Salvation

Is Jesus in Hell?

If Jesus isn't in Hell, how is he paying for our sins? If God is going to send sinners to Hell for eternity, it follows that Jesus, suffering in our place, must be spending eternity in Hell. How many of us would be willing to condemn someone to endless torment for our own transgressions? Further, is it not impiety toward God to condemn an innocent man to eternal punishment so that I, a sinner, may gain unwarranted access to an eternity in Heaven I do not deserve? If this is all real, it seems like a test from God to separate the righteous, who are obedient to divine justice, from the wicked, who are vain and self-centered.

A New Covenant?

Paul asserts that God abolished his "old covenant" with Israel and established a new one through the blood of Christ (see Romans 11, Galatians 3 and Philippians 3). Is this true? And if so, is Paul calling God a liar? Let the reader decide.

I will establish my covenant between me and you [Abraham] and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. Gen17:7

•I will establish my covenant with [Isaac] as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. Gen17:19

•The Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man. 1Sam15:29

•YHVH [is] our God; his judgments are in all the earth. He is mindful of his covenant for ever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant which he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as

an everlasting covenant. Ps105:7-10

•I will keep thy law continually, for ever and ever. Ps119:44

•Thy testimonies are my heritage for ever; yea, they are the joy of my heart. I incline my heart to perform thy statutes for ever, to the end. Ps119:111-112

•Thy commandments are my delight. Thy testimonies are righteous for ever. Ps119:143-144

•Thou art near, O YHVH, and all thy commandments are true. Long have I known from thy testimonies that thou hast founded them for ever. Ps119:151-152

•As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so YHVH is round about his people, from this time forth and for evermore. Ps125:2

•Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. Is52:1

•Israel is saved by YHVH with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity. Is45:17

•The portion of Jacob...is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the Lord of hosts is his name. Jer51:19

•In those days [when Messiah is enthroned] ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” Zech8:23

If God changes covenants...

...How can Christians be so sure he won't decide (or hasn't already decided) to change his mind a second time? The Christians have sinned against God every bit as much as any pagans or Jews before them, so why wouldn't God annul their covenant in the same way he, according to Christian teaching, annulled his covenant with the Jews? In the Bible, the Jewish nation is punished by God via Nebuchadnezzar and Antiochus for the sins of Jewish kings and priests. Would God not even more readily punish the Christians for 1,600 years of wicked rulers? 

# # #