Hell
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Jope
Feb 23, 2009, 5:10:42 PM2/23/09
to Jesus and His God
Hell—a Lying Myth or
Man’s Greatest Danger?
Dan Corner
The Biblical concept of an eternal conscious torment for the wicked
dead is one that is hated, denied and often not even mentioned. For
some, it is off limits and just too horribly negative to speak about.
To others it is not politically correct or loving. Sadly, too many
uninformed church folks of our day think this way.
A whole host of attacks against the Biblical hell have come from the
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, Universalists and many
others. Those faulty attacks are based on flawed human reasoning,
sources outside the Bible and even, at times, from a misuse of
Scripture itself.
Below is the decisive and all-important truth that settles this issue
once and for all:
Remember This
¦The Lord Jesus believed Hell exists and often warned others of it.
(In fact, no one taught more on hell than Jesus.) This should settle
the issue once and for all for those who profess to be Christians.
Since the Lord Jesus is the ultimate authority, and he believed hell
exists, then hell must exist. End of debate.
Sometimes the Lord referred to this horrible place as:
? the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth. (Mat 13:42).
? eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (Mat 25:41).
? destruction (Mat 7:13).
? etc.
Of the many times Jesus taught on hell, the following is one of the
most revealing:
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you
to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be
thrown into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not
quenched. Everyone will be salted with fire. (Mark 9:47-49)
Ponder that passage and you’ll be stirred by the Holy Spirit. The Lord
essentially said, avoid hell at all costs, even if you have to pluck
your own eye out to avoid sin which drags to hell. Why? Because in
hell not only is there unquenchable fire, but also worms that don’t
die [to torment]. All there will also be salted with fire.
That last point of being salted with fire is the same concept found in
an Old Testament hell passage:
On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching
wind will be their lot. For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice;
upright men will see his face. (Psa 11:6,7)
NOTE: Some falsely claim that hell is not taught in the Old Testament,
but Psa. 11:6,7 (and other Scriptures) refute that.
Unique Fire
One of the details about hell is that its fire wasn’t originally
prepared for man but for the devil and his angels, who will also go
there:
Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are
cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels.” (Mat 25:41)
Clearly then, the fire of hell is not the fire we are used to. It can
torture spirit beings and people too.
Jesus also taught most people would go to hell (Mt. 7:13,14) and hell
is where the body and soul are destroyed (Mt. 10:28). (Destroyed does
not mean annihilated.)
Forever Torment
Finally, people who go there will be tortured in fire forever. To me,
this is the most terrifying aspect of hell. As bad as the pain in hell
is, if one could serve his time and get out, it would lighten the pain
to some degree just to have that hope, but that is not the case here.
Several points could be cited, but Jude was clear:
In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave
themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an
example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. (Jude 1:7)
NOTE: The word suffer in Jude 7 is a continuous tense. Jude was
referring to the same ones killed by God in Gen. 19 for their
wickedness, which was 1,900 years earlier. They were still suffering
in eternal fire after all that time when Jude wrote that! (Jude
believed and taught hell too.) See also 2 Peter 2:9 where Peter
repeats the same truth.
That’s not all. Rev. 20:13 expands upon Jude 7 and 2 Peter 2:9:
The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up
the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to
what he had done. (Rev 20:13)
Rev. 20:13 is at least 1,000 years in the future from now. Even then,
the people Jude wrote about were still not annihilated—disturbing but
true.
Hell Warnings
Some of Jesus’ hell warnings were clearly given to those who had
already been saved, which is indirect proof that eternal security is
false. Two such examples are:
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in
hell. (Mat 10:28)
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and had
him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you
change and become like little children, you will never enter the
kingdom of heaven.” (Mat 18:1-3)
To escape hell a person must get saved and endure to the end, which
doesn’t always happen. If one gets saved and afterwards dies
physically in a spiritually dead condition, he will go to hell the
same as if he was never born again.
Remember: ?No sin or person is worth going to hell over.
For more information on hell, read this http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/eternaltorment.htm
GOD BLESS YOU.
Man’s Greatest Danger?
Dan Corner
The Biblical concept of an eternal conscious torment for the wicked
dead is one that is hated, denied and often not even mentioned. For
some, it is off limits and just too horribly negative to speak about.
To others it is not politically correct or loving. Sadly, too many
uninformed church folks of our day think this way.
A whole host of attacks against the Biblical hell have come from the
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, Universalists and many
others. Those faulty attacks are based on flawed human reasoning,
sources outside the Bible and even, at times, from a misuse of
Scripture itself.
Below is the decisive and all-important truth that settles this issue
once and for all:
Remember This
¦The Lord Jesus believed Hell exists and often warned others of it.
(In fact, no one taught more on hell than Jesus.) This should settle
the issue once and for all for those who profess to be Christians.
Since the Lord Jesus is the ultimate authority, and he believed hell
exists, then hell must exist. End of debate.
Sometimes the Lord referred to this horrible place as:
? the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth. (Mat 13:42).
? eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (Mat 25:41).
? destruction (Mat 7:13).
? etc.
Of the many times Jesus taught on hell, the following is one of the
most revealing:
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you
to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be
thrown into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not
quenched. Everyone will be salted with fire. (Mark 9:47-49)
Ponder that passage and you’ll be stirred by the Holy Spirit. The Lord
essentially said, avoid hell at all costs, even if you have to pluck
your own eye out to avoid sin which drags to hell. Why? Because in
hell not only is there unquenchable fire, but also worms that don’t
die [to torment]. All there will also be salted with fire.
That last point of being salted with fire is the same concept found in
an Old Testament hell passage:
On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching
wind will be their lot. For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice;
upright men will see his face. (Psa 11:6,7)
NOTE: Some falsely claim that hell is not taught in the Old Testament,
but Psa. 11:6,7 (and other Scriptures) refute that.
Unique Fire
One of the details about hell is that its fire wasn’t originally
prepared for man but for the devil and his angels, who will also go
there:
Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are
cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels.” (Mat 25:41)
Clearly then, the fire of hell is not the fire we are used to. It can
torture spirit beings and people too.
Jesus also taught most people would go to hell (Mt. 7:13,14) and hell
is where the body and soul are destroyed (Mt. 10:28). (Destroyed does
not mean annihilated.)
Forever Torment
Finally, people who go there will be tortured in fire forever. To me,
this is the most terrifying aspect of hell. As bad as the pain in hell
is, if one could serve his time and get out, it would lighten the pain
to some degree just to have that hope, but that is not the case here.
Several points could be cited, but Jude was clear:
In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave
themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an
example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. (Jude 1:7)
NOTE: The word suffer in Jude 7 is a continuous tense. Jude was
referring to the same ones killed by God in Gen. 19 for their
wickedness, which was 1,900 years earlier. They were still suffering
in eternal fire after all that time when Jude wrote that! (Jude
believed and taught hell too.) See also 2 Peter 2:9 where Peter
repeats the same truth.
That’s not all. Rev. 20:13 expands upon Jude 7 and 2 Peter 2:9:
The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up
the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to
what he had done. (Rev 20:13)
Rev. 20:13 is at least 1,000 years in the future from now. Even then,
the people Jude wrote about were still not annihilated—disturbing but
true.
Hell Warnings
Some of Jesus’ hell warnings were clearly given to those who had
already been saved, which is indirect proof that eternal security is
false. Two such examples are:
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in
hell. (Mat 10:28)
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and had
him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you
change and become like little children, you will never enter the
kingdom of heaven.” (Mat 18:1-3)
To escape hell a person must get saved and endure to the end, which
doesn’t always happen. If one gets saved and afterwards dies
physically in a spiritually dead condition, he will go to hell the
same as if he was never born again.
Remember: ?No sin or person is worth going to hell over.
For more information on hell, read this http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/eternaltorment.htm
GOD BLESS YOU.
ResLight
Mar 6, 2009, 8:49:27 PM3/6/09
to Jesus and His God
I will, Yahweh willing, be responding to this post over several days.
To begin, I will present an overview of the Bible hell:
The Bible hell (sheol/hades) is the realm of death; it is described as
a condition in which there is no work, no device, no knowledge, nor
wisdom. -- Ecclesiastes 9:10 (many translations render "sheol" as "the
grave" here).
The only Old Testament word translated hell is sheol, to which the
New Testament word hades corresponds.
In the King James translation of the Bible, sheol and hades are
translated hell 41 times, grave 32 times and pit 3 times and
frequently when translated hell, the margin reads, "or, the grave," or
vice vera. -- Psalm 49:15; 55:15; 86:13; Isaiah 14:9; Jonah 2:2; 1
Corinthians 15:55; Revelation 20:13.
Many translations transliterate the words sheol and hades.
Satan is a liar and the father of the lie. (John 8:44) It is Satan who
has the world believing that a person does not really die, therefore
he lies to the world that those who are bad are roasting somewhere for
all eternity, thus making God appear to be some kind of fiend. With
such a view being loudly presented by the traditionalists, no wonder
thousands are turning away from the Bible and going to paganism,
agnosticism and atheism. The doctrine of eternal roasting is a
blasphemy to the Creator. Indeed, those who claim to be friends of the
Bible are often its worst enemies.
Satan uses all kinds of deceptive means to continue his lies,
including spiritism, hypnotism, near-death experiences, out-of-body
experiences, etc. "And when they say to you, 'Seek those who are
mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,' should not a people seek
their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the
law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word,
it is because there is no light in them." -- Isaiah 8:19,20, New King
James Version.
Contrary to the idea that any part of hell is a place of fire,
torture, shrieks, etc., the Bible says: "There is no work, nor device,
nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going." - "in death
there is no memory of you. In Sheol, who shall give you thanks?" -
"For Sheol can't praise you, death can't celebrate you." --
Ecclesiastes 9:10; Psalm 6:5; Isaiah 38:18.
Good people, as well as bad, go to sheol (hell) at death: e.g., Jacob
went down to sheol (Genesis 37:35); Job prayed to go to sheol, to be
hidden there, until the resurrection (Job 14:13). Nor do the good go
to an alleged section of sheol called "paradise" at death. (Paradise
is never depicted as a section of sheol or hades.) Instead of going to
paradise at death, David expected to be in condition in sheol where he
could not give thanks to Yahweh and we further read that "Sheol can't
praise you, death can't celebrate you." These descriptions of the
righteous in sheol do not reflect the added-on idea that paradise was
ever a compartment in sheol. -- Psalm 6:5; Isaiah 38:18.
Jesus made his human soul "an offering for sin"; he "poured out his
soul to death" (Isaiah 53:10, 12; Matthew 26:38), and descended into
the Bible hell, but "his soul was not left in hell [sheol/hades - a
state of unknowing]." Thus, Jesus' soul was in the Bible hell while he
was dead, but it did not remain there. His, "soul", however in coming
out of sheol, was not the sacrificed human soul, a little lower than
the angels, which was offered once for all time on behalf of mankind,
but was the exalted glorified soul, for he was put to death in the
flesh, but made alive in the spirit. -- Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27,31,33;
5:31; Philippians 2:9; Hebrews 2:9; 1 Peter 3:18.
====== See our study on "Jesus Died a Human -- Raised a Spirit Being"
http://atonement.reslight.net/raisedspirit.html
In old English the word hell simply meant to hide or to cover -
helling potatoes meant putting them into pits, helling a house meant
covering or thatching it, etc.; the word hell was therefore properly
used as signifying the secret or hidden condition of death. It had no
reference whatever to a place of eternal suffering until that meaning
was attached to it by the theologians who adopted and adapted such
ideas from the Jewish and heathen mythologies.
Accordingly, hell (sheol or hades) means the unconscious, oblivious
condition realm of death, where all souls, good and bad, go at death,
and from which only the awakening from death can deliver any.
When God told Adam of sin's penalty, He did not say, "In the day that
you eat from it you will live forever in eternal suffering," but He
told him the truth: "dying thou dost die [Hebrew, "muth temuth" (more
literally, to die, you will die) i.e., cease to live- or "dying, thou
shalt die" - margin of KJV]." -- Genesis 2:17, Young's Literal
Translation.
Adam began to die in that very (dying, thou shalt die -- see KJV
margin) day he ate the forbidden fruit.
Contradicting God, Satan told the lie (John 8:44), "`Dying, ye do not
die," (Genesis 3:4, Young's Literal, or, 'You will not be dying until
dead'), by which he has since deceived many into believing that the
dead are not really dead, but that at death they live on, and, without
waiting for the resurrection day, go directly into heaven or into
eternal torment; whereas the Bible states plainly that "the dead don't
know anything". Thus "the dead don't praise Yah, Neither any who go
down into silencee"; that a dead man's "sons come to honor, and he
doesn't know it; They are brought low, but he doesn't perceive it of
them". Additionally, the scriptures reveal that Abraham, being dead,
didn't know those living in Isaiah's day. -- Ecclesiastes 9:5; Psalm
115:17; Job 14:21; Isaiah 63:16.
The Bible states plainly that the soul that sinneth, it shall
die." (Ezekiel 18:4, King James Version); that "the wages of sin is
death [cessation of life-not life in roasting]; but the free gift of
God is eternal life in [by means of] Christ Jesus our Lord.." --
Romans 6:23; Acts 4:12.
"God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish [i.e., forever cease to
live], but have eternal life.". "The man Christ Jesus" "gave himself a
ransom [a corresponding price] for all [Adam and his race]." -- John
3:16; 1 Timothy 2:4-6.
If the penalty against Adam and his race had been eternal suffering,
Jesus would have had to suffer the same suffering for all eternity in
order to pay this debt; but, because the "wages of sin is death,"
"Christ died for our sins," He tasted death for every man; "Christ
also suffered for sins once [not for eternity]," and He "was raised
from the dead." When Jesus was raised from the dead, he was not raised
as a human living soul of flesh, but as a living spirit soul. -- 1
Corinthians 15:3, 4; Hebrews 2:9; Romans 5:6-10; Colossians 1:18; 1
Peter 3:18; Revelation 1:18.
Jesus, when on earth, said, "No man has ascended into heaven." Peter
corroborates this in the case of David. -- John 3:13; Acts 2:34.
The Bible says the dead, good and bad, are "asleep" (2 Peter 3:4; 2
Kings 21:17, 18; John 11:11-14; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17), i.e.,
oblivious, unconscious, in sheol or hades, waiting for the awakening;
"if the dead aren't raised, ... then they also who are fallen asleep
in Christ have perished.." -- 1 Corinthians 15:13-18.
God through Christ ransoms all, not from eternal torture or eternal
conscious suffering, but "from the power of the grave [sheol]" (Hosea
13:14, King James Version). None, however, actually come forth from
sheol/hades until Jesus calls them in the resurrection awakening at
His Second Advent (John 14:3; 1 Corinthians 15:21-23, 52), when (and
not previously) the apostle Paul and others receive their crowns of
life and rewards. -- 2 Timothy 4:8; 1 Peter 1:5; 5:4; Luke 14:14.
Eventually, "all that are in the tombs will hear his [Jesus'] voice,
and will come forth" (John 5:28,29). When sheol/hades thus delivers up
all who sleep in Adamic death, sheol/hades will forever cease to
exist-"O Grave, [sheol] I will be your destruction!" (New King James
Version); "Death and hades [also the devil, the beast, the false
prophet and the incorrigibly wicked] were thrown into the lake of fire
[fire consumes; Yahweh's jealousy for his name and righteousness is
represented as fire, which when kindled destroys -- Zephaniah 1:18;
Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 32;16,17; 1 Kings 14:22; Ezekiel 5:13;
36:5], This [lake of fire] is [represents] the second death [utter,
complete and eternal annihilation, from which none will ever be
recovered]." -- Hosea 13:14; Revelation 19:20; 20:14, 15; 21:8;
Galatians 6:8; Hebrews 6:4-8; 10:26-31; 12:29; 1 John 5:16; Jude 12,
13.
Sodom and Gomorrah are set forth by God "as an example, suffering the
punishment of eternal fire." (Jude 7) - not that the literal fire is
still burning and is unable to destroy those cities, but that the fire
of God's jealousy brought upon them eternal destruction as cities,
even as the "everlasting fire [of God's jealousy] prepared for the
devil and his angels" will bring everlasting destruction upon them. --
Hebrews 2:14; Ezekiel 28:19; Psalm 145:20.
In Revelation 20:10 (compare 14:10, 11) the word translated
"tormented" in most translations should have been rendered "tested" or
"examined". The evil deeds and teachings of the devil, the beast and
the false prophet will be examined forever by the righteous, and will
be recognized as highly deserving destruction. -- compare Isaiah
14:15-17.
"Narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life,"
but "broad is the way that leads to destruction [not eternal
suffering], and many are those who enter in by it.." -- Matthew
7:13,14.
After an individual final judgment, the wicked "will pay the penalty:
eternal destruction" (2 Thessalonians 1:9); they 'bring upon
themselves swift destruction' (2 Peter 2:1, 12); their "end is
destruction" (Philippians 3:19); they "shall go away into eternal
punishment [not eternal suffering or eternal torturing, but death, for
'sin, when it is finished, brings forth death' (James 1:15; 4:12);
everlasting death is the everlasting punishment], but the righteous
[who only will have everlasting life after the final judgment -- Psalm
37:9-11] into eternal life." -- Matthew 25:46.
Also, the New Testament word gehenna is translated hell in the KJV and
many other translations; its Old Testament equivalent is ge-Hinnom --
valley of Hinnom. Into this valley outside Jerusalem refuse was cast,
and it was destroyed there either by worms or by fire and brimstone.
Gehenna., "'where their worm doesn't die [literally, "where the maggot
of them not ends], and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:43-48; see
also Isaiah 66:24), represents the Second Death -- not that their worm
exists eternally, nor that there is place where they will exist in a
burning condition for eternity, but God's destruction of the wicked is
sure, pictured by everything cast into the valley of Hinnom being
completely destroyed, either by the worms or by the fire. The literal
fires of Gehenna indeed were kept burning, and never allowed to be
quenched. Likewise, any body thrown into the valley that did not reach
the fires would be consumed by the maggots along the walls, that never
ceased to be present.
God "is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna". "Every soul
that will not listen to that prophet [Jesus] will be utterly
destroyed". "Yahweh preserves all those who love him, But all the
wicked he will destroy." -- Matthew 10:28; Ezekiel 18:4,20; Acts 3:23;
Psalm 145:20.
God is just (Deuteronomy 32:4) and will punish every sinner according
to his guilt (Matthew 12:36; Luke 12:47,48), but His justice forbids
His exacting a greater extreme penalty than the one He declared, i.e.,
death - "'Shall mortal man [who unless debased would not consider
torturing even a cat in fire for one minute, let alone for eternity]
be more just than God? ... Far be it from God, that he should do
wickedness." -- Job 4:17; 34:10.
"God is love" and He desires us to 'worship him in spirit and in
truth,' out of love for Him, and not because of fear of punishment now
and roasting or suffering in the hereafter for eternity - "perfect
love casts out fear [dread]." -- 1 John 4:8-12, 16-21; John 4:24.
There are those that claim that the doctrine of eternal roasting is
needed to bring people into fear of God. Our fear (reverence) of him
should be motivated by our love for him, not because of some fiendish
plot to eternally roast us if we do not fear him. True reverence for
God comes from an awe at the creation around us and within us, plus
the fact that God sent his Son to die for us, to save us, not from
eternal roasting, but from death.
===========
For more on Life After Death, see:
http://hereafter.reslight.net
Christian love,
Ronald
To begin, I will present an overview of the Bible hell:
The Bible hell (sheol/hades) is the realm of death; it is described as
a condition in which there is no work, no device, no knowledge, nor
wisdom. -- Ecclesiastes 9:10 (many translations render "sheol" as "the
grave" here).
The only Old Testament word translated hell is sheol, to which the
New Testament word hades corresponds.
In the King James translation of the Bible, sheol and hades are
translated hell 41 times, grave 32 times and pit 3 times and
frequently when translated hell, the margin reads, "or, the grave," or
vice vera. -- Psalm 49:15; 55:15; 86:13; Isaiah 14:9; Jonah 2:2; 1
Corinthians 15:55; Revelation 20:13.
Many translations transliterate the words sheol and hades.
Satan is a liar and the father of the lie. (John 8:44) It is Satan who
has the world believing that a person does not really die, therefore
he lies to the world that those who are bad are roasting somewhere for
all eternity, thus making God appear to be some kind of fiend. With
such a view being loudly presented by the traditionalists, no wonder
thousands are turning away from the Bible and going to paganism,
agnosticism and atheism. The doctrine of eternal roasting is a
blasphemy to the Creator. Indeed, those who claim to be friends of the
Bible are often its worst enemies.
Satan uses all kinds of deceptive means to continue his lies,
including spiritism, hypnotism, near-death experiences, out-of-body
experiences, etc. "And when they say to you, 'Seek those who are
mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,' should not a people seek
their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the
law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word,
it is because there is no light in them." -- Isaiah 8:19,20, New King
James Version.
Contrary to the idea that any part of hell is a place of fire,
torture, shrieks, etc., the Bible says: "There is no work, nor device,
nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going." - "in death
there is no memory of you. In Sheol, who shall give you thanks?" -
"For Sheol can't praise you, death can't celebrate you." --
Ecclesiastes 9:10; Psalm 6:5; Isaiah 38:18.
Good people, as well as bad, go to sheol (hell) at death: e.g., Jacob
went down to sheol (Genesis 37:35); Job prayed to go to sheol, to be
hidden there, until the resurrection (Job 14:13). Nor do the good go
to an alleged section of sheol called "paradise" at death. (Paradise
is never depicted as a section of sheol or hades.) Instead of going to
paradise at death, David expected to be in condition in sheol where he
could not give thanks to Yahweh and we further read that "Sheol can't
praise you, death can't celebrate you." These descriptions of the
righteous in sheol do not reflect the added-on idea that paradise was
ever a compartment in sheol. -- Psalm 6:5; Isaiah 38:18.
Jesus made his human soul "an offering for sin"; he "poured out his
soul to death" (Isaiah 53:10, 12; Matthew 26:38), and descended into
the Bible hell, but "his soul was not left in hell [sheol/hades - a
state of unknowing]." Thus, Jesus' soul was in the Bible hell while he
was dead, but it did not remain there. His, "soul", however in coming
out of sheol, was not the sacrificed human soul, a little lower than
the angels, which was offered once for all time on behalf of mankind,
but was the exalted glorified soul, for he was put to death in the
flesh, but made alive in the spirit. -- Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27,31,33;
5:31; Philippians 2:9; Hebrews 2:9; 1 Peter 3:18.
====== See our study on "Jesus Died a Human -- Raised a Spirit Being"
http://atonement.reslight.net/raisedspirit.html
In old English the word hell simply meant to hide or to cover -
helling potatoes meant putting them into pits, helling a house meant
covering or thatching it, etc.; the word hell was therefore properly
used as signifying the secret or hidden condition of death. It had no
reference whatever to a place of eternal suffering until that meaning
was attached to it by the theologians who adopted and adapted such
ideas from the Jewish and heathen mythologies.
Accordingly, hell (sheol or hades) means the unconscious, oblivious
condition realm of death, where all souls, good and bad, go at death,
and from which only the awakening from death can deliver any.
When God told Adam of sin's penalty, He did not say, "In the day that
you eat from it you will live forever in eternal suffering," but He
told him the truth: "dying thou dost die [Hebrew, "muth temuth" (more
literally, to die, you will die) i.e., cease to live- or "dying, thou
shalt die" - margin of KJV]." -- Genesis 2:17, Young's Literal
Translation.
Adam began to die in that very (dying, thou shalt die -- see KJV
margin) day he ate the forbidden fruit.
Contradicting God, Satan told the lie (John 8:44), "`Dying, ye do not
die," (Genesis 3:4, Young's Literal, or, 'You will not be dying until
dead'), by which he has since deceived many into believing that the
dead are not really dead, but that at death they live on, and, without
waiting for the resurrection day, go directly into heaven or into
eternal torment; whereas the Bible states plainly that "the dead don't
know anything". Thus "the dead don't praise Yah, Neither any who go
down into silencee"; that a dead man's "sons come to honor, and he
doesn't know it; They are brought low, but he doesn't perceive it of
them". Additionally, the scriptures reveal that Abraham, being dead,
didn't know those living in Isaiah's day. -- Ecclesiastes 9:5; Psalm
115:17; Job 14:21; Isaiah 63:16.
The Bible states plainly that the soul that sinneth, it shall
die." (Ezekiel 18:4, King James Version); that "the wages of sin is
death [cessation of life-not life in roasting]; but the free gift of
God is eternal life in [by means of] Christ Jesus our Lord.." --
Romans 6:23; Acts 4:12.
"God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish [i.e., forever cease to
live], but have eternal life.". "The man Christ Jesus" "gave himself a
ransom [a corresponding price] for all [Adam and his race]." -- John
3:16; 1 Timothy 2:4-6.
If the penalty against Adam and his race had been eternal suffering,
Jesus would have had to suffer the same suffering for all eternity in
order to pay this debt; but, because the "wages of sin is death,"
"Christ died for our sins," He tasted death for every man; "Christ
also suffered for sins once [not for eternity]," and He "was raised
from the dead." When Jesus was raised from the dead, he was not raised
as a human living soul of flesh, but as a living spirit soul. -- 1
Corinthians 15:3, 4; Hebrews 2:9; Romans 5:6-10; Colossians 1:18; 1
Peter 3:18; Revelation 1:18.
Jesus, when on earth, said, "No man has ascended into heaven." Peter
corroborates this in the case of David. -- John 3:13; Acts 2:34.
The Bible says the dead, good and bad, are "asleep" (2 Peter 3:4; 2
Kings 21:17, 18; John 11:11-14; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17), i.e.,
oblivious, unconscious, in sheol or hades, waiting for the awakening;
"if the dead aren't raised, ... then they also who are fallen asleep
in Christ have perished.." -- 1 Corinthians 15:13-18.
God through Christ ransoms all, not from eternal torture or eternal
conscious suffering, but "from the power of the grave [sheol]" (Hosea
13:14, King James Version). None, however, actually come forth from
sheol/hades until Jesus calls them in the resurrection awakening at
His Second Advent (John 14:3; 1 Corinthians 15:21-23, 52), when (and
not previously) the apostle Paul and others receive their crowns of
life and rewards. -- 2 Timothy 4:8; 1 Peter 1:5; 5:4; Luke 14:14.
Eventually, "all that are in the tombs will hear his [Jesus'] voice,
and will come forth" (John 5:28,29). When sheol/hades thus delivers up
all who sleep in Adamic death, sheol/hades will forever cease to
exist-"O Grave, [sheol] I will be your destruction!" (New King James
Version); "Death and hades [also the devil, the beast, the false
prophet and the incorrigibly wicked] were thrown into the lake of fire
[fire consumes; Yahweh's jealousy for his name and righteousness is
represented as fire, which when kindled destroys -- Zephaniah 1:18;
Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 32;16,17; 1 Kings 14:22; Ezekiel 5:13;
36:5], This [lake of fire] is [represents] the second death [utter,
complete and eternal annihilation, from which none will ever be
recovered]." -- Hosea 13:14; Revelation 19:20; 20:14, 15; 21:8;
Galatians 6:8; Hebrews 6:4-8; 10:26-31; 12:29; 1 John 5:16; Jude 12,
13.
Sodom and Gomorrah are set forth by God "as an example, suffering the
punishment of eternal fire." (Jude 7) - not that the literal fire is
still burning and is unable to destroy those cities, but that the fire
of God's jealousy brought upon them eternal destruction as cities,
even as the "everlasting fire [of God's jealousy] prepared for the
devil and his angels" will bring everlasting destruction upon them. --
Hebrews 2:14; Ezekiel 28:19; Psalm 145:20.
In Revelation 20:10 (compare 14:10, 11) the word translated
"tormented" in most translations should have been rendered "tested" or
"examined". The evil deeds and teachings of the devil, the beast and
the false prophet will be examined forever by the righteous, and will
be recognized as highly deserving destruction. -- compare Isaiah
14:15-17.
"Narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life,"
but "broad is the way that leads to destruction [not eternal
suffering], and many are those who enter in by it.." -- Matthew
7:13,14.
After an individual final judgment, the wicked "will pay the penalty:
eternal destruction" (2 Thessalonians 1:9); they 'bring upon
themselves swift destruction' (2 Peter 2:1, 12); their "end is
destruction" (Philippians 3:19); they "shall go away into eternal
punishment [not eternal suffering or eternal torturing, but death, for
'sin, when it is finished, brings forth death' (James 1:15; 4:12);
everlasting death is the everlasting punishment], but the righteous
[who only will have everlasting life after the final judgment -- Psalm
37:9-11] into eternal life." -- Matthew 25:46.
Also, the New Testament word gehenna is translated hell in the KJV and
many other translations; its Old Testament equivalent is ge-Hinnom --
valley of Hinnom. Into this valley outside Jerusalem refuse was cast,
and it was destroyed there either by worms or by fire and brimstone.
Gehenna., "'where their worm doesn't die [literally, "where the maggot
of them not ends], and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:43-48; see
also Isaiah 66:24), represents the Second Death -- not that their worm
exists eternally, nor that there is place where they will exist in a
burning condition for eternity, but God's destruction of the wicked is
sure, pictured by everything cast into the valley of Hinnom being
completely destroyed, either by the worms or by the fire. The literal
fires of Gehenna indeed were kept burning, and never allowed to be
quenched. Likewise, any body thrown into the valley that did not reach
the fires would be consumed by the maggots along the walls, that never
ceased to be present.
God "is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna". "Every soul
that will not listen to that prophet [Jesus] will be utterly
destroyed". "Yahweh preserves all those who love him, But all the
wicked he will destroy." -- Matthew 10:28; Ezekiel 18:4,20; Acts 3:23;
Psalm 145:20.
God is just (Deuteronomy 32:4) and will punish every sinner according
to his guilt (Matthew 12:36; Luke 12:47,48), but His justice forbids
His exacting a greater extreme penalty than the one He declared, i.e.,
death - "'Shall mortal man [who unless debased would not consider
torturing even a cat in fire for one minute, let alone for eternity]
be more just than God? ... Far be it from God, that he should do
wickedness." -- Job 4:17; 34:10.
"God is love" and He desires us to 'worship him in spirit and in
truth,' out of love for Him, and not because of fear of punishment now
and roasting or suffering in the hereafter for eternity - "perfect
love casts out fear [dread]." -- 1 John 4:8-12, 16-21; John 4:24.
There are those that claim that the doctrine of eternal roasting is
needed to bring people into fear of God. Our fear (reverence) of him
should be motivated by our love for him, not because of some fiendish
plot to eternally roast us if we do not fear him. True reverence for
God comes from an awe at the creation around us and within us, plus
the fact that God sent his Son to die for us, to save us, not from
eternal roasting, but from death.
===========
For more on Life After Death, see:
http://hereafter.reslight.net
Christian love,
Ronald
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