Eternal fire is real. Jesus said it was. In fact, Jesus spoke a great deal about hell. It is what Jesus came here to save us from.
There will be a Day of Judgment when all people will face God. Those who are not covered by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross will be cast out into hell where they will undergo eternal punishment. "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matt. 25:46). In this verse, the same word "eternal" is used to describe the punishment of the wicked as well as the eternal life of the believer. The punishment is endless as is the eternal life of the believer. That is why the gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4) is so important, because it saves people from eternal ****ation:

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

Gary,
This is the statement you made, to which I was replying: "People often accuse God of SENDING people to hell but that is as far from the truth as you can get." Your answer to my post appears to be what you intended to be an answer to someone else. I am not sure who you were addressing -- or if you were addressing anyone at all.

What you have said about those who are not in Jesus being cast into the lake of fire is true, and we take no issue with that. That they will be "sent" there (which you categorically denied)is seen in the words of Jesus, "DEPART from me, ye that work iniquity" (Matt 7:23), and "CAST ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt 25:30).

Just as surely as those who enter into the joy of the Lord will be TOLD to do so (Matt 25:23,23), so the casting of the ****ed into the lake of fire will be at the word of the King.

I am asking you to write with the kind of clarity that is becoming of someone who speaks for the Lord. Cut the ambiguity from your postings, and the circuituitous reasoning that makes them so cumbersome. It is not befitting. If you have difficulty knowing how to express yourself clearly, conveying precisely what you are thinking, then I suggest you take time to learn to do so. Then your postings will be beneficial. Crusadors should really be noted for speaking precisely and in strict accord with the scriptures.

Given O. Blakely

Brother Gary,
I see that I misinterpreted your postings to mean you were saying God does not send people to Hell. My apologies. I was wrong in my assessment. I do ask that you clearly identify what you yourself have said, in distinction from what others have said, to whom you are posting an answer.

Given O. Blakely