IS HELL REAL?
8:17 PM
Images of Hell can be horrible. Anyone who has had a near-death experience or those that were clinically dead and came back and then gave us detailed accounts of what they saw can be classified as real. That reality, of course, is theirs and we should never question anyone’s personal experience no matter how unbelievably fantastic.
Here is an
excerpt of a man that tries to convince you that hell is real and that it is a
real place somewhere in the nether regains of the earth.
When you click
on the Google search and type in “is Hell real” etc, you will find many pages
about it.
[Excerpt 1]
Here are few examples: “We’re going to examine the place the Bible calls Hell.
We’ll present documented evidence for a place called Hell. Don’t take what you’re
going to read lightly. If what you read is true — YOU COULD BE IN SERIOUS
DANGER!” [End]
[Excerpt 2] “I
went there!” by Jennifer Perez. This testimony is of a 15 year old girl who was
raised in a Christian home. She later backslid in her walk; found herself
overdosing on drugs, dying, and being sent to Hell. Fortunately, she was given a second chance and mission to go
back and warn the lost, backslidden, and lukewarm with an urgent message.[1]
[End]
There are even
photographs of Hell and the devil.[2]
And then there are randomly chosen sites like this using a biblical study.[3]
All of this is real and scary. It’s no joke. You can take the Bible and portray
it all the way the people see it and want to see it. A place of no return
filled fright, horror and utter indescribable misery.
[Excerpt 3] I also know a
lot of people who do not believe in hell at all. They don’t believe that a
loving God would send anyone to such a terrible place as hell. Of course, they
are right. God would never send anyone to hell. But as we will see, hell is a
real place and people send themselves there. [End]
[Excerpt 4] The Bible
describes hell as something much worse than just emptiness. Jesus said in
Matthew 13:50 that Hell was a: “fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth. (NIV) And again
He describes it as a place “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not
quenched.” Mark 9:48 (NIV) That does not sound like a very nice place to me.
Again, Jesus
said in Matthew 25:41 (NIV) “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart
from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and
his angels.’” In other words, it is a place that wasn’t even designed for us.
What kind of a place is that?
Jesus tells us
specifically who will go there in Matt. 13:41. “The Son of Man will send out
his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin
and all who do evil.” (NIV) “But,” you say, “We all sin and do evil. Will we
all end up there?” No, God has provided for us a way to escape this destiny, as
you will see. [End]
[Excerpt 5] Why
Is Hell Necessary?
Think about it.
If everyone alive on the earth went to heaven, what would heaven be like? It
would be no different than living on the earth. For me, this would certainly
not be heaven. This means that if heaven is going to be heaven, then some
people simply cannot be there. There cannot be any evil in heaven if it is
going to be heaven.
Who is going to
make this decision? Each one of us would have a different idea of who to
include and who to exclude. So it cannot be up to any one of us. Thus, it is
God who will make that decision. And He has already done it. God has made the
decision as to what is evil and what is not. God decides if we are evil or not.
It is not up to us. After all, it is God’s heaven.
God Has
Provided A Way Of Escape
So, how can we
be assured that we will go to heaven when we die? I know, many say that we
simply need to be good enough. But how good is good enough? Who determines it?
Surprise? God does! And He has made it very easy for us.
Romans 10:9
says: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (NIV) God is
merciful. All we have to do is to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and we
will escape and will be able to spend eternity in heaven with Him.
That is all we
have to do, accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior? Does it sound too
simple? For some, it does. However, it really isn’t. God does not want any evil
in heaven. And remember God determines what is evil and what is not. If we
accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and live as He wants us to, God will change
us into someone who is good enough to get into heaven. [End]
[Excerpt 6]
Several years ago a book was published, entitled Beyond Death’s Door by Dr.
Maurice Rawlings. Dr. Rawlings, a specialist in Internal Medicine and
Cardiovascular Disease, resuscitated many people who had been clinically dead.
Dr. Rawlings, a devout atheist, “considered all religion “hocus-pocus” and
death nothing more than a painless extinction.” But something happened in 1977
that brought a dramatic change in the life of Dr. Rawlings! He was resuscitating
a man, terrified and screaming—descending down into the flames of hell:
“Each time he
regained heartbeat and respiration, the patient screamed, “I am in hell!” He
was terrified and pleaded with me to help him. I was scared to death... Then I
noticed a genuinely alarmed look on his face. He had a terrified look worse
than the expression seen in death! This patient had a grotesque grimace
expressing sheer horror! His pupils were dilated, and he was perspiring and
trembling—he looked as if his hair was “on end.”
Then still
another strange thing happened. He said, “Don't you understand? I am in hell...
Don't let me go back to hell!” The man was serious, and it finally occurred to
me that he was indeed in trouble. He was in a panic like I had never seen
before.[4]
Dr. Rawlings
said, no one, who could have heard his screams and saw the look of terror on
his face could doubt for a single minute that he was actually in a place called
hell! [End]
All the 6
excerpts would make a fine case for the existence of hell had it not been for
the fact that some expressions have been later added to the original manuscript.
One of them is this: “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not
quenched” in Mark 9:44-48. The hell theology was progressing and additions to
the original text were frequent.
Intelligent
Questions
Is God a terrorist? Strange
question isn’t it? But let me bring here Yasser Arafat who spoke at the UN
Assembly.
“Today I have come
bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter's gun. Do not let the olive
branch fall from my hand. I repeat: do not let the olive branch fall from my
hand.” [5]
Obviously, the
gun represents the threat and the olive branch a peace offering. In other words
give me the land or else. In the same we portray God. “Accept My Son Jesus and
His sacrifice on the cross or else you’ll burn in Hell.”
Is God
omnipotent? That means is He the ALL Mighty God or a PART Mighty with loopholes
and gaps. Does He fall asleep? Is He limited by time? If He is the Perfect Love
that eliminates all fear then why would He give us the fear of hell in order to
save us? Does He care how many souls come into His dwelling places? Does He
look for quantity or quality? Is God in the business of scaring people or
rather creating peace in us through the knowledge of His true nature? Vengeance
belongs to God, but what if He does not avenge us the way we expect Him to,
would that be okay? If God chose a people to proclaim Him as the only one God
then why do we still play with dualism? Why do we split His universe into good
and bad, darkness and light and two gods, the good one and the evil one; the prince
of darkness and the Father of Lights? These are endless questions showing us complications
and unintelligence. But who wants to come out if it?
My
own experience of Hell
I also had visions of Hell with
grotesque demonic creatures driving me down to a bottomless abyss. As I was
falling, sulfuric vapors, smoke and tongues of fire were rising toward me.
Those grotesque creatures cried, “There is no God, no heaven… no salvation.”
I slept on a
cot bed. I fell off the bed in such a way that it flipped and landed on top of
me. Drenched in cold sweat and trembling I was slowly coming to myself. What I
had experienced words cannot describe.
For many years
I saw demons, snakes and scorpions crawling all over me. I never touched drugs
or alcohol. Being a sensitive child, frightening stories profoundly impacted my
psyche. My older brother liked to scare me and that only worsened my overall
neuropsychological disposition, but the worse period of life was my puberty
years. Anything to do with sex was in my mind of the enemy, demonic and
hellish. Once I saw the devil in person standing in a doorway asking me to sell
my soul to him and play rock and roll music.
Now I tell you
the truth. I saw it all and have really experienced, but was it real? Should I
try to convince you to believe me because I personally have experienced these
things for about 20 years?
I have read
many accounts of near-death experiences and those claiming to be in Hell or
were watching it from a distance. They all experienced horrors of unmanageable
dimensions. I believe them. Why should I doubt them at all? These are their
experiences.
Many
substantiate their beliefs in Hell because someone else had a vision or died
and recounted their experiences.
The
nature of truth
Truth is never subjective but
always objective. We must measure up to it and not bend it toward our
subjective experiences regardless how real or horrible they might have had been.
Righteousness is not a feeling it’s doing something right for the sake of
another despite any inconvenience or burdensomeness. No matter how much we
dislike taking out the trash from our dwelling place; we do it because health
reasons. Before the garbage not only smells up our place and breeds bacteria
and disease it is unpleasant for you and for anyone coming to visit you.
Righteousness is exactly that; taking out the garbage for your and for those
you come in contact with.
We do what we
know and not what we necessarily like. We do the same for others. I am not God
who would tell you first what I have experienced and make it a standard for
your belief. I must study God and His righteous ways regardless how
inconvenient they might be for the natural and rebellious flesh.
It will have to
come down to a choice. I repeat. Choice! If your brain is well developed and
your soul is stable you will hear the voice of reason and reject
sensationalism, which has been used for thousands of years.
Hell theology
Now, let’s look at the Hell
theology, how it evolved and where it came from. Before we start scaring you
with the “Friday the 13th massacre at the Elm Street” scenarios you
will have to learn the Bible truth about Hell for after all that’s where the
ideas of Satan, devil and Hell come from.
The Hell
theology actually had its start in Judaism. The Jewish exiles to Babylon and
then Medo-Persia brought dualism from that region.
Let me quote some of the Zoroastrian doctrines that Israel
borrowed from. God is calling us all to make a firm decision to repent and
return ONLY to Him!
Zoroaster
believed that a good spirit, Ahura Mazda (“Lord Wisdom”) guided the world. This
“Lord Wisdom” required “good thoughts of the mind, good deeds of the hand, and
good words of the tongue” from his followers, if they wished to enter paradise.
(The word ‘paradise’ which Jesus uttered on the cross is actually a Persian
word.) Years later, Zoroaster’s followers posited the existence of a second,
evil god called ‘Angra Mainyu’ (“Fiendish Spirit”). Men and women must choose
between these two gods, which represent good and evil. (Today approximately
10,000 Zoroastrians live in Iran; others, called Parsis, live in India.)[6]
Mani
was a follower of Zoroaster. Mani was born into an aristocratic Persian family
in southern Babylonia (now Iraq). Mani experienced visions in which he claimed to see an angel who designated him a prophet of
a new and ultimate revelation.
The
rapid expansion of Manichaeism provoked the hostility of the leaders of
orthodox Zoroastrianism, and when Bahram I (reigned 274-77) succeeded to the
throne, they persuaded him to have Mani arrested as a heretic, after which he
either died in confinement or was executed.
Mani
proclaimed himself the last prophet in a succession that included Zoroaster, Buddha,
and Jesus, whose partial revelations were, he taught, contained and consummated
in his own doctrines. Besides Zoroastrianism and Christianity, Manichaeism
reflects the strong influence of Gnosticism.[7]
Mani went further into pluralistic ideas narrowed down to just two realms
and two gods the very opposite of the actual monotheistic mission God called Israel
to introduce the world to.
The fundamental doctrine of
Manichaeism is its dualistic division
of the universe into contending realms of good and evil: the realm of light
(spirit), ruled by God, and the realm of Darkness (matter), ruled by Satan.
Originally, the two realms were entirely separate, but in a primal catastrophe
the realm of darkness invaded the realm of Light, and the two became mixed and
engaged in a perpetual struggle. The human race is a result and a microcosm of
this struggle. The human body is material, therefore evil; the human soul is
spiritual, a fragment of the divine light and must be redeemed from its
imprisonment in the body and the world. The path of redemption is through
knowledge of the realm of light imparted by the succession of divine messengers
that include Buddha and Jesus and ends in Mani. With this knowledge the human
soul can conquer the carnal desires that perpetuate its imprisonment and so
ascend to the divine realm.
Ever since then
proponents of dualism do not want to part with their beliefs because no
emphatically strong case against it was ever made. Perhaps, it would take great
fame and big name to break though this haze. But it is doubtful because hardly
anyone cares if God exists or not and, “If He does exist then where is He when
I need Him most?”—Would be the common reasoning. On the other hand it is much
more convenient to keep dualism intact. The need for a scapegoat stems from the
roots of blame and exoneration; wrongs and justification; inconvenience and the
need for comfort. The last one can be justified for it does include the element
of peace and we should pursue peace at all cost, but how we go about it can be
inconsiderate when it comes to the Creator; who in many ways has also been
pushed into obscurity by becoming just an abstract idea.
If I would care about God then I would also
care about the truth, but if I do not really care about God neither would I
care about the truth and its impact on my life.
The
Bible Truth and its alternate interpretations
We have weeded out all places
that mention Hell (Gahanna), Hades and Sheol. We have pointed out that Hades is
not Hell; and Sheol is not the Valley of Gehinom, which has been often used to
portray Hell. The “Lake of Fire” term used in the Book of Revelations is only
called or it is imagined to be Hell, but The Book of Revelations does not say
that it is. The only place that uses ‘Hell’ in the King James Translation of
the Bible is in Revelations 6:8.
And I looked, and
behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death (θάνατος
thanatos), and Hell (Hades) followed with him. And power was given unto them
over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and
with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
Interestingly,
death is translated directly as death’, but the place of death is being translated
as Hell (Greek ᾅδης Hades), which denotes the place of death rather
than a place of perpetual fiery torment. The Hebrew counterpart (Sheol) speaks
of the place of death, not of torment, but rather of peaceful rest, sleep or
unconsciousness.
In the New
American Standard Bible there are just 13 passages that mention Hell. * Matthew
5:22, 29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 23; Mark 9:45, 47; Luke 12:5, James 3:6 and 2
Peter 2:4. * All these places speak of the fiery Hell. (Concordance Greek #1067)
For an
unexplainable reason only the King James Version of the Bible mixes Hades with
Gahanna in these places: Matthew 11:23 and 16:18 Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:31
(Concordance Greek #5020).
In 2 Peter 2:4
(Concordance Greek #86) the word Hell is Tartaroo (unspecified deepest abyss).
As already said, no Gahanna is mentioned in the Book of Revelations but Hades.
In the Old
Testament no Hell is found except in the King James Version of the Bible. ** Deuteronomy
32:22. 2 Samuel 22:6. Job 11:8. Psalms: 9:17; 16:10; 18:5; 86:13; 116:3; 139:8.
Proverbs: 5:5; 7:27; 9:18; 15:24; 23:14. Isaiah: 5:14; 14:15; 28:15, 18; 57:9.
Ezekiel: 31:16-17; 32:21, 27. Amos 9:2; Jonah 2:2 and Habakkuk 2:5.
** Consistently
all these verses contain the word SHEOL (Concordance Hebrew #7585), not Hell. I
am sorry to disappoint some, but that’s the Bible truth.
Now, if those that have died and now
peacefully rest in Sheol—until the final trumpet sound—would rather go to a
living torment of Hell then I must also calm them down… eh, they do not need to
be… they are calm already.
Clear logic
The trash-burning place outside
the walls of Jerusalem, formerly named after Ben Hinnom, was allegorically used
for destruction of anything impure and useless. The fire seemed perpetual. One
can imagine how this mind-seducing scary idea was being handled. Daily, trash
was being dumped into that valley, hence the idea of perpetual smoke and fire.
Public speakers and religious leaders frequently used this place as a metaphor
in order to impress the listener. It was used to frighten the ordinary folk so
that they might not lust after other gods of the surrounding nations; and they
were numerous.
This Pharisaic invention
proved quite useful. The Hasmoneans appointed Pharisees to guard against
assimilation.[8] Now, the
reader may draw conclusions from this portion of Scripture:
[Nehemiah 9:2] The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
Ever since then
Judaism entered a period of extreme adherence to what the Pharisees preached to
be pure Judaism. Even Galileans were not considered pure Jews.
After the
Hellenization period proselytizing, and frequent conversions of those partially
or even completely assimilated people was the norm. Jesus came at the height of
this Judaic missionary activity.
[Matthew 23:15] Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
With their own kind
of Hell they were able to frighten those that strayed from the Jewish fold and
then they sealed them with this frightful doctrine. As a result, proselytes
believed in a vengeful and sort of sadistic god. But did God have anything to
with it? It was more political and sectarian and it had hardly anything to do
with God, but much with the national and religious belonging.
Jesus came to
demonstrate God’s love to us not vengeance. The proof of that you will find in
this passage of Scripture:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” (STOP)
At this point
Jesus stopped (quoting Isaiah 61:1-2), the next verse was this: “And the day of
vengeance of our God.”
And He closed the
book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the
synagogue were fixed on Him.
However, not
much has changed. During the Christianization of pagans the Hell weapon was
used quite successfully. But does God seek those sacred-of-Hell believers? Jesus
said that no one can come to Him unless it is the Father that draws him first.
So it comes to the level of the lost sons, the lost sheep and the lost seed.
Only the Father knows who is who and so it is He who draws anyone about to be
found.[9]
Building a religious organization requires the elements of intimidation in
order to keep it all together. But as knowledge increases along with our IQ
intimidation loses steam.
You can only intimidate the ignorant and never
the intelligent.
In
Protestantism those who are in the fold and have strayed, (backslid) carry the
elements of eternal punishment in themselves. Some churches preach that if you
leave their church then you are lost (meaning in hell). Those that went out of
a church are also called backsliders.
The seeds of
fright were also sown in me since childhood. What trigger the growth of those seeds—by
making them grow even into monstrous trees—are often guilt, condemnation and
ignorance regarding God’s great compassionate heart. The acceptance of man’s dogma
over the liberating knowledge of God’s true nature seals us with the horrible.
The
character of our Heavenly Father
The Lord introduces His character
to Moses and through Moses to God’s children.
[Exodus 34:5-7] The LORD descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the LORD. Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”
We have the
character of God as being compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and
abounding in lovingkindness and truth. But He hates hatred, malice and
unforgiveness so He returns the same on those that propagate it against Him.
For in another place it is written:
[2 Samuel 22:27] With the pure You show Yourself pure, and with the perverted You show Yourself astute. And You save an afflicted people; but Your eyes are on the haughty whom You abase.
But is God even
involved in works of vengeance? There are certain laws, which He had set into
motion that bring calamity on the producer of the same. The afflicter becomes afflicted
and the thief gets robbed. What man sows he shall reap. If you play with fire
you will be burned. If you play with hell by frightening others with it then
perhaps your will have your desires met?
Satan is called
the faultfinder and also prosecutor. We do not like faultfinders and we detest
prosecutors, especially when they assume all sorts of evil about us in the
court of law. By the same token no one would like Satan, (Greeks call him the
devil) but it seems that we have confused ourselves as if on purpose. We have
turned things around by making Satan the enemy of the righteous, even the
devil, and not the legitimate prosecuting attorney in no one else’s court, but
God’s. The same Satan found in the Bible can be twisted to suit as if God is a
toy, which we can replace with our theology.
Perhaps this is the greatest statement I have
ever made so far. I am quite sure that theologians knew well that God sends
rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. He is in the business of blessing.
He is compassionate and gracious. By knowing this, from Scripture, many took
advantage of it by twisting God’s Word on purpose just to seduce and mislead as
many as possible in order to build their religious empires.
God is love the
New Testament proclaims, but this was lost until Jesus came and restored to us
this truth by emphasizing God’s true character.
[Matthew 5:44-45] But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
That’s
revolutionary. He did not say make for yourself an enemy, but love your enemy,
but why? – “So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” Is our
Father gracious? –Yes. Is our Father compassionate? –Yes. Is He slow to anger?
– Yes. Is His heart filled with lovingkindness? –Yes. So what is this nonsense
about hating Satan? – Unless of course we’ve been misled and duped into
believing something else.
[V. 46-47] For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
[V. 48] Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
How is our heavenly Father perfect, in what way? The answer
is clear: He has no enemies and no enemy mentality. Period.
Obviously we
can produce something of ourselves. The self is from the earth; hence
self-identity comes from matter. Is it then possible that matter enables us in
such a way that we can decide and act on that decision as long as we are alive?
Think about it.
When God wants
to deal with us, to change something old into something new, He lowers Himself to
our level. Like a kind professor He speaks to us in un-academic simple terms. A
university professor is often not able to come down to a level of an elementary
school’s first grade and teach kids because of the pride of this life. One has
not achieved a high level of education in order to compromise it on the first
grade learning. Our God however, has no such problem; He comes down to our
level, but do we want to rise higher? Many do not want to graduate, and this
sentiment often comes from religiousness, which is unprogressive. God wants to
teach us something, but that teaching always brings something new. Shouldn’t we
get interested or we would rather label the teacher ‘false’?
My reasoning:
if we are curious as to the existence of aliens and the UFO we logically assume
that since there were so many eyewitness accounts the aliens should by now be
able to communicate with us. Why do they remain silent? Let’s imagine that
finally someone gets a signal from some alien being out there in space, but
only he can get that signal through his own invention, which is not yet
available to anyone else. Would you believe that man? I would. I would have no
reason not to, but that does not mean that I must try to talk with aliens. Does
it? I believe his story and examine the facts he presents to me. If I don’t
believe him then I would not listen nor examine anything he tried to tell me? I
use the little faith, like reading a newspaper and believing what is written.
That’s all. That believing does not change my life. Let the man continue with
his inventions and read to me the received messages. In no time I will spot
something out of the ordinary and illogical or unintelligent. After all we
assume that those aliens are intelligent beings. We can logically crack almost
anything out there, provided you have the gift of logic divine.
[Matthew 5:21-22] “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the Supreme Court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” (Gahanna of fire)
Not being kind,
considerate and caring to others is not the character of a peacemaker, is it?
Apparently, Jesus spoke these words to the mixed crowd. Among them were
teachers of the law, Scribes and Pharisees. The words of Jesus might have had
supported some of their doctrines like a meticulous keeping of the law and
their doctrine of hell, which at that time was not fully developed but only
used allegorically.
[Matthew 5:29-30] If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell (the valley of Ben Hinnom; Gehenna).
Certainly this
would validate the existence of hell on the other side. This can be confusing. But
before one concludes as to what Jesus really meant one must study the mind of
Christ first. We start with the Old Testament where we read about burning or
wasting (Hebrew Ba’ar.)
[Numbers 24:21-22] And he looked at the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said, “Your dwelling place is enduring, and your nest is set in the cliff. Nevertheless Kain will be consumed (בער Ba’ar, kindling and burning); how long will Asshur keep you captive?”
Figuratively
speaking Kenites are called tares in the New Testament for their fruits are
thorns, thistles or weeds; these take up space and choke up the cultivated plants.
Just as we clear our garden of weeds so that anything we have planted might
better develop; in a similar way also is the world in which we live. The
precise end of the Kenite is fire. Jesus knew this fact and said:
[Matthew 13:40-42] So
just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the
end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather
out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and
will throw them into the furnace of fire;
in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
However earlier
Jesus stated:
[Matthew 7:15-18] Beware
of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are
ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered
from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears
good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad
fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
A bad tree
cannot, or is not even able to produce good fruit. The prophet Jeremiah (13:23)
said, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?” Some people
serve a mission but only for this earth. They develop only the matter with
which they fell in love with and never have enough of. Monuments and
skyscrapers are definitely impressive and the driving force behind it all is
exactly that, to impress. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this ambition
and this awesome drive to perform and amaze, but it becomes wrong when someone
kills over it and then hushes it up. That is sick. Only tares carry this
sickness. The pompous pride seems to have no limits. This awesome drive to
impress others; quite often goes over dead bodies. Stealing, lying, cheating
and killing, done in the name of greed, is evil to the core.
[V. 19-20] “Every
tree that does not bear good fruit is cut
down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.
We now go back
to Jesus who amplified this profound truth even more.
[Matthew 12:33-35] Either make the tree
good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree
is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what
is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man
brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of
his evil treasure what is evil.
The tares will
be burned with fire (Matthew 13:30) and in John 8:44 the first murderer and
liar was Cain called the devil. John emphasized it even more.
[1 John 3:11-12] For
this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should
love one another; not as Cain, who was evil[10]
and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds
were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.
It is not hard
to figure out the logical progression if only one would be willing to part with
those feelings of vengeance and the desire to scare people just to make a dent
in their psyche; and perhaps make them listen.
We have shown
the origins of tares, which are the Kenites.[11]
We have shown their fruits and their treasure, which their hearts are really
set on. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)
And we have also shown their end, which is annihilation by fire. The only
problem we might have is with is the weeping and gnashing of teeth. A question
like this forces itself upon us: is it a permanent or eternal? Perhaps it goes
on while the fire still burns and then stops when the fire consumed all elements?
The scripture is not clear regarding this matter.
According to Jesus
who said, “Love your enemies” I would not wish anyone weeping (Greek, lamenting
or waling) and gnashing of teeth. But this weeping speaks of regrets (Conc. Greek
#2805 κλαυθμός
klauthmos) and is used only in conjunction with the expression like darkness,
weeping and gnashing of teeth, which was a popular expression.
The other
expression for weeping is (Conc. Greek #2799 κλαίω klaiō) and this word is consistently associated
with mourning, sympathy, love and the emotion of loss. Mary wept over the death
of her brother Lazarus as well as Jesus. Another Mary wept tears over the feet
of Jesus as she wiped them with her hair. Widows wept over the dead child Tabitha
(Acts 9:19) or sympathetic weeping as in Philippians 3:18 etc.
These Greek
words, (1. Klauthmos & 2. klaio) belong in different places within the context;
they cannot be used loosely.
1. Lamenting and wailing speak of regrets and
missed opportunities. Something that ought to be done earlier and was not may
produce regrets and lamenting.
2. Weeping, sympathetically being moved with
compassion or love.
The gnashing of
teeth speaks of an intense hatred. A cold chill can make chattering teeth.
Teeth grinding comes from stress and psychological tension, which manifests
itself at night. Dentists suggest the use of a mouth guard similar to a rubbery
mouthpiece used by boxers.
The inability to humble the
pride of life and to repent speaks of being locked in hatred and vengefulness.
[Matthew 5:9] “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
The opposite of
peace is unrest. The opposite of stillness is noise and the opposite of sickness
is health. Why do I use the opposites? Opposites help us better understand the
Middle Eastern mentality with which the Bible is written.
[Matthew 5:45] “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
“But I say to
you…” Jesus used metaphors, similes and many allegories in order to communicate
with His audience, but when He spoke with the scribes and those well versed in
scripture (Tanah) He spoke in details.
Speaking of
details. On the other side we won’t have teeth to grind or tears to weep. We
shall be like angels, spirits and winds.[12]
Finally I need
to address those that stick to religion because of Hell. They want to go to
heaven so badly that religion is their only hope.
My dear friend,
Being saved is
a sure thing you do not need to believe in God out of fear of Hell for he does
not seek the fearful. His perfect love casts out all fear so being scared of
hell and tremblingly accepting Christ by mumbling few religious phrases will
never take away the fear of hell. Either you know who you are or you don’t.
Either you are the lost seed, the lost son or daughter now found or you are the
tare to be burned up and be no more. No suffering. No torment. Nonexistence.
John the
Baptist spoke of the chaff to be burned up. Jesus spoke of the tares to be
burned up and be no more. From these expressions the theology of Hell was
created. Does God find pleasure in tormenting anyone on the other side? It all
comes down to a choice. I repeat. Choice! If you choose to remain scared of Hell,
which in your mind is the only thing keeping your from sinning or doing evil
than you are a pathetic case. In time you will become an emotional vegetable.
By staying on this theological rollercoaster you will make your head spin.
Either you learn God’s true nature and His loving disposition, His compassionate
character—the Truth—or you will keep on wandering in the maze of man’s ideas.
Your Maker wants you back!
Get
this booklet today. Find intelligence in the absolute truth about hell. Get
liberated. Find the true love. Imagine that eternal fire contains no time element.
If you put eternity in time zone it will be only a dot, a thought or an idea.
Time has nothing to do with eternity. Eternal torment would invalidate all that
Jesus said about loving our enemies, or blessing those that persecute us.
Being perfect like the heavenly Father is—by sending
rain on the righteous and the unrighteous, being a peacemaker—is what He is after.
Weeping speaks of regrets. Gnashing of teeth speaks of hatred. God is the
PERFECT LOVE that casts out all fear.
[1] http://spiritlessons.com/documents/Jennifer_Perez/Hell_is_Real_I_Went_There_Jennifer_Perez.htm
[2] http://www.cracked.com/blog/8-real-photographs-that-prove-Hell-exists-earth/
[3] http://bibleanswerstodayblog.com/is-Hell-real/
[4] Maurice Rawlings, Beyond
Death's Door, (Thomas Nelson Inc., 1979) p. 3
[5] http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat%27s_1974_UN_General_Assembly_speech
(line 82)
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism
[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manichaeism
& http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosticism
[8] The Hasmonean Dynasty The
dynasty was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades
after his brother Judas the Maccabee ("Hammer") defeated the Seleucid
army during the Maccabean Revolt. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasmonean_dynasty
& http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharisees
[9] [John 6:44 & 65] “No one
can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up
on the last day.” And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that
no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
[10] The Greek text often uses
sentences like these “being of the good or of the evil,” which the English
language does not use. Because of the prevailing theology and for clarity sake
the word one is often added in italics,
but at the same time suggesting the evil
one; instead of rendering one as
being evil; like Cain in this case.
[11] According to Genesis 15:19;
the Kenite is the root of the nine nations inhabiting Canaan.
[12] Read, Matthew 22:30; Mark
12:25 and Luke 20:36.
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