YOU'LL ALSO BE INTERESTED IN ABSOLUTE PROOF YESHUA (JESUS) DIED, WAS BURIED AND ROSE FROM THE DEAD!!
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NOW TO THE QUESTION OF "HELL".
IS IT REAL?
IS THERE REALLY A "HELL FIRE" FOR MOST PEOPLE (OR ANYONE FOR THAT MATTER) FOR ALL ETERNITY?
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THE ANSWER IS A RESOUNDING NO!!!! NO!!! AND HELL NO!!!!
BELOW ARE SOME OF THE MOST POWERFUL SCRIPTURES!
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"ETERNAL FIRE TORMENT WITH NO HOPE FOR ANY HUMAN IS THE BIGGEST LIE AND HERESY EVER TAUGHT AND HAS IT'S ROOTS IN THE OCCULT AND SATANISM
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HOPEFULLY WE WILL PUT OUT THE FIRE OF THE "ETERNAL TORMENT IN FLAMES" FALLACY FOR GOOD! READ ON AND LET'S EXTERMINATE THOSE ETERNAL FLAMES SO THEY WON'T HAUNT YOU EVER AGAIN!!!!
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1 CORINTHIANS 15:22
"FOR JUST AS ALL PEOPLE DIE BECAUSE OF THEIR UNION WITH ADAM, IN THE SAME WAY ALL WILL BE RAISED TO LIFE BECAUSE OF THEIR UNION WITH CHRIST."
JUST THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS SCRIPTURE IS SAYING THAT IS NEVER TAUGHT IN MOST "CHRISTIAN" CHURCHES!
LET'S LOOK AT ANOTHER TRANSLATION FROM THE NEW REVISED STANDARD:
"For as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive
in Christ."
It's important to see the analogy here.
It's saying that ALL mankind die: "In Adam".
Once again "ALL MEANS ALL".
In the same manner ALL will be made alive in Christ. Once again "ALL MEANS ALL"!
Not "all who believe" or "all who repent" or " any other teaching that limits the number of people who are saved in the end. Most Christian churches teach that Jesus didn't save all mankind.
HERE IT IS AGAIN! ALL MEANS ALL!!!!
Most "Christian Churches" believe and teach falsely that he only "potentially" can save all.
But the above scripture you just read DIDN'T say "potentially" all will be made alive in Christ depending on if you believe or not".
NO! IT SAYS
"ALL WILL BE MADE ALIVE IN CHRIST"
PERIOD!
THAT'S REALLY THE GOOD NEWS!!!
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The reason this isn't taught in most Christian churches is because most people in hypocritical "churches", want to take credit for their salvation by their "good choice".
THEY WANT TO PAT THEMSELVES ON THE BACK!
Quite simply they don't want to believe that God can and will save "ALL HUMANITY" because they want to believe they are "special" for their "choice".
No, they want to believe God only saves those who made the "good choice" to believe, which is NOT what the Bible says.
IT SAYS IT IS NOT BY OUR "CHOICE" BUT HE CHOSE US!
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As a matter of fact, no one can believe in God on their own.
TIMOTHY 3:11
“THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD.
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There you have it again. God is the savior of ALL HUMANITY because left on our own, no one would seek him, so he in effect has to come get us. You don't get credit for "believing"because "believing" isn't how we get rescued.
Christ's death on the cross is what saves us not our "belief"!
So, once again, who get's to be made alive in the end?
We just read it....
ALL WILL BE MADE ALIVE!!!!
(BELOW)
THE LAMB OF GOD TAKES AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD!
NOT "potentially takes away sins of the world"
NOT "takes away the sins of only those who believe"
NOT "makes an offer to take away the world's sin and the rest is up to you"
DO YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE?
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JOHN 15:16
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit"
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Here it is again God chose us!
It wasn't a case of anyone making a "good choice" to chose him.
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THE MAIN THING TO KNOW IS THAT "CONSCIOUS ETERNAL TORMENT OR ANY ETERNAL TORMENTING" IN SOME NEVER ENDING FIRE AT LIFE'S END IS THE BIGGEST LIE EVER TAUGHT!
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DID JESUS SAY HE ONLY CAME TO SAVE SOME PEOPLE? DOES HE SAY HE SAVES ONLY THOSE THAT BELIEVE? DID HE SAY HE ONLY SAVES PEOPLE WHO DO WHAT HE SAYS? NO! WHO DOES HE SAVE?
THE WORLD!!!!!!
GOD DOES NOT COUNT PEOPLE'S SINS AGAINST THEM IN SOME NEVER ENDING FIRE BUT RECONCILES THE WORLD TO HIMSELF!!!!
(BELOW)
HERE IT IS AGAIN!
NO ONE IS CAST OFF FOREVER!!!!
IT DOESN'T GET MORE CLEAR THAN WHAT WE HAVE SHOWN YOU!
YOU'LL BE INTERESTED IN THIS VIDEO BY JULIE FERWERDA WHICH REFUTES "ETERNAL TORMENT" AND "FREE WILL."BTW, WE DO NOT HAVE "FREE WILL", ONLY GOD HIMSELF HAS FREE WILL.
ANY LITERAL TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE DOES NOT USE THE WORD"HELL"AND IT'S NOT USED AT ALL THE THE OLD TESTAMENT!
YOU REALLY HAVE TO LOOK INTO THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE OF THE BIBLE AND REALLY UNDERSTAND THE MISTRANSLATIONS MOST PASTORS CAPITALIZE ON TO KEEP YOU IN FEAR SO YOU CAN KEEP GIVING THEM MONEY:
"ETERNAL TORMENT" IS A LIE FROM SATAN AND ANYONE WHO TEACHES THE "ETERNAL TORMENT" CONCEPT FROM THE PULPIT MUST WANT TO BELIEVE IT IN SPITE OF IT NOT BEING TRUE! IT JUST TAKES A LITTLE STUDY TO DISPROVE IT.
MORE REASONS WHY "HELL" AND "ETERNAL TORMENT" IS A MYTH.
THE FACT IS, MANY "CHRISTIANS" WANT THEIR ENEMIES TO BE TORTURED FOR ALL ETERNITY AND THAT TELLS YOU A LOT ABOUT THE HEARTS OF PEOPLE WHO CONTINUE TO PUSH THIS NARRATIVE! MORE ON THIS "HELL FIRE" LIE BELOW:
HELL? NO!! IT'S NOT TRUE!!!
God is NOT in the business of tormenting and torturing people who don't follow him.
HE'S NOT CO-DEPENDENT:
MOST "CHURCH'S TEACH THE CONCEPT: "IF GOD LOVES YOU THEN YOU MUST LOVE HIM BACK" AND IF YOU DON'T YOU WILL BE TORTURED FOREVER!
DO YOU SEE HOW TWISTED THIS LOGIC IS AND HOW HUMANISTIC IT IS?
(Below)
This is the image a lot of so called "Christian" churches put in your head as the destiny for those who don't believe in Jesus..... RIGHT?
This is pure occultic and Satanic nonsense and actual blasphemy to teach that a God of ultimate Love would allow such a thing.
If you have been taught this, YOU ARE IN A DEMONIC CULT!!!
THE REALITY IS:
IF GOD SAW THAT EVERYTHING HE CREATED WAS VERY GOOD, THEN HOW CAN HE HAVE EVER CREATED A LITERAL "LAKE OF FIRE?"
By the way, if Jesus died for all of our sins (which he did), that would also include the sin of "unbelief" RIGHT?
So, that is another example to let people know that even "unbelief" would not eternally separate you from God because that "sin" would have been taken care of as well on the cross!
THIS IS ONLY LOGICAL! AND THAT'S WHAT WE DO ON THIS SITE IS MAKE SENSE!
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While the concept of the unsaved suffering for all eternity has bothered me for a long time, ultimately we want you, the reader to look through the Bible on your own to see there are numerous translation errors and false teaching by ministers and pastors on Almighty God's word that contradict his perfect loving nature.
The conclusions we come to may not be the only ones, but we do think there are MAJOR flaws in contemporary Christianity teachings and it's most accepted teaching about hell.
We are presenting some other truths outside of traditional teachings and more from what the Bible teaches in it's original language.
The fact is the Bible teaches a completely different doctrine on the concept of "hell" than is taught by most Christian churches. In short,
THERE IS NO ETERNAL TORMENTING OF ANYONE IN SOME NEVER ENDING FIRE!
PERIOD!!!!
THE BIBLE SAYS AT DEATH THE SPIRIT RETURNS TO GOD! IT DOESN'T SAY SOME TO GOD AND SOME TO ETERNAL TORMENT!
IT SAYS THE SPIRIT RETURNS TO GOD WHO GAVE IT! PERIOD!
The depictions we use in this article that show some kind of place of never ending fire with people there have been cooked up in the minds of some individuals that are nothing but fables and dark fantasy with no basis in the Bible or reality but are straight out the the occult and satanism.
The fact is, if you are in a church that teaches God will torment billions of people for all eternity with no hope, quite frankly, you are in a cult.
For anyone who believes this, they have been brainwashed. Eternal torment is the biggest heresy that has ever been taught and this idea comes straight from Satan himself to make people believe that God is the same murderous monster he, himself is.
IF "ETERNAL TORMENT" WERE TRUE, THAT SCRIPTURE WOULD HAVE TO SAY "GOD'S WRATH LASTETH FOREVER"and NOT IS MERCY!
DO YOU SEE THAT?
GOD RECONCILES ALL!!!!
NO MATTER WHAT TRANSLATION IT IS OF CORINTHIANS 5:19, GOD RECONCILES THE ENTIRE WORLD TO HIMSELF! CLICK TO ENLARGE:
WHERE THIS SATANIC CONCEPT OF "ETERNAL TORMENT" GOT STARTED AND WHY IT IS FALSELY STILL PREACHED. HINT: IT HAS TO DO WITH MONEY, POWER AND CONTROL!
YOU WILL WANT TO CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO ON THIS EXACT SUBJECT. WHY IS ETERNAL TORMENT PUSHED IN MOST CHURCHES? BECAUSE IT MAKES MONEY IN THE COLLECTION PLATE.
IS THERE A SUCH THING AS "ETERNAL TORMENT?" ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!! NO WAY, NO HOW!!
BELOW: THE ETERNAL TORMENT FALLACY EXTINGUISHED FOR GOOD!
Let's go ahead and put out the flames of the idea of "eternal torment in fire"!
THIS IS A VIDEO YOU WILL WANT TO WATCH AFTER YOU HAVE READ THIS ARTICLE. IT'S REALLY THE GOOD NEWS MOST "CHRISTIAN" CHURCHES WILL NEVER TEACH BECAUSE IT'S OF NO FINANCIAL BENEFIT FOR THEM TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH!
THIS IS A GREAT VIDEO ON THE TRUTH OF THE SALVATION OF ALL! IN THE END, GOD GETS WHAT HE WANTED! THAT'S RIGHT! IN THE END GOD'S WILL TRUMPS MAN'S WILL AND FOR THAT WE CAN BE GLAD!
We would like to hear your input below in the comments area, especially if you have been told Hell was where unsaved people go to be tormented for all eternity.
Before we get started, here is a wonderful video pointing out that there is no human who will spend eternity burning in Hell with no hope! If you think there is an eternal "Hell" you have been lied to and there is a simple explanation as to why this can't be true!
HERE'S MORE STUDIES ON THE ETERNAL TORMENT LIE WE HAVE ALL BEEN TAUGHT SINCE YOUTH! IT'S TIME TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT!
As we can see, there is a danger is accepting "traditional" teaching that is not bible based:
Let's listen to another very good commentary about how the word 'hell" is misused and mistranslated and doesn't mean what people have been deceived to think:
Hell and Eternal Torment the Most Damaging Lies in Human History
MORE ON THE DESPICABLE TEACHING OF ETERNAL CONSCIOUS TORMENT. HOPEFULLY, YOU'LL NEVER BE HAUNTED BY THIS LIE AGAIN!
EVEN THIS GUY ON A TREADMILL KNOWS THE TRUTH!!!
NOW LET'S PUT AN END TO THE CONCEPT OF "HUMAN FREE WILL".
ULTIMATELY, IT'S GOD WHO DECIDES EVERYTHING AND IT IS NOT LEFT UP TO FALLIBLE HUMANS.
IF YOU REALLY UNDERSTOOD WHAT "FREE WILL" MEANS, YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DON'T HAVE IT.
IN THE END GOD GETS WHAT HE WANTS!
AND HERE IS PART 2 WHERE EVEN HERE, GOD STILL GETS WHAT HE WANTS!
Colossians 2:8
English Standard Version (ESV)
"See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ."
Traditionally, as Christians we are taught that there are two camps of people on the Earth.
Those who have accepted Christ's mercy and have called upon his name for salvation and thus have eternal life. Then there are those who reject the Lord's mercy and his Son Yeshua (Jesus) and thus are tormented for all eternity in a place called "Hell" when they die.
While I have absolute faith that the only way to the Father and thus the only way to have eternal life is through his Son Jesus, it has always bothered me about what traditional Christianity teaches about the destiny of those who have rejected Christ's love for us.
While I'm not going to talk about every scripture that speaks on the subject of Heaven and Hell, what I want to do is look at the scriptures that have been misinterpreted along with scriptures that seem to absolutely contradict the teaching that the unsaved will be tormented for all eternity.
God is NOT in the business of tormenting and torturing people who don't follow him!
SO WHAT IS "THE BOOK OF LIFE?"
Remember, he has absolute love for people that reject him and refuse his love and forgiveness. I think the bible teaches us God has a much more humane way of dealing with rebellious people who die without receiving his mercy and forgiveness.
I'm sure you have heard people say "God doesn't send anyone to hell, they go to hell because they refuse the alternative" which is life through Jesus Christ." Well, Yes, Jesus is the truth and the light, but to say God doesn't send sinners to hell but they choose that on their own is just a cop out for self righteous people who also most likely can't reconcile how God could set up a system where rebellious humans will suffer forever.
Obviously these people don't have loved ones that may not be saved and they don't seem to be concerned about them. Well, we'll see in just a minute, God would not allow something as awful as that to exist. Remember, Jesus never said he came so that no man would go to hell. He said he came to give us "Eternal Life!"
While I do believe eternal life only comes through Jesus Christ, I do believe the bible teaches that God would NEVER set up an economy or system in the first place to where the Christ rejecting world would have to go to a place of eternal fire torment forever and ever with absolutely no hope.
If Hell is real, does that mean that human motherly love is more powerful and enduring than God's love? Do you know of normal parents who would endlessly torment most of their kids that may reject their parents love? Why do we believe our heavenly Father, who is millions of times more loving than all of us combined, could allow such an horrible thing to happen?
If Hell is real, why does the human spirit writhe under the horror of wars and prison camps, torture chambers and dictators? How can we judge these things as wrong, if Hell is real? If eternal torment was real, God would be a bigger monster than any evil dictator that ever lived!
After all, Hell far eclipses these earthly torments which came from the most sinful and beastly part of humanity. We say God is grieved by man's violence and disregard for life, and yet believe that He Himself enforces the same principles for all eternity!
If what we have been taught really happens to the unsaved. There is no doubt that many of us who are saved will have loved ones who will reject God and his mercy.
That means some mothers will have sons and daughters who will spend eternity where there is "weeping and gnashing of teeth." That means there will be some sons and daughters who will have parents who will have the same fate........or will they? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!
I don't know about you, but since Heaven is a place of absolute bliss, joy and love and a place where "every tear will be washed away" I can't imagine having complete joy knowing that a loved one is being tormented in hell for all eternity.
Does the Bible really teach this or is this just what we've been told happens through pagan traditions? Interestingly, it was the devil who was first to suggest that sinners would not die
(Genesis 3:4).
A hell where sinners never perish is a satanic doctrine!
It was God, who told Eve she would "surely die" as a result of transgression. HE DID NOT SAY TO HER she would live forever in "eternal torment"! DEATH is the enemy of man NOT some nightmare fantasy of "eternal torment'!
Is the concept of eternal torment in Hell really Biblical? Most Christians think there is a place of eternal fire and torment called "Hell" which will be the ultimate fate of the wicked. Satan, they believe, is to rule in this limited kingdom of Hell and torture his unwilling subjects for all eternity.
The concept of an eternal fiery Hell designed to torment sinners forever has been taught by the illuminati created Catholic Church and accepted as true for many centuries. Integral to this concept is the proposition that no one will ever really die, since upon the death of your external mortal body, your spirit immediately travels to Heaven if you has accepted Jesus Christ or supposedly Hell if you have not.
You either live forever in heaven with God, or you live forever in torment in Hell with Satan and his angels, at least that is what is taught and believed by most of the Christian world.
Hell Is NOT a New Testament or Old Testament Doctrine!
ETERNAL CONSCIOUS TORMENT IN FIRE IS A SATANIC DOCTRINE AND NOT FROM THE MOST HIGH GOD!*
Popular myth: Jesus spoke of Hell more than He did of Heaven. This is not true! Jesus warned the Jews many times of impending destruction, both nationally and individually. BUT NOT ANY KIND OF ETERNAL TORMENT!
MORE ON THIS HERE:
Jesus used several different terms to refer to punishment/destruction, some of which were erroneously translated as the same word, "Hell" by Bible translators.
We do not deny that God will indeed judge the whole world, nor do we wish to make light of His judgments. We are challenging the belief that His judgment on sin and unbelief is eternal torment/Hell and never-ending separation from God. Certainly, Jesus spent a lot of his ministry warning people to repent or reap the consequences, But could we be reading more into His warnings than He originally intended?
Think about it..
Where did the concept of Hell originate? Hint, not from the Bible. How did "hell" enter the Bible? Ironically, the only Jews who believed in "hell" at the time of Jesus were the Pharisees.
We know this from the Jewish historian Josephus, a contemporary of Paul. The Pharisees probably "borrowed" the concept of "hell" from the pagan Greeks after Alexander the Great conquered the Middle East during the "silent" period between the writing of the OT and NT.
THE CONCEPT OF HELL IS A MONEY MAKER AND MEANS OF CONTROL THROUGH FEAR AND TERROR!
Like the Greeks, the Pharisees undoubtedly found that "hell" increased their power, revenues and profits. That is sadly even true today.
Most Christian churches make money from their congregations because people think they can "donate" their way our of "hell." HOW SAD IS THAT!!!
But the Greek hell was Tartarus, not Hades. As we will see, there is only one verse in the entire Bible containing a word that actually means hell, but that hell is not for human beings, nor is it eternal.
FOR A COMPLETE STUDY ON THE MISTRANSLATED WORD "ETERNAL" IN THE GREEK LANGUAGE, CLICK BELOW:
HERE'S MORE INFORMATION ON LANGUAGE AND MISTRANSLATIONS:
THE FALSE CONCEPT OF "FREE WILL"
SO WHERE DID THE MODERN CONCEPT OF "ETERNAL TORMENT" COME FROM?
Dante’s Inferno!
Where did most of the satanic concepts of "hell" came from?
Almost no one understands that it was primarily pagan poets who authored today’s widely believed concept about an underground, ever-burning hell (Greek mythology, Homer...etc).
While the concept most likely existed before Alighieri's Divine Comedy, this is what undoubtedly brought this un-biblical doctrine to the majority of Christianity.
Much of the tradition surrounding this subject came from Dante Alighieri’s (1265-1321) famous work Divine Comedy. In it, he described his view of paradise, purgatory and hell.
Notice this quote from a book about his life, Dante and His Inferno: “Of all poets of modern times, Dante Alighieri was, perhaps, the greatest educator.
He possibly had a greater influence on the course of civilization than any other man since his day…He wrote, in incomprehensible verse, an imaginative and lurid account of a dismal hell a long poem containing certain phrases which have caught the attention of the world, such as, ‘all hope abandon…ye, who enter here!’ This had a tremendous impression and influence on the popular Christian thought and teaching. His Inferno was based on Virgil and Plato.”
This makes obvious where Dante got his ideas.
He believed that the pagan philosophers Plato and Virgil were divinely inspired. His fascination with the Greek philosopher Plato caused him to accept Plato’s ideas about the immortality of the soul as described in his famous work, Phaedo. Here is what the Encyclopedia Americana says about Virgil:
“Virgil, pagan Roman poet, 70-12 B.C.,
Belonged to the national school of pagan Roman thought, influenced by the Greek writers. Christians of the Middle Ages, including Dante, believed he had received some measure of divine inspiration.” Few know the true origin of the beliefs that they hold.
Fewer still even wish to know! We have just laid bare, in the quotes above, the real origin of this belief. Did you realize the source of these ideas?
The concept of an ever-burning hell comes from outright paganism! We will see that the popular version of hell has never had anything to do with the true teaching of the Bible.
The Divine Comedy:
In the early 1300s, Dante Alighieri wrote this popular play, called The Divine Comedy. It was influential in outlining three misunderstood places or states of mind: Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. Alighieri claimed he experienced this journey in the spring of 1300.
At the time, many believed his story as gospel. Some continue to believe it today.
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According to the story, Dante and the pagan poet Virgil descend into the Underworld after Alighieri becomes lost in a mysterious forest somewhere on the surface of the globe.
The original play had such an impact on society that a general belief in Purgatory endures. Purgatory is found nowhere in the Bible. Many Christians attempt to explain what it is, though neither Testament makes reference to it whatsoever.
Alighieri’s diagram of the cosmological structure of the Universe had quite an influence on popular thought.
The depiction Alighieri used resembled the original Aristotelian model of the Universe. According to the model, Hell is located at the center of Earth and Heaven is somewhere above the clouds.
Perhaps this is the reason many still cling to that mythological interpretation, every bit of it from a single fictional story.
If Hell is real, why did God tell the Jews that burning their children alive in the fire to the false god Molech, (in the valley of Gehenna ) was so detestable to Him? God said that such a thing "never even entered His mind" (Jer. 32:35).
How could God say such a thing to Israel, if He has plans to burn alive a good majority of His own creation in a spiritual and eternal Gehenna of His own making?
Sounds to me like the concept of someone burning in fire is a satanic doctrine. The doctrine, in addition to "Dante's Inferno" had it's origination in the satanic "Egyptian Book of the Dead."
Let's take a look at Genesis 3:22
"Behold"
Adam was alone on the earth as I am alone in the heavens on high.
From him there will arise those who will know how to distinguish between good and evil.
If he had kept the commandments (which) I commanded him he would have lived and endured like the tree of life forever. But now, since he has not observed what I commanded him, let us decree against him, and let us banish him from the Garden of Eden, before he puts forth his hand and takes (also) of the fruit of the tree of life.
For behold, if he eats of it, he will live and endure forever."
The above scripture is the first clue that God would NOT allow humans to live forever in a fallen state of torment!
Do People Have Immortal Souls?
Most people do not understand the relationship between physical men and souls. In Sunday school, I was taught that human beings are born with immortal souls. The common belief is that, upon death, the souls of sinners go to hell forever, since they are immortal. Is this what the Bible says?
If the wages of sin is death, could the Bible also teach that people have immortal souls?
Genesis 2:7 says, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” This verse does not say that men have souls, but that they are souls. Adam became a soul he was not given a soul.
Then, almost immediately, God warned him, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die” (vs. 16-17).
When placed together, these verses reveal that men are souls and that souls can die!
The prophet Ezekiel was inspired to write (twice): “The soul that sins, it shall die” (18:4, 20).
Death is the absence of life. It is the discontinuance or the cessation of life. Death is not life in another place. It is not leaving “this life” for “another life in eternal torment.”
IMPORTANT!
Let's look at this closely. God wanted to make sure Adam did not eat from the Tree of Life. WHY? because if he did, he would live in a fallen state separated from his creator forever and God didn't want that. Do you see that? God would not allow Adam to screw things up so bad that he must live for all eternity in a fallen state.
This is the first clue from the Bible that God does not want and will not allow the rebellious to live forever being tormented for all eternity. That only makes sense for a merciful God to do that, right? I mean we as imperfect people who can't even begin to love as much as God can.... even fallen sinful people show compassion by not wanting living beings to suffer.
Even we shoot suffering horses because we don't want them to live in torment.
So, we need to look at God as the embodiment of everything Love is. He is able to Love beyond our understanding. We need to look into if a loving God would ever set up an economy where even rebellious human beings would spend all eternity in agony and torment.
THE ANSWER IS A RESOUNDING NO! GOD WOULD NOT EVER ALLOW HUMANS TO SUFFER IN ETERNAL TORMENT!!!
I have presented this concept before to which some Christians will say, "well yes, but God is also righteous, so that's why he allows the rebellious to spend eternity in hell."
In other words, what they are really saying is that Gods perfect Love and Mercy are ultimately cannibalized by his "righteousness." For many Christians, it seems like they don't want the lives of the unsaved to be mercifully put to an end. But some "Christians" seem to want them to burn for all eternity and anyone who says any different is a heretic!
Luke 23:34 : Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." **This is an amazing prayer request from Jesus Christ to God the Father. Think about it!
There is no greater sin one could commit than to murder the very Son of God, and yet, there was not even the slightest hint of any revenge or unforgiveness in Jesus’s heart towards his unbelieving murderers. We know for certain that Father God will grant His Son’s request.
While there is no doubt in many places in the Bible it calls for repentance and to confess and turn away from our wicked ways and sinful practices. BUT, this prayer by Jesus shows he can unilaterally forgive us! NO MATTER WHAT WE DO!!!!!
These men he asked his Father to forgive, were not repentant nor were they seeking forgiveness. But what about these scriptures?
Matthew 7:13-14
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
"But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
Luke 13:24
"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to."
Well, upon looking at these verses closely, we will see Jesus was not talking about those that are saved and those that are unsaved. Matthew 7:14 cannot be talking about eternal life.
It is speaking about the futility of making the right choices apart from God the Father and The Son of Man (Son of God) Jesus Christ. At any given moment, most of humanity is not following Jesus Christ. Most are on the wrong path. Few are actually following Christ.
All of us have been on the wrong path at one time or another.
I know I sure have been. Remember, salvation and eternal life is a free gift through Christ Jesus....it's not a matter of hide and seek. Here, Jesus is saying most people are on the wrong path. Jesus had to come get you and put you on the right path. Remember, in JOHN 15:16, Jesus said "I chose you!"
Here it is: JOHN 15:16.
"You didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name." So, this scripture is not talking about eternal life, per se. it is not a prediction about who will have eternal life and who will perish in the end.
No one knows that put God himself! Jesus did not encourage speculation on that matter. The good news is, if you are on the wrong path, that is correctable!
But ONLY God can correct it. We don't have the ability to do it on our own.
It is simply saying that left on our own, we will make the wrong choices and end up on the wrong path...to that, Jesus says he has to come get us and put us on the right path, the narrow gate, WHICH IS JESUS!
Now in Luke 13:24, let's take a look at that and see that is not referring to who will have eternal life and who will perish either. Remember, salvation is a free gift. Ephesians 2:8. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God."
So, if that is true, then the words "effort" and "ability" have nothing to do with eternal life, which is a free gift. So, just like in the above explanation, most of humanity is on the wrong path and we do not have the "ability" to correct it on our own. That's why we need a Savior!
We can't save ourselves. That's the whole point of humanity needing a Messiah! Romans 3:11. "as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."
This begs the question. If we can come to God with our own "free will" wouldn't that be doing a good thing? But the Bible says "THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD" refutes this concept of "free Will".
"No man CAN [by his own phantom ‘free’ will] come to Me, except the FATHER which has sent Me draw him [Greek: ‘drag him’]: and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:44 & 65.)
Some excerpts below from L. Ray Smith:
But what about these scriptures?:
"The Lake of Fire!" A Scriptural Journey Through the Lake Burning with Fire and Brimstone,
Which is the SECOND DEATH
Some time in the last half of the first century AD, the apostle John (whom Jesus loved) was on the Isle of Patmos when he found himself "in spirit on the Lord’s day." Among his many remarkable visions he saw this:
Revelation 19:20,
"And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone."
Rev. 20:10,
"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
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Rev. 20:14-15,
"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
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Rev. 21:8,
"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
Concerning the "Second Death," John also has this to report:
Rev. 2:11, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death."
Rev. 20:6, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." And finally this one:
Rev. 14:10, "...and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb."
These are all the Scriptural references in the entire Bible that mention the "lake of fire and the second death."
THE LIES YOU HAVE BEEN TOLD
Theologians and clergymen by the thousands have been telling the world that this lake of fire is an eternal torture chamber. It is the final HELL of eternal separation from God accompanied by unfathomable pain, torture, and despair.
We have been told that there is absolutely no possibility of ever being rescued from this hellhole of suffering and human misery where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth, as real fire barbecues their bodies, and while worms will be eating their flesh.
This hideous scene is to continue day and night for trillions of billions of quadrillions of centuries upon centuries--for EVER!
We are told that those who will spend eternity in this prison of pain have themselves chosen to spend eternity there - that God doesn’t send anyone to hell, but that people actually choose, themselves, to go there. Even a fool knows that no person would ever choose such a fate, but theologians must somehow get God off of the hook of responsibility, for surely this place exists and will continue to exist for eternity they assure us.
THREE FALSE ASSUMPTIONS:
Fundamentalist Christians are the largest group who hold three bedrock doctrinal teachings, which are really only assumptions, regarding the lake of fire:
1. The "lake of fire" part of this verse must positively be taken LITERALLY.
2. This lake of fire and second death are just other terms for HELL.
3. All the wicked, unsaved, and unbelieving sinners will be consciously TORTURED in this lake of fire hellhole by having their flesh barbecued FOR ALL ETERNITY, which is said to be "the second death."
ALL THESE COMMONLY HELD DOCTRINES ARE FALSE!
MORE ON THIS HERE:
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Are any of these three assumptions true or Scriptural? Absolutely and unequivocally NOT! There is no record of God ever creating such a place as "The Lake of Fire".
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Remember back in Genesis after everything God created, the Bible says "And God saw that it was good". The Bible NEVER says "And God created the lake of fire for all that reject him and saw that it was good'...OF COURSE NOT!!!
HOW CAN THE LAKE OF FIRE BE A LITERAL PLACE CREATED BY GOD IF EVERYTHING GOD CREATED WAS GOOD?
The lake of fire absolutely cannot be a literal place because God would have had to create such a place and there is no account of him doing so.
In our journey we will clearly see that these verses are NOT to be taken literally, and they do NOT represent a place called hell, and God will NOT torture anyone for all eternity.
We will also see from the Scriptures that God never punishes for the sole purpose of torturing.
God always punishes and chastises for the ultimate purpose of correcting, righting, amending, changing, fixing, rectifying, redeeming and saving.
LITERAL OR SYMBOLIC?
In many cases it is not difficult to determine whether a verse is literal or not.
But, since we use figures of speech so often we tend to forget that much of what we say daily is not literally true.
Many of us would hardly be able to carry on a conversation if we had to drop out of our vocabulary every word and every phrase we speak that is NOT LITERALLY TRUE.
The English language, as well as all other languages, is just filled with symbolic and metaphorical phrases.
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The first eleven verses of Chapter one in Revelation are an introduction regarding where, how, and what John is going to record for us.
Much of this introduction can be taken literally, however, not all. Beginning with verse twelve, we are confronted with one symbol after another for the remainder of the entire twenty-two-chapter-book.
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h1. Everything written in Revelation is true, but most is not meant to be "literally true".
The fact is there are many many truths in the Bible that are not literally true, but intended to be spiritual truths.
Jesus "said" that the bread He gave His disciples at the Lord’s supper was His body.
Yet, Jesus Himself explains in other places that this was not literally true. He gave them literal bread, and not His literal physical flesh.
What that bread represented, and symbolized, was indeed, His body--but not his physical body.
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Jesus said that the words that he spoke were SPIRIT (John 6:63).
Jesus Christ changes not. His words are STILL spirit and they certainly were spirit when John wrote the words of Christ regarding His unveiling or revelation.
Just as we physically feed on physical bread for PHYSICAL LIFE, thus also we spiritually feed on Jesus Christ’s spiritual body for SPIRITUAL LIFE.
Understand this! Some think that by accepting the Scriptures as they are given (in the case of Revelation that means AS SYMBOLS), that somehow this "spiritualizes away" the teaching.
What? It is the "spiritual" aspect of these symbols that IS THE REAL THING; THE REAL UNDERSTANDING! Physical things "pass away" whereas spiritual things are eternal!
The very FACT that this book is written in "symbols" is proof positive that the understanding of them is SPIRITUAL and not physical or literal.
Symbols, metaphors, and parables ARE NEVER LITERALLY TRUE!
But they powerfully demonstrate SPIRITUAL TRUTHS!
"This is the second death--the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:15 and 21:8) is a metaphor that is no more literal than "Jesus taking the bread...said, ‘Take, EAT. This IS My body" (Mat. 26:26). "I was IN THE SPIRIT on the Lord’s day..."
And then he begins to tell us what he hears and sees.
Now the very fact that he was "in the spirit" on the Lord’s day conclusively proves that he was not literally there! Let us never lose sight of this fact: John WRITES what has been SIGNIFIED (WITH SYMBOLS) the things that he SEES and HEARS IN A VISION--IN SPIRIT!
Beginning in verse twelve John starts to tell us what he saw and heard,
"And I turned to see the voice that spake with me ... his eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet like unto fine brass ... And he had in his right hand seven stars and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword..."
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NONE of what I underlined is literal. Have you ever "seen a voice?"
All these things are symbols that stand for other things.
And God immediately gives us proof positive of this in verse 20, "The mystery [this is not literal--it was a mystery until God tells us that one thing really means or represents another and DIFFERENT THING] of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks.
The seven stars ARE THE ANGELS OF THE SEVEN CHURCHES: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest ARE THE SEVEN CHURCHES."
PHYSICAL FIRE VERSUS SPIRITUAL FIRE.
Without realizing it, those who defend a literal fire in this judgment of God will have a very hard time showing that anyone can be "tormented day and night for ever and ever" in a literal fire.
If the fire is literal, then the idea that anyone could be tormented for ever and ever is totally impossible! How so? We will see.
Notice who is thrown into this lake of fire: "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet ...
These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone" (Rev. 19:20).
If the beast and false prophet are humans, then a real lake of fire would BURN THEM UP making it impossible for them to be tortured for ever and ever!
If the beast and false prophet are supernatural, superhuman, or spirit in nature, then physical fire CANNOT HARM THEM in any way. So, if the fire is literal, it can serve NO useful purpose!
"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire..." (Rev. 20:10).
As this is Satan, he is a spirit, and therefore CANNOT be tortured with REAL FIRE! Real, physical fire has NO effect on SPIRIT! Since God "makes His angels SPIRITS; His ministers a FLAMING FIRE" (Psalm 104:4), it isn’t likely that the Head of the "sinning angels" would be the least bit hurt by literal fire!
"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:12 & 15).
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"The dead, small and great" are mortals resurrected to judgment and are still mortal. Therefore, physical fire will BURN THEM UP, hence there can be NO torture or torment for ever and ever.
So now what will our fundamentalist friends do with this evidence? Real, physical, literal fires, BURN UP physical bodies! And, real, physical, literal fires CANNOT burn or harm spiritual bodies! Sorry, but that’s just the way it is!
Hades
Hades is the most frequent translation of Hell found in the original Greek text of the New Testament. The English version appears without any distinction between it and the other two Greek words for Hell.
Hades means nothing more than a hole in the ground. Four hundred years ago, English farmers would talk of how they needed to “plant their potatoes in hell for the winter.”
According to Acts 2:31, Jesus of Nazareth was resurrected from Hell after he climbed out of his burial tomb. Matthew 12:40 refers to Hell as the grave where Jesus spent three days and nights before his alleged resurrection.
It was not as though he made some mythological trek through an infernal Underworld, as often misinterpreted by uneducated fundamentalists. The direct translation is that he was resurrected from his tomb, nothing more.
BELOW:
THE CONCEPT OF ETERNAL TORMENT IS ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE AND WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES IS ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE:
THIS IS JUST FOR TEACHING AND NOT A "LEFT vs RIGHT" POLITICAL REFERENCE:
CLICK TO ENLARGE
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SHEOL, TARTARUS, HADES AND GEHENNA
To start with, let's clear up some of the translation problems with the word "hell." The Hebrew word is SHEOL and the Greek word is HADES.
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Sheol is used 65 times in the Bible. It is translated The Pit, three times.
Hades is used 11 times and at least once literally means "The Grave." Two other words which is commonly interpreted as hell are "Tartarus" and "Gehenna." Gehenna is also known as the Valley of Hinnom or a city dump located in Jerusalem where garbage was burned. Pagan worshipers at one time used it for ritual sacrifices.
The Hebrew word "Sheol" is translated "hell," "the grave," "death," "destruction," and "the pit." Sheol identifies the general abode of the dead, a place where life no longer exists.
It's important to note that this is a place where life does not exist....not a place where people live forever in torment!
The words Sheol, Hades and Gehenna do not mean "hell." The Hebrew word Sheol clearly means "the grave" or "the abode of all the dead, good and bad." The Greek word Hades also means "the grave" or "the abode of all the dead, good and bad." Gehenna is a physical valley in Israel, not "hell."
Gehenna
Gehenna is another Greek word replaced with the single English word, Hell. Gehenna was once a place near the Hinnom Valley just outside of Jerusalem. Refuse and the bodies of criminals were burned there throughout history. Because of this, it was associated with the future punishment of the wicked which is not the case. Gehenna is a literal physical place.
Gehenna means Valley of Hinnom, not eternal Underworld. The Bible makes reference to this place 12 times in the original Greek version. It's outlined in Revelations 20: 14-15. Once again, this does not translate to burning forever in eternity!
A Popular Scripture
Perhaps the most familiar and often-quoted verse in the Bible is understood by almost no one. John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Millions routinely quote this verse, while ignoring an essential phrase within it.
Reread it! Those who receive salvation are promised that they “should not perish” but “have eternal life!”
If hell is a place of eternal torture, then the people suffering this torment must also have eternal life. But the verse says, “should not perish.” It does not say, “Should not suffer eternal life in torment.” How does the word perish (which literally means "cease to exist") relate to the popular teaching about hell and hell fire?
Why did God inspire John to use the word perish if this is not what He meant? Another translation of "perish" is "To be totally destroyed."
Tartarus
Tartarus is the third Greek translation of Hell found in the New Testament.
Tartarus means darkness of the material Universe, dark abyss, or prison.
It has nothing to do with the hellfire associated with Gehenna or the infernal Underworld of Christian mythology.
Tartarus appears in the New Testament once, in II Peter, 2:4, and is the place where God will cast Satan following Jesus’ return. It refers to the condition or restraint of the fallen angels, having no reference to a container or place for men and women.
The Lake of Fire, or Hell, is a place of everlasting fire that was originally created by God as a place of punishment for Satan and the angels that followed him in his rebellion against God (Mat. 25:41). Because it is referred to as the place of “outer darkness” (Mat. 8:12; 25:30), we believe that it is most probably located at the farthest reaches of the creation.
BUT ALSO REMEMBER "THE LAKE OF FIRE" ISN'T A LITERAL PLACE!
Gehenna is described in Scripture as a “furnace of fire” (Mat. 13:42); “everlasting punishment” (Mat. 25:46); “the mist of darkness” (II Pet. 2:17); the “hurt of the second death” (Rev. 2:11 cf. 20:6,14; 21:8); “a lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Rev. 19:20; 20:10; 21:8).
But even here, this will not be forever!
THERE WILL BE A TIME WHERE EVIL WILL NO LONGER EXIST!
2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell (Tartarus) and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment.
WHAT IS TARTARUS?
In this verse, the Greek word Tartarus has been mistranslated as hell.
Tartarus is used only once in the Bible, and the context in which it appears reveals the meaning of the word as a prison of spiritual darkness.
The scripture above confirms that God cast the angels who sinned down to Tartarus and chained them in darkness, to be reserved for judgement, which is referring to their final future judgement in the Lake of Fire. Tartarus is the final stop for Satan and the fallen angels who followed him....
IT IS NOT CREATED FOR HUMANS!
Matthew 25:46 "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” **NOTE: Eternal punishment is NOT the same thing as Eternal punishing...do you see the difference?**
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NOTE: EVEN THE WORD "ETERNAL AND EVERLASTING are mistranslations: The word should be "AEON" which means "AGE". which has and end and is NOT ETERNAL OR EVERLASTING!!!!
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Luke 13:3: I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish (apollymi). **NOTE: Perish does not mean to "live forever in torment"...Perish means "cease to exist"** Rom 6:23:
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." **NOTE: the wages for sin is death, not eternal punishing and torment in some place called Hell.
If Christ did not die in our place, if He did not take our sins to the cross and pay the death penalty that we are condemned to as sinners, then the price for sin is not paid and we retain our sins, and we will surely pay the death penalty ourselves because of our sins.
**Ezek 18:4: "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die."Ezek 18:20: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Die, not be tormented forever!_
When and where will the devil receive his punishment? What will that punishment be? "So shall it be in the end of this world.
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire." Matthew 13:40-42. "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone." Revelation 20:10. "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, PREPARED FOR THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS." Matthew 25:41. "Therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee ... and never shalt thou be any more." Ezekiel 28:18,19._
NOTE: For whom is The Lake of Fire created for? THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS! NOT HUMANS! And it goes even further.
EVEN THIS PLACE WILL NOT LAST FOREVER!!!!
Here the bible says Satan and his angels will be reduced to ashes and "never shalt thou be any more." WOW! Here the bible says eventually, at some time in the future even where Satan and his fallen angels are will cease to exist!
Jude 7 speaks of the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah having received the “vengeance of eternal fire” for their sins. Those cities are not burning today and have been so completely destroyed that archaeologists have never been able to prove with certainty their exact location.
What happened to these cities does not reflect a permanent state of visible fire burning for all to see today. Their destruction was eternal.
When those cities completely burned up, the fires went out. However, their punishment continues to this day but not their punishing! It should be clear why Paul recorded that the wages of sin is death, not eternal punishing and torment in an ever-burning hell. Most people have seen fires go unquenched.
But they always burned out after they consumed whatever combustible material was available to them. Read Jeremiah 17:27 and 52:13.
Over twenty-five hundred years ago, after God warned Jerusalem that He would burn her with an “unquenchable fire,” if she did not repent, this happened. I have also seen Jerusalem.
You, too, have probably seen it many times on television. It is not still burning today.
Revelation:20:10 is speaking of Satan the devil being cast into the lake of fire at the end of Christ's 1,000-year reign. Reference to the Beast and False Prophet being cast in is only parenthetical here, as they will have died when that happened 1,000 years earlier.
They will not still be burning there. Thus being tormented "forever and ever" applies principally to Satan, and presumably to his demonic cohorts as well (compare Matthew:25:41).
Furthermore, it should be pointed out that the Greek phrase translated "forever and ever" here, eis tous aionas ton aionon, literally means "unto the ages of the ages."
It means until the culmination of the ages, which would allow for an ending point soon after the casting into the symbolic fire. And even here it is symbolic and in no way means a literal conscious suffering in any sort of flames for any human!
LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN: THE HIDDEN MEANING BEHIND THE PARABLE.
Another passage of Scripture that many find difficult to reconcile with the truth about hellfire is the story of the rich man and Lazarus, found in Luke chapter 16.
But by realizing that this passage is a parable-at the end of a long list of parables-we can understand better the imagery Jesus employs.
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The Greek word for "hell" is Tartarus, a word which appears in only a single verse in the entire Bible (2 Peter 2:4).
But that verse is about fallen angels awaiting judgment, so its "hell" is not eternal and is not for human beings. Jesus Christ himself mocked the idea that human beings would go to Tartarus in his parable of Lazarus and the rich man, which clearly describes the afterlife of the pagan Greeks, called Hades.
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WHAT THIS PARABLE ULTIMATELY IS ABOUT!
THE FACT IS LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN IS A PARABLE ABOUT JESUS HIMSELF! JESUS WAS ONCE RICH AND EMPTIED HIMSELF AND BECAME POOR EVEN TO THE CROSS WHERE HE JUST NEEDED WATER FOR HIS THIRST. HE WAS "SURROUNDED BY DOGS", IN THIS PARABLE THE RICH MAN IS LICKED BY DOGS!
THIS PARABLE IS ABOUT YESHUA/JESUS AND NOT A LITERAL RICH MAN AND LAZARUS!!!
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HADES
Hades was not "hell" because everyone went to Hades when they died. In Hades the heavenly regions (the Elysian Fields and Blessed Isles) were separated from the fiery pit of Tartarus (the Greek "hell") by an impassable abyss.
The dead could chat with each other across this abyss, but no one could cross it.
Thus the "blessed" were unable to help the "wicked."
But of course this bizarre place was the invention of Greek poets like Homer and such a place had never been described anywhere in Hebrew scripture.
When the Pharisees claimed that they would inherit heaven simply by being descendants of Abraham, Jesus ridiculed their absurd belief by putting the Gentile beggar Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, and a rich Pharisee in the fiery Tartarus. But this does not mean that Jesus believed or was teaching eternal torment in "hell."
Certainly Abraham's bosom is not the eternal abode of the redeemed, and it seems impossible that the lost in hell can converse with the saved in heaven. When we remember that hell allegedly takes place at the end of the world, and that there are no people suffering in hell at this present time, we can determine more exactly three major points contained in Jesus' remarks.
By representing the beggar as being in heaven and the rich man as lost, Jesus taught His hearers that, contrary to the prevailing view, wealth was not necessarily an indicator of divine favor, just as poverty was not a sign of God's judgment upon a person.
Jesus was also seeking to educate the Jews that salvation would not be theirs by birthright. The rich man in torments calls out to "father Abraham," just as the Jews of Jesus' day were mistakenly pointing to heritage as proof of their assurance of salvation.
Furthermore, Jesus was seeking to lead His hearers to understand that only faithfulness to God's Word would prepare them to enter into eternal life. He told them, "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead" (Luke 16:31).
To use the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in order to promote the false doctrine of an eternally burning hell is to misuse God's Word and to misrepresent His character.
Those who insist that this is not a parable, but a true, literal story Christ told to describe the condition of the lost in hell must overlook several facts to arrive at that conclusion.
First, Yeshua the Messiah never accuses the rich man of any sin. He is simply portrayed as a wealthy man who lived the good life. Furthermore, Lazarus is never proclaimed to be a righteous man. He is just one who had the misfortune to be poor and unable to care for himself.
If this story is literal, then the logical implication is that all the rich are destined to burn in hell, while all the homeless and destitute will be saved. Does anyone believe this to be the case?
If hell is truly as it is pictured in this story, then the saved will be able to view the lost who are burning there. Could anyone enjoy eternal existence if they were able to see lost friends, family, and acquaintances being incinerated in hell, yet never burning up?
Additionally, if hell (as it is traditionally taught) is an abyss of fire and brimstone where sinners are tormented forever, does anyone really believe that one drop of water would relieve the pain and anguish of someone suffering in its flames?
We have all read the parable of the rich man. Most people think that it is about what happens to bad people when they die.
But, if we look at context, this parable may not be about that at all. We are going to scrutinize the context of the previous chapter to see could have led Christ to tell this baffling parable.
We see in the previous chapter that He is at odds with the powerful Scribes and Pharisees who scoff at Christ for keeping company with sinners, and they grumble that He even eats meals with them. Christ begins to tell these wealthy men a series of parables, that ends with the parable of Lazarus and the rich man.
The higher ups in Christ's time were the Pharisees, the Scribes and the Sadducees. (The Priests) These men wielded political, religious, social and financial clout.
Had Christ played their games, He would have been one of them completely, but they had a big problem. He sometimes hung out with poor people, prostitutes, tax collectors, fishermen and the lower echelons of the society of that day.
And the two did not normally mix. Just like today.
We all know what class structure is. Rich people prefer to hang out with rich people. You rarely see truly wealthy people hobnob with the poor on a regular basis.
The Country Club is a private place where the "well to do" can avoid contact with the non-Country Club crowd. People think that India has a strict class structure, but really it is a common human trait found in all societies.
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Not that the poor want to be away from the rich so much as it is the other way around. It was no different in Christ's time.
The rich didn't want to have to mix with the lower classes, and especially they didn't want to eat with them. Christ didn't care about class.
He mixed with both groups, He had meals with both groups. He might be eating at a rich mans house and the same night, be hanging out and dining with people considered to be "sinners" and the bottom of the barrel. This didn't make the Pharisees and Scribes very happy.
They murmured about it. Remember this as part of the back story or the context. "Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receives sinners, and eats with them." Luke 15:1-2
Luke 15 sets the stage for the parable of the rich man. (Luke 16:19).
Christ responded to their murmuring. He didn't hit them head on. He subtly told them the parable of the lost sheep, "What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?"
His point being...ok, even if these people are sinners, they are lost sheep to be saved, but that really didn't get through to them.
So, He told them another parable about the woman who had 10 pieces of silver and lost one piece, and hunted until she found it and she rejoiced. Again, they weren't buying.
Then He told them a harder parable about the prodigal son who wasted his inheritance on wine, women and song, and how his dad was still so happy that he came back home that he sacrificed the fatted calf for him, even though he had never done that for the "non-sinning good brother."
Christ told another parable or two but the Scribes and Pharisees began to deride Him.
Christ's point all along had been that they didn't need to look down on sinners and poor people because God wanted to save them. Remember the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin, and the parable of the lost brother. But, His parables had no effect on them at all, so He finally told them a truly hard parable that got their attention and burned their ears.
If the parable of Lazarus and the rich man had been about punishing bad people, Christ could have skipped the whole Lazarus part and just said, 'there was a rich man and he died and went to hell." But no, Lazarus is a key part of the parable.
These snobby Pharisees and Scribes were offended that Christ had meals with sinners. So, Christ made the point that poor Lazarus didn't get to eat a meal with the rich man, he didn't even get any crumbs from his table. He is rubbing their face in their condescension of poor people.
They certainly wouldn't have given even a crumb from their tables to those who they felt were below them...they wouldn't eat with them at all!
Let's take a closer look
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
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21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried." Luke 16:19-22
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What is Abraham's bosom? "Abraham's bosom" was an expression in the oral traditions of the Jewish Rabbi's for the state of bliss after death." So, Christ made it plain...poor Lazarus would have bliss, but not the rich man. (They knew He was talking about them.) Christ's point to them, was that being rich in this life would be no help to them after they were dead.
He continued, "And in hell (the grave) he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (bliss) And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime received thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. "
Those rich Scribes and Pharisees didn't want to hear this. Poor people would be in bliss and they the rich would be tormented. Christ was making a powerful point to them personally.
There was no real man with a hundred sheep who really lost one, there was no real woman who had ten coins and lost one, there was no real man who had 2 sons and lost one AND...there was no real rich man. These parables were an attempt to get through to these rich and powerful men that they should not look down on others.
These men didn't like Christ because He stood up for sinners, and poor people, and for women (the woman caught in adultery) and for all the social outcasts of that society.
This is the real and deep meaning of the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. Comfort is coming for the Lazarus's of the world. For the people who haven't had it so good in this life.
Christ knew that the rich will have it rough later...and that it would be hard for an ultra rich man to even make it in the Kingdom of God. Now Jesus is not against wealth.
He is concerned with how it is used. The story of Zacchaeus shows Jesus commending a wealthy and formerly corrupt man who became generous with his resources (19:1-10). But Jesus wants to warn about the danger of abusing resources.
This story of an unrepentant rich man reveals the tragedy of learning this lesson. His deep pockets had been sewn tight when it came to others.
More Clear Scriptures on the subject of Eternal Life vs Death:
"This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God, hath not life." (I John 5:11-12)
Do you see the simple, beautiful, clear message of the gospel here?
God is just trying to save his beloved fallen creation, humanity, from the wages of sin. Ezekiel 18:32 reveals the heart of God well on this matter: “ ‘For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone,’ declares the Sovereign LORD. The above scripture does not say or even imply any concept of any kind of eternal torture. It just says you cannot have life without Yeshua.
A God of mercy and compassion could never torture anything or anyone, let alone do it for all eternity. Carefully consider these verses: Psalm 104:35: “Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more.” Simply take this verse for exactly what it says, adding nothing to it.
It is consistent with all that we have seen so far about the fate of the wicked.
The next series of verses is stronger.
Psalm 37:9-12, 20, 22, 29: “For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yes, you shall diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes upon him with his teeth…But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away…For such as be blessed of Him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of Him shall be cut off…The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.” There is no confusing this description of the fate of the wicked.
Also, note that the meek do not inherit heaven but rather inherit the earth. Christ quoted this same verse when describing the inheritance that true Christians will receive (Matt. 5:5).
So what happens to the people who willingly reject Christ and his love in this life? Possibly two things and eternal torment isn't one of them. The answer is simple. It's a truth we have read time and time again but never understood.
They Perish! BUT NOT FOREVER!!!!
This another thought provoking video on Lazarus and the rich man parable:
BUT! THERE MAY BE MORE TO THIS STORY IN THE VIDEOS BELOW!
They cease to exist.
For a time, BUT NOT FOREVER!!!
They have no more life..for now..but not forever!!!! Because remember, the act of saving people is from God's grace and no works any man can boast!
They will NOT be eternally tormented and tortured for all eternity.
Let's look at the dictionary definition below.__per·ish__ /ˈperiSH/verb. synonyms:
h1.
CEASE TO EXIST, To Be Totally Destroyed, die, lose one's life, be killed, fall, expire, meet one's death, be lost, lay down one's life, breathe one's last, pass away, synonyms: come to an end, die (away), disappear, vanish, fade, dissolve, evaporate, melt away, wither.
Do any of these definitions even remotely say "live forever in torment?"
This doctrine of eternal torment is the most evil idea ever invented that is passed off as "Christianity".
ONE FINAL THOUGHT AND TWO VIDEOS YOU MUST SEE!!!
There is a school of thought that God will redeem every person that has ever lived in the concept of the total reconciliation of man. That is a distinct possibility as well and we are really leaning toward this truth and we would encourage everyone to do a study on this concept.
We didn't go too much into that here, but there are many scriptures that indicate that this may be the case. But one thing we know for sure and that's that the concept of eternal torment in some everlasting fire is the biggest heresy ever taught and is straight out of the occult and occult teachings.
The below videos are a good place to start:
THIS IS A GREAT VIDEO ON WHY THERE IS NO "ETERNAL TORMENT"
Here's another good video put out by Martin Zender who you heard from earlier on the absurdity of "eternal torment".
NOTE: I really don't like using one person's videos too much, but he's absolutely right on so I need to post them.
THE BOOK OF JUDE REFUTES AND KIND OF "ETERNAL TORMENT"!
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IN CONCLUSION:
GOD WILL RECONCILE "ALL" THINGS THRU HIM. NO ONE WILL LIVE IN REBELLION FOREVER.
WE WILL "ALL" BE RECONCILED! THAT'S EXTREMELY GOOD NEWS!!!
THERE WILL BE A TIME WHEN EVERY PERSON THAT EVER LIVED WILL ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS IS LORD AND THUS BE SAVED.
ONCE AGAIN EXTREMELY GOOD NEWS!!!! WHAT BETTER WAY. FOR GOD TO HAVE ALL THE GLORY THAN TO RECONCILE ALL THINGS TO HIMSELF!!!
THIS PUTS AD END TO THE CONCEPT OF "ETERNAL TORMENT".
