Took me a while to find out about this post. Very good one, I must say. Apocalypse especially has given some answers that have educated me, a Christian (osoclasi too).

>Hello,
>
>What is the lesson behind Hell?
>Does it have something to
>tell us? Are we expendable?

Expendable? We're all special and important, but we're also all subject to the laws of (1) the physical realm and (2) the spiritual realm. The first means our bodies will pass away. The second means our souls will live eternally with God or apart from God. The world is imperfect, but heaven cannot support any imperfection. Therefore, no sin can enter. God gives us, imperfect sinners, the ability through His grace to become clean and enter heaven to spend eternity with Him. Is there a lesson behind hell? Sure: don't go.

>Do we not have something
>to contribute to tommorow
>and beyond? Are we useless?
>Are we unintended to be?

While we are on earth, there are many ways to maximize our usefulness to ourselves and others. But earth is not all there is. After we leave earth, if we have not chosen to go with God, what do we have to contribute and, more importantly, to whom? To God? No, He is in need of nothing. To others? Once you're in heaven, what can I, who am not, give you when you have the ultimate treasure: eternal life?

>If the fate of most
>of us resides in the
>land of torture, what does
>that tell you? I am
>afraid to answer at this
>moment.

No one knows "the fate of most of us". There's a lot more that I could say to expand on that, but I'll just leave it at this: God wishes that everyone of us would have eternal life with Him.

I have to admit, I agree - this is a scary topic. It'd be much easier to stick with stuff like, was Jesus on a cross or a tree? I think the reason a lot of people don't like to talk about God and religion is because they realize the intense importance of the discussion to their very existence and what will happen when they die. That's why it's easy for Christians exploit hell and how it terrifies us as the best way to bring people to Jesus. To me, this is a very bad thing. Obviously, we can't pretend there's no hell and that damnation is not real, but for someone to come to Christ out of fear is backwards. God loves you and that is why you should love Him back and give Him your life. Nervously covering your eternal bases is shaky ground to stand on for a conversion. Especially since during your time on earth, you can't experience hell. Therefore it's easy to forget about it and if it's the driving force between your relationship with God (not a very comfortable basis for a relationship, eh?), how hard will it be to stop caring and backslide?

Instead of looking down at what could happen if you fall, take the outstretched hand that wants to lead you to safety and look ahead. Rely on His strength and promise to bring you to a better place. If you're already at the point where you care about what happens after this life, care about the good stuff.