“And if thy hand causes your downfall, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to HELL - the unquenchable fire, where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:43-44).
Did Jesus really say that? Not exactly. What Jesus actually said, properly translated, was…
“And if your hand causes your downfall, cut it off. It is better to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to GEHENNA – the unquenchable fire, where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”
I have highlighted the one word that differs, but it exposes the error of religions.
"GEHENNA" was a literal place, the valley of the sons of Hinnom. It is located outside the walls of Jerusalem, and at the time Jesus made the above comment, it was a place used to take their trash. It had a continual fire that burned the trash and dead carcasses, including criminals.
"HELL" is the underworld of Greek mythology. Teaching that Jesus used it as an illustration of eternal torment is embracing pagan Greek mysticism. So, what was Jesus teaching in Mark 9 above when He used the word "Gehenna"?
Pretty simple to me. It is better to live righteously in this life without ones hands than to use them for criminal activity and be caught, convicted and sentenced to death – resulting in their dead carcass being cast into Gehenna to rot, be eaten by worms, and burned with the trash. That fire continued until its job was done.
Christ Jesus died as a "ransom for all", so even those criminals whose bodies were cast into Gehenna are included. As a result they will be saved out of death, and reconciled to God who is gracious, merciful and good. He has compassion on all He has made. As King David said…
“The Lord is good to everyone: and His compassion rests on all He has made.” (Psalm 145:9).
Paul considered himself to be the worst sinner for having consented to the murder and imprisonment of many believers before he was confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus. He tells us what will happen to himself, the foremost sinner, and all others - they will die for their sin, and then be saved from perishing in death!
"The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 3:23)
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all welcome, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, foremost of whom am I…this is ideal and welcome in the sight of our savior God, Who wills that all humanity be saved…For there is one God, and one mediator between God and humanity, a man, Christ Jesus, who is giving Himself a correspondent ransom for all.” (1 Timothy 1:15-2:1-7)
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all welcome, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, foremost of whom am I…this is ideal and welcome in the sight of our savior God, Who wills that all humanity be saved…For there is one God, and one mediator between God and humanity, a man, Christ Jesus, who is giving Himself a correspondent ransom for all.” (1 Timothy 1:15-2:1-7)
Hitler's final solution was to exterminate all Jews. Institutional Christianity's final solution is to endlessly torture everyone who does not join that religion. The same is true of the religion of Islam. However, as I read the Bible, God's final solution is death for sin, thereafter to save every sinner out of death as the result of the shed blood of His Son on the cross of Calvary. The shedding of His blood being a demonstration of His love, grace, and mercy toward sinners. His resurrection being a demonstration of His salvation out of death for all. Like Jesus, all flesh and blood bodies are destined to be transformed into the image of God's resurrected Son when death is abolished.
"For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers." (Romans 8:28)
"As in Adam, all die, even so, in Christ, shall all be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:22)
"Now we all, with uncovered , mirroring the Lord's glory, are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as from th Lord, the spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18)