom having eternal existence in Heaven or the resurrection necessarily has an eternal soul. The soul being, the totality of the spiritual attributes of a being, and its operating principle.
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The preceding article makes a strong case for eternal damnation, yet the possibility of universal salvation does exist in the Catholic Church, in that we are just not certain that anyone is in eternal Hell.
NDE’s speak of Hell, but also of the ultimate universal salvation of all persons. NDE Hell does exist, but were its eternity is spoken of, NDE’s have Christ conquering not only death, but somehow overcoming Hell itself.
Juliet Nightingale observed what could have been Hell or Purgatory and was also told that all people would ultimately have reunion with God, “They were clearly suffering and in great agony and anguish. I saw these souls as damaged souls - ones who had committed unspeakable atrocities during their previous incarnations. I have used the analogy of a soul being 'retrograde'
— much in the way a planet will have the appearance of going backwards. The prevailing feeling that I had whilst observing these souls was one of deep compassion and a yearning to comfort them. I wanted so much to see them relieved of their horrible suffering. But, alas, as painful as this scene was, I was reassured that these souls were here only temporarily and that they, too, would heal and move back in a forward direction and ultimately return to the Light. All souls, without exception, eventually return to the Light.”72
In his extensive eighteenth century NDE, George de Benneville is shown the various degrees of Hell, but also told that all persons without exception would attain salvation and reunion with Christ. 73
Pope, now saint John Paul II states in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, August 4, 1999.
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“Eternal damnation remains a real possibility, but we are not granted, without special divine revelation, the knowledge of whether or which human beings are effectively involved in it.”
Again, the great theologian John Paul II, speaks of universal salvation in his message to the Abbess General of the Order of the Most Holy Savior of St. Bridget.
“Christ, Redeemer of man, is now and forever 'clad in a robe dipped in blood', the everlasting, invincible guarantee of
universal salvation.”
The idea that God intends reunion with all his creation, so that “God will be all in all”, (1Cor 15:28), gives added weight to the possibility of ultimate universal salvation.
By nature, God’s actions begin and end within himself; this is eternity which is the unified existence of cause and effect.
God’s act of creation ends outside of himself, awaiting completion on our part to make union with God. God is not satisfied to leave his act of creation unfulfilled, and he does have the ability to impose his goodness into Hell so as to bring about even its reunion. In Lamentations 3:31 we read, “For no one is cast off by the Lord forever.”
The possibility of universal salvation necessarily remains a possibility because Christ does not retain anyone in Hell.
Eternal Hell is an evil with no possible good effects. Because God may not will anything that has only an evil outcome, God may neither assign, nor retain anyone in eternal Hell. Anyone in Hell is not kept there by God, and the possibility exists that God will ultimately triumph not only over death, but over Hell itself.
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Christ has the ability, even to force the salvation of a person, even upon a devil.FFFF Christ has the authority to make any necessary exceptions. Christ has the desire to do this, (1Tm 2:4). In the end, evil is not stronger than good, and God retains authority over the Devil. Universal salvation necessarily remains a possibility. The Church encourages us to hope and pray for the salvation of all persons, and without regard to time of death.
It is possible that our prayers now, saved an angel prior, by making his Hell into a purgatory. St. Pio once explained that his prayers now for his deceased uncle were applied to his salvation prior. The science of relativity has time being unique for every entity, and theology understands God as omnipotent.
It is possible that the prayers and sacrifices of the faithful for the salvation of others are in fact completely successful, when joined to the sacrifice of Christ. In taking this positive view, we add that much more hope to our prayers, which has great power in salvation.
Hope is like a blueprint for a project. Without hope, the project cannot proceed. Hope in universal salvation is a worthy and commendable act, and should be made by all the faithful. If there is no hope in the ultimate salvation of all, then it will not happen. Christ is thankful for our prayers for the salvation of all.
A powerful NDE account of Hell and sinful behavior is given by Dr. Gloria Polo. Dr. Polo is a dental surgeon from FFFF This is usually done indirectly. The real life example of St. Monica praying for her son St. Augustine brought graces of good action (actual graces) upon Augustine. These were imposed upon Augustine without his consent, but they led to a change in his free wil toward God and salvation. We observe that the devil acts within the wil ful boundaries allowed by God. Exorcism of devils is God’s will enforced over the objections and will of demons. Catholic Bishop Robert Barron gives video lectures on the idea of uninhabited Hell and many other topics on YouTube.com. NDE’s have uninhabited Hell being a future event.
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Columbia, she was killed by lightning, then resuscitated. During her time of death, she traveled to the brink of Hell, and Jesus gave her a detailed account of the behavior that earned her condemnation:
• Use of birth control
• Lack of time and commitment to her children
• Cursing
• Judging others
• Ridiculing others
• Ingratitude
• Abortion
• Counseling others to abortion
• Immodest dress
• Wastefulness
• Vanity
• Sins of omission
Gloria was hardly a monster, and lived a life like many others. She would never deliberately harm someone —
according to her own set of ethics. But her actions were habitually in opposition to the eternal ethics of Christ, and she was unable to attain union with Christ at her death, (according to her NDE).
She was saved by the prayers of her mother, and especially those of a poor, pious man unknown to her, who went out of his way to make prayer for those in need. She encourages people to use her experience for their benefit, and her NDE
account is widely published on the internet.
Just type in her name as a search topic and several websites will be presented. Her testimony spans several pages, and is of great value in our spiritual lives.
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The NDE idea of universal salvation is that God will triumph not only over death, but Hell itself. NDE’s certainly testify to the existence of Hell, but put no limits on God’s ability or love. Ultimate universal salvation necessarily remains a possibility.
Some NDE’s seem to place a person’s afterlife within his understanding of God. This idea is not foreign to Catholic theology. Consider that the person who has no practical participation in God, will live his life (in this life and after death) without God.
Perhaps Buddhists will receive their ideal of God as the tranquility of virtue which they call Nirvana. Such an undifferentiated divine essence is termed Godhead in Christianity. Will Muslims submit themselves to a royal God of authority? Will Christians participate in the humanity, brotherhood, love and forgiveness of God? Each of these ideas is a dimension of God, and it all occurs within the person of Christ.
The Heavenly existence of any person within Christ may indeed be very diverse.
Where NDE patients (of any or no religion) identify a judge or ruler of Heaven, it is always Jesus. Some NDE’s allude to the continuation of one’s religious culture also. As more NDE’s are collected, our understanding will become more defined.
Finally, we propose that God may have some moral presence even in those condemned.GGGG The idea is simple: In biblical and NDE accounts of Hell, and especially in the many private revelations of the saints, who have seen Hell, those in Hell never fully engage in the evil acts which they desire.
GGGG Previously it was stated that God has a non moral presence in everything, termed divine omnipresence. Here the possibility of a moral presence is proposed.
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God must be placing some sort of moral limits on their behavior…it’s a passive formation of soul. Something prevents unlimited vice from occurring, perhaps to the point that those involved are in some sort of rudimentary discipline. Here the condemned would be experiencing non-voluntary moral formation, something like being on a desert island without cigarettes or television, such discipline can effectively break bad habits—this is the idea behind a convent or monastery. Christ is able to form people for eventual union even in Hell.
Once these prisoners were ready, Christ could give these people themselves, his moral presence once again. It was taken from them at their final judgment, which is the final communion in which Christ attempts complete union with an individual. All goodness is assumed into Christ, leaving behind any evil and the person owning it. Now, it would simply be given back, and their training would continue in Purgatory.
It is within the power of God to directly intercede and raise their status to a true Purgatory. Such an act would of course be unmerited by the residents of Hell. Eternal Hell is self imposed by the condemned, but Christ is able to break this closed cycle of selfishness. HHHH Christ is in no way obligated, nor is he prohibited from doing so, and the Church would be happy if this were done.
If residents of Hell, are upwardly mobile to Purgatory, this need not happen at the end of time; it could be happening now, with new members of Purgatory coming from two sources: earth and Hell. Those who receive a lesser condemnation would likely be among the first to make the advancement.
HHHH God is a closed cycle, but incredibly Christ is able to act outside of this eternal cycle. Christ does just this when he makes the act of creation.
Eternity is the unified existence of cause and effect, thus a closed cycle, and not really an infinitely long time, or a sentence of time. If those in Hell would make a simple act of faith, they would have a participation in Christ, and would no longer be in Hell. Those in Hell cannot break their closed cycle, but Christ may do it.
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