Peace to you.
I'm quoting the exchange between tcg and checkpoint, but the post addresses more than that.
Tcg wrote: ↑Wed Jul 14, 2021 11:06 am
Checkpoint wrote: ↑Wed Jul 14, 2021 1:44 am
The ible never describes God as "a tormenting fire" or "a torturing fire".
It does, however, describe Him as "a consuming fire".
Perhaps, but this is not a description of God, but rather of the fiery furnace he has folks thrown into. In any case, being consumed by fire would be both tormenting and torturous. There is no reason to suggest it would not be. The weeping and gnashing of teeth is the direct result of being burned alive.
Tcg
That would depend on the kind of fire. A fire hot enough could consume/devour in an instant. People tend to think of the kind of fire that we light with a match, but not of the kind of fire that is just energy (albeit extremely powerful energy, such as a radiating energy). If a person was suddenly tossed into the sun, they would not have time to weep or gnash their teeth. If a fire burned so hot that suddenly being exposed to it consumed/devoured that person at once, there would be no weeping and gnashing of teeth.
God is not a consuming fire - as in a campfire. He is a consuming fire as in a radiating, dynamic energy. Enough to have brought the entire universe (and all things) into creation. That kind of power can create - and destroy. This is why angels/seraphs are often described as glowing, or of burning, or of being "fiery" (in appearance) - because they have come from presence of God, and His dynamic energy. Hence, the bush appeared to be burning, but it was the seraph IN the bush.
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To the question of the fire being literal or just being symbolic of judgment:
If we are to go back to the reference of 'fiery furnace', from the OT (in the book of Daniel, chapter 3), the three men were tossed into the fiery furnace because they would not obey the king and bow down to other gods. But the three men tossed into the fiery furnace were protected from being harmed by the fire, while the guards who carried the men up to toss them into the fire, were themselves killed by the fire because the king had had it burn much hotter than usual.
The
judgment (from the king) was for the men to be tossed into the fire (and obviously to be killed; put to death)... but the fire itself was real.
Likewise, from revelation, we have the fire that comes down out of heaven and devours 'gog and magog' who were riding out to attack the people God loves. Gog and magog are devoured by that fire; ending their attack before they can harm anyone.
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In addition, just as something to consider, I would also suggest that James 3:6 is relevant, because it goes to the point that 'fire' does have different meanings in what is written. Sometimes symbolic, sometimes literal, sometimes real but described in terms that people from 2 or 3 thousand years ago would have known and used. Note also that the passage under question in the OP does not state that the weeping and gnashing of teeth is a direct result of being burned alive.
I agree that it is from pain (weeping and gnashing of teeth indicates some kind of pain), but people can and do weep and gnash their teeth perhaps even more often from emotional pain - such as jealousy and regret and hatred (though these emotions can manifest as physical pain as well. Like anxiety is an emotional distress that you can physically feel, in the abdomen.) People will literally gnash their teeth in anger (or jealousy), as well as weep for those same reasons. That is the kind of weeping and gnashing of teeth being referenced.
If you were being burned alive (slowly, not fast or instantly), there would be screaming. Not just weeping or gnashing of teeth.
Peace again to you all,
your servant and a slave of Christ,
tammy
."
