Peace to you!
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| 24 Sep 2012
Dear readers of our site, brothers and sisters!
The Evangelical Church “Christian Choice” is part of the international association “Church of God” and one of the local churches in Belarus. At the end of 2012, the Lord God blessed us to open the website of our church. On it we posted a brief history of our church, the “Church of God” movement, doctrine, some sermons and spiritual articles revealing the Teaching of the Church and other issues of life and ministry. This is only a small part of the spiritual material that we intend to post on the site. We hope in the Lord, in His blessing and anointing that we have from Him, that we will continue to post and consider many interesting and important thoughts and truths of the Word of God, as well as highlight events in the life of our church. We invite all readers, ministers, preachers and pastors of the “Church of God” and other denominations and confessions to cooperation, dialogue and discussion in the spirit of brotherly love in the work of our site. We are ready to have fellowship with everyone who is with us in the unity of spirit and the union of peace, with everyone who belongs to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, who considers themselves a Christian in deed, and not just in words. Given the existing differences of opinion and diversity of views and understandings of the Word of God and issues of the life of the church that we have, we believe that our Lord Jesus Christ will enrich us through sincere communication and discussion of various issues of life and faith. We hope that on our website you can always find a lot of interesting and useful spiritual material for yourself. God's blessing to all readers of our site!
Pastor of the Church of God “Christian Choice” Nikitin Gennady Mikhailovich. For any questions you are interested in, you can contact us: office tel. (017) 2375238, mob. +375296625008
email site administrator email
We invite you to attend our Sunday services at:
Public transport stop - “ Medvezhino ”
View on the city map.
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Hell really exists
Here's the conclusion. Hell is a reality and it really exists. I don't want to go there, and I don't want anyone I know or have met before to go there. I want to help as many people as possible not go to hell, and I will do everything I can to keep people from that fate.
We can debate the exact nature of hell, and I don't want to disparage those who ask these questions and those who are looking for some biblical clarity, but at the end of the day, I don't think it really has a significant impact on our lives. We may not agree on the exact nature of the punishment and condemnation in Hell, but we can all agree on the most important aspect that we would like to help as many people as possible avoid going there.
Temporary suspension of the “comments on articles” function
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| 01 Dec 2018
Temporary suspension of the “comments on articles” function
Dear readers of our site!
Due to the fact that Resolution CM RB 850 11/23/2018 “On approval of the Regulations on the procedure for preliminary identification of users of an Internet resource, online publication” , the “ reviews ” function is disabled until the setting is completed , meeting the requirements of the law.
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People are eternal.
C.S. Lewis once observed that hell is a necessary conclusion to the Christian belief that man was created to live forever. He defined it this way:
“Besides, Christianity says that every person will live forever, and this is either true or false. This means that if I am destined to live some seventy years, then there are many things I do not need to worry about, but they are worth worrying about, and very seriously, if I am to live forever. Perhaps my bad temper is getting worse, or my inherent envy is getting worse, but it is happening so gradually that the changes for the worse, accumulated over seventy years, are practically imperceptible. However, in a million years, my flaws could develop into something terrible. If Christianity is not mistaken, “hell” is an absolutely correct term, conveying the state to which envy and bad character will lead me over millions of years.”
In another book, Lewis wrote:
“Hell...begins with a grouchy mood. We try to separate ourselves from it and even criticize it. We still have the opportunity to repent of this sin of discontent and free ourselves from it. But one day we realize that we can no longer resist this behavior. Your Self will disappear and you will neither be able to criticize your dissatisfaction nor even enjoy it. All that will remain is grumbling discontent, which, like a faceless mechanism, will work non-stop.”
Who are Protestants?
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| 22 Sep 2016
Who are Protestants?
Let's start with the fact that the word PROTESTANTISM comes from the Latin word protestatio - a solemn statement, proclamation, assurance; protest, objection, disagreement.
Among world religions, Protestantism can be briefly described as one of the three, along with Catholicism and Orthodoxy, main directions of Christianity, which is a collection of numerous and independent Churches and denominations. We need to dwell in more detail on the question: who are Protestants from a theological point of view?
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Jesus spoke more about hell than anyone else in Scripture.
Some people try to avoid the idea of hell by saying, “That was the God of the Old Testament, he was young and capricious back then. But as he matured in the New Testament through Jesus—the meek and gentle Jesus—He was full of love and compassion.”
The problem is that when you start reading the Gospels, you find that Jesus talks about hell more than anyone else. Fact - if you count the verses, it turns out that Jesus spoke more about hell than about heaven. One of history's most famous critics, Bertrand Russell wrote in his book Why I Am Not a Christian that the doctrine of hell was "one profound defect in the character of Jesus." If we want to avoid the idea of hell, we cannot ignore the problem by simply focusing on “the meek and gentle Jesus.”
How do Evangelical Christians differ from Catholics and Orthodox Christians?
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| 14 Oct 2017
How do Evangelical Christians differ from Catholics and Orthodox Christians?
Evangelical Christians are Christians who belong to one of several independent Christian churches. Evangelical Christians, Catholics and Orthodox Christians, adhere to the fundamental principles of Christianity. For example, they all accept the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, adopted by the first Council of the Church in 325. They all believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in His divine essence and future coming. All three schools accept the Bible as the Word of God and agree that repentance and faith are necessary to have eternal life and escape hell. According to Operation Peace, there are about a billion evangelical Christians, more than a billion Catholics and 250 million Orthodox Christians worldwide. However, the views of Catholics, Orthodox and Evangelical Christians on some issues differ. Evangelical Christians value above all else the authority of the Bible and the right of every person to understand it without the mediation of a special caste of priests. Orthodox and Catholics value their traditions above the authority of the Bible, and also claim that only the leaders of these Churches can interpret the Bible correctly. The main differences between these three faiths are rooted in this fundamental fact. Below are answers to some questions you may have about the differences between the Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Churches, but first a brief history of evangelical Christians.
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Hell is hell because God is God.
People are quick to talk about “seeing God” as if seeing God face to face is a warm and pleasant experience. But the Bible makes clear that God's holiness and perfection are so complete that if anyone saw Him, they would die (Isaiah 33:20). Even the slightest sin in His presence results in instant destruction. When Isaiah, God's prophet, came to His throne, he fell on his face, fearful and certain that he would die (Isaiah 6:5).
The doctrine of hell is not popular with many people. There is a reason for this. God tells us about hell, demonstrating the full scale of his holiness. Hell is hell because the holiness of God is the holiness of God. Hell exists to make us stand gape-mouthed before the righteousness and holiness of God. Hell should make us stand in awe of His greatness and magnificence.
Ironically, when you get rid of hell, you get rid of those resources that demonstrate the justice of God. When a person experiences violence or abuse as a child, he needs to know that there is a God of such a level of holiness that He does not tolerate any evil.
Reading the Bible in different languages
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| 30 Jan 2013
| In Belarusian: | In English: |
For in-depth Bible study, the BibleQuote program is recommended. It is, in our opinion, one of the best Bible programs and is also completely free. We bring to your attention several training videos on how to use this program, as well as links to download the program itself and its modules. Read completely "
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In a sense, God doesn't send anyone to hell; we send ourselves there.
Hell is the culmination of us telling God to get out. We keep asking Him to leave us alone , and in the end God says “okay.” This is why the Bible characterizes it as darkness: God is light; His absence is darkness. On earth we experience light and experience things like love, friendship and the beauty of creation. These are all the remnants of the light of God's presence. But when you tell God that you don't want Him to be your Lord and that you don't want Him to be the center of your life, your desire ends up being fulfilled.
We have two options: life with God or life without God. If you say, “I don’t accept God’s authority. I’d rather live for myself” - this is hell. In The Great Divorce and The Problem of Pain, Lewis puts it this way:
"The long-term answer to all those who oppose the doctrine of hell is to ask, 'What do you want God to do?' . . . Leave them alone? Alas, I fear that is what He does. . . In the end, there are only two types of people - those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, “Thy will be done.”
Christian internet television online
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| 31 Jan 2013
Christian internet television online
To view a TV channel, click on its logo.
Christian newspapers and magazines
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On the other hand, God sends people to hell and all His ways are true and righteous.
We may be tempted to get angry at God and correct Him. But how can we find fault with God himself? As the Apostle Paul said in Romans 9, who are we—mere lumps of clay—to argue with the divine potter?
We cannot be more merciful than God. Isaiah reminds us that all who are currently “enmity against God” will come to Him at the last day and be ashamed (Isaiah 45:24) because they will then understand how excellent the ways of God are. Every time God is compared to man in the Bible, He is the most merciful.
When we look back on our lives, we are struck not by the severity of his justice, but by the greatness of his mercy.
Birth again, when and how it happens.
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| 25 Dec 2020
Birth again, when and how it happens.
The only way to become a child of God is to be born of God, of the good news of Christ and of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5). And only birth by the Holy Spirit makes a person a child of God, a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17). This cannot be achieved either through teaching or education. As has already been said, through education, faith can be passed from parents to children. Whatever faith the parents had, the same will be passed on to the children. If the parents had a living, unfeigned, God's “faith that works through love” (Gal. 5:6), then the same faith will pass on to the children. And this faith will certainly manifest itself in personal repentance and acceptance of Jesus Christ into your heart as your personal Savior and Lord. And if the parents had a dead, nominal faith, then their children will have the same. Such nominal faith may make a person religious, but not a child of God. That is why Christ said to such not only a deeply religious person, but also a teacher of religion as Nicodemus was: “you must be born again” and “whoever is not born again cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:1-10). Scripture says that God “gave power to those who received Him (Christ), to those who believed on His name, to become children of God, who were not born of blood... but of God” (John 1:12-13).
When does the new birth occur?
At the time of belief, turning to God, at the moment of repentance . Does all repentance lead to being born again? No, not everything. But only sincere, heartfelt repentance, which is accompanied, or rather generated, by a deep consciousness of one’s sinful lost state, a thirst for salvation, a deep faith that Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary personally for your sins and gives forgiveness and salvation to all who turn to Him with faith and repentance. True repentance is accompanied by “worthy fruits of repentance” (Luke 3:8), that is, leaving a sinful life (Eph. 5:8). In response to such repentance, the Holy Spirit produces such a change in a person’s heart, through which a person becomes a child of God and enters a period of spiritual childhood. Read completely "
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Hell and the underworld according to the Bible are the grave (Sheol). Death is a dream
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Today, most Christian denominations believe in the torment of sinners in hell immediately after death. Confirming this position, their spiritual mentors bring to the flock many Bible texts describing the punishment of people in fiery hell
.
However, in this theological theory there is a contradiction with the text of the Bible “Death! where is your sting? hell!
where is your victory ? (1 Cor. 15:55, see also Hos. 13:14).
As we saw above, after death people will be resurrected, this means that death has been defeated by Christ. What about hell? It turns out that hell has not been defeated? As it was before the sacrifice of Jesus, so, according to many confessions, it remains today and will torment sinners forever
. Did God make such a serious mistake in the Bible? Of course not.
“The words of the Lord are pure words, silver purified from the earth in a furnace, refined seven times” (Ps. 11:7).
In fact, everything will fall into place if you let the Bible explain itself. The fact is that in the Holy Scriptures two different concepts are used: “ hell”
" and "
Gehenna
". “Hell” is the Greek word “αδης” (hades, hades), which in the Septuagint (translation of Scripture from Hebrew into Greek, 2nd century BC) translates the Hebrew word (sheol, sheol) - tomb, grave. Therefore, in many texts of the Old Testament, where the words coffin and grave are mentioned in the Russian Synodal translation, in the original Septuagint there is the word hell αδης (see Gen. 42:38, Gen. 44:29,31, Ps. 6:6, Ps. 48:15, Eccl 9:10, Ezek 31:15). And of course, in those texts of the Septuagint and its translations into other languages where the word hell, the underworld is used, the meaning in many cases is more suitable for the words coffin, grave (we will consider these numerous examples below). In the New Testament, the word hell continues to be used in the same meaning, denoting a coffin, a grave. And “gehenna” in Greek is written γεεννα, we will talk about the meaning of this term later. The word underworld is absent as such in the original texts of the Old and New Testaments - in its place there is always the aforementioned grave Sheol (hell) (Hebrew, αδης - Greek) or the word bottom, depth (Hebrew, κατω - Greek). The underworld is a new concept that appeared in the church after the teaching about the torment of souls after death entered into it. That is why, in subsequent translations, the underworld appeared instead of hell and below in many texts of the Bible.
In the Holy Scriptures, the concept of Sheol (hell) means the “abode” of the dead, but without connection with the idea of posthumous retribution. According to the text of the Bible, hell is the antithesis of life on earth, a silent grave
, the “country” of darkness and decay, where
every
person finds himself after death:
«Which of the people
lived - and did not see death, delivered his soul from the hand of
the underworld
(in the original Sheol - Heb., Hell αδης - Greek - Author's note)? (Ps. 89:49).
Such pious heroes of faith as Jacob “ I will go down”
to my son in
the underworld
(in the original Sheol (hell). - Author's note)" (Gen. 37:35), Job "
The Sheol
(in the original Sheol (hell). - Author's note) is
my
;
in darkness I will
my
bed ” (Job 17:13) and Ezekiah “At the end of my days
I
go
to the gates of the underworld
(in the original Sheol – hell. – Author’s note)” (Is. 38:10).
Hell is described many times in the Bible, but nowhere does this place even closely resemble a place of suffering and punishment for the souls of the dead (except for the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, which we will consider separately). Also, nowhere in Scripture is it described that Satan rules hell and adds wood to the fire under the cauldron in which sinners are tormented. Each reference to hell in Scripture depicts the grave in a different way—directly, figuratively, allegorically, or metaphorically .
:
A) The place under the surface of the earth where all people finish their earthly journey:
“At least they buried themselves in the underworld
(in the original Sheol (hell). - Author's note), and from there My hand will take them" (Amos 9:2).
"To the underworld
(in the original Sheol (hell). - Author's note) your pride has been cast down with all your noise;
the worm lies beneath you, and the worms are your covering
” (Isa. 14:11, see also Job 11:8, Job 17:14-16, Ezek. 26:20, Ezek. 31:17,18, Ezek. 32 :18,23, Isaiah 14:15, Proverbs 15:24, Proverbs 30:15,16, Psalm 87:4-7, Psalm 139:8, Num 16:30-33).
B) Death:
“My soul is filled with adversity, and my life approaches hell.
(in the original Sheol - hell. - Author's note).
I have become equal to those who go down to the grave; I became like a man without strength
, thrown among the dead,
like the slain lying in the tomb
, whom You no longer remember and who are rejected from Your hand” (Ps. 87:4-6).
“You are my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice; And those who seek the destruction of my soul will go down to the pit
(in original depth - . - Author's note)
earth
; They will slay them with the power of the sword” (Ps. 62:8,10,11).
«Who
lived among people - and did not see death,
delivered his soul from the hand of the underworld
(in the original Sheol - hell. - Author's note)? (Ps. 89:49, see also Job 7:9,10,15,16, Job 17:13-16, Hab. 2:5, Ezek. 31:14,17,18, Ezek. 32:18, 23, Isaiah 5:14, 1 Corinthians 15:55, Hosea 13:14, 2 Chronicles 36:24, Proverbs 7:27, Proverbs 15:11,24, Proverbs 23:13,14, Ps 29:4, Ps 30:18, Ps 48:15,16, Ps 54:16, Ps 85:1,2,13, Is 14:11, Is 38:18, Num. 16:30-33, 1 Kings 2:6, 1 Kings 2:6,9).
C) Emptiness, darkness, oblivion, land of silence and decay:
“Even if I began to expect, then the underworld
(in the original Sheol - hell - Author's note) - my house;
in darkness
I will make my bed;
I will say to the coffin: you are my father, to the worm: you are my mother and my sister. Where is my hope after this? and who will see what I expect? will descend into the underworld
(orig. Sheol (hell). - Author's note) and will
rest with me in the dust
" (Job 17:13-16).
"You put me in the pit of hell
(in the original deep. - Author's note),
into darkness, into the abyss
" (Ps. 87:7).
"I will place you in the underworld
(in the original depth. - Author's note)
of the earth, in the eternal deserts
, with those who go to
the grave
" (Ezek. 26:20).
"Oh, that You were in the underworld
(in the original Sheol - hell. - Author's note) hid me and
sheltered
me until Your anger passed, set a time for me and then remembered me! (Job 14:13, see also Jonah 2:1-3,7, 2 Pet. 2:4, Plat. Jer. 3:6, Ps. 48:18-20, Ps. 93:17, 2 Sam. 22:5,6).
Thus, everything is written correctly in the Bible: Jesus conquered not only death, but also hell in its true meaning - Sheol - the grave (see 1 Cor. 15:55): that is, after the Great Judgment, God will restore man from the dust, giving him physical immortality.
Probably, you, dear reader, are asking a logical question: “If there is darkness and oblivion in hell, then what are people doing there?” The answer is absolutely logical. According to the text of the Bible, after death people sleep, that is, they are in an unconscious state, waiting for the Great Judgment. Therefore, often instead of the word died in the Old and New Testaments they say rested - Heb. , Greek κοιμαω – translated to lie down, sleep.
Old Testament: “And he rested
David
buried
in the city of David” (1 Kings 2:10, 1 Kings 11:43, 1 Kings 16:6, 2 Kings 20:21, 2 Chronicles 33:20).
“Look, hear me, O Lord my God! Enlighten my eyes, may I not fall asleep in the sleep of death
"(Ps. 12:4, see also Dan. 12:1,2, Job 14:12, 2 Kings 4:31).
New Testament: “And having said this, he rested
"(Acts 7:60)
“Therefore it is said: “Arise, you who sleep,
and
rise from the dead
, and
Christ
” (Eph. 5:14, see also 1 Cor. 15:6).
In accordance with the texts of the Holy Scriptures, posthumous sleep occurs without dreams and worries, and even more so without observing what is happening on earth:
"The living know they will die, but the dead know nothing"
, and there is no longer any reward for them, because the memory of them is consigned to oblivion, and
their love and their hatred and their jealousy have already disappeared
, and they no longer have a part forever in anything that is done under the sun.
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your strength; for in the grave, where you go, there is no work, no reflection, no knowledge, no wisdom
” (Eccl. 9:5,6,10).
“And man dies and disintegrates; left, and where is he? The waters of the lake leave, and the river dries up and dries up: so a man will lie down and not stand; until the end of the sky he will not awaken
and will not arise
from his sleep
.
Whether his children are honored, he does not know; whether they are humiliated, he does not notice
” (Job 14:10-12,21).
“His spirit departs, and he returns to his land: on that day all his thoughts perish
"(Ps. 146:4, see also Job 3:11,13, Job 10:21,22, Plat. Jer. 3:6, Ps. 93:17, Rev. 14:13).
People in the grave can't even
glorify the Lord:
“For in death there is no remembrance of You: in the grave who will glorify You
? (Ps. 6:6).
“What good is my blood when I go to the grave? will the dust praise you
? will He proclaim Your truth? (Ps. 29:10, see also Isa. 38:18,19, Ps. 87:11,13, Ps. 113:25, Ps. 142:7, Ps. 145:2).
The Gospel describes three cases of Jesus resurrecting dead people, and in two of them Christ called death a dream - in the story of the resurrection of Lazarus and the maiden:
“He told them... Lazarus, our friend, fell asleep
;
but I'm going to wake him up. His disciples said: Lord! if he falls asleep, he will recover. Jesus spoke about his death
, but they thought that He was talking
about an ordinary dream
.
Then Jesus said to them directly: Lazarus is dead
” (John 11:11-14).
“He said to them: go out, for the maiden is not dead, but sleeps
. And they laughed at Him. When the people were sent out, He entered, took her by the hand, and the girl stood up” (Matthew 9:24,25, see also Mark 5:39).
The people laughed at Jesus’ intentions to resurrect the dead, because Lazarus lay in the tomb for four days and exuded a corpse smell (see John 11:39), and flute-players had already come to the girl’s funeral (see Matthew 9:23). But then the news of the miracles that had happened spread throughout Judea. At that time, people could not yet realize that God was next to them, for whom the death of a person is just a dream
... Which can both kill and bring from the grave:
“The Lord kills and gives life, brings down to the pit
(in the original Sheol (hell). - Author's note)
and erects
" (1 Sam. 2:6).
“How the Father raises the dead and gives life
, so the Son gives life to whomever He will” (John 5:21, see also Deut. 32:39).
The resurrections that Jesus demonstrated were only examples of the general coming resurrection of the dead on the last day of the history of the modern earth.
It is worth noting that the Bible repeatedly mentions cases of resurrection: the son of a poor widow from Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17-23); son of a Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:19-37); the man who touched the bones of Elisha (2 Kings 13:21); Lazarus (John 11:38-44); maiden (Mark 5:38-42); the only son of a widow (Luke 7:11-15); saints after the death and resurrection of Christ (Matthew 27:52,53); Christian Tabitha (Acts 9:36-41); the young man Eutychus (Acts 20:9-12); dead, recorded in Heb. 11:35; and Jesus Himself. All these heroes of the Holy Scriptures after the resurrection did not tell anything about the posthumous state, and their loved ones did not ask them about the otherworldly existence. This proves that in those days none of the believers even thought about the posthumous wakefulness of man.
Let's summarize this chapter: the biblical hell (hades is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word sheol) means the grave and has nothing in common with the underworld invented by people later - hell - the place where the souls of sinners supposedly suffer after death.
Historical reference
From the historical evidence that has come down to us, it is obvious that the burials of early Christians, in particular the catacombs, largely repeated the Jewish ones (see the chapter “The Relics of Elisha”). Christian inscriptions on the graves also repeated the corresponding Jewish ones. So, for example, the usual expressions in the epitaphs “Rest in peace”, “Sleep in the peace of the Lord”, “Rest in God” duplicate the Jewish funeral formulas: bi-adonai, bi-shalom.
In ancient writings about dead Christians it was said that after death they rest (sleep), rest. Above in the section “What does the Bible say about the Day of the Lord?” in the chapter “Historical Background” an excerpt from volume V of the Church History of Eusebius Pamphilus was given, from which the attitude of the first Christians towards death is clearly visible.
It is worth noting that even today in many countries the words deceased, deceased, resting, etc. are often used in relation to the dead.
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| Tags: DEATH, DREAM, underworld, hell, according to the Bible, SHEOL, grave |
The poet Dante described hell in The Divine Comedy
Dante Alighieri (1265 - 1321) is one of the most famous writers in the world. Along with him, only a few are mentioned because such a contribution to literature is a rare merit. He is as significant as Homer, for example, who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Actually, before Homer there were vague ideas about works of art. Their usual purpose is to praise the gods. Homer went further - he created a multi-level work, with images, plot, poetics - something that other authors could not compete with over the next 15 centuries.
Dante is an outstanding author whose poem has been compared to the Iliad and Ulysses.
Dante Alighieri loved antiquity very much and was not afraid to challenge Homer's poems. He wrote a long poem “The Divine Comedy” (at first simply “Comedy”), which Europeans did not yet know in those days.
It is almost impossible to convey the artistic value of this work in translation, so you just have to take the word of the experts when they say that this is an outstanding work with language.
Dante Alighieri - author of The Divine Comedy, which describes the 9 circles of hell
Dante became a kind of legislator and founder of the Italian language. His influence on subsequent literature is difficult to overestimate.
See also the article Antichrist
The author collected all the techniques and traditions of previous writing and drew a line under them, summarized one era of writers and gave rise to another. Subsequently, there will be an even more powerful work - “Ulysses” by James Joyce, but this is in prose. Dante was a poet.
