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The Lake of Fire
PART III
JUDGMENT BY FIRE MUST BEGIN AT THE HOUSE OF GOD
GOD’S TWO AREAS AND ERAS OF
JUDGMENT
Before God brings a final judgment on the entirety
of the world, He must first perform another judgment on another group of people. This
judgment is going on right now. The world is totally unaware of this judgment, although it
has been going on for two thousand years. It is happening behind the scenes. Only a
relative few are participating in this judgment by fire, and they are all volunteers!
We know for a fact that there is coming a WORLDWIDE
judgment on mankind, for Scripture has stated such:
"Because He hath appointed A DAY, in which He will JUDGE THE WORLD [Greek" inhabited earth] in righteousness
…" (Acts 17:31).
Most have at least heard of this judgment even if
they have no solid understanding of what it is all about or its primary purpose. We will
have a great deal to say about this judgment later. But first we will take a look at
another judgment almost universally unknown in the world of Christendom. It is a judgment
that involves believers, NOW!
Peter, who was given many keys to the kingdom,
introduces this judgment to us:
"Yet if any man suffer as a Christian,
let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For [here’s the
reason] the TIME IS COME that JUDGMENT MUST BEGIN AT THE HOUSE OF GOD …"
(I Pet. 4:16-17).
What do you know about this judgment on the house of
God. Do you know anything specific? Well, don’t feel too badly, most people
don’t. Apparently theologians and clergymen don’t know too much either, seeing
that it is not a popular subject to teach. If they had even a superficial understanding of
God’s judgments on the house of God, they wouldn’t interpret the great white
throne and the lake of fire as some hideous act of divine eternal terrorism. These two
judgments have much in common.
Just what is this human life on earth
for, anyway? — Why are we here? — What is our purpose? — What is God’s purpose for
the Christian?
As children we are taught that Christian people
live; they die; their souls go to heaven. Bad people live; they die; their souls go to
hell. Live, die, go to heaven or live, die, go to hell.
So I guess this earth is a giant "soul
factory." But the truth is that Christian souls do not go to heaven at death, neither
do wicked souls go to hell at death. Contrary to all Christian belief, the Bible reveals
(as does elementary science), that dead people are DEAD. What a revelation! That’s
right, boys and girls, living people are "ALIVE" and dead people are
"DEAD." This is not rocket science!
If ALL the dead are either alive in hell or alive in
heaven, who, pray tell, is God going to resurrect back to life from the dead when
He returns to judge the world in righteousness? How can the dead be living in heaven or
hell when they haven’t as yet been judged as to where they should be living in the
first place?
THE BELIEVER’S JUDGMENT BY FIRE
Well, yes, it does appear that there is a judgment
on the house of God, but certainly not a judgment by FIRE, is there? Doesn’t God
judge non-believers with fire, but not believers? This only sounds strange to you if you
have never been taught the Scriptures.
"Beloved, think it NOT STRANGE
concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some STRANGE thing
happened unto you" (I Pet. 4:12).
Peter makes it sound as though going through fiery
trails is the norm rather than the exception. The New Testament is filled with the fiery
trials of the Saints.
Now I hope that none will be offended at my next few
statements, but if so, so be it. Unless God Almighty through the purging power of His
FIERY SPIRIT, is BURNING OUT the lusts and passions and vanity and haughtiness and greed
and self-righteousness and laziness and weakness and hypocrisy and wickedness and pride
and materialism and cynicism and depravity and carnality in your life, then Jesus Christ
is not choosing you to reign with Him as the Sons of God in the Kingdom of God to bring
all Heaven and Earth to repentance and salvation!
And I will tell you on the authority of Jesus Christ
and all the Holy Scriptures, that anyone who teaches and takes delight in thinking that
God would ever torture anyone for all eternity, will NEVER BE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD WITH
SUCH AN ATTITUDE!
Such damnable character flaws of the mind and spirit
are going to be burned out of us all! God will either BURN OUT these filthy impurities
from our hearts and minds NOW, or He will BURN THEM OUT IN THE LAKE OF FIRE, but either
way, make no mistake about it, THESE THINGS ARE COMING OUT!!!
JOHN THE BAPTIST: John the Baptist said that
Jesus would be baptizing repentant believers with fire.
"I indeed baptize you with water unto
REPENTANCE: but He that comes after me is mightier than I, Whose shoes I am not worthy to
bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, AND WITH FIRE" (Matt. 3:11).
JESUS CHRIST:
"For EVERY ONE [sinner and
saint] shall be salted with FIRE" (Mark 9:49).
APOSTLE PETER:
"That the trial of your faith, being
much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it [your faith] be TRIED IN THE FIRE,
might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (I Pet. 1:7).
APOSTLE PAUL:
"Every man’s work [including
believers] shall be made manifest; for the day shall declare it, because it shall be
revealed BY FIRE, and the FIRE shall try every man’s work of what sort it
is" (I Cor. 3:13).
With such noble and august witnesses, does anyone
deny that the repentant, converted, dedicated, believing Christian will escape being "revealed,"
tried," "salted," and "baptized" by FIRE? These
Scriptures are undeniable! Whatever this "fire" is, it is going to be used ON
EVERYONE. These four Scriptures have the believer specifically in view, but it says and
includes "EVERYONE shall be salted with FIRE," and "EVERY MAN’S WORK
… shall be revealed by FIRE."
And there is absolutely NO DIFFERENCE when it comes
to the non-believers:
"And I saw a great white throne … And
I saw the dead…and the dead were JUDGED … according to their WORKS … and they were
judged EVERY MAN according to their WORKS" (Rev. 20:11-13).
And are these non-believers judged differently
from believers who are "revealed, tried, salted and baptized IN FIRE?" Just
HOW are these non-believers judged in the book of Revelation? How are the "…fearful,
and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and
idolaters, and all liars…" JUDGED? Answer: "… In the lake WHICH BURNS
WITH FIRE …" (Rev. 21:8)!
Is this "fire" in the book of Revelation
DIFFERENT from the fire that tries the works of believers in the book of I Corinthians?
NO. The word "fire" used in the four examples above concerning believers, is the
SAME word "fire" used in the book of Revelation concerning non-believers:
STRONG’s Greek Dictionary of the New
Testament, page 219, #4442, pur; a primary word; "fire"
(literally OR FIGURATIVELY. Pur is used (besides its ordinary natural
significance):
(1) of the holiness of God, which consumes
all that is inconsistent therewith, Heb. 10:27; 12:29; cf. Rev. 1:14; 2:18; 10:1; 15:2;
19:12;
(1a) similarly of the holy angels as His
ministers, Heb. 1:7;
(1b) in Rev. 3:18 it is SYMBOLIC of that
which tries the faith of saints, PRODUCING WHAT WILL GLORIFY THE LORD;
(2) of the divine judgment, testing the deeds
of believers, at the judgment seat of Christ I Cor. 3:13 and 15;
(3) of the fire of DIVINE JUDGMENT upon the
REJECTERS of Christ, Matt. 3:11 (where a distinction is to be made between the baptism of
the holy Spirit at Pentecost and the "fire" of divine retribution; Acts 2:3
could not refer to baptism); Lk. 3:16."
End of quotation, (All CAPS emphasis are mine).
I was quite amazed to see this broadened definition
in Strong’s Concordance. In my Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance that I
purchased over forty years ago, it has but one line after the Greek word pur. It
states that pur is "fire" either (literal or figurative), fiery,
lightning. That’s it. So when I purchased the NEW Strong’s Expanded
Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible last week, I was pleasantly surprised to see the
expanded definitions, especially with reference to this word "pur" –
FIRE. I learned the use of the word "fire" in Scripture the hard way — I had to
research.
We could easily spend twenty pages just commenting
on the examples used in this expanded version of Strong’s. I won’t do
that, but let’s take a brief look at a few enlightening items: First, we learn that
this word can be, and is, used "figuratively." And in fact, the first five examples
given in Strong’s ARE examples of figurative usage of the word fire. And of
the 500+ times the word ‘fire’ is used in the Bible, hundreds of times the word ‘fire’ is
used in a figurative or symbolic sense.
I call your attention to the statement
in Strong’s
(1b) "In Rev. 3:18 it [fire] is SYMBOLIC, of that which tries the faith of
saints, PRODUCING WHAT WILL GLORIFY THE LORD"! (CAPS emphasis mine).
I just love it when Christian Scholars will
occasionally just absolutely "nail" a Scriptural Truth. Notice this beautiful
and profound Scriptural Truth: The symbolic fire of Rev. 3:18 tries the faith of the
saints, and PRODUCES what will GLORIFY THE LORD! ASTOUNDING!
Carefully note that it is not the
"believer" who "produces" these glorious things, but it is the
"SYMBOLIC FIRE" that produces them. And just Who is this "symbolic
fire?" It is, of course, GOD – "For OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE."
(Heb. 12:29)!
Therefore it is GOD who "PRODUCES"
qualities in the saints that will GLORIFY HIMSELF! God’s consuming SPIRITUAL fire
(remember that "GOD IS SPIRIT" Jn. 4:24) does the "producing,"
not the saint,
"For HIS ACHIEVEMENT are we, being
created in Christ Jesus …" (Eph. 2:10).
"Now what have you which you did not
OBTAIN? Now if you OBTAINED it also [from GOD] why are you boasting as though [you are]
not obtaining [it from God]?" (I Cor. 4:7 Concordant Literal New
Testament).
"All is of God" (II Cor.
5:18).
"The One Who is operating ALL in
accord with the counsel of HIS will" (Eph. 1:11).
Etc.
In statement (1) the editor of Strong’s
cites seven more Scriptures that are used symbolically and figuratively to demonstrate
"the holiness of God, which CONSUMES ALL that is inconsistent therewith." It
doesn’t consume their physical bodies, nor does it burn their physical bodies to
produce pain, but it "CONSUMES" all that is not consistent with God’s
holiness. And these are the things of the heart, mind and spirit! It is not the
"body" that needs chastisement and purification, it is the MIND, HEART, AND
SPIRIT that needs purification from unholiness. You cannot burn pride and vanity out of
one’s heart with REAL FIRE (besides the advocates of torturing with real fire for all
eternity admit that it accomplishes NOTHING). It takes the fire of God’s spirit to
burn away evils that have their origin in the realm of spirit.
This teaching is so absolutely elementary that it
seems strange to even have to explain it. And yet, many of the greatest minds in theology
today have not a clue as to these simple spiritual truths. All over the world Christian
leaders continue to teach that the way God will deal with people who have wicked and
carnal hearts, minds, and spirits, is to BURN THEIR FLESH IN REAL FIRE FOR ALL ETERNITY!
And what, pray tell, does this infinite mountain of eternal pain accomplish? Why it is
"justice" cry the high priests of Christendom!
Webster’s Concise Dictionary p. 392, justice
n. 1. The quality of being just, fair, or impartial; evenhandedness.
So first and foremost we are told that burning
billions and billions of men and women, and boy and girls, in fire for all eternity is
"QUALITY!" - QUALITY? HELL IS A PLACE OF "QUALITY?" Just how sick can
the human mind get, and just how low can the human heart sink? And this not from infidels,
but from the leading advocates of the Christian Faith!
BACK TO SPIRITUAL BASICS
God gives us perfectly simple and understandable
examples of HOW He deals with our sins and faults. In Hebrews 12:6 we read:
"For whom the LORD loves He chastens,
and scourges every son whom he receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as
with sons; for what son is he whom the father chastens not?"
Of course when we ask this question today, the
answer is not so obvious as back when the writer of Hebrews asked it. Less and less
children are chastened by their fathers today, and look at the disastrous results. But
ideally a son should be chastened — chastened, not BEATEN! Maybe I need to investigate
this matter one day. Just maybe those who teach the hardest for an eternal hell of pain
are those who were physically molested and beaten as children, rather than lovingly
chastised. Continuing:
"Furthermore we have had fathers of our
FLESH which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the Father of SPIRITS, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened
us after their own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His
HOLINESS.
Now no chastening for the present seems to
be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of
righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby" (Heb. 12:9-11).
This is not difficult to understand. Our fathers in
the FLESH have corrected us with rods, straps, belts, sticks, paddles, and the back of
their hand. This was done for our teaching and correcting. And it worked, "… we
gave them reverence …" Now then, "… shall we not MUCH RATHER be in
subjection unto the Father of SPIRITS …"?
Our Heavenly Father is NOT FLESH, but is the Father
of SPIRITS! God is SPIRIT. God is working with our SPIRITUAL life. God does not chasten
and correct us believers in Christ Jesus with physical rods, straps, belts, sticks,
paddles, and the back of His hand! So how is it that God our Father of spirits
accomplishes on a spiritual level what our physical fathers tried to accomplish on a
physical level? Verse 29 gives us the answer: "For our God is a CONSUMING FIRE !"
As trash is burned and precious metals are purified
by the use of LITERAL and PHYSICAL fire, so God burns our spiritual trash and purifies
those qualities of character worth saving by His SYMBOLIC and SPIRITUAL fire. Physical
fire is inanimate and uncaring. God’s spiritual fire is caring and loving.
There it is. There’s the gospel; there’s
the purpose for human existence; there’s the plan of God. God is forming man into the
very image of Himself. This requires not only a knowledge of good and evil, but an
experience of good and evil. God provides both. He is calling just a few select ones out
of this world now, and He will call the remainder of the human race later.
Some sinners are called, given faith, brought to
Christ, repent, receive God’s spirit and are being saved NOW. All the rest of the
world’s sinners will also be called, given faith, brought to Christ, repent, receive
God’s spirit and will be saved LATER. And God uses the same method to convert and
save both groups of sinners. That’s because God CHANGES NOT and God is NO RESPECTER
of persons, and God WILLS to save all mankind, and God will perform ALL HIS WILL,
PURPOSE, AND PLEASURE!!
All of the above verses regarding fire are used
in a figurative and symbolic manner. Christ does not literally "baptize"
(IMMERSE) His saints in REAL PHYSICAL FIRE. It would burn them all up, and there
wouldn’t be any saints or believers! Likewise we saw in Part I that the "lake of
fire" is also symbolic and used in a metaphor to describe a SPIRITUAL TRUTH.
More on this later.
And so we are assured that EVERYONE will be "revealed,"
"tried," "salted," and "baptized" "in FIRE." And
these fiery trials as Peter calls them go on for a lifetime. If it were real, physical
fire, all believers’ lives would be short indeed. God is SPIRIT, and God is a
CONSUMING FIRE. It is God’s SPIRIT that is likened to fire. The spiritual teaching in
this symbol is to recognize what real fire accomplishes and to then use that as an analogy
as to what God DOES TO US (or more properly FOR US).
Fire does a number of things:
-
Fire CHANGES things. Fire brings about molecular
changes in the materials that are burned. God’s spiritual fire will make changes in
our mind, heart, and spirit.
-
Fire PURGES. In times past if a building were
diseased and rat-infested, they would purge away the filth by burning it down. We are to
be purged from all our diseases of sin and carnality. Jesus Christ paid the penalty of sin
for us, but now God wants to get at the root and core of what caused us to sin in the
first place. We all need desperately to be CHANGED and PURGED.
-
Fire BURNS UP combustible materials that have no
value in saving. God will burn out of all of us the straw, grass, and stubble, which
represent evil and wrong doctrines, idols of the heart, and philosophies that exalt
themselves against God.
-
Fire PURIFIES things of value which we do want to
retain. The analogy is used in the Scriptures of purifying gold by fire to make it more
beautiful and more valuable. Gold represents the highest doctrines of spiritual
understanding such as the Love of God and the Sovereignty of God, and salvation of all.
No one teaches us more regarding the fiery trials of
life than the apostle to the nations, Paul. Paul was "revealed, tried, salted, and
baptized" in God’s "CONSUMING FIRE," and yet never a single
hair on his head was ever singed.
THE CALL OF PAUL
When Jesus desired to ask the worst sinner who had
ever lived (that would be Paul):
"This is a faithful saying, and worthy
of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to SAVE SINNERS; OF WHOM I
AM CHIEF," I Tim. 1:15)
To volunteer to teach the gospel to the Gentiles, He
merely shined a bright light in Paul’s face to get his attention. Here are just a few
revealed events in the life of Saul before God turned him into PAUL:
"Now Saul [Paul], yet breathing out
THREATENINGS and SLAUGHTER against the disciples of the Lord. . ." (Acts
9:1):
"And I [Paul]
persecuted this way unto THE DEATH, binding and delivering into prisons both men
and women" (Acts 22:4).
"And I PUNISHED them OFT in EVERY
synagogue, and compelling them To BLASPHEME; and being exceedingly mad against them, I
persecuted them unto strange cities" (Acts 26:11).
"For I am the LEAST of the apostles,
that am not meant to be called an apostle because I PERSECUTED the church of God"
(I Cor. 15:9).
"For ye have heard of my conversation
[behavior] in time past in the Jews religion, how that BEYOND MEASURE I persecuted the
church of God, and WASTED it" (Gal. 1:13).
Most people believe that when Paul said he was the
"chief of sinners" he was just blowing hot air–trying to play super humble or
something. That he was so spiritual that he equated persecution of the church with being
the grossest sin of all time. Not so. God’s Holy Spirit did not inspire Paul to
"blow hot air" to make himself look artificially humble! Paul (Saul before his
conversion) really was THE WORST SINNER THAT HAS EVER LIVED IN THE
HISTORY OF THE WORLD! (Including Hitler!)
There is a very important reason for understanding
how gross a sinner Paul really was. There is a paramount reason why you will NEVER be able
to out-sin Paul. NO ONE has ever been able to out-sin Paul. Men like Hitler and Hussein
may even come close, but no one will ever hold that infamous distinction of being the "chief,
preeminent, foremost sinner of all time" but the apostle Paul. Jesus Christ had
to fill that position two thousand years ago for our understanding of upon whom the ends
of the ages are come! Here’s the proof:
The phrase "beyond measure" in the KJV
(Gal. 1:13) is translated from the Greek word hyperbole and has two primary
usages:
-
"TRANSCENDENT" as found in Scriptures
such as II Cor. 4:17
"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far
more EXCEEDING AND ETERNAL [eonian] WEIGHT of glory."
The Greek translated "exceeding" is huperbole, and means TRANSCENDENT.
Transcendent describes something that is highest, incomparable, consummate, matchless,
preeminent, sublime, perfect, unequaled, unparalleled, and unrivaled! In other words the
highest possible degree. Nothing is higher than that which is huperbole –
TRANSCENDENT!
-
"INORDINATE" as we read in Gal. 1:13,
"For you hear of my behavior once, in Judaism, that I INORDINATELY
persecuted the ecclesia [church] of God and ravaged it." (Concordant
Literal New Testament).
Inordinate describes something that is excessive, exorbitant, extravagant, unreasonable,
and too much. Now here’s the kicker: "Inordinately" is translated from the
SAME GREEK WORD huperbole which is also translated "transcendently"! (For
more details on this see my paper entitled Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh Identified).
Here then is the Biblical truth of this matter. To
the degree that "transcendently" describes the HEIGHT of God’s goodness and
glory, so likewise does the word "inordinately" describe the HEIGHT of evil that
Paul perpetrated on the Church of God. God’s transcendent (huperbole)
goodness and glory are UNPARALLELED! Likewise, Paul’s inordinate (huperbole)
slaughter (murders) and threatenings are also, UNPARALLELED! God’s Word does not say
in vain that Paul was the CHIEF, FOREMOST, PREEMINENT (very, very WORST) of ALL
SINNERS WHO HAVE EVER LIVED! He really WAS.
Now then, what do we read next after all these
"threatenings and slaughter?"
"And as he [Saul]
journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from
heaven: And he fell to the earth … And he TREMBLING AND ASTONISHED, said, ‘LORD,
WHAT WILL YOU HAVE ME TO DO?" (Acts 9:3-6).
By all Scriptural indications, it probably took no
longer than 30 seconds before Paul was fully committed to His New Lord. Do you reckon
Jesus could ever do such a thing again? Or, was this incident a mere fluke? Don’t you
fancy that Jesus could possibly convert one of the lesser sinners of the world (say Ted
Bundy) in maybe 29 seconds? Or 28 seconds? Then why do you suppose that the High Priests
of Christendom are teaching the world that there are billions and billions of LESSER
sinners that Jesus CANNOT convert in 29 seconds or 29 QUADRILLION CENTURIES?
I did not use up a couple of pages here just to tell
an interesting story from the Bible. It is more than just an interesting story, it is an
amazing and marvelous story, and it portends profound hope for a lost and sinning world.
Why does Paul tell us that he was the chief of ALL SINNERS? Why did our Lord choose this
worst of sinners to be His apostle at this particular time in history? Why didn’t He
choose a mediocre sinner like James or John to be His apostle to the Gentiles? Why did it
have to be THE WORLD’S WORST SINNER? What did our Lord prove by using the
world’s worst sinner that He couldn’t have done by using a lesser sinner? MUCH!
I have heard people say already that "God
won’t save me; I have committed too many horrible sins for God to ever save me!"
And I have heard and had people personally tell me that God will never save men like Ted
Bundy or Adolph Hitler because their sins were so evil and so many. Oh, how we humans love
to put limitations on an INFINITE GOD! Here’s the answer as to why God needed to
chose the world’s WORST SINNER to be the apostle to the rest of the world:
"Howbeit for this cause I obtained
mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to
them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting" (I Tim.
1:16).
The King James really does not do justice to this
verse at all. Most have read right over this verse and never saw the profound, universal,
all-embracing teaching in this verse. Let me quote it from the Concordant Version:
"But therefore was I shown mercy, that in
me, THE FOREMOST [the worst sinner ever] Jesus Christ should be DISPLAYING [publicly]
ALL HIS PATIENCE [yes God has ‘patience’ with even the worst of
sinners], FOR A PATTERN, of those who are about to be believing on Him
for life eonian"
Jesus Christ chose Paul, the WORST, CHIEF, FOREMOST,
PREEMINENT SINNER THAT EVER LIVED (huperbole), to be put on PUBLIC DISPLAY for the
whole world to see Jesus Christ demonstrating ALL HIS PATIENCE, for a "PATTERN"
that will be repeated over, and over, and over again billions and billions of times for
all those that Christ will likewise bring to repentance at any second He so desires!!!
Here’s the lesson: If Jesus Christ can bring to
repentance, and convert, and save the WORLD’S WORST SINNER THAT HAS EVER LIVED in
about 30 seconds, then that drunken cussing uncle of yours (the one you believe is going
to hell for all eternity), is NO MATCH FOR THE CONVERTING POWER OF JESUS CHRIST! And ALL
OF THE LESSER SINNERS of the world also are no match for the converting, saving power of
Jesus Christ. Once the Giant of all sinners has been conquered, converting the sinning
MIDGETS will be an easy task!
Has no one ever considered what would happen if God
were to strike down Hitler with a BLINDING LIGHT FROM HEAVEN? Do you really think he would
shake his fist toward heaven in total human defiance? Well, if you do, you think as a
fool! Paul despised the Church of the Loving God. He hated it with evey fiber of his
being. He went to great length and personal hardship to seek out and TORTURE the Saints of
God. But when God struck him down with a blinding light from heaven, Paul "trembled"
(Greek, tremo, dreadful and terrifying FEAR), and was "astonished"
(Greek: thambeo, to stupefy, astound, amaze, astonish), and melted like
jelly in the noonday SUN!
And some would suppose that Hitler or any LESSER
sinner would do otherwise? Well, God didn’t strike down Hitler with a blinding light
from heaven, but guess what? HE WILL YET DO IT! And when He does, Hitler
will sob like a babbling idiot! He will violently shake and tremble in UTTER DESPAIR AND
TERROR, and he will REPENT, make no mistake about it! OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE! God
has ways to MAKE carnal-minded, God-defying men and women VOLUNTEER real fast!
I am wearied by the countless times people have told
me: "God will NEVER make anyone do anything against their own free will." Oh,
really? Show me the Scripture. Show me the SCRIPTURE!! Are any so STUPID as to believe
that on the very day that Paul was on his way to Damascus to persecute and torture the
Saints of Jesus Christ with nothing else on his mind, but he paused for a moment in the
middle of the road and thought to himself, "You know, I think that I will not go to
Damascus today and persecute Christians. I believe that I will right now exercise my
‘free will’ and repent of all these sins and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ Whom
I have been persecuting. Yes, I think I will do that right now, BEFORE IT IS TOO
LATE." Is THAT what the Word of God says? IS IT? Or rather did not Christ MAKE
His will PAUL’S WILL in mere SECONDS?
So many ignorant people just do not see that they
are BLASPHEMING the very name, nature, and character (LOVE) of God by their demeaning and
hate-filled accusations about what God can and cannot do! God went AGAINST the will of
Paul (Saul), and God MADE His will PAUL’S WILL in a matter of SECONDS.
But Christendom teaches that God doesn’t do such things. It just isn’t right. It
just isn’t God’s way. WELL, YES, IT IS RIGHT, AND IT IS GOD’S WAY, AND HE
WILL DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN UNTIL ALL HUMANITY IS SAVED!
And so we learn that God converted the world’s
worst sinner in a matter of seconds. We learned that The Father inspired Jesus to pray: "Forgive
them, for they know not what they do." We also learned that the "them"
in this prayer includes the whole world, for the Scriptures plainly tell us that it is the
whole world that is accountable for Christ’s Crucifixion, even though it was
performed by the express foreordained will of the Father.
Now then, what do these marvelous and profound
Scriptures accomplish in the hearts and minds of those who are teaching "eternal
torment?" Nothing. Absolutely NOTHING! These Scriptural truths have NO effect on the
hearts of those depraved persons who delight in the prospects of an eternal hellhole of
torture for most of humanity. But at God’s choosing, they will all melt as Paul did
in the blinding light of God’s noonday Sun!
For those few of you whom God is beginning to speak
to through His spirit, it should now start to become clear that nothing can thwart the will of
God which is to SAVE ALL HUMANITY. God has spoken it; He has willed it; He will perform
it.
FOR WHAT DID PAUL VOLUNTEER?
All who will have a part with Christ when He comes
to rule this earth in His kingdom must volunteer for judgment now! Remember how Paul
volunteered: "What will You have me to do?" But just what was Paul
volunteering to do?
-
Was he volunteering to be praised and adored by
the public?
-
Was he volunteering to wear thousand-dollar suits,
$500 shoes, $20,000 Rolex watches, drive $80,000 automobiles, live in
multi-million dollar
multiple homes, fly in private executive jets, and collect millions and millions and
millions of dollars of poor people’s money to promote the gospel of prosperity and
worldliness?
-
Did our Lord tell Paul that his ministry and
calling would be a "walk in the park" with never-ending comforts and pleasures,
having medals and honors bestowed upon him by the leaders and dignitaries of pagan
nations, living in a five and a half-million dollar mansion large enough to be a luxury
hotel, while feasting like a fat king in the opulence of Babylonian extravagance?
-
Is this the description of a successful minister
of the Gospel?
-
Was Paul’s message to all the Gentile nations
that they had to give to him (or they would be ROBBING GOD) ten percent of all their gold,
silver, salaries, or money, so he could flaunt his worldly and lavish lifestyle in the
faces of these poor Christian converts.
Let’s "get real" as they say.
"For I will shew him [Paul] how GREAT things he
must SUFFER for my name’s sake" (Acts 9:16).
In II Cor. 11:22-28 we learn that Paul suffered the
following:
| weariness |
jails |
blows |
| deaths |
thirty-nine lashes |
flogged with rods |
| stoned |
shipwrecked |
day & night in swamp |
| journeys |
dangers of rivers |
dangers of robbers |
| dangers of his race |
dangers of the nations |
dangers in the city |
| dangers in wilderness |
dangers in the sea |
dangers from false brethren |
| toil and labor |
vigils |
famine and thirst |
| fasts |
cold and nakedness |
|
Besides those things that are without, that which
cometh upon me DAILY, the care of ALL THE CHURCHES’!
Add a little "fire" to the above scenario
and we might conclude that Paul was being tortured and punished in a Christian hell.
But Paul was not being "punished," he was
being "JUDGED," and there is a world of difference. Paul was being made STRONG.
Paul was being molded into a SPIRITUAL GIANT! And being trained, educated, purged,
perfected into a spiritual giant is NOT a walk in the park!
Was it just Paul that God singled out to endure such
hardships and trials? No, we too must partake of the same:
"Confirming the souls of the disciples,
and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that WE [Christians,
followers of Christ] MUST through MUCH TRIBULATION [Greek: thlipsis--affliction,
troubles, burdens, persecution, anguish] enter into the kingdom of God"
(Acts 14:22).
Does your pastor teach that you must go through such
things if you are to be a follower of Jesus Christ and rule with Him in the Kingdom of
God? Or does he teach that if you are going through just such things that you
probably need to get your life in order and repent because you obviously have many, many
sins in your life that are bringing on all these troubles and therefore, you are not being
blessed of the Lord? Their prosperity gospel of worldliness and gross materialism is a
travesty of the gospel of Jesus Christ! I hear this prosperity gospel of worldliness and
materialism every time I turn the TV on. But what do the Scriptures say?
Before I continue this train of thought, let me
interject that although we are to go through extreme hardship, persecution, and
tribulations, God nonetheless strengthens us so that we can endure these things. It is
not God’s purpose to discourage us. We have this promise from God:
"There hath no temptation taken you but
such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above
that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape [Gk:
‘sequel’] that you may be able to bear it" (I Cor. 10:13).
I’ll let you check all the many Scriptures of
comfort that God gives us even while we are undergoing all our trials and sufferings.
Here’s one more good one, however:
"Blessed [Gk: HAPPY]
is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the CROWN OF
LIFE, which the Lord has promised to them that love Him" (James 1:12).
It is most important that we consider, however, some
of the many Scriptures that relate to our suffering, afflictions, and persecutions. This
is necessary if we are to ever acquire a deep spiritual understanding of God’s
judgment on the world in the lake of fire and second death. As we go through these many
Scriptures, be aware of the fact that we are not going through all these things as
punishment. God is not punishing us, He is chastening us, and there is a BIG difference.
"And if children, then heirs; heirs of
God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we SUFFER with Him, that we
may be also glorified together" (Rom. 8:17).
"That no man should be moved by these AFFLICTIONS:
for yourselves know that we are APPOINTED thereunto" (I Thes. 3:3).
Paul suffered much to get the gospel to the
Thessalonians, "… Suffering … being outraged … a vast struggle … [why?]
… We have been TESTED by God to be entrusted with the gospel … God, Who is TESTING our
hearts" (I Thes. 2:1-4, Concordant Literal New Testament).
Then he tells them that they too are
"appointed" to such like sufferings and afflictions. Paul praises the faith and
endurance of the Thessalonians because of: "… all your PERSECUTIONS and the
AFFLICTIONS with which you are bearing … which you are SUFFERING … you who are being
AFFLICTED …" (I Thes. 1:5-7).
Now then, was this because the Thessalonians lived
in a bad part of town, or bad part of the world, or that they lived at a bad time in
history? Or does God bring these things upon all who would follow Christ in all ages?
"Yea, and ALL [in every era]
that will live godly in Christ Jesus SHALL SUFFER PERSECUTION" (II Tim.
3:12).
But aren’t all these persecutions and
afflictions at the hands of evil men rather than God? For sure wicked men commit many
wicked deeds against the true followers of Jesus Christ, but who is ultimately responsible
for ALL things, including the tribulations and persecutions of believers? It is, of
course, GOD
"Who works ALL things after the counsel
of His Own WILL" (Eph. 1:11).
"So that we ourselves glory in you in
the churches of God for your patience and faith in ALL YOUR PERSECUTIONS AND TRIBULATIONS
that ye endure; Which is a manifest token [display] of [of
WHAT?] … OF the RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT [Gk: ‘just
judging’] OF GOD!"
And for what grand purpose?
"… that ye may be counted WORTHY OF
THE KINGDOM OF GOD, for which ye also SUFFER" (2 Thes. 1:4-5).
Just how much are we expected to give up and suffer
for Christ in order to be worthy?
"And a man’s foes shall be
they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than Me is NOT WORTHY of
Me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is NOT WORTHY of Me. And he that
taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, IS NOT WORTHY OF ME"
(Matt. 10:36-38).
What does God consider a "reasonable"
sacrifice to become members of the Family and Kingdom of God?
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by
the mercies of God, that ye present your BODIES A LIVING SACRIFICE, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Rom. 12:1).
Make no mistake about it; if you will follow Jesus
Christ, you will experience many of the hardships spoken of in these Scriptures. I am not
saying that it is necessary to teach youngsters in Sunday School these deeper truths of
God, but if we adults are to ever go on to maturity in Christ, it’s time to get our
heads out of the sand!
The good news is that if we have a volunteering
heart and accept the judgments of God on our lives now, we will be sure to avoid the
harsher judgment on the whole world reserved for "that day."
"For if we would JUDGE [Gk:
diakrino=THROUGH JUDGE, separate thoroughly, to withdraw, discern, judge]
OURSELVES [members of the called-out House of God], we should not be
judged [Gk: krino=judge, set right, decide, to try, condemn, punish].
But when we are judged [the same Greek word krino as used above
with reference to judging the wicked world] we are CHASTENED of the Lord,
that we should not be condemned [Gk: katakrino, an adverse sentence]
with the world" (I Cor. 11:32).
Pay close attention to the three Greek words, diakrino,
krino, and katakrino, used in this verse.
There is so much contained in this verse. There is a
judgment now on God’s saints. We are judged by being "chastened of the
Lord." What does that mean? "Chastened" is from the Greek word paideuo and
here is what it means: "to train up a child, i.e. educate, or (by
impl.) discipline (by punishment): — chasten (-ise), instruct, learn, teach"
(Strong’s Greek Dictionary p. 54).
Are you following this amazing use of words? You
will now learn a marvelous truth of Scripture that is not being taught in any theological
seminary that I am aware of anywhere in the whole world.
We are "judged" by God, and the
vehicle that God uses to do this judging is "chastening." In other words,
we are "judged" by God by being "trained up" like a child, by
being "educated," by "discipline" involving "punishment,"
"instructed," by which we "learn," and all these "teach" us
WHAT WE SHOULD BE.
There is no doubt that some of this chastening can
be harsh, sorrowful, and painful. Much of it is not very pleasant and God admits as much
to us. And it is not possible for one single son of God to avoid this chastisement!
Let’s read it:
WHEN GRACE IS A VERB
Grace means favor, a gift, to be cheerful, well,
happy, graciously, freely, deliverance from danger, and a dozen other benevolent qualities
of peace, joy, goodness, and salvation. It is one of those truly wonderful words of
blessing. But just how does it operate in "the real world" as we say? A
definition does not tell us everything about a word. We can, likewise, define
"love" as, a deep, tender feeling of affection. But does that definition tell us
how love actually functions?
We learned that "… when we are judged,
we are chastened of the Lord" (I Cor. 11:32).
Chastening defines how it is that God judges
us. Now then, we are about to learn one of the most remarkable spiritual truths in the
whole Bible:
"For the grace of God
that brings salvation hath appeared to all men , teaching us that, denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this
present world [eon or age]" (Titus 2:11-12).
Here then is the remarkable parallel between
God’s judgment and His grace:
God "judges" us by "chastening"
us! (I Cor. 11:32) |
"chasten," Greek: ‘paideuo’
#3811 |
God "graces" us by "teaching"
us! (Titus 2:12) |
"teaching," Greek: ‘paideuo’
#3811 |
WOW! Do you even begin to understand what you have
just read? Whether God "JUDGES" us (and later the wicked world), or
"GRACES" us, He does it THE SAME WAY!!
"Judging" is CHASTENING (Strong’s
#3811), and "gracing" is CHASTENING (Strong’s #3811). It is the SAME WORD!
"Grace" is not a stagnant feel-good noun
— it is also a verb — that is, it does something; it accomplishes
something; it produces something of great value in the believer.
"Teaching" accomplishes something
essential in making man into God’s very image.
The next verse tells us what it "teaches"
us: "denying ungodliness and worldly lusts … living soberly, righteously,
and godly!" Just the words "living godly" will cover every
single thing that God EVER ASKS OF US — EVERYTHING. "Living GODLY" covers every
possible act of faith, love, and obedience that anyone could ever conceive of.
When God uses the SAME WORD to describe something
that He wishes to accomplish, it behooves us to study deeply what that word means,
especially when that word has to do with the very destiny of all peoples who have ever
lived.
The subject of I Cor. 11:32 is JUDGING.
The subject of Titus 2:11 is GRACE AND SALVATION.
HOW does God "judge" us? BY CHASTENING
(#3811, paideuo)!.
HOW does God’s "grace and save" us? BY CHASTENING (#3811, paideuo)!
God JUDGES by chastening (I Cor. 11:32), and God
GRACES by chastening (Titus 2:11).
By GRACE GOD JUDGES US and by JUDGING GOD GRACES US!
Gracing us by means of chastening, TEACHES US
TO LIVE GODLY and brings salvation. Judging us by means of chastening, also TEACHES
US TO LIVE GODLY and brings salvation!
It is high time we dispense with the hypocrisy.
When God JUDGES US THROUGH CHASTENING (I Cor. 11:32)
it is for our good and for our benefit and for our salvation. Why then do we think that
God changes character when He likewise judges the wicked, unjust, and non-believers at the
great white throne? Why? God changes NOT! God is NOT a respecter of persons. You read all
of these Scriptures. Do we think the Scriptures LIE?
If you are not rejoicing over these profound and
marvelous revelations, then you must be spiritually asleep. I have just shown you one of
the most remarkable truths in the entirety of the Bible! You would do well to not read any
further until you thoroughly grasp what has been presented here.
And again I ask, "What does this have to do
with the lake of fire?" EVERYTHING! I am not going to go into detail on this aspect
of judging yet, but suffice it to be said here that the "judging" (Greek: krino
in I Cor. 11:32 by chastening that brings godly living and salvation is also the very same
"judging" (Greek: krino) used in Revelation 20:12 with reference to the
lake of fire.
Seriously, do many believe that these God-inspired
Greek words have one meaning when applied to God judging and gracing believers now, but
then have a totally different meaning when applied to as yet non-believers in the day of
judging? Do you? Well, regrettably, many do think that God is fickle, inconsistent, and a
respecter of persons. Can you for once in your life begin to use your God-given mind to
think for yourself?
This is an absolutely marvelous teaching. God
"judges" us by "chastening "(paideuo) us, which means,
teaching, training, learning, disciplining, punishing, instructing, and educating. And God
"graces" us also by this same "chastening" (paideuo) which does
not change meaning from one Scripture verse to another. Notice how other translations
render this word paideuo in Titus 2:11-12:
"Teaching us…" King James
"Instructing us…" American
Standard Version
"Disciplining us… New Testament (Henry
Alford)
"And schooling us…" The
Centenary Translation (Montgomery)
"Training us…" The New
Testament in Modern Speech (Weymouth)
Now it is true that the Greek word paideuo #3811 can
also mean "punishment." But punishment is not the main force of this word.
Notice that none of the above translations (nor any that I know of) translate this word,
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, PUNISHING us
that denying ungodliness …" No, the force of this word is to DISCIPLINE, TRAIN,
INSTRUCT, SCHOOL AND TEACH. Let’s at least have the sensibility of a ten year-old. Of
what value is "disciplining, training, instructing, schooling, and teaching" if
it goes on forever and ever and ever, and while being burned with fire, for ALL ETERNITY?
Gee, do we think they will EVER "learn their lesson?" I, of course, speak as a
fool.
All of these aspects of paideuo are with a
view to amendment, correction, and setting right, not merely punishment for
punishment’s sake. A father chastens his children with a view to amendment and
correction, not for the sole sake of CAUSING PAIN! Why do we think carnal-minded human
fathers are a billion times more noble and merciful in the disciplining of their children
than God is in the disciplining (chastening — judging — gracing) of HIS children?
There is a need for much repenting in the teaching
of this vile doctrine of eternal torment. This doctrine of eternal torture blasphemes the
name of our Loving Father. It is heresy on a level with hypobole – inordinate –
TOO MUCH! It is a damnable teaching. And it is among the filthy trash of wood, straw and
stubble that will be purged out and burned out in God’s Lake of Fire from every
person who teaches and delights in this most disgusting of all disgraceful theologies of
depraved men and women.
Oh yes, there are things that are going to be burned
out of existence in God’s "lake of fire," and this deplorable doctrine of
eternal torment will be the first to be abolished and death will be the last to be
abolished–and so, let it burn … LET IT BURN!
Remember that Jesus Christ does not change and that
He does not respect (have partiality) with regards to persons. With those two thoughts in
mind, what is accomplished by the "chastening" of the Lord? He
"graces" us by chastening and He "judges" us by chastening. What does
it always accomplish? Answer:
"For the grace of God [that chastens
us] … BRINGS SALVATION" (Titus 2:11)!!
And all of this is of God. God judges, God graces,
God chastens, and God brings SALVATION!
Perhaps you have a shortcut-formula which bypasses
all these hundreds of Scriptures I am presenting and makes them all void and of
no effect? I have heard of such short-cut formulas, but God’s Word knows nothing of
them!
Notice:
"Being CONFIDENT of this very thing,
that He [that’s Christ] which hath begun a good work in you WILL
PERFORM IT until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6).
And when Christ’s
"… JUDGMENTS are in the earth, the
inhabitants of the world [the whole world] WILL LEARN
RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Isa. 26:9).
As far as Christian theory goes, this Scripture in
Isaiah might just a well be a lie, for they say it will never happen. They teach that the
whole world will never ever learn righteousness and receive salvation. That’s because
they neither believe the gospel nor teach it. And so rather than bring the gospel of
universal salvation, they threaten the world with universal damnation in the fires of
eternal hell if they don’t follow their short-cut-formulas to material wealth and
spiritual salvation. And thus the name of God is being blasphemed among the nations (Rom.
2:24) to this very day.
PUNISHING VS. CHASTENING
While considering all of the hellfire and
brimstone material disseminated by Christian teachers, preachers, writers, and educators
around the world, just how many hundreds of times do you suppose the word
"punishment" is used in the entire New Testament with regards to sinners?
Hundreds? Would you believe less than fifty? Would you believe less than ten? Would you
believe ONCE? That’s right, the answer is one time.
"Of how much more punishment [Gk:
timoria], suppose you, shall he be thought worthy, who has trodden under
foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was
sanctified, an unholy thing, and has done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"
(Heb. 10:29).
I can assure you that those who have committed the
above crime towards the Lord are few indeed. Most of humanity that will be judged in the
lake of fire have NEVER EVEN HEARD of Jesus Christ, let alone, "trodden underfoot
the Son of God, and counted the blood of the covenant, an UNHOLY thing, and done DESPITE
unto the Spirit of grace." Most have never even heard of such sins, let
alone
committed them.
This is a most powerful Scripture to be sure, but it
does not speak of "eternal" punishment, and it is the ONLY SCRIPTURE IN
THE ENTIRETY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT that uses the word "punishment" with
reference to punishing sinners!
There are three other places in the KJV that the
word "punish" or "punished" is used correctly. They are Acts 4:21;
22:5; and 26:11 where it Saul (later Paul) is punishing not sinners, but members of the
church, the followers of Christ.
II Thes. 1:9 should be translated, "eonian
extermination" and not "punished … everlasting."
II Peter 2:4 & 9 should both be
"chastening" as it is the same Greek word kolazo and not timoria
which means punish.
The KJV uses "punished" in verse nine,
which should be "chasten," and ironically it doesn’t even translate the
Greek word kolazo (chasten) in verse four — the KJV translators left it out
completely. I suppose the translators thought that it was redundant to say,
"chastening judging." But then again, they didn’t bother to look at II Cor.
2:6 which should read "rebuke" (another Greek word, epitimia), not
"punish."
And lastly, I Pet. 2:14 should read
"vengeance" ( still another Greek word, kdikesise), and not punishment.
So in the case of "punishment" we have but
ONE Scripture to deal with, and we will deal with it.
This next fact doesn’t necessarily
"prove" anything, it’s just the way my mind works. Jesus Christ said:
"O generation of vipers, how can you,
being evil, speak good things? For out of the ABUNDANCE of the heart the MOUTH
SPEAKS" (Mat. 12:34).
I think we all understand that statement: What is
heaviest and most dominant on our heart is what we talk about the most.
Now then, my observation. We learned of the one time
that punishment is used in reference to sinners. Would you all be interested in knowing
how many times the opposite of punishment is used? Okay, the word "mercy" (-ies,
-iful) is found in the Bible over THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY times! Could it be that the
"abundance of God’s heart" consists of many more MERCIES than it does of
vengeance and punishment?
Where do you suppose we find nearly a hundred of
these occurrences? That’s right, in the writings of King David. No wonder blind
Bartimaeus …
"began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou
Son OF DAVID, have MERCY on me" (Mk. 10:47).
God promised to give His Son "… the
sure MERCIES OF DAVID" (Acts 13:34). You see, David’s heart
spoke such an abundance about God’s mercies, that God said of him:
"… I have found DAVID the son of
Jesse, a man AFTER MINE OWN HEART which shall fulfill all my will"
(Acts 13:22).
Three hundred and thirty to ONE! Probably
doesn’t mean a thing. Just an observation.
By the way, even among those who love the doctrine
of eternal torment, no Scripture in the Old Testament has ever been brought forth which
even vaguely defends their theory.
PUNISHMENT AND THE GOSPEL
For all those who have never heard the real Gospel
of God, here it is:
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the
feet of him that brings good tidings, that publish peace; that brings GOOD TIDINGS [that
means gospel] of GOOD [not evil tidings of a Lord who administers infinite acts of
eternal terrorism], that publishes SALVATION [not DAMNATION] … The LORD hath
made bare His holy arm in the eyes of ALL THE NATIONS [that’s the whole world],
and ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH [that’s everyone] SHALL SEE THE
SALVATION OF OUR GOD" (Isa. 52:7 & 10).
I am wondering if most of my readers have ever even
heard of this verse or knew that it is in their Bibles.
Now I am aware of the many Scriptures that speak of
death, destruction, and perishing of wicked people. And we won’t forget the one
Scripture with regards to punishment. All those Scriptures are true. They are not,
however, God’s final judgment on the wicked. The final judgments of God will bring
salvation to all and there are no scriptures that contradict those saving declarations of
Almighty God. God has declared it; He has spoken it; His Word has gone
forth: He has willed –
"Who WILL have ALL men to be SAVED, and
to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (I Tim. 2:4).
Here then is a declaration of God from His own
inspired Word. It is found in all Bibles and in all languages on earth for all
to see and
believe. But the Church of Babylon has tried to destroy this declaration and make it of no
effect in the minds of millions and millions of people around the world. They teach that
this verse and declaration of Almighty God WILL NEVER EVER HAPPEN! Well, be
it known, that they LIE!
Here’s what God says about His own words and
His own declarations.
"So shall MY WORD BE that GOES FORTH OUT OF
MY MOUTH [as in I Tim. 2:4 and a hundred Scriptures like it]; it shall NOT return
unto me void [unfruitful, negated, ineffective, ineffectual, inoperative, invalid,
null, worthless, vain, unsuccessful], but it SHALL ACCOMPLISH THAT WHICH I PLEASE,
AND IT SHALL PROSPER [bear fruit, benefit, do well, flourish, increase, multiply,
progress, make good] in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).
Oh, the audacity and blasphemy of those who proudly
teach that God cannot and will not ever accomplish His own will, save five percent! Does
Isaiah 55:11 sound like only a FIVE PERCENT gospel that Christendom is preaching around
the world for TEN PERCENT of your money? Like those who crucified our Lord, they know not
what they say, and God will forgive them too. But for those who are ready to learn and
believe, let’s see how God answers such utter foolishness:
Remember the former things of old:
For I am God, and there is none else;
I AM GOD, and there is none like Me,
"Telling from the BEGINNING, the HEREAFTER,
And from AFORETIME, what has NOT YET been done,
Saying, ‘ALL MY COUNSEL SHALL BE CONFIRMED,
And ALL MY DESIRE WILL I DO.
Calling from the sunrise, a bird of prey,
From a land far off, the man of My counsel.
Indeed, I SPEAK! INDEED, I WILL BRING IT ABOUT!
I formed. Indeed, I WILL DO IT" (Isaiah 46:9-11).
Nothing can hinder God’s words or declarations.
Even the things that are perceived to be hindrances to God’s will (such as the lake
of fire and the second death), are not hindrances at all, but rather are the very
instruments for the accomplishment of His will. God has a ONE HUNDRED PERCENT GOSPEL, AND
IT’S FREE!
GRACE AND JUDGMENT
"For whom the Lord loves He
CHASTENS …" (Heb. 12:6).
There is no escaping it. If you are to be a
"son of God" you will be chastened. Now I don’t want to pile too much on
you at once here, but there’s more. As you can see from the definition above, the
word "chastened" is paideuo, and is not too severe. Even if involving
some punishment, the whole thrust of the word is to train, educate, discipline, instruct,
etc. These are all good things not to be feared. But there is more, so we might just as
well read it and get our attitudes adjusted to it. The rest of the verse:
"For whom the Lord loves He
CHASTENS, and [AND] … SCOURGES every son whom He receives [or
is assenting]" (Heb. 12:6)
"SCOURGES?" No, not scourging! Does
God show His love toward us by scourging us? It is absolutely necessary. Scourging is
definitely even more severe and harsh than chastening.
The word "scourge" in Heb. 12:6 is from
the Greek word mastigoo and here’s its definition: "to flog
(literally or figuratively) — scourge" Strong’s Greek Dictionary, page
46. And what does "flog" mean?
"flog 1. To beat severely with a whip or
rod." Page 531 American heritage College Dictionary.
This word "scourge" in Heb. 12:6 which God
performs on us, is the very same word found in John 19:1 where it says they took Jesus and
"scourged" Him. Now then, will God literally "BEAT SEVERELY WITH A WHIP OR
ROD" every son that He receives? No, not necessarily, even though they did literally
do so to Paul and many other followers of Jesus Christ. Remember that the definition said
it can be "literal OR figurative."
Many people have come to know Christ in their senior
years, and God does not literally beat every little old lady with whips and rods when they
turn to Him. However, the chastening of God’s grace which we read about in Titus 2:11
can certainly seem like a real flogging. God will chasten us until He drives out the beast
in us. The beast of supposed "free will" which is really self-will does not want
to leave peaceably! It takes the very presence of Jesus Christ to dispel the beast of
humanistic self-determinism, commonly called "free will."
Although we are not condemned when God judges us, we
nonetheless must be chastened.
"If you endure chastening, God deals
with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chastens not? But if you be
without chastisement, whereof ALL are partakers, then are you bastards, and NOT
sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them
reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection into the Father of spirits, and live?
For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He for OUR
PROFIT, that we might be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening for the present
seems to be joyous, but GRIEVOUS: nevertheless afterward it yields the PEACEABLE FRUIT OF
RIGHTEOUSNESS unto them which are exercised thereby" (Heb. 12:7–11).
So it is essential that we accept God’s
chastisement which is how He "judges" us.
The reason we are not "condemned" with the
world is because we accept God’s judgment in our lives
"There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit" (Rom. 8:1).
But can we compare the judging that believers go
through with the judging that the wicked receive at the end of the age in the lake of
fire. Surely there is no comparison, is there? Trust me when I say, "For
there is no respect [Gk: partiality] of persons with God"
(Rom. 2:11).
-
Doesn’t the "second death" part of
the "lake of fire" seal their fate forever?
-
Isn’t it true that God will never, ever
pressure anyone to accept Jesus Christ?
-
Isn’t it true that even God Himself
doesn’t know why some people reject His Sacrifice?
-
Didn’t God predestine us to be saved but
predestined those in the lake of fire to be damned?
-
Isn’t the reason why some people choose
Christ and others Reject Christ an eternal mystery?
-
Is there something about death itself that
prevents God from saving a non-believer after death?
-
Does Rom. 8:38-19 substantiate the teaching that
death separates God from sinners, eternally?
-
Isn’t the lake of fire the most dreadful
thing that God Almighty has ever created?
-
Will billions of sinners purposely choose to be
tortured in fire forever rather than accept Christ?
-
Let’s face it, isn’t the lake of fire
something we will never understand until it comes?
-
Is God as stupid and depraved as the theologians
who try to bring Him down to their level?
I will now answer all these questions in order: No,
No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, and NO!
KEEP THESE SCRIPTURES IN MIND
I don’t want us to lose track of the verses we
are endeavoring to explain from other Scriptures. So let’s take a quick review. There
are only a half dozen things that we should keep ever present in our minds as we journey
through the Scriptures:
"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 [what is THAT?], and them that worshipped his
image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone [does
brimstone make the lake of fire burn HOTTER? Is fire without brimstone not hot enough to
burn and torture human flesh?]" (Rev. 19:20).
"And the devil that deceived them was
cast into the lake of fire [I thought a lake contains water] and
brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented [does
that mean TORTURED? Can spirit beings be tormented by physical fire?]
day and night [but there shall be ‘NO NIGHT’, 20:25] for ever
and ever [how long is THAT? Is ‘ever AND ever’ something like TWICE as
long as eternity?]" (Rev. 20:10).
"And I saw a great white [not
BLACK] throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven
fled away [where did they GO?]; and there was found no place for them [if
this is literal, then where pray tell did God PUT THEM?]" (Rev.
20:11).
"And I saw the dead, small and great,
stand [stand WHERE, both the heavens AND THE EARTH ‘fled away’ Verse
11] before God; and the books [are these books like a daily DIARY from
Walton Books?] were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life
[why is this only ONE book?]: and the dead were judged out of those
things which were written in the books, according to their works" (Rev.
20:12).
"And the sea gave up the dead which
were in it [is this speaking of dead sailors who drowned in the ocean?];
and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them [is death and hell a
place or a realm? And how can HELL deliver up their DEAD -- we are assured by Christendom
that those in hell are VERY MUCH ALIVE and SUFFERING?]: and the dead were judged [does
judge mean SENTENCED TO HELL FOR EVER?] every man according to their works"
(Rev. 20:13).
"And death and hell were cast into the
lake of fire [wait just a minute; Christendom tells us that death {separation
from God} and hell represent what the lake of fire actually IS, so how pray tell
can they be cast INTO the lake of fire?]. This is the second death [Ah,
here is the real key to understand this whole enigma - -the SECOND death is not a repeat
performance of the FIRST death]" (Rev. 20:14).
"And whosoever was not found written in
the book of life was cast into the lake of fire [where they are BURNED UP?
TORTURED FOR ETERNITY? Or JUDGED -- set RIGHT?]" (Rev. 20:15).
"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 of fire which burneth with fire and brimstone:
which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8).
One can check a hundred translations of the Bible,
and there will be little deviation from the verses cited above. The King James Version is
about as accurate a translation of these verses as there is. Most versions are very close
to the KJV, word for word. But there are about a dozen Bible Translations that differ most
significantly on five little words. The most heretical and damning doctrines of
Christendom completely melt away with a proper translation of these five little words: eis
tous [for the] aionas ton [of the] aionon. So we have "for the
(something?) of the (something?)." When we find out what the aionas and the aionon
is, we will have totally demolished the most vile, evil, damnable religious doctrine
in the history of the world!
Later in this series I will prove this so
completely, so understandably, so simply, that a child will be able to understand it.
You should never be deceived by Mystery Babylon the Great ever again.
Now we learned from Scripture that if we would
volunteer to have God judge us now that we would not need to be condemned with the world
in the lake of fire. And Peter tells us that this judgment (like the one the Thessalonians
were going through) must begin at the HOUSE OF GOD. We saw that it involves much
tribulation, sorrow, affliction and suffering. These things are God’s judgment on
believers to try their hearts and prove them worthy for the Kingdom of God. Christ told us
that if we do not forsake all (even give our very bodies as a living Sacrifice, according
to Paul) and take up OUR cross and follow Christ into persecutions that start in our own
household, then He doesn’t want us in the kingdom with Him — we are NOT
WORTHY (at
this time)!
Now if you are following these Scriptures closely
you will see that we are to give our bodies as a living sacrifice and endure suffering,
affliction, and persecution. But there is MORE! Oh NO, how much more can we take? What
else? TRIALS. There are trials! The word "trial" in the New Testament is
translated from the Greek word dokimion and means TESTING. God is going to TEST us.
Are you excited about that? Me neither. However, it must be done. We must go through it.
Peter tells us the many trials and temptations are a heaviness to your hearts, but because
we know why we are going through it, we can, nevertheless, REJOICE!
"Wherein ye GREATLY REJOICE, though now
for a season, if need be, ye are in HEAVINESS THROUGH MANIFOLD TEMPTATIONS"
(I Peter 1:6).
Ah, yes, how sweet it is in the mouth (REJOICE), but
how bitter it is in the belly (HEAVINESS) (Rev. 10:10). But say, did you notice how LONG
these trials last? For eternity? Or for "a season"? Remember there is NO
partiality with God. Later we will see that those in the final judgment of lake of fire
will also be there for just "a season" not eternally!
BECOMING PERFECT
Jesus Christ DIED FOR OUR SINS, and that
accomplishes the SALVATION OF THE WHOLE WORLD, because God will eventually bring every
creature in HEAVEN AND IN EARTH to repentance and humble submission to Jesus Christ
(Phil. 2:9-11, Rom. 10:9, I Cor. 15:25). But forgiving sin, pardoning sin, justifying our
sinful past, or even redeeming our bodies and giving us incorruptible and immortal bodies,
does NOT make us perfect in deed and character!
God is PERFECT! And God wants His children to BE
PERFECT! And believe it or not God WILL. . . MAKE … US … PERFECT!
"He [God] chooses us
in Him [Christ] before the disruption [foundation] of
the world, we to be HOLY and FLAWLESS [PERFECT] in His
sight …" (Eph. 1:4).
"You, then, shall be PERFECT as your
heavenly Father is perfect" (Mat. 5:48).
"I in them, and Thou in Me, that they [that’s
US] may be made PERFECT in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent
me, and hast loved Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me" (John
17:23).
"Whom we preach, warning every man, and
teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man PERFECT in Christ
Jesus" (Col. 1:28).
People are quick to say, "Well, NOBODY is
perfect." That’s not true:
"For it became HIM, for Whom are all
things, and by Whom are all things, in bringing many [that’s us and the rest
of the world] sons unto glory, to make them the CAPTAIN of their salvation PERFECT
[how?] Through SUFFERING" (Heb. 2:10).
Yes, maybe no one but Christ is perfect now, but it
won’t always be that way. Paul knew that it was a process and that it would be
ultimately God’s achievement:
"Not as though I had already attained,
either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for
which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:12).
"And he gave some, apostles; and some,
prophets; and some, evangelists; and some pastors and teachers; For the PERFECTING
OF THE SAINTS …" (Eph. 4:11-12).
Say, did you notice that Christ was perfected
through "SUFFERING?" Are we not to bear our own Cross? If they hated and
persecuted Christ, will they not do likewise to us? Do we think the Scripture says in
vain,
"Herein is our love made PERFECT,
that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He [Christ] IS, SO ARE WE
in the world" (I Jn. 4:17).
Paul tells us in I Thes. 2 and II Thes. 1 that
suffering and persecutions are a big part of the judgment that God uses to test us and to
deem us worthy of His kingdom and salvation.
There is a giant reason why most professing
Christians do NOT suffer persecutions. They may have social, health, and financial
problems, but persecutions? Hardly! Why is that? Do you know that more people
suffer persecution from their families BEFORE they become Christians than they ever do
AFTER they become Christians? Why do you suppose that is? Could it be that as Christians
they blend INTO society rather than STICK OUT?
I can tell you on the authority of Jesus Christ,
God’s Word, and the Apostle Paul, that unless you are SUFFERING real PERSECUTION, you
are NOT a follower of Jesus Christ nor are you living godly in Christ Jesus!
"Remember the word that I said
unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted ME, they will
also persecute YOU; if they have kept MY saying, they will keep YOURS also"
(John 15:20).
"And at that time there was a GREAT
PERSECUTION against the church … and they were all scattered abroad … except the
apostles" (Acts 8:1).
"YEA, and ALL that will live godly in
Christ Jesus SHALL SUFFER PERSECUTION" (II Tim. 3:12).
GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE
God has a way of making imperfect people perfect. It
is called FIRE! Whether purging or clearing a garbage dump, or refining gold
and silver, there is nothing like the purifying, purging, and perfecting power of FIRE!
What a marvelous metaphor God uses when He compares
Himself and His Holy Spirit with that of "FIRE" – "For our God is a consuming
FIRE" (Heb. 12:29). There are so many marvelous qualities and mysteries of fire
that multiple books are needed to elaborate upon them. However, let me just interject a couple
of points here. Fire CHANGES things. This fact is most important in understanding the
purpose for the "Lake of Fire."
-
Fire changes combustible things (even
undesirable things) into useful heat and energy.
-
Fire changes the quality of precious
stones, gold and silver by purging out the impurities, thus making them perfect.
It is automatically assumed without any Scriptural
proof whatsoever, that when one is "thrown into the lake of fire" that (1) It is
literal fire that causes physical pain and torment. And/or (2) It causes physical death
and annihilation. And/or (3) There is no escape and it lasts for all eternity
Let’s be precise now and see what the
Scriptures actually tell us about all those sinning people AFTER they are thrown into a
lake of fire. Rev. 20:10 only mentions the beast and false prophet along with Satan the
Adversary as being cast into the lake of fire. No sinners are thrown in at this point. But
after we are presented with the great white throne in verse 11, and all the dead being
judged in verse 12, we come to verse 15 where sinning people are cast into the lake of
fire. Let’s read it:
"And whosoever was not found written in
the book of life was CAST into the lake of fire" (Rev.
20:15)
Are they TORTURED by this fire? It doesn’t say.
Are they KILLED, do they die? It doesn’t say.
Do they ever COME OUT? It doesn’t say.
How LONG does this lake of fire last? It doesn’t say.
"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" (Rev. 21:8).
Is this group of sinners TORTURED by this fire? It
doesn’t say.
Are they KILLED, do they DIE in this lake of fire/second death? It doesn’t say.
Do they ever COME OUT? It doesn’t say.
How LONG does this lake of fire/second death last? It doesn’t say.
So from these verses alone, what do we know
for sure happens to these sinners AFTER they are cast into this lake of fire? Nothing.
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
Do either of these two verses SAY ANYTHING
WHATSOEVER about what takes place in this lake of fire/second death or how long it will
last? NO! NO IT DOESN’T! NOT EVEN ONE SINGLE SOLITARY WORD — NONE, ZERO, ZILCH!
Then HOW … HOW PRAY TELL … do all these
Christian religions of the world know for sure that the sinners cast into the lake of
fire/second death, actually do suffer in unbearable torture, and that this torture lasts
for all eternity, or as others say, they are annihilated for all eternity from which there
will never be a resurrection? How do they KNOW all this stuff for sure? Well, of course,
THEY DON’T KNOW! They ASSUME! They SPECULATE! And some of them lie.
So there you have seen it with your own eyes. These
Scriptures in Revelation 20 and 21 do not really, actually, factually, literally, say what
theologians claim, do they? No, they DON’T! You have all heard of things being
"waterproof" and "fireproof," well now I am attempting to make my
readers "LIE-proof" forever! One only needs to understand a half dozen absolute
spiritual truths, and that person will be "LIE-PROOF" for ever! Let me give them
to you quickly, and we can discuss them in greater detail as we go:
GOD IS LOVE
GOD IS SOVEREIGN
CHRIST’S WORDS ARE SPIRIT
MAN’S WILL IS NOT FREE AND INDEPENDENT
OF GOD
THE GREEK WORD ‘AIONIOS’ NEVER
MEANS ETERNAL
GOD WILLS TO SAVE ALL MANKIND
GOD WILL PERFORM ALL HIS WILL
These seven spiritual truths will protect you from
all unscriptural and heretical teachings. And as you mature in Christ Jesus our Lord, you
will only be required to understand and believe one of the above spiritual truths. That
would be the first one which covers ALL: GOD IS LOVE !
But there are other Scriptures in other parts of the
Bible stating that God will either torture or annihilate people for all eternity in real
fire, are there not? No. There are not. Now I am sorry if this disappoints some of you,
but ‘No,’ there are not!
Now don’t start e-mailing me just yet –
I’ll cover all those verses that some of you still think are real fires that torture
or annihilate people for eternity.
And I do not want anyone to draw the erroneous
conclusion that since we must go through a plethora of trials, tribulations, suffering,
and persecution, that all God is interested in is putting us through a living hell.
This is not the case at all. Each and every trial and persecution that comes upon us
is designed to MAKE US SPIRITUALLY STRONG. And with spiritual strength comes PEACE,
FULFILLMENT, TRUE HAPPINESS, AND JOY.
How would you like to be "supremely blest" "well off"
"fortunate" and "happy" for the rest of your life? Well, believe
it or not, going through all the trials and tribulations and persecutions that Christ
outlined in the Scriptures for all those who would become His followers, is exactly how
all of these good things can become yours!
I think all of my readers are mature enough to understand and firmly believe that
happiness does not come from the abundance of things we possess (although those things
have their place too). True happiness is from the inside out. Happiness is produced from
within, and not by things from without. True happiness is a heart and mind at PEACE! Have
you ever noticed that every single epistle that Paul penned has in the salutation:
"GRACE to you and PEACE from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ?" We
have already learned that "grace" is God’s gift of not only salvation, but a
training, schooling, disciplining, chastising power that changes our character from carnal
to godly! And what is the result of all this? PEACE! Peace of mind, peace of
heart, peace of spirit. When God grants us "PEACE," we are truly blessed,
fortunate, well-off and very HAPPY!
I am really excited about installment IV coming next. I will show you a
Scriptural formula that will guarantee our understanding of such verses as "the lake
of fire which is the second death." Without this formula given by Christ and restated
by Paul, one will never understand the truth or purpose of the lake of fire. In fact,
Christian theologians, and many Christians themselves I’m afraid, do exactly the
OPPOSITE of what these Scriptures tell us we must do if we are to understand SPIRITUAL
THINGS.
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