RESURRECTION
OR
IMMORTALITY
Subtitled: The Resurrection, Our Only Hope Of Life After Death
ISBN 0-7414-4620-0
William Robert West
Author of “The Rapture And Israel”
ISBN 978-1452895352
Is "The Wages Of Sin Death"
Or
"Eternal Life With Torment In Hell"
An Immortal Soul and the Doctrine of Hell
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2
Foreword
What does the Bible say about an immortal soul and/or spirit? Together soul and
spirit are used almost 1,100 times in the King James Version, but not one time is
immortal ever used in the same verse with either one. Immortal and immortality are in the
Old Testament zero times, in the New Testament, immortal one time, immortality five
times, all by Paul. What does he say?
1. "Now unto the King eternal, immortal" [1 Timothy 1:17].
2. Only God has immortality [1 Timothy 6:16].
3. Christ "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel" [2 Timothy 1:10].
4. "To them (Christians) that...seek for glory and honor and immortality" [Romans
2:7].
5. "This mortal must put on immortality" [1 Corinthians 15:53] at the resurrection.
6. "This mortal shall have put on immortality" [1 Corinthians 15:54] after the
resurrection.
Why are we to "seek for" immortality if we are born immortal? Why will we "put on
immortality" if the only part of us that will ever be immortal has been immortal from
birth (or before birth)? The fact that a person must "seek for...immortality" and
immortality must be "put on" at the resurrection is conclusive proof that a person
does not now have it. If Romans 2:7 and 1 Corinthians 15:53 teaches nothing more, it
teaches that no part of a person now possess immortality. NOT ONE PASSAGE IN
THE BIBLE SAYS ANYONE NOW HAS IMMORTALITY; WITH OUT NOW
HAVING IMMORTALITY NO ONE CAN NOW HAVE A SOUL THAT IS
IMMORTAL.
There are only two views that are commonly believed about what will happen to
mankind after death. [One] That the soul of all will live forever and cannot die, the soul
of the lost must exist somewhere for all the lost have eternal life and are not subject to the
wages of sin which is death, or [Two] the wages of sin is death and the lost will die, they
do not now have eternal life and never will.
[One]. The belief that everyone has a soul in them that will live forever and cannot
die, therefore, death is not the wages of sin. A person has something in them that cannot
die, cannot ever be destroyed; ALL ARE BORN WITH ETERANL LIFE AND CAN
NEVER DIE. This view has two major divisions.
• That all mankind has a "soul" that cannot ever die or be destroyed, but for most of
mankind God will forever torment this part of a person they call "soul."
• Universalism: that all mankind has a "soul" that cannot ever die or be destroyed,
everyone has something in them that will live forever but it will be saved. If this it
(soul) is not saved in this lifetime it will be saved after death.
[Two]. The wages of sin is death; the lost will die the second death; they will forever
be destroyed. Those who do not believe this view gave it the name "annihilation." This
name is not in the Bible, but what it means is eternal destruction, nevertheless, I think it
best not to call Bible teaching by a name not in the Bible.
Most Protestant Premillennialists believe the lost will be totally destroyed but there
are two Premillennial views on how or where the lost will be destroyed.
1. Many Protestant Premillennialists believe that the destruction of the lost will be
on this earth and the saved will forever live on this earth; no person will ever be in
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Heaven. Many believe the Valley of Gehenna will be restored and the lost will
literally be burn to ashes in it.
2. Some Protestant Premillennialists believe that the saved will be with Christ in
Heaven, not on earth after the thousand years, the second death will be the end of
the lost, but they are not burned to ashes on this earth.
But then some Protestant Premillennialists believe the wages of sin is eternal life with
torment for the soul that cannot die, which puts them in the camp of those that believe
death is not the wages of sin.
If the soul or spirit were immortal and could never die or be dead, how could there be
a resurrection of the dead? Do you believe in the resurrection of the dead? If yes, what do
you believe will be resurrected? Will your dead body be raised from the dead or do you
believe a soul that is not dead will be raised from the dead? When I first begin this study I
was surprised and made to tremble at how few believed in the resurrection and how many
there are that do not really know what they believe about it. Many believe some part of
themselves will instantly be transited from this world to Heaven or Hell at death without
a resurrection, before the resurrection and Judgment Day and before the second coming
of Christ, but when asked what is the reason for the resurrection, they not only do not
know but have never really thought about it. Death is looked at as being a doorway to life
in another form, that death is not really death, and there is nowhere in their thoughts or in
their faith for a resurrection for their theology says no one is really dead. The resurrection
has been removed from the faith of many by today's theology that says some immortal
part of a person will go to Heaven at the moment of death. BUT IS THERE ANY LIFE
AFTER DEATH BEFORE THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST AND THE
RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD? Paul said at the resurrection, "This mortal must put
on immortality," but if the soul is now immortal, then what is it that is now mortal that
will put on immortality at the resurrection?
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Table of Contents
AN IMMORTAL SOUL OR RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
The Resurrection, Our Only Hope Of Life After Death
By William West
CHAPTER ONE - The reinterpretation of the nature of man - what is man?
CHAPTER TWO: Life or Death
CHAPTER THREE: The reinterpretations of the great doctrines of the Bible
CHAPTER FOUR: From where came Hell?
CHAPTER FIVE: Sheol, Hades, and Tartarus
CHAPTER SEVEN: A strange and unexplainable silence: The reinterpreting of life,
death, torment, destruction, destroy, perish, die, and end.
CHAPTER EIGHT: The interpretation of figurative language, metaphors, and
symbolical passage
CHAPTER NINE: Universalist: The "age lasting" Hell
CHAPTER TEN: The results of attributing evil Pagan teachings to God.
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CHAPTER ONE
What Is Man?
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What is a man? Is a person born with an immortal soul, or do the saved put on
immortality at the resurrection? Is a person a three part being, an animal body with both a
soul and a spirit that will live without the body? This is one of the most important
questions of all time. It has more influence on our conception of our nature, our view of
life in this world and life after death than any other question.
Soul [nehphesh] in the Old Testament: (Strong spells it "nehpesh" Hebrew word
#5315). If “soul” were an immortal "immaterial, invisible part of man" (Vine), why is
this Hebrew word that is translated soul also translated "living creature" when it is
speaking of animals in Genesis 1:21; 1:24; 2:19; 9:10; 9:12; 9:15; 9:16 when the same
Hebrew word [nehphesh] is translated "living soul" in Genesis 2:7 when it is speaking of
a person? In the Hebrew, if this were an immaterial, immortal part of a person, it would
also be an immaterial, immortal part of animals.
[1] Genesis 1:20 "The moving creature that has life" [soul - nehphesh, used referring
to animals]. Footnote in the King James Version, "The moving creature that has soul."
"Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures" [soul - nehphesh] (American
Standard Version) "The moving creature that has life" (footnote in KJV).
[2] Genesis 1:21 "living creature" [soul - nehphesh, used referring to animals] "And
God created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature [soul - nehphesh] that
moves wherewith the water swarmed.”
[3] Genesis 1:24 "living creature" [soul - nehphesh, used referring to animals] "And
God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures [soul - nehphesh] after their kind,
cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth."
[4] Genesis 1:30 "life" [soul - nehphesh, used referring to animals] "And to every
beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creeps upon
the earth, wherein there is life" [soul - nehphesh]. Animals are "a living soul."
ALL FOUR TIMES THAT SOUL [nehphesh] IS USED IN GENESIS ONE, IT IS
USED REFERRING TO ANIMALS, NOT TO A PERSON. ANIMALS WERE
SOULS BEFORE ANY MAN EXISTED. "Then God said, 'Let the waters teem with
swarms of LIVING SOULS [soul - nehpheshs], and let birds fly above the earth in the
open expanse of the heavens.' And God created the great sea monsters, and every
LIVING SOUL [soul - nehphesh] that moves with which the waters swarmed after their
kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. And God
blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let
birds multiply on the earth.' And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth LIVING SOULS [soul - nehpheshs] after their
kind: cattle and creeping thing and beasts of the earth after their kind'; and it was
so...and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that
creeps upon the earth, wherein there is LIFE [soul - nehphesh], I have given every green
herb for meat" [Genesis 1:20-30]. “Living creatures" [soul - nehphesh] is used to
describe all living things on earth, animals, birds, fish, people; not eternal life or
some immaterial invisible part of them that is eternal.
[5] Genesis 2:7 "A living soul" [soul - nehphesh, used referring to a person]. The
first time the King James Version translated nehphesh into "soul," most other
translations did not agree with it, not even the New King James Version. "Man
became a living being" New King James Version.
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• “A living creature" [nehphesh] Genesis 1:20
• “A living creature" [nehphesh] Genesis 1:21
• “A living creature" [nehphesh] Genesis 1:24
• “Wherein there is life" [nehphesh] Genesis 1:30
• “A living soul" [nehphesh] Genesis 2:7
o It is obvious that the translators translated according to a preconceived
opinion in an attempt keep animals from having souls.
Man became:
• "A living being" New King James Version, New American Standard Version,
Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, New International
Version, Amplified Version, The New American Bible.
• "A living person" New Century Version, The Living Bible, New Living
Translation.
• "A living creature" The Revised English Bible, Young's Literal Translation.
• "Life" Contemporary English Version.
The first time nehphesh is used referring to a person, most translations apply it
to the living breathing being or person, not to an invisible inter part of a person.
ADAM BEING SPOKEN OF AS A "LIVING BEING" [nehphesh] PROVES HE
WAS MORTAL, NOT IMMORTAL, JUST AS ALL "LIVING BEINGS"
[nehphesh] FISH, BIRDS, ANIMALS, ARE MORTAL, NOT IMMORTAL. HOW
CAN THIS BE ONE OF THE PROOF TEXTS USED TO PROVE ADAM WAS
MADE WITH AN IMMORTAL SOUL? IF IT PROVES ADAM HAD AN
IMMORTAL SOUL, THEN IT PROVES THAT FISH HAVE AN IMMORTAL
SOUL THAT CANNOT DIE.
IT IS IMPORTANCE TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS BEING SAID THAT
ANIMALS AND MANKIND ARE A SOUL [LIVING BEINGS] NOT THAT
ANIMALS OR MANKIND HAS A SOUL [HAVE A PART, AN IMMORTAL,
INVISIBLE, NO SUBSTITUTE SOMETHING IN THEM THAT CANNOT DIE].
MANY THINK GENESIS IS SAYING ONLY MANKIND HAS SOULS BUT
ANIMALS DO NOT. BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN TAUGHT
MOST, WITHOUT REALIZING IT THEY READ INTO THIS THAT ONLY
MANKIND HAS A SOUL THAT IS AN IMMORTAL, INVISIBLE, NO
SUBSTITUTES SOMETHING THAT CANNOT DIE. This causes them to believe
that only this immortal part of them self will be saved (more on this at the end of this
chapter).
“Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathe into his nostrils
the breath of life; and man became a living being” The phrase “breath of life” that was
breathed into man was the same Hebrew “breath of life” in Genesis 7:21-22 that was in
the nostrils of birds, cattle, men and beasts. It is not a soul that men have but animals do
not have; it does not say that God breathed into Adam an immortal soul; the breathless
body that God made from the earth is what became a living breathing being [nshahmah].
God did not tell Adam he had a body that was made from the earth but the real Adam was
made of something not from the earth.
• “Breathed into his nostrils the breath of life [nshahmah]” man [Genesis 2:7]
• All in whose nostrils was the breath of life [nshahmah]” both man and animals
[Genesis 7:22]
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• “Saved alive nothing that breaths [nshahmah]” both men and animals
[Deuteronomy 20:16]
• “Utterly destroyed all that breaths [nshahmah]” both men and animals [Joshua
10:40]
• “There was not any left to breaths [nshahmah]” both men and animals [Joshua
11:11]
• “Neither left they any to breaths [nshahmah]” both men and animals [Joshua
11:14]
o Why was one word [Nshahmah] translated with three words [“breath of
life”], then with only one word [“breaths”]?
[6] Genesis 2:19 "living creature" [soul - nehphesh, used referring to animals], "Every
beast...every bird...whatsoever the man called every living creature [soul - nshahmah],
that was the name thereof"
[7] Genesis 9:4 "life" [soul - nehphesh, used referring to animals]
[8] Genesis 9:5 "lives" [soul - nehphesh, used referring to man]
[9] Genesis 9:5 "life" [soul - nehphesh, used referring to man]
[10] Genesis 9:10 "living creature" [soul - nehphesh, used referring to animals]
[11] Genesis 9:12 "living creature" [soul - nehphesh, used referring to animals]
[12] Genesis 9:15 "living creature" [soul - nehphesh, used referring to man and animals]
[13] Genesis 9:16 "living creature" [soul - nehphesh, used referring to man and animals]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A bird’s eye view of the translation of nehphesh in the first nine chapters.
1. “Moving creature that has life" [nehphesh] Genesis 1:20 - animals
2. “A living creature" [nehphesh] Genesis 1:21- animals
3. “A living creature" [nehphesh] Genesis 1:24 - animals
4. “Wherein there is life" [soul - nehphesh] Genesis 1:30 - animals
5. “A living soul" [nehphesh] Genesis 2:7 - man
6. “A living creature" [nehphesh] Genesis 2:19 – animals
7. “Life" [nehphesh] Genesis 9:4 - animals
8. “Lives” [nehphesh] Genesis 9:5 - man
9. “Life" [nehphesh] Genesis 9:5 - man
10. “Living creature" [nehphesh] Genesis 9:10 - animals
11. “Living creature" [nehphesh] Genesis 9:12 - animals
12. “Living creature" [nehphesh] Genesis 9:15 - man and animals
13. “Living creature" [nehphesh] Genesis 9:16 - man and animals
This is an example of men attempting to cover up the truth when it is contradictory to
their theology. It takes a lot of preconceived theology to make nehphesh be an immaterial
invisible no substance something in man that is not in animals when it is not deliberately
hid as it is in the King James Version.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
IN GENESIS 9:4-16 THE SAME WORD IS USED FOR BOTH MAN AND
ANIMALS SEVEN TIMES IN THE SAME PASSAGE.
To animals five times, to man four times
• THREE TIMES TO ANIMALS ALONE
• TWO TIMES TO ANIMALS AND MAN TOGETHER
• TWO TIMES TO MAN ALONE
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"But flesh with the LIFE [#1. Soul - nehphesh, used referring to animals] thereof,
which is the blood thereof, shall you not eat. And surely your blood, the blood of your
LIVES [#2. soul - nehphesh, used referring to man], will I require; at the hand of every
beast will I require it: and at the hand of men, even at the hand of every man's brother,
will I require the LIFE [#3. soul - nehphesh, used referring to man] of man. Whoso
sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made He
men. And you, be you fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and
multiply therein. And God spoke unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I,
behold, I establish my covenant with you and with your seed after you; And every
LIVING CREATURE [#4. soul - nehphesh, used referring to animals] that is with you,
of the fowl, and the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of
the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you; neither
shall the waters of a flood cut off all flesh be any more; neither shall there any more be a
flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make
between me and you and every LIVING CREATURE [#5. soul - nehphesh, used
referring to animals] that is with you, for perpetual generation: I do set my bow in the
cloud, and it shall be a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come
to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And
I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every LIVING
CREATURE [#6. soul - nehphesh, used referring to man and animals] of all flesh; and
the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the
cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between
God and every LIVING CREATURE [#7. soul - nehphesh, used referring to man and
animals] of all flesh that is upon the earth."
All four times that soul [nehphesh] is used in Genesis 1; it is referring to animals,
not to a person. IN TEN OF THE FIRST THIRTEEN TIMES SOUL [NEHPHESH]
IS USED IT IS USED REFERRING TO ANIMALS, but the King James Version
hides this by using different words, and most who read the King James Version
never know it. NEHPHESH IS TRANSLATED "SOUL" ONLY ONE TIME OF THE
FIRST THIRTEEN TIMES IT IS USED in the King James Version; but it is not
translated "soul" in any of the first thirteen times it is used in the New King James
Version, New American Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, or New
International Version. Mankind has the same soul [life - nehphesh] as the other
"living creatures." He does not differ from other living creatures [soul - nehphesh]
by having a soul [nehphesh] that cannot die. His dominion over other living creatures
[Other nehpheshs - souls] is not his nehphesh.
Mike Willis says expositors have generally appealed to Genesis 2:7 to prove that all
men are born with and now have immortal spirits. However, in 1 Corinthians 15:45, Paul
has clearly expounded the meaning of the Hebrew words nehphesh, chayyah. "The living
soul" of Genesis 2:7 is the natural body of this passage. He says this corresponds with the
book of Genesis itself because the same construction is used in Genesis 1:24 to describe
animals. When Moses recorded that God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life
and he became a living soul, what the writer of Genesis was saying was that the dust of
the earth began to have animal life and does not prove that a person has an immortal
spirit (soul); rather it states that a person has animal life. All men possess animal life
through Adam. A Commentary On Paul's First Epistle To the Corinthians, Page 578,
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1979. For one who knows the Bible as he does and believes a person has an immortal
soul, yet says, the living soul of Genesis 2:7 is the natural body, proves beyond doubt that
a living soul is not an immortal inter part of a person.
Guy N. Woods says the first time in Genesis 1:20 the word soul is used is from the
Hebrew nehphesh where it is assigned to fish, birds, and creeping things. He says it is
clear that the soul in these passages does not refer to anything peculiar to the constitution
of man, but it signifies, as its usage denotes, and the lexicons affirm, any creature that
breathes. "What Is The Soul Of Man," Gospel Advocate, 1985, Number 21.
Adam Clarke "Nephesh clayyah; a general term to express all creatures endued with animal life,
in any of its infinitely varied gradations, from the half reasoning elephant down to the stupid
potto, or lower still, to the polype, which seems equally to share the vegetable and animal life."
IN THE FIRST NINE CHAPTERS OF GENESIS SOUL [nehphesh] HAS BEEN
USED MORE OFTEN WITH REFERENCE TO ANIMALS THAN IT IS WITH
REFERENCE TO PERSONS; IT IS THE ANIMAL LIFE, WHICH BOTH A
PERSON AND ANIMALS HAVE IN COMMON. HOW DID THE TRANSLATORS
KNOW WHEN IT CHANGED TO AN INVISIBLE INTER IMMORTAL PART OF A
PERSON, WHICH ANIMALS DO NOT HAVE?
NOTE: BOTH MAN AND ANIMALS ARE SOULS, LIVING BEINGS. WE ARE A
SOUL, NOT HAVE A SOUL. IF WE HAVE A SOUL, HAVE A LIVING BEING IN
US, THEN WE ARE ONE LIVING BEING WITH ANOTHER LIVING BEING
LIVING IN US, A LIVING BEING LIVING IN ANOTHER LIVING BEING. THE
DOCTRINE THAT WE HAVE A SOUL LIVING IN US, AND IT IS THIS
IMMORTAL DEATHLESS PART OF US THAT WILL BE SAVED OR
TORMENTED FOREVER IS THE FOUNDATION OF MANY OF THE ERRORS
THAT HAVE DIVIDED THE CHURCHES. THAT WE ARE A SOUL (WE ARE A
LIVING BEING), NOT WE HAVE A SOUL (WE HAVE A LIVING BEING LIVING IN
US) IS ONE OF THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL AND MOST MISUNDERSTOOD
TEACHING IN THE BIBLE.
[14] Genesis 12:5 "And the people [soul - nehphesh] whom they had acquired" New King
James Version ["soul" in King James Version].
[15] Genesis 12:13 "That I [soul - nehphesh] may live because of you" New King James
Version ["soul" in King James Version].
[16] Genesis 14:21 "Give me the persons [soul - nehphesh] and take the goods" King
James Version.
[17] Genesis 17:14 "That person [soul - nehphesh] shall be cut off" New King James
Version.
[18] Genesis 19:17 "Escape for your life [soul - nehphesh]" King James Version.
[19] Genesis 19:19 "Saving my life [soul - nehphesh]" King James Version.
IN THE FIRST NINETEEN TIMES NEHPHESH IS USED IT IS TRANSLATED
“SOUL”
ONLY THREE TIMES IN THE KING JAMES VERSION
NONE IN THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION
NONE IN THE NEW AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION
NONE IN THE NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION
NONE IN THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION.
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[20] Genesis 19:20 "That my life [soul - nehphesh] may be saved" New American
Standard Version [Translated soul for the fourth time in the King James Version and first
time in the New King James Version].
[21] Genesis 23:8 "If it be your mind [soul - nehphesh]" King James Version
[22] Genesis 27:4 "So that I may bless you before I [soul - nehphesh] die" New Revised
Standard Version.
• "So that I [nehphesh] may bless you before I die" Revised Standard Version,
New Revised Standard Version
• "So that I [nehphesh] may give you my blessing before I die" New
International Version
• "So that I [nehphesh] may give you my blessing before I die" Revised English
Bible
• "To give you my [nehphesh] blessing before I die" Amplified Bible
• "That I [nehphesh] may give you my special blessing before I die" New
American Bible
• "Then I [nehphesh] will bless you before I die" New Century Version
• "Then I [nehphesh] will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my
firstborn son, before I die" New Living Translation
• "I [nehphesh] want to eat it once more and give you by blessing before I die"
Contemporary English Version
• "That I [nehphesh] may eat of it, [preparatory] to giving you [as my firstborn]
my blessing before I die" Amplified Bible
• "That my soul [nehphesh] may bless thee before I die" King James Version.
How would Isaac's son know if he were blessed by an "immaterial invisible"
no substance part of a person that he could not see? By this time, hundreds of
years after Genesis 1:1, the King James translators must have been desperate
to be able to put "soul" into the Bible.
UP TO GENESIS 27:4 FOR HUNDERS OF YEARS NEHPHESH IS
TRANSLATED SOUL:
• ONLY FOUR TIMES OUT OF TWENTY-TWO IN THE KING JAMES
VERSION
• ONLY ONE TIME OUT OF TWENTY-TWO IN THE NEW KING JAMES
VERSION
• NONE IN MANY OTHERS TRANSLATIONS
Nehphesh has been used 21 times before the New King James Version used "soul" for
the first time, but even then the translators of many versions have chosen not to translate
it "soul." IN GENESIS "NEHPHESH" IS NOT AN IMMORTAL "IMMATERIAL,
INVISIBLE PART OF MAN," BUT IT IS THE LIFE, LIVING CREATURE, LIVING
BEING, ANY LIVING THING, WHETHER ANIMALS, FISH, OR MAN. IF THE
TRANSLATORS HAD CONTINUED TO TRANSLATE NEHPHESH AS LIFE,
LIVING CREATURE, LIVING BEING, OR PERSON, AS THEY DID IN THE FIRST
TWENTY-ONE TIMES IT IS USED, THERE MAY NOT BE THE DIVISIONS
THERE ARE TODAY. WHY DID THEY NOT TRANSLATE NEHPHESH INTO
SOUL IN THE FIRST PART OF THE BIBLE THAT COVERD HUNDARDS OF
YEARS? MAYBE BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT IT WOULD HAVE MADE
ANIMALS HAVE SOULS, AND THEY DID NOT BELIEVE ANIMALS COULD
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HAVE SOULS. I find it difficult to see how anyone could not call their honesty into
question for it is undeniable that they put their belief over the word of God and
deliberately hid the truth from their readers; deliberately hid the truth from you.
[23] Genesis 32:30 "My life [soul - nehphesh] is preserved" King James Version. Most
translations use "life" in this passage for their soul could not perish and would not need to
be preserved.
[24] Genesis 34:3
• "His heart [soul - nehphesh] was drawn to Dinah" New International Version
• "He was deeply attracted [nehphesh] to Dinah" New American Standard Version
• "His soul [nehphesh] clave unto Dinah" King James Version. If this translation is
not saying an immaterial immortal soul clave unto a material mortal being what is
it saying?
[25] Genesis 34:8
• "My son Shechem has his heart [nehphesh] on your daughter" New International
Version
• "My son Shechem is in love [nehphesh] with this girl" Revised English Bible
• "The heart [nehphesh] of my son Shechem longs for your daughter" New Revised
Standard Version
• "The soul [nehphesh] of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter" King James
Version
[26] Genesis 35:18
• "As she breathed [nehphesh] her last-for she was dying" New International
Version.
• "Then with her last breath, [nehphesh] as she was dying" Revised English Bible
• "As her soul [nehphesh] was departing (for she died)" King James Version
[27] Genesis 36:6 "All the persons [nehphesh] of his house" King James Version
[28] Genesis 37:21 "Let us not kill him [nehphesh]" King James Version
[29] Job 12:10 "In whose hand is the soul [soul - nehphesh, used referring to animals] of
every living thing, and the breath of all mankind." "The life of every living thing" New
American Standard Bible
[30] Job 41:21 "His breath [soul - nehphesh, used referring to an animal, possibly a
crocodile]"
[31] Isaiah 19:10 "All that make sluices and ponds for fish [soul - nehphesh, used
referring to animals, fish]" King James Version
[32] Jeremiah 2:24 "A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffed up the wind in her
[soul - nehphesh, used referring to an animal] desire"
[33] Numbers 31:28 "And levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war which went out
to battle: one soul [nehphesh-used referring to man and animals] of five hundred, both of
the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses and of the sheep." Of about 870 times
“nephesh” is in the Old Testament this and Job 12:10 are the only passages where the
King James translators translated “nephesh” as “soul” when it has reference to animals
and the only reason they did this time is that it has equal reference to people as it does to
animals and they had no choice.
"So carefully has the translation of nehphesh been guarded in relation to animals as 'souls,' that
we can't help but wonder if it were not done intentionally to conceal the fact that animals are
souls as well as men." David J. Heinizman, "Man Became A Living Soul"
11
[34 to 870] It would be to long to quote all the 870 times the Hebrew word nehphesh is in
the Old Testament with just over one-half being translated "soul" in King James Version
[Wigram, Page 829, Old Testament].
1. SOUL about 473 times. Not once do any of them imply anything about life
beyond the grave or about the soul being immortal
2. LIFE about 122 times
3. PERSON about 26 times
4. MIND about 15 times
5. HEART about 15 times
6. PERSONAL PRONOUNS 44 + times [yourselves, themselves, her, me, he, his,
himself]
7. ALL OTHERS about 200 times [man, creature, living being, own, any, living
thing, lives, the dead, dead body, kills, slays, slay him, mortally, discontented,
ghost, breath, will, appetite, hearty desire, desire, pleasure, lust, deadly, fish]. All
870 times it is associated with the activity of a living being, including dying,
and it never implies anything about life after the death of the living being.
None of them are an immortal inter part of a person. They are a living being that
can die, be killed, or be dead. Nehphesh is always associated with the activity
of earthly breathing beings, both of person(s) and animal(s). It never implies
anything about life beyond the grave. IT IS NEVER TRANSLATED
"SPIRIT."
Can one word be rightly translated this way? Can a word that is not a pronoun be
rightly translated into a pronoun as it is in the King James Version? How could the
translators know when to change the noun into a pronoun? NO ONE READING SOME
OF THE ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE WOULD HAVE ANY
WAY OF KNOWING THAT ALL THESE WORDS ARE TRANSLATIONS (OR
MISTRANSLATIONS) OF ONLY ONE WORD. Did the translators do so because
they wanted to make a person be an "immortal being," and more than a "living
creatures?" In almost one half of the times nehphesh is used in the Old Testament, even
the King James translators could not translate it "soul." When the all-knowing God used
just one word, why did the translators use many words and change it as they wished to
from a noun to a pronoun? Did they think that for all the years from Adam unto Christ,
God thought people could understand just one word; but now about forty words are
needed to translate one word? If one word were all that was needed from Adam to the
King James Version, why would God's one word not be enough today? Do the translators
think they have improved the Hebrew Old Testament? The use of many words came
when the Catholic Church brought in unconditional immortality, and they had to get it
into the Bible. The Hebrew manuscripts still have just one word - nehphesh, which was
the one word God inspired. Were the translators inspired to change it to many words?
Nehphesh is translated soul far fewer times in the New American Standard Version
and in most other translations, including the New King James Version, than it is in the
King James Version. Were they going as far as they dared to in correcting the King
James Version?
The way soul is understood and used today in English (an inter undying PART of a
person) makes putting the word soul in a translation for the English people today be a
false and deliberately misleading translation; for it makes it where today's English reader
12
cannot know what God said, and will understand only what the prejudiced outlook the
translators wanted their readers to understand WHEN THE WORD SOUL IS
UNDERSTOOD AS IT IS USED TODAY. Without much study of Bible words, which
most Bible reader will never do, they cannot know what God said to them when they read
the word soul and will think that the outlook of the translator is the word of God, which
seems to be somewhat prejudice. God's word has been deliberately replaced with the
teaching of man [Matthew 15:9] in a way that will have more influence on our
conception of what our nature is and the nature of all living beings than any other
question.
THE “SOUL” AND “EATING OF BLOOD”
Is the immortal "soul" [nehphesh] in the blood? Is a part of a person that many say
it lives after the death of the body in the blood of both men and animals? [Leviticus
17:10-15] In only six verses nehphesh is used ten times.
• Used referring to animals four times
• Used referring to man six times
• Translated soul six times and life four times in the King James Version
"I will even set my face against that SOUL [person - nehphesh, used referring to man]
that eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the LIFE [soul -
nehphesh, used referring to animals] of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to
you upon the altar to make an atonement for your SOULS: [nehphesh, used referring to
man] for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the SOUL [nehphesh, used referring
to man]. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No SOUL [nehphesh, used referring
to man] of you shall eat blood...For it is the LIFE [soul - nehphesh, used referring to
animals] of all flesh; the blood of it is for the LIFE [soul - nehphesh, used referring to
animals] thereof; therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No SOUL [nehphesh, used
referring to man] shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the LIFE [soul -
nehphesh, used referring to animals] of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eats it
shall be cut off. And every SOUL [nehphesh, used referring to man] that eats that which
died of itself...he shall wash his clothes, and bath himself in water" In this passage, the
King James Version translated the same word "soul" six times when it used referring to
man and "life" four times when it used referring to animals. Can anyone not see how the
translators picked when they wanted "nehphesh" to be "soul" and when they wanted
"nehphesh" to be "life"? They could not let an immortal soul be in the blood nor could
they let animals have an immortal soul. Their theology said a man had to have a soul, but
an animal could not, and they were not willing that their reader see that the word
"nehphesh" is used referring to both, and that both do not have a soul but are a soul.
• "No SOUL (nehphesh) shall eat blood" Leviticus 17:12. (An immortal soul eating
blood?)
• "The LIFE [soul - nehphesh] of all flesh is the blood" Leviticus 17:11.
• "No DEAD BODY [soul - nehphesh]" A dead immortal soul? The same word that
is translated SOUL and LIFE is translated DEAD BODY. Numbers 6:6, also
Numbers 5:2; 6:11; 9:6; 9:10. These passages would make no sense if nehphesh
were a no substance immortal something in a person that cannot be dead. It would
also make animals have the same no substance immortal something in them. It is
life that is in the blood, not an immortal soul as the word "soul" is used today.
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The vanishing use of soul in Leviticus 17:10-15
• In the King James Version nehphesh is translated "soul" six of the ten times it is
used.
• The New King James Version used "soul" only two of the ten times.
• "Soul" is not used in the New Revised Standard Version, New International
Version, The New American Bible, and others.
Leviticus 17:10-15 New Revised Standard Version, "If anyone of the house of Israel
or of the aliens who reside among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that
PERSON [nehphesh] who eats blood, and will cut that PERSON [nehphesh] off from the
people. For the LIFE [nehphesh] of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you
for making atonement for your LIVES [nehphesh] on the altar, for, as LIFE, [nehphesh]
it is the blood that makes atonement. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel: No
PERSON [nehphesh] among you shall eat blood...For the LIFE [nehphesh] of every
creature-its blood is its LIFE; [nehphesh] therefore I have said to the people of Israel:
You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the LIFE [nehphesh] of every creature is
its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off. All PERSONS, [nehphesh] citizens or aliens,
who eat what dies of itself...shall wash their clothes, and bathe themselves in water"
Leviticus 17:10-15 New International Version, "Any Israelite or any alien living
among them who eats any blood-I will set my face against that PERSON [nehphesh] who
eats blood and will cut HIM [nehphesh] off from his people. For the LIFE [nehphesh] of
a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for
YOURSELVES [nehphesh] on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonements for one's
LIFE [nehphesh]. Therefore I say to the Israelites, 'None of YOU [nehphesh] may eat
blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood'...because the LIFE [nehphesh] of
every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, You must not eat the
blood of any creature, because the LIFE [nehphesh] of every creature is its blood;
anyone who eats it must be cut off. ANYONE [nehphesh], whether native-born or alien,
who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash his clothes and bathe
with water'."
“Generally the world ‘soul’ in the ordinary version should be life.” Ashley S. Johnson, Founder
and president of the Johnson Bible College, “The Resurrection And The Future Life,” Page 336,
1913, Knoxville Lithographing Company.
MAN "BECAME A LIVING BEING" Genesis 1:26 "Then God said, 'Let Us make
MAN in Our image,'" not "Let Us make the soul of man in Our Image" Genesis 2:7.
"Then the Lord formed MAN of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life; [not breathed into the body an immortal undying no substance soul, but the
breath of life, which both men and animals have], and MAN became a living being." Not
a body + an immortal soul, but "a living being." Not two beings, a body being with an
inter soul being living in it.
The body of dust + the breath of life = a living soul [a living being - nehphesh],
Genesis 2:7. The breath of life without the body would not be a person or animal. It
would not be a living being, not a nehphesh. ALL living creatures, whether they are
animals or sea-dwelling creatures, are souls [nehpheshs – living beings].
MAN, not merely a body, is formed from the dust of the ground. MAN is in the image
of God, not just an invisible something in a person that has no substance that is in the
image of God. Adam might have loss possible immorality when he loss the tree of life,
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but this was not a loss of being made in the image of God; after Adam was put out of the
garden he was still in the image of God, mankind is still in the image of God.
The Bible says, "Man BECAME a living soul" is changed to, "Man WAS GIVEN a
soul" or “Man had a soul put in him.” There is a world of difference in a person BEING a
living soul and a person HAVING a soul. Both man and animals are a living soul. If the
breath of life in his nostrils in Genesis 2:7 makes a person have an immortal part (spirit)
living in him or her that cannot die, then "all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit
of life" in Genesis 7:22 proves all beasts, birds, and fish have an immortal part (soul)
living in them that cannot die; yet they all died, both man and animals that had "the
breath of the spirit of life" died.
ANIMALS ARE "SOULS" nehphesh - living creature
Animals ARE souls, not animals HAVE souls. In Genesis 1:20; 1:21; 1:24; 1:30,
most translations try to hide this. WHY? Why is it "living creature" when used referring
to animals and "soul" when used referring to a person? There is no excuse or defense for
it. It is a deliberate attempt by the translators, who did not believe God's word as it is, to
mislead; all Bible teachers should point this out to all they teach [James 3:1]. If "the
living soul" [nehphesh] is the immortal part of a person, then bugs, all sea creatures, all
birds, and all animals have an immortal soul. In Genesis "Living soul" is used more of
these creatures than it is of man. Passages in which soul [nehphesh] is speaking of
animals being souls
1. Genesis 1:20 "Then God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living souls
[soul - nehphesh, used referring to animals]"
2. Genesis 1:21 "And God created the great sea-monsters, and every living soul
[soul - nehphesh, used referring to animals] that moves wherewith the waters
swarmed."
3. Genesis 1:24 "And God said, Let the earth bring forth living souls [soul -
nehphesh, used referring to animals] after their kind, cattle, and creeping things,
and beasts of the earth after their kind"
4. "And with ever living creature [soul - nehphesh, used referring to animals] that is
with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you"
[Genesis 9:10]. Also Genesis 9:12, 9:15 and 9:16
5. "One soul [nehphesh life, used referring to man and animals] of five hundred, of
the persons and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep" [Numbers
31:28]
6. The "leviathan," [Job 41:1] used six times in the Bible, probably a crocodile, has
a soul [soul - nehphesh, used referring to animals] [Job 41:21]. From over 870
times nehphesh is used, this is the only time it is translated breath in the Kings
James Version. After all, they could not have a crocodile, a sea monster, or
whatever it was having an "immortal soul" for then they would have to put it in
Heaven or Hell for an immortal crocodile could never die and would have to be
somewhere for all eternity.
7. "SOUL" [nehphesh] OF MAN AND ANIMALS IS IN THE BLOOD "For the
life [soul - nehphesh, used referring to man and to animals] of the flesh is in the
blood" Leviticus 17:11.
15
8. "For the life [soul - nehphesh, used referring to man and to animals] of every
creature is the blood of it" Leviticus 17:14, Genesis 9:4
9. "In whose hand is the life [soul - nehphesh, used referring to man and to animals]
of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?" [Job 12:10].
10. "A righteous man has regard for the life [soul - nehphesh, used referring to
animals] of his beast" [Proverbs 12:10].
11. Genesis 2:19, 9:15-16 and many more.
"The living soul" in Genesis 2:7 is the one distinctive thing, for many that makes a
person different from an animal. If a person has an immortal soul, there is no way
around all living things having immortal souls. NOTHING IS SAID IN THESE
PASSAGES ABOUT BUGS, BIRDS, FISH, OR A PERSON BEING ANYTHING
MORE THAN "LIVING BEINGS."
"The last two lines of verse 7 affirm that a person's life is God-given. God enables a person to
breathe, and thus, to be alive, as he does other creatures (see Genesis 7:22). Some have tried to
justify a threefold division of man into flesh (or body), soul, and spirit from Genesis 2:7. They
equate dust with flesh or body, breath with spirit, and insist that the last phrase of the verse
must be translated as 'a living soul.' However, this understanding reads more into the biblical text
than it really says. (1) The Hebrew words for 'flesh' or 'body' and 'spirit' do not occur in this
passage. (2) The Hebrew expression nehphesh chayyah, which some insist on translating 'a living
soul,' is used of fish and marine life in Genesis 1:30; and beasts and birds in 2:19. If 'soul'
means the eternal part of a person or the sum total of man's 'body' and 'spirit'
in Genesis 2:7, it must mean the eternal part of a fish or the sum total of a
fish's 'body' and 'spirit' in Genesis 1:20, 21; etc. (3) The flow of the context in Genesis
2:7 indicates that the word translated being in RSV (nehphesh) means the whole
person. The author's emphasis is on the gift of life" John T, Willis, "The Living Word
Commentary On the Old Testament - Genesis" Page 103-104, Sweet Publishing Company, 1979.
"Far from referring simply to one aspect of a person, 'soul' refers to the whole person"
Eerdman Dictionary of the Bible, Page 1245.
"A human being is a totality of being, not a combination of various parts and impulses.
According to the Old Testament understanding, a person is not a body, which
happens to possess a soul. Instead, a person is a living soul...Because of God's
breath of life; the man became 'a living being' (Gen. 2:7). A person thus is a complete totality,
made up of human flesh, spirit (best understood as "the life-force'), and nephesh (best
understood as "the total self' but often translated as 'soul')" Holman Bible Dictionary, Page 61.
"There is not dualism in the sense of separation, as though there could be full man either as
body alone or as soul alone...together they make up the one man" International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Page 134.
"A consideration of EVERY passage in which these terms are used leads us to the
consideration that the term 'soul' is a term that was applied in the Bible to every being that
normally has sensory capacities (life), whether or not they have that capacity when the term is
used referring to them. For example, one might see a body of a dead person and say, 'That poor
soul is dead.' The Bible uses the term that way, even as we do, and it has nothing at all to do with
the immorality or mortality of the soul. It simply means that the PERSON (the one who HAD lifesoul-
sensory capacity) is dead." T. Pierce Brown, "Soul and Spirit" Gospel Advocate, June 14,
1979.
[1] Nehphesh (soul): When nehphesh is used referring only to animals is translated nine
different ways in the King James Version.
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1. Creature [soul - nehphesh] Genesis 1:21; 1:24; 2:19; 9:10; 2:12; Leviticus 11:46
2. Thing [soul - nehphesh] Leviticus 11:10. Ezekiel 47:9
3. Life [soul - nehphesh] Genesis 1:20; 1:30; Leviticus 17:10-14 - 2 times
4. The life [soul - nehphesh] Genesis 9:4; Deuteronomy 12:23; Proverbs 12:10
5. Beast [soul - nehphesh] Leviticus 24:18
6. The soul [soul - nehphesh] Job 12:10
7. Breath [soul - nehphesh] Job 41:21
8. Fish [soul - nehphesh] Isaiah 19:10
9. Her [soul - nehphesh] Jeremiah 2:24
[2] Nehphesh (soul): When it is used referring to BOTH Animals and Man is translated
in three different ways.
1. Creature [soul - nehphesh] Genesis 9:15; 9:16
2. The life [soul - nehphesh] Leviticus 17:11; 17:14
3. Soul [soul - nehphesh] Numbers 31:28
[3] Nehphesh (soul): When it has the animal appetites and desires of Man is translated in
five different ways. [1] Soul, [2] pleasure, [3] lust, [4] appetite, [5] and greedy
1. Translated Soul (Nehphesh) 13 things the "soul" (person) does
o The soul dried away Numbers 11:6
o The soul lusts Deuteronomy 12:15; 12:21; 14:26
o The soul longs to eat flesh Deuteronomy 12:20
o The soul lusts after Deuteronomy 12:20
o The soul desires Deuteronomy 14:26; 1 Samuel 2:16
o The soul loathes Deuteronomy 21:5
o The soul refused Job 6:7
o The soul abhorred Job 33:20; Psalms 107:18
o The soul hunger Proverbs 6:30
o The soul satisfying Proverbs 13:25
o The soul empty Isaiah 29:8
o The soul has appetite Isaiah 29:8
o The soul desired figs Micah 7:1
2. Translated pleasure [soul - nehphesh] Deuteronomy 23:24
3. Translated lust [soul - nehphesh] Psalms 78:18
4. Translated appetite [soul - nehphesh] Proverbs 23:2. Ecclesiastes 6:7
5. Translated greedy [soul - nehphesh] Isaiah 56:11
THE SOUL [PERSON - NEHPHESH] CAN BE HUNGRY,
HAVE AN APPETITE, BE THIRSTY, EAT MEAT
"Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself [soul - nehphesh] when he is
hungry" [Proverbs 6:30].
"I will set my face against that soul [soul - nehphesh] that eats blood, and will cut him
off from among his people" [Leviticus 17:10].
"And you shall say, I will eat flesh, because your soul [soul - nehphesh] desires to eat
flesh; you may eat flesh, after all the desire of your soul [soul - nehphesh]"
[Deuteronomy 12:20].
"And it shall be as when a hungry man dreams and, behold, he eats; but he awakes,
and his soul [soul - nehphesh] is empty; or as when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he
17
drinks; but he awakes, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul [soul - nehphesh] has
appetite" [Isaiah 29:8].
IF A SOUL CAN DIE
IT CANNOT BE IMMORTAL
CAN WHATEVER IS INTENDED BY THE HEBREW WORD "NEHPHESH"
DIE? THE BIBLE SAYS OVER 320 TIMES THAT THE NEHPHESH [soul]:
1. CAN DIE
2. CAN BE KILLED BY MAN
3. OR THAT IT IS ALREADY DEAD.
If it can, then whatever "nehphesh" is translated into IS something that can die. If the
many words that "nehphesh" is translated into is something that can die, then the
soul cannot be immortal, and it can die. To say that "nehphesh" [soul] is immortal and
cannot die makes the Bible be wrong repeatedly. If the soul [nehphesh] is immortal and
cannot die, the writers of the Bible did not know it.
(1). Souls [nehpheshs] can die Numbers 23:10, Ezekiel 18:4, 20, Joshua 11:11. "They
smote all the souls" [nehphesh]. An immortal soul can die? NOT ONLY DOES THE
BIBLE NOT SAY THE SOUL IS IMMORTAL, IT DENIES IT BY SAYING
OFTEN THAT THE SOUL CAN DIE OR BE KILLED OR IS DEAD.
(2). Souls [nehpheshs] can be murdered. Deuteronomy 12:23; Numbers 35:11-15.
(3). Souls [nehpheshs] can be killed Leviticus 24:17. An immortal soul can be killed?
"Kills any person" [soul - nehphesh] Numbers 35:11, 15, 30, 31
(4). Souls [nehpheshs] can be smote with the sword and utterly destroyed Joshua
11:11
(5). Souls [nehpheshs] can be slain. An immortal soul can be slain? Deuteronomy 27:25
(6). Souls [nehpheshs] can be destroyed. An immortal soul can be destroyed? Leviticus
23:30
(7). Souls [nehpheshs] can be taken away 1 Kings 19:4
(8). Souls [nehpheshs] can be sought to kill it Jeremiah 44:30
(9). Souls [nehpheshs] cannot be kept alive. An immortal soul that cannot die but it
cannot be kept alive? Psalms 22:29
(10). Souls [nehpheshs] have blood and can bleed. "The blood of the souls of the poor"
Jeremiah 2:34
(11). "Let us not take his life [soul - nehphesh]" Genesis 37:21
(12). "Life [soul - nehphesh] for life [soul - nehphesh] Immortal soul for immortal soul?"
Exodus 21:23
(13). "Any dead body [soul - nehphesh]" Leviticus 21:11
(14). "That person [soul - nehphesh] will I destroy" Leviticus 23:30
(15). "And if a man takes the life [soul - nehphesh] of any human being" Leviticus 24:17.
Does anyone believe a person can take an immortal soul of any human being?
(16). "And he that smites any man mortally shall be put to death. And he that smites a
beast mortally shall make it good, life [soul - nehphesh] for life [soul - nehphesh] [soul
for soul?]" Leviticus 24:18
(17). "Because of a dead person [soul - nehphesh]" Numbers 5:2
(18). "He shall not go near to a dead person [soul - nehphesh]" Numbers 6:6
(19). "Because of a dead person [soul - nehphesh]" Numbers 6:11
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(20). "Unclean because of the dead person [soul - nehphesh]" Numbers 9:6, 7
(21). "Because of a dead person [soul - nehphesh]" Numbers 9:10
(22). "The one who touches the corpse of any person [soul - nehphesh]" Numbers 19:11
(23). "Anyone who touches a corpse, the body [soul - nehphesh] of a man who has died"
Numbers 19:13. How could anyone touch the corpse of something that has no substance
and cannot die?
(24). "Whosoever has killed any person [soul - nehphesh]" Numbers 31:19
(25). "The manslayer who has killed any person [soul - nehphesh]" Numbers 35:11
(26). "Anyone who kills a person [soul - nehphesh] unintentionally may flee there"
Numbers 35:15
(27). "If anyone kills a person [soul - nehphesh]" Numbers 35:30
(28). "And take his life [soul - nehphesh]" Deuteronomy 19:6
(29). "And strikes him so that he [soul - nehphesh] dies" Deuteronomy 19:11
(30). "Life [soul - nehphesh] for life [soul - nehphesh], eye for eye, tooth for tooth"
Deuteronomy 19:21
(31). "A man rises against his neighbor and murders him [soul - nehphesh]"
Deuteronomy 22:26
(32). "Cursed be he who takes a bride to slay an innocent person [soul - nehphesh]"
Deuteronomy 27:25
(33). "And deliver our lives [souls - nehpheshs] from death" Joshua 2:13
(34). "Our life [soul - nehphesh] for yours" Joshua 2:13
(35). "And they smote all the souls [souls - nehpheshs] that were therein with the edge of
the sword, utterly destroying them; there were none left that breathed" Joshua 11:11
(36). "He utterly destroyed them and all the souls [souls - nehpheshs] that were therein;
he left none remaining" Joshua 10:28
(37). "And he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls [souls - nehpheshs]
that were therein; he left none remaining in it" Joshua 10:30
(38). "And all the souls [souls - nehpheshs] that were therein" Joshua 10:32
(39). "And all the souls [souls - nehpheshs] that were therein he utterly destroyed that
day" Joshua 10:35
(40). "But he utterly destroyed it, and all the souls [souls - nehpheshs] that were therein"
Joshua 10:37.
(41). "And he captured it and its king and all its cities, and they smote them with the edge
of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls [souls - nehpheshs] that were therein"
Joshua 10:39. Can immortal souls be utterly destroyed with the sword?
(42). "Who kills any person [soul - nehphesh]" Joshua 20:9
(43). "That kills any person [soul - nehphesh]" Joshua 20:3
(44). "That his soul [soul - nehphesh] was vexed to death" Judges 16:16 "annoyed to
death" New American Standard Version. We say, "He worried me to dead"
(45). "Let me [soul - nehphesh] die" Judges 16:30. "Let my soul that cannot die, die
anyway?"
(46). "And you lose your life [soul - nehphesh], with the lives [souls - nehphesh] of your
household" Judges 18:25
(47). "If you do not save your life [soul - nehphesh] tonight" 1 Samuel 19:11
(48). "The death of all the persons [souls - nehpheshs] of your father's house" 1 Samuel
22:22
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(49). "He that seeks my life [soul - nehphesh] seeks your life [soul - nehphesh]" 1 Samuel
22:23
(50). "He is seeking my life [soul - nehphesh]" 1 Samuel 20:1
(51). "And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life [soul - nehphesh]" 1 Samuel
23:15
(52). "You are lying in wait for my soul [soul - nehphesh] to take it" 1 Samuel 24:11
(53). "To pursue you and to seek your soul [soul - nehphesh1 Samuel 25:29 also 2
Samuel 4:8, 16:11, 1 Kings 19:10, 14, Psalm 35:4, 38:12, 35:13, 40:14, 40:15, Jeremiah
40:14, 40:15
(54). "Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him for the life [soul -
nehphesh] of his brother whom he slew" 2 Samuel 14:7
(55). "Who today have saved your life [soul - nehphesh] and the lives [souls - nehpheshs]
of your sons and daughter, the lives [soul - nehphesh] of your wives, and the lives [souls -
nehpheshs] of your concubines" 2 Samuel 19:5
(56). "Have you asked for the life [soul - nehphesh] of your enemies" 1 Kings 3:11
(57). "Prolong my life [soul - nehphesh]" Job 6:11. Prolong the life of an immortal soul?
(58). "For himself that he might die, and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life
[soul - nehphesh]" 1 Kings 19:4
(59). "A man that is laden with the blood of any person [soul - nehphesh] shall flee unto
the pit; let no man stay him" Proverbs 28:17
(60). "The blood of the souls [souls - nehpheshs] of the innocent poor" Jeremiah 2:34. An
immaterial, invisible, part of a person that has no substance had blood!
(61). "Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life [soul -
nehphesh]...wherefore should he take your life [soul - nehphesh]" Jeremiah 40:14-15
(62). "To slay the souls [souls - nehpheshs] that should not die and to save the souls
[souls - nehpheshs] alive that should not live" Ezekiel 13:19
(63). "The soul [soul - nehphesh] who sins will die" Ezekiel 18:4
(64). Ezekiel 18:20
1. "The soul [nehphesh] that sins, it shall die" King James Version
2. "The person [soul - nehphesh] who sins shall die" New Revised Standard Version
3. "The person [soul - nehphesh] who sins will die" New American Standard
Version, New Revised English Bible
4. “It is the person [soul - nehphesh] who sins that will die” The Revised English
Bible
5. "The person [soul - nehphesh] who sins is the one who will die" New Century
Version, Holman Christian Standard Bible
6. “It is for a man’s [soul - nehphesh] own sins that he will die” The Living Bible
7. “The person [soul - nehphesh] who sins will be the one who dies” New Living
Translation
8. “Only those [soul - nehphesh] who sin will be put to death” Contemporary
English Version
9. “Only the one [soul - nehphesh] who sins shall die” The New American Bible
(Catholic), Today's New International Version
10. “The person [soul - nehphesh] who sins will die” God Word Translation
11. “People [soul - nehphesh] will die because of their own sins” New International
Reader's Version
20
This is a person dying [being put to death] for a sin under the Old Testament law, but
is almost always used referring to a part of a person that cannot die by those who believe
a soul cannot die. WHEN THEY MISAPPLY THIS TO SOME INTER PART OF A
PERSON, AND THEY DO, THEY HAVE AN UNDENIABLE STATEMENT THAT
THEIR IMMORTAL INTER PART OF A PERSON WILL DIE IF IT SINS; AND
THAT THE SOUL WILL NOT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE WITH TORMENT. This
is definitely not what they wanted, but what they made in their attempt to make the soul
immortal. If "soul" means "an immortal inter part of a person that cannot die," then James
says, "Shall save an immortal inter part of man, which cannot die, from death" James
5:20. This theology makes nonsense of the Bible.
The divine sentence, "The soul that sins, it shall die" has been reversed to say, "The
soul that sins, it shall live eternally in torment." Not only must this be changed from "die"
to "eternal life" but after making the change torment must be added; “the soul that sins, it
shall live forever being eternally torment by God.” To make it teach what many want it to
teach, first, God's word must be changed and then added to.
“Shall die” in verse four is in contrast to “shall surely live” in verse nine. It is life or
death of a person under the Law that is being spoken of, not two kinds of life after death.
(65). "By shedding blood and destroying lives [souls - nehpheshs]" Ezekiel 22:27
(66). "Like a roaring lion ravening the prey: they have devoured souls [souls -
nehpheshs]" Ezekiel 22:25
(67). "He did not spare their soul [nehphesh] from death, but gave over their life to the
plague, and smote all the firstborn in Egypt" [Psalm 78:50]
(68). OVER 320 (over one third) OF THE ABOUT 870 TIMES THAT SOUL
[NEHPHESH] IS USED, THE SOUL IS DEAD, CAN DIE, CAN BE KILLED, BE
SOUGHT TO BE KILLED, BE AFFECTED, BE SMOTE, BE CUT OFF, BE
MURDERED, BE DELIVERED FROM DEATH. IN MOST OF THESE
PASSAGES THE TRANSLATORS OF THE KING JAMES AND OTHER
TRANSLATIONS HAVE HIDDEN FROM THE READERS THAT THE VERY
THING THEY BELIEVE TO BE IMMORTAL AND CANNOT DIE DOES DIE
BY TRANSLATING "NEHPHEST" INTO "LIFE," "PERSON" AND MANY
OTHER WORDS, but even in the King James Version there are many passages which
say souls [nehpheshs] can and do die. Some more of the many passages:
• "We feared greatly for our soul [nehphesh] because of you" [Joshua 9:24].
• "All the men who were seeking your soul [nehphesh] are dead" [Exodus 4:19].
• They had to flee to save their souls [nehphesh] [2 King 7:7], or their souls
[nehphesh] would be utterly destroyed "with the edge of the sword" or other
weapons [Joshua 10:27; 10:30; 10:32; 10:35, 10:37; 10:39].
• Not only could their souls [nehphesh] be killed by their enemies, but their souls
[nehphesh] could also die for lack of food [Lamentations 1:11; Numbers 11:6].
• Also, Genesis 9:4; 9:5; 12:13; 17:14; 19:17; 19:19; 19:20; 32:30; 32:31; 35:18;
37:21; Exodus 21:23; 30:12; 30:15; 31:14; Leviticus 7:18; 7:20; 7:21 7:27; 17:11;
17:12; 17:14; 19:8; 21:1; 21:11; 22:3; 24:17; 24:18; Numbers 5:2; 6:6; 9:6; 9:7;
9:10; 9:18; 19:11; 19:13; 19:20; 23:10; 31:19; 35:11; 35:15; 35:30; 35:31;
Deuteronomy 12:23; Joshua 2:13; 11:11; 20:3; 20:9; Judges 5:28; 12:3; 16:16;
18:25; Ruth; 4:15; 1 Samuel 1:19; 1: 20; 1:23; 23:15; 23:20; 25:29; 28:9; 28:21; 2
Samuel 4:8; 14:7; 16:11; 19:5; 19:6; 1 Kings 1:12; 1:29; 3:11; 17:21; 17:22;
21
19:10; 19:14; 20:32; 2 Kings 1:13; 19:24; 1 Chronicles 11:19; 2 Chronicles 11:11;
Esther 7:7; Job 13:14; 30:16; 33:18; 33:22; 36:14; Psalms 7:2; 17:13; 22:20;
22:21; 22:29: 22:30; 31:13; 33:19; 35:4; 35:17; 38:12; 38:13; 70:2; 70:3; 71:10;
Proverbs 1:19; 7:23; 12:10; 13:3; 23:14; Isaiah 10:18; 43:4; Jeremiah 2:34; 4:30;
34:20-21; 38:2; 38:16; 39:18; 40:15; 44:30; 45:5; 49:37; Ezekiel 17:17; 18:4;
18:20; 18:27; 22:25; 22:27; Jonah 4:3; 4:6.
Summary: The "nehphesh [soul]" of the Old Testament is an earthly being, man,
animal, or sea creature, both living and dead. It can die, it can be dead, be killed, be
sought to kill, be smote, die from a lack of food or water, be cut off, be murdered, be
delivered from death, be born, live, sorrow, eat, drink water, desire, be
discontented, be grieved, be bound with a bond, be affected, loathes, lust, have
anguish, etc. Not one of the about 870 times that nehphesh is used does it have
reference to an invisible, immaterial part of a person that has no substance and
cannot die. NEHPHESH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND PSUKEE IN THE
NEW TESTAMENT ARE TOGETHER USED ABOUT 967 TIMES WITH OVER
ONE-THIRD BING ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEATH OF THE SOUL
(PERSON). Some [nehpheshs - souls] are dead. Some are dying. Some are in fear of
death. Some have those who are trying to kill them. Some are saved from death, etc. ON
THE OTHER HAND, IN THE 976 TIMES SOUL IS USED, NOT ONE TIME IS
THE SOUL SAID TO BE DEATHLESS OR IMMORTAL.
In about thirty-two passages souls [nehpheshs] are spoken of as being killed by
man “And he that kills any [nehphesh] man shall surely be put to death. And he that kills
a [nehphesh] beast shall make it good; beast [nehphesh] for beast [nehphesh]” Leviticus
25:17-18. Nehphesh – soul is used four times in the Hebrew but because of the bias of the
translators not one time in the King James Version. They changed soul into beast to
deliberately hide from their readers that animals the same as men are souls and can die.
[See Joshua 10:28; 30; 32; 35; 37; 39; Deuteronomy 27:25; Leviticus 24:17-18].
In about thirteen passages souls [nehpheshs] of men are said to be actually dead
[see Numbers 6:6; Leviticus 21:11]. In many of these passages, the King James Version
and others translated nehphesh as life or body; and the English reader cannot see animals
are souls [are living creatures], and souls of both men and animals can be killed by man
and are actually dead. Under the Law anyone that touched a dead body was unclean.
“Dead body” [nehphesh] Leviticus 21:11 “Dead body” [nehphesh] Numbers 6:6.
Corpses are dead souls and anyone who came in contact with a dead soul was unclean.
Most of the times when it is translated "soul," even those who believe in a part of
a person that lives after death and before the resurrection says it is not used to mean
an immortal part of a person. The whole person dies unto the resurrection [Ezekiel
18:20; Psalms 22:29; 33:18-19; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 16:26; James 5:20]. Not just
the person's body.
This clearly shows that the meaning of the Hebrew word nehphesh is something that is
not immortal and that it can die or that it already is dead. There is no other word in the
Bible which could be translated into Plato's immortal soul; therefore, the translators had
to use this one and hide, the best they could, the fact that nehphesh can and does die.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Companion Bible, Appendix 13 says nehphesh [life - soul] is used:
• Of the lower animals [nehphesh - soul] in 22 passages
22
• Of the lower animals and man [nehphesh - soul] in 7 passages
• Of man [nehphesh - soul] as an individual person in 53 passages
• Of man [nehphesh - soul] as exercising certain powers or performing certain acts in 96 passages
• Of man [nehphesh - soul] as possessing animal appetites and desires in 92 passages
• Of man [nehphesh - soul] as exercising mental faculties and manifesting certain feelings,
affection and passions in 231 passages
• Of man [nehphesh - soul] being cut off by God and as being killed or slain by man in 54 passages
• Of man [nehphesh - soul] as being mortal, subject to death of various kinds, from which it can be
saved and delivered and life prolonged in 243 passages
• Of man [nehphesh - soul] as actually dead in 13 passages
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Just one of the many examples of the absurdity of the translations of nehphesh in the
King James Version with the meaning of "soul" as it is used today, an invisible, no
substance something in a person that no one has ever seen or can see and it is immortal
and cannot die. "For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul
[nehphesh] take counsel together" [Psalms 70:10]. How could anyone lay in wait
(ambush) for an undying invisible inter part of a person that no one can see and how
could anyone kill something that cannot die and that they could see?
"DELIVER MY SOUL" [nehphesh] Psalms 17:13 in today's English would be
"SAVE MY LIFE" [nehphesh].
• "They also that seek after my life" [soul - nehphesh]. Psalms 38:12. "That seeks
after my soul" [nehphesh]. Psalms 40:14. Both soul and life are from the same
word [nehphesh]. Why were the translators so inconsistent?
• "They smote all the souls [nehphesh]" Joshua 11:11 in today's English would be,
"They killed all the people." "Whosoever kills any person" [soul - nehphesh]
Joshua 20:9.
• "They that lay wait for my soul" [soul - nehphesh] in today's English would be,
"They that are waiting in ambush for my life" Psalms 70:10.
Many more times "soul" [nehphesh] would only make sense if translated "life." To
apply today's meaning, "an undying invisible inter part of man" makes many passages be
total nonsense. Today's meaning of "soul" is very different from the meaning of nehphesh
in Biblical times, which make "soul" be a mistranslation. When anyone reads the Bible
and reads "soul" and knows only what the word "soul" means today, they cannot
understand what God said. Many English translations use "soul" and "person"
interchangeable. The Revised Standard uses "person" frequently where the King James
used "soul." The problem is that most English readers would not know that when they
say a "person" died, that they are hiding the fact that "person" [soul - nehphesh] is the
same word that is translated "soul" in many places. Why did some translators do this?
Was it because they did not believe an immortal "soul" can die, but a person can die? If
the "soul" [soul - nehphesh] dies, it would not be immortal; therefore, they were forced to
use "person" or "life" in many places to hide the fact from you that the nehphesh can die.
THE TRUTH IS THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO PUT "SOUL" WITH TODAY'S
MEANING IN THE BIBLE WHERE IT IS NOT. If they had been consistent in
translating, they would not have been able to put the doctrine of an undying soul in the
Bible.
"The Lord of hosts has sworn by Himself [soul - nehphesh]" [Jeremiah 51:14]. By His
own being or person. God "could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself [psukee
23
- soul]" [Hebrews 6:13]. Not even the King James translators wanted God to have an
invisible inter part that would live after the rest of Him was dead. God's nehphesh and
man's nehphesh are their being, person, not just an invisible something in a person.
ALL THE OLD TESTAMENT WORDS, WHICH ARE TRANSLATED LIFE,
SPIRIT, BREATH, OR SOUL, ARE ALL USED REFERRING TO BOTH
PERSONS AND ANIMALS. EVERY WORD THAT IS USED TO PROVE A
PERSON HAS AN IMMORTAL SOUL OR SPIRIT WOULD ALSO PROVE ALL
BREATHING CREATURES HAVE AN IN IMMORTAL SOUL IF THEY
PROVED A PERSON DOES.
[1] Nehphesh/soul-life: It is used to describe all living beings.
• Animal, birds, reptiles, and insects have this same nehphesh [soul-life] that a
person has. Sea creatures and birds [Genesis 1:20] and every living creature that
moves in water or on land [Genesis 1:21]. Every beast, bird, and insect with soullife
[nehphesh].
• "Man became a living being" Genesis 2:7. See Genesis 2:19; 9:4; 9:10; 9:12;
9:15-16. Note: The word "soul" as it is used in today's English [an immortal no
substance part of a person that can never die] is not the meaning of nehphesh.
[2] Nshahmah: Is also used to describe all living being/breath of life: All living things
that breathes [Used 24 times].
• Used to describe man "Breathed into his nostrils the BREATH of life" Genesis
2:7; 1 Kings 17:17; Job 27:3.
• Used to describe man and animals, both have the same nshahmah [breath of
life-spirit].
• "All in whose nostrils was the BREATH [nshahmah] of the spirit of life, of all
that was on the dry land, died" Genesis 7:22. All living being, man and
animals
• "But of the cities of these peoples, that Jehovah your God gives you for an
inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that BREATHS [nshahmah]"
Deuteronomy 20:16. All living being, man and animals
• "So Joshua smote all the land, the hill-country, and the South, and the
lowland, and the slopes, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but he
utterly destroyed all that BREATHED [nshahmah]" Joshua 10:40. All living
being, man and animals
• "And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword,
utterly destroying them; there were none left that BREATHED [nshahmah]"
Joshua 11:11. All living being, man and animals
• Also, Joshua 11:14; 1 Kings 15:29; Job 34:14; Psalms 150:6
Not one of the 24 times nshahmah is used says anything about a part of a person that is
immortal.
1. Genesis 2:7 "Breathed into his nostrils the BREATH [nshahmah] of life"
2. Genesis 7:22 "All in whose nostrils was the BREATH [nshahmah] of life" All
living being, man and animals
3. Deuteronomy 20:16 "Saved alive nothing that BREATHED [nshahmah]" All
living being, man and animals
4. Joshua 10:40 "Utterly destroyed all that BREATHED [nshahmah]" All living
being, man and animals
24
5. Joshua 11:11 "There was not any left to BREATHE [nshahmah]" All living
being, man and animals
6. Joshua 11:14 "Neither left they any to BREATHE [nshahmah]" All living
being, man and animals
7. 2 Samuel 22:16 "At the BLAST [nshahmah] of the breath of his nostrils"
8. 1 Kings 15:29 "Left not to Jeroboam any that BREATHED [nshahmah]"
9. 1 Kings 17:17 "There was no BREATH [nshahmah] left in him"
10. Job 4:9 "By the BLAST [nshahmah] of God they perish"
11. Job 26:4 "And whose SPIRIT [nshahmah] came from thee?"
12. Job 27:3 "While my BREATH [nshahmah] is in me"
“For as long as life [nshahmah] is in me, and the breath [ruach] of God is
in my nostrils” New American Standard Bible
13. Job 32:8 "The INSPIRATION [nshahmah] of the Almighty"
14. Job 33:4 "And the BREATH [nshahmah] of the Almighty"
In Job 32:8 and 33:4 why did they translate one "inspiration" and the other
"breath"?
15. Job 34:14 "He gather unto himself his spirit and his BREATH [nshahmah]"
All living being, both man and animals
16. Job 37:10 "By the BREATH [nshahmah] of God frost is given"
17. Psalms 18:15 "At the BLAST [nshahmah] of the breath of your nostrils"
18. Psalms 150:6 "Everything that has BREATH [nshahmah]" All living being,
man and animals
19. Proverbs 20:27 "The SPIRIT [nshahmah] of man"
20. Isaiah 2:22 "Man, whose BREATH [nshahmah] is in his nostrils"
21. Isaiah 30:33 "The BREATH [nshahmah] of the Lord"
22. Isaiah 42:5 "He that gives BREATH [nshahmah]"
23. Isaiah 57:16 "And the SOULS [nshahmah], which he made"
24. Daniel 19:17 "Neither is there BREATH [nshahmah] left in me"
[3] Ruach/spirit-breath: Is also used to describe all living beings.
• "I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is
the breath [ruach] of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth
shall perish" [Genesis 6:17].
• All flesh, birds, cattle, beasts, and every creeping thing - all have the same
spirit [ruach] as man [Genesis 7:22].
• Man and beasts [Ecclesiastes 3:19].
• Man [Ecclesiastes 12:5-7; Psalms 104:29] See Genesis 6:17; 7:15; 54:27; Job 4:9.
Ruach is translated sixteen different ways in the King James Version.
1. WIND [ruach - spirit] is translated about 84 times in the King James Version. Wind,
windy, whirlwind, tempest, breath, blast and air about one third of about 389 times ruach
is used in the Old Testament.
• "God made a WIND [ruach - spirit] to pass over" [Genesis 8:1].
• "Like the chaff, which the WIND [ruach - spirit] drives" [Psalms 1:4].
• "You did blow with your WIND [ruach - spirit]" [Exodus 15:10].
• "Clouds and WIND [ruach - spirit] without rain" [Proverbs 25:14].
• "My escape from the WINDY [ruach - spirit] storm" [Psalms 55:8].
• "A WHIRLWIND [ruach - spirit] came out of the north" [Ezekiel 1:4].
25
• "A destroying WIND [ruach - spirit]" [Jeremiah 51:1].
• "A strong WIND [ruach - spirit]" [Job 8:2].
• "An horrible TEMPEST [ruach - spirit]" [Psalms 11:6].
• "You shall scatter in the WIND [ruach - spirit]" [Ezekiel 5:2].
• "An east WIND [ruach - spirit]" [Exodus 10:13].
• "A mighty strong west WIND [ruach - spirit]" [Exodus 10:19].
• Psalms 1:4, Exodus 15:10
2. WINDY “”My escape from the WINDY [ruach] storm” [Psalms 55:8].
3.WHIRLWIND “A WHIRLWIND [ruach] came out of the north" [Ezekiel 1:4].
4. TEMPEST “An horrible TEMPEST [ruach]" [Psalms 116].
5. BREATH [ruach - spirit].
• “All in whose nostrils was t he BREATH [ruach] of life” [Genesis 7:22; 6:17;
7:15].
• "By the BREATH [ruach] of his mouth" [Genesis 6:17; Psalms 104:29, Job 15:30].
• "By the BREATH [ruach - spirit] of his mouth" [Job 15:30].
• "All in whose nostrils was the BREATH [ruach - spirit] of life" [Genesis 7:22].
• "To destroy all flesh in which is the BREATH [ruach - spirit] of life" [Genesis
6:17].
• "So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the BREATH
[ruach - spirit] of life" [Genesis 7:15].
• "No BREATH [ruach - spirit] in them" [Jeremiah 10:14]. Why not, "No SPIRIT
[ruach - spirit] in them" or "Takes away their SPIRIT [ruach - spirit]" [Psalms
104:29]? How did the translators know when the same word was wind, breath,
spirit, blast, air, mind, courage, cool, or anger? HOW ARE THOSE WHO READ
THEIR TRANSLATION TO KNOW THAT THESE ARE ALL THE SAME
WORD IN THE HEBREW? Idols are described as not having breath [ruach]
[Habakkuk 2:19].
• "Every goldsmith...his molten images are deceitful, and there is no BREATH
[ruach - spirit] in them" [Jeremiah 51:17].
• "Takes away their BREATH [ruach - spirit]" [Psalms 104:29].
• "As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same BREATH [ruach -
spirit] and there is no advantage for man over beast" [Ecclesiastes 3:19].
6. SPIRIT [ruach - spirit].
• “And the SPIRIT [ruach] of God in my nostrils” [Job 27:3].
• "The SPIRIT [ruach] of jealousy came"[Genesis 1:2; 41:8, Numbers 5:14; 5:30].
• “The SPIRIT [ruach] of heaviness” [Isaiah 61:3].
• "And the SPIRIT [ruach] shall return unto God" [Ecclesiastes 12:7].
• "And the SPIRIT [ruach] of the beast that goes downward" [Ecclesiastes 3:21].
• "SPIRIT [ruach] of God" [Genesis 1:2].
• "The SPIRIT [ruach] of jealousy came" [Numbers 5:30].
• "Because he had another SPIRIT [ruach]" [Numbers 14:24].
• "The SPIRIT [ruach] entered into me" [Ezekiel 2:2; 3:24].
• “Neither was there SPIRIT [ruach] in them” [Joshua 5:1].
• "And a new SPIRIT [ruach] will I put within you" [Ezekiel 36:26].
• "God hardened his SPIRIT [ruach]" [Deuteronomy 2:30].
• "Anguish of SPIRIT [ruach]" [Exodus 6:9].
26
• "SPIRIT [ruach] of wisdom" [Exodus 28:3].
• "Joshua...was filled with the SPIRIT [ruach] of wisdom" [Deuteronomy 34:9].
• "Sorrowful SPIRIT [ruach]" [2 Samuel 1:15].
• "Why is your SPIRIT [ruach] so sad" [1 Kings 21:5].
• "SPIRIT [ruach] was troubled" [Genesis 41:8].
• "A lying SPIRIT [ruach]" [1 Kings 22:23].
• "The sacrifices of God are a broken SPIRIT [ruach]" [Psalms 51:7].
• "Hasty of SPIRIT [ruach]" [Proverbs 14.29].
• "An haughty SPIRIT [ruach]" [Proverbs 16:18].
• "An humble SPIRIT [ruach]" [Proverbs 16:19].
7. BLAST "BLASH [ruach - spirit] of your nostrils" [2 Kings 19:7, Exodus 15:8].
8. AIR "That no AIR [ruach - spirit] can come between them" [Job 41:16; 41:8].
9. MIND "A fool utters all his MIND [ruach - spirit]” [Genesis 26:35, Proverbs 29:11].
10. COURAGE "Neither did there remain any more COURAGE [ruach - spirit] in them"
[Joshua 5:1].
11. COOL "Walking in the garden in the COOL [ruach - spirit] of the day" [Genesis 3:8].
12. ANGER "Their ANGER [ruach - spirit] was abated" [Judges 8:3].
13. SIDE [Jeremiah 52:23; Ezekiel 42:16; 42:17; 42:18; 42:19; “side wind” in footnote].
14. QUARTERS [ruach - spirit] [1 Chronicles 9:24].
15. SPIRITUAL [ruach - spirit] [Hosea 9:7].
16. VAIN [ruach - spirit] [Job 15:2; 16:3].
Why did the translators translate the word "ruach" into "spirit" in one place and
"blast" or "wind" in others? THE MEANING OF "SPIRIT" AS IT WAS USED IN 1611
AND TODAY (AN IMMORTALITY NO SUBSTANCE SOMETHING IN A PERSON
IS NOT A THIRTY-FIRST COUSIN TO "WIND" OR "BREATH," YET THE
TRANSLATORS, AT WILL, TRANSLATED THE SAME WORD INTO TWO
THINGS THAT ARE WORLDS APART. IF THE SAME WORD HAD TWO
MEANINGS THAT WERE WORLDS APART, HOW COULD THE HEBREW
PEOPLE KNOW WHEN IT WAS ONE AND WHEN IT WAS THE OTHER? HOW
COULD THE TRANSLATORS KNOW? THEY COULD NOT. They had to put their
theology into the Bible even if they could not be consistent. How could anyone read the
Kings James Version and know that anger, cool, courage, air, mind, breath, wind, blast,
and spirit are the same thing? Most English reader today would not know that "wind" and
"spirit" are indiscriminately translated from the same word and almost without exception
today's reader would understand "spirit" to be an immortal soul, but would never
understand "wind" to be an immortal soul. Those who do not read Hebrew are misled by
such indiscriminately translations.
Summary: NEHPHESH, NSHAHMAH, AND RUACH ARE SOMETHING
THAT BOTH A PERSON AND AN ANIMAL HAVE IN COMMON AND ARE
SOMETHING THAT CAN AND DOES DIE. Both an animal and a man ARE a soul, a
living being of this earth. Neither animals nor a person HAS a soul, an immortal inter part
that cannot die and will live after the death of the animal or person it is in.
Different characteristics of a person, not different parts of a person that can live
without each other, but a person looked at from different points of view.
1. BODY: Flesh and blood
2. SOUL: A living being: the body + the breath of life
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3. SPIRIT: The body of dust + the breath of life (spirit - ruach = a living soul)
4. MIND: If the intellectual part of a person is his mind, does the "soul" as it is used
in today's theology have its own mind? Does the soul have any thoughts that our
mind does not have? If not, according to today's theology, the only part of a
person that will be in Heaven will have no thoughts.
5. HEART: The most commonly used characteristic of a person. [Genesis 6:5;
Judges; 16:15, 17, 18, 20; Matthew 5:8; Luke 12:34; Romans 10:10; Hebrews
3:10]. The heart is used in the place of the mind for the thing that the mind does,
not the part of the body that pumps blood. [Matthew 13:15; 15:19; Mark 7:19;
Luke 6:45; 9:47; Acts 8:21; 8:37; 28:27; Romans 10:9; 10:10; 1 Corinthians 2:9;
7:37; Hebrews 3:10; 4:12; 1 John 3:20-21]. Has not the things said about the heart
been transferred to the soul by those who believe the soul is immortal?
Soul - How nehphesh and psukee are translated in seven different versions and in
different verses.
| K.J.V. | N.K.J.V. | N.A.S.V. | R.S.V. |
Gen 1:20 | creatures | creatures | creatures | creatures |
Gen 2:7 | soul | living being| living being| living being|
Gen 9:5 | life | life | life | life |
Mt 16:25-26|life & soul | life & soul |life and soul| life-4 times|
Acts 3:23 | soul | soul | soul | soul |
1 Cor15:45 | soul | living being| soul | living being|
1 Pet 3:20 | souls | soul | persons | persons |
Rev 16:3 | soul | creature | living thing| living thing|
-----------------------------------------------------
| N.R.S.V. | N.I.V. |Robert Young|
Gen 1:20 | creatures | creatures |creature |
Gen 2:7 | living being| living being |living being-creature|
Gen 9:5 | life | life |life |
Mt 16:25-26| life-4 times| life & soul |soul |
Acts 3:23 | everyone | anyone |soul |
1 Cor15:45 | living being| living being |creature |
1 Pet 3:20 | persons | people |soul |
Rev 16:3 | living thing| living thing |soul |
SOUL [PSUKEE] IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Psukee is used 106 times and is the only word translated soul in the New Testament
(translated soul only 58 of the 106 times it is used in the King James Version) and is the
same word in Greek as nehphesh is in Hebrew. Both can and do die, "Lose his LIFE"
Matthew 10:39. "Save a SOUL from death" James 5:20. "To save LIFE or to destroy it."
In Old English, soul, like ghost and charity, might have been a good translation then, but
not today. Most of the times nehphesh and psukee are translated "soul," even those who
believe a person is two beings in one have to admit it is referring to the earthly person, or
life, or being; but today the English word "soul" has come to mean an inter unseen part of
a person, which will live after the person is dead. THEREFORE, WHEN THOSE WHO
DO NOT KNOW THIS READ THE BIBLE, THEY ARE MISLED WHEN PSUKEE IS
TRANSLATED "SOUL." No word in the Bible means "an immortal inter part of a person
that cannot die."
• "For those who sought the Child's life [soul - psukee]" Matthew 2:20.
• "But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul [soul - psukee] and body"
Matthew 10:28.
• "And he who has lost his life [soul - psukee] for My sake shall find it" ("soul" in
King James Version) Matthew 10:39, also Matthew 16:25, Mark 8:35.
• "And to give His life [soul - psukee] a ransom for many" Matthew 20:28.
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• "To save a life [soul - psukee], or destroy it" Luke 6:9.
• "And I lay down my life [soul - psukee] for the sheep" John 10:15.
• "Men who have risked their lives [soul - psukee] for the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ" Acts 15:26.
• "And they are seeking my life [soul - psukee]" Romans 11:3.
• "Will save his soul [soul - psukee] from death" James 5:20.
Which one is it, a mortal being that can die, or an immortal being that cannot die? If
there were a part of a person called "soul" that is immortal and cannot die, it is strange
that both the Old Testament and the New Testament repeatedly speak of the death of this
soul that cannot die.
Psukee is translated "soul" and "life" interchangeably, and sometimes in the same
verse; Matthew 16:25-26 where the same word is inconsistently translated two times
"soul," and two times "life" in the King James Version; but corrected in the American
Standard Version and most other versions where all four times the same word is
translated "life." "In exchange for his life." The parallel passage in Luke 9:25 says, "and
lose or forfeit his own self" American Standard Version. "Yet lose...his very self" New
International Version. "Lose...themselves" New Revised Standard Version. Human
language could not be any clearer that Christ is speaking of the whole of a person, and
not just some internal unseen part of a person. If the immortal soul doctrine were true, a
person could not lose his soul if his soul can never die.
The immortality doctrine make the Bible contradict itself, for the Bible says
repeatedly that the nehphesh [Old Testament] psukee [New Testament] can die and never
says a person has a part that is called "soul" that is immortal. Christ "laid down His LIFE
[psukee - life or soul] for us, and we ought to lay down our LIVES [psukee - life or soul]
for the brethren" 1 John 3:16. "To give His LIFE [psukee - life or soul] a ransom for
many" Matthew 20:28.
1. If the SOUL [psukee] cannot die, Christ could not have "laid down His LIFE"
[psukee] or "give His LIFE" [psukee], and we could not "lay down our LIVES"
[soul - psukee].
2. If the psukee [LIFE or soul] could not die, Christ did not die. He could not have
been raised from the dead for He was never dead.
3. If the psukee [LIFE - soul] cannot die, God is telling us to do that which we
cannot do "lay down our LIVES [soul - psukee] for the brethren."
• James 5:20 "Shall save a SOUL [psukee - life or soul] FROM DEATH" King
James Version.
• James 5:20 "Will save HIM [psukee - life or soul] FROM DEATH" New
International Version. If a person has a "SOUL" that cannot die, how can it be
saved from death?
PSUKEE: A MORTAL BEING OR AN IMMORTAL BEING? Psukee is
translated life, strength, us, he, heart, heartily, you, and mind. These all have a reference
to this life and not to a soul that has no substance. How could the same word mean a
mortal being some of the time and an immortal inter part of a mortal being some of the
time? How would the translators know when it was one and when it was the other?
Psukee [life] is the natural life from Adam. It is the physical life common to all
living creatures and is never said to be eternal. All living creatures [animals, fish, man]
by natural birth have psukee [life] from birth to death. It is never coupled with the
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adjective eternal or everlasting. THE ONLY WORD THAT IS TRANSLATED SOUL
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT IS TRANSLATED SOUL ONLY ABOUT ONE-HALF
OF THE TIMES IT IS USED. Psukee is applied to the life of animals two times in the
New Testament.
1. “And there died the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, even they
that had life [psukee]” [Revelation 8:9].
2. “And the second poured out his bowl into the sea; and it became blood as of a
dead man; and every living soul [psukee] died, even the things that were in the
sea” [Revelation 16:3].
Zoee [life] [Wigram, Page 339 - Strong's word 2227, 'Zoopoico...make alive, give
life, quicken'] is a gift of life from Christ to those that believe, the life He gives only
to those who are His. No one is born with it and the lost never have it. It refers the
eternal life given by Christ in all but about ten of about one hundred thirty times it is
used. "The first man Adam become a living soul (psukee - living being), the last Adam
became a life-giving spirit" [1 Corinthians 15:45]. Only those who are born again have
zoee [life] in Christ. See Zoee life in chapter two, Life or Death.
PASSAGES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT THAT HAS "PSUKEE" IN IT
The many words the translators used to translate "psukee" are nouns or pronouns and
refer to (1) God (2) to a person (3) or to an animal, not to an immortal no subject part of
God, a person or an animal. The person or animal is sometimes dying and is sometimes
dead. This one word, which is a common noun, is translated into many nouns, is changed
into a proper noun, and often is changed to a pronoun, then translated by many pronouns
just as "nehphesh" is in the Old Testament. The different translations do not agree on
when it should be a common or proper noun or when it should be a pronoun.
[1] IN FIFTY OF THE ONE-HUNDARD SIX TIMES
IN WHICH PSUKEE [soul] IS USED IT MEANS LIFE,
AND IT CAN DIE, BE KILLED, PERISH, OR BE DESTROYED.
[1] Matthew 2:20 "Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of
Israel: for they are dead that sought the young child's LIFE [life-soul-psukee]." There is
no doubt that they wanted to kill the child's body, not some inter part of him. No
immortal "soul" in this passage.
[2-3] Matthew 6:25 "Therefore, I say unto you, be not anxious for your LIFE [life-soulpsukee],
what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you
shall put on. Is not the LIFE [life-soul-psukee] more than the food, and the body than the
raiment?" It is the earthly person in the image of Adam that eats and drinks, not an
immortal part of a person. A person's life is more than what he or she has to put on the
body.
[4-5] Matthew 10:28 "And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill
the soul [life-soul-psukee]: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul [lifesoul-
psukee] and body in hell [Gehenna]." See notes on this in chapter four. If psukee is
an immortal soul, then God can destroy this immortal soul. THERE IS NO
STRONGER WAY IN WHICH TO SAY GOD CAN AND WILL DESTROY IT. He
is to be feared by those of the world because He will. There would be no reason to fear
Him if He could not, or if He will not destroy the Psukee - soul or life. I FIND IT
STRANGE THAT ONE OF THE MOST USED PASSAGES TO PROVE THE
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SOUL CANNOT BE DESTROYED SAYS GOD CAN DESTROY IT. See
"Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:5 God is able to destroy [Apollumi] both soul and body in
Gehenna" in chapter four and "PROVES MORE THAN THEY WANT" also in chapter
four. Not even God could destroy the soul if it is immortal and can never die for if He
could, then it would not be immortal and it could die.
[6-7-8-9] Matthew 10:39 "For whosoever would save his LIFE [life-soul-psukee] shall
lose it: and whosoever shall lose his LIFE [life-soul-psukee] for my sake shall find it. 26
For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his LIFE
[life-soul-psukee]? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his LIFE [life-soulpsukee]?"
The King James Version has the same word [psukee] translated "life" two
times and "soul" two times. What made them think Christ used the same word in
the same passage with two different meaning? In today's English, the meaning of
"soul" and "life" are worlds apart.
[10-11-12-13] Mark 8:35 "For whosoever would save his LIFE [life-soul-psukee] shall
lose it; and whosoever shall lose his LIFE [life-soul-psukee] for my sake and the gospel's
shall save it. 36 For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his
LIFE [life-soul-psukee]? 37 For what should a man give in exchange for his LIFE"
[life-soul-psukee]? The life that is prolonged for a little while by denying Christ will be
lost, but the life that is loss by being faithful to Christ will be saved at the judgment.
[14-15] Luke 9:24-25 "For whosoever would save his LIFE [life-soul-psukee] shall lose
it; but whosoever shall lose his LIFE [life-soul-psukee] for my sake, the same shall save
it. For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose or forfeit his own
self?" Psukee is translated "soul" and "life" interchangeably in the Bible, and sometimes
in the same verse. In the King James Version the same word is inconsistently translated
two times "soul," and two times "life" but corrected in the American Standard Version
and most others where all four times the same word is translated "life." "In exchange for
his life."
• "And lose or forfeit his own self" American Standard Version
• "Yet lose...his very self" New International Version
• "Lose...themselves?" New Revised Standard Version
• Human language could not be any clearer that Christ is speaking of the whole
person, and not just some internal unseen part of a person. Luke avoids using the
word soul in Luke 12:4-5. Why? His Gentile readers might have understood the
word the way it was used by the Greeks of that time, therefore, he used a word
that means the whole person, not the Greek soul that will be reincarnated.
[16] Matthew 20:28 "Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to
minister, and to give his LIFE [life-soul-psukee] a ransom for many."
Mark 10:45 "For the Son of man also came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and
to give his life [life-soul-psukee] a ransom for many."
[17] Mark 3:4 "And he said unto them, is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do good, or to
do harm? To save a LIFE [life-soul-psukee], or to kill? But they held their peace."
[18] Luke 6:9 "And Jesus said unto them, I ask you, Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do
good, or to do harm? To save a LIFE [life-soul-psukee], or to destroy it?" "Kill" and
"destroy" are used interchangeably. The translators would not translate psukee into "soul"
in this passage for it would then say the soul could be killed or destroyed.
31
[19] Luke 9:56 "For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's LIVES [life-soulpsukee],
but to save them. And they went to another village" King James Version. This is
not in the American Standard Version, and others for it is not in many Greek
Manuscripts, but there is nothing about an immortal part of a person in it.
[20-21] Luke 12:19 "And I will say to my soul [life-soul-psukee], Soul [life-soul-psukee],
you have much goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry. 20 But
God said unto him, You foolish one, this night is your soul [life-soul-psukee] required of
you; and the things which you have prepared, whose shall they be? 21 So is he that lays
up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. 22 And he said unto his disciples,
therefore, I say unto you, be not anxious for your LIFE [life-soul-psukee], what you shall
eat; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. 23 For the LIFE [life-soul-psukee] is
more than the food, and the body than the raiment." In this passage they found it
necessary to translate psukee into both soul and life, for the soul cannot eat or use a
raiment. "You fool! This very night your LIFE [life-soul-psukee] is being demanded of
you" New Revised Standard Version. His life [psukee] was demanded. "So it is with
those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God." It will be their
life [psukee] that will be demanded of them. Nothing is said about an immortal part of a
person that will be forever tormented. In this passage psukee does the things that only this
earthly body can do, things that an immortal no substance soul could not do. "And I will
say to my soul [psukee], Soul [psukee], you have much goods laid up for many years;
take your ease, eat, drink" [Luke 12:19]. An immortal no substance soul could not use
the much earthly goods laid up for many years. Can anyone not see how foolish this
passage would be if it were speaking of an immortal soul that has no body and no
substance but was using the earthly goods it has lain up? Can a soul that has no earthly
body eat, drink, or use any earthly goods?
• "And I'll say to myself [psukee], 'You [psukee] have plenty of good things laid up
for many years'" New International Version
• "I will say to myself [psukee], 'You [psukee] have plenty of good things laid by'"
The Revised English Bible
• Then I can say to myself [psukee], 'I [psukee] have enough good things stored'"
New Century Version
[22] Luke 14:26 "If any man comes unto me, and hate not his own father, and mother,
and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own LIFE [life-soulpsukee]
also, he cannot be my disciple."
[23-24] Luke 17:33 "Whosoever shall seek to gain his LIFE [life-soul-psukee] shall lose
it: but whosoever shall lose his LIFE [soul - psukee] shall preserve it."
[25-26-27] John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his LIFE
[life-soul-psukee] for the sheep. 12 He that is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own
the sheep are not, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf
snatches them, and scatters [them]: 13 [he flees] because he is a hireling, and cares not
for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own, and mine own know me,
15 even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father; and I lay down my LIFE [lifesoul-
psukee] for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them
also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice: and they shall become one flock, one
shepherd. 17 Therefore, the Father loves me, because I lay down my LIFE [life-soulpsukee],
that I may take it again." An immortal soul, as taught today cannot die;
32
therefore, the translators could not say Christ gave up His immortal soul; He gives His
life, not an immortal soul.
[28-29] John 12:25 "He that loves his LIFE [life-soul-psukee] shall lose it; and he that
hates his LIFE [life-soul-psukee] in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." Who ever
puts this life first shall lose his life, but who ever put God first shall live after the
judgment. Those who do not put God first will lose their psukee (life). If psukee is an
immortal soul that can never die, it could not be lost.
[30] John 15:13 "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his LIFE [lifesoul-
psukee] for his friends." Not even those who believe a person has an immortal soul
believe Christ lay down his immoral soul, they do not believe an immoral soul can be
dead. He did lay down His life for us.
[31-32] John 13:37 "Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow you even now? I will
lay down my LIFE [life-soul-psukee] for you. 38 Jesus answered, will you lay down your
LIFE [life-soul-psukee] for me? Verily, verily, I say unto you, the cock shall not crow,
till you have denied me thrice." "Lay down" means "to give up," "to die." It was Peter
that was to give up his life [psukee] for Christ. If psukee is an immortal soul that can
never die, Peter could not have given it up.
[34] Acts 3:23 "And it shall be, that every soul [life-soul-psukee] that shall not hearken
to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people." AN IMMORTAL
SOUL UTTERLY DESTROYED! HOW COULD GOD SAY ANY STRONGER THAT
WHATEVER THE PEUKEE IS [life-soul-person] CAN AND WILL BE UTTERLY
DESTROYED?
• "And it will be that everyone [life-soul-psukee]" New Revised Standard Version
• "Anyone [life-soul-psukee] who does not listen to him" New International
Version
• "For anyone [psukee] who refuses to listen to that prophet" The Revised English
Bible
[35] Acts 15:24 "Forasmuch as we have heard that certain who went out from us have
troubled you with words, subverting your souls [life-soul-psukee]."
• "Your minds" New Revised Standard Version
• "Troubling your minds" New International Version
• "Unsettled your minds" The Revised English Bible
[36] Acts 15:26 "Men that have hazarded their LIVES [life-soul-psukee] for the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ." An immortal part of a person that could not die could not be
hazarded.
[37] Acts 20:9-10 "And there sat in the window a certain young man named Eutychus,
borne down with deep sleep; and as Paul discoursed yet longer, being borne down by his
sleep he fell down from the third story, and was taken up DEAD. 10 And Paul went down,
and fell on him, and embracing him said, Make you no ado; for his LIFE [life-soulpsukee]
is in him." He was dead, but Paul restored his earthly life that was dead from the
fall, not an immortal soul that the fall could not have killed.
[38] Acts 20:24 "But I hold not my LIFE [life-soul-psukee] of any account as dear unto
myself." The translators would not say he held his immortal soul to be of no account. To
use soul in this passage would not teach what they believed, therefore, they did not use it.
[39] Acts 27:10 "And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury
and much loss, not only of the lading and the ship, but also of our LIVES [life-soul33
psukee]." No one will lose an immortal soul in a shipwreck. It can be seen how the
translators picked when they wanted psukee to be a soul and when they wanted it to be
life.
[40] Acts 27:22 "And now I exhort you to be of good cheer; for there shall be no loss of
LIFE [life-soul-psukee] among you, but (only of the ship)." This could not be translated
souls for then souls would have been lost just as the ship was lost by a storm, and we are
told by those who believe we have an immortal soul that souls are lost by sin and they
cannot be lost by a storm.
[41] Romans 16:4 "Who for my LIFE [life-soul-psukee] laid down their own necks."
[42] Romans 11:3 "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have dug down your altars;
and I am left alone, and they seek my LIFE [life-soul-psukee]." They were seeking his
earthly life to kill, just as they had the prophets, not something that did not have any
substance, not something that they could not see or kill.
[43] Philippians 1:27 "With one mind [life-soul-psukee] striving together for the faith."
Philippians 2:30 "Because for the work of Christ he came nigh unto death, hazarding his
LIFE [life-soul-psukee] to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me."
Did he hazard his immortal soul; and his soul, which cannot die came nigh unto death
even if it could not die?
1 Thessalonians 2:8 "We were well pleased to impart unto you, not the gospel of God
only, but also our own souls [life-soul-psukee]." They were pleased to impart the gospel
to them even at the cost of their own lives, not impart the gospel to them even at the cost
of their immortal souls.
• "But also our own selves [psukee]" New Revised Standard Version
• "But our lives [psukee] as well" New International Version
• "Our very lives [psukee]" The New American Bible
• "Our very selves [psukee]" The Revised English Bible
• "Our own lives [psukee]" New Century Version
1 Peter 2:11 "Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly
lust, which war against the soul [life-soul-psukee]."
Hebrews 10:39 "But we are not of them that shrink back unto perdition; but of them that
have faith unto the saving of the soul [life-soul-psukee]."
• "But among those who have faith and so are saved" New Revised Standard
Version.
• "But of those who believe and are saved" New International Version.
• "We have the faith to preserve our life [psukee]" The Revised English Bible.
James 5:19-20 "My brethren, if any among you err from the truth, and one converts him;
20 let him know, that he who converts a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul
[life-soul-psukee] from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins." If the sinner is not
converted, his soul [psukee] will not be saved from death. Many read "Hell" ["shall save
a soul from Hell"] into this in the place of "death." Reading Hell in where it is not is the
only way to get "save a soul from Hell" into the Bible.
• "Will save him [psukee] from death" New International Version. The whole
person will be saved from death, not just a part of the person that could not be
dead.
[44-45] 1 John 3:16 "Hereby know we love, because he laid down his LIFE [life-soulpsukee]
for us: and we should lay down our LIVES [life-souls-psukee] for the brethren."
34
Can we lay down our immortal souls for the brethren? Christ lay down His life for us,
and we should be willing to lay down our life for our brethren. If this were an immortal
part of a person, we would be told to do something that it would not be possible for us to
do.
[46] Revelation 6:9 "Souls [life-soul-psukee]...slain"
[47] Revelation 8:9 "And there died the third part...that had LIFE" [life-soul-psukee]
[48] Revelation 12:11 "Loved not their LIFE [life-soul-psukee] even unto death"
[49] Revelation 16:3 "Every living soul [life-soul-psukee] died" [In the sea, all fish died].
Can anyone tell me why the translators, who believed the soul could not die and do not
believe fish have a soul, put "ever living soul died" in this passage? "And every living
thing [life-soul-psukee] in the sea died" New American Standard Bible.
[50] Revelation 20:4 "The souls [life-soul-psukee] of them that had been beheaded"
[2] PASSAGES WITH PSUKEE USED
REFERRING TO PARTS OF THE HUMAN BODY,
THAT IN SOME WAY CONNECT
THE SPIRIT [pneuma] TO THE HUMAN MIND
1. Acts 14:2 "And made their minds [life-soul-psukee] evil affected" King James
Version. The Gentiles were turned against the brothers in this life, not against
immortal inter parts of the brothers.
o "And poisoned their minds [psukee] against the brothers" New International
Version
2. "But my mind [pneuma] could not rest because I did not find my brother Titus there"
[2 Corinthians 2:13] New Revised Standard Version.
3. Hebrews 12:3 "Lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds [life-soul-psukee]" King
James Version.
4. "Because his spirit [pneuma] has been refreshed by you all" [2 Corinthians 7:13].
o "Because his mind [pneuma] has been set at rest by all of you" New Revised
Standard Version
o "You have all helped to set his mind [pneuma] completely at rest" Revised
English Bible
5. "And that you be renewed in the spirit [pneuma] of your mind" [Ephesians 4:23].
o "To be made new in the attitude [pneuma] of your mind" New International
Version
6. "And that you be renewed in the spirit [pneuma] of your mind" [Ephesians 4:23].
o "To be made new in the attitude [pneuma] of your mind" New International
Version
7. Matthew 22:37 "And he said unto him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, and with all your soul [life-soul-psukee], and with all your mind." Mark 12:30
"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul
[life-soul-psukee], and with all your mind, and with all your strength."
8. "Blessed are the poor in spirit [pneuma]" [Matthew 5:3]. Poor in a no substance
immortal spirit?
9. Mark 12:33 "And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and
with all the strength [life-soul-psukee] [soul in King James Version], and to love his
neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices." Luke
35
10:27 "And he answering said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul [life-soul-psukee], and with all your strength, and with all your
mind; and your neighbor as thyself."
o In the parallel passages in Mark and Luke, the same word [psukee] is
translated "strength" in one and "soul" in the other
10. 2 Corinthians 12:15 "Will most gladly spend and be spent for you [life-soul-psukee]"
King James Version.
11. "For though absent in body, I am present in spirit [pneuma]" [Colossians 2:5]. Was
his immortal spirit in one place and his body was in another while he was alive? If so,
then the immortal spirit can leave the body when it wants to and the body can live
without it, but James tells us that the body without the spirit is dead [James 2:26].
Was he dead for a time while his spirit was with them? No, he was saying he was
with them in his thoughts and heart.
12. Colossians 3: 23 "Whatsoever you do, work heartily [life-soul-psukee], as unto the
Lord." Whatsoever you do, work soul, as unto the Lord?
13. "Walked we not in the same spirit [pneuma]? Walked we not in the same steps?" [2
Corinthians 12:18]. Did they all have only one immortal soul or spirit?
14. "Restore such a one in a spirit [pneuma] of gentleness" [Galatians 6:1].
15. "May give unto you a spirit [pneuma] of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of
him" [Ephesians 1:17]. Would that not have already had an immortal soul; if another
one was given to them would that have two?
16. Ephesians 6:6 "Not in the way of eye service, as men pleasers; but as servants of
Christ, doing the will of God from the heart [life-soul-psukee]." "Doing the will of
God from an immortal soul"?
17. "That you stand fast in one spirit [pneuma]" [Philippians 1:27].
18. "A meek and quiet spirit [pneuma]" [1 Peter 3:4].
[3] PASSAGES WITH PSUKEE
USED REFERRING A NUMBER OF PEOPLE
In Old English, and even today souls is used to mean persons or life. A newspaper
reporting a shipwreck in which fifty people drown would say, "Fifty souls were lost."
People were called “souls” about twenty-five times in the King James Version but this
has been changed in many translations.
1. Acts 2:41-43 "They then that received his word were baptized: and there were added
[unto them] in that day about three thousand souls [psukee - person]. And they
continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of
bread and the prayers. And fear came upon every soul [psukee-every person]: and
many wonders and signs were done through the apostles."
• "About three thousand persons [psukee]" New Revised Standard Version
• "About three thousand people [psukee]" Today's English Version
• "About three thousand were added to their number" New International Version
• "Three thousand were added to the number of believers" Revised English Bible
• "About three thousand people [psukee] were added to the number of believers"
New Century Version
• "Three thousand were added that day" New American Bible
• "About 3,000 in all" The Living Bible
• "About 3,000 people [psukee] were added" Simple English Bible
36
• "About three thousand people [psukee] were added" Good News For Modern
Man.
o Some translations leave psukee out, just as we would say, "Three thousand
persons were saved," or "Three thousand were saved"
• "And fear came upon every soul" [Acts 2:43 King James Version]
• "Everyone" New American Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version,
New International Version
2. Acts 7:14 "And Joseph sent, and called to him Jacob his father, and all his kindred,
threescore and fifteen souls [life-soul-psukee]."
• "And all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five in all" New Revised Standard
Version.
• "And his whole family, seventy-five in all" New International Version
• "Seventy-five person in all [psukee]" New American Bible
• "Seventy-five person in all [psukee]" Revised English Bible
3. Acts 27:37 "And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls
[life-soul-psukee]." Also Acts 27:10; 27:22.
• "Two hundred seventy-six persons [psukee]" New Revised Standard Version
• "Two hundred and seventy-six of us [psukee]" Revised English Bible
4. 1 Peter 3:19-20 "In which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, that
aforetime were disobedient, when the long suffering of God waited in the days of
Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls [life-soulpsukee],
were saved through water."
• "Eight persons [psukee] were brought safely through the water" New American
Standard Bible
• "Eight persons [psukee] were saved through water" New Revised Standard
Version.
• "In it only a few people [psukee], eight in all" New International Version
• "A few persons [psukee], eight in all" New American Bible
5. Matthew 11:29 "You shall find rest unto your souls [life-soul-psukee]."
• "You will find rest for your lives [psukee]." New Century Version
6. Luke 1:46 "And Mary said, my soul [life-soul-psukee] does magnify the Lord."
7. Luke 2:35 "Yea and a sword shall pierce through your own soul [life-soul-psukee]."
• "And you [psukee] too will be pierced to the heart" Revised English Bible
8. Luke 21:19 "In your patience you shall win your souls [life-soul-psukee]."
• "By standing firm you will save yourselves [psukee]" New International Version
• "By patient endurance you will save your lives [psukee]" New American Bible
• "By standing firm you will win yourselves life [psukee]" Revised English Bible
9. John 10:24 "The Jews therefore came round about him, and said unto him, how long
do you hold us [life-soul-psukee] in suspense?" This has a reference to suspense in
this life and not to suspense in life after death; they were being held in suspense then,
not after death.
10. Acts 4:32 "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul [lifesoul-
psukee]...they had all things common." They were all united, but were not all
one immortal being; not one immortal soul with many bodies.
a. "All the believers were one in heart and mind [psukee]" New International
Version.
37
11. Acts 14:22 "Confirming the souls [life-soul-psukee] of the disciples, exhorting them
to continue in the faith, and that through many tribulations we must enter into the
kingdom of God."
12. Romans 2:9 "Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul [life-soul-psukee] of man that
works evil."
• "There will be anguish and distress for everyone" [psukee] New Revised Standard
Version
• "There will be trouble and distress for every human being [psukee]" New
International Version
• "Anguish will come upon every man [psukee]" New American Bible
• "For every human being [psukee]" Revised English Bible
13. Romans 13:1 "Let every soul [life-soul-psukee] be in subjection to the higher
powers." Every immortal soul subject to world governments?
• "Let every person [psukee]" New Revised Standard Version
• "Let everyone [psukee]" New American Bible
• "Every person [psukee]" Revised English Bible
14. 1 Corinthians 15:45 "So also it is written, the first man Adam became a living soul
[life-soul-psukee]. The last Adam [became] a life-giving spirit
• "The first man, Adam, became a living being [psukee]" New Revised Standard
Version
• "The first man Adam became a living being [psukee]" New International Version
• "Adam, became a living creature [psukee]" Revised English Bible
15. 2 Corinthians 1:23 "But I call God for a witness upon my soul [life-soul-psukee], that
to spare you I come no more unto Corinth."
• "But I call on God as witness against me [psukee]" New Revised Standard Version
16. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 "And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may
your spirit and soul [life-soul-psukee] and body be preserved entire, without blame at
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
17. Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any twoedged
sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul [life-soul-psukee] and spirit."
18. Hebrews 6:19 "Which we have as an anchor of the soul [life-soul-psukee]."
• "We have that hope as an anchor for our lives" [psukee]" Revised English Bible
19. Hebrews 13:17 "For they watch in behalf of your souls [life-soul-psukee]
• "They keep watch over you [psukee]" New International Version
20. James 1:21 "Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your
souls [life-soul-psukee]."
• "Which can save you [psukee]" New International Version
• "With its power to save you [psukee]" Revised English Bible
21. 1 Peter 1:9 "Receiving the end of your faith, [even] the salvation of [your] souls [lifesoul-
psukee]."
• "Your [psukee] salvation" New American Bible
22. 1 Peter 1:22 "Seeing you have purified your souls [life-soul-psukee] in your
obedience to the truth."
• "Now that you have purified yourselves [psukee]" New International Version
• "You have purified yourselves [psukee]" New American Bible
38
23. 1 Peter 2:25 "For you were going astray like sheep; but are now returned unto the
Shepherd and Bishop of your souls [life-soul-psukee]."
24. 1 Peter 4:19 "Wherefore let them also that suffer according to the will of God commit
their souls [life-soul-psukee] in well-doing unto a faithful Creator."
• "Trust themselves [psukee] to a faithful Creator" New Revised Standard Version
• "Entrust their lives [psukee] to a faithful Creator" New American Bible
25. 2 Peter 2:8 "For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing,
vexed [his] righteous soul [life-soul-psukee] from day to day with [their] lawless
deeds."
• "Felt himself [psukee] tormented by seeing and hearing about the lawless deeds."
New American Bible
26. 2 Peter 2:14 "Enticing un-steadfast souls [life-soul-psukee] having a heart exercised
in covetousness; children of cursing."
• "They seduce the unstable" New International Version
27. 26. 3 John 2 "Beloved, I pray that in all things you may prosper and be in health,
even as your soul [life-soul-psukee] prospers."
[4] PASSAGES WITH PSUKEE
APPLIED TO GOD OR CHRIST.
1. Matthew 12:18 "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved in whom my
soul [life-soul-psukee] is well pleased."
• "My loved one in whom I [psukee] delight" New American Bible
• "My beloved, in whom I [psukee] take delight" Revised English Bible
2. Matthew 26:38 "Then said he unto them, My soul [life-soul-psukee] is exceeding
sorrowful, even unto death: abide you here, and watch with me." Mark 14:34 "And he
said unto them, My soul [life-soul-psukee] is exceeding sorrowful even unto death:
abide you here, and watch."
• "Then he said to them, 'I [psukee] am deeply grieved, even to death'" Matthew
26:38 New Revised Standard Version
• "My heart [psukee] is nearly broken with sorrow" New American Bible
• "My heart [psukee] is ready to break with grief" Revised English Bible
3. Matthew 20:28 "Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to
minister, and to give his life [life-soul-psukee] a ransom for many." Mark 10:45 "For
the Son of man also came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his
life [life-soul-psukee] a ransom for many."
4. John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life [life-soulpsukee]
for the sheep. 12 He that is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the
sheep are not, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf
snatches them, and scatters [them]: 13 [he flees] because he is a hireling, and cares
not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own, and mine own
know me, 15 even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father; and I lay down my
life [life-soul-psukee] for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this
fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice: and they shall become one
flock, one shepherd. 17 Therefore, the Father loves me, because I lay down my life
[life-soul-psukee], that I may take it again." An immortal soul, as taught today,
cannot die; therefore, the translators could not say Christ gave up His immortal soul.
He gives His life, not an immortal soul.
39
5. John 12:27 "Now is my soul [life-soul-psukee] troubled; and what shall I say?
Father, save me from this hour."
• "Now my heart is troubled" New International Version.
6. Acts 2:27 "Because you will not leave my soul [life-soul-psukee] unto Hades, neither
will you give your Holy One to see corruption."
• "You will not abandon me [psukee] to the grave" New International Version
• "You will not abandon me [psukee] to death" Revised English Bible
7. Acts 2:31 "He foreseeing [this] spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither
was he [life-soul-psukee] left unto Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption."
• The same word is translated "soul" in Acts 2:27 and "he" in Acts 2:31 in the King
James Version
8. Hebrews 10:38 "But my righteous one shall live by faith: And if he shrink back, my
soul [life-soul-psukee] has no pleasure in him." In these passages psukee, which is
translate soul or life, refers to God or Christ.
• "And if he shrinks back, I [psukee] will not be pleased with him" New
International Version
• "And if he draws back I [psukee] take no pleasure in him" New American Bible
• "But if anyone shrinks back, I [psukee] take no pleasure in him" Revised English
Bible
[5] PASSAGES WITH PSUKEE (soul)
USED IN SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE.
For notes on these see chapter eight. Those who believe in the Pagan doctrine of an
immortal soul from birth and Hell have no plain easily understood non-figurative
statement. That they must make figurative language, metaphors and symbolic
passage into literal statements SHOWS THE WEAKNESS OF THEIR BELIEF,
that it is from man and not from God. Figurative language and parables are made to be
superior over plain statements, and clear language must be made to agree with what they
think is said in the symbolic language.
1. Revelation 6:9 "And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the
souls [life-soul-psukee] of them that had been slain for the word of God." See chapter
eight - the fifth seal - souls under the altar in heaven - a symbolic picture.
2. Revelation 8:9 "And there died the third part of the creatures which were in the sea,
[even] they that had life [life-soul-psukee]; and the third part of the ships were
destroyed." A third of the immortal undying souls died? Are immortal souls, as the
word is used today, in the sea? Do fish have an immortal soul?
3. Revelation 12:11 "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and
because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life [life-soul-psukee]
even unto death." If made literal, this symbolic passage says the soul [psukee] can
die.
4. Revelation 16:3 "And the second poured out his bowl into the sea; and it became
blood as of a dead man; and every living soul [life-soul-psukee] died, [even] the
things that were in the sea." If made literal, this symbolic passage says living souls
are the things that are in the sea. Every "living creature" fish in the sea are "souls
[psukee]" that died. When will all the fish in the sea literally die?
• "And every living thing [psukee] in the sea died" New International Version
• "And every creature [psukee] living in the sea died" New American Bible
40
• "And every living thing [psukee] in it died" Revised English Bible
5. Revelation 18:13-14 "And cinnamon, and spice, and incense, and ointment, and
frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep; and
[merchandise] of horses and chariots and slaves; and souls [life-soul-psukee] of
men. And the fruits which your soul [life-soul-psukee] lusted after are gone from
thee." If there were an immaterial part of a person, could it lust after material things?
Will an immortal soul be slaves in Heaven or any other place?
• "Slaves, and human lives [psukee]" Revised English Bible.
6. Revelation 20:4 "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given
unto them: and [I saw] the souls [life-soul-psukee] of them that had been beheaded
for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshiped not the
beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon
their hand; and they lived ["came to life" New American Standard Version, New
Revised Standard Version], and reigned with Christ a thousand years." "The rest of
the dead lived not until ..." ["did not come to life" New American Standard Version,
New Revised Standard Version] Revelation 20:5. Some immortal souls "came to life"
and some "lived not." If the soul cannot die, it cannot come to life and if it cannot die,
then all souls live and none can "lived not." This passage is a real problem when
taken literal.
• Five of the six times psukee is used in Revelation, is something that can and does die.
1. Revelation 6:9 "Souls [life-soul-psukee]...slain"
2. Revelation 8:9 "And there died the third part...that had life" [life-soul-psukee]
3. Revelation 12:11 "Loved not their life [life-soul-psukee] even unto death"
4. Revelation 16:3 "Every living soul [life-soul-psukee] died" [In the sea, all fish
died]. Can anyone tell me why the translators, who believed the soul could not
die and do not believe fish have a soul, put "ever living soul died" in this
passage? "And every living thing [life-soul-psukee] in the sea died" New
American Standard Bible.
5. Revelation 20:4 "The souls [life-soul-psukee] of them that had been
beheaded"
THE SOUL IS THE EARTHLY IMAGE OF ADAM
A "LIVING SOUL" IS THE "NATURAL BODY"
Psukikos: natural [earthly].
• "The NATURAL (psukikos - man)" [1 Corinthians 2:4]
• "A NATURAL (psukikos - body)" [1 Corinthians 15:44]
• "There is a NATURAL (psukikos - body)" [1 Corinthians 15:44]
• "That which is NATURAL (psukikos)" [1 Corinthians 15:46]
THE SOUL OR THE SPIRIT IS NOT THE SPIRITUAL BODY THAT WE WILL
HAVE AFTER THE RESURRECTION
WE ARE NOW A LIVING SOUL WHICH IS IN THE IMAGE OF ADAM
1 Corinthians 15 [1] NATURAL BODY verse 44,46 WE NOW HAVE
ADAM [2] A LIVING SOUL verse 45 ADAM'S
[3] EARTHLY verse 47 IMAGE verse 49
WE WILL BE A SPIRITUAL BODY WHICH WILL BE IN THE IMAGE OF CHRIST
[1] SPIRITUAL BODY verse 45 WE WILL HAVE
CHRIST [2] LIFE GIVING SPIRIT verse 46 CHRIST'S IMAGE
[3] HEAVENLY verse 48 verse 49
41
"NATURAL" in verse 46 is used in place of "A LIVING SOUL" in verse 45, and ARE
THE SAME THING. WE NOW HAVE ADAM'S IMAGE [a living soul-a living
being], BUT WE WILL HAVE THE IMAGE OF CHRIST [a spiritual body].
"For our citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ: who shall FASHION ANEW the body of our humiliation, that it may be
conformed to the body of His glory" [Philippians 2:20-21 American Standard Version]
"CHANGE" King James Version "TRANSFORM" New American Standard Version.
"Beloved, now are we children of God, and IT IS NOT YET MADE MANIFEST WHAT
WE SHALL BE [what a spiritual body is composed of]. We know that, if he shall be
manifested, we shall be like him; [have a spiritual body, be of the same substance] for we
shall see him even as he is" [1 John 3:2].
"For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but ARE AS
ANGELS IN HEAVEN" [Matthew 22:30]. "For when they shall rise from the dead, they
neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as angels in heaven" [Mark 12:26].
The image of Christ, the spiritual bodies we will have after the resurrection is not an
earthly body in the image of Adam. WE ARE NOW A SOUL [living being] IN THE
IMAGE OF ADAM, BUT WE WILL NOT BE A SOUL [living being] IN THE
IMAGE OF ADAM AFTER THE RESURRECTION. All animals are souls [living
beings-Hebrew nehphesh-Greek psukee] but they will never have a spiritual body.
In commenting on "the natural man" in 1 Corinthians 2:14, Guy N. Woods said, "...the soulish
man, since the adjective 'natural' translates a form of the Greek word for soul, which may be
expressed in English as psychical. Thus, this usage is supported by etymology and required by
the context. See, especially, Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 1:18-28 and 2:6-16." Gospel
Advocate, 1985, November 21.
"Natural" is translated from "psuchikos." Psuchikos is the adjective form of psukee is
used six times in the New Testament.
1. "But the natural [psuchikos-soulish] man received not" [1 Corinthians 2:14].
2. "It is sown a natural [psuchikos-soulish] body, it is raised a spiritual body" [1
Corinthians 15:44].
3. "There is a natural [psuchikos-soulish] body, there is also a spiritual body" [1
Corinthians 15:44].
4. "Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural [psuchikossoulish];
than that which is spiritual" [1 Corinthians 15:46].
5. "But it is earthly, sensual [psuchikos-soulish], devilish" [James 3:15]."Natural"
in the New American Standard Bible.
6. "These are they who made separations, sensual [psuchikos-soulish], having not
the Spirit" [Jude 19]. "These are the men who divide you, who follow mere
natural [psuchikos-soulish] instincts and do not have the Spirit" New
International Version.
The adjective form of a noun never has a meaning that is totally different from the
meaning of the noun. Both the noun [psukee] and the adjective [psuchikos] are the
earthly, natural (soulish) person, the image of Adam. If I believed the psukee [soul] was
an immaterial invisible part of a person, then I would hope no one would ever see its
adjective form in the above six passages.
A living soul, the earthly being in the image of Adam will be changed to a
spiritual body in the image of Christ at the resurrection.
42
• Sown in corruption - raised in incorruption [1 Corinthians 15:42].
• This mortal - must put on immortality [1 Corinthians 15:53].
• Sown in dishonor - raised in glory [1 Corinthians 15:42].
• Sown in weakness - raised in power [1 Corinthians 15:43].
• Sown a natural body (flesh and blood) - raised a spiritual body [1 Corinthians
15:44].
• First (now) the natural - then that, which is spiritual [1 Corinthians 15:44-49].
• The first Adam a living soul - the last Adam (Christ) a life giving spirit [1
Corinthians 15:45].
• As we bare the image of the earthy (Adam) - we shall bare the image of the
heavenly (Christ) [1 Corinthians 15:49].
• Image of Adam is the earthy soul (psukee – body). Image of heavenly - Christ, the
spiritual body [1 Corinthians 15:49].
This change from the image of Adam's natural soul body to the spiritual body in the
image of Christ, from mortal to immortal, will occur at the Resurrection, NOT AT
DEATH. No one now has the spiritual body.
If a person has a soul that is now immortal, it cannot be mortal; therefore, it cannot put
on immortality. What do some think is now mortal and will put on immortality? If a
person has a soul that is now immortal, it could only be the body that will put on
immortality. It is the person that will put on immortality at the resurrection, not a part of a
person that was immortal from birth that could never be mortal. "And just as WE HAVE
BORNE the image of the earthy, WE SHALL ALSO BEAR the image of the heavenly" [1
Corinthians 15:49]. “There SHALL BE a resurrection both of the just and unjust” [Acts
24:14]. When Paul said this many believers had died but their resurrection was still a
thing to come, not something that had already came at their death.
Summary: A "LIVING SOUL" IS THE EARTHLY BODY OF FLESH AND
BLOOD IN THE IMAGE OF ADAM, NOT THE "SPIRITUAL BODY" WHICH
WILL BE IN THE IMAGE OF CHRIST. There is a difference in "a living soul,"
which we now are; and a "spiritual body," which we will be after the resurrection but are
not at this time. The "living soul," being, life, or creature that is in the "image of Adam" is
not the "spiritual body" ["image of Christ"] that we will have. THIS CLEARLY SAYS
AFTER THE RESURRECTION, WE WILL NOT BE A "LIVING SOUL," but
changed to a "spiritual body"; therefore, a "living soul" and the "spiritual body" are
different things. One ("The living soul") belongs to this life; the other (a "spiritual
body") will belong to life after the resurrection. They are opposite to each other; a
person cannot be both simultaneously. Many preachers today say, "Save you soul"
which is saying, "Save your 'image of Adam,'" or, "Save your earthly flesh and
blood body." While we are a "living soul," we cannot be a "spiritual body." After the
resurrection, when we shall have been changed to a "spiritual body," we will no longer be
a "living soul," no longer be an earthly creature in the image of Adam. IF THE
"LIVING SOUL" WAS AN IMMORTAL PART OF A PERSON THAT WOULD
LIVE FOREVER, THAT PERSON WOULD ALWAYS HAVE THE IMAGE OF
ADAM, NOT THE IMAGE OF CHRIST. CAN ANYONE HAVE THE IMAGE OF
ADAM IN HEAVEN? NO. WE ARE A "LIVING SOUL" ONLY WHILE WE ARE
ALIVE IN THIS WORLD; IN HEAVEN WE WILL HAVE A "SPIRITUAL
BODY" AND WILL NOT BE A SOUL. Adam was, and we now are "a living soul43
being"; but Adam did not, and we do not have an immortal "spiritual body" [not unto the
resurrection 1 Corinthians 15:53].
• "It is sown a natural body: it is raised a spiritual body" ["Greek physical" body:
Footnote in American Standard Version].
• "It is sown a physical body" [1 Corinthians 15:44]. "The dead shall be raised
incorruptible" [1 Corinthians 15:52].
Paul could not have said any stronger that we will be raised "a spiritual body" [1
Corinthians 15:44] "incorruptible" [1 Corinthians 15:52], not with the physical body
we now have. THE PHYSICAL BODY IS THE "LIVING SOUL" BODY WE NOW
HAVE AND IT IS NOT THE BODY THAT WILL BE RAISED. If we are raised
with a body that is a spiritual body and is incorruptible, we could not at the same time be
raised with an earthly body that is a corruptible body. McCord's translation, printed by
Freed-Hardeman College says, "And the dead shall be raised immortal" [1 Corinthians
15:53]. Paul says that at the time those who are asleep in Christ shall be raised
incorruptible, that we who are not asleep shall "be changed" [1 Corinthians 15:51]. All
will be raised from the dead at the resurrection, and those in Christ will have a new body
not of flesh. WE WILL NOT BE A "LIVING SOUL" AFTER THE RESURRECTION.
THE "SOUL" [the image of Adam], WHICH MANY SAY WE MUST SAVE FOR
THEY THINK IT IS THE ONLY PART OF US THAT WILL BE IN HEAVEN, WILL
NOT EXIST THEN. THEREFORE, IT IS NOT A PART OF US THAT WILL BE IN
HEAVEN. IT IS OUR WHOLE SELF THAT WE MUST SAVE, NOT JUST AN
"IMMATERIAL INVISIBLE" INTER PART OF OURSELF. WE WILL NOT HAVE
THE IMAGE OF ADAM, the earthly "living soul," IN HEAVEN. WE WILL NOT BE A
SOUL IN THE IMAGE OF ADAM AS WE ARE NOW, BUT WE, WILL BE THE
SAME PERSON WE NOW ARE. HOW IS IT THAT MANY CANNOT SEE THAT
WHEN THEY SAY "SAVE YOUR SOUL" THEY ARE SAYING "KEEP THE
IMAGE OF ADAM" [the earthly body]? DO THEY WANT TO BE RAISED
WITH AN EARTHY BODY IN THE IMAGE OF ADAM OR THE SPIRITUAL
BODY IN THE IMAGE OF CHRIST? “And as we have borne the image of the
earthy (now in this life time we are a psukikos – a living being in the image of the earthy
Adam) we SHALL also bear the image of the heavenly” [1 Corinthians 15:49]. We are
born a soul – a living being, but the saved will be resurrected a spiritual being in the
image of Christ and will not have the earthly image of Adam after the resurrection.
There are many, the Church of God, many Premillennialists and others that believe the
earthly body, the image of Adam, will be raised and we will live on this earth forever, not
in Heaven, that the earthly body will restored to be like Adam before he sinned. I know
of no passage that says Adam's body was different before and after he sinned, but even if
his body was different the rest of mankind never had the body Adam had before he
sinned, therefore, all but Adam would have to be raised with a body different from this
body we now have. There is a mountain of writing on how God will be able to restore the
same body with the same particles of matter it now has. All the particles of matter in our
bodies are completely changed ever few years; all the matter that has been in the body of
a person that lives to be old would be enough to make many bodies, it would be a
mountain of matter.
T. P Connelly, in The Connelly Field Debate says, "The resurrection is, therefore, a reunion of
spirit and matter, and this being true, the same particles of matter in the same body are no more
44
necessary in order to a reunion, than that the same particles should remain at all times the same
here to perpetuate the union."
Then is would be the spirit coming back from Heaven or Hell and creating a new
earthly body, not a resurrection of the body a person had when he or she was living, not a
resurrection of anything, not a resurrection of the body we now have and not a
resurrection of a soul that would not be dead. Because the natural body, the image of
Adam, will not be raised, this mountain of writing is about nothing. I can understand why
those in the Church Of God are concerned about what particles of matter the earthly body
will be raised with, but he is an evangelist in the Christian Church, and I cannot
understand why he thinks a soul which he thinks has no substance and will live forever in
Heaven without this body must come back to earth and make itself a new body, but many
who say they do not believe this body will ever be in Heaven think that we now have an
immortal part that must put on the earthly body at the resurrection.
Synonyms for "soul" that are used in 1 Corinthians 15: earth, earthly [dust],
corruption, natural body, mortal, image of Adam, flesh and blood.
HOW CAN DEATH BE A SEPARATION OF BODY AND SOUL WHEN:
• THE SOUL IS THE BODY, WHICH IS IN THE IMAGE OF ADAM?
• IT IS THE SOUL, WHICH IS THE EARTHLY BODY IN THE IMAGE OF
ADAM THAT DIES.
• IT WOULD BE A SEPARATION OF THE SOUL FROM THE SOUL (the
image of Adam from the image of Adam).
Mike Willis says a spiritual body is not an ethereal body any more than Christ's was a
shadowy, ghostly, ethereal body. But rather, a spiritual body is a body that is suited for
the spiritual world, which God has planned for mankind. He says just as certainly as there
is a natural body, there will also be a spiritual body; and one is no more uncertain than
the other, and just as certainly as we have a body adapted to life in the world we now live
in, so also shall we have a body that will be adapted to life in the world to come. A
Commentary On Paul's First Epistle To the Corinthians, 1979. He has clearly said the
"spirit" he thinks we now have is not the "spiritual body" which we shall have in Heaven.
The "spirit" could then only be a shadowy, ghostly, ethereal body, which he said Christ
did not have. A spiritual body is not just a thin air, no substance, ghostly something; but
we know not what. THE SOUL IS THE NATURAL BODY, THE IMAGE OF
ADAM, A LIVING BEING, THE EARTHY BODY THAT WILL DIE AND
CANNOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
B. W. Johnson, Author of "People's New Testament With Notes" 1898: "'So also in the
resurrection of the dead.' On earth there was a body adapted to earthly condition. At death that
earthly body was 'sown' or planted in the earth. 'It is sown in corruption,' or subject, to
corruption. 'It is raised in incorruption...It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.'
Our earthly bodies, like that of the earthly Adam, are of earth; the new body, 'the house not
made with hands,' is in the image of the heavenly man, the glorified body of Jesus Christ, for 'as
we have borne the image of the earthly, [a living soul-living being] so shall we also bear the
image of the heavenly.' Then, to silence forever those who expect a sensual heaven in which they
shall abide in the flesh eternally, he exclaims, 'Now, this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood
cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption.' This, in its
connection, can only have one meaning. Flesh and blood bodies [a living soul-living being],
bodies made of corruptible earthly materials, are not compatible with a home in the world of
redeemed and glorified spirits. The soul's tenement, if it has one, must be adapted to the new
45
conditions of being. Are we then denied a body in the future state? By no means. I may not be
able to understand the nature of that body, because I have never seen such an existence, but I
can accept the statements of the word of God and believe that it is exactly fitted to the happy
sphere of glorified existence. It 'is a building of God,' it is made 'as it has pleased him,' it is 'a
spiritual body,' it is 'incorruptible,' it is 'immortal,' it is after the image of the heavenly man, and
'our vile bodies [a living soul-living being] are changed into the likeness of his glorified body.'"
Page 413, 1891, "Christ and the Future Life" at:
http://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/bjohnson/etc/CATFL.HTM
B. W. Johnson, "The first man, Adam, was made a living soul. Gen. 2:7. From him came our
natural life. The last Adam, Christ, of whom Adam was a type. A quickening spirit. By giving life to
the dead, and imparting spiritual existence. Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual. The first
Adam came before the second Adam. The natural body, which proceeds from the first Adam is
our tabernacle first; after this life comes the 'spiritual body,' which the second Adam gives. The
first man is of the earth. Was fashioned out of the earth. Genesis 2:7. The second man is the Lord
who came from heaven. As is the earthy. All have earthly bodies, like that of Adam. As is the
heavenly. When we are raised to heaven we shall have spiritual bodies like Christ's." "People's
New Testament With Notes" pages 124-125.
Carl Holladay, "To the first Adam, God gave the first physical body: Adam became a living
being (Gen. 2:7). To the second Adam, or the last Adam, Christ, God gave the first spiritual body.
Their essential difference (and the Greek makes this clear) is that the former was essentially lifereceiving,
whereas the latter was life-giving. It is this that renders one physical and the other
spiritual. It was the last Adam upon whom, and within whom the Spirit of God dwelt; by raising
him from the dead. God breathed into history a second breath of life, and vividly confirmed
another mode of existence, which wholly transcended physical life: spiritual life. But, it succeeds
the physical instead of replacing the physical: it is not the spiritual, which is first but the physical,
and then the spiritual. Spiritual life is the hope which the resurrection of the last Adam
confirmed and will eventually provide; it is inaccessible to those who are still in the physical
body" "The First Letter of Paul to The Corinthians," Page 209, Abilene Christian University Press.
J. W. McGarvey, "The life principle of Adam is soul, and he was formed of the earth: the life
principle of Christ is spiritual. He was in heaven (John 1:10 and from thence entered the world
and became flesh (John 1:14; 3:13, 21; Phil. 2:6-8; John 1:1-3; Luke 1:35). Now, as the two heads
differ, so do the two families, and each resembles it’s head; the earthly progeny of Adam having
earthly natures, and the spiritual progeny of Christ having spiritual and heavenly natures. But in
both families the earthly nature come first, and the spiritual children wait for their manifestation,
which is the very thing about which the apostle has been talking, for it comes when they are
raised from the dead (Rom. 8:29; 1 John 3:2; Rom. 8:22, 23; 2 Cor. 5:1-10)" Standard Bible
Commentary, Page 158, 1916, Standard Publishing Company.
Dr. Lange, "The expression living soul, as used in Genesis, is often taken to indicate an order
of being superior to the brute, and is the text of many an argument to prove the immortality of
the soul. The incorrectness of this assumption will be readily seen by referring to Genesis 1:20,
21, 24, and elsewhere, in which passages the words translated 'living soul' are used referring to
the entire lower creation. They are used indifferently of man and beast to express animal life in
general; and it is in this light the apostle uses them as the very course of his argument shows.
Adam is spoken of as a living soul, not to prove his immortality, but rather his
mortality" Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:45.
ELEVEN DEFINITIONS OF "SOUL"
AND EIGHTEEN DEFINITIONS OF "SPIRIT"
46
AS GIVEN BY VINE
"Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary Of Old And New Testament Words" by W.
E. Vine is one of, if not the best and most used and accepted Lexicon in use. Therefore, I
will use his definitions of "soul" and "spirit" as a standard work that is used to uphold the
doctrine of an immortal soul.
[1] W. E. Vine on psukee [SOUL] Page 588
[a] The natural life of the body [a living soul-living being].
[b] The immaterial, invisible part of man, Matthew 10:28; Acts 2:27. In the first two of
his eleven definitions of soul, he makes the soul be both the natural body in the image of
Adam and "the immaterial, invisible part of man." This is the common way of most that
believe we have a part that is now immortal. Any passage with psukee-life-soul must be
interpreted in a way that makes psukee be an immortal part of a person, and this is most
of them for only a few can be made to say what they want them to say.
Of the 106 times psukee is used, he used only 4 of the 106 in [b and c].
Of the 288 times spirit-pnuma is used, he used only 8 of the 288 in [c and d].
According to his definitions, both soul and spirit are both an "immaterial, invisible part of
man" in only 12 times in the 394 times that both soul and spirit are used; the other 382
are an earthly being. Matthew 10:28 says God can destroy the soul-psukee. In Acts 2:27
the soul (psukee-person) is in the grave un-resurrected. Neither says anything about an
"immaterial, invisible part of man."
[c] The disembodied or "unclothed" or "naked" man, 2 Corinthians 5:3-4 and
Revelation 6:9. "Disembodied" is not in 2 Corinthians 5:3-4, he added it. He clearly says
soul and spirit are two different things, yet he applied "naked" to both the soul (psukee)
and the spirit (pneuma), even though he made a distinction in the two. He says, "The
language of Heb. 4:12 suggests the extreme difficulty of distinguishing between the soul
and the spirit, alike in their nature and in their activities. Generally speaking, the spirit
may be recognized as the life principle bestowed on man by God, the soul as the resulting
life constituted in the individual, the body being the material organism animated by soul
and spirit."
1. "The spirit may be recognized as the life principle bestowed on man from God"-
W. E. Vine
2. "The body being the material organism"-W. E. Vine
3. "The soul as the resulting life" "[a] The natural life of the body."-W. E. Vine.
Body + breath of life, spirit = a living being, a soul. This is true of both man and
animals. The spirit - life principle came from God and returns to God
[Ecclesiastes 12:7]. The soul is the breathing creature whether a person or animal.
What does he think is the immortal PART of a person? The soul or spirit? He
seems to say one (soul) at one time and the other (spirit) at another time.
• VINE USED ONLY FOUR PASSAGES TO PROVE A PERSON HAS AN
IMMORTAL SOUL [Matthew 10:28; Acts 2:27; 2 Corinthians 5:3,4; Revelation
6:9]. All the other passages where soul-psukee refers to a person he applied to the
earthly person, not an "immaterial, invisible part of a man."
o Not one of his four passages has immortal or immortality in them.
o Not one of the four says the soul cannot die.
o Not one of the four says the soul will live after the death of the body.
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o Not one of the four says only a "part" of a person, only the no substance
"immaterial, invisible part of man," will be in Heaven, and not the whole
person.
[d] The seat of personality...explained as = "own self,"...the seat of the sentient element in
man, that by which he perceives, reflects, fells, desires. [e] The seat of the sentient
element in man, that by which he perceives, reflects, feels, desires. [f] The seat of will
and purpose. [g] The seat of appetite. [h] Persons, individuals..."persons"..."anyone"...of
dead bodies..."dead soul" and of animals. [i] The equivalent of the personal pronoun,
used for emphasis and effect: 1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person. [j] An animate
creature, human or other.
If the soul [pneuma] is "An animate creature, human or other" how is it that he thinks
people have souls but animals do not?
He applies only two [b] and [c] in his list to what he thinks is an immortal soul. ALL
THE OTHERS [a, d, e, f, g, h, i, and j] ARE USED REFERRING TO MEN AND
ANIMALS, NOT TO AN INTER BEING THAT LIVES AFTER THE DEATH OF THE
PERSON OR ANIMAL.
[2] W. E. VINE ON PNEUMA [SPIRIT]
"Pneuma primarily denotes 'the wind' ['to breathe, blow']; also 'breath.'" W. E. Vine,
Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary Of Old and New Testament Words, Page 593.
[Note: While they are men who have learned more than most on Bible words; and we can learn
from them, they are still just as human, just as uninspired as other men are, just as subject to err
and be wrong, they are still men and hold to such things as Calvinism: He says, "Adam died on
the day he disobeyed God. Genesis 2:17, and hence all mankind are born in the same spiritual
condition" W. E. Vine, Page 149, New Testament; and like the men who have made translations
of the Bible, their views sometime show up in their work, intentional or unintentional; and we
must not believe there can be no error in even the best lexicon or translations. They all have
some, and no lexicon can be taken as law. McCord says they can be and are sometimes wrong.
See "Lexicons Can Be Wrong" McCord, Guardian of Truth, Page 448, 1996]. In the early
translations, one Greek word would be translated into many English words [an example-apollumi
was translated into eight English words in the King James Version]. A Lexicon wrote later would
give all eight English words as the meaning of the one Greek word. Lexicons sometimes define a
Greek word more by the way that word is used in the English translations than that by the way it
was used in the Greek New Testament, if the English translations translate it 8 or 10 different
ways, the lexicons give 8 or 10 different meanings of the one Greek word. The question is, why
did the early translations use many words to translate one word? By being able to translate one
Greek word into many English words gives them the ability to make any verse not say something
they did not want it to say. One word, nehphesh, is rendered with about forty-four different
words in the King James Old Testament.
W. E. VINE'S EIGHTEEN WAYS "SPIRIT" IS USED: They are almost the same as
his "soul" - see above. Of the eighteen ways Vine says the word "spirit" is used in the
Bible, he says sixteen of them are not used with reference to an undying "immaterial,
invisible part of man" [A through R]. C and D are the only two of the eighteen different
ways he says spirit is used, which he used to prove a person is a two-fold being, and they
do not do it. None of the passages he used say anything about an immortality soul.
1. Being not of this earth, God, Christ, Holy Spirit, angels, and other spirits both
clean and unclean. [k] The Holy Spirit [m] Unclean spirits, demons. [n] Angels
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2. To man. W. E. Vine lists a number of ways that "spirit" applies to man. [a] The
wind [b] The breath [c] The immaterial, invisible part of man, Luke 8:55; Acts
7:59; 1 Corinthians 5:5; James 2:26. [d] The disembodied, or unclothed, or
naked, 2 Corinthians 5:3, 4; Luke 24:37-39; Hebrews 12:23; 1 Peter 4:6 [e] The
resurrection body [f] The sentient element in man, that by which he perceives,
reflect, feels, desires [g] Purpose, aim [h] The equivalent of the personal
pronoun, used for emphasis and effect [i] Character [j] Moral qualities and
activities. Bad, As of bondage, As of a slave, Stupor, and Timidity, Good, As of
adoption, liberty as of a son, Faith, Quietness, [l] 'The inward man,' an
expression used only of the believer, The new life [o] Divine gift for service [p]
By metonymy, those who claim to be depositories of these gifts [q] The
significance, as contrasted with the form, of words, or of a rite [r] A vision.
W. E. Vine's gives eight passages in [c] and [d] to prove a person has in immortal part.
[1]. HIS FIRST PASSAGE: Luke 8:55
"AND HER SPIRIT RETURNED."
W. E. Vine says pneuma (soul) is "the natural life of the body," Page 588. It means
her life returned. W. E. Vine said, "The spirit may be recognized as the life principle
bestowed on man by God, the soul as the resulting life constituted in the individual, the
body being the material organism animated by soul and spirit" Page 589. He points out
that man as he is now can have no life without the body. After the resurrection the saved
will have a new body. The lost are not said to put on a new glorious spiritual body (2
Thessalonians 4:23ff, 1 Corinthians 15:43), or to have immortality, which they must have
if they will live forever in torment. Pneuma-spirit is also translated "life" in Revelation
13:15. VINE MAKES A CLEAR DISTINCTION BETWEEN SOUL AND SPIRIT,
BUT SAYS BOTH ARE AN "IMMATERIAL, INVISIBLE PART OF MAN." Does
he think people have two "immaterial, invisible part(s)"? Is this proof that, as McCord
says, "Lexicons Can Be Wrong"? W. E. Vine also applied "A building from God, a
house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens" [2 Corinthians 5:3-4] to both the
soul and the spirit, but he and many others believe the soul and the spirit is not the
same. Do they think we have two buildings from God, one for the soul, and one for
the spirit?
[2]. W. E. VINE'S SECOND PASSAGE
"RECEIVE MY SPIRIT" Acts 7:59
Also see Luke 23:46. If he were asking for his spirit to be received at the resurrection,
for this is when we will be received in Heaven, then where is his spirit before the
resurrection? For this to prove the spirit is alive from death unto the Resurrection, his
spirit would have to be received by God at death. Stephen was asking God to receive him
at the judgment. Those who teach we go to Abraham's bosom do not believe we are
caught up to Heaven immediately at death so why are they using this to prove what
happens to us at death when they do not believe God receives us into Heaven at the time
of our death? To make this teach we have an immortal soul, which does not die when the
body dies, [1] soul and spirit must be made to be the same thing [2] then contrary to their
belief about Abraham's bosom that no one will be in Heaven before the resurrection; they
send Stephen to Heaven at his death. Is it because there is no real proof, and scripture
must be misused to make it sound as though there is proof, and even misuse them in a
way that is contradictory to their own belief. We are not told that Stephen went to Heaven
49
or to Abraham's bosom, but we are told clearly that he "fell asleep" [Acts 7:60]. Maybe
they think Stephen is asleep in Heaven or Abraham's bosom. If the real Stephen were the
spirit, then what was the "he" that "fell asleep" [Acts 7:60]? The "he" that fell asleep is
Stephen, not just an earthly body that will never be in Heaven.
Stephen said, "LAY NOT THIS SIN TO THEIR CHARGE" [Acts 7:60]. The book of
Job was inspired, but the speeches of his three friends were not inspired, and much in
their speeches is not true. See "Job" By Homer Hailey and "Guide to Bible Study" by J.
W. McGarvey. Was Stephen speaking by inspiration, or was Luke only inspired to write
what Stephen said, just as the writer of Job was inspired to write the uninspired speeches
of Job's friends even when it is said that they spoke not the truth? The question is "what
did he ask God to do, and when was he asking God to do it"? "Lord, lay not this sin to
their charge?" [Acts 7:60]. This shows he had love even to those who were doing him
harm as he should, but what he was asking could not be unless they believed, repented,
and were baptized. There is no other way that God could not lay this sin to their charge,
or the death of Christ would not have been needed. Therefore, God could not do what
Stephen was asking. Stephen was not speaking by inspiration when he said this, for if he
were, he would not have been inspired to ask God to do something He could not do.
Christ said, "Father, into your hands I commit My spirit: and having said this, He
breathed His last" [Luke 23:46]. ISAIAH 53:12 IN THE KING JAMES VERSION
"BECAUSE HE HAS POURED OUT HIS SOUL UNTO DEATH," IS "BECAUSE HE
POURED OUT HIMSELF TO DEATH" IN THE NEW AMERICAN STANDARD
VERSION, AND "BECAUSE HE POURED OUT HIS LIFE UNTO DEATH" IN THE
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. CHRIST GAVE HIS LIFE FOR US, NOT A NO
SUBSTANCE SOMETHING THAT ACCORDING TO TODAY'S THEOLOGY
COULD NOT DIE AND WAS ALIVE IN "HELL" IN THE THREE DAYS THAT HIS
BODY WAS IN THE GRAVE. If Christ did not really give up His life, if He were as
much alive as He was before He came to earth there was no resurrection. He did not die
for us. We are still in our sins with no hope. "FOR YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY
SOUL TO SHEOL" [Psalms 16:10]. "Because you will not abandon me to the GRAVE"
New International Version is quoted in the New Testament, "BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT
LEAVE MY SOUL UNTO HADES" [Acts 2:27 and 31]. "In hell" in the King James
Version. Christ gave His life for our sins. Sheol is the grave. He died our death and went
to the grave and was raised from the grave by the Father. He was not abandon to the
grave.
[3]. W. E. VINE'S PASSAGE THIRD PASSAGE
"Supposed that they beheld a spirit"
The third proof that Vine used to prove a person now has an "immaterial, invisible
part of man" is Luke 24:37-39,"Supposed that they beheld a spirit." This is what they
[as men] thought based on their fear, and was not based on inspiration. The two parallel
account of this says phantom [Matthew 14:26; Mark 6:49]. Strong [Page 1006] says this
word is not pneuma [spirit] #4151, but "phantasma" #5326 [also #5324]; "A [mere]
show...i.e. specter [a hunting vision]" When Christ walked on the water is the one time
this word (plantasma) is used in the Bible, and is translated "ghost" in the American
Standard Version and most others. It is translated "a phantom" by Marshall and in the
"Christian Bible." The "Englishman Greek Concordance," Page 783 says, "Lit. A
phantom." These disciples seem to have believed they were seeing a ghost or phantom;
50
and like these disciples, some today believe in ghosts, spooks, haunted houses, and such
things. This maybe the only time Vine’s thin air with no substance ghost or spirit is in the
New Testament, and then it was only what these disciples thought they were seeing, and
not what they did see. Spirits, God, Christ, Angels have a body, and mankind after
judgment will have a body, and are more than just thin air; but not two bodies with two
opposite natures both at the same time. THE USE OF THIS PASSAGE TO PROVE A
PERSON HAS AN IMMORTAL SOUL MAKES THE PROOF BE BASED ON A LIE,
ON WHAT THE DISCIPLES THOUGHT THEY WERE SEEING, NOT ON WHAT
THEY DID SEE. Then what they thought they were seeing, a phantasm or ghost must be
changed to say they were seeing "The immaterial, invisible part of man" which W. E.
Vine does not seem to know whether it was an invisible "soul" or an invisible "spirit"
they were seeing, but it was not very invisible for they were seeing it. Christ said to
them that He was not a spirit, not a phantom or ghost that has no body that they thought
He was, that He was flesh and blood. WHY DID VINE USE AN UNINSPIRED
STATEMENT, MADE BY MEN IN FEAR, WHO WAS NOT SEEING WHAT THEY
THOUGHT THEY WERE SEEING, TO PROVE SOMETHING TO BE A DIVINE
TRUTH? This passage says absolutely nothing about a person having an immortal
invisible soul that he used it to prove. Does he think they were inspired to believe a lie
and that this lie becomes truth, but only after he changes this "phantom" to a "soul"? And
that this "immaterial, invisible part of man" is just air, and it has no kind of substance or
no body of any kind; and that a spiritual body is no body at all, with just nothing to it?
Yet, V. w. Vine said these disciples thought they were seeing something that he says is
invisible, therefore, could not be seen. Although what they were seeing was not invisible,
he used it to prove a person has an invisible part in him. MOST WHO BELIEVE A
PERSON HAS AN IMMORTAL SOUL DO NOT BELIEVE A SOUL CAN BE
SEEN, BUT WILL USE THIS TO PROVE THESE MEN WERE SEEING A SOUL
THAT THEY SAY CANNOT BE SEEN.
LUKE 24:27-29 and ACTS 7:59 Two of the passages, which W. E. Vine used to
prove a person has an immortal part are uninspired statements. What these disciples
thought they were seeing but were not, and what Stephen was asking that could not be
unless they believed in Christ. (See [2] Acts 7:59 above) DOES THIS NOT SAY
ANYTHING ABOUT HOW WEAK HIS PROOF IS?
[4]. W. E. VINE'S FORTH PASSAGE
“Longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven”
He used 2 Corinthians 5:5 to prove a person has an "immaterial, invisible part of
man." In 2 Corinthians 5:3-4 we are unclothed while we are in the earthly house, but will
be clothed in heaven. Nothing is said in this about a person being a dual being while in
the earthly house. IF IT WERE AS VINE SAYS, THAT THIS CLOTHING IS "A
NEVER-DYING SPIRIT" IT WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE TO BE UNCLOTHED. IF
THIS CLOTHING WERE OUR SPIRIT, TO BE "UNCLOTHED" OR "NAKED"
WOULD BE TO NOT HAVE A SPIRIT. He added "disembodied" to get his immaterial
soul, but adds it to both soul and spirit, which he said are not the same. IF ALL HAVE
AN IMMORTAL SOUL FROM BIRTH, NOT EVEN THE LOST COULD BE
“NAKED” OR “UNCLOTHED.”IF ALL HAVE AN IMMORTL SOUL AND THE
“HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS” IS THIS SOUL, EVEN THE LOST HAVE THIS
“HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS.”
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2 Corinthians 5:1-8 “(1) For WE know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be
dissolved [if our earthly body be dead], WE have a building from God, a house not made
with hands, eternal, in the heavens [a new immortal body]. (2) For verily in this WE
groan, longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven; [wanting
to be with Christ in Heaven and clothed with our immortal bodies] (3) if so be that being
clothed [with a new spiritual immortal body] WE shall not be found naked [not be dead,
not have the life Christ gives to them that obey Him]. (4) For indeed WE that are in this
tabernacle [our earthly body] do groan, being burdened: [in this life we have
persecutions, sickness, death; but most of all a longing to be with Christ] not for that WE
would be unclothed, [Not that we want the sleep of death before we put on immortal life
at the resurrection. To be "unclothed" is not to have a body, not an earthly or spiritual
body from death unto the resurrection. To be "unclothed" is to be asleep without a body
waiting to wake up at the resurrection and "put on immortality." (1) We are NOW clothed
with the earthly body. (2) We WILL BE unclothed, asleep without a body from death to
the resurrection. (3) We LONG TO BE clothed [with our immortal bodies in Heaven] but
that WE would be clothed upon, that what is mortal may be swallowed up of life [that this
life on earth may be replaced with life in Heaven with an immortal body]. (5) Now he
that wrought US for this very thing is God, who gave unto US the earnest of the Spirit. (6)
Being therefore, always of good courage, and knowing that, while WE are at home in the
body, [while we are living on this earth] WE are absent from the Lord [not immortal in
Heaven with Christ] (7) (for WE walk by faith, not by sight): (8) WE are of good courage,
I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord
[willing to change this mortal body for an immortal body, and be in Heaven with
Christ]." It is not the "soul" which will be naked after death; it is “we” the whole person.
Those who believe the soul is an inter part of a person, which will be alive after
dead, BELIEVE THE SAME SOUL WE HAVE NOW IS THE SAME SOUL WE
WILL HAVE AFTER DEATH, AND IS THE SAME SOUL WE WILL HAVE IN
HEAVEN; FOR THEY BELIEVE "The immaterial, invisible part of man"-W. E. Vine
IS JUST AS IMMORTAL NOW AS IT WILL BE AFTER THE RESURRECTION
AND JUDGMENT, JUST AS IMMORTAL NOW WHILE WE ARE ON EARTH
AS IT WILL BE AFTER WE ARE IN HEAVEN. The soul being naked after death
does not fit into what many believe, and makes no sense if you believe a person now
has the immortal soul that he will always have; and that it is only this "immaterial,
invisible part of man" that will live forever in Heaven or Hell. A person being
"disembodied" is not in the Bible, and therefore is a doctrine of man. He added,
"disembodied," and makes it equal to "unclothed," or "naked"; it was Paul and the
Corinthians that would be "unclothed," or "naked," not an “immaterial” part of them.
He had to change Paul's words to get his immaterial immortal soul. Most Protestants
believe the soul goes immediately to Heaven or Hell at death, therefore, a soul being
"disembodied" does not fit with what most Protestants believe. The Catholic or the
Protestant views do not have any room for an intermediate "disembodied" state from
death to the resurrection. HIS "DISEMBODIED" SOUL FROM DEATH TO THE
RESURRECTION IS SAYING THEY ARE BOTH WRONG, FOR MANY IN THE
MAINSTREAM PROTESTANTS OR CATHOLICS DO NOT BELIEVE THERE IS A
"DISEMBODIED" STATE FOR THE SOUL FROM DEATH TO THE
RESURRECTION, BUT THAT THE SOUL GOES INSTANTLY TO HEAVEN AT
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DEATH. This passage is just another of the many passages that are an unexplainable
passage to anyone with the Protestant view, but he did the best he could even if he has to
be both unorthodox and change the Bible.
We need to take care that we do not put an interpretation on any passage that will
make it clash with other passages. It is evident that Paul did not expect the dead in Christ,
those who have fallen asleep [1 Corinthians 15:1-28], to be with Christ before the
resurrection.
1. In the body (now)
2. Death, out of the body
3. The resurrection to eternal life when ALL the dead in Christ will be raised
TOGETHER, all simultaneously. Then "so shall we ever be (at home) with the
Lord." Paul looked for and thought the Lord may come soon, maybe in his
lifetime. He said, "I tell you a mystery: WE all shall not sleep, but WE shall all be
changed [shall instantly put on a spiritual body] in a moment, in the twinkling of
an eye, at the last trump" [1 Corinthians 15:51]. He did not want to die [sleep
onto the resurrection] and be naked [have no body] but wanted to be alive at the
time Christ came and in a moment put off this earthly body and put on the
spiritual body and be with Christ. There is some evident in Paul's letters that he
and the church may have thought Christ would come in their lifetime. He seems
to have been longing for His return and the time when he would be at home with
Christ thinking it would be soon and that any day he would be at home with the
Lord without the sleep of death unto the resurrection, although he knows many
were already asleep in Christ [1 Thessalonians 4:14], already out of the body, but
not at home with the Lord.
Paul speaks of three states. (1) The earthly house or tabernacle [The present body]. (2)
The naked or unclothed [The state he did not groan for]. (3) A building of God not made
with hands eternal in the heavens [The clothed or resurrected body he wanted]. If the
naked state is the "disembodied" soul in Heaven during the intermediate state, why
does Paul not want to be "found naked." Did he not want to be in Heaven without
the earthly body in the intermediate state? Did he not want to be in Heaven with
Christ and all the saved unto the Judgment Day? No. Paul knew that he would not
be with Christ unto the Resurrection if Christ did not return before his death. He
knew that there is no life for the dead before the Resurrection. To be naked or
unclothed is to have no life, not be alive in Heaven or Hell. State two (2), Vine's
"disembodied" state is not believed by many Protestants who go from state one (1), this
present body, to state three (3), a building not made with hands, which will be in Heaven
at the moment of death.
The doctrine that the body is only a dwelling place of an immortal soul is not found in
this passage, but many read it into it. Neither is the doctrine that a person's immortal soul
leaves the body at death and goes immediately to Heaven without the resurrection and
judgment. The passage says nothing about a "soul." Paul used "we" not "our soul." "BUT
THAT WE WOULD BE CLOTHED UPON THAT WHAT IS MORTAL MAY BE
SWALLOWED UP OF LIFE." The context this passage is in is speaking of the
resurrection FROM THE DEAD [2 Corinthians 4:14 to 5:10]; not on being alive after
death without a body and having no need of the resurrection.
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• According to both the Catholic and Protestant versions, the body is now mortal
and the soul is now immortal. At the death of the body the soul is already
immortal and is not changed, and nothing of this mortal is swallowed up of life; at
death the body goes back to the earth and nothing of the body will put on
immortality or is swallowed up of life.
• According to the Bible version, this mortal is changed and puts on immortality at
the resurrection, immortality that this mortal does not now have [1 Corinthians
15:50-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17]. This mortal is swallowed up of life.
Paul says the same thing in Romans 8:23-24 and 2 "Corinthians 5:1-2.
ROMANS 8:23-24 | 2 CORINTHIANS 5:1-2
BUT OURSELVES ALSO, WHO HAVE THE | WHO GIVE UNTO US THE EARNEST OF THE
FIRST-FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT | SPIRIT" SEE EPH 1:13-14; ROM 8:11
EVEN WE OURSELVES GROAN | IN THIS WE GROAN,
WITHIN OURSELVES | .
WAITING FOR OUR ADOPTION, TO | LONGING TO BE CLOTHED UPON WITH OUR
WIT, THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY | HABITATION WHICH IS FROM HEAVEN
"Waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body" and "longing to be
clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven" is the same thing and will be at
the resurrection, not at death and says nothing about a part of an immortal person that
will be alive from death unto the resurrection.
WHEN WILL WE BE PRESENT WITH THE LORD? If "to be present with the
Lord" is to take up our residence in Heaven immediately at death, what is the "naked"
and "unclothed" state of verses 3 and 4, and when is it? It is not while Paul was in "this
tabernacle" or when he would be clothed in Heaven, therefore, neither in this life nor in
Heaven is when he could be "unclothed." All will be absent from the body at death (the
naked state), but no one will be present with the Lord in Heaven unto after the judgment.
The intermediate nakedness from death unto the resurrection is something Paul did
not want, something he DID NOT GROAN FOR; it is death, not any kind of life
anyplace. From 1 Thessalonians 4:17 we learn that after death the only way we will be
with the Lord is the resurrection. WHEN WILL WE BE AT HOME WITH CHRIST,
immediately at death without the resurrection, or not unto after the resurrection?
• "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with the trump of God: AND THE DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL
RISE FIRST; [all the dead in Christ shall rise at the same time at the coming of
Christ] them that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in
the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: AND SO SHALL WE EVER BE WITH
THE LORD" [1 Thessalonians 4:16-17]. Both (1) believers that are dead in Christ
and (2) believers that will be alive at His coming will BOTH TOGETHER be
caught up and ever be with the Lord; this clearly shows that the dead in Christ are
not now in Heaven with the Lord before and without being resurrected from the
dead. If they were now alive in Heaven they would not be “dead in Christ,” they
could not “rise first,” be resurrected from the dead before those who are alive are
“changed.”
• “We all shall not sleep but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, AT THE LAST TRUMP: for the trumpet shall sound and THE DEAD
SHALL BE RAISED INCORRUPTIBLE, AND WE SHALL BE CHANGED. For
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and THIS MORTAL MUST PUT ON
IMMORTALITY” [1 Corinthians 15:51-53]. Paul is clearly speaking of this mortal
person putting on immortality, not an immortal soul putting on immortality.
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• At our gathering together unto Him at “the coming of the Lord” [2 Thessalonians
2:1]
• When the Lord shall descend from Heaven with a shout [1 Thessalonians 4:13-17]
• When Christ who is our life shall be manifest [Colossians 3:4]
• "In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to
all who have loved His appearing" [2 Timothy 4:8]. If it is "on that day" it is not
possible to be at death.
• "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have
told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again, and RECEIVE YOU to Myself; that where I am, there
you may be also" [John 14:2-3]. Christ has not yet come to receive Paul or
anyone. He did not say to those in Heaven with Him, "I will come again, and
RECEIVE YOUR BODY, that where we are, there YOUR BODY may be also be
with us." Did Jesus say, "And if I go" your death shall soon bring you to me? No.
He said, "I will come again and receive you to Myself."
• "For this is the will of my Father that everyone that beholds the Son, and believes
on him, should have eternal life; AND I WILL RAISE HIM UP AT THE LAST
DAY" [John 6:40, 44, 54]. Is He going to rise up "everyone that beholds the Son,
and believes on him" by bringing them from Heaven, or by raising them from the
dead? Also 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; John 11:24; 1 John 3:2, and many other
passages.
Even though Paul know his death was near he anticipated receiving “the crown or
righteousness” to be given to him by the Lord “at that day,” not at his dead and that this
crown of life would also be given to “all them that have loved his appearing” at that day
[2 Timothy4:6-8].
In the above passages it is said when we will go to Heaven in such a simple and clear
way that I cannot understand how anyone cannot understand them, or how they could
say, "Not true Lord, we are not going to wait unto You come again. If an immaterial no
substance soul were alive with the Lord immediately after death it could not be
resurrected from the dead at His coming; an immortal soul could not “put on
immortality” at the coming of Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 Paul says nothing about a
“soul;” he is speaking of the whole person.
Scott P. Wiley in "Eternal Torment or Annihilation" makes the grave be the place
where man puts bodies but he says sheol is not the grave but a place under the earth
where God puts the souls of the dead, some in one part of sheol are happy and some in
another part of sheol are in torment, and they are waiting there for the resurrection. If
Paul and all the saved go to be with the Lord at death and the Lord is in Heaven there is
no such place as sheol or hades. If the dead all go to sheol and they are with the Lord, the
Lord would be some place under the earth in sheol, not in Heaven, not setting on the right
hand of God. BEING TRANSPORTED TO HEAVEN OR HELL INSTANTLY AT
DEATH MAKES ALL THE PASSAGES THAT SPEAK OF THE DEAD BEING IN
SHEOL OR HADES A LIE AND ALL THE PASSAGES THAT SPEAK OF THE
RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD A LIE FOR THOSE IN HEAVEN COULD NOT BE
DEAD; AND MAKES THE BIBLE SAY ONE THING IN ONE PLACE AND
ANOTHER THING IN ANOTHER PLACE.
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COMPANION BIBLE by E.W. Bullinger, on 2 Corinthians 5:8: “It is little less than a crime for
anyone to pick out certain words and frame them into a sentence, not only disregarding the
scope and context, but ignoring the other words in the verse, and quote the words ‘absent from
the body, present with the Lord’ with the view of dispensing with the hope of the Resurrection
(which is the subject of the whole passage) as though it were unnecessary; an as though ‘present
with the Lord’ is obtainable without it.”
[5]. ANOTHER PASSAGE THAT W. E. VINE USED
"THE SPIRITS OF JUST MEN MADE PERFECT"
He used “the spirits of just men made perfect” to prove that the spirits of dead just
men are alive in Heaven and have been made perfect. Hebrews 12:22-23 is a list of seven
ways the New Covenant is NOW better than the Old Covenant. Paul said they HAD
COME, not will come after death to the spirits of just men made perfect. This was then,
while Paul and the others were alive, it was before death, before the Resurrection, before
the Judgment, before anyone will be in Heaven they had already come "to the spirits of
just men made perfect." We could not have come to the spirits of those made perfect in
Heaven for they are not yet in Heaven. If it did refer to spirits in Heaven after the
Resurrection, they would not have been "made perfect" when Paul was writing this,
which was before the Resurrection.
Seven ways the New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant.
1. You have not come unto a mount that could be touched and that burned with fire,
"but YOU ARE COME unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem."
2. You are come "To innumerable hosts of angels."
3. You are come "To the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are
enrolled in heaven."
4. You are come "To God the Judge of all."
5. You are come "To the spirits of just men made perfect." "And to the spirits of the
righteous made perfect" [New Revised Standard Version]
6. You are come "To Jesus the mediator of a new covenant."
7. You are come "To the blood of sprinkling that speaks better than that of Abel."
If the "spirits" of the just dead were now in Heaven, the just dead under both the Old
and New Covenants would be in Heaven and would not prove the New Covenant to be
better than the Old Covenant. It would be out of place in this list of ways the New
Covenant is better than the Old Covenant. THOSE WHO BELIEVE ALL, THE SAVED
AND THE LOST, HAVE SOULS THAT ARE NOW IMMORTAL BELIEVE THEY
WERE JUST AS IMMORTAL UNDER THE LAW AS THEY ARE NOW,
THEREFORE, IT WOULD NOT BE A WAY THE NEW COVENANT IS BETTER
THAN THE OLD.
When and how are the spirits of just man made perfect? "The spirits of just men
made perfect" refers to men made perfect by having their sins washed away by the
blood of Christ. We have had our sins washed away and have come to have fellowship
with others who have been made perfect by having their sins washed away.
Adam Clarke in his Commentary on Hebrews 12:23, "In several parts of this epistle teleiov, the
just man, signifies one who has a full knowledge of the Christian system, who is justified and
saved by Christ Jesus; and the teteleiwnemoi are the adult Christians, who are opposed to the
nhpioi or babes in knowledge and grace...The spirits of the just men made perfect, or the
righteous perfect, are the full grown Christians; those who are justified by the blood and
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sanctified by the Spirit of Christ. Being come to such, implies that spiritual union which the
disciples of Christ have with each other, and which they possess how far so ever separate; for
they are all joined in one spirit, #Eph 2:18; they are in the unity of the spirit, #Eph 4:3, 4; and of
one soul, #Ac 4:32. This is a unity which was never possessed even by the Jews themselves in
their best state; it is peculiar to real Christianity: (See Heb 12:29)."
There is no way we could have come to the "spirits" of those in Heaven; if they were
in Heaven, they would be beyond our reach unto we are in Heaven with them. We would
not have come to them.
"And to the spirits of the righteous made perfect" [New Revised Standard Version]. If
disembodied spirits were in Heaven and in any way had fellowship or communication
with us it would prove Spiritualism, which is forbidden by God. Most all who uses this to
prove the soul is now immortal do not believe we have any communication with the dead
if they are in Heaven, Hell, the grave, or any other place, therefore, we could not have
came unto them.
WHEN THIS IS USED TO PROVE THAT AFTER DEATH WE HAVE A
“SOUL” THAT IS ALIVE AND MADE PERFECT, IT MAKES THE JUDGMENT
AND RESURRECTION BE 100% TOTALLY USELESS. The “made perfect” in
Hebrews 12:23 is something that had happened, not something that will not happen unto
after the resurrection.
• “To the spirits of just men made perfect [telioo]” [Hebrews 12:23]
• “Herein is our love made perfect [telioo]” [1 John 4:17]
• “He that fears is not made perfect [telioo] in love” [1 John 4:18]
• “And by works was faith made perfect [telioo]” [James 2:22]
[6]. ANOTHER PASSAGE W. E. VINE USED, JAMES 2:26
“For as the body apart from the spirit is dead”
See below [2] in PASSAGES IN WHICH "SPIRIT" [pneuma] IS USED BY MANY
AS IF IT IS THE SAME AS "SOUL" [psukee].
THE GREAT CONFUSION: Soul or spirit or both?
Two terms that comes from different words
And are not used interchangeable in the Bible
Yet both are said to be an "immaterial, invisible part of man"
Does a person have an immortal soul or an immortal spirit that is not subject to death
and that has eternal life without the resurrection? How many immortal parts does a
person have? If two, a soul and a spirit, will both of the immortal parts of a person always
exist as two independent and separate beings? If one, which is the immortal part of a
person, the soul, or the spirit? Vine says they are different, "Generally speaking the spirit
is the higher, the soul the lower element" (Page 589), yet he says both are "the
immaterial, invisible part of man" (soul on page 588 and spirit on page 593). He said we
have both a higher and a lower " immaterial, invisible part of man."
Those who believe all mankind have an immortal inter part do not seem to know
whether it is the "soul" or the "spirit" that is the "immaterial, invisible part of man" that
will live without the earthly body. When preachers preach on the soul being immortal,
they use passages that speak of the spirit but say nothing of the soul. THERE MAY BE
MORE CONFUSION ON WHAT PART OF A PERSON SOME BELIEVE TO BE
IMMORTAL NOW THAN ANY OTHER BIBLE TEACHING.
57
MANY USE SOUL AND SPIRIT INTERCHANGEABLY: For their belief, soul
and spirit must be the same. If they were not, they would be forced to say one or the
other is the immortal part of a person or that a person has two immortal beings in
him or her. When I believed in Hell, I could not see there being a separate IMMORTAL
SOUL and IMMORTAL SPIRIT. I used them interchangeably just as most do now
without realizing it. When some read the SPIRIT GOES BACK TO GOD, in their mind
they see the immortal SOUL GOING BACK TO GOD. Those who believe the SOUL
will take up permanent residence in Heaven at the moment of death, and many who
believe the SOUL is in Abraham's bosom and will not be in Heaven unto the judgment
day both use Ecclesiastes 12:7 to prove the SPIRIT goes back to God in Heaven at death.
How could the SPIRIT (the "immaterial, invisible part of man" that is immortal part of a
person) return unto God at death if it goes to Abraham's bosom or to Hell? I have
continually been told for years that lost souls go to Hell at the moment of death. Then
how could the soul return to God if it goes to Hell and only the few souls that are saved
go to Heaven at the moment of death? How can they not see that they are saying the soul
goes to one place and at the same time they are saying the soul goes to another place?
After Christ had been dead for three days and after His resurrection He said, "Touch me
not for I have not yet ascended to my father" [John 20:17]. Many say Christ went to an
intermediate place where souls go before the resurrection but not to Heaven. If there were
such an intermediate place, then the soul or the spirit does not return to God at death. One
position is taken on one passage, and then the same persons shifts to another position on
another passage and are continually shifting their position.
SOUL OR SPIRIT, WHICH ONE IS IMMORTAL?
Any time 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 4:12, etc., comes up in a Bible class, the
teacher has the same problem, the same confusion. What is the difference in soul and
spirit? Which one is immortal? Many never seem to be quite sure which of the two, the
soul, or the spirit they believe to be immortal and not sure if they are the same or two
entirely different parts of a person. They use passages, which have "spirit" in them to
prove a person has an immortal soul, and passages, which have "soul" in them to prove a
person has an immortal spirit. As long as anyone holds the view that a person is a twopart
being with one part being the earthly body and one part is immortal, can there be an
answer? If a person is a two-part being and not a three-part being, "soul" and "spirit"
could only be the same thing; for if they were not, then a person would be a three-part
being with two of the parts being immortal. Then which one is loss and which one will go
to Heaven or Hell, the soul or the spirit? Body, soul-life, and spirit all are a person as he
is now in the image of Adam. All three terms, body, soul, and spirit are used referring to
a person at the same time. They are not three parts that can exist without each other. If
they were, a person would have two separate immortal beings in Heaven simultaneously.
They are not three separate beings with opposite natures, with two living within the other
one.
• BODY: The body the Lord formed from the dust of the ground [Genesis 2:7].
• SOUL: "The life...is in the blood" Leviticus 17:10-14. The living nature of a
person that he has in common with all animals.
• SPIRIT: The breath of life breathed in the earthy body. All life is from God, and
returns to God at death [Ecclesiastes 12:7, Job 34:14-15]. All life is a gift from
58
God to both man and animals, and it goes back to God at death. The spirit is not
an immortal part of a person that preexisted as a living being with God before the
birth of the person.
Paul does not say may your soul be preserved blameless without your body or spirit.
He puts the three together as being inseparable, the whole person, not three separate parts
of a person.
Mark 12:30 "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your HEART, and with all
your SOUL (psukee – life), and with all your MIND, and with all your STRENGTH.”
1. With all your HEART
2. With all your SOUL (psukee – life)
3. With all your MIND
4. With all your STRENGTH. What Jesus is saying is that we are to love God with
all our being, not some immaterial invisible no substance something that we
would have no control over and no way to know whether it loved God or not. I
can know I love God with all my heart and with all my mind, but if there were an
immaterial invisible no substance being in me that will live after my death, I
would have no way to know whether it loved God or not. The psukee is no more a
part of a person that lives after the death of the person than the heart, mind or
strength are. All four are a person looked at from different points of view, not four
parts of a person.
Hebrews 4:12: "For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any twoedged
sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and
marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart."
1. Dividing of soul and spirit
2. Dividing of both joints and marrow
3. Dividing of the thoughts and intents of the heart
This passage shows that the soul and spirit are different things and can be divided, but
there is nothing in it that says the soul, or the spirit is an immortal part of a person that
will exist without the person
Some believe the soul, and the spirit are different; but if a person has only one inter
immortal being in him, which one is it, soul (psukee), or spirit (pnuma)?
Those who say the "soul" is the "immaterial, invisible part of man" that is immortal
must stop using passages, which speaks of the "spirit" to prove the soul is immortal. "The
spirit returns to God" cannot be used to prove the soul is immortal if they are not the
same; however, many do use this passage to prove a person has an immortal soul.
Those who say the "spirit" is the "immaterial, invisible part of man" that is immortal
must stop using passages speak of the "soul" to prove the spirit is immortal. "Fear him
who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna" cannot be used to prove the spirit
is immortal if they are not both the same the "immaterial, invisible part of man" that is
immortal, but many do use one to prove the other, then will use the other to prove the
one. Is this what is called "reasoning in a circle"?
1 Thessalonians 5:23 does not say what the functions of the body, soul, or spirit is and
what becomes of them at death. It does not say one is mortal and two of them are
immortal and will forever live somewhere. This must be read into it.
• THERE IS NOTHING ABOUT ANY PART OF A PERSON NOW BEING
IMMORTAL IN IT.
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• THERE IS NOTHING ABOUT HELL AFTER THE JUDGMENT IN IT. This
also must be read into it.
Unlike animals, God made man in His image with the potential of living forever. The
spirit [life] of both man and animals returns to God, but one of the differences in persons
and animals is that animals will not be raised from the dead. They are forever dead, just
as a person would be if there were not going to be a resurrection. After death animals will
never again have life just as the loss will never again have life after the second death.
Death is death for both men and animals. Death is not death for animals and another kind
of life for men; it is death for both. The second death will be death, not another kind of
life that will go on forever.
• SPIRIT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT IS FROM RUACH [Strong's word number
7307]. It is translated spirit, breath, and wind, in the King James Version, but it is
NEVER TRANSLATED SOUL.
• SPIRIT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT IS FROM PNUMA [Strong's word number
4151]. It is translated spirit, ghost, and wind in the King James Version, but it is
NEVER TRANSLATED SOUL.
o Pneuma is translated both WIND and SPIRIT in the same passage. “The
WIND [pneuma] blows wherever it pleases. You may hear its sound, but
you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with
everyone born of the SPIRIT [pneuma]” [John 3:8].
• SOUL IN THE OLD TESTAMENT IS FROM NEHPHESH [Strong's word
number 5315]. It is translated life, creature, soul, person, mind, etc. in the King
James Version, but it is NEVER TRANSLATED SPIRIT.
• SOUL IN THE NEW TESTAMENT IS FROM PSUKEE [Strong's word number
5590. Psukee-Wigran, Page 807]. In the King James Version it is translated life,
soul, heart, heartily, mind, he, strength, and us, but it is NEVER TRANSLATED
SPIRIT.
There are more than 1,600 references to soul and spirit in the Bible but not a one of
them says anything about the soul or spirit living without the body yet many who say
they teach only the Bible teach it all the time.
THE PROBLEM FOR UNCONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY is which one is
immortal? The soul or the spirit? Which one will be in Heaven or Hell? "May your spirit
and soul and body be preserved entire, [may the whole person, not just an invisible no
substance part of a person] without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
• Spirit preserved entire, when, “at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”
• Soul preserved entire, when, “at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”
• Body preserved entire, when, “at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”
o This is speaking of the whole person being preserved when “this mortal
must put on immortality” [1 Corinthians 15:53], a spiritual being with a
spiritual body when mortal earthly body of flesh and blood will not be
preserved.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit [pneuma]" [Matthew 5:3]. Are they poor in a no
substance immortal spirit? Spirit and soul are not used interchangeably, and a
passage that has one in it cannot be used to prove anything about the other one as
many do today. BODY, SOUL, SPIRIT: The whole man of Genesis 2:7 and 1
Thessalonians 5:23 "And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground [BODY],
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and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life [SPIRIT]; and man became a living soul
[SOUL]." Body + the breath of life (spirit) = soul-a living being.
PASSAGES IN WHICH "SPIRIT" [pneuma]
IS USED BY MANY AS IF IT IS THE SAME AS "SOUL" [psukee]
Not one time is any part of a person said to have an existence after death or to be able
to function without the body.
[1]. THE SPIRITS IN PRISON 1 Peter 3:18-20
Most who uses this to prove the "spirit" is immortal believe the Protestant version that
lost souls go to Hell instantaneous at death; therefore, to them these disobedient spirits
that were destroyed in the time of Noah for being disobedient were not destroyed but are
now being tormented in Hell. If they were in Hell why did Christ go to these
disobedient spirits?
(1) For what purpose would Christ go into Hell and preach to only some that
were there? To save them? Can those in Hell ever be saved? The very ones who
believe there is a Hell and use this passage to prove the souls of the lost are alive in
Hell before they are raised from the dead and before they are judged also says no
that once a person is in Hell he or she can never get out, can never be saved.
(2) What message would He take them that can never get out of Hell; the time when
they could be saved was past therefore, the Gospel would do them no good? Would He
go to raise a hope of release that could never be, or to taunt them?
1. It would mean that Christ was alive in the three days from His death unto His
resurrection; therefore, He was never dead and could not have been raised from
the dead.
2. It would mean that Christ did not die for our sins, therefore, we are still in our
sins. If the soul is immortal and cannot die, Christ gave only His earthly body for
our sins. He was as much alive in the three days His earthly body was in the grave
as He was before He came to earth and as He was after the resurrection of His
earthly body. THEREFORE, CHRIST COULD NOT HAVE DIED FOR OUR
SINS IF HE WERE NEVER DEAD. If only His earthly body were dead, then He
was the same "spiritual being" with all the power and glory in the three days His
body was in the grave that He is now, or had before He came to earth. There
would have been no difference in Christ when only His earthly body was in the
grave than there is now when He is in Heaven, or in the time before He came to
earth. If His death were not a real death, than what did God gave when He gives
His only Son? Just one human body for three days. Nothing more. According to
today's teaching there was no real sacrifice by God or Christ, no real death or
resurrection as He was not really and in truth dead. Nevertheless, He said, "I am
he that lives, and was dead" [Revelation 1:18].
3. It would mean that those who were disobedient in the days of Noah were more
important than all others who were disobedient, and that Christ went into Hell to
preach unto them for those that say the soul is immortal and does not die, say the
lost go directly to "Hell" at death; therefore, Christ had to go into "Hell" to preach
to them. That these may have been given a second chance after death but all
others will not be. That God is a respecter of persons giving some a second
chance, but not to all.
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"Put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit" [1 Peter 3:18]. Notice carefully
what is said. This passage is used to prove there is an immoral spirit in all that can never
die. If it were speaking of an immoral spirit, this immortal spirit was "made alive,"
therefore it had to be dead. Made alive in the spirit AFTER He was put to death in the
flesh. If "made alive in the spirit" was not His resurrection, then the very thing they are
trying to prove is that the spirit cannot die, nevertheless, the spirit was dead and was
"made alive." IF HE WERE ALIVE AND NEVER DEAD, HE COULD NOT HAVE
BEEN "MADE ALIVE," BUT WOULD HAVE BEEN "KEPT ALIVE" OR
"PRESERVED ALIVE" AND THERE COULD HAVE BEEN NO RESURRECTION.
Made alive: "Quickened by the spirit" King James Version. "Made alive by the spirit"
New King James Version. Strong's word #2227 "made alive, give life, quicken."
If this preaching were by Christ in person, not by Christ through Noah, then the order
was:
1. Put to death
2. Quickened or made alive-His resurrection
3. Preached to the spirits in prison after His resurrection. Therefore, the preaching
would have been done after His resurrection, not before and would not prove that
His "soul" was alive in the three days before He was quickened or made alive.
To fit with today's theology Peter's order must be changed to:
1. Put to death
2. Preached to the spirits in prison in the three days before His resurrection
3. Quickened or made alive-His resurrection AFTER He had preached to the spirits
in prison. THE REASON THIS PASSAGE IS USED IS TO PROVE HIS SOUL
WAS ALIVE BEFORE HIS RESURRECTION, THAT IT WAS NEVER DEAD,
BUT THEY MUST CHANGE IT AND MAKE IT SAY CHRIST DID THE
PREACHING BEFORE HIS RESURRECTION. IF THEY DO NOT CHANGE
IT, IT DOES NOT PROVE WHAT THEY WANT IT TO. If this preaching were
by Christ during the three days He was in the grave, and if the prison were
somewhere other than Hell it would prove that there is somewhere like the
Catholic Purgatory but only for a few, and that most are not in it.
When was this preaching done? In the days of Noah, or in the three days Christ was
in the grave? This is the whole question. Was it:
[1] AFTER THEY WERE DEAD AND IN HELL WHEN THEY COULD NOT BE
SAVED? Those who believe the soul of the lost is transported instantly into Hell at death
do not believe any that are in Hell can be saved. According to their belief, all go to
Heaven or Hell at the moment of death, therefore, if Christ went and preached to them in
the three days He was in the grave, He would have had to preach to them either in
Heaven or Hell. Why would He go to Hell and preach to those who could not be saved?
Why do they use this verve? Is it not because they are desperate for any verse that will
prove their immortal soul that they will give a few a second chance after death to be
taken out of Hell if it would prove a part of a person is now immortal?
[2] OR WAS IT WHEN THEY WERE ALIVE AND COULD BE BENEFITED BY
THE PREACHING? Adam Clarke says He went and preached by Noah for one hundred
and twenty years. The preaching was done in the days of Noah through Noah, a preacher
of righteousness [2 Peter 2:5], not after the death of Christ. Noah warned them of the
destruction to come if they did not repent. How were they in prison? "His servants you
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are whom you obey" [Romans 6:16]. "For of whom a man is overcome, by this he is
enslaved" [2 Peter 19]. "To open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and
those who dwell in darkness from the prison" [Isaiah 42:7; also Isaiah 61:1; Psalm 142:7;
Luke 4:18; John 8:34-45]. Those who obey Satan are in prison to him. Those who would
not hear Christ preaching through Noah were in prison to Satan. "For we also once
were...enslaved to various lusts and pleasures" [Titus 3:3]. "For of whom a man is
overcome, of the same is he also brought into bondage" [2 Peter 2:19]. "Then certain of
the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from you.
But he answered and said unto them, an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a
sign; and shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet: for as Jonah was
three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth" [Matthew 12:38-40]. If Jesus were in the
earth, the grave, from His death to His resurrection, how could He have gone to "Hell"
and preached to those in it? I do not think anyone believes "Hell" is in the grave, but the
grave is where Jesus was at onto His resurrection.
Adam Clarke: “‘He went and preached’ By the ministry of Noah, one hundred and twenty years.
Unto the spirits in prison. The inhabitants of the antediluvian world, who, having been disobedient,
and convicted of the most flagrant transgressions against God, were sentenced by his just law to
destruction. But their punishment was delayed to see if they would repent; and the long-suffering of
God waited one hundred and twenty years, which were granted to them for this purpose; during
which time, as criminals tried and convicted, they are represented as being in prison - detained under
the arrest of Divine justice, which waited either for their repentance or the expiration of the respite,
that the punishment pronounced might be inflicted” Clarke’s Commentary on 1 Peter 3:18-20.
Dillard Thurman: Gospel Minutes April 2, 1990, West Freeway church of Christ "Notice carefully
what is said. Jesus was put to death in the flesh, and died like any mortal man. But He was quickened,
or made alive by the Spirit. By what Spirit? By the same Spirit by which He once preached to spirits
imprisoned by sin and Satan in the days of Noah! When did this happen? The passage plainly states it:
'When once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah.' The word 'when' is an adverb of
time that tells when the action took place: in the days of Noah! The idea of the Son of God being off
on a preaching junket for the three days and nights that His body was in the tomb is utterly foreign to
any Bible teaching! If false doctrines had not first brought forth this fanciful idea, this passage would
not have been twisted to support the error."
[2]. "FOR THE BODY APART FROM THE SPIRIT IS DEAD"
James 2:26
WHAT DOES THIS PASSAGE TEACH US ABOUT THE SPIRIT? Only that the
body is dead without it. Nothing more. To teach anything more than this from this
passage it must be read into it.
WHAT THIS PASSAGE DOES NOT SAY.
• It does not say the spirit is alive without the body, BUT THIS IS WHAT THEY
THINK IS PROVED BY IT.
• It does not say the spirit is an "immaterial, invisible part of man" that will live
without the body after the body is dead.
• It does not say the spirit, and the soul are both the same thing, but this passage is
used repeatedly to prove the "soul" is immortal. There could not be a better
example of adding to God's word then this passage when it is used to teach
mankind has an immortal soul, for it says nothing about a soul, Hell, torment,
Heaven, or eternal life but all these are read into it.
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• HOW IS THIS PASSAGE USED? IT IS CHANGED FROM SAYING "THE
BODY APART FROM THE SPIRIT IS DEAD" TO "THE SPIRIT APART
FROM GOD IS SEPARATED FROM GOD BUT NOT DEAD." DEATH IS
REMOVED FROM THIS PASSAGE AND REPLACED WITH LIFE
SEPARATED FROM GOD. It is changed to teach something that is not even
close to what it says.
PASSAGES IN WHICH "SOUL" [psukee]
IS USED AS IF IT IS THE SAME AS "SPIRIT" [pneuma]
[1]. LOSING LIFE [SOUL] or SAVING LIFE [SOUL]
Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:37
Those who believe the soul to be immortal and cannot die also believe it is the soul
that must be saved or lost. To them, to lose your soul means you will go to Hell;
therefore, to "lose his SOUL [psukee] for my sake" means going to Hell for Christ. Their
own definition of "lose his soul" is going to Hell. Do they think anyone will go to Hell
for Christ's sake? If "psukee" means an immortal something in a person that will live
forever in Heaven or Hell and they lose their SOUL [psukee] for Christ, going to Hell for
Him would be just what this passage would say they would do.
BY TODAY'S THEOLOGY DOES LOSING THE SOUL SAVE IT? Christ says,
"For whosoever would save his PSUKEE [soul or life] shall lose it: and whosoever shall
lose his PSUKEE [soul - life] for my sake shall find it. For what shall a man be profited,
if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his PSUKEE [soul - life]? Or what shall a
man give in exchange for his PSUKEE [soul-life]?" TO LOSE ONES LIFE FOR
CHRIST'S SAKE IS TO LOSE IT BECAUSE OF BEING FAITHFUL TO CHRIST
AND MANY DID IN THE FIRST CENTURY. Those who lose there life for Christ will
find eternal life at the judgment. BUT, IF PSUKEE IS AN IMMORTAL SOUL, WILL
SOME LOSE THEIR IMMORTAL SOUL BECAUSE THEY ARE FAITHFUL TO
CHRIST? IN TODAY'S THEOLOGY, "SAVE THE SOUL" IS TO SAVE IT FROM
HELL, AND "LOSE THE SOUL" IS TO LOSE IT IN HELL. WHEN THIS PASSAGE
IS USED TO PROVE A PERSON HAS AN IMMORTAL "immaterial, invisible part of
man" THAT WILL NEVER DIE, IT MAKES CHRIST SAY:
1. "Whosoever would SAVE his immaterial invisible immoral soul from Hell will
LOSE his immaterial invisible immoral soul in Hell."
2. "Whosoever would LOSE his immaterial invisible immoral soul in Hell will
SAVE his immaterial invisible immoral soul from Hell."
Those who say the soul is immortal also say we lose it when we sin, and save it when
we obey Christ. If they were right, the only way we could lose our souls for Christ's sake
would be for us to sin. According to them the only possible way to lose our "immortal
soul" is to sin; then did Christ say we were to sin to save our soul? No, it is life some
would lose BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT SIN AND ARE FAITHFUL TO CHRIST, not
lose some immaterial, invisible immortal part of them selves BECAUSE THEY DO SIN
AND ARE NOT FAITHFUL TO CHRIST. The promise that the PSUKEE [soul-life]
will be saved when it is sacrificed for Christ makes no sense if the soul is some
"immaterial, invisible" undying part of a person. How could we lose it for Christ's sake?
"He that loves his PSUKEE [life] loses it; and he that hates his PSUKEE [life] in this
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world shall keep it unto life eternal" [John 12:25]. How do they think a person could lose
the only part of his or her self that they say cannot die? When a person has sinned and
"lost his soul," does that person have a living body with no soul in it? Christ was saying
that gaining much would profit us nothing if we lose our life-our very existence. All
who die without being in Christ have lost their psukee [life], they will not put on
immortality at the resurrection; they will not have eternal life in Heaven. After the
judgment and second death, they will have lost their very existence.
"On what authority many have translated the word psukee in the twenty-fifth verse life, and in
this verse (26) soul I know not; but I am certain it means life in both places." Adam Clarke.
Epaphroditus hazarded "his PSUKEE [life]" [Philippians 2:30]. Judas and Silas have
"hazarded their PSUKEE [lives] for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" [Acts 15:26-27].
They could put their life in danger for the sake of Christ. Many put their life in danger
and lost their life for preaching Christ, but how could they risk an immortal part of a
person that cannot die, and no man can see it or kill it? Paul says, "But I hold not my
PSUKEE [soul-life] of any account as dear unto myself" [Acts 20:24]. If this psukee is an
inter being which has immortality from our birth, Paul must not have thought it not to be
of any account, or not worth much. Just as have been said about other passages, today's
theology that says psukee means an "immaterial, invisible part of man" makes these
passages be nonsense.
[2]. "WHAT SHALL A MAN GIVE [not sell]
IN EXCHANGE FOR HIS SOUL."
Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:37 This passage is used to show that a person has an undying
soul that is of more value than the entire world, but many will sell their PSUKEE
"SOUL" for very little. Does it teach this? The American Standard Version and most
other translations, translates "PSUKEE" into "LIFE,'' not "SOUL" as the King James
does. A man can give all he has to someone about to take his life to get that someone to
let him live, but he could in no way give anything in exchange for an immortal inter part
of himself which cannot die. THINK ABOUT THIS. HOW COULD ANYONE BUY OR
SELL AN "IMMATERIAL, INVISIBLE" IMMORTAL PART OF ANOTHER
PERSON WHICH HE CANNOT SEE AND IT CAN NEVER DIE? It would be
impossible for anyone to give anything in exchange for it.
"Or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?" WHEN "PSUKEE" IS MADE
TO BE AN INTER IMMORTAL PART OF A PERSON THAT CANNOT DIE, THEN
WOULD NOT GIVING SOMETHING IN EXCHANGE FOR IT BE BUYING ONES
WAY INTO HEAVEN? Frequently, in sermons and invitations, I have heard "what
would a man give in exchange for his life" changed to "what would a man sell his
immortal soul for." To give something in exchange for something is to buy it, not sell it.
"Give" [pay, to give money or something] is changed to "sell" [to take money]. It is
changed to say the opposite of what it does say to make it say what many want it to say.
There is not one word in this verse about a person, or a part of a person being tormented
forever. THIS PASSAGE IS ABOUT HOW A MAN WOULD PAY ALL HE HAS IN
EXCHANGE FOR A FEW MORE YEARS OF LIFE, BUT WOULD "FORFEIT HIS
LIFE" IN HEAVEN IN EXCHANGE FOR THE PLEASURE OF SIN. The wages of sin
is death [Romans 6:23]. Do not take the pleasures of sin for a few years in exchange for
your life in Heaven as many do. When it is translated right, as in the American Standard
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Version and many others, not even the word "soul" as it is used in today's theology is not
in this verse.
[3]. SOUL REQUIRED Luke 12:19-21
"And I will say to my LIFE [Greek psukee], LIFE [psukee], you have much goods lain
up for many years: take your ease, eat, drink, be merry. But, God said unto him, You
foolish one, this night is your LIFE [psukee] required of you; and the things which you
have prepared, whose shall they be? So is he that lies up treasure for himself, and is not
rich toward God." It is not eternal torment that will be required of them but life. The New
International Version reads, "And I'll say to MYSELF [Greek psukee-life], 'YOU [Greek
psukee-life] have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat drink
and be merry' But, God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your LIFE [Greek psukee]
will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
This is how it will be with anyone whom stores up things for himself [puts the world
ahead of God] but is not rich toward God." Those who believe souls are immortal use
this to prove there will be life after death. They say this life must be from the time of
death onward and never end, but it does not say either. There will be a resurrection and
judgment of all, not just those in Christ. After the judgment, those who have laid up
treasure for them self on earth, and are not rich toward God, their life will be required of
them. CHRIST COULD NOT HAVE SAID ANY PLAINER THAT LIFE [not torment]
WOULD BE REQUIRED OF THOSE NOT RICH TOWARD GOD. IT WOULD
MAKE NO SENSE IF THIS PSUKEE WERE AN UNDYING IMMORTAL SOUL.
HOW COULD THE ONLY PART OF A PERSON THAT WILL LIVE FOREVER BE
REQUIRED OF HIM?
"YOUR soul [life-psukee] required of YOU." Who is the "your" and "you"? They
could not be the soul for then it would be saying the "soul" is required of the "soul."
"Your" is the person whose life will be required. The Soul, as the word is used today,
was never required of anyone. Psukee in the New Testament is never an undying
"immaterial, invisible part of man." Life will be required of the sinner, not an undying
soul.
[4]. God is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna
Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:5
See Gehenna in chapter four, second occasion.
[5]. Souls under the altar Revelation 6:9
See chapter eight, part three.
PASSAGES THAT DO NOT HAVE "SPIRIT"
OR "SOUL" IN THEM
BUT ARE USED TO PROVE A PERSON HAS AN IMMORTAL SPIRIT /SOUL.
Some passages are said to "imply" that a person has an immortal soul/spirit but do not
state it. They base their doctrine on what they think is implied, not on what is said; based
only on the assumption that there is such a thing an immaterial invisible no substance
something in mankind that is not immortal.
[1]. THE THIEF ON THE CROSS Luke 23:43
DID THE THIEF KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE KINGDOM AND THAT
CHRIST WAS TO BE RESURRECTED THAT AT THAT TIME NO OTHERS
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KNEW, NOT EVEN THE TWELVE? From Matthew one to Acts two it was believed
that the Christ was to restore the kingdom to Israel and sit on the throne of David and be
a king on this earth.
• Herod thought Jesus was to was born to be an earthly "king of the Jews" and "slew
all the male children that were in Bethlehem" [Matthew 3:1-16] to keep Jesus
from replacing him as king of an earthly kingdom.
• "And Jesus said unto him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? There shall not be
left here one stone upon another, which shall not be thrown down.’ And as he seat
on the Mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and
Andrew asked him privately, tell us, when shall THESE THINGS be?" [Mark
13:2-3]. The disciples, thinking of what the Lord had said, asked two questions,
which they supposed both would be at the same time. “When shall THESE
THINGS You speak of be and what shall be the sign that THESE THINGS are
about to come to pass?” AT THE TIME THEY ASKED THESE
QUESTIONS THEY DID NOT BELIEVE OR KNOW THAT JESUS
WOULD BE PUT TO DEATH OR THAT HE WOULD BE GOING BACK
TO HEAVEN AND COMING A SECOND TIME. THE DISCIPLES STILL
THOUGHT THE CHRIST WOULD RESTORE THE EARTHY
KINGDOM OF ISRAEL JUST AS ALL THE JEWS DID. "And they
understood none of these things, and this saying was hidden from them, and they
did not comprehend the things that were said" [Luke 18:34; also Luke 19:11;
24:21-27; John 16:16-18; 20:9]. When the Disciples asked these two questions
they did not know or believe Christ would die and be resurrected from the dead or
know or believe anything about the second coming of Christ or the judgment day.
• On the day of His resurrection the Disciples did not know it was the resurrected
Christ they were talking to and said to Him, "But we hoped (past tense) that it
was he who should REDEEM ISRAEL" [Luke 24:21].
• Forty days after He was raised from the dead the Disciples still did not understand
therefore, they still did not expect Christ to go away and return to earth a second
time at the end of the world; they expected Him to restore the kingdom to Israel
"They therefore, when they were come together, asked him, saying, Lord, do you
at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" [Acts 1:6]. EVEN AFTER HIS
RESURRECTION THEY WERE LOOKING FOR THE EARTHLY
KINGDOM OF ISRAEL TO BE RESTORED AND CHRIST TO BE IT'S
KING.
If this thief was not speaking of an earthly kingdom of Israel he would have had to
know that Christ was going to be resurrected from the dead and then set up His kingdom
when no one, not even the twelve know.
THE MOCKERY OF JESUS
MOCKERY AT HIS TRIAL BEFORE PILATE "Then the soldiers of the governor
took Jesus into the palace, and gathered unto him the whole band. And they stripped him,
and put on him a scarlet robe, and they platted a crown of thorns and put it upon his
head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down before him, and mocked him,
saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spat upon him, and took the reed and smote him
on the head. And when they had mocked him, they took off from him the robe, and put
on him his garments, and led him away to crucify him" [Matthew 27:27-30]. "And the
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soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple
garment; and they came unto him, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they struck him
with their hands" [John 19:2-3].
• They stripped Him
• Put on Him a scarlet robe
• They platted a crown of thorns and put it upon His head
• A reed in His right hand
• They kneeled down before Him, and mocked Him, saying, Hail, King of the
Jews!
• They spat upon Him
• Took the reed and smote Him on the head.
The scarlet robe, crown of thorns, a reed in His hand and kneeling down before Him
was mockery of His claim to be a king.
"Now it was the Preparation of the Passover: it was about the sixth hour. And he said
unto the Jews, Behold your King! They therefore cried out, Away with him, away with
him, crucify him! Pilate said unto them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests
answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar’" [John 18:14-15]. Jesus was the king the Jews
were looking for but He said, "My kingdom is not of this world" and He did not restore
the earthly kingdom to Israel as they thought their savior was going to do, they rejected
Him and mocked Him.
MOCKERY BY PILATE WHEN CHRIST WAS ON THE CROSS "And Pilate
wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. And there was written, JESUS OF NAZARETH,
THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title therefore read many of the Jews, for the place
where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city; and it was written in Hebrew, and in
Latin, and in Greek. The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to Pilate, Write not, The
King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, ‘What I have
written I have written’" [John 19:19-22]. When Pilate put this on the cross of a man he
did not think was a king or who would ever be a king, it was nothing but mockery by
Pilate.
MOCKERY BY THOSE THAT PASSED BY, THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND THE
ROBBERS
Matthew 27:39-48 "And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and
saying, You that destroyed the temple, and builds it in three days, save yourself: if you
are the Son of God, come down from the cross. In like manner also the chief priests
mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save.
He is the King of Israel; let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on
him. He trusted on God; let him deliver him now, if he desires him: for he said, I am the
Son of God. AND THE ROBBERS ALSO THAT WERE CRUCIFIED WITH HIM
CAST UPON HIM THE SAME REPROACH. Now from the sixth hour there was
darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with
a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me? And some of them stood there, when they heard it, said, ‘This man calls
Elijah’. And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar,
and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. And the rest said, Let be; let us see whether
Elijah cometh to save him."
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Mark 15:29-32: "And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and
saying, ha! You that destroys the temple, and builds it in three days, save yourself, and
come down from the cross. In like manner also the chief priests mocking him among
themselves with the scribes said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let the Christ,
the King of Israel, now come down from the cross that we may see and believe. AND
THEY THAT WERE CRUCIFIED WITH HIM REPROACHED HIM. And when the
sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at
the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? Which is,
being interpreted, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And some of them that
stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calls Elijah. And one ran, and filling a
sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let be; let us see
whether Elijah cometh to take him down."
THIS MOCKERY WAS OVER CHRIST CLAIMING TO BE KING BY:
1. By the soldiers
2. By Pilate
3. By those that passed by
4. By the chief priests
5. By BOTH robbers
MOCKERY BY THE BOTH ROBBERS "And robbers also that were crucified
with him cast upon him the same reproach" [Matthew 27:44]. Matthew and Mark give
details of the mockery by all but the robbers saying only that they "cast upon him the
same reproach." Luke tells how they "cast upon him the same reproach." Just as Pilate
did not believe Jesus, who had never been king over any nation and was about to be put
to death, was "THE KING OF THE JEWS," this robber did not believe the person being
put to death with him would ever be a king and come into His kingdom. "And the people
stood beholding. And the rulers also scoffed at him, saying, He saved others; let him
save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen. And the soldiers also mocked him,
coming to him, offering him vinegar, and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save
thyself’. And there was also a superscription over him, ‘THIS IS THE KING OF THE
JEWS’. And one of the malefactors that were hanged railed on him, saying, ‘Are not
you the Christ? Save yourself and us’. But the other answered, and rebuking him said,
‘Do you not even fear God, seeing you are in the same condemnation? And we indeed
justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man has done nothing amiss’.
And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom’. And he said unto
him, ‘Truly I say unto you, to-day you shall be with me in Paradise’’" [Luke 23:33-38].
• One robber railed on Christ by saying, "Are not you the Christ? Save yourself and
us."
• The other robber by saying, "Remember me when you come into your kingdom."
What would “remember me when” mean to the Jews of that day; they understood
the kingdom to be an earthly kingdom of Israel, the Old Testament kingdom
restored. The thief know he was dying and was speaking to a person that he could
see was dying, mocking Him about coming into His kingdom when He was
dying. Neither of the robbers thought this dying man was the Christ or that He
would come into a kingdom. Saying to someone whom he knows would soon be
dead, "Remember me when you come into your kingdom" was nothing more than
mockery just as the sign the thief could see over His head saying "THIS IS THE
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KING OF THE JEWS" was mockery. Neither of the robbers would have
understood the messianic kingdom the Jews were looking for to be anything but a
physical kingdom of Israel with an earthly king.
CHRIST DID NOT GO TO PARADISE THAT DAY. When will anyone go to
paradise or Heaven? Not unto after the judgment. We must wait for the resurrection and
judgment before we will go to heaven. Did Christ tell the theft that he would be in
Heaven that day? Jesus did not go to paradise that day. He had said He would be in the
heart of the earth [grave] for three days [Matthew 12:40]; “For as Jonah was three
days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and
three nights in the heart of the earth.” It was on Friday evening just before the beginning
of the Sabbath day when Christ told the robber that he would be with Him in Paradise,
but on Sunday morning He said, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto the
Father" [John 20:17]. Paul said Christ died, was buried, and was raised on the third
day [1 Corinthians 15:3-4; see Matthew 12:40]. He was dead and in the grave unto the
third day when the Father raised Him. IF CHRIST WERE ALIVE AND WENT TO
HEAVEN THE DAY HE DIED, WHAT WAS HIS RESURRECTION ON THE THIRD
DAY? IT WOULD BE NOTHING BUT MOCKERY TO SAY HE WAS RAISED
FROM THE DEAD WHEN HE WAS ALIVE IN HEAVEN. Christ said, "No one has
ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, even the Son of Man" [John
3:13]. If Moses did not ascend into Heaven at his death and had not ascended at the time
Christ spoke this how did the robber ascend to Heaven if Moses and David did not? In an
attempt to make a passage say someone went to Heaven at death the thief has been made
to be better than Moses and David? WHERE WAS CHRIST FROM HIS DEATH TO
HIS RESURRECTION? "He foreseeing this spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that
neither was he left unto Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus did God raise
up" [Acts 2:31-32]. This is from Psalm 16:10, "Because you will not abandon me to the
grave (sheol)" New International Version.
WHICH WAY DO THEY SEND CHRIST? The advocates of an immortal soul say
Christ went both up and down at His death.
• In THE SPIRITS IN PRISON 1 Peter 3:18-20 the advocates of an immortal soul
say Christ went down to Hell to preach to the spirits in prison at His death.
• In THE ROBBER Luke 23:43 the advocates of an immortal soul say He went up
to Heaven at His death. They say one place one time and another place another
time.
• The advocates of an immortal soul send Christ both down to Hell to preach
to spirits in prison AND up to Heaven with the robber, both places at the
same time.
WHAT IS NOT SAID: Nothing is said about the robber believing after he had
"reproached him." This is added by those who say they do not believe in adding to the
word of God. I have been told the robber "could have" heard Christ before this. If he did,
he did not believe for he was still a robber and even after he was on the cross he railed on
Christ ("reproached him"). He was one of the many that could have heard Christ before
this but if he had heard Christ he did not believe for he was one of the many who railed
on Christ. Anyone can prove anything that they want to with a "could have."
CHRIST WENT TO THE GRAVE THAT DAY, NOT HEAVEN. Both Christ and the
robber were in hades - the grave - on "this day.”
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THREE PROBLEMS
1. Christ did not go to Heaven that day.
2. It must be assumed that mankind now has immortality and will never die.
3. It must be assumed that all the saved go to Heaven at the moment of death, before
and without the resurrection and judgment, none to sheol (the grave) and none to
Abraham’s bosom; that David did ascend into the heavens [Acts 2:34].
THE KING JAMES VERSION AND THE COMMA
The way it is worded in the Kings James Version makes Christ be asking the thief a
question with the question mark left out and ends the question with a period.
As it is in the Kings James Version and with the Old English changed to today
English."
• "I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise."
• "I say unto you, To-day shall you be with me in paradise?"
Yet this question Christ asked is frequency used to prove Christ was telling the thief
that they both would be together in Heaven that very day. Christ went to the grave that
day. Where is Paradise? The only other uses of Paradise in the New Testament are:
[1] Paul was "caught up into paradise," which he says is in "the third heaven" [2
Corinthians 12:2-4].
[2] "To him that overcomes, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the
Paradise of God" [Revelation 2:7]; the tree of life is in the New Jerusalem [See
Revelation 21:1 to 22:5].
Many translations make Christ be telling the thief they both would be together in
paradise (Heaven?) that day.
• Wycliffe New Testament: “And Jesus said to him, Truly I say to thee, this day
thou shalt be with me in paradise”
• English Standard Version: “And he said to him, Truly, I say to you, today you will
be with me in Paradise”
• Young's Literal Translation: "And Jesus said to him, Verily I say to thee, To-day
with me thou shalt be in the paradise"
• New International Version: "Jesus answered him, I tell you the truth, today you
will be with me in paradise"
• New American Standard Bible: "And He said to him, Truly I say to you, today you
shall be with Me in Paradise"
• English Standard Version: "And he said to him, Truly, I say to you, today you will
be with me in Paradise"
• Amplified Bible: "And He answered him, Truly I tell you, today you shall be with
Me in Paradise"
• English Standard Version: "And he said to him, Truly, I say to you, today you will
be with me in Paradise"
• Darby Translation: "And Jesus said to him, Verily I say to thee, To-day shalt thou
be with me in paradise." This Catholic Bible also makes Christ be asking the thief
a question without using a question mark.
• Holman Christian Standard Bible: "And He said to him, I assure you: Today you
will be with Me in paradise"
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• New International Reader's Version: "Jesus answered him, What I'm about to tell
you is true. Today you will be with me in paradise"
• Today's New International Version "Jesus answered him, Truly I tell you, today
you will be with me in paradise"
• New International Version - UK: "Jesus answered him, I tell you the truth, today
you will be with me in paradise"
• Marshall Parallel New Testament In Greek And English: "Truly thee I tell, Today
with me thou will be in the paradise"
With the comma where it is in most translations, Christ answer to the mockery of the
thief was that he would be with Him that day. That day Christ was in the grave, therefore,
Christ told the thief that he would be in the grave that day. TELLING THE THIEF
THAT HE WAS GOING TO DIE AND BE IN THE GRAVE THAT DAY DOSE NOT
SOUND LIKE AN ANSWER THE THIEF WOULD HAVE RECEIVED IF HE HAD
TRULY REPENTED AND WAS FORGIVEN.
IF CHRIST WERE TELLING THE THIEF THAT HE WOULD BE WITH HIM IN
HEAVEN IT WAS NOT ON THAT DAY; the comma, which is not in the Greek must
be moved for both Christ and the thief went to the grave that day, not to Heaven. "I say
unto you to-day, you shall you be with me in paradise." This would not make the being in
paradise be on that day, not on the day of their death. No one goes to Heaven at death
before the resurrection and judgment. If the thief truly did repent and by "paradise"
Christ was telling the thief that he would be in Heaven with Him, the comma must be put
after "today" for Christ or the thief did not go to Heaven that day.
The Greek, in which the New Testament was written, did not have chapters or
punctuation. Men have added the punctuation. The oldest manuscripts are all capitals, the
words are not separated, and there is no punctuation. Cardinal Huge de Sancta Caro
divided it into chapters in A. D. 1250. Robert Stevens divided the Bible was into verses
about A. D. 1550. Manutius, a printer of Venice in A. D. 1490, invented the comma. It
was put in the King James Version in A. D. 1611, BUT IT WAS NOT USED BY LUKE
BEFORE IT WAS INVENTED, THEREFORE, THERE WAS NO COMMA IN LUKE
23:43. There was not a comma in the whole New Testament. Men put all the punctuation
marks in the Bible we use today, not God. The translators could sometimes make it say
what was consistent with their beliefs by the way they used punctuation. Move the
comma, which was not invented unto 1490 and was added by uninspired men in the King
James Version by man in A. D. 1611, and it does not say when they would be in paradise.
• VERILYISAYUNTOYOUTODAYYOUSHALLBEWITHMEINPARADISE The
oldest Greek manuscripts have all capitals letters with no separation between
words and sentences, and no punctuation marks.
• VERILY.I.SAY.UNTO.YOU.TODAY.YOU.SHALL.BE.WITH.ME.IN.PARADISE
Dots were put into the Greek in the ninth century to separate the words. The
punctuation of all Greek texts after the ninth century is entirely on human
authority.
• “Verily I say unto you, ‘To-day you shall be with me in paradise.’”
• “Verily I say unto you today, ‘You shall be with me in paradise.’” The comma
was invented in1490 and put in the Bible by men.
"This day" is a common expression in the Bible. See Genesis 31:18; Exodus 34:11;
Deuteronomy 4:26; 4:40; 6:6; 7:11; 8:1; 8:11; 30:5.
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• “I declare to you this day, that ye shall surely perish” [Deuteronomy 30:18].
• “Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all
man” [Acts 20:26 King James Version].
The Companion Bible, Appendix 173: "The interpretation of this verse depends entirely
on punctuation, which rests wholly on human authority, the Greek manuscripts
having no punctuation of any kind till the ninth century, and then it is only a dot in the
middle of the line separating each word."
To put the comma where the King James Version put it makes Jesus a liar for He
know He would not be in paradise that day. The King James translators, who believed
that all will go immediately to Heaven or Hell at death, punctuated it to makes both
Christ and the thief be in Heaven ON THAT VERY DAY.
H Leo Boles: "Evidently Jesus did not mean that this robber would go with him to heaven that
day, as it seems clear from other statements that Jesus did not go to heaven that day. His day of
ascension came about forty days after that time" A Commentary On The Gospel Of Luke, Page
454, 1954, Gospel Advocate Company.
“It may be asked why translators of most modern version do not place the comma after the
‘today’ so that the verse will harmonize with other scriptural teaching on death and resurrection.
We might as well ask why they do not translate the Greek bapitizo as ‘immerse’ or diakonos as
‘servant’ instead of merely spelling them with English letters. To do so would put the translation
at odds with most denominational doctrine and almost insure it failure to be accepted” Curtis
Dickinson, “The Witness” Volume 30, Number 8, 1990.
There is no grammatical justification for the placement of the comma before "today."
Christ or the thief did not go to Heaven that day. By moving the comma that was added
by uninspired men with a theological prejudice, the conflict with other passages is
removed even if "in paradise" dose mean "in Heaven."
Note: The punctuation can change the meaning of the same words.
Woman, without her man, is nothing.
Woman, without her, man is nothing.
[2]. “TO DIE IS GAIN”
Philippians 1:21-23
When this passage is used to prove that a person takes up residence in their permanent
abode at once in Heaven at death, it is taken out of context. Paul says, "So that my bonds
became manifest in Christ throughout the whole praetorian guard, and to all the rest;
and that most of the brethren in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more
abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear" [Philippians 1:13-14]. His
imprisonment was not a personal gain, but because of it the word of Christ was being
preached, therefore, it was gain. In verse 18 it did not matter the motives, Christ was
being preached and he rejoiced. Verse 20 "So now also Christ shall be magnified in my
body, whether by life, or by death." If he lived, he would preach Christ. If he died, others
would be made more bold and preach Christ because of his death. Verse 21 "For to me to
live is Christ, and to die is gain." Death is an enemy [1 Corinthians 15:26]. It was not a
personal gain for Paul. He knows he would not be in Heaven unto after the resurrection
and judgment at the second coming of Christ. HE KNOWS HIS DEATH WOULD BE A
GAIN FOR THE CAUSE OF CHRIST, THAT CHRIST WOULD BE PREACHED
BECAUSE OF IT, NOT A PERSONAL GAIN FOR HIMSELF. Verse 22 "But if to live
in the flesh, if this shall bring fruit from my work, then what I shall choose I know not" If
he lived and preached Christ, or if his death would cause others to preach Christ, which
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one would bring the most fruit, he knew not. HE IS NOT SAYING HE DID NOT
KNOW WHETHER LIVING IN THIS WORLD WAS BEST, OR LIVING IN
HEAVEN WAS BEST; BUT THIS IS WHAT HE IS MADE TO SAY WHEN THIS
PASSAGE IS USED TO PROVE AN IMMORTAL SOUL.
Philippians 1:12-30: When it became know that Paul was in prison it was gain to the
Gospel for it made others bold to preach the Gospel and others preached the Gospel
“thinking to raise up affliction for me in my bonds.” In the same way Paul is saying his
death would be gain to the cause of Christ just as his being in prison was, not a personal
gain. If "To die is gain," means we go to Heaven when we die, WHY WOULD PAUL
SAY HE DID NOT KNOW IF GOING TO HEAVEN WAS BETTER THAN
LIVING ON EARTH; why do we go to a doctor to get well and do all we can to keep
from going to Heaven; why do we pray for each other when one of us is sick; are we
not asking God not to take us to Heaven and are thankful if He does not? The reason
we do not want to die is that death is not a gateway to Heaven, but death is an enemy. If
death were a gateway to Heaven, we would be praying, "Lord, do not make us come live
up there with You, let us live down here on earth where Satan can tempt us."
We are repeatedly told we will be with the Lord at His coming, not at death [2
Thessalonians 2:1] when He shall appear [Colossians 3:4], yet "To die is gain" is used to
set aside many plain and clear passages and make the entrance to Heaven be immediately
at death, not after the resurrection.
[3]. “TO DEPART AND TO BE WITH THE LORD”
Philippians 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:8
BE WITH THE LORD AT THE JUDGMENT DAY, NOT INSTANTLY AT
DEATH: In the same letter Paul says, "If by any means I may attain unto the resurrection
from the dead" [Philippians 3:11]. He tells the Thessalonians that we will BE WITH THE
LORD after the resurrection, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in
Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always BE WITH THE
LORD" [1 Thessalonians 4:16-17].
• Be with the Lord "at that day" 2 Timothy 4:8
• Be with the Lord at "His appearing" 2 Timothy 4:8
"Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous judge, SHALL GIVE TO ME AT THAT DAY; and not to me only, but also
TO ALL THEM THAT HAVE LOVED HIS APPEARING" [2 Timothy 4:8]. Paul
clearly says the time of his death has come, but he will not receive the crown of
righteousness unto the appearing of Christ at the Judgment Day. He will be with the Lord
at the same time all the saved will be, "AT THAT DAY" the Judgment Day, not at death.
At "HIS APPEARING" See 2 Timothy 1:12; 1:18; 4:18; 2 Thessalonians 1:10;
Philippians 1:10; 1:6; 1 Corinthians 1:8; 5:6. When will Paul be given "the crown of
righteousness," when Christ comes, not at death? See 1 Peter 5:4. When will Paul and all
the saved be with the Lord, at "His appearing," not at death? "To be with the Lord," says
nothing about an "immaterial, invisible part of man" between death and the resurrection.
"For the Lord himself shall descend for Heaven…and so we shall we ever be with the
Lord" [1 Thessalonians 4:16-17]; it is after the resurrection that we will be with the Lord,
not at death. No one has ascended into Heaven but Christ; therefore, Paul has not
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ascended to Heaven and is not now in Heaven with the Lord [John 3:13]. PAUL DIED
ABOUT TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO, BUT LIKE DAVID [Acts 2:29], PAUL IS
NOT YET IN HEAVEN WITH THE LORD AND WILL NOT BE UNTO AFTER THE
RESURRECTION; THEREFORE, THIS PASSAGE COULD NOT BE SAYING PAUL
HAD AN IMMORTAL SOUL THAT WOULD GO TO HEAVEN AND BE WITH THE
LORD AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH.
• Peter says of David "that he both died and was buried...for David ascended not
into the heavens" [Acts 2:29-34].
• Today's theology says, "David is not dead and has ascended into Heaven."
To make "with the Lord" mean we go to Heaven with the Lord at death takes away
any need for a resurrection and makes it useless and foolish. After some had been in
Heaven with the Lord for centuries, why would He send them back to earth to raise them
from the dead and take them back to Heaven when from the day of their death they had
been very much alive in Heaven and were never dead?
There are three major views on the condition of the dead.
1. The dead are dead and will be dead unto the resurrection of the dead.
2. The dead are alive in an intermediate state without the resurrection.
3. The dead are alive in Heaven or Hell without the resurrection.
Although this passage is used as undeniable proof or both 2 and 3 and to set aside the
many passages on the resurrection, this passage is completely silent about where the dead
are before the resurrection.
Those who believe the dead go to hades, some to be with the rich man in torment and
some to be in "Abraham's bosom" also use "be with the Lord" when they are trying to
prove men now have an immortal soul, but in doing so they do not seen to be able to see
that they are making all go to Heaven or Hell at death and, therefore, they have made
going to hades at death impossible. We could not be in "Abraham's bosom" and in
Heaven with the Lord both at the same time. When they need to, they make hades be "the
grave" for the body to be in; and when they need to, they make it be "Abraham's bosom"
for the "soul" to live in. How do they know when it should be one, and when it should be
the other? In trying to make Paul and Stephen be conscious after death, both are put
directly in heaven at death before and without the Judgment Day sometimes even by
those who do not believe anyone is now in Heaven.
We need to be very careful not to make Paul say something he did not say [2 Peter
3:16]. "To be with the Lord," but where and when will we be with the Lord? Not in our
permanent abode in Heaven at death, for we will not be there unto after the judgment. If
we go to Heaven or Hell at death, this would mean that the final judgment takes place
immediately at death, for God would have to decide our destiny then; therefore, God
would have made the final judgment before the Judgment Day, before the coming of
Christ.
Jesus said, "AND IF I GO AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, I WILL COME
AGAIN, AND RECEIVE YOU TO MYSELF; THAT WHERE I AM, THERE YOU MAY BE
ALSO" [John 14:3]. Many say, "Not so Lord, we will be with you in Heaven, Your
second coming and the resurrection will not be needed for we will be alive with You in
Heaven." But Paul says, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly
wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; WHO WILL TRANSFORM THE BODY OF
OUR HUMBLE STATE INTO CONFORMITY WITH THE BODY OF HIS GLORY”
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[Philippians 3:20-21]. It is us who will be transformed, not just a part of us that is now
just as immortal as it will always be and will not need to be transformed, and this part of
us will not wait for the Lord Jesus to come again, but immediately go to Heaven to be
with Him at death.
Living Christians need not sorrow as the rest who have no hope [1 Thessalonians
4:13]. There are four points in this passage.
1. Those who are asleep will be resurrected from the dead at the second coming of
Christ. THE DEPARTED PERSON WILL NOT BE WITH CHRIST UNTO HE
COMES "AGAIN, AND RECEIVE YOU TO MYSELF; THAT WHERE I AM,
THERE YOU MAY BE ALSO" [John 14:2]. Not alive before "The Lord himself
shall descend from heaven...and the dead in Christ shall rise first." At the coming
of Christ the dead shall rise from the grave, not come back from Hell or Heaven.
2. Those who are living at the time Christ comes will be changed. Living Christians
will not precede [go ahead of] the Christians that are not living [them that are
fallen asleep] to meet the Lord, “AND SO SHLLL WE EVER BE WITH THE
LORD” [1 Thessalonians 4:15].
3. Both those in Christ who are dead and those who are living, will
TOGETHER GO FROM THE EARTH TO MEET THE LORD IN THE
AIR WHEN HE IS COMING FROM HEAVEN BEFORE WE WILL “BE
WITH THE LORD.” "Then we that are alive, that are left, SHALL
TOGETHER with them be caught up (from the earth) in the clouds, to meet the
Lord in the air" [1 Thessalonians 4:17-18]. HOW COULD PAUL HAVE SAID
ANY CLEARER THAT THOSE WHO ARE NOW ASLEEP ARE NOT NOW
ALIVE IN HEAVEN, BUT THAT THEY WILL BE RAISED FROM THE
DEAD AND MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR AS HE IS RETURNING?
4. "And so shall we (both the living Christians and the Christians that are not living
at the time He comes) ever be with the Lord" [1 Thessalonians 4:17]. With the
Lord in the place in Heaven where He has gone to prepare for the saved [John
14:2]. The future existence of the dead in Christ absolutely depends upon (1) the
resurrection of those who are asleep (2) or on a translation of those who are living
when Christ comes.
Why did Paul say he had a desire to depart? He lived a life of suffering, toil, and trials
[2 Corinthians 11:23-33] and like Job, he understood death would be a relief from pain;
and he knew that from the standpoint of the person that departs it will be as if he or she is
with the Lord the next moment for we will know nothing of the time between death and
the resurrection, that time will seem as if it was only a moment. The dead in Christ are
asleep and have not ascended into Heaven, not even David or Paul, only Christ is now in
Heaven, “But now has Christ been raised form the dead, the first-fruits of them that
ARE ASLEEP…in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the
first fruits, then they that are Christ’s at His coming” [1 Corinthians 15:20-23]. To
those who are asleep there is no awareness of time; it will be as if we are with the Lord in
only a moment. For us, there is no life after death unto the resurrection and never would
be life without a resurrection of the dead.
Analus is used in the New Testament only two times. Luke 12:36 "when he will
RETURN [Greek-analus] from the wedding." Philippians 1:23 "having a desire to
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DEPART [Greek-analus], and to be with the Lord." "To depart" or "Will return,"
which one does analus means?
[4]. HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10
This is used to show the "house not made with hands" is the spirit and it will be
conscious before the resurrection. This "longing to be clothed upon with our habitation
that is from Heaven," is longing for our habitation at "the judgment seat" [5:10], not in
this life, or not at our death. IF THIS "HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS" WERE AN
IMMORTAL SOUL, AS THOSE WHO USE THIS PASSAGE TO TEACH WE NOW
HAVE AN IMMORTAL SOUL SAYS IT IS; THEN WE WOULD NOW HAVE THIS
IMMORTAL SOUL NOW LIVING IN US, THEN WHY WOULD WE BE "LONGING
TO BE CLOTHED" WITH OUR "HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS" WHEN WE
ARE NOW CLOTHED WITH IT AND ALL, EVEN THOSE NOT IN CHRIST HAVE
BEEN CLOTHED WITH IT FROM THE DAY OF BIRTH? Paul is made to say we are
longing to be clothed with that which we are already clothed with; that with which we
were clothed with from birth. IT IS NOT AN IMMORTAL SOUL THAT PAUL IS
SPEAKING OF, BUT THE "HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS" IN HEAVEN
WHICH WE ARE LOOKING FOR, NOT AN IMMATERIAL INVISIBLE PART OF A
PERSON, WHICH THEY ARE SOMEHOW TRYING TO PROVE WE NOW HAVE
WITH THIS PASSAGE. There is nothing about a "soul" in this passage. "Spirit" has to
be read into this for Paul said nothing about "spirit" in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. (1) It is
about us now in this life (2) and us at the judgment seat (3) and then us at home in
Heaven. It is about our whole person both now and in Heaven, not just an "immaterial,
invisible part of man."
NOW ON EARTH 2 COR. 5:1-11 IN HEAVEN AFTER SECOND COMING
"THE EARTHLY HOUSE" "A BUILDING FROM GOD-ETERNAL IN THE HEAVENS"
"LONGING TO BE CLOTHED UPON" "WITH OUR HABITATION THAT IS FROM HEAVEN"
"AT HOME IN THE BODY" "AT HOME WITH THE LORD"
"THAT WHAT IS MORTAL" "MAY BE SWALLOWED UP OF LIFE"
"THIS MORTAL" "MUST PUT ON IMMORTALITY" 1 CORINTHIANS 15:53
Paul says nothing about life between death and the resurrection or about an immortal soul,
which as many teach is the same now as it will be in Heaven. He is comparing this life with life in
Heaven. We now have an earthly house, a mortal soul mode of existence, but will have a building
from God, an immortal spiritual mode of existence. Nothing is said about any kind of existence
from death to the resurrection. "That what is mortal may be swallowed up of life" [2 Corinthians
5:4]. When will this be? At the resurrection, not instantly at death [1 Corinthians 15:54].
If the "house not made with hands" were an immortal soul and the lost now have an
immortal soul AS SOME TEACH THEY DO, then the lost would NOW have this "house
not made with hands," the same immortal soul NOW while they are living and will
ALWAYS have this "house not made with hands" in Hell. If the lost do not have eternal life,
they would not know they were in Hell and could not feel any pain. Their teaching makes all now
have this house, which they say is an "immaterial, invisible part of man," and no one, lost or
saved, need to long for it for all now have this "immaterial, invisible part of man," and all will
always have it, but in an attempt to prove a person now has an immortal soul they use "longing to
be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven" when they say that we are born with
it?
1. THE LOST do not and will never have "a building from God, a house not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens" They will never "be clothed upon with our habitation
which is from heaven." Therefore, if this house were an immortal soul or an immortal
spirit as many teach it to be, the lost do not and will never have an immortal soul or
spirit.
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2. THE SAVED are "longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven."
Therefore, if this house is an immortal soul or an immortal spirit as many teach it to
be, the saved do not now have an immortal soul or spirit but are longing to have one
or both.
3. Paul was not longing for a disembodied existence but the gaining of a body far superior
to this earthly body.
According to the immortal soul teaching of today, what is “mortal that is swallowed up of
life?” [2 Corinthians 5:4.
• At death, the body that is mortal dies and goes to the grave. The dead body has no life
and is not swallowed up of life.
• They believe the soul is now as immortal as it will be after the death of the body and as
immortal as it will ever be. Is there any swallowing of mortality by life here? No.
According to this view the body will be dead, and soul will have no more life after death
and be no more immortal than it now is, therefore, there will be less life than now.
Nothing will be swallowed up by life. According to this view, there is no way to make
any sense from what Paul said.
o The mortal person is swallowed up by life at the resurrection of the dead when
immortality will be put on. "He who has prepared us for this very thing is God,
who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee" [2 Corinthians 5:5 New Revised
Standard Version].
Summary: The teaching of some makes Paul be wrong when he said we are "longing to be
clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven" for their teaching says we had it at birth
and will always have it even if we go to "Hell.
[5] IN THE BODY OR OUT OF THE BODY [2 Corinthians 12:1-2]
"But I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord" PAUL HAD NOT DIED,
THEREFORE, THERE ARE ONLY TWO POSSIBILITIES.
1. FIRST POSSIBILITY: PAUL WAS TAKEN TO THE THIRD HEAVEN IN HIS
EARTHLY BODY and given a revelation, which was not lawful for him to utter, and
then returned to Earth. He did not die. This would prove nothing about a disembodied
soul from death unto the resurrection. Being taken to Heaven alive in his body would
not even be a death. At the time he says this, he was still a living human being that
had not died, he was not a disembodied spirit or soul after the death of his body.
Then how can this be used to show that Paul had an "immaterial, invisible part of
man" that would not die when he did? "Whether in the body." God has the power and
could have taken Paul to the third Heaven when he was in his body, or He has the power
to have taken Paul to the third Heaven in a vision. Paul did not know which so we cannot
know. If Paul were caught up to the third Heaven this was special case, and not what
happens to all mankind instantaneously at death. It is not going to Abraham's bosom,
which is where many teach all the saved will go immediately at death. There is nothing
in this passage about what will be after death, nether before the resurrection nor
after the resurrection for Paul or for us; SO HOW CAN THIS PASSAGE BE USED
TO PROVE A PERSON BECOMES A "DISEMBODIED SPIRIT" AFTER
DEATH? Paul had not died, and nothing is said about him having a disembodied spirit
that went to Heaven without his body or after the death of his body. Those who believe
the Abraham's bosom version do not believe the spirit goes immediately to Heaven at
death so what are they trying to prove with it? If the soul goes to Heaven at death, it
could not go to "Abraham's bosom."
2. SECOND POSSIBILITY: THIS WAS A VISION: Neither would a vision prove
anything about a disembodied soul from death unto the resurrection. "Visions" in 2
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Corinthians 12:1 is translated from "optasia" and is used only four times in the New
Testament.
(1) "That he had seen a VISION [optasia] in the temple" [Luke 1:2].
(2) "They had also seen a VISION [optasia] of angels" [Luke 24:23].
(3) "Disobedient unto the heavenly VISION" [optasia] [Acts 26:19].
(4) And in this passage, "I will come to VISIONS [optasia] and revelations" [2
Corinthians 12:1]. A vision, which is something like a dream, cannot be used to
prove Paul or anyone has either an immortal soul or an immortal spirit.
EITHER WAY: If Paul were taken to Heaven or if this was a vision (1) this says nothing
about an "immaterial invisible part of man" (2) or nothing about anything that will be after death
either before or after the resurrection. Those who use this to prove a person has an immortal soul
must say they know what Paul said he did not know. They must say only a part of Paul, his "soul"
but not his body went to Heaven, and that this was not a vision. How could anyone know this
when Paul did not? According to the common view, when the soul leaves the body, the body is
dead, and death is the separation of body and soul. Therefore, if a part of Paul called "soul"
separated from the body and went to the third Heaven; his body was on the earth separated from
this soul, therefore, dead. According to what some say death is, Paul was dead and his return to
earth would have to be a resurrection from the dead. According to this teaching, his dead body
was on earth and his soul was in Heaven separated from his body, he died and was raised from
the dead and did not know it. We are told that "out of the body" means Paul's soul went to
paradise and left his corpse on the earth, therefore, Paul was dead according to their own
definition of death. Who can believe Paul was dead and resurrected and did not know it?
Summary: First ADDED, then CHANGED. First "psukee [life, soul, living being]" must be
ADDED into this passage when it is not in it, then the ADDED psukee must be CHANGED into
an immortal being. Theology had to go on a long trip to put what they wanted into this. There is
nothing in this passage about the intermediate time from death unto the resurrection; but that a
part of a person called "soul" is alive in the intermediate time from death to the resurrection is
what they are trying to prove with it. PAUL WAS SPEAKING ABOUT A VISION THAT
HAD HAPPENED FOURTEEN YEARS BEFORE [2 Corinthians 12:1], NOT A DEATH,
AND THERE IS NOTHING IN THIS PASSAGE (1) ABOUT A SOUL, (2) ABOUT
DEATH (3) OR ABOUT ANYTHING THAT WILL BE AFTER DEATH. How could this
possibly be used to prove Paul or anyone has a soul that is immortal?
[6]. THE BELIEF OF THE PHARISEES AND OF THE SADDUCEES
WHOSE WIFE SHALL SHE BE
THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB Luke 20:27-38
There is much conflict and confusion in what has been written about the beliefs of
both the Pharisee and the Sadducees. Below is a brief outline of their beliefs, which is in
agreement with most writers.
THE SADDUCEES: They believed in a strict following of the Law and believed that
the Law said nothing about an immortal soul, or about the resurrection of the dead. See
"The God of Abraham" in chapter one.
THE PHARISEES: The Pharisees originated in the time of the Maccabees and died
out soon after A. D. 70. A belief in some kind of resurrection was established among
some of the Jews in the time of Christ, but was not believed by most; but the teaching of
Christ in Mark 12:26-27, on anyone having eternal life and immortality after death was
new to them [2 Timothy 1:10]. The Pharisees seem to have believed much of Rabbinic
Judaism, mostly writings that were written between the Testaments that were influenced
by Greek pagan teaching. Some form of an immortal soul was believed by the Greeks and
is in some of the Rabbinical writings. The Pharisees did believe in both the resurrection
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of the dead, and in spirits and angels [Acts 23:8] and they did believe the teaching of
eternal life was found in the Scriptures and searched the scriptures for proof [John 5:39].
But, what did they believe about the resurrection? The only resurrections in the Old
Testament Scriptures that searched were resurrections of earthly body back to a mortal
life that was no different from the mortal life of those who had not been resurrected. The
New Testament teaching of a resurrection to immortality was unknown to them. Christ
abolished death, and "brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" [2
Timothy 1:10-11]. A resurrection to immortality was unknown in the Old Testament,
therefore, how could the Pharisees or anyone have known about something God had not
made know? They looked for the Christ to restore Israel as a great nation and to set on the
throne of David in Jerusalem, not to be killed and resurrected and set on His throne in
Heaven. They may have thought Abraham, David, and others would be resurrected as
mortals in restored Israel under the savior they looked for. WHATEVER THEY
BELIEVED ABOUT A RESURRECTION, IT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN THE
RESURRECTION TO ETERNAL LIFE IN HEAVEN, WHICH WAS NOT KNOWN
ABOUT BEFORE CHRIST. A resurrection of all after death was unknown to them.
They had many traditions and were rebuked for making the Law void by their traditions.
Jesus said to them, "You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, this people
honors my with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me,
teaching as their doctrines the precept of men" [Matthew 15:7-9]. Much of the teaching
of Christ was a rebuke to them. See Matthew 19.
"In the resurrection; therefore, whose wife shall she be of the seven?" [Matthew
22:28. Notice the question or the answer did not mention an intermediate state. Although
there were resurrections of the earthly body back to life just as it was before the death of
the person resurrected in the Old Testament, there is nothing of a resurrection to
immortality life with a spiritual body without the earthly body. The fact that they thought
that if there were a resurrection she would have to be the wife of one of the seven points
out that they were thinking of a resurrection of an earthly mortal body with life on this
earth as it is now with husbands, wives, and children. This reply by Christ is one of, if not
the first suggestion of a resurrection that will not be a resurrection back to a mortal life.
This was a new teaching of Christ that was not known about before He brought it to light
through the gospel [2 Timothy 1:10], therefore, could not have been known about by the
Pharisees.
"The sons of this world (aion - age) marry, and are given in marriage: but they that
are accounted worthy to attain to that world (aion - age), and the resurrection from the
dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: for neither can they die any more; for
they are equal unto the angels; and are sons of God" [Luke 20:34-36]. Jesus is speaking
of life in two different ages, in this age where there is marriage and death, and life in the
next age (Heaven) where there is no marriage or death. The Pharisees view of the
resurrection seems to be a resurrection to life as it now is in this age. Christians, while
living on this earth, are (1) not immortal, (2) not deathless, (3) not spirits.
Today most Jews believe more like the Sadducees did, and do not believe the Old
Testament says anything about an immortal soul or anything about anyone going to
Heaven at anytime after death.
Alexander Campbell said, "1. That before the Captivity, and the Macedonian and Roman
conquests, the Jews observed the most profound silence upon the state of the deceased, as to
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their happiness or misery. They spoke of it simply as a place of silence, darkness, and inactivity.
2. But after the Hebrews mingled with the Greeks and Romans, they insensibly aided into their
use of terms, and adopted some of their ideas on such subjects as those on which their oracles
were silent." Appendix to "The Living Oracles" Page 59.
The belief of the Greeks was reincarnation back to some kind of earthly life that
would die again; they had no conception of eternal life in Heaven that was made known
by Christ.
The Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection. "On that day there came to him Sadducees,
they that say that there is no resurrection" [Matthew 22:23]. To prove there was no
resurrection they tried to trick Jesus with a question that would prove there was not. The
point of His answer was to prove there is to be a resurrection, not to prove anything about
the state of the dead before the resurrection. THERE IS NOTHING IN THEIR QUESTION
OR IN CHRIST’S ANSWER ABOUT A DISEMBODIED SOUL OR SPIRIT THAT IS
ALIVE BEFORE THE RESURRECTION. Christ was asked, "The woman also died...in the
resurrection; therefore, whose wife of them shall she be" [Luke 20:33]? They did not ask whose
wife she would be at death but in the resurrection; their question was not who now has her
disembodied spirit in the intermediate state. Christ said to them, "but they that are accounted
worthy to attain to that world (aion-age) and the resurrection from the dead...but that THE
DEAD ARE RAISED" [Luke 20:35-37], "But as touching the resurrection of the dead"
[Matthew 22:31]. "For when they shall rise from the dead...But as touching the dead, that they
are raised" [Mark 12:25-26].
THE GOD OF ABRAHAM
Matthew 22:32 “But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which
was spoken unto you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.’” Christ was proving to the
Sadducees that there will be a resurrection, not that Abraham was alive at the time He was saying
this; at that time Abraham was not alive in Heaven, Hell, in Abraham’s bosom, or alive any other
place. IF THE DEAD ARE LIVING IN A DISEMBODIED STATE, FOR GOD TO SAY
HE WAS THE GOD OF ABRAHAM WOULD NOT PROVE THERE WILL BE A
RESURRECTION, BUT WOULD PROVE ONE WAS NOT NEEDED. IF ABRAHAM
WERE NOT DEAD, CHRIST COULD NOT HAVE USED ABRAHAM TO PROVE THE
DEAD ARE RAISED. The dead must be dead to be raised; the living would not need to be
raised, would not need a resurrection to make them alive. The whole point Christ was making
is that there will be a resurrection, not that none are dead to be resurrected. Not that a
disembodied spirit is the only part of a person that will be in Heaven or Hell, and this
immaterial part of a person is now alive in Heaven or Hell while his or her dead body is in
the grave. If this disembodied part of a person were alive anywhere it would make the
resurrection impossible. A resurrection of those who are living would be an empty show, a
fraud, not a resurrection. The belief of many says, "Not so Christ, I was born immortal and
cannot die, therefore, I cannot be dead or raised from the dead"? This theology destroys the
Biblical doctrine of the resurrection.
If Abraham were alive, as many teach he was, then he was never asleep. Many believe we
have an immortal part of us that can never be dead but despite the fact that it is alive, it is going
be resurrected from the dead to be in Heaven? Paul said of Able, "He being dead" [Hebrews
11:4], if language has any meaning, Abel was dead, not alive at the time Paul said this. "For
David...fell asleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption" [Acts 13:36]. If David
were living (awake) at this time, if only his body was in the tomb, Peter had no point or argument.
What he said had no meaning. "From the day that the fathers fell asleep" [2 Peter 3:4] shows that
Abraham and David are still asleep, along with all other's that "are fallen asleep" [1 Corinthians
15:6]. To say that Abraham has been raised is to say the resurrection is past, and Christ was not
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the "first fruits" [2 Corinthians 15:20], or the "first born" [Colossians 1:18, Revelation 1:5]. To
say that an immortal part of Abraham was never dead is to make a resurrection impossible. The
resurrection at the coming of Christ is the subject, and nothing is said about what will be between
death and the resurrection. Abraham "believed, even God, who gives life to the dead, and calls the
things that are not, as though they were" [Romans 4:18]. "For none of us live to himself, and
none die to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto
the Lord; whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and
lived again, that he might be Lord of BOTH THE DEAD AND THE LIVING" [Romans 14:7-9].
How could Christ be LORD OF THE DEAD if no one is dead?
Summary: If the dead are more alive than when they were living, it both takes away the need
for a resurrection and made it impossible. CHRIST'S ARGUMENT THAT THERE WILL BE A
RESURRECTION IS TOTALLY DESTROYED. When this passage is used to prove the dead
are not dead but are conscious then it would proves that there is no resurrection. If the dead
are alive then how would His answer prove there would be a resurrection, and what would
be the need of one? This is a serious problem for those who teach unconditionally
immortality. THEY CANNOT TEACH THAT THE DEAD ARE MORE ALIVE THAN
THE LIVING WITHOUT DESTROYING THE BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF THE
RESURRECTION. If Abraham, David, Job, and other saints are alive in Heaven, death has
already been destroyed. Death would have been destroyed for all at death, not at Christ's
second coming; and even those in the Old Testament would have had life, eternal life,
without the death of Christ and without the resurrection and judgment. Take away the fact
that Abraham was dead, which is the very thing that those who say a person is born immortal and
can never die are trying to do; and you take away the point of Christ's argument, and make Him
be saying just so many words that say nothing. Christ's argument, that there will be a resurrection,
requires that Abraham is dead at the time Christ made the argument. Abraham being alive would
have requires that he never died or that his resurrection was past before the death and resurrection
of Christ. When did it happen? The resurrection of Christ, Abraham, or anyone requires that they
be dead at the time of the resurrection for they could not be resurrected if they were alive. How
could anyone think that a coming back of the living from Heaven is a resurrection of the dead? If
David were not still in the tomb then he had been raised the same as Christ, but before Christ,
therefore, Christ was not the first fruit. Today's theology has changed this to read, "But that the
dead are not dead to be raised," or "But that the separated are not dead to be raised." If He were
saying Abraham is alive now, He would be denying the point He was making, that there will
be a resurrection, for Abraham could not be raised if he were alive. If Abraham were alive
at that time then Luke 20:27-38 proves that there will not and cannot be a resurrection.
This passage teaches a "resurrection of the dead," not "no one is dead to be resurrected
from the dead."
[7]. THE TRANSFIGURATION: A RESURRECTION or A VISION?
Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-9.
A VISION: Christ said it was a vision. "Tell the VISION to no man" [Matthew 17:9]. Moses
and Elijah ("Elias" in the King James Version) were seen with Christ and then were gone, leaving
only Christ. Vision [Greek-horama] is used in the New Testament twelve times, and in the King
James Version it is always translated "vision" except in Acts 7:31 where it is translated "the
sight." This is not the Greek word "optasia" that is translated "vision" in 2 Corinthians 12:1.
1. "Tell the VISION [Greek-horama] to no man" Matthew 17:9
2. "He wondered at the SIGHT [Greek-horama]" Acts 7:31
3. "To him said the Lord in a VISION [Greek-horama]" Acts 9:10
4 "And has seen in a VISION [Greek-horama] a man" Acts 9:12
5 "He saw in a VISION [Greek-horama]" Acts 10:3
6 "What this VISION [Greek-horama] which he had seen might mean" Acts 10:17
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7 "While Peter thought on the VISION [Greek-horama]" Acts 10:19
8 "And in a trance I saw a VISION [Greek-horama]" Acts 11:5
9 "But thought he was seeing a VISION [Greek-horama]" Acts 12:9
10 "A VISION [Greek-horama] appeared to Paul in the night" Acts 16:9
11 "And after he had seen the VISION [Greek-horama]" Acts 16:10
12 "To Paul in the night by a VISION [Greek-horama]" Acts 18:9
If this were a vision, no argument can be taken from it for the existence of disembodied
souls for Moses and Elijah were only seen in a vision. Those who believe in unconditional
immortality MUST reinterpret this into bringing a soul that was alive in Heaven and came back
from Heaven to earth, and that Moses had ascended to Heaven despite the fact that Christ said no
man had. They must say to Christ, "No it is not a vision of Moses, but the real Moses back from
Heaven where he has been with You alive from his death." It is not said or implied that Moses
was in Heaven and came back to earth, or that he was alive. WE ARE TOLD THAT THIS WAS
A VISION. "Tell the VISION to no man" [Matthew 17:9]. THIS BEING A VISION PROVES
THEY WERE NOT CALLED BACK FROM HEAVEN; IT DOES NOT PROVE THAT
THERE WAS AN IMMATERIAL, INVISIBLE PART OF THEM THAT IS NOW ALIVE
ANYWHERE; if Moses and Elijah were alive and in Heaven Christ could not have been the first
fruits.
A RESURRECTION: Moses and Elijah were really there, and Matthew was wrong when he
called it a vision. If it were a resurrection, it was a resurrection like Lazarus and other
resurrections in the Bible and proved Moses was dead, not alive and had to be resurrected to be
there. If Moses were alive and immortal, he would have been brought back from Heaven; he
would not have needed to be raised from the dead. FOR THIS PASSAGE TO TEACH A
PERSON NOW HAS AN "IMMATERIAL, INVISIBLE PART OF MAN" IT MUST BE
PROVED THAT THIS WAS NOT A VISION OR A RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD,
BUT A BRINGING BACK OF THE LIVING MOSES FROM HEAVEN. Would the apostles
be able to see an "immaterial, invisible" disembodied spirits that had no human body? It had to be
a vision or a resurrection for the apostles to be able to see them. If they were alive in the flesh,
they had to be brought back from the dead just as Lazarus and others were. All resurrections in
the Bible, other than of Christ, were only temporary, and those who were raised from the dead did
not put on immortality, as those in Christ will at the resurrection [1 Corinthians 15:50-54]. Just as
Lazarus was brought back in his earthly body to a mortal life, they were resurrected back to a
mortal life and still in a mortal body and were not like the resurrection of Christ, or like the
resurrection of the saved at the coming of Christ. THEY WERE ALL RAISED MORTALS
SUBJECT TO DEATH AND ALL DIED AGAIN. NOT ONE OF THEM IS STILL ALIVE
TODAY. NOT ONE OF THEM WAS RAISED IMMORTAL. In any of these temporary
resurrections, not one thing is said about what will be after our death or after the resurrection. If
God raised one or ten thousand back to an earthly body, it does not effect the resurrection of all at
the coming of Christ and would not in any way prove a person is now mortal or immortal. These
earthly resurrections of mortal bodies say nothing about the resurrection at the coming of Christ
when the saved will put on immortality. From the resurrections of Lazarus and others back to the
mortal earthly body if there were no other revelation about the resurrection we would not know
anything about those in Christ that are going to be raised immortal on the Resurrection Day.
Summary: EITHER WAY, if the transfiguration were a resurrection or a vision, it does not
prove that a person is now mortal or immortal. The reason for this vision or resurrection was to
show that we are not to hear the law and the prophets, but to "hear you him." Christ is now the
one who has "All authority" [Matthew 28:18]. If any of the resurrections in the Old or New
Testament were a resurrection to immortality, Christ could not have been "the first-fruits of them
that are asleep" [1 Corinthians 15:20-23]. How can death be changed to life in Heaven without
a resurrection?
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[8]. GOD WILL BRING WITH CHRIST 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17
This is often used to prove those who have died are now in Heaven, and Christ will bring them
back when He comes for the judgment. This passage is about the resurrection at the coming of
Christ, and it like those above Paul said not a word about an "immaterial, invisible part of man"
that is now alive before the resurrection and nothing about a place called Hell. "For if we believe
that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that fallen asleep [are dead] in Jesus will God
bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are
left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede [go before] them that are fallen asleep."
There are three point in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
1. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST: “For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.”
2. THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD IN CHRIST: And the DEAD in Christ shall
RISE, BE RESURRECTED first, not those who are alive someplace returning.
3. BOTH THOSE WHO WERE RESURRECTED AND THOSE WHO ARE LIVING
WHEN CHRIST RETURNS: THEN we that are alive at the time Christ descends, “that
are left, shall TOGETHER WITH THEM be caught up in the clouds, TO MEET THE
LORD IN THE AIR: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" [1 Thessalonians 4:16-17].
BOTH the dead in Christ and those who are alive when He comes shall together be
caught up from the earth to the clouds. Not as some say, that we that are alive shall be
caught up to meet Christ AND those He is to bring from Heaven with Him.
o This passage is a plain statement that there will be a resurrection, and it is
opposed to the theory that no one is really dead. Both cannot be true.
o It is clearly said that they “are asleep” not awake in Heaven. “And I will RAISE
HIM UP AT THE LAST DAY” [John 6:40].
"The dead in Christ shall rise first." Those who are asleep will wake up first. HOW COULD
THEY WAKE UP IF THEY ARE NOT ASLEEP? HOW COULD THEY RISE FROM THE
DEAD IF THEY ARE NOT DEAD AND HOW COULD THEY MEET THE LORD IN THE
AIR IF THEY ARE COMING WITH HIM FROM HEAVEN? Paul says nothing about an
immortal soul, but persons.
1. Persons “who are asleep in Christ"
2. And persons “that are alive" when Christ comes.
Those who believe we have an "immaterial, invisible part of man" that is now immortal take
the resurrection out of this passage and makes it be about:
1. Those who are now alive (not asleep) in Heaven with Christ shall come with Him.
2. And "we that are alive" when Christ comes shall meet them in the air. THERE WILL
BE NO RESURRECTION for no one is dead. IF YOU BELIEVE IN PLATO'S
IMMORTAL SOUL THERE IS NO REASON FOR A RESURRECTION AND NO
ROOM FOR IT.
Those who believe the dead are now alive in Abraham's bosom make the Resurrection just as
impossible as those who believe the dead are now alive in Heaven.
• Both believe that no one is dead to be raised from the dead, but they make the second
coming be Christ coming from Heaven, going by way of Abraham's bosom to pickup
those that are living in it (not raising them from the dead) and bring them that have never
been dead but are now alive in Abraham's bosom back to earth.
• Both change those who are asleep in Christ to those who are awake in Heaven or awake
in Abraham's bosom.
"In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to
prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I COME AGAIN, AND WILL
RECEIVE YOU UNTO MYSELF THAT WHERE I AM, THERE YOU MAY BE ALSO" [John 14:2-
3]. Those who teach we have a soul that goes directly to Heaven at death believe that souls are
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now in the place where Christ has gone to prepare before He comes to receive them. Have they
not made the coming of Christ, the resurrection, and the judgment useless? Those who preach at
funerals often say our loved ones are now with the Lord in Heaven. This is a contradiction of
Paul's detailed account of what will happen at the resurrection.
Two views:
1. The dead in Christ are now in Heaven and God will bring them back to earth with Christ.
2. God will bring those who have fallen asleep in Christ with Christ when He returns to
Heaven after the judgment.
The first view makes many problems.
• At the time Paul wrote this the dead Christians were "asleep in Christ," not in Heaven.
"Concerning them that fall asleep...even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus" [1
Thessalonians 4:13-14]. "Then they also that fallen asleep in Christ have perished" [1
Corinthians 15:18]. There would be no need to sorrow for the dead in Christ if they are
alive in Heaven; they should have been rejoicing for their loved ones would be in a much
better place and be with Jesus. The fact that those who have fallen asleep in Christ have
perished if there is no resurrection clearly states that they are not in Heaven before the
resurrection, that life after death is completely dependent on the resurrection and that no
one will be alive in Heaven before the resurrection of the dead. Many gospel preachers
who say they speak only where the Bible speaks and are silent where it is silent, when
they teach the dead in Christ are now in Heaven clearly are speaking the opposite of the
Bible. “In Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits,
then they that are Christ’s at his coming” [1 Corinthians 15:22-23]. The victory over
death is not instantly at death [1 Corinthians 15:54] but at the resurrection of the dead.
The “dead in Christ” shall rise at the coming of Christ, not at death. [1 Thessalonians
4:16].
• When "those who are asleep" is used to prove a person has an immortal soul, THEN IT
WOULD PROVE THE IMMORTAL SOUL IS ASLEEP, AND THEY PROVE "SOUL
SLEEPING," which they falsely accuse those of believing who do not believe a person
has an immaterial invisible something. It is the whole person, not just an immaterial
something in the person that is asleep unto the waking up at the Resurrection.
• THE DEATH OF LAZARUS: In John 11 is the account of the death of Lazarus and his
restoration to life on this earth. When Jesus arrived, the sister of Lazarus said, "Lord,
if You had been here, my brother had not died." Did Jesus comfort her by saying her
brother was a good person and was now happy in Heaven with other saints and
angels and would never again have pain and he was much better off than when he
was in this world but He was going to take Lazarus out of Heaven and bring him
back to this world; this is the way of today's theology but is not found in the Bible.
His reply was, "Your brother shall rise again." Martha declared her faith in the
resurrection as was taught by Jesus by saying, "I know that he shall rise again in the
resurrection at the last day" showing she did not believe he was then alive and in
Heaven. Paul says the same when he says that those in Christ who have fallen asleep
have perished if the dead are not raised [1 Corinthians 15:14-20]. If they were forever
alive in Heaven, they would not have perished if there were no resurrection. Today's
teaching is not found in the Bible and makes a lie of the Biblical teaching. Those who
have "fallen asleep in Christ" will be asleep unto the resurrection and without it they will
forever be asleep. "And this is the will of him that sent me, that of all that which he has
given me I should lose nothing, BUT SHOULD RAISE IT UP AT THE LAST DAY" [John
6:39]. God could not have told us any clearer where we will be after death. PLATO’S
PHILOSOPHY OF AN IMMORTAL SOUL THAT CAN NEVER BE DEAD HAS
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REPLACED THE BIBLE TEACHING OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD AT
THE COMING OF CHRIST IN MANY CHURCHES.
Although "soul sleeping" and "annihilation" are often confused and thought to be the same, THE
TWO ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT.
• "SOUL SLEEPING" is the belief that a person has an invisible immaterial something
living in them that will never die, but from the death of the body unto the resurrection
that immaterial part of a person is "asleep," not "annihilated," and only the sleeping
immaterial, no substance soul will awake at the judgment to eternal life in Heaven or
Hell.
• ANNIHILATION is the belief that “the wages of sin is death” not eternal life in torment;
after annihilation no part of a person is asleep, no part of a person will ever wake up.
Annihilation is an unbiblical way of saying "the wages of sin is death," that all of a
person will be annihilated after the judgment. THOSE WHO BELIEVE "THE WAGES
OF SIN IS DEATH" DO NOT BELIEVE IN "SOUL SLEEPING" ALTHOUGH THEY
ARE OFTEN FALSELY ACCUSED OF IT. It is the person that is asleep and not just an
immaterial part of a person.
The second view solves these problems.
• Those who are "asleep in Christ" are asleep waiting for the return of Christ and the
resurrection.
• Makes the resurrection necessary.
• After the judgment when Christ returns to Heaven, those in Christ will go with Him. "We
that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet
the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" [1 Thessalonians 4:17]. GOD
WILL BRING [BOTH THOSE WHO ARE ASLEEP IN CHRIST AND THOSE WHO
ARE ALIVE] WITH CHRIST WHEN CHRIST RETURNS TO HEAVEN AFTER THE
RESURRECTION AND JUDGMENT.
CHRIST WILL BE COMING FROM HEAVEN WITH HIS "HOLY ONES," THE ANGELS,
NOT DEAD SAINTS THAT ARE NOT DEAD. "Behold, the Lord comes with many thousands
of His holy [hagios] ones" [Jude 14 New American Standard Version]. "Saints" in the King
James Version is from "hagios," which is the same word that is translated "holy" 93 times in the
"Holy [hagios] Spirit." THOSE WHO COME WITH CHRIST FROM HEAVEN ARE THE
HOLY ANGELS, NOT THOSE WHO ARE ASLEEP IN CHRIST. "When the Son of Man shall
come in his glory, and all the holy [hagios] angels with Him" [Matthew 25:31, King James
Version]. "When he comes in the glory of his father with the holy [hagios] angels" [Mark 8:38].
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel"
[1 Thessalonians 4:16]. "The Son of man shall send forth his angels" [Matthew 13:41]. "At the
coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints [hagios-holy]" [1 Thessalonians 3:13], "holy ones"
New International Version; both Jude 14 and 1 Thessalonians 3:13 use "hagios." Strong's word
number 40 "Sacred...blameless or religious (most) holy (one, thing), saint."
[9]. "EVERYONE WHO LIVES
AND BELIEVES IN ME SHALL NEVER DIE" John 11:26
This passage is used to prove that all men now have an immortal "immaterial, invisible part of
man" that can never die, but when it is so used, it makes a problem for them. Christ is clearly
saying ONLY those that believe on Him "shall never die," therefore, those that do not
believe on Him SHALL DIE. If all have immortality from birth and can never die, what was He
saying? This passage makes "never die" be conditional on believing on Christ, not on a never
dying "immaterial, invisible part of man" that is read into it. It is used to prove all unconditionally
have an immortal soul and can never die, even those who do not believe on Him. Those who
believe on Him die a physical death, just as those who do not believe on Him. In what way do
those who believe never die? Their name is in the book of life and there will be a resurrection
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when they will "put on immortality" [1 Corinthians 15:54]. Their resurrection and their eternal
life are so sure that it is counted as if they now have it. They will not die the second death which
all that do not believe will die.
Summary: According to today's theology, when this is read, as many read it, "He that has the
Son has an immortal soul that shall never die," then it must also be read, "He that has not the Son
has not an immortal soul that shall never die" for today's theology says all now have an immortal
soul that shall never die if they believe or if they do not believe. EVEN THOUGH ETERNAL
LIFE AND NEVER DYING IS CONDITIONAL ON BELIEVEING CHRIST THEOLOGY
SAYS NOT SO, ALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE AND CAN NEVER DIE.
[10] WHAT IS ETERNAL?
THE PUNISHMENT OR THE PUNISHING? MATTHEW 25:46
Many say the PUNISHMENT must last as long as the LIFE, but this does not say what the
punishment is. It is not a question of whether the punishment is eternal but whether it is an eternal
LIFE with torment, or eternal DEATH. It is SUPPOSED by many that punishment can only be
conscious suffering and their conditioning makes them read an eternal life of torment into it
although we are told repeatedly that punishment will be death, destruction, perish, die, lost, etc.;
but never that the punishment will be to be tormented by God forever. Nothing could be a more
eternal punishment than a death from which there will never be a resurrection. There are many
kinds of punishment, but from Matthew 25 all we can say is that there will be punishment, but
nothing more or less than punishment. To say Matthew 25 says where or what the punishment
will be is to say more than it says and, therefore, is adding to what God said. To know what the
punishment will be we must go to other passages. God's word must say what it is, and it
nowhere says God will be tormenting people forever. His word says, “The wages of sin is death,”
not eternal life with torment. If a person were put to death for a crime but could be restored to life
after one year, his punishment would end after one year. If he were never restored to life, his
punishment would never end. It would be eternal punishment but not eternal torment. The
Scripture clearly says that the punishment is death, the wages of sin [Romans 6:23]. Paul clearly
says what the everlasting punishment is, "even eternal destruction" [2 Thessalonians 1:9]. Christ
contrasts "eternal life" for the saved with "eternal punishment" for the lost. "Life" or "eternal life"
is promised to the saved repeatedly [See chapter two: LIFE and DEATH], but life is never
promised to the lost. It will be "death" for them [Romans 6:23; James 1:15]. "They that have done
good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of
judgment" John 5:29. Christ says, "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and they
gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burnt" John 15:6. THE PUNISHMENT IS
NOT TO BE FOREVER DYING, OR IS NOT FOREVER LIVING SEPARATED FROM
GOD; BUT IT IS FOREVER BEING DEAD. THE PUNISHMENT FOR SIN IS DEATH
[Roman 6:23; James 1:15] AND THE PUNISHMENT OF DEATH IS JUST AS ETERNAL
AS THE LIFE. Punishment can have many forms, but because of the conditioning of some
[through their red glasses], they can see only fire and torment in Hell. We do not torment our
children when we punish them do we? The concept of Hell is not from the Bible. The name or the
place is not in it, and unto it is clearly shown that there shall be such a place, it cannot be said that
this punishment is going to be eternal life in "Hell;" or shown that “the wages of sin” is not death
that there will be any kind of life anyplace. After the judgment there is much said about the saved.
They will be in the image of Christ; they will be immortal and have incorruption. But, there is
nothing said about the lost, not what image they will have, not where they will be, or anything at
all except that they will be dead [the second death]. Those who read the Bible with their Hell fire
and damnation glasses on see Hell in Matthew 25:46, and on every page of the Bible.
Matthew 25:46 may be the #1 proof text for Hell. The name Hell is not in it. Today's concept
of Hell, a place after the judgment where God will cruelly torment forever is not in it. All that is
in it is that the lost will have a punishment that will be forever. BEFORE ANYONE COULD
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POSSIBLY SEE "HELL" IN THIS PASSAGE A PLACE CALLED "HELL" MUST BE
ASSUMED, AND THEN ACCEPTED AS A FACT, THEN GOD MUST BE MADE INTO
THE MOST CRUEL, SADISTIC, AND FIENDISH BEING THERE IS, FAR
SURPASSING EVEN SATAN IN CRUELTY. There is not one word in Matthew 25:46 about
where, or what the punishment will be. Other texts say it is death, perish, destroyed, lost, and end.
It does not say the punishment is eternal torment after the Judgment Day is over. To teach that
Matthew 25:46 says the punishment is an eternal life of torment in Hell, as many do, is adding to
it.
Some traditionalists say annihilation [death] is not punishment. They believe that "by no
stretch of the imagination can the punishment spoken of in Matthew 25:46 be defined as an
extinction of consciousness, for if actual suffering is lacking, then so is punishment." Where does
Matthew 25:46 say anything about suffering? Punishment must be CHANGED to eternal
suffering and a place ADDED to have anyone suffering in Hell. If death row is not punishment,
then why is the death sentence the worse punishment a person can get, for worse than life in
prison; and how is being on death row is to be in the worst part of a prison. WHAT WOULD
THOSE ON DEATH ROW SAY IF SOMEONE TOLD THEM DEATH IS NOT A
PUNISHMENT? Throughout all of history, death has been thought of as being the worst
punishment there is. Why would most on death row love to get off it and have the punishment of
life in prison instead of death? They are told they are not fit to live, and their punishment is to be
death. For the sinner to stand before God on the judgment day and be told he is not fit to live and
will be punished with the second death is the worst kind of punishment. Most fear death more
than pain and will do all they can to live a little longer even if it is in pain. Death is worse because
it takes everything from them and deprives of all the life and joy a person would have had, and
the second death will deprive of eternal life in Heaven, of an eternity of ceaseless years of joy
beyond any joy we can now even dream of, it is an infinite punishment in that it takes an infinite
amount of life and joy from a person. We cannot vision all the joy that will be in Heaven for all
eternity; therefore, we cannot know how much death will take from them. It is much more than
we can know before the judgment. Death is a much greater punishment than any person can now
imagine, and the second death will be an eternal punishment. THOSE WHO TEACH HELL
MUST MAKE THEM SELVES, AND ALL OTHERS BELIEVE DEATH IS NOT A
PUNISHMENT, THEREFORE, THERE MUST BE TORMENT IN HELL. When a lost person
comes to the judgment, he may see that the saved will have an eternal life of joy and bliss in a
place of indescribable glory and to know that all this could have been his, but for him there will
be only the blackness and darkness of nothing. And some say this is not punishment!
Summary: WHATEVER THE PUNISHMENT IS IN MATTHEW 25:46, IT IS THE SAME
PUNISHMENT AS Romans 6:16; 6:23; 8:6; Revelation 21:8; James 5:22; 2 Peter 2:1; 2:6; 3:7;
Philippians 1:28; 3:19; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Matthew 3:12; 13:40; John
3:16, etc. The Bible does not teach one kind of punishment in one verse and another in another
verse. It does not teach the punishment is everlasting life with torment in one verse and death in
another verse. It comes down to the question of,
• Is the wages of sin death, or is the wages of sin everlasting life with torment?
• Is the second death a death, or is the second death everlasting life?
• Did God really mean "life" and mistakenly said "death?"
A PASSAGE, WHICH DOES NOT SAY WHAT THE PUNISHMENT IS, CANNOT
OVERRIDE THE MANY PASSAGES THAT DOES SAY WHAT IT IS. FROM
MATTHEW 25:46 ALONE, NO ONE CAN SAY WHAT THE PUNISHMENT WILL BE.
JUST THAT IT WILL BE AFTER THE JUDGMENT AND WILL BE FOREVER. The
only way to know what is the punishment of Matthew 25:46 is to go to other passages that
do say how God is going to punish the lost. THAT A PASSAGE WHICH DOES NOT SAY
WHAT THE PUNISHMENT WILL BE IS THE #1 PROOF TEXT FOR HELL SHOWS
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THE WEAKNESS OF THE PROOF. Can they deny that they are going beyond what the
Bible says when they say what the punishment of Matthew 25:56 will be, and that they are
adding eternal life in Hell when it is not there?
IS THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IN WHAT THE PUNISHMENT WILL BE? Robert A.
Peterson, a strong believer in Hell, says, the Old Testament judgments, the Flood, the destruction
of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Egyptian plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea, and the
captivities of Israel, the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah was the loss of human life. Page
23-24. Then on page 26, he says the punishments described in them are consistently earthly and
temporal, resulting in physical death. None of these passages speak of life after death or eternal
destinies, but Annihilationist err, for their belief would entail cessation of existence at death, not
the resurrection and punishment of the wicked. "Hell On Trial" P & R Publishing. The New
Testament used them as a type of God's judgment after the resurrection. He says they resulted in
physical death. Peterson, Page 26. If the result of the judgment is not DEATH, but an everlasting
LIFE of torment, then the types are not true for they do not show ETERNAL LIFE with
punishment; but they would be true if DEATH is the end. The New Testament writers used the
Old Testament types to show the destruction of [Death], not the torment of the lost. He errs in that
he does not give God the power to raise the dead for judgment and punishment if the punishment
is to be death. God will raise and judge them and just as His judgments in the Old Testament
resulted "in death," so will His judgment at the resurrection be a second death. His statement that
Annihilationist err because they believe the first death to be the end of those not in Christ and the
lost will not be raised for judgment may possibly be true of some Annihilationist (none that I
know of), but it is not true of most. MOST believe the Bible teaching that all the dead will be
raised for the judgment, then for those not in Christ there will be the second death from which
there will never be a resurrection. Did Robert A. Peterson just make a make believe man of hay or
stubble so that he could pull down his stubble Annihilationist? THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS IN
WHAT THE PUNISHMENT WILL BE AFTER THE JUDGMENT. Annihilationist believes
"the wages of sin is death" [Romans 6:23]. Believers in Hell believe the punishment, the wages of
sin will be "everlasting life with torment." Those who believe in Hell often argue as if they think
that those who oppose Hell do not believe in the resurrection, the judgment, or punishment. They
know that if Annihilationist do believe in the resurrection, judgment and punishment they have
loss much of their argument, FOR THEN THE ONLY QUESTION IS WHAT WILL THE
PUNISHMENT BE AND THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT THE BIBLE SAYS IT IS DEATH.
In much of his book, he does as many, he assumes that those who do not believe in "Hell" do not
believe the lost will be raised for judgment, and he assumes that there is a Hell and that Hell is its
name; then he unjustly puts this name into the mouth of Christ.
A MORE BASIC QUESTION THAN WHAT THE PUNISHMENT WILL BE AFTER THE
RESURRECTION IS "WHAT IS THE RESURRECTION?" If he is right, that there is no death,
then there cannot be a resurrection, and his belief makes him be the one that does not believe in
the resurrection that Annihilationist do believe in. Will what he falsely calls the resurrection be
only a bringing of those who are alive in Heaven and Hell, therefore already judged, back to earth
for a second judgment, or will the resurrection be as annihilationist believe, a raising the dead that
are really dead and bringing them back to life? On page 68 Peterson says God did not send his
Son into the world to condemn the lost, but to rescue them from hell. This is a typical example of
the way Hell is added to the Bible. The Bible is changed to read the way they want it to read and
Hell is added where it is not. How could he know the lost shall be rescued from hell? Does he
have a revelation that is not in the Bible? There is no revelation in the Bible that says the lost are
rescued from hell, but there is much revelation that says the lost are saved from death. "Let him
know that he who converts a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death"
[James 5:20]. Salvation is from death, the wages of sin [Romans 6:23] not from an everlasting life
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of torment. "God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in him Son. He that has the Son has the
life; he that has not the Son of God has not the life" [1 John 5:11-12].
“The word ‘PUNISHMENT’ is not a puzzling word. One of the most familiar terms in the English
language. Do you know its meaning? Just think a moment and try to define it. The Dictionary
tells us it is the infliction of PENALTY for an offence. IS IT? If the teacher tells the pupil she will
‘punish’ him a question would spring up in his mind, WHAT WAY? Even the child knows there
are many ways to punish. THOUGH OUR THEOLOGIANS, AFTER LOSING SIGHT OF THE
DEFINITION OF THE WORD, AT LAST GIVE IT BUT ONE IDEA, THAT OF MISERY. Cunning
enough, indeed, to separate it from its primary meaning in the New Testament. As if death
inflicted for sin was not a punishment. If it is a recompense of the some nature, WHAT IS THE
NATURE, HOW SEVERE? The term punishment as a retaliation for offence, NEVER DEFINES THE
NATURE OF THE INFLICTION TO BE EXECUTEE. It only announces the fact that a judicial
penalty is due, without revealing the severity f it. Punishment, retaliation, recompense, penalty,
are synonymous words, and may be used interchangeably. So if the Lord had said, ‘These shall go
into everlasting recompense’ or penalty, or retaliation, we would still be forced to seek other
scriptures to learn WHAT KIND OF RECOMPENSE IS MEANT. We are told there can be no
punishment with pain. I deny the assertion. I challenge the reader to search the Old Testament
for the hundreds of instances where the infliction of death was the penalty for crimes. And that it
was inflicted to satisfy the offence regardless of the pain accompanying it. Punishment lasts so
long as its results last, and where death has been administered for the satisfaction of crime, THE
PUNISMENT CONTINUES TILL LIFE IS RESTORED, AND IF NEVER RESTORED, IT IS AN
EVERLSATING PUNISHMENT. Lost of property, loss of liberty, loss of life, may all be meted out to
the transgressors under the label of punishment. And death as the capital punishment, legalized
on the statutes of all civilized nations of the world, is the highest punishment man can inflict—or
so recognized,--being the deprivation of life, the first source of all pleasures and enjoyments, and
recognized as being forfeited for certain crimes.” E. D. Slough, “The Indictment Of Eternal
Torment—The Self-negation Of A Monstrous Doctrine,” Page 196-197, F. L. Rowe, Publisher,
1914, evangelist, church of Christ.
Summary: THERE IS NO WAY THAT THOSE WHO BELIEVE ALL ARE BORN
IMMORTAL COULD REALLY BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OR IN THE
NEED FOR IT. BY TEACHING THAT ALL ARE BORN WITH AN IMMORTAL PART
THAT CAN NEVER DIE THE RESURRECTION IS DENIED AND MADE NOT
POSSIBLE. THE TWO ARE NOT COMPATIBLE AND BOTH CANNOT BE TRUE.
SATAN HAS DONE HIS WORK WELL.
ETERNAL
ETERNAL JUDGMENT Hebrews 6:2. The judgment will be in one "day" at the second
coming of Christ and is not being judged forever without end; but a judgment in which the results
will last for eternity. Eternal is not describing a judging that has no end. Eternal has reference to
the result of the judgment, not to the act of judging. The judging will end, but its result will never
end. The punishment is after the judging. Will it take God all eternity to do the judging? If so, He
will never get to the punishment. Whether the punishment is, Hell or death will not matter if God
never gets past the judging. IT IS THE RESULTS OF THE JUDGMENT, AN ENDLESSLY
BINDING VERDICT THAT WILL NEVER BE CHANGED THAT IS ETERNAL, NOT THE
JUDGING.
ETERNAL REDEMPTION Hebrews 9:12, and ETERNAL SALVATION Hebrews 5:9.
Not redemption or a saving that goes on without end, but saving once that will be for eternity.
The time of salvation ends. God will not be savings those in Heaven for eternity. THE
REDEMPTION WILL NOT BE GOING ON FOREVER, BUT THE RESULTS OF THE
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REDEMPTION WILL BE WITH OUT END. Those that are saved are forever saved, forever
redeemed, not forever being redeemed; their salvation is without an end. Even those who believe
in Hell believe those in Heaven are redeemed, not being eternally redeemed; and those they
believe to be in Hell can never be redeemed.
ETERNAL SIN [Mark 3:29] is a sin, which will be committed in this lifetime, and not a sin
that will be being committed without end in Hell after the judgment. IT IS A SIN THAT THE
RESULTS [DEATH: THE WAGES OF SIN] IS A DEATH FROM WHICH THAT WILL
NEVER BE A RESURRECTION.
ETERNAL FIRE [Jude 7] is not a fire that is still burning Sodom and Gomorrah and will be
burning these cities from now on, but the results, the total destruction of them will have no end.
These cities are not still burning, but the results of the fire were their eternal destruction. THE
FACT THAT SODOM AND GOMORRAH SUFFERED THE VENGEANCE OF "ETERNAL
FIRE" SHOWS THAT THE RESULTS ARE ETERNAL, NOT THE FIRE WAS ETERNAL
AND THAT IT IS STILL BURNING TODAY AND WILL BURNING THESE CITIES FOR
ETERNITY. The fire that destroyed Sodom has long since gone out but their destruction remains
and will always remain, and their eternal destruction is set forth as an example of "eternal fire"
that will eternally destroy the wicked just as it eternally completely destroyed these cities.
ETERNAL DESTRUCTION 2 Thessalonians 1:9 and ETERNAL PUNISHMENT Matthew
25:46. Is this a destruction that will be bit by bit, but will take forever? No. It is destruction that
the results will be final and eternal; a destruction that never destroys would not be destruction for
destruction would never take place if the destroying were never completed. An everlasting
process of destroying would never be destruction. Death, the wages of sin, is eternal punishment,
but not eternal punishing; the death will be a permanent death, not forever dying but never dead.
Eternal destruction and eternal punishment are speaking of the permanent results of both, a
destruction and a punishment that will last forever, and is not describing the duration of the
destroying, that it will take forever; not describing a destruction that the destroying will go on
forever but never be destroyed. THERE WILL NEVER BE A RESURRECTION FROM THE
SECOND DEATH, IT IS ETERNAL. Those who teach that a person has a soul that can never be
destroyed make God be forever destroying but never able to completely destroy the lost.
Unconditional immoralists believe God made them destruction proof, and even He cannot destroy
them, but nevertheless He will be trying to destroy them by burning them for all eternity. IT IS
THE DESTRUCTION THAT IS ETERNAL, NOT ETERNALLY DESTROYING.
• Eternal judgment, not eternally judging
• Eternal redemption, not eternally redeeming
• Eternal salvation, not eternally saving
• Eternal sin, not eternally sinning
• Eternal destruction, not eternally destroying
• Eternal punishment, not eternally punishing
• Does anyone think the saving will go on forever?
• Does anyone think the redeeming will go on forever?
• Does anyone think the dying will go on forever but death will never come?
The Bible does not say the lost will receive eternal punishing, eternal destroying, eternal
dying, eternal perishing, but eternal punishment is death, destruction.
None of the above is an endless processes that will go on forever, but rather they have a
permanent result; the result of salvation is being eternally saved, not eternally being saved.
• Eternal judgment is a judgment that happens one time, but the verdict will never be
changed.
• Eternal redemption and eternal salvation is not a saving will be going on for eternity; not
a saving that the saving will never be finished.
• Eternal sin is a sin that happens in this lifetime, but the results will last for eternity.
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• Eternal destruction and punishment is a destruction that the results will last for eternity.
[10]. 1 Peter 4:5 "Ready to judge the living and the dead"
Christ will be ready to judge those who are living at the time of His coming, and those who
have died before He comes. Nothing is said about a spirit or soul in this verse. Nothing is said
about any of the dead being alive and having immortality before the resurrection. Before the
resurrection the dead will be dead, not more alive than when they were alive.
OLD TESTAMENT PASSAGES THAT ARE USED TO PROVE
A PERSON HAS AN IMMORTAL SOUL AND/OR SPIRIT AT BIRTH
This doctrine, "That man cannot die," made it necessity for evil people to have an endless
existence, and this existence has been made into endless torment in a place that has been given
the name Hell; but where did this doctrine or this name came from? The Bible says, "This mortal
must put on immortality" 1 Corinthians 15:53. How can we put on that which we now have on?
Can a person be both mortal and immortal at the same time?
[1]. MADE IN GOD'S IMAGE Genesis 1:27
Most probably the #1 proof text for immortality at birth. The argument is that God is
immortal. A man is in God's image. Therefore, a man must also be immortal. This argument
would make:
• God is immortal. A man is in God's image. Therefore, a man must also be immortal.
• God is omniscient [almighty]. A man is in God's image. Therefore, a man must also be
almighty.
• God is omnipotent [all knowing]. A man is in God's image. Therefore, a man must also
be all knowing.
When God made a man, He did not give him all His characteristics. God is omnipotent
[almighty] and omniscient [all knowing]. A man is not almighty or all knowing although he is in
God's image, but God is both; it does not prove that a person is immortal anymore than it proves a
person is almighty. Animals are "living souls" [Genesis 1:20, 21, 24, 30, 2:19] just as persons are
"living souls," but animals were not created in the image of God; it is not the "living soul" that
makes a person be in the image of God. It is obvious that immortality, not subject to death, is not
the way man is in "image of God," and it is only assumed to be even when the Bible specifically
says otherwise. We now seek immortality [Romans 2:7] and will put on immortality at the
resurrection [1 Corinthians 15:53-54], but we are not now immortal; nor do we now have an
immaterial invisible part of us that has no substance which is now as immortal as it will ever be.
This argument gives the impression that the person making it thinks God has only one attribute,
therefore, if a person is in the image of God, that person must also be just as immortal as God is.
A man is to rule (have authority) over all that God has put under him just as God rules over all.
It maybe that man's authority over all the earth, which none of the other created being of the earth
have, is the way man is in the image of God. The two are without any doubt spoken of in the
same context. Mankind rules over all created beings on earth in a finite way as God does in an
infinite way. Christians "have put on the new man that is being renewed unto knowledge after the
image of him that created him" [Colossians 3:10, See Romans 3:29; 1 Corinthians 15:49;
Ephesians 4:24].
[2]. THE BREATH OF LIFE [Genesis 2]
The breath of life is used to prove God breathed into a person an immortal soul, which He did
not give to lower animals. They overlook the fact that the same writer applies the same
expression to both a person and animals, also to fish and birds. "So they went into the ark to
Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the BREATH OF LIFE...And all flesh that moved on the
earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming that the swarms upon the earth,
and all mankind; of all that was on the dry land, ALL IN WHOSE NOSTRILS WAS THE BREATH
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OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE, DIED " [Genesis 7:15-22 New American Standard Bible, also
Ecclesiastes 3:19-20].
• "Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life and man became a living soul" Genesis 2:7
• "Two of all flesh wherein is the breath of life" Genesis 7:15
• The reverse of Genesis 2:7 "His breath goes forth, he returns to his earth" Psalms 146:4
"Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils" [Isaiah 2:22]. I find it difficult to
understand how anyone can find an immortal soul in this. It is the body that has breath, and that
breath is in its nostrils. Do they think the immortal soul is nothing but breath in the nostrils of
man? As long as the "breath of life" is in his nostrils, a person has "life." When the "breath of
life" is no longer in his nostrils, he no longer has "life." Instead of saying mankind is immortal
and therefore, cannot be destroyed, this is speaking of the frail and perishable nature of a person
that their life depends on the breath in the nostrils.
It is even more difficult to understand how anyone can find an immortal soul that cannot die in
this when it plainly says, "And all mankind; of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils
was the breath of the spirit of life, DIED." Beasts and man BOTH have the breath of life, and
BOTH died. Did souls that cannot die, die? The breath of life is not a living, thinking, conscious
entity that survives death and lives without the body. "Then the Lord God formed man of the dust
from the ground [the body without breath was a lifeless person that could not think, see, speak, or
feel] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life [lives, plural in the Hebrew] and man [the
thing that was made of dust] became a living being [nehphesh]." Not "A living being" was put
into the thing made of dust.
[3]. A LIVING BEING Genesis 2:7
See "USE OF SOUL [NEHPHESH] IN THE OLD TESTAMENT" in the first part of this
chapter, all living beings are a nehphesh. The argument of many seems to be that God made man
out of the elements He had created, then super-added a living being to the man making him a dual
being. It does not say God made a being without life and then put another living being in the
lifeless one. It says God made the man and then put life into him. According to Plato's a soul was
put into the prison house, the body at birth and freed from it at death; while in the prison house of
man, the soul uses its eyes to see, its ears to hear, and uses all the body. If it were a living being
that was put into the body, could it see, hear, etc., before without the eyes and ears of the body,
and can it do so after the death of the body? If the “soul” was not capable of performing these
functions without the body, how can it do so after the death of the body? THE LIFELESS BODY
BECAME A LIVING BEING WHEN GOD BREATHED INTO IT’S NOSTRILS THE
BREATH OF LIFE AND WHEN THE BREATH OF LIFE LEAVES THE BODY, IT
BECOMES A LIFELESS BODY. IT WAS LIFE GIVEN TO THE BODY, NOT AN
IMMORTAL LIVING BEING IMPRISONED IN IT THAT WAS BETTER OFF WITHOUT
THE BODY IN WHICH IT WAS IMPRISONED.
[4]. "YOU SURELY SHALL NOT DIE" [Genesis 3]
WHERE DID THE IDEA OF AN IMMORTAL SOUL ORIGINATE? Not from the first lie
as many believe. Adam and Eve were told, "YOU [not your soul] shall not eat of it; neither shall
YOU [not your soul] touch it lest YOU [not your soul] die." Satan said, "YOU [not your soul]
shall not surely die." They were not told their "souls" would die. THEY [Adam and Eve] not their
"soul" were sent out of the Garden of Eden "lest HE [not his soul] put forth HIS [not his soul]
hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, AND LIVE FOREVER." Not their "immaterial,
invisible" undying soul eats and lives forever.
1. THERE IS NOT ONE WORD ABOUT A SOUL IN GENESIS CHAPTER THREE,
BUT THIS CHAPTER IS USED TO PROVE A PERSON HAS AN IMMORTAL SOUL
THAT CANNOT DIE
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2. THERE IS NOT ONE WORD ABOUT "HELL" IN GENESIS CHAPTER THREE,
BUT THIS CHAPTER IS ALSO USED TO PROVE AN ETERNAL LIFE OF
TORMENT IN HELL.
• God said, "In the day YOU eat it DYING YOU SHALL DIE."
• Eve said, "YOU shall not eat from it or touch it, LEST YOU DIE."
• Satan said, "YOU surely SHALL NOT DIE."
o Satan lie has been added to in today's preaching. It has been changed to be, "Your
body shall die but YOUR SOUL, WHICH IS THE REAL YOU, SHALL SURELY
NOT DIE."
o "And all the days that Adam LIVED were nine hundred and thirty years: and HE
DIED" [Genesis 5:5]. "Adam LIVED...and HE DIED." Today's theology says
not so, “Adam LIVED...and he CONTINUED TO LIVE. Satan right when he
said, ‘you surely shall NOT die’”
The warning for eating of the tree was "YOU shall surely die.” God's sentence for eating of
the tree was "to dust YOU shall return" [not your soul shall return to dust]. In God's statement to
Adam, the personal pronouns "you" and "your" are used about fifteen times (it varies in different
translations). "Then to Adam He said, 'Because YOU have listened to the voice of YOUR wife, and
have eaten from the tree about which I commanded YOU, saying, YOU shall not eat from it;
cursed is the ground because of YOU; in toil YOU shall eat of it all the days of YOUR life. Both
thorns and thistles it shall grow for YOU; and YOU shall eat the plants of the field; by the sweat
of YOUR face YOU shall eat bread, till YOU return to the ground, because from it YOU were
taken; for YOU are dust, and to dust YOU shall return" [New American Standard Version]. The
"YOU" is Adam, not just an immaterial, invisible part of Adam. Those who use this passage to
teach a person has an immortal soul pick one of the many of the "YOU'S" and say only this one is
an immortal part of Adam but say nothing of the others and hope you do not see the others for
their immortal "immaterial, invisible part of man" cannot eat, will not return to the ground, does
not sweat, etc.; the YOU that eat is the same YOU that died; there is nothing obscure or
vague in this statement, language could not be more definite. This passage is used to teach the
doctrine of an immortal soul [nehphesh] even though it says nothing of a soul [nehphesh] or
immortality, and at the same time, death, which is in the passage, is removed and made not to
exist. WHY WOULD AN IMMORTAL, IMMATERIAL SOUL THAT CANNOT DIE HAVE
ANY NEED OF THE TREE OF LIFE TO LIVE? Why do many think God would tell Adam he
would die if God know Adam was immortal and could not die, and why would God take the tree
of life from him “lest he ear and live forever” if God know Adam had an “immortal soul” that
was the only part of him that would live forever, and his “immortal soul” would live forever
without the tree of life?
In “YOU shall surely DIE,” die is from mooth, Strong’s world 4191 and is used repeatedly
through out the Old Testament with reference to the death of mankind, animals, fish, etc., but
never means eternal life with torment. It is “YOU” Adam that would “DIE” just as animals and
fish die, not some part of Adam that could not die that would LIVE some place separated from
God.
It was a real earthly tree with a real earthly fruit that a real earthly person with a real earthly
hand that was told HE would die if HE eats, and a real earthly person that was put out of a real
garden lest HE [not his soul] put forth HIS hand [not his soul's hand], and take also of the real
tree of life by eating the fruit HE would have had in the same hand HE put forth [not his soul
eating], AND LIVE FOREVER. TO WHAT DID LIVING DEPEND ON EATING OF THE
TREE OF LIFE; to Adam, or to an "immaterial, invisible" immortal part of Adam that could not
die even if it did not eat? Would it not be a contradiction to say Adam had an immortal soul that
could not die and must live forever, but it depended on eating of the tree of life to live, or that the
soul that could not die would die if it did not eat of the tree of life? Yet, we are told that all, even
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Adam, have an immortal soul that will live forever, and this deathless soul has no need of the tree
of life, and that this deathless part of a person is the only part of a person that will ever live
forever; therefore, what could the tree of life give to Adam's deathless soul that it did not already
have? Nothing. According to this doctrine Adam’s deathless soul did not lose it’s deathless when
Adam eat of the tree? This doctrine makes the flaming sword useless to keep Adam from the tree
of life so that he may eat and live forever, for it makes Adam live forever if he eats or if he does
not eat.
1. God placed Adam in the garden and gave him access to the tree of life to sustain his life;
his life was dependent on his having access to this tree, not on his being created with
unconditional immortality and not subject to death.
2. Adam was removed from the tree of life “lest he eat and live forever”; his life depended
on his eating of the tree before he sinned. He was not remade, not recreated with a
different body; he had the same body before and after he was put out of the garden, just
did not have access to the tree of life.
It was Adam that God said would die if he ate, not an immortal soul that cannot die. It
was Satan that told Adam would not die if he did eat. Nothing is said by God about Adam
having an immortal deathless soul that could not die. "You shall surely die" is far from saying,
"When you die, a part of you will live and suffer eternal torment" but many read this into it. Was
Adam created mortal or immoral? If immortal, how could he be threatened with death when he
could not die? If he were immortal, he would be death-proof; therefore, God's sentence of death if
he eats would have been a lie.
"It is appointed unto man to die, and after this comes the judgment" [Hebrews 9:27]. Not just
part of a person, not only the body of the man. This is changed to read only your outer shell, and
not the real YOU shall die. "In the day YOU eat thereof YOU shall surely die" is not, "After the
death of your body, your soul, a part of you, shall be eternity alive in Hell and tormented by God"
but this is what many read into it. Some say this is not physical death but a spiritual death. Then
where did physical death come from? What death was passed unto ALL men [Romans 5:12]? Is it
appointed for a man to die, or changed to be it is appointed for only a part of a man to die?
"The first man is of the earth, earthy" [1 Corinthians 15:47; Ecclesiastes 3:20].
• THE DEATH SENTENCE: God: "YOU shall surely die" [Genesis 2:17] versus Satan:
"YOU shall not surely die" [Genesis 3:4].
• THE DEATH SENTENCE REPEATED: "Dust YOU are, and unto dust YOU shall
return" [Genesis 2:19]. The YOU that shall die is the same YOU that shall return to dust.
These words do not point to a continuation of life but to the end of it.
• THE DEATH SENTENCE PASSED TO ALL: "Therefore, just as through one man sin
entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because
all sinned" [Romans 5:12]. As a results of Adam’s sin took him away from the tree of life
and brought death which passed on to all for all are born mortal and do not have access to
the tree of life, all return to dust.
• THE REMEDY FOR THE DEATH THAT CAME THROUGH ADAM'S SIN. "For the
hour is coming, in which ALL THAT ARE IN THE TOMBS shall hear his voice, and
SHALL COME FORTH; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and
those that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment" [John 5:28-29].
Was this sentence of death given to an immortal soul that cannot die? If it is immortal how
could any kind of death sentence be given to it, how could it not live forever? It could not be
subject to death. It would not matter if Adam ate or did not eat for his immaterial invisible
immortal soul could not die. In the fall of Adam and his sentence, nothing is said about an
immortal soul. It was Adam that sinned, Adam that died; and it was through Adam that death
came into the world and passed unto all men, not death passed to all immortal souls [1
Corinthians 15:21-22; Romans 5:12-14]. The penalty to Adam and all his seed is death, not
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eternal life in Hell. There will be a resurrection from the death that came into the world from
Adam's sin.
Today's preachers would tell Adam that he was going to Hell for his sin, but God said not one
word about Hell. "Die" has been changed to "Hell." "Death" has been changed to "life with
torment." Satan said, "YOU surely SHALL NOT DIE." Satan added the "not" and many have
changed his "YOU shall not" to "YOUR SOUL shall not die" to make a person now have an
"immaterial invisible" immortal soul that shall not die.
• GOD: “You shall surely die…dust you are, and unto dust shall you return.”
• TODAY’S PREACHERS: “You shall not surely die…for you are now immortal and will
live forever some place.”
For a person to have an immortal soul two kinds of life and two kinds of death must be read
into Genesis 2 with one of the deaths not being a death at all, but eternal life with torment. Look
in your concordance and you will see that "Spiritual life" or "spiritual death" which is read into
this is not in the Bible. It is argued that Adam did not die physically that day; therefore, "spiritual
death" was Adam's penalty for eating. If this were true, why did he ever die a physical death, and
how did physical death come into the world? In the Hebrew the penalty was "dying YOU shall
die." It was the "living being" [Genesis 2:7] that would die, not an immortal soul that cannot die
but was told that it would die anyway. Death came into the world through Adam and all die [1
Corinthians 15:22; Romans 5:12-21]. "And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and
after this comes judgment" [Hebrews 9:27]. The death that came into the world by Adam's sin is
the same death that he died for eating, a physical death. "By the sweat of your face YOU shall eat
bread, till YOU return to the ground, because from it YOU were taken; for YOU are dust, and to
dust YOU shall return" [Genesis 2:19]. It was not the death of Adam's "soul," an inward
immortal never dying part of Adam that could not die. Adam could not have understood that
YOU was only his body, and that only a part of the YOU would die, but the rest of the YOU
would not die but would live forever in torment unless he had a revelation from God to tell him a
part of him was deathless. There is no such revelation recorded in Genesis although it is
repeatedly read into it today. Adam's undying soul theory is based on the silence recorded in
Genesis two and three.
"No word is said either before the fall, or on the approach of the Judge, or afterwards, of Adam's
possession of a deathless soul, when his mortal integer was broken up; - not a word is uttered in the
divine comment on the curse, of an eternity of misery to be endured by the soul after dissolution of the
Man. Indeed, that notion seems to deserve little else than the scorn, which Locke bestows upon it. It is
the gratuitous invention of theologians who have forfeited the claim to be listened to in that matter by
their perverse departure from the record.” Edward White, Life In Christ, Page 212, 1878.
A definition of death from the Bible, "Till YOU return to the ground, because from it YOU
were taken; for YOU are dust, and to dust YOU shall return," and without the resurrection, all
would forever remain dust. But, God's definition of death cannot be believed by any that believe
the soul is immortal; they tell us that by, “You shall die,” God really means “spiritually death,”
not to really die and return to the ground. The tradition of many makes changing the Bible a must;
how many times have we been told that “YOU shall surely die” means “YOUR SOUL, NOT
YOU shall surely die spiritually?”
ANOTHER USE OF "YOU SHALL SURELY DIE" [the same words in the Hebrew]; Solomon
told Shimei to "Build yourself a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any
whither. For on the day you go out, and pass over the brook Kidron, know you for certain that
YOU SHALL SURELY DIE" [1 Kings 2:37]. He did go out of Jerusalem, and he did die just as
Adam did but not on the very day he went out. “Surely die” is used 19 times in the Old
Testament to mean the death of the person, not a “spiritual death.” Genesis 2:27; 3:4; 20:7;
Numbers 26:65; Judges 13:32; 1 Samuel 14:39; 14:44; 20:31; 22:16; 2 Samuel 12:14; 1 Kings
2:37; 2:42; 2 Kings 1:4; 8:10; Jeremiah 26:8; Ezekiel 3:18; 18:13; 33:8; 33:14.
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IF HELL WERE ADAM'S SENTENCE: "Die" must be changed into an eternal life for a part
of Adam but not his body. If Hell was Adam's sentence then God was unclear in His warning and
unclear in the sentence. What was the penalty God give in Genesis 3:9-24?
1. The serpent cursed
2. Sorrow in bringing forth children
3. The man ruling over his wife
4. The earth bringing forth thorns and thistles
5. Must work to eat, by the sweat of his face
6. They would return to the ground from which they came
HOW CAN ANYONE GET HELL OUT OF THIS SENTENCE? THERE IS NOT ONE
WORD ABOUT AN IMMORTAL, IMMATERIAL PART OF A PERSON IN IT AND NOT
ONE WORD ABOUT HELL OR TORMENT AFTER DEATH IN IT. THERE IS NOTHING
ABOUT ANYTHING AFTER DEATH IN IT. THE PENALTY FOR EATING OF THE
FORBIDDEN TREE ENDED WHEN THEY RETURNED TO THE GROUND.
WHAT IS THE DEATH THAT CAME INTO THE WORLD AND PASSED UNTO ALL
THROUGH ADAM'S SIN?
"It seems a strange way of understanding a law which requires the plainest and direct words, that by death
should be meant eternal life in misery...I must confess that by death, here, I can understand nothing but a
ceasing to be, the losing of all actions of life and sense. Such a death came upon Adam and all his
posterity, by his first disobedience in paradise, under which death they should have lain forever had it not
been for the redemption by Jesus Christ" John Locke, "Reasonableness of Christianity," Volume 6, page 3,
1695
The "soul" as it is used today will live forever if it eats of this fruit or does not eat of it, and the
teaching is that not even God can keep it from living forever. If God had made men with
unconditional immortality, would it have done any good to put him out of the garden to keep him
from eating of the tree of life to live forever? If Adam were made with an immortal undying part,
he would have lived forever and could not have died even if he did not eat of the tree of life.
Adam and Eve passed from a state in the garden where they had access to the tree of life,
where it was possible for them to live forever, to a state where it was impossible for them not to
die. The day they did eat was the beginning of the dying process ["Dying you shall die"]. There is
nothing in this about a person being a dual being with an immortal soul, but most read it into this.
It was the whole person as he was then, which would have lived forever if he had eaten of the tree
of life. It was the whole person, not just some inter part of a person, which God said would die.
HOW COULD AN "IMMATERIAL INVISIBLE" PART OF A PERSON EAT OF A VISIBLE
MATERIAL TREE? Satan's lie was that THEY, not some inter part of them, would not die. The
presence of the "tree of life" in Eden indicates that immortality was conditional on eating of that
tree. To prevent the possibility of being able to "live forever" [Genesis 3:22] God put a barrier to
the garden when Adam was put out of Eden and the dying process began.
The New JOHN GILL Exposition of the Entire Bible "For in the day thou eat thereof thou shalt surely
die; or in dying, die; which denotes the certainty of it...man became at once a mortal creature, who
otherwise continuing in a state of innocence, and by eating of the tree of life, he was allowed to do, would
have lived an immortal life; of the eating of which tree, by sinning he was debarred, his natural life not
now to be continued long, at least not forever; he was immediately arraigned, tried, and condemned to
death, was found guilty of it, and became obnoxious to it, and death at once began to work in him; sin
sowed the seeds of it in his body, and a train of miseries, afflictions, and diseases, began to appear, which
at length issued in death."
YOUNG'S Literal Translation Genesis 2:17 "For in the day of thine eating of it - dying thou dost die."
ADAM CLARKE "Thou shall surely die. Literally, a death thou shall die; or, dying thou shall die-from
that moment thou shall become mortal, and shall continue in a dying state till thou die. This we find
literally accomplished; every moment of man's life may be considered as an act of dying." On Genesis
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2:7: “From that moment thou shall become mortal, and shall continue in a dying state till thou
die.”
JOHN WESLEY "Thou shall die-That is, thou shalt lose all the happiness thou hast either in possession
or prospect; and thou shalt become liable to death, and all the miseries that preface and attend it. This
was threatened as the immediate consequence of sin."
A DOUBLE CHANCE: First change: Adam's death must be made to be a "separation," not death.
Second change: Then his "separation" must be made to be an eternal life of torment in Hell. "For
as in Adam all die" [1 Corinthians 15:22]. If death = separation, and separation = Hell, then all go
to Hell for "in Adam all die."
[5]. "WITHOUT MY FLESH SHALL I SEE GOD" Job 19:25-27
In "Reason and Revelation" May 2000, Dr. Bert Thompson used this question Job asked to
prove a person has a part in him or her that will live after the death of the body. If I understand
him right, he is saying a person without a body will see God. Job said, "Even after my skin is
destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes shall
see and not another." When will anyone see God? Will it be before the resurrection or not unto
after the resurrection? The clear teaching of the Bible is that no one will see God before the
resurrection and than it will be without the body of flesh, but not without a body. "It is sown a
natural body; it is raised a spiritual body" [1 Corinthians 15:44]. No one can see God while in
the natural body, and no one will see God before they are raised from the dead. The dead do not
know anything [Ecclesiastes 9:5] and will not know anything unto the resurrection. He is reading
into this passage that Job is saying he has a part that cannot die, and reading in that it is not Job
but only this immaterial no substance part of Job that will see God without the resurrection.
WHAT WAS JOB REALLY SAYING? Job had much but lost everything and his friends and
wife was telling him it was because he had sinned. The book is made up mostly of speeches by
his threes friends accusing Job of sin and Job's response to them. Earlier in Job's third response he
had said, "For there is hope for a tree, when it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its
shoots will not fail. Though its roots grow old in the ground, and its stump dies in the dry soul, at
the scent of water it will flourish and put forth sprigs like a plant." For a tree that has been cut
down Job sees hope that it will live again. "But man dies and lies prostate. Man expires, and
where is he? As water evaporates from the sea, and a river becomes parched and dried up, so
man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens be no more, he will not awake nor be aroused
out of his sleep." He sees hope of life for a tree cut down but for a person he sees no hope of life
[Job 14:7-12]. In Job's time, what would be understood by "until the heavens be no more"? In the
Old Testament the heavens were thought to be forever, their end was not known about. See
Psalms 89:29, 148:6. In his hopelessness he could see hope for a tree cut down but for person
after death he could see no hope "until the heavens be no more" which he thought would never
be. This is one of the many expressions of hopelessness that are throughout his speeches. He sees
a person as dead, asleep, not as being alive.
In his fifth speech in chapter 19, Job seems to be at his lowest level of hope but in his
hopelessness he may see a ray of hope. "And as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the
last He will take His stand on the earth." Many see Christ as being the redeemer Job was
speaking of, but there is no revelation given at this time from which he could know about Christ
being the redeemer. God was seen as the redeemer and deliverer. See Psalms 19:14; 78:35;
Proverbs 23:11; Jeremiah 50:34. Over and over they sinned and went into bondage and were
delivered when they repented. Even in the time of Christ, the Jews thought their Christ would be
a redeemer of their nation from Rome, not a redeemer from eternal death. "Even after my skin is
destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God," the translators had difficulties with understanding
what the Hebrew says in this passage, the King James says, "in my flesh," the Revised Standard
says, "from my flesh," the American Standard says, "without my flesh," the Revised English Bible
translates this passage, "But I know that vindicator lives and that he will rise last to speak in
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court: I shall discern my witness standing at my side and see my defending counsel, even God
himself, whom I shall see with my own eyes, I myself and no other." Is the fulfillment of this after
God his deliverer had delivered Job. Job 42:5, "I know of you only by report, but now I see you
with my own eyes, therefore I yield, repenting in dust and ashes" The Revised English Bible. His
three friends and his wife accused Job of sin, but he knows he had not sinned, and God, his
redeemer, lived and in the end he would be vindicate. In the end of the book of Job God his
redeemer vindicated him.
It is difficult to read Job and the Old Testament and not read into it things that were not made
known unto the New Testament or things that we have been taught by the theologies of today that
are not in the Bible. The concept of Heaven is in the Old Testament but only as a place where
God and angels are, not as a place where the just would ever be and where they would live
forever. Job would never have said any person would be in Heaven. The resurrection and eternal
life in Heaven was not made known unto the New Testament. See chapter seven, A STRANGE
AND UNEXPLAINABLE SILENCE, THE SILENCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT ON
PUNISHMENT AFTER DEATH. All the rewards and punishments in the Old Testament were in
this lifetime, not after death. The teaching of Christ cannot be read into the words of Job, Daniel,
or anyone in the Old Testament.
[6]. "SHAME AND EVERLASTING CONTEMPT" Daniel 12:2
"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and
some to shame and everlasting CONTEMPT." Who has this "contempt"? "Then THEY shall go
forth and look on the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me for their worm shall
not die, and their fire shall not be quenched: and they shall be an ABHORRENCE to all
mankind" [Isaiah 66:24]. Strong says both CONTEMPT and ABHORRENCE are from the same
Hebrew word. Strong's word # 1860, "To repulse, an object of aversion, abhorring, contempt."
Contempt and abhorrence are the way others think about them. It does not say they will forever
be conscious or in torment, is says nothing about torment, but that others will forever have shame
and contempt for them. IT IS THE CONTEMPT THAT IS SAID TO BE EVERLASTING, NOT
PERSONS. Torment is read into this in an attempt to put Hell in it. How does "everlasting
contempt" by "all mankind" become "everlasting torment" by God? Where is there anything
about God forever tormenting those in "Hell" in this passage?
"And MANY of them that sleep" is not the same "ALL that are in the tombs shall hear his
voice, and shall come forth" [John 5:28]. When this passage is kept in the context of Daniel 11
and 12, Daniel is not speaking of the resurrection at the coming of Christ, but seems to be
speaking of a time of restoration of Israel when MANY would return to God just as Ezekiel
37:11-14 was speaking of a restoration of Israel when many did return to God which Ezekiel
pictured as a resurrection of the dead. See Isaiah 52:1-2; 26:5.
"The belief in the resurrection was nationalistic rather than individualistic." "Afterlife and Eschatology"
at MyJewishLearning.com/ Israel believed God would restore (resurrect) the nation when it sinned and
turned back to God but not in the resurrection of the dead individuals.
"Ezekiel's prophecy referred to a spiritual resurrection of the Jews in Babylon and their return to
Judea; for Jehovah added, 'Son of man these bones are the whole house of Israel'" Homer Hailey, A
Commentary on Daniel, Page 243, 2001, Nevada Publications.
Most, if not all of Daniel chapter 11 and 12 are about Israel coming out of the captivity and
being restored as a nation. If Daniel 12:2 were speaking of the resurrection and judgment at
the second coming of Christ, there could not be a bigger conflict with the orthodoxy
teaching that all go to Heaven or Hell at the moment of death. How could those in Heaven
be asleep "in the dust of the ground"? How could those in Heaven "awake"? How could an
immortal soul that now has everlasting life and cannot die (which some tell us is the only part
of a person that will live in Heaven or Hell), which soul cannot sleep the sleep of death, awake
from the dust of the ground if that immortal soul was alive in Heaven or Hell, not in the
dust of the ground and not asleep? Orthodox teaches that long BEFORE the resurrection and
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judgment day the saved are in Heaven and have everlasting life. The Abraham's bosom version
would also in conflict with it.
[7]. PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW A SOUL IN HELL
IS THE SPIRIT THAT RETURNED TO GOD? Ecclesiastes 12:7
Some of my brothers in Christ, who believe in "Abraham's bosom," and that no one will be in
Heaven or Hell unto after the judgment, use this and other scriptures to prove the soul or spirit,
the only part of a person they think will ever be in Heaven, goes to Heaven at death.
In there own words: "And I wondered why my dear brother did not see the verse just preceding it, which
says, 'And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Where was
Jesus? Stephen saw him alive at the right hand of God. Where could Jesus receive his spirit? He could
receive his spirit only where he was. Where does the spirit go? Eccl. 12:7, 'Then shall the dust return to
the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who give it.' That immortal principle of the human
family that never dies. So they killed the body of Stephen, but Stephen prayed for the Lord to receive his
spirit where he was" L S White, Russell-White Debate, Page 51, 1912, F. L. Rowe Publisher.
When he answered his own question of where is Stephen now before the resurrection, he said
Stephen is now in Heaven, therefore he is saying Stephen is not now in "Abraham's bosom" unto
the resurrection. Sometimes Stephen is said to be in “Abraham’s bosom” and sometimes the same
preachers say Stephen is now in Heaven. I think where they put Stephen depends on what they
are trying to prove at that time. Ecclesiastes 12:7 says the bodies of all returned to the earth and
the spirit [ruach] of all returned to God. Can my brothers not see that if the only part of a person
he believe is immortal and is the only part of a person he believe will be saved or lost, if this is
the part that goes back to God who gives it, HE HAS ALL, BOTH THE SAVED AND THE
UNSAVED, GOING BACK TO GOD IN HEAVEN AT THE TIME OF DEATH? WHAT
HAPPENED TO HIS "HELL?" HE IS SAYING NO ONE GOES TO HELL AT DEATH AND
NO ONE GOES TO ABRAHAM’S BOSOM AT DEATH FOR ALL, BOTH THE SAVED
AND THE LOST RETURN TO GOD. What happened to "Abraham's bosom" the second coming
of Christ, the resurrection, the judgment, and the second death? If no one goes to Heaven at death,
which is what those who believe in "Abraham's bosom" believe, how is it that this immortal part
of a person, which will not go to Heaven unto after the judgment will go back to God at death?
"Do not all go to one place?" [Ecclesiastes 6:6]. The whole chapter of Ecclesiastes 12 is speaking
to all mankind, not just to the saved. ALL are admonished to remember God in their youth before
the evil days of old age, then ALL shall return to dust and the spirit of ALL shall return to God.
No reference is made to their being good or evil at the time of their death. If the spirit of all goes
back to God at death, none will go to Hell. THERE IS NOTHING IN THE SPIRIT
RETURNING TO GOD THAT MAKES THOSE WHO ARE SAVED ANY DIFFERENT
FROM THOSE WHO ARE NOT SAVED. THE SPIRIT OF ALL RETURNS TO GOD; YET,
THOSE WHO USE THIS TO PROVE A PERSON HAS AN IMMORTAL SOUL SAYS, "NO,
SOLOMON WAS WRONG. THE SPIRIT OF THE LOST DOES NOT RETURN TO GOD AT
DEATH, SOME SAYS IT GOES TO HELL AT DEATH AND OTHERS SAYS IT GOES THE
BAD SIDE OF HADES AT DEATH."
1. Does the spirit of the lost go to Hell at death?
2. Or does the spirit of the lost go to the bad side of hades (Abraham’s bosom)?
3. Or does the spirit of all, the lost and the saved, return to God?
Has the zeal to prove Plato's immortal soul, which needs no resurrection, blinded him so he
does not see that he is going both ways at the same time? He believes that after the soul is freed
from the body by death [as Plato put it, freed from its earthly prison] that "it" is just as alive as
"it" will ever be, and when a person dies, he believes that person has everything that is ever going
to be dead, already dead; and everything that will be alive after the resurrection is already alive
and immortal from birth, the soul, the only part of a person that he believes will ever be immortal
he believes is just as alive and just as immortal before death as it will be after death and after the
resurrection.
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The Hebrew word translated “spirit” in Ecclesiastes 12:7 is from Ruach, not from nehphesh,
which is the word that is translated “soul.” Ruach is translated breath, wind, spirit, etc., but never
translated “soul.” It is the breath of life [Genesis 2:7] that came from God and made man “a
living being” and that returns to God. In Ecclesiastes 11:4 it is, “He who watches the wind
[ruach].” If Ecclesiastes 12:7 did prove that a person has an immortal soul that returns to God in
Heaven, then it proves that the same immortal souls preexisted with God in Heaven before the
birth of the body. By misusing this verse to prove a person now has a part that is immortal and it
is this immortal part of a person goes back to God at death then it would prove more than they
want to prove.
It would prove:
1. BEFORE BIRTH: The preexistence of ALL in Heaven. In the part of eternity before
birth ALL would have been safe in Heaven.
2. AT BIRTH: ALL were put out of Heaven and sent down to earth.
3. FROM DEATH UNTO THE RESURRECTION THE BODY: At their death ALL will
go back to Heaven with God unto the judgment. Some of the lost will be in Heaven for
thousands of years before the judgment.
4. AT SECOND COMING: ALL sent back to earth for judgment.
5. AFTER JUDGMENT: ALL go to Heaven or Hell. According to their teaching many who
preexisted in Heaven before their birth (most of mankind) will go to Hell after the
judgment. In the part of eternity that will be after the judgment, they will end up in Hell
with God forever tormenting them. If this view were true, why did God not leave them in
Heaven? Did He want most to be lost where He could torment them forever?
If the spirits that came from God is man’s immortal soul then:
• Birth is changed to be only a moving day from Heaven to earth for a soul that preexisted
in Heaven before birth.
• Death is changed to be only a moving day from earth to Heaven or Hell for a soul that
preexisted in Heaven but had moved to earth.
• From the resurrection onward: For many Protestants, nothing happens. The saved are
resurrected only to return to Heaven where they were before the resurrection and the lost
are resurrected only to return to Hell where they were before the resurrection. Both the
saved, and the unsaved would have to be judged at death to know whether they would go
to Heaven or Hell. They say they believe in the resurrection and the judgment day, but by
their teaching they deny both the Day of Judgment and the Resurrection by making both
impossible.
• Both the saved and the lost preexisted in Heaven but most of them will never return to
Heaven after the judgment.
TODAY'S THEOLOGY TELLS US TWO CONFLICTING THINGS
1. IT SAYS THAT MOST SOULS GO TO HELL AT DEATH AND THAT SOME
SOULS RETURN TO GOD AT DEATH
2. AND AT THE SAME TIME IT USES ECCLESIASTES 12:7 TO SAY ALL SOULS
RETURNS TO GOD AT DEATH
If the immortal soul of all returns to God at death, will the immortal soul of the lost leave God
and go to Hell after the resurrection? The way Ecclesiastes 12:7 is misused to prove a person has
an immortal part that cannot die makes this passage prove:
1. Before birth: Today's theology makes the soul be both alive and immortal; JUST THE
SAME AS THEY SAY IT WAS AT BIRTH AND AS IT WILL ALWAYS BE. The
view of many implies the spirit that came from God was an immortal, conscious,
independent and an intelligent being before it came from God to man, before birth.
2. From birth to death: They make the soul be both alive and immortal; JUST THE SAME
AS THEY SAY IT WAS AT BIRTH AND AS IT WILL ALWAYS BE.
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3. From death unto the resurrection: They make the soul be both alive and immortal; JUST
THE SAME AS THEY SAY IT WAS AT BIRTH AND AS IT WILL ALWAYS BE.
4. From the resurrection onward: They make the soul be both alive and immortal; JUST
THE SAME AS THEY SAY IT WAS AT BIRTH AND AS IT WILL ALWAYS BE.
Soul and spirit are used as if they are the same thing.
According to today's theology the only thing that can change for the soul is its location. Birth,
death, and the resurrection are only three moving days for it. There could not be a real death for
an immortal soul or a real resurrection for a soul that was not dead.
If the spirit that returns to God is an inward part of a person that is immortal, and it came from
God, this inward immortal part of a person had to preexist in Heaven with God before the person
was born. Most do not want preexistence before birth of ALL, neither do they want ALL, both
the saved and the lost going back to Heaven unto second coming of Christ; but if their view were
right, that the spirit is an immortal inter part of a person that came from and them returns to God
at death, there would be no way around it. THE INCORRECT USE OF THIS PASSAGE TO
PROVE A PERSON IS BORN WITH AN IMMORTAL SOUL UNDENIABLY IMPLIES THE
PREEXISTENCE OF THAT SOUL and that at death all souls, the saved and the unsaved, also
the souls of animals, returns to God who is in Heaven.
They prove Universalism, but not the same Universalism taught by the Universalist. If this
"spirit" that returns to God is an immortal soul, they prove all, both good and bad will go to
Heaven at death without the "attitude adjustments" taught by the Universalism; but it may not last
forever for, according to their doctrine, ALL will be taken out of Heaven and return to earth at
the judgment; then if one is a Christian or not a Christian, his spirit that came from God at birth
goes back to Heaven to God at death, but all will leave Heaven for judgment and only some will
go back. If the “spirit” that came from God were an immortal part (soul) of a person them MOST
OF THE ALL THAT WAS WITH GOD IN HEAVEN BEFORE THEIR BIRTH WILL END UP
IN HELL, even if they do not believe what their incorrect use of this passage would prove, it
would still prove it.
IT IS THE "SPIRIT," NOT "AN IMMORTAL SOUL" THAT RETURNS TO GOD. What is
the spirit? "Then the Lord God formed a man of the dust from the ground and BREATHED INTO
HIS NOSTRILS THE BREATH OF LIFE; and man [the body of dust] became a living being [a
soul - nehphesh." - Genesis 2:7]. A body made of dust + the spirit, the breath of life from God
[Genesis 2:7] = a soul, a living creature whether it is a person or an animal. The spirit (breath of
life) all life comes from God whether a person or animal and returns to God. When the life
returns to God, the body returns to dust and we will have no work, device, knowledge, or wisdom
[Ecclesiastes 9:10] unto the resurrection when life comes from God. All life is from God.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 is the reverse of the process in Genesis 2:7.
• Body from the ground + breath of life from God = a soul, a living being [Genesis 2:7].
• Dust returns to the ground - spirit returns to God = a dead being (soul) [Ecclesiastes
12:7].
• Body minus the spirit = a dead soul (a dead being, a person or animal) [James 2:26].
Job said, "If He should gather to Himself His SPIRIT AND HIS BREATH, all flesh would
perish together, and man would return to dust" [Job 34:14-15]. The breath of life came from God
and returns to God, it was not a conscious immortal being before it came from God and is not a
conscious immortal being after it returns to God. The spirit that returns to God at death is not an
immortal soul. It is not the spiritual body that the dead in Christ will put on at the resurrection [1
Corinthians 15:44].
Most Eastern religions, most New Age believers, and many Christians believe in the
preexistence of the soul, literally billions. Many Christians believe God creates a new soul for
each at birth (some at the time of conception-some at the time of the first breath), which they
believe to be only a part of a person that is immortal and it is only this immaterial something in a
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person that will be in Heaven or Hell. However, if Ecclesiastes 12:7 is used to prove a person has
an immortal soul that will live forever, THERE IS NO WAY TO GET AROUND
PREEXISTENCE OF THE SOUL THAT CAME FROM HEAVEN AT BIRTH, OR THAT ALL
(the saved, the lost, and all beasts) WILL GO BACK TO HEAVEN AT DEATH.
It is said that the dead do not know anything is only, "The way the world perceives the dead"
but that is not true. Most of the world at that time, other than the Jews, believed in reincarnation
and the dead had some kind of life and thoughts in the underworld until they were reincarnated.
Egypt where the Jews had come from believed the dead lived and had always lived and would
always live, therefore, they would have had thoughts and known something. Many Pagans
believed the soul has always existed and must always exist, that the soul is self-existence. It has
always been reincarnated and always will be. If a person has an immortal soul that came from
God and will go back to God; it lived before the person was born and will live when the person is
dead. The inescapable conclusion would be that the pagans were right, and all that I am; all that I
think and do is just a temporary passing thing just as my body is. It is only the soul that existed
before me and was put in a prison in my body for a short time and it (not me) will always exist.
This is no surprise for it is just what the pagans teach and is the source from which the church
fathers brought this teaching into the church.
Old age and death are the subject in Ecclesiastes 12:7. All are born and all die and when "it"
the spirit [Ruach-breath of life-See Job 27:3; 33:4] of both men and animals returns to God.
Solomon says it is a vanity, not a blessed event of going home to God [Ecclesiastes 12:7-8].
Those who use the spirit returning to God to prove a person has an immortal soul that returns to
God at death overlook verse 8.
Solomon called the "spirit" an "it." Ecclesiastes 12:7 "And the spirit [ruach] returns to God
who give it." Psalms 104:29-30 "You take away their breath [ruach - sea creature and animals -
see verses 24-25], they die, and return to their dust. You send forth Your spirit [ruach - sea
creature and animals]; they are created." Psalms 146:4 "His breath [ruach] goes forth, he returns
to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." It is not possible to reconcile today's immortal
soul theology or immortal spirit theology with God's word.
Summary: IF THIS SPIRIT THAT RETURNS TO GOD WERE AN IMMORTAL
SOUL, IT WOULD UNDENIABLE BE IN CONFLICT WITH THE TEACHING OF
TODAY'S THEOLOGY THAT LOST SOULS GO TO HELL IMMEDIATELY AT
DEATH AND NOT TO HEAVEN. Why is this one of the most used passages to teach a person
has an immortal soul? Maybe because there is no passage that really teaches it, and this is the best
that can be found.
[8] THE SPIRIT OF MAN AND THE SPIRIT OF BEAST
Ecclesiastes 3:21
If this SPIRIT [ruach] were an immortal soul, then it is like Ecclesiastes 12:7 above in that it
would prove ALL are saved at death. See notes above.
"THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME BREATH [ruach] and there is no advantage for man over
beast"
• "WHO KNOWS that the SPIRIT [ruach] of man" goes up when the body return to the
dust?
• "WHO KNOWS that the SPIRIT [ruach] of beast" goes down when the body return to
the dust?
There is an old saying "That which proves to much proves nothing." The SPIRIT of a person
going up after his death is used to prove a person has a SOUL that does not die when his body
dies, therefore, this soul is immortal. If it does, then the beast having a spirit that goes down after
its death would prove that the beast has a soul just as immortal as a person's soul and that it does
not die when it body of the beast dies, therefore, its soul is immortal. THE "SPIRIT [ruach] OF
A BEAST" AND THE "SPIRIT [ruach] OF A MAN" ARE IN THE SAME SENTENCE
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and both times “spirit” if from the same Hebrew word, THEREFORE, THERE IS NO
WAY TO MAKE ONE "SPIRT" BE AN IMMORTAL SOMETHING THAT CANNOT
DIE AND THE OTHER "SPIRIT" BE ONLY THE LIFE OF THE BODY THAT IS NOT
IMMORTAL. If a beast has a soul or spirit that separates from its body and goes anywhere after
its death, then it is just as alive after its death as the soul of a person would be after it separated
from its body. If the spirit going up proves it is immortal, then the spirit going down would prove
that it is immortal.
This is spoken of ALL MEN, not just the good ones. If it is an immortal spirit going to
Heaven, then both the good and the bad go to Heaven at death, and this was before the death of
Christ. If all were going to Heaven ["up" which they say is back to God in Heaven] at death
before and without the death of Christ, before anyone had ascended to Heaven, why did Christ
die? HAS NOT THE DEATH OF CHRIST BEEN MADE USELESS?
This is a question that Solomon asked but did not give an answer. Yet, many give their
own answer and say, “Yes I know where the spirit of man goes, it goes to up all the way to
Heaven,” and then use their uninspired answer to prove that Solomon said a person has an
immortal soul that goes up to God in Heaven or down to Hell at death. THAT THE LOST ARE
TRANSPORTED DIRECTLY DOWN TO HELL AT DEATH MUCH BE ADDED, FOR IF
NOT, THEY HAVE MADE THIS PASSAGE TEACH ALL WILL BE SAVED AT DEATH,
AND THAT BEFORE AND WITHOUT THE DEATH OF CHRIST. BUT WAS SOLOMON
ASKING WHETHER ANYONE KNOWS THAT THE DEAD GO TO HEAVEN? In the time of
Solomon the Pagans that were all around Israel believed in reincarnation. The doctrine of an
immortal soul as taught today is not in the Old Testament and did not come about unto the Dark
Age. His question might have been to the Pagans asking them how do they know about
reincarnation, how do they know a spirit, or soul of a person or beast goes anywhere after death
and is reincarnated. According to Pagan teaching, all, both persons and beasts do have an
immortal soul and they believe this soul goes somewhere after death. He asked by what authority
do you know this; how did they know some reincarnated down to a lower life and some up to a
higher life? Their only answer would be none. They had no revelation, no way to know about
reincarnation but human reasoning.
Unconditional immortality must change what Solomon said. He said, "For the fate of the sons
of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the
same breath [ruach] and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. All go to the
same place, All come from the dust and all return to the dust. [After clearly saying man and beast
go to the same place, he is made to say in the next sentence that they do not go to the same place].
Who knows that the breath [ruach] of man ascends upward and the breath [ruach] of beast
descends downward to the earth?" His question must be changed into a statement of fact that is a
direct contradiction of what he had just said for it to teach today's theology. Solomon says the
living knows something, but the dead do not know anything. [Ecclesiastes 9:5]. He did not say,
"Dead bodies do not know anything." There is no way anyone can say the dead know anything
unless they say Solomon did not tell the truth for if the dead go immediately to Heaven or Hell at
death they do know something. How could they be in torment in Hell if those in Hell do not know
anything?
[9] LIFE DEPARTING AND RETURNING 1 Kings 17:2
"Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the Lord, and said, 'O
Lord my God, I pray Thee, let this child's LIFE [nehphesh] return to him.'" [1 Kings 17:21 New
American Standard Version]. The same Hebrew word is used in Genesis 1:30. "And to everything
that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is LIFE [nehphesh]." Nehphesh is translated "life" or
"lives" 108 times in the King James Version. A person having an immortal part that is not subject
to death is not in this passage. Since the child later died again, he was still mortal after this
resurrection, just as mortal as before.
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Passages that speak of life departing and returning (to the body)
1 Kings 17:21
• "And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said,
O Lord my God, I pray thee, let the child's SOUL [life - nehphesh] come into him again.
And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the SOUL [life - nehphesh] of the child came
into him again, and he revived" King James Version.
• "Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the Lord, and said,
'O Lord my God, I pray Thee, let this child's LIFE [nehphesh] return to him,' And the
Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the LIFE [nehphesh] of the child returned to him and
he revived" New American Standard Bible.
• "Then he stretched himself out on the body three times and cried to the Lord, 'O Lord my
God, let this boy's LIFE [nehphesh] return to him!' The Lord heard Elijah's cry, and the
boy's LIFE [nehphesh] returned to him and he lived" New International Version.
• "He called out to the Lord: 'O Lord, my God, will you afflict even the widow with whom I
am staying by killing her son?' Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times
and called out to the Lord: 'O Lord, my God, let the LIFE BREATH [nehphesh] return to
the body of this child.' The Lord heard the prayer of Elijah; the LIFE BREATH
[nehphesh] returned to the child's body and he revived" The New American Bible.
Genesis 35:18
• "And it came to pass as her SOUL [life - nehphesh] was in departing (for she died)" King
James Version.
• "As she BREATHED HER LAST [nehphesh] -for she was dying" New International
Version.
• "Then with her LAST BREATH [nehphesh], as she was dying" Revised English Bible.
• "As she LAY DYING [nehphesh], she named the boy" New Century Version.
• "Rachel was about to die, but with her LAST BREATH [nehphesh] she named him
Bensni" New Living Bible.
• "With her LAST BREATH [nehphesh]...for she was at the point of death" The New
American Bible.
An immortal undying part of a person can be read into this only by applying today's meaning
of the English word "soul" to the Hebrew word "nehphesh" See Acts 20:9-10. It was "LIFE" that
departed, not some inter immortal part of a person that cannot die departing for Heaven or Hell
before and without the Judgment. Psalm 104:29-30 "You take away their SPIRIT [ruach-sea
creature and animals-see verses 24-25], they expire, and return to their dust. You send forth Your
SPIRIT [ruach-sea creature and animals] they are created."
[10] GATHERED TO HIS PEOPLE Genesis 25:8-9
See chapter three.
[11] DAVID'S SON 2 Samuel 12:23
"I shall go to him, but he will not return to me" 2 Samuel 12:23. How and where did David
think he would go to his son? See [10] above. Many years after David's death, Peter says David
has not gone to Heaven [Acts 2:29].
[12] SAMUEL OR A DEMON 1 Samuel 28:7-28
From the days of the "church fathers," it has been debated whether this was Samuel or a
demon. Those who believe in an immortal "immaterial, invisible part of man" say this was
Samuel to prove all are living after death. If it were Samuel, then it proves he was in the earth or
the ground [in sheol - the grave]. Whether it was Samuel or a demon, he "came up out of the
earth." Saul said, "Bring UP Samuel," not "Bring DOWN Samuel from Heaven." "And the
woman said to Saul, I see a divine being COMING UP OUT OF THE EARTH," not coming down
from Heaven [1 Samuel 28:13]. This being did not come from Heaven or Hell. An immortal
"immaterial, invisible part of man" being in the earth is not what is believe by many today and
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she would not have been able to see an invisible spirit. If it were Samuel, instead of proving he
was alive, it proves he was dead and in the grave. To bring one back from the dead is a
resurrection of the dead; if not, why not? If it were Samuel, it would have been as all the other
temporary resurrections of the Bible. Lazarus and other temporary resurrections lived a normal
human life and died as all others do. They were not raised immortal. They were raised still in the
image of Adam, not immortal, not with the spiritual body in the image of Christ. If this were a
resurrection of Samuel, then Samuel knew that he would be back in the grave the next day;
therefore, he was not raised immortal. How can this be used to prove a person now has a
part that is immortal? A temporary resurrection of Samuel from the grave or an evil spirit
impersonating Samuel would tell us nothing of life after death or that a person now has an
immortal "immaterial, invisible part.
SAUL DID NOT BELIEVE TODAY'S THEOLOGY THAT THE DEAD ARE IN HEAVEN;
HE BELIEVED THEY ARE IN THE EARTH. HE ASKED THE WOMEN TO "BRING UP"
SAMUEL, NOT "BRING DOWN" SAMUEL.
• "And BRING UP for me whom I shall name to you" [1 Samuel 28:8]
• "Whom shall I BRING UP for you?" [1 Samuel 28:11]
• "I see a divine being COMING UP OUT OF THE EARTH" [1 Samuel 28:13]
• "Why have you disturbed me BY BRINGING ME UP?" [1 Samuel 28:15]
If this were Samuel, it would be a contradiction to today's theology of the saved going to
Heaven at death for Samuel would be UP IN HEAVEN without the resurrection, not DOWN IN
THE GRAVE (sheol – hades) unto the resurrection of the dead. It must first be assumed that there
is a part of a person that is now immortal and cannot die, then assumed that a person using
witchcraft can call a “soul” out of Heaven which is where those who believe that this was the soul
of Samuel believed his soul was, for they believe that the saved go to Heaven at the moment of
death, then assumed that an “immaterial, invisible part of man (soul)” can be seen but only by
the person using witchcraft, not by Saul. Would not this make Satan and those who practice
witchcraft have the power to actually reach into Heaven and remove a “soul?”
Familiar spirits are spirits of devils [See Numbers 25:13]. God had forbid dealing with familiar
spirits. Their interpretation of this passage supports Spiritualism, communication with the spirits
of the dead, the "New Age" movement of the channeling craze with spirits of the dead, and neardeath
experiences. It shows us that Satan has been successful in making his lie, "You shall not
die" be believed, and even today he is using these to promote it. There are so few passages that
they can use to teach we have an immortal "immaterial, invisible part of man" that they are
willing to use it despite the problems it creates for them. “So Saul died for his trespass which he
committed against the Lord, because of the word of the Lord which he did not keep; and also
because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it, and did not inquire of the Lord.
Therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse” [1 Chronicles 10:13-
14].
WHAT ABOUT "ABRAHAM'S BOSOM"? Those who believe all go to the good or bad side
of hades believe none can come back to earth. How is it that they have Samuel coming back from
the good side of hades and telling Saul that he would be with him in Abraham’s bosom the next
day? It would not only teach that the living can converse with the those in hades but also teaches
a witch can bring someone back to earth from hades (or Heaven) even when they did want to
come.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT
IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL AND/OR SPIRIT?
Nothing. Together soul and spirit are used almost 1,100 times in the King James Version, but
not one time is immortal even used in the same verse with either one. Immortal and immortality
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are in the Old Testament 0 times, in the New Testament, immortal one time, immortality five
times, all by Paul. What does he say?
1. Only God has immortality [1 Timothy 6:16].
2. "Now unto the King eternal, immortal" [1 Timothy 1:17].
3. Christ "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" [2
Timothy 1:10].
4. "To them (Christians) that...seek for glory and honor and incorruption, (immortality in
King James Version) eternal life" [Romans 2:7].
5. "This mortal must put on immortality" [1 Corinthians 15:53] at the resurrection.
6. "This mortal shall have put on immortality" [1 Corinthians 15:54] after the resurrection.
Why are we to "seek for" that which we are born with? Why will we "put on immortality" if
the only part of us that will ever be immortal, has been immortal from birth (or before birth)? The
fact that a person must "seek for...immortality" and immortality must be "put on" at the
resurrection is conclusive proof that a person does not now have it. If Romans 2:7 and 1
Corinthians 15:53 teaches nothing more, it teaches that no part of a person now possess
immortality.
SEEK FOR IMMORTALITY: "To those who by perseverance in doing good seek [zeeteo]
for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life" [Romans 2:7]. Zeeteo is used 119 times in the
New Testament and is always some thing that the person that is seeking for but does not have.
• "But seek [zeeteo] you first the kingdom" [Matthew 6:33].
• "Seeking [zeeteo] of him a sign from heaven" [Mark 8:11].
• "For Herod will seek [zeeteo] the young child" [Matthew 2:13].
• "For I seek [zeeteo] not your's but you" [2 Corinthians 12;14].
• "In doing good seek [zeeteo] for glory and honor and immortality" [Romans 2:7].
PUT ON IMMORTALITY: "For this perishable must put on [enduno] the imperishable,
and this mortal must put on [enduno] immortality. But when this perishable will have put on
[enduno] the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on [enduno] immortality" [1
Corinthians 15:53-54]; most every one understands that a person cannot put on something they
have on.
• "Be not anxious for your life...nor yet for your body, what you shall put on [enduno]
[Matthew 6:25]
• "Put not on [enduno] two coats" [Mark 6:9]
• "Put on [enduno] the whole armor of God" [Ephesians 6:11]
We seek for that which we do not have, we put on that which we do not have on. It is so
simple that only those who do not want to see will not see it.
If a person is made immortal from birth and is now immortal, how is it that only God has
immortality? If only God has immortality at this present time, then being "created in the image of
God" cannot mean a person was created with immortality.
CORRUPTION AND MORTAL: Both are used throughout the Bible, but incorruption and
immortal are used only by Paul, and are never used referring to the lost or never to the soul or to
the spirit. Immortality was brought to light by the Gospel, and will be "put on" by the saved at the
judgment. It is never said the lost will ever “put on immortality” or that they will ever have
either incorruption or immortality, or that anyone (lost or saved) has immortality before
the resurrection. There is not one verse that teaches all men, good and bad are born with an
immortal soul that can never die; and God cannot kill it. An "immaterial invisible" part of a
person called an "immortal soul" is not in the Bible. If this doctrine is not changing the Bible, it
cannot be changed. FOR A PERSON TO HAVE A SOUL AND/OR SPIRIT, WHICH WILL
LIVE FOREVER IN HEAVEN OR HELL, THAT PERSON MUST NOW HAVE
IMMORTALITY. According to the teaching of some, the soul is the only part of a person
that will ever be immortal and it is now as immortal as it will ever be. This teaching makes
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Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 15:53, "This mortal must put on immortality" not possible;
this mortal person must put on immortality, not this already immortal soul must put on
immortality. With today's teaching, there is no sense to what Paul said for it would make him be
saying "this immortal (soul) must put on immortality" and become an immortal soul at the
resurrection.
• If we now have a soul that is not corruptible, how can that soul "put on incorruption"
which it now has?
• If we now have a soul that is now immortal, how can that soul "put on immortality"
which it now has?
• If we now have a soul that cannot die, how can that soul inherit "eternal life" which it
now has?
What is the part of a person that is now mortal but will put on immortality [1 Corinthians
15:53]? IT COULD NOT BE A SOUL THAT IS NOW IMMORTAL THAT WILL PUT ON
IMMORTALITY AT THE RESURRECTION, BUT A PERSON THAT IS NOW MORTAL
THAT WILL PUT ON IMMORTALITY AT THE RESURRECTION. "This mortal" is a person
as he now is in the image of Adam and will become an immortal person with a spiritual body in
the image of Christ. Only the body will be different, not the person.
1. The doctrine and precepts of man. An immortal soul from birth-the soul, which many
teach is the only part of a person that will ever be immortal, would already be immortal
before the resurrection.
2. Bible doctrine. A mortal person will put on immortality at the resurrection [1 Corinthians
15:53]. BOTH CANNOT BE TRUE.
• NOT ONE PASSAGE IN THE WHOLE BIBLE SAYS A PERSON IS NOW
IMMORTAL.
• NOT ONE PASSAGE IN THE WHOLE BIBLE SAYS A PERSON HAS AN
IMMORTAL SOUL.
• NOT ONE PASSAGE IN THE WHOLE BIBLE SAYS A PERSON HAS AN
IMMORTAL SPIRIT.
The Bible is not silent on this question for there are many passages that say loud and clear that
all are now mortal and not one that say any person will be immortal before the resurrection.
Three words are translated immortal and incorruptible in the New Testament. Not one
time are they used referring to the soul; every time they are used referring to a person, not just to
an "immaterial invisible part of man." Immortality is always something a person will have but
does not now have. Only when they are used referring to God are they in the present tense. When
used referring to a person they are always in the future tense.
1. ATHANASIA (immortality) is used three times, Wigram Englishman's Greek
Concordance, Page 15. Not one of them is used referring to a person now in this life
before the resurrection or to a no substance invisible part of a person. IMMORTALITY
[ATHANASIA] IS NEVER USED REFERRING TO THE LOST.
o Athanasia used referring to God.
(1) 1 Timothy 6:16 "Who alone possesses IMMORTALITY [athanasia]
and dwells in unapproachable light" God has immortality now.
o Athanasia used referring to a person only after the resurrection, not to a part of a
person in this lifetime.
(2) 1 Corinthians 15:53 "This mortal must put on IMMORTALITY
[athanasia]."
(3) 1 Corinthians 15:54 "But when...this mortal shall have put on
IMMORTALITY [athanasia]." Immortality for a person is in the future,
not the present. He must put it on.
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2. APHTHARTOS (incorruptible) is used seven times, Wigram Englishman's Greek
Concordance, Page 97. Not one of the seven is used referring to a person or to a no
substance part of a person now in this life.
o Aphthartos used referring to God.
(1) Romans 1:23 "The glory of the INCORRUPTIBLE [aphthartos]
God." In this passage man now being corruptible is in contrast with God
being incorruptible.
(2) 1 Timothy 1:17 "Now unto the King eternal, IMMORTAL
[aphthartos], invisible, the only God."
o Aphthartos used referring to a person only after the resurrection.
(3) 1 Corinthians 15:52 "And the dead shall be raised INCORRUPTIBLE
[aphthartos], and we shall be changed."
o Aphthartos used referring to our inheritance after the resurrection.
(4) 1 Peter 1:4 "Who...begat us again...unto an inheritance
INCORRUPTIBLE [aphthartos], and undefiled, and that fades not away,
reserved in heaven for you."
o Aphthartos used referring to our crown we will receive after the resurrection.
(5) 1 Corinthians 9:25 "Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown;
but we an INCORRUPTIBLE [aphthartos]." (An incorruptible crown,
not an incorruptible soul).
o Aphthartos used referring to the word of God.
(6) 1 Peter 1:23 "Having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed,
but of INCORRUPTIBLE [aphthartos], through the word of God, which
lives and abides forever."
o Aphthartos used referring to our adorning.
(7) 1 Peter 3:4 "But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in the
INCORRUPTIBLE [aphthartos] apparel of a meek and quiet spirit."
3. APHTHARSIA (incorruption – uncorruptness) is used eight times, Wigram Englishman's
Greek Concordance, Page 97. Not one of them is used referring to a person or an
immortal "immaterial, invisible part of man" now in this life.
o Aphtharsia used referring to a person only after the resurrection, something we
seek for but do not now have (the body we will have, not soul).
(1) Romans 2:7 "Who will render to every man according to his works:
to them that...seek for glory and honor and INCORRUPTION
[aphtharsia], eternal life."
(2) 1 Corinthians 15:42 "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is
sown in corruption; it is raised in INCORRUPTION [aphtharsia]."
(3) (4) and (5) 1 Corinthians 15:50, 15:53 and 15:54 "Now...flesh and
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit
INCORRUPTION [aphtharsia]. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall
not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of
an eye, at the last trump: for the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and
we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on INCORRUPTION
[aphtharsia], and this mortal must put on immorality [thanasia]. But,
when this corruptible shall have put on INCORRUPTION [aphtharsia],
and this mortal shall have put on immortality [thanasia]."
(6) 2 Timothy 1:10 "Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life
and IMMORTALITY [aphtharsia] to light through the gospel." The only
way we can know about immortality after the resurrection is through the
gospel, not from philosophy or science.
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o Aphtharsia used referring to our love for Christ.
(7) Ephesians 6:24 "Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus
Christ with a love INCORRUPTIBLE [aphtharsia]."
o Aphtharsia used referring to our doctrine.
(8 Titus 2:7 "In all things showing yourself an ensample of good works;
in your doctrine showing UNCORRUPTNESS [aphtharsia], gravity,
sound speech."
Immortality or uncorruption is not used in the Old Testament. Eternal is used in the King
James Version two times. It is used referring to God one time, "The eternal God" Deuteronomy
33:27, and is used in Isaiah 60:15. The doctrine that God made a person with an immortal soul
that cannot cease to exist, and that even God cannot destroy this part of a person is based on
pagan philosophy, not on the word of God, therefore, the argument that the lost must live
somewhere for they cannot cease to exist is also based on pagan philosophy.
IF A PERSON WERE BORN WITH A PART THAT IS NOW IMMORTAL AND NOT
SUBJECT TO DEATH, WOULD IT NOT BE STRANGE THAT THERE IS BUT ONE CLEAR
PASSAGE IN THE ENTIRE BIBLE WHICH SAYS "YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE"
[Genesis 3:4] AND IT IS FROM THE FATHER OF LIES [John 8:44].
THE MANY VIEWS OF "SOUL" and/or "SPIRIT"
A BRIEF REVIEW OF SOME OF THE MANY DIVISIONS IN WHAT PEOPLE BELIEVE
ABOUT IMMORTALITY AND THE SOUL. Views of the soul that require death to mean
eternal life somewhere, and that all men are deathless and possess immortality inherently at
or before birth.
1. THE PAGAN VIEW OF REINCARNATION OF THE SOUL. Ancient Egyptian
belief was that the soul had a gloomy existence in the underworld (transmigration). The
Greeks and Romans believed almost the same with some changes. Oriental and
Pythagorean philosophy, Hindus, Burmans, Buddhists, and Grand Lama all believed in
some form of reincarnation. They believed the "soul" of the evil had some punishment,
but not all believed it had the same punishment. Today, worldwide there are more who
believe in reincarnation than all other afterlife beliefs combined. Many religions that are
not Christian believe in some form of reincarnation.
2. THE CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT VIEW. Mankind is born with an immortal
soul that can never die or be destroyed. A very small percent will go to Heaven at death
but most will go to Hell.
3. THE HADES VIEW. This view is that no one goes to Heaven or Hell at death but the
saved are rewarded in a place many call Abraham's bosom, and the lost are tormented
before they are judged, before the resurrection and judgment. Death is changed to eternal
life but not life in Heaven or Hell.
4. THE UNIVERSALIST VIEW. All will be saved. Those who do not obey Christ in this
lifetime will have an "attitude adjustment" after death and all will end up in Heaven with
none in Hell.
5. THE RESURRECTION TO IMMORTAL LIFE ON THE RESTORED EARTH.
This view is that the earthly body will be raised immortal restored to be like Adam before
his sin on a restored earth. No one's soul will be immortal in Heaven or Hell. Some
believe the lost will be raised with the same mortal bodies we now have, and Christ will
return to earth and will rule forever over the earth from Jerusalem; and the lost will
literally be cast into Gehenna, which will have been restored.
6. Many other minor views in religions around the world.
o There are some minor differences within all the above views. The fate of those
who do not obey Christ is made to fit with their view of immortality. Protestants
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now have many minor differences and some differences that in no way could be
called minor.
7. THE BIBLE VIEW. It does not teach the natural immortality of a person or any part of
a person at birth. All are now mortal. Those in Christ will be raised immortal at the
coming of Christ. All others will be raised to judgment and will have their part in the lake
of fire, which is the second death.
HISTORICAL PROOF
OF THE CHANGING OF THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE
THE HEATHENIZING OF THE CHURCH IN THE MEDIEVAL DARK AGE: The Bible
teaching were changed by bringing into the church the doctrines of Purgatory, the sale of
indulgences, an immortal soul, Hell, going to Heaven or Hell at death without the judgment,
worship of Mary and saints, Nether World, Holy Water, forbidding eating of meat on Friday,
candle-burning, and many other teachings.
[1] TERTULLIAN: Often known as the father of the Latin Church. "How indeed, shall the soul mount up to
heaven, where Christ is already sitting at the Father's right hand, when as yet the archangel's trumpet has not been
heard by the command of God. When as yet those whom the coming of the Lord is to find on the earth, have not
been caught up into the air to meet Him at His coming, in company with the dead in Christ, who shall be the first to
arise? To no one is heaven opened" Treatise on the Soul, Chapter 55. The Catholic Church would now call anyone
who teaches this a heretic [See 1 Thessalonians 4:13].
[2] MARTIN LUTHER: "Solomon judged that the dead are asleep, and feel nothing at all. For the dead lie there
accomplishing nether days not years, but then they are awaked, they shall seem to have slept scarce one minute."
"An exposition of "Ecclesiastes or the Preacher" 1573. In Luther's Defense, proposition 27. "Now, if one would say
that Abraham's soul lives with God but his body is dead, this distinction is rubbish. I will attack it. One must say,
'The whole Abraham, the whole man shall live.' The other way you tear off a part of Abraham and say, 'It lives.' This
is the way the philosophers speak: 'Afterward the soul departed from its domicile,' etc. That would be a silly soul if
it were in heaven and desired its body" Luther's Works, Volume 54, Page 447. Luther called the theory of the
immortality of the soul the "monstrous fables that form part of the Roman dunghill of decretals." E. Petavel, The
Problem of Immortality, Page 255.
[3] PAUL ALTHAUS, “The hope of the early church centered on the resurrection of the Last Day. It is this which
first calls the dead into eternal life (1 Cor. 15; Phil. 3:21). This resurrection happens to the man and not only to the
body. Paul speaks of the resurrection not ‘of the body’ but ‘of the dead.’ This understanding of the resurrection
implicitly understands death as also affecting the whole man…Thus the original Biblical concepts have been
replaced by ideas from Hellenistic Gnostic dualism. The New Testament idea of the resurrection which affects the
whole man has had to give way to the immortality of the soul. The Last Day also loses its significance, for souls have
received all that is decisively important long before this. Eschatological tension is no longer strongly directed to the
day of Jesus’ Coming. The difference between this and the hope of the New Testament is very great” “The Theology
Of Martin Luther” pages 413-414, 1966.
[4] JOHN WESLEY "It is indeed generally supposed that the souls of good men as soon as dislodged from the
body, go directly to heaven, but this opinion has not the least foundation in the oracles of God" From Wesley's
sermon on Luke 16:23.
[5] WILLIAM TYNDALE translated the first English New Testament, "In putting them (sleeping souls) in heaven,
hell or purgatory, you destroy the arguments wherewith Christ and Paul proves the resurrection...if the souls be in
heaven, tell me why they be not in as good a case as the angels be? And then what cause is there of a
resurrection...The true faith put forth the resurrection, which we be warned to look for every hour. The heathen
philosophers, denying that, did put that the souls did ever live. And the pope join the
spiritual doctrine of Christ and the fleshy doctrine of philosophers together: things so contrary
that they cannot agree...And because the fleshy-minded pope consented unto heathen doctrine, therefore, he
corrupted the Scripture to establish it." bk. 4, chapter 4, pages 108-109, in 1530, and also in Burns, "Christian
Moralism,” Page 99. Tyndale (like Luther) said it was heathen philosophers and the Pope, not the Bible that taught,
"souls did ever live."
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[6] JOHN DARBY: "We would express our conviction, then the idea of the immortality of the soul has no source
in the gospel; that it comes, on the contrary, from the Platonists, and that it was just when the coming of Christ was
denied in the church, or at least began to be lost sight of, that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul came in to
replace that of the resurrection. This was about the time of Origen." "The Hopes of the Church of God" Only in the
early editions before what he said was changed by other persons.
Greek philosophy of an immortal soul was first bought into the church by the so-called church
fathers that were believers in the Greek philosophy, and were only partly converted. They know
more about the teaching of Plato than they did of Christ. It did not become commonly accepted
unto after Tertullian in the third century. It was fought bitterly by Martin Luther, William
Tyndale, and many others as being a part of the false Catholic doctrine. It was eventually
accepted by most Protestant Churches, but only after a long fight. Most today know little or
nothing of all this, and think the doctrine of an immortal soul was held by almost all, even back in
the Old Testament.
NOTE: The teachings of many founders of the Protestant Reformation are an embarrassment
to the Protestants Churches today, which bear their name and or claim them as their founders. The
teaching of the churches they founded now makes them be heretics. Their own churches would
now call anyone teaching the same as Luther and Wesley heretics.
Calvin might have been the leading influence in turning the Protestant Reformation back to
Catholicism. Dr Joseph Priestley said, "Had it not been for the authority of Calvin, who wrote
expressly against soul sleep, the doctrine of an intermediate conscious state would, in all
probability, have been as effectually exploded as the doctrine of purgatory itself" Works, Volume
5, Page 229, 1818.
[7] JAMIESON, FAUSSET AND BROWN: "Nowhere is the immortality of the soul, distinct from the
body, taught: A notion which many erroneously have derived from heathen philosophers. Scripture does not
look for the anomalous state brought about by death, as the consummation to be earnestly looked for [2 Cor. 5:4],
but the resurrection." Notes on 1 Corinthians 15:53.
[8] STRONG: "A breathing creature, i.e. animal..." word number 5315. "Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Of The Bible."
[9] W. E. VINE: "A Noun soul; self; life; person; heart...it occurs over 780 times in Old Testament...the
noun refers to the essence of life, the act of breathing, taking breath...in its primary sense the
noun appears in its first occurrence in Gen 1:20; 'the moving creature that has life,' and in
its second occurrence in Gen 2:7; 'living soul... HOWEVER, IN OVER 400 LATER
OCCURRENCES IT IS TRANSLATED 'SOUL.' WHILE THIS SERVES TO MAKE SENSE IN MOST
PASSAGES, IT IS AN UNFORTUNATE MISTRANSLATION OF THE TERM. The real difficulty of
the term is seen in the inability of almost all English translations to find a consistent
equivalent or even a small group of high-frequency equivalents for the term. The KJV alone
uses over 28 different English terms for this one Hebrew word...in narrative or historical
passages of the Old Testament, NEPES CAN BE TRANSLATED AS 'LIFE' OR 'SELF' as in
Leviticus 17:11; 'for the life of the flesh is in the blood... NEEDLESS TO SAY, THE READING
'SOUL' IS MEANINGLESS IN SUCH A TEXT...THE VERSIONS VERY WIDELY IN THE READING OF NEPES,
WITH THE MORE CONTEMPORARY VERSIONS CASTING WIDELY FOR MEANING," Page 237 Old Testament,
"Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary Of Old And New Testament Words." It did not change its meaning in the
second part of the Old Testament, but the translators of the early English Bibles had to put in their beliefs, and later
translators, those that are called "the major translations" have only partly gotten away from this mistakes, but a few
of the latest translations have almost made it.
[10] THAYER: "1. Breath...a. the breath of life...b. life...2. The soul...a. the seat of the feelings, desires, affections,
aversions (our soul, heart, etc.)." "A Greek-English Lexicon Of The New Testament."
[11] ROBERT YOUNG, author of Young's Literal Translation of the Bible says "Animal soul...Nehphesh" Page 917
"It (nehphesh_ does not denote the immortal part of man, but his animal life." "Young's Analytical Concordance To
The Bible."
[12] INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA: "Not, however, to dwell on the fact that many
peoples have no clear conception of an immaterial 'soul' in the modern sense (the Egyptians, e. g. distinguished
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several parts, the Ka, the Ba, etc., which survived death; often the surviving self is simply a ghostly resemblance of
the earthly self, nourished with food, offerings, etc.), there is the more serious consideration that the state into
which the surviving part is supposed to enter as death is anything but a state which can be described as 'life,' or
worthy to be dignified with the name 'immortality.' It is a state peculiar to 'death;' in most cases, shadowy, inert,
feeble, dependent, joyless; a state to be dreaded and shrunk from, not one to be hoped for. If, on the other hand,
as in the hope of immortality among the nobler heathen, it is conceived of, as for some, a state of happiness-the
clog of the body being shaken off-this yields the idea, which has passed into so much of our modern thinking, of an
'immortality of the soul,' of an imperishableness of the spiritual part, sometimes supposed to extend backward as
well as forward; an inherent indestructibility." From the article "Immortal; Immortality." Also from the International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia, "We are influenced always more or less by the Greek, Platonic idea
that the body dies, yet the soul is immortal. Such an idea is utterly contrary to the Israelite
consciousness and is nowhere found in the Old Testament" From the article "Death," Page 812. Also
from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, "Soul, like spirit, has various shades of meaning in the O.T.,
which may be summarized as follows: 'Soul,' 'living being,' 'life,' 'self,' 'person,' 'desire,' 'appetite,'
'emotion' and 'passion'...Nehphesh or soul, can only denote the individual life with a
material organization or body." Page 2837. "For the Hebrews a person was a unity, not to be divided into
body, soul, and spirit as the Greeks did," Page 592.
[13] INTERPRETER’S DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE: “No biblical text authorizes the statement that the soul is
separated from the body at the moment of death” Volume one, page 802.
[14] JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA: "The belief that the soul continues its existence after the dissolution of the body
is a matter of philosophical or theological speculation rather than of simple faith, and is accordingly, nowhere
taught in the Holy Scripture...The belief in the immortality of the soul came to the Jews from
contact with Greek thought and chiefly through the philosophy of Plato, its principal
exponent, who was led to it through Orphic and Dleusinian mysteries in which Babylonian
and Egyptian views were strangely blended," "Immortality of the Soul," 1925. The concept of punishment
after death is not in the Old Testament. The Law given through Moses deals only with punishment in this life and
has no provisions for punishment after death. From their contact with pagan philosophy, the pagan immortal soul
teaching had made some inroads with some Jews by the time of Christ. Paul warned about this Philosophy
[Colossians 2:8].
[15] FUNK AND WAGNALL ENCYCLOPEDIA: “The Christian doctrine of the immortal soul has been strongly
influenced by pagans such as Plato and Aristotle.”
[16] C. R. GRESHAM: "It is generally conceived that there is little about resurrection or after-life in what the Jews
called the Torah...and the Former Prophets...Death is seen as the end, the destruction of human existence." Page
25. "Man's soul is primarily his vitality, his life, not some separate part of a person that has independent existence
and an immortal nature, God's spirit (His breath, His power) creates and sustains all living things (Ps 33:6; 104:29-
30), even the human spirit (Zech 12:1), but never is man's soul or spirit seen as an immortal part of man surviving
death." Page 40. "The widespread misunderstanding that the New Testament teaches the immortality of the soul...If
one recognizes that death and eternal life in the New Testament are always bound up the Christ-event, then it
becomes clear that for the first Christians the soul is not intrinsically immortal, but rather became so only through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ." Page 275. "What The Bible Says About Resurrection" The College Press, 1983.
(church of Christ)
[17] ADAM CLARKE: "The doctrine of the resurrection appears to have been thought of much more
consequence among the primitive Christians than it is now! How is this? The apostles were continually insisting on
it, and exciting the followers of God to diligence, obedience, and cheerfulness through it. And their successors in
the present day seldom mention it! So apostles preached, and so primitive Christians believed; so we preach, and
so our hearers believe. There is not a doctrine in the gospel on which more stress is laid; and there is not a doctrine
in the present system of preaching which is treated with more neglect" Commentary on I Corinthians 15.
[18] WILLIAM ENFIELD: "Very soon after the rise of Christianity, many persons, who had been educated in the
schools of the philosophers, becoming converts to the Christian faith, the doctrines of the Grecian sects, and
especially Platonism, were interwoven with the simple truths of pure religion. As the Eclectic philosophy spread,
Heathen and Christian doctrines were still more intimately blended, till, at last, both were almost entirely lost in the
thick clouds of ignorance and barbarism which covered the earth" History of Philosophy.
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[19] HOMER HAILEY: "Time passed and innovations came into the Church. When untaught individuals became
nominal Christians, changes were made. Attitudes were no longer as they were in former years, and the pattern was
altered. The pristine simplicity was gradually marred and covered, until little of the original simple plan of God
could be recognized. Ambitions began to manifest themselves when pagan philosophies became a substitute for the
word of God. Over time, darkness descended upon the face of the earth and the light of truth was covered by
ignorance and superstition" From my class note in 1957 at Florida College. (church of Christ)
[20] JERRY CROSS: "When Jesus was on earth he didn't speak of immortality, but rather of eternal life. The
Greeks taught that the soul had a natural and innate quality to enable it to pass through death and resist
corruption. But, Jesus taught that our 'immortality' is anchored in a life-relationship with God. Jesus was a teacher
of 'eternal life,' but Plato of the 'immortality of the soul.' Today these expressions are often confusingly used as
synonyms. Yet, they spring from two different sources, one from Greek philosophy, the other from New Testament
Christianity... It is very easy to read the term 'soul' or 'spirit' in the English Bible and impart modern western
philosophical beliefs into the terms. With Plato and (much later) Descartes, Western thinking became very much
dualistic in its view of man. A person is composed, according to this view, of material, extended, substance (body)
and immaterial, non-extended, substance (mind). The soul is the imperishable element that is housed in a bodily
prison. Therefore, when western man hears the term 'soul,' he thinks of that element of himself that is confined
within his body that is destined to live forever. The presentation of 'soul' in the Hebrew Old Testament is quite
different however...the Old Testament presents man as an 'animated body' which is a 'complex of parts, drawing life
and activity from a breath-soul, which has no existence apart from the body'" Magnolia Bible College 1984 Lectures,
Page 48 and 49. (church of Christ)
[21] SAMUEL DAWSON: "You may be surprised to learn that most, if not all, of our popular concepts of Hell can
be found in the writings of Roman Catholic writers...None of our concepts of Hell can be found in the teaching of
Jesus Christ! You know how indignant we get at the mention of purgatory-we know that's not in the Bible. You may
also find out that our popular concepts of Hell came from the same place that purgatory did-Roman Catholicism"
"Jesus' Teaching On Hell," Page 13. A free copy of this book at: www.gospelthemes.com. (church of Christ)
[22] CURTIS DICKINSON: "There is not one scripture to support the idea that man is an immortal soul living for
the moment in a temple of clay, and that when the body dies the man goes on living...It might come as a surprise to
some to know that the term immortal is never used in scripture in connection with soul or man's spirit" "What The
Bible Teaches About Immortality And Future Punishment," Page 8 and 9. (church of Christ)
[23] JOHN SCOTT: "Genesis 2:7 is the classic statement of the uniting of flesh and spirit. Here, we have the
creature of flesh and bone created from the dust and then brought into a living existence by the Lord blowing into
man's nostrils the breath of life. The phrase 'became a living soul' is the same Hebrew phrase used in verse 19
referring to 'every living creature,' that is, to the beasts and birds as other forms of life. In this sense of the word
then, man is not distinguished from the animal world as far as life is concerned by the use of these special terms
...The nehphesh may even be said to die [Judges 16:30], but nehphesh is never used of the spirit of the
dead; in fact, nowhere is the suggestion made that the soul survives the man whose life it
was in the Old Testament" Harding Graduate School Lectures, 1971, Pages 130-131, Gospel Advocate
Company. (church of Christ)
[24] ROGER DICKSON: "A general meaning would be that the soul has reference to any animate being of life
that has sense perception ... thus, the soul would be the life principle of an individual" "Life, Death and Beyond,"
Biblical Research Library, Page 45. (church of Christ)
[25] ELIAS SMITH: Often referred to as "Elder" Elias Smith. "This year, in June, my attention was called to think
of the real state of the wicked after the last judgment. Before this time, I had taken for truth the old pagan doctrine
of 'eternal misery' for the wicked. In June, 1804, being in Mr. Holmes' bookstore, in Boston, I asked him if he had
any new publications. He handed me Evan's Sketch. On opening the book my eyes first fixed on the word,
'destructionists.' I read one page, and concluded, people who held the wicked would be destroyed, were in strange
error, as no such thing ever before entered my mind. I bought the book. Often after that the destruction of the
wicked would pass through my mind, though I supposed eternal misery was recorded in the Bible. In April 1805, I
concluded one day to take my Bible and concordance, and find eternal misery, and not have my mind any longer
troubled about destruction. I examined the words misery, miserable, and miserably; and found there was not one
place in the Bible where the word was used to describe the state of man beyond death. Next I looked for the word
torment, and found that was limited, and that there was no torment mentioned beyond the Day of Judgment. I
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then looked at the words destroy, destruction, death, second death, perish, consumed, perdition, burnt up, end,
etc. I examined the similitudes used to describe the end of the wicked, such as chaff and stubble burnt up; dry trees
cast into the fire, and tares burnt up; the fat of lambs consumed, whirlwinds, a dream, and noise. All these things
proved to me that at the last judgment, the wicked would be punished with everlasting destruction, which would
be their end. My mind was settled upon the subject; but concluded to keep my discovery to myself; as the people
were almost distracted with having so many new things; such as that God was one and not three, and that all rules
but the Bible was useless, and that salvation was free for all. My first preaching and writing disturbed the clergy and
the wicked; the next disturbed the Baptists, and I was about certain, if this were known, it would disturb my
brethren with whom I was connected. I kept it back as long as duty would suffer me, and was constrained at last to
make it known, or preach no more. It made some stir, but people bore it as well as could be expected. Soon after
preaching it, I wrote and published five sermons upon the subject, which has never been answered to this day."
The Life, Conversion, Preaching, Travel and Sufferings of Elias Smith, 1886, Page 347. (church of Christ)
[26] AL MAXEY: "The Maxey-Thrasher Debate" A debate on the eternal destiny of the wicked between two
Gospel preachers, church of Christ. "'Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living SOUL/being' (Genesis 2:7). Some traditionalists virtually
equate this last phrase (living soul) with 'immortal soul.' But, that is NOT what the passage says. God put breath
within this body and the body became a living being. The exact same words are used of animals in the Scriptures.
Further, it doesn't say man was GIVEN a soul. It says man BECAME a soul. Big difference!" Free on the web at:
http://www.zianet.com/maxey/MxThrshr.htm(church of Christ)
[27] ROBERT DOZIER: "Dozier-Johnson Debate," The eternal destiny of the wicked by a Gospel preacher,
church of Christ. "But Gehenna was all about destroying that which was dumped there. There were not cries of
never ending conscious pain coming out of the bodies cast there. No conscious torment, just destruction of trash,
carcasses of animals, and some dead human bodies. It was all about death and destruction. That is what those who
heard Jesus speak of Gehenna would think of. Jesus spoke of the wicked and lost as being cast into Gehenna
AFTER God killed them (Luke 12:5)." Free on the web at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Religiousdebates/message/1408(church of Christ)
[28] MOSES E. LARD: "'For the wages of sin is death' it always pays. Whether the sinner stipulates for his wages
or not, he is sure to receive it. What the wages of sin are, the apostle here tells us: it is eternal death. How
astounding the fact that so many should serve for such a reward!" Commentary on Romans from “The Restoration
Library” Page 218, 1875, Gospel Light Publishing Company, and also his book "Do The Holy Scriptures Teach The
Endlessness Of Future Punishment?" I have been unable to find a copy of his book but found this about it by Steven
Clark Goad in “church of Christ Christian Podcast.” He said in a recent conversation he had with Jimmy Allen of
Harding University, Jimmy Allen said that he was rethinking and restudying the traditional understanding of hell.
That Jimmy Allen of Harding University shared with him more than confidentiality he would not be allow to repeat,
but Jimmy Allen at Harding University sent him a copy of a paper by Moses E. Lard, 1879, “Do the Holy Scriptures
Teach the Endlessness of Future Punishment?” Steven Clark Goad said this booklet by Moses E. Lord is a
magnificent word study of the Greek word aion draws many of the conclusions he had outlined at:
http://www.godsmessageontheweb.net/2010/07/25/thoughts-on-punishment-of-the-wicked/ and this booklet by Lard points out that his
understanding is not new or something a few harebrained fanatics have recently thought up to stir controversy.
(church of Christ)
[29] F. LaGARD SMITH: Teacher at David Lipscomb University, “If, as we are told at funerals, out loved ones are
already in heaven with Jesus, what is the purpose of Christ’s Coming and the Resurrection?” After Life, A Glimpse Of
Eternity Beyond Death’s Door. (church of Christ)
[30] ROBERTSON L. WHITESIDE: "If you serve sin, you need not doubt as to what your wages are to be, nor as
to whether you will be paid in full. The final reward for your service to sin is eternal death" A New Commentary On
Paul's Letter To The Saints At Rome, Page 142, 1945. (church of Christ)
[31] B. W. JOHNSON: “For the wages of sin. Sin is a master of his servants and pays wages. The wages is death,
one of the saddest, but profoundest truths of the world. But the gift of God. God gives to those who turn from sin,
life eternal” The People’s New Testament With Notes, Gospel Light Publishing Company. (church of Christ)
[32] E. M. ZERR: "It denotes, therefore, that a life devoted to the service of sin will earn or merit the wages of
death, not physical death, for all have to go through that, but the second death, designated in Revelation 21:8."
Bible Commentary, Volume 5, Page 360, Copyrighted 1952 by E. M Zerr. (church of Christ)
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[33] LEROY GARRETT: “Nowhere in Scripture will you find the idea that God bestows upon the wicked
everlasting (unending) life or immortality so that he can then torment them forever in hell fire. The
wicked die forever for two reasons: they do not have the gift of immortality, and they have to receive the
wages earned for their life of sin, which is death.” Restoration Review, November 2990, “Is Hell Fire Endless?”
(church of Christ)
[34] STEVEN CLARK GOAD: “Our present traditional view of hell, borrowed from Catholicism and
paganism, is no more biblical than their doctrine of limbo,” “Thoughts on Punishment of the Wicked”
church of Christ Christian Ekklesia Podcast http://www.godsmessageontheweb.net/2010/07/25/thoughts-onpunishment-
of-the-wicked/(church of Christ)
[35] JEREMY K. MORITZ: “I grew up in the church. For many years, I believed in the traditional view of
Heaven and Hell—that souls are taken from the body immediately following death and are placed in either
Heaven or Hell where they will spend eternity in bliss or unending torture. This is what most of the
Christian church right now believes. For the last six or seven years, however, I have found countless
scriptures that have changed my thinking considerably in this area. It seems to me that nearly the entire
Bible teaches that eternal life is only experienced in Heaven, that Hell is a place of complete destruction
and annihilation.” “HELL: Eternal Torment or Complete Annihilation?”
http://www.jeremyandchristine.com/articles/eternal.php(church of Christ)
[36] ASHLEY S. JOHNSON: “Does the doctrine of endless punishment harmonize with the fundamental
principles underlying God’s government that the hopelessly wicked, the incorrigibley wicked, shall be blotted out?
Trace his dealings with the nations through the centuries. On this principle he destroyed the antediluvians (Gen.
5:1-7; 7:1-24). Also Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen., 18:20,21). Also Korah and his rebels (Num., 16:31-33). Also he
made provision for the utter destruction of idolaters (Deut., 12:13-18). Also the Egyptians (Ex., 14:1-31). Also
Babylon (Isa., 13:19-220.Moses predicted the destruction of the incorrigible (Deut., 18:18, 19). So did Peter (Acts,
3:22,23). John had a vision of the day (Rev., 3:13-21). Why should this be God’s method of getting rid of the wicked
all through history if he is to suddenly change it at the judgment day, and consign all his sinful creatures to torment
and punish that all alike and that without end? I cannot answer. Can you?” Founder and president of the
Johnson Bible College, “The Resurrection And The Future Life,” Page 432-433, 1913, Knoxville
Lithographing Company, (church of Christ).
[37] DILLARD THURMAN, Brown Trail Church of Christ: "The hope and aspiration of many has been
shifted from His coming again to receive His own, to an immediate immortality and heavenly bliss
immediately at death! Jesus DID NOT promise that!" Gospel Minutes, Volume 34, Number 5, February 1,
1985, (church of Christ).
[38] E. D. SLOUGH “Punishment lasts so long as its results last, and where death has been administered
for the satisfaction of crime, THE PUNISMENT CONTINUES TILL LIFE IS RESTORED, AND IF NEVER
RESTORED, IT IS AN EVERLSATING PUNISHMENT. Lost of property, loss of liberty, loss of life, may all be
meted out to the transgressors under the label of punishment. And death as the capital punishment,
legalized on the statutes of all civilized nations of the world, is the highest punishment man can inflict—or
so recognized,--being the deprivation of life, the first source of all pleasures and enjoyments, and
recognized as being forfeited for certain crimes.” “The Indictment Of Eternal Torment—The Self-negation
Of A Monstrous Doctrine,” Page 196-197, F. L. Rowe, Publisher, 1914, (evangelist, church of Christ).
[39] OREN ORAHOOD and many other in the restoration movement and after (church of Christ).
[40] CHURCH FATHERS: The early so-called church fathers, Clement of Rome [said to be a companion of Paul],
Ignatius [killed 107], Theophilus [died 181], Justin Martyr [killed 166], Tatian, Irenaeus, and others of the second
century writers believed in conditional immortality. It was not unto the end the second and the third century that
the doctrine of an immortal soul gained a foothold in the church.
J. A. Beeth summed it up very well. "The phrase, the soul immortal, so frequent and
conspicuous in the writings of Plato, we have not found in pre-Christian literature
outside the influence of Greek philosophy; nor have we found it in Christian literature
until the latter part of the second century. We have noticed that all the earliest Christian
writers who use this phrase were familiar with the teaching of Plato; that one of these,
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Tertullian, expressly refers both the phrase and doctrine to him; and that the early
Christian writers never support this doctrine by appeals to the Bible, but only by
arguments similar to those of Plato...We have failed to find any trace of this doctrine in
the Bible...It is altogether alien, both in phrase and thought, to the teaching of Christ
and His apostles" Immortality Of The Soul, Pages 53, 54. Tertullian is truthful about where his belief came
from and said he based it on Plato, not the Bible. He said, "For some things are known even by nature: the
immortality of the soul, for instance, is held by many...I may use, therefore, the opinion of a Plato, when he
declares, 'Every soul is immortal'" Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 3, Page 1916.
JUSTIN MARTYR: Killed about A. D. 166. The Greek doctrine of an immortal soul was believed by some in
his time and opposed by him and others of the Church Fathers. He said, "For if you have fallen in with
some who are called Christians, but who do not admit this...who say there is no
resurrection of the dead, and that their souls, when they die, are taken to heaven; do
not imagine that they are Christians." The First Apology Of Justin, Edinburgh Edition, Page 480.
IRENAEUS MARTYR: Died about A. D. 202, a pupil of Polycarp, Martyr A. D. 147 said, “Some who are
reckoned among the orthodox to beyond the prearranged plan for the exaltation of the just, and are ignorant
of the methods by which they are disciplined beforehand for incorruption; they entertain heretical opinions.
For the heretics…affirm that immediately upon their death they shall pass above to
heavens. Those persons, therefore, who reject a resurrection affecting the whole man, and do their best to
remove it from the Christian scheme, know nothing as to the plan of resurrection” Ante-Nicene Fathers,
Eerdmans Publishing, Volume one, page 560. "It is the Father of all who IMPART CONTINUANCE FOREVER
AND EVER TO THOSE WHO ARE SAVED. FOR LIFE DOES NOT ARISE FROM US, NOR FROM OUR OWN
NATURE; but it is bestowed according to the grace of God. And therefore he who shall preserve the
life bestowed on him, and give thanks to Him who imparted it, SHALL RECEIVE ALSO
LENGTH OF DAYS FOREVER AND EVER, But he who shall reject it, and prove himself
ungrateful to his Maker, inasmuch as he has been created and has not recognized Him
who bestowed the gift upon him, DEPRIVES HIMSELF OF CONTINUANCE FOREVER AND
EVER. And for this reason the Lord declared to those who showed themselves ungrateful towards Him: 'If you
have not been faithful in that which is little, who will give you that which is great?'--indicating that those who in
this brief temporal life have shown themselves ungrateful to Him who bestowed it, SHALL JUSTLY NOT
RECEIVE FROM HIM LENGTH OF DAYS FOREVER AND EVER." Edinburgh Edition, Volume 1, Page 252.
ORIGEN Died A. D. 235: Mosheim said, "The foundation of all his faults was, that he fully believed nothing
to be more true and certain than what the philosophy he received from Ammonius taught him respecting God,
the world, souls, demons, etc. and therefore he in a measure recast and remolded the doctrines of Christ after
the pattern of that philosophy" Historical Commentaries, Volume 2, Page 159.
The early non-inspired writers used Bible statements, which are used by both sides. Two examples:
1. An example: When an early writer quoted Matthew 10:28, "God is able to destroy...soul [psukee]," it is
used today by the unconditional immoralists to prove the church fathers believed God will not destroy
the soul [psukee], and by the conditional immoralists to prove the church fathers did believe God can
and will destroy the soul [psukee]. Both sides assume that the early non-inspired writers understood the
word "soul" [psukee] and other words just as they do. Therefore, both sides have many quotations from
the early writers. The first and second century writers used Greek, and the word they used was "psukee"
not the English word "soul" but the unconditional immoralists translate it "soul" and then apply today's
English meaning, an undying part of a person to "psukee." Conditional immoralists read the same writers
and say the early writers used "psukee" as the Hebrew word "nehphesh" is used in Genesis, a "living
creature."
2. Another example: When Matthew 5:22 is quoted by the church father, they wrote in Greek and used
"Gehenna" just as Christ did. Some English translations of the church fathers change Gehenna into Hell.
They change one proper noun, the name if a particular place [Gehenna] into another proper noun, the
name of another particular place [Hell] just as the King James Version did. When the early writers used
"Gehenna," the way they are translated or the way they are mistranslated makes them say what the
translator wanted them to say.
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THE VIEW OF THE CHURCH FATHERS ON DEATH according to Henry Constable in "The Duration And Nature
Of Future Punishment," 1871.
• Barnabas, Died A. D. 90. Believed the penalty of sin is ETERNAL DEATH.
• Clemens Romanus, Died A. D. 100. Believed the penalty of sin is ETERNAL DEATH.
• Hermas, Died A. D. 104. Believed the penalty of sin is ETERNAL DEATH.
• Ignatius, Martyr, Died A. D. 107. Believed the penalty of sin is ETERNAL DEATH.
• Polycarp, Martyr, Died A. D. 147. Believed the penalty of sin is ETERNAL DEATH.
• Justin Martyr, Died A. D. 164. Believed the penalty of sin is ETERNAL DEATH.
• Theophilus of Antioch, Died A. D. 183. Believed the penalty of sin is ETERNAL DEATH.
• Athenagoras, Died A. D. 190. Believed "YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE."
• Tatian, Died A.D. 200. Believed "YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE."
• Irenaeus Martyr, Died A. D. 202. Believed the penalty of sin is ETERNAL DEATH.
• Clemens Alexandrinus, Died A. D. 212. Believed the penalty of sin is ETERNAL DEATH.
• Tertullian, Died A. D. 235. Believed "YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE."
• Hippolytus, Died A. D. 235. Believed "YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE."
• Origen, Died A. D. 235. Believed UNIVERSAL RESTORATION.
• Amobios, Died A. D. 303. Believed the penalty of sin is ETERNAL DEATH.
• Augustine, Died A. D. 430. Believed "YOU SHALL NOT SURELY DIE." The Encyclopedia Britannica says of
Augustine, "He fused the religion of the New Testament with the Platonic tradition of Greek philosophy."
From the above, it is clear that it was not unto near the end of the second century that "the wages of sin is
eternal life with torment" was first believed. By teaching the resurrection, both the Bible and most of the early
Church Fathers denied emphatically the unconditional immortally of the soul.
"THE STORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH BETWEEN PENTECOST OF 31 A. D. AND THE COUNCIL
OF NICEA IN 325 A. D., ALMOST 300 YEARS LATER, IS AN AMAZING STORY. IT IS THE STORY OF
HOW YESTERDAY'S ORTHODOXY BECAME TODAY'S HERESY AND HOW OLD
HERESIES CAME TO BE CONSIDERED ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. IT IS THE
STORY OF HOW CHURCH TRADITION AND THE TEACHING OF THE BISHOPS CAME
TO SUPERSEDE THE WORD OF GOD AS A SOURCE OF DOCTRINE. IT IS A STORY
THAT IS STRANGER THEN FICTION, YET IS HISTORICALLY VERIFIABLE." John H. Ogwyn,
"God's Church Through The Ages."
“Educated in Platonism, they (church fathers) did not like to renounce it, and flattered themselves that
they might, with great advantage to the cause of Christianity, bring at least a portion of their old learning
into its service. Some brought less, some more, according as they were more or less thoroughly
acquainted with Christianity. But on one point they were substantially agreed. All of them, with Tertullian,
adopted in the sense of Plato Plato’s sentiment—‘Every soul is immortal.’ On this point Plato took rank,
not among prophets and apostles, but above all prophets and apostles. A doctrine which neither Old
Testament nor New taught directly or indirectly, nay, which was contrary to a great part of the teaching of
both, these Fathers brought in with them into the Church, and thus gave to the old Sage of the Academy a
greater authority and a wider influence by far than he had ever attained or ever dreamed of attaining. It
was in effect Plato teaching in the Church, under the supposed authority of Christ and his Apostles,
doctrine subversive of, and contrary to, the doctrine, which they had one and all maintained. This dogma
of Plato was made the rigid rule for the interpretation of Scripture. No Scripture, no matter what its
language, could be interpreted in a sense inconsistent with Plato’s theory. Christ, and Paul, and John, all
were forced to Platonise. The deduction of reason, half doubted by Plato himself, was by these Platonising
Fathers palmed off on men’s minds as the teaching of revelation” Henry Constable, Duration And Nature
Of future Punishment, 1871.
"Very soon after the rise of Christianity, many persons, who had been educated in the schools of the
philosophers, becoming converts to the Christian faith, the doctrines of the Grecian sects, and especially
Platonism, were interwoven with the simple truths of pure religion. As the Eclectic philosophy spread,
Heathen and Christian doctrines were still more intimately blended, till, at last, both were almost entirely
lost in the thick clouds of ignorance and barbarism which covered the earth." W. Enfield, "The History Of
Philosophy."
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"The doctrine of hell evolved long after the core doctrines of the historic Christian faith were
established. The views of the early Church fathers about hell were far from unanimous. It took the
Christian community hundreds of years to come up with a consensus on the issue. The majority view -
that hell is a place of eternal fiery torment - emerged only after a long debate within the Church. By the
Middle Ages, the concept of a fiery underworld had become a dominant element in people's minds"
www.inplainsite.org
To fully document the apostasy that took place is beyond the scope of this book, but I have
given enough to show those who have never read the history of the early church that there was a
great apostasy with many changes in the beliefs and doctrines. The falling away Paul foretold did
happen. "Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first,
and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself
above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God,
displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was
telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be
revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, only he who now restrains will do so
until he is taken out of the way. And then, that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will
slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is,
the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false
wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not
receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason God will send upon them a
deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged
who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness" [2 Thessalonians 2:3-12; See 1
Timothy 4:1-3]. This apostasy led to the church of the Dark Age with its Pope who sits in the
place of God and is worshiped as God. Paul said the falling away would come. History says it did
come. The Catholic Church says there was no falling away. The Protestant Reformation says
there was an apostasy, but they reformed the Catholic Church with many churches that teach
many conductivity things. As Hailey said, "Attitudes were no longer as they were in former years,
and the pattern was altered. The pristine simplicity was gradually marred and covered, until little
of the original simple plan of God could be recognized." The second coming of Christ and the
resurrection was made to have little or no value by the doctrine of going to Heaven at death or
after spending some time in Purgatory. The heart of the beliefs and hopes of the early church, the
coming of Christ and the resurrection from the dead, was put into the background. The Church
was not faithful one day and an apostate church the next day. The falling away took centuries.
There were many changes, and every change had many who fought it. But, the falling away did
come. The teaching of Christ on the resurrection of the dead was replaced by the teaching of Plato
[the Heathenizing of the church with the pagan teaching of an immortal soul] along with many
others: Purgatory, Limbo, worshiping of Mary and saints, etc. One by one, at first only a few in a
congregation, but eventually the entire congregation were teaching the doctrines of man and not
that of Christ.
Early in the Reformation there were many who did not believe, "You shall not surely die," but the Church of England and Calvin
opposed them. A few of the many books by well known ministers, teachers, professors, Doctors, mostly orthodox Protestants or
church of Christ ministers teaching that mankind does not have a part that is immortal from birth. That life after death is dependent of
the resurrection, not on an immortal soul.
1. Tertullian, "Treatise on the Soul" Chapter 55
2. Martin Luther, E. Petavel, "The Problem of Immortality" Page 255
3. John Wesley, "Wesley's sermon on Luke 16:23"
4. William Tundale, "Christian Moralism" Page 99
5. Ashey S. Johnson, "The Resurrection And The Future Life" 1913 (church of Christ)
6. Elias Smith, (Often referred to as "Elder" Elias Smith) "The Life, Conversion, Preaching, Travel and Sufferings of Elias Smith,
1886 (church of Christ)
7. Dr. Joseph Priestley, "Corruptions Christianity" in Works (1818), Volume 5, Page 229
8. Edward Fudge, "The Fire That Consumes" 1982 (church of Christ)
9. R. O. Overton, "Man's Mortality," 1643
10. Moses E. Lord, "Do The Holy Scriptures Teach The Endlessness Of Future Punishment?" (church of Christ)
11. John Milton, "Treatise of Christian Doctrine" Volume. 1, chapter 13
119
12. Homer Hailey, "God's Judgments and Punishments" 2003 (church of Christ)
13. John Jackson, "A Dissertation on Matter and Spirit," 1735, "The Belief of a Future State" 1745, "A Clear Distinction Between
True and False Religion" 1750
14. Dr. Joseph Priestley, "Disquisitions Relating to Matter and Spirit" in Works, Volume 3
15. F. LaGard Smith, "After Life, A Glimpse of Eternity Beyond Death's Door" 2003, Lipscomb University (church of Christ)
16. Bishop Edmund Law, "The State of the Dead," 1765 (Appendix)
17. Curtis Dickinson, "What The Bible Teaches About Immortality And Future Punishment" (church of Christ)
18. Archdeacon Blackburne, "A Short Historical View of the Controversy Concerning the Intermediate State" 1765
19. Samuel Bourn, "Christian Doctrine of Future Punishment" 1759
20. Dr. William Whiston, "The Eternity of Hell - Torments Considered" 1740
21. Prof. Henry Dodwell, "The Natural Mortality of Human Souls" 1708
22. Dr. William Thomson, "The Thought of Death" in the Bampton Lecture, 1862
23. Archbishop J. Tillotson, Works, 1717, Volume 1, Page 749
24. Dr. William Coward, "A Survey of the Search After Souls" and "Further Thoughts Concerning the Human Soul" 1703
25. E. D. Slough, "Indictment Of Eternal Torment—The Self-negation of a Monstrous Doctrine," 1914, (church of Christ)
26. Roger E. Dickson, "Life, Death, and Beyond" 1998 (church of Christ)
27. Henry Layton, "A Search After Souls" 1706
28. Russell Boatman, "The End Time" 1980 (church of Christ)
29. Clark Pinnock, "Four Views On Hell" 1992
30. Dr. Edward White, "Life in Christ" 1846, "That Unknown Country" and "Immortality, a Clerical Symposium" "The Unspeakable
Gift" (1884)
31. Jerry Cross, "Magnolia Bible College 1984 Lectures" Page 48 and 49 (church of Christ)
32. Dr. John Thomas, "Final extinction of wicked; immortality a gift through Christ"
33. John Scott, "Harding Graduate School Lectures" 1971 (church of Christ)
34. H. H. Dobney, "Notes of Lectures on Future Punishment" 1844
35. Archbishop R. Whately, "A View of the Scriptural Revelations Concerning a Future State"
36. Sidney Hatch, Th. M., "Daring to Differ: Adventures in Conditional Immortality" 1991
37. James Panton Ham, "Life and Death; or, The Theology of the Bible in Relation to Human Mortality" 1849
38. Charles F. Hudson, "Debt and Grace as Related to the Doctrine of a Future Life" 1857, "Christ Our Life, The Scriptural Argument
for Immortality Through Christ Alone" 1860
39. Samuele Bacchiocchi, "Immortality or Resurrection?" 1997
40. Dean Frenerick W., "Farrar, Mercy and Judgment" 1881
41. Dr. Robert W. Dale, "Edward White, His Life and Work" 1902
42. J. W. Hanson D.D., "The Hell Bible"
43. Samuel G. Dawson, "Jesus' Teaching on Hell" 1996 (church of Christ)
44. Canon Henry Constable, "Hades: or the Intermediate State of Man Restitution of All Things" "The Duration and Nature of Future
Punishment"
45.Bishop John J. S. Perowne, "Hulsean Lectures on Immortality" 1868
46. Sir George Stokes, "That Unknown Country (A Symposium)" 1889, "Immortality, a Clerical Symposium"
47. Dr. W. A. Brown, "The Christian Hope" 1912
48. Dr. R. F. Weymouth translated The New Testament in Modern Speech. Note on 1 Corinthians 15:18: "By 'perish' the Apostle here
apparently means 'pass out of existence'"
49. Dr. William Temple, "Christian Faith and Life" 1931; Drew Lecture on Immortality, 1931, "Nature, Man and God" 1953
50. Dr. Aubrey R. Vine, "An Approach to Christology" 1948
51. Dr. Lyman Abbott, "That Unknown Country" 1889
52. Dr. Emmanuel Petavel-Ollieff, "The Struggle for Eternal Life" "The Extinction of Evil" 1889, "The Problem of Immortality"
53. H. Pettingell, "The Theological Trilemma (Endless Misery) Universal Salvation, or Conditional Immortality" 1878, "Platonism
versus Christianity" 1881, "The Life Everlasting: What Is It? Whence Is It? Whose Is It?" 1882, "The Unspeakable Gift" 1884
54. Al Maxey, "The Maxey-Thrasher Debate" (church of Christ)
55. Eric Lewis, "Life and Immortality" 1949. "Christ, the First Fruits" 1949
56. Dr. Basiil F. C. Atkinson, In "The Pocket Commentary of the Bible" Part One: Book of Genesis, 1954 Comment on Genesis 2:7:,
Part 1, Book of Genesis, Page 32
57. DR. T. A. Kantonen, "The Christian Hope" 1954
58. Robert Dozier, "Dozier-Johnson Debate" (church of Christ)
59. DR. D. R. G. Owen, "Body and Soul" 1956
60. William Enfield, "History of Philosophy"
61. John Locke, "Reasonableness Of Christianity"
62. John Millton, "State of the Dead"
63. Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr, "The Nature and Destiny of Man" 1955, Gifford Lectures at Edinburgh, 1939
64. Jeremy K. Moritz, “HELL: Eternal Torment or complete Annihilation?” (church of Christ)
65. Steven Clark Goad, “Thoughts on Punishment of the Wicked” church of Christ Christian Ekklesia Podcast, (church of Christ)
66. William West, “Immortality Or Resurrection” 2006 and “Unconditional Immortality Or Resurrection Of The Dead” 2008, (church
of Christ)
The doctrine of Hell has been strongly opposed from the time is was first brought into the
church by the church fathers, but in the last fifty years the opposition is rapidly growing in the
Protestants churches and particularly in the church of Christ. As a result of the rapid growth in
opposed to the God slandering doctrine of Hell two books by those why believe in Hell have been
written. "Hell of Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment" by Robert A. Peterson and "Hell Under
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Fire" by nine Protestant authors. The names they give to their books shows the doctrine of Hell is
being strongly opposed and rejected by many.
The Egyptians might have been the first to believe in the dual nature of a person. They
believed that death was a door to a new form of life, which may be higher or lower, depending on
how good or bad a person was. They believed the body was evil and a prison to the soul. They
built the pyramids and other tombs and put the things in them they thought would be needed in
the next life. Death was a friend to them that freed the soul of the evil body; but it was the Greeks
[Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato] who adopted this Egyptian belief of the dual nature of a person; and
developed the philosophy of the immortal soul. Many church fathers were schooled in and
believed in this Greek philosophy, and were only partly converted. They brought their Greek
philosophy into the church in the apostasy. Unconditional immortality is the foundation of the
doctrine of Hell. If a person had an unseen immortal part that could not die, there had to be a
place to put the "souls" which were evil but could not die. The "souls" of the saved had to be put
somewhere, therefore, the doctrine of a person going to Heaven or Hell immediately after death
without a resurrection or a judgment came into being, and the New Testament teaching of the
resurrection of the dead became unneeded and of little or no importance.
In the Greek philosophy a person never dies. Only the body dies, freeing the soul to a higher
life. Christ taught the resurrection of man, not the Greek "immaterial, invisible part of man" (W.
E. Vine) that never dies. The Greeks did not believe in or need a resurrection, or a savior, or
redeemer; these would not fit into their belief. They believed in an immortal soul, therefore, there
could be no death. The Greek philosophy of an immortal soul was opposed and opposite to
the teaching of Christ on the resurrection. The immortal soul doctrine was believed by most
pagan religions in the time of Paul, and when he was before Agrippa, he asked, "Why is it
considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?" [Acts 26:8 New
American Standard Version]. To Plato and Agrippa, the resurrection of the dead would
have been a step backward. It would put the soul that was freed from its prison of a body
back into the prison it had been freed from.
The Greek and heathen belief that the immortal soul is indestructible, demands that the soul
cannot die, but must be alive forever somewhere. The resurrection as taught by Christ demands
that a person be dead, if not, there cannot be a resurrection. The resurrection is a calling back to
life the whole person God created, not a calling back to life some part of the person that is not
dead. If the Greek doctrine of an immortal soul that cannot die, which is believed by many today
were true, then the resurrection of Christ and our resurrection would be pointless.
PLATO AND SOCRATES -- VERSUS -- CHRIST
IMMORTALITY --------- VERSUS - LIFE AND RESURRECTION
DEATH A FRIEND ------ VERSUS - DEATH IS "THE LAST ENEMY"
PLATO: THE SOUL IS | IF THERE IS NO RESURRECTION
IMMORTAL, THEREFORE ONLY | DEATH IS THE END OF
"IT" IS ALIVE AFTER DEATH| ALL LIFE 1 CORINTHIANS 15:14-23
PLATO: ONLY THE BODY DIES| "THEN THEY ALSO THAT ARE
FREEING SOUL TO A HIGHER | FALLEN ASLEEP IN CHRIST
FIFE WITHOUT A BODY | HAVE PERISHED"
ONLY SOME INTER PART OF | A PERSON (WHO IN CHRIST) WILL BE
A PERSON IS IMMORTAL | IMMORTAL, NOT JUST PART OF A PERSON
ALL THE DEAD ARE ALIVE | CHRIST IS "THE FIRST BORN FROM THE DEAD"
PLATO'S IMMORTAL SOUL AND CHRIST'S RESURRECTION ARE NOT
COMPATIBLE, BOTH CANNOT BE. ONE CAN BE TRUE, BUT NOT BOTH AT THE
SAME TIME; THEY ARE ALIEN TO EACH OTHER.
Paul and Plato used the same Greek words, but not in the same way. Immortal, immortality,
indestructible, never dying was used by Plato and by many today to describe the soul, but in the
Old or New Testament, these words are never used referring to any lost person or to any part of a
person after death. The expression "immortal soul" is very common in the writing of the pagan
philosophers and today's preachers, but is not found in the Bible.
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PAUL USED|PLATO AND MANY TODAY SAY THE SOUL
DIE |CANNOT DIE
DEATH |NO DEATH
DESTROYED |CANNOT BE DESTROYED
CORRUPTION |IS INCORRUPTIBLE
MORTAL |IS IMMORTAL
PERISH |CANNOT PERISH
"In the very terms in which the punishment of the wicked is asserted in the New Testament. Where the
latter says the soul shall die, Plato says it shall not die; where the latter says it shall be destroyed, Plato says
it shall not be destroyed; where the latter says it shall perish and suffer corruption, Plato says it shall not
perish and is incorruptible. The phrases are the very same, only that what Plato denies of all souls alike,
the New Testament asserts of some of the souls of men. But the discussion of the question was not
confined to the school of Plato or to his times. Every school of philosophy took it up, whether to confirm
Plato's view, or to deny it, or to heap ridicule upon it. All the phrases we have been discussing from the
New Testament had been explained, turned over and over, handled with all the power of the masters of
language, presented in every phase, so that of their sense there could be no doubt, nor could there be
any one ignorant of their sense before Jesus spoke, or an Evangelist or Apostle wrote. The subject had not
died out before the days of Christ. It never could and never will die out. In every city of the Roman world
were schools of Grecian thought in the days of the Apostles. In every school the question before us was
discussed in the phrases and language of the New Testament" Henry Constable, "Duration and Nature of
Future Punishment," 1871.
"Plato established the basic Western tradition on this topic by defining the soul as the spiritual part of
the human that survived death" Catholic Encyclopedia, 1991.
Many believe that in the afterlife we will be nothing more than a collection of disembodied
spirits or souls that will be just as alive and just the same from the day of birth as these souls will
ever be. Death and the resurrection are out of step with the belief of Plato.
A part of a person being deathless is a philosophy of man that Paul warned about [Colossians
2:8]. An immortal soul was copied from heathen philosophy and superstition. NOTE: Those who
believe we now have "an immortal soul" get their belief from Greek philosophy, but are
inconstant and self-contradicting. They say the soul cannot die, but it needs a Savior anyway. If
we were born with an immortal soul, it would have no need for Christ to save it from the death it
cannot die. CHRISTIANITY DID NOT DESTROY THE PAGAN DOCTRINE OF EGYPT
AND GREECE; IT ADOPTED IT.
Death is the enemy [1 Corinthians 15:26]. It is the destruction of the life given by God. It is
not the liberator of an immortal soul as Plato believed it to be. It is death, which must be
conquered by the resurrection. When we understand that death is really death, not another
kind of life for an immortal part of a person that has no substance, the resurrection is allimportant.
Without a resurrection we can do what we want for this life is all there is [1
Corinthians 15:32]. Our only hope is the resurrection, and without it there will be no life of
any kind for us after death. Plato's immortal soul needs no resurrection. "Set your hope
perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" [1 Peter
1:12]. It is at the resurrection that we "shall receive the crown of glory that fades not away" [1
Peter 5:4].
1. "Be patient; therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord" [James 4:7-8]. As the
farmer is patient unto the harvest to receive his reward, the believers were to be patient
unto the coming of Christ to receive their reward.
2. "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body" [1 Corinthians 15:43]. It is not
the spiritual body living in the natural body that will go to Heaven at the death of the
natural body. "We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the
last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible" [1
Corinthians 15:52].
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3. "Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be.
We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as
he is" [1 John 3:2].
4. The wrath of God will be "in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous
judgment of God" [Romans 2:5], not wrath at death before that day and not eternal
wrath after the judgment day is over. On that day, it will be rendered "to them that by
patience in well doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life" [Romans
2:8], not to the souls of all on the day of their death. The judgment will be "in the day
when God shall judge the secrets of men" [Romans 2:16], not at death. It is the judgment
day when "we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of God" [Romans 14:10]. It is the
day that the Lord will judge all, "Wherefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord
comes who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the
counsels of the hearts" [1 Corinthians 4:5, also, Ephesians 4:30].
5. "And to wait for his Son from heaven" [1 Thessalonians 1:10], not wait for death to take
us to Heaven.
6. When the Lord shall descend from Heaven, them that have fallen asleep in Jesus, "the
dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with
them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with
the Lord" [1 Thessalonians 4:17]. Their hope is to be raised from their sleep at the
coming of Christ, not come back from living in Heaven or Abraham's bosom.
7. Paul says he will receive a "crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge,
shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his
appearing." [2 Timothy 4:8].
The Bible teaching, "The wages of sin is death" leaves no lost souls alive after the judgment
and second death to be put anywhere. THE TEACHING OF CHRIST, THAT LIFE
(EVERLASTING LIFE OR IMMORTALITY) WILL BE GIVEN ONLY TO THOSE WHO
OBEY HIM, MAKES HELL IMPOSSIBLE. UNLESS CHRIST GIVES ETERNAL LIFE
(IMMORTALITY) TO THE LOST, THEY CANNOT LIVE FOREVER ANYWHERE. The
Greek teaching of an immortal soul must be made to stand, and the teaching of Christ that He will
give life only to those who come to Him must be removed or there cannot be a Hell.
Socrates drinks hemlock and died with a smile on his face because he thought he was freeing
his soul to live with the gods. Christ "sweats as it was great drops of blood" (Luke 22:44). Death
is the enemy of man. It destroys him, and only the resurrection frees us from death, and gives us
back the life death takes. In death there is no life in Heaven or any other place for us before the
resurrection. The resurrection is not just a coming back from Heaven to be judged and then going
back to Heaven, it is our only hope of life after our death. Without the resurrection "then they
also that are fallen asleep in Christ have perished" (1 Corinthians 15:18). The Greek philosophy
that found its way into the Church says they have not perished, but are freed to live with God in
Heaven without the need of a resurrection. After the pagan immortal soul doctrine came Hellfire,
Purgatory, worship of Mary and saints, etc. The Protestant Reformation was largely a reaction to
medieval superstitious beliefs and Purgatory, an intermediate state of temporal punishment where
souls that were not good enough to go to Heaven, and not bad enough to go to Hell; in the Church
in the Dark Age, this was almost all people. The priests would have their loved ones pay for him
to pray to shorten their time in Purgatory. Selling indulgences and paying to reduce the time the
souls of departed loved spent ones in Purgatory was rejected by the Reformation, as was many
other superstitious beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church; but the Greek dual nature of a person
and Hell was retained. Calvin believed the soul did not sleep, but went to Heaven or Hell at death.
The Westminster Confession says, "The souls of the righteous...are received unto the highest
heavens...the soul of the wicked are cast into Hell." The doctrine of an immortal soul replaced the
resurrection, and made it useless and impossible.
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UNCONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY IS THE PAGAN TRANSMIGRATION OF SOULS.
AUGUSTINE AND OTHER PARTLY CONVERTED "CHURCH FATHERS" WHO KNEW
MORE OF THE TEACHING OF PLATO THAN OF CHRIST AND REWROTE
REINCARNATION TO FIT CHRISTIANITY.
Transmigration of souls
• Transmigration of souls: Souls live somewhere after the death of the body. Where a soul
goes to after death varies from country to country and age to age.
• Unconditional immortality: Souls live somewhere after the death of the body. The place
where souls go after death varies from one group to another. Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, or
Abraham's bosom; but, wherever it goes it is as alive as it will ever be and that without
the resurrection.
Reincarnation
• Reincarnation: Souls that are living somewhere come back to an earthly body.
• Unconditional immortality: Souls that are living in Heaven or Hell come back to the
earthly body at the second coming of Christ.
Ancient Egyptian belief was that the soul had a gloomy existence in the underworld
(transmigration). The Greeks and Romans believed about the same with some changes. Oriental
and Pythagorean philosophy, Buddhists, Hindus, and Grand Lama all believed in some from
reincarnation. All believed the "soul" of the evil had some punishment, but not all believed the
same punishment. With most the punishment was only some kind of gloomy existence in the
underworld, not torment as it is taught today. With most, the more evil a person was the lower his
soul would have the capability to reincarnate. Some would come back as a person, the more evil
as a plant or insect. Some believed the very evil would never be able to reincarnate, and must
forever have a gloomy existence in the underworld. This punishment was believed to be under or
down in the earth by most. Hell was and is still believed by some to be under the earth. This is the
nearest thing to today's Hell in heathen philosophy and in any writing unto after the New
Testament. The "church fathers" borrowed from the heathens (mostly Greek and Romans) and
invented unto by the time of the Dark Age they had invented Hell, Limbo, Purgatory, worship of
Mary and saints, the Pope declared to be God in the flesh, and much more. God was made into a
cruel and sadistic being. Those who worshiped him truly became like the god they invented.
Millions who believed the world was round, or in any way did not believe all the Church taught,
were put to death as heretics. It put some to death for having the Bible in their own language-not
in Latin. It was one of the bloodiest times of history, and continued into the Protestant
Reformation (The Crusades, bloody Mary, witch-hunts, and much more). Some of the cruelest
ways of torment the world has ever known were invented and used, and all in the name of their
god. It would take many books to tell of all the bloody deeds of the Dark Age by the so-called
"church." The reasons for them are summed up in the words of bloody Mary. "As the souls of
heretics are hereafter to be eternally burning in Hell, there can be nothing more proper than for
me to imitate the divine vengeance by burning them on earth." In the Dark Age, the "church" was
a mixture of Christianity, Judaism, Paganism, and their own inventions, but mostly the last two.
Before the Protestant Reformation there was more heathen philosophy in the Dark Age Church
than true Christian teaching. It had apostatized into a satanic cult.
Did Plato believe the immortal soul would be in Hell? The concept of punishment for the soul
after death was the invention of rulers as a way to keep the common people under control. To go
into this would be another book, but for those who would like to know more, go to
http://askelm.com/doctrine/d060101.htm, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Volume 7, Page
61-63, The Nature of the Gods by Cicero at http://trisagionseraph.tripod,com/Texts/Cicero.html.
Plato believed in reincarnation, that all souls would come back as a plant or animal, not that souls
would go to a place of eternal torment. He had a system that the upper class knew of and would
know if he was writing to them or to those who were ignorant and needed to be kept under
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control. If he used "God" he was writing to them, if he used "gods" he was writing of the ignorant
to keep them under control. The church in the Dark Age used punishment after death to keep the
people under control. See http://www.cimmay.us/pdf/balfour.pdf
SUMMARY: Believers in unconditional immortality are divided on where the soul goes after
the death of the body. The Catholic Church and most Protestant Churches believe it goes to
Heaven or Hell at death. Another view is an intermediate state of temporal punishment that is
newer than Purgatory and not Catholic, is the belief that the soul goes to Abraham's bosom or the
bad part of hades unto the resurrection. Others believe all will end up in Heaven. Many believe no
one will ever be in Heaven, but the saved will live forever on this earth. There are always
divisions when men teach something that is not in the Bible.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THE DYING USE OF "SOUL"
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT: In translations that were made by those who believe a
person has an immortal soul, why is the use of the word "soul" becoming used less? Out
of the 870 times the word nehphesh is used in the Old Testament it was translated soul:
• Translated soul only 473 times out of 870 times in the King James Version in
1611.
• Translated soul only 118 times out of 870 times in the Amplified Bible in 1954.
• Translated soul only 254 times out of 870 times in the New American Standard
Bible in 1960.
• Translated soul only 115 times out of 870 times in the New International Version
in 1973
• Translated soul only 289 times out of 870 times in the New King James Version
in 1982. Soul is used 184 times less in the Old Testament than it is in the King
James Version.
• Translated soul only 142 times out of 870 times in The Message in 1993.
• Translated soul only 14 times out of 870 times in the Contemporary English
Version in 1995.
• Translated soul only 50 times out of 870 times in the New Living Translation in
1996.
• Translated soul only 21 times out of 870 times in the New International Reader's
Version in 1996.
• Translated soul only 35 times out of 870 times in the Holman Christian Standard
Bible in 1999.
• Translated soul only 73 times out of 870 times in Today's New International
Version in 2001.
o Most of the times that nehphesh was not translated "soul" it was translated
"life," "person," "heart" or the noun was changed to a pronoun (he, him,
she, her, etc.) that is related to a person and has no reference to an
immortal part of a person.
IN BOTH THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT: The Hebrew word translated soul
[nehphesh] is used over 870 times in the Old Treatment, and the Greek work translated
soul [psukee] is used 106 times. Both together about 976 times and were translated soul:
• Translated soul only 530 times out of 976 times in the King James Version in
1611.
• Translated soul only 200 times out of 976 times in the Amplified Bible in 1954.
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• Translated soul only 301 times out of 976 times in the New American Standard
Bible in 1960.
• Translated soul only 140 times out of 976 times in the New International Version in 1973.
• Translated soul only 341 times out of 976 times in the New King James Version
in 1982. Soul is used 189 times less in the New King James Version than it is
in the King James Version.
• Translated soul only 177 times out of 976 times in The Message in 1993.
• Translated soul only 27 times out of 976 times in the Contemporary English
Version in 1995.
• Translated soul only 83 times out of 976 times in the New Living Translation in
1996.
• Translated soul only 39 times out of 976 times in the New International reader's
Version in 1996.
• Translated soul only 58 times out of 976 times in the Holman Christian Standard
Bible in 1999
• Translated soul only 28 times out of 976 times in Today's New International
Version in 2001.
o Most, if not all these translators believe in an immortal soul, but have been
reducing the times these words are translated "soul" and replacing it with
"life," "person," "heart" or changed it to pronouns that are related to a
person.
THE HEBREW NOUN, NEHPHESH, IS BEING CHANGED TO MANY
DIFFERENT PRONOUNS, BUT ALL THE PRONOUNS HAVE A REFERENCE
TO AN EARTHLY BEING, NOT TO A NO SUBSTANCE INTER PART OF A
PERSON. Most of the 473 times nehphesh was translated soul in the King James
Version it has been translated life or person or changed to many different pronouns in
many translations. Nehphesh did not mean an immaterial invisible some thing in a person
in the Old Testament, but how could the translators think it was right to change one noun
into many pronouns?
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT: IS THE USE OF THE ENGLISH WORD "SOUL"
AS A TRANSLATION OF PSUKEE DYING?
• King James Version: In 1611 psukee is translated soul 58 times.
• American Standard Version: In 1901 psukee is translated soul 56 times.
• New American Standard Version: In 1960 psukee is translated soul 47 times
• New Revised Standard: In 1946 psukee is translated soul 33 times.
• New International Version: In 1978 psukee is translated soul 25 times. 33 times
less than the King James Version.
• The Christian Bible: In 1991 psukee is translated soul 0 times.
• Contemporary English Version: In 1995 psukee is translated soul 13 times.
• Holman Christian Standard Bible: In 1999 psukee is translated soul 23 times.
• Worldwide English Version: In 2006 psukee is translated soul 8 times.
It is those who are members of churches that believe a person has an immortal soul
that are little by little taking the word "soul" out of the Bible. WHY IS SOUL BEING
USED LESS IN THE NEWER TRANSLATIONS? THE TRANSLATORS KNEW
"SOUL" AS THE WORD IS USED TODAY IS NOT A TRANSLATION OF
NEHPHESH OR PSUKEE.
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A few of the many examples that show why the numbers above are difficult in
difficult translations.
Numbers 29:7
• "Ye shall afflict your souls [nehphesh]" King James Version
• "You shall humble yourselves [nehphesh]" New American Standard
Joshua 11:11
• "They smote all the souls [nehphesh]" King James Version
• "Not sparing anything that breathed [nehphesh]" New International Version
Judges 16:16
• "His soul [nehphesh] was vexed unto death" King James Version
• "Unto he [nehphesh] was tired to death" New International Version
Numbers 30:2
• "To bind his soul [nehphesh] with a bond" King James Version
• "To bind himself [nehphesh] with a binding obligation" New American Standard
Version
Numbers 15:30
• "That soul [nehphesh] shall be cut off" King James Version
• "That person [nehphesh] shall be cut off" New American Standard Version
Acts 15:24-26 is an example of how the translation of psukee was changed even in the
same passage by the translators when it would not fit in with their belief about an
immortal soul. “Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no
instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls [psukee], it seemed
good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved
Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives [psukee] for the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ.”
• “Certain persons who have gone out form us, though with no instruction from us,
have said things to disturb you and have unsettled your minds [psukee]…who has
risked their lives [psukee]” New revised Standard Version.
• “And disturbed you, troubling your minds [psukee] by what they said…men who
have risked their lives [psukee] for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” New
International Version.
• “We have heard that some of out group have come to you and said things that
trouble and upset you [psukee]” New Century Version.
The Hebrew people in the Old Testament that were reading their Scriptures would
have had no way to make a distinction in the life [soul - nehphesh] of animals or men.
Even today in the Hebrew Old Testament there is no distinction between a person and or
an animal being a soul-a living creature. Only in some modern translations is there a
distinction AND THIS DISTINCTION IS BECAUSE MAN HAS CHANGED GOD'S
WORD. God used the same word to describe both persons and animals. If this one word
proves one is now immortal, it proves both are. Man says animals do not have a soul but
people do. God says both people and animals are a soul.
Summary: About one third of the words translated soul, nehphesh in the Old
Testament, and psukee in the New Testament are associated with the destruction
and death of the soul [life, nehphesh]. THIS IS AN INSOLUBLE PROBLEM FOR
THOSE THAT BELIEVE TODAY'S THEOLOGY, WHICH SAYS THE SOUL
CANNOT DIE. In other passages the psukee does thing that only this earthly body
127
can do, things that an immortal soul that has no substance could not do. "And I will
say to my soul [psukee], Soul [psukee], you have much goods laid up for many years;
take your ease, eat, drink" [Luke 12:19]. A soul which has no substance could not use
the much goods [substance] laid up for many years. A person, not a soul with
without any substance that can eat and drink of the substance he has lain up.
ANOTHER DIFFICULT PROBLEM FOR THEM
A bird's eye view [below] of the way psukee is translated in four versions shows that it
is a living being, not an immortal no substance something. The translators wanted to put
their immortal soul in the Bible, but they had a problem for if they had uniformly
translated psukee into "soul," in some passages their immortal soul would have been
subject to death and in other passages it would be dead.
(1) King James (2) New Revised Standard (3) American Standard (4) New International
Matthew 2:20 |(1) LIFE|(2) LIFE |(3) LIFE|(4) LIFE
Matthew 6:25 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Matthew 6:25 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Matthew 10:28 | soul | soul | soul | soul
Matthew 10:28 | soul | soul | soul | soul
Matthew 10:39 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Matthew 10:39 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Matthew 11:29 | souls | souls | souls | souls
Matthew 12:18 | soul | soul | soul | I
Matthew 16:25 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Matthew 16:25 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Matthew 16:26 | soul | LIFE | LIFE | soul
Matthew 16:26 | soul | LIFE | LIFE | soul
Matthew 20:28 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Matthew 22:37 | soul | soul | soul | soul
Matthew 26:38 | soul | I | soul | soul
Mark 3:4 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Mark 8:35 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Mark 8:35 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Mark 8:36 | soul | LIFE | LIFE | soul
Mark 8:37 | soul | LIFE | LIFE | soul
Mark 10:45 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Mark 12:30 | soul | soul | soul | soul
Mark 12:33 | soul | HEART | HEART | HEART
Mark 14:34 | soul | I | soul | soul
Luke 1:46 | soul | soul | soul | soul
Luke 2:35 | soul | soul | soul | soul
Luke 6:9 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Luke 9:24 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Luke 9:24 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Luke 9:56 | LIVES | | | LIFE
Luke 10:27 | soul | soul | soul | soul
Luke 12:19 | soul | soul | soul | MYSELF
Luke 12:19 | soul | soul | soul | LIFE
Luke 12:20 | soul | LIFE | soul | LIFE
Luke 12:22 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Luke 12:23 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Luke 14:26 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Luke 17:33 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Luke 21:19 | soul | souls | souls | YOURSELVES
John 10:11 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
John 10:15 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
John 10:17 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
John 10:24 | US | US | US | US
John 12:25 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
John 12"25 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
John 12:27 | soul | soul | soul | HEART
John 13:37 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
John 13:38 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
John 15:13 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Acts 2:27 | soul | soul | soul | ME
Acts 2:31 | soul | FLESH | FLESH | BODY
Acts 2:41 | souls | PERSONS | souls | .
Acts 2:43 | soul | EVERYONE| soul | EVERYONE
Acts 3:23 | soul | EVERYONE| soul | ANYONE
Acts 4:32 | soul | soul | soul | MIND
Acts 7:14 | souls | ALL | souls | ALL
Acts 14:2 | MINDS | MINDS | souls | MINDS
128
Acts 14:22 | souls | souls | souls | DISCIPLES
Acts 15:24 | souls | MINDS | souls | MINDS
Acts 15:26 | LIVES | LIVES | LIVES | LIVES
Acts 20:10 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | ALIVE
Acts 20:24 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Acts 27:10 | LIVES | LIVES | LIVES | LIVES
Acts 27:22 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | YOU
Acts 27:37 | souls | PERSONS | souls | US
Romans 2:9 | soul | EVERYONE| soul | BEING
Romans 11:3 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | ME
Romans 13:1 | soul | PERSON | soul | EVERYONE
Romans 16:4 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIVES
1 Cor. 15:45 | soul | BEING | soul | BEING
2 Cor. 1:23 | soul | ME | soul | .
2 Cor. 12:15 | YOU | YOU | souls | YOU
Ephesians 6:6 | HEART | HEAT | HEART | HEART
Philippians 1:27| MIND | MIND | soul | MEN
Philippians 2:30| LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Colossians 3:23 |HEARTILY|YOURSELVES|HEARTILY|HEART
1 Thess. 2:8 | souls | SELVES | souls | LIVES
1 Thess. 5:23 | soul | soul | soul | soul
Hebrews 4 12 | soul | soul | soul | soul
Hebrews 6:19 | soul | soul | soul | soul
Hebrews 10:38 | soul | soul | soul | I
Hebrews 10:39 | soul | SAVED | soul | SAVED
Hebrews 12:3 | MINDS | HEART | souls | HEART
Hebrews 13:17 | souls | souls | souls | YOU
James 1:21 | souls | souls | souls | YOU
James 5:20 | soul | soul | soul | HIM
1 Peter 1:9 | souls | souls | souls | souls
1 Peter 1:22 | souls | souls | souls | YOURSELVES
1 Peter 2:11 | soul | soul | soul | soul
1 Peter 2:25 | souls | souls | souls | souls
1 Peter 3:20 | souls | PERSONS | souls | PEOPLE
1 Peter 4:19 | souls |THEMSELVES |souls | THEMSELVES
2 Peter 2:8 | soul | soul | soul | soul
2 Peter 2:14 | souls | souls | souls | UNSTABLE
1 John 3:16 | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
1 John 3:16 | LIVES | LIVES | LIVES | LIVES
3 John 2 | soul | soul | soul | soul
Revelation 6:9 | souls | souls | souls | souls
Revelation 8:9 | LIFE |CREATURES| LIFE | CREATURES
Revelation 12:11| LIVES | LIFE | LIFE | LIFE
Revelation 16:3 | soul | THING | soul | THING
Revelation 18:13| souls |HUMAN LIVES |souls| souls
Revelation 18:14| soul | soul | soul | YOU
Revelation 20:4 | souls | souls | souls | souls
All the words used in the four translations [life, lives, yourself, yourselves, us, mind,
minds, you, I, him, heart, heartily, everyone, persons, disciples, creatures, all, me, flesh,
being, anyone, alive, and man] ALL HAVE A REFERENCE TO THE HUMAN
PERSON, NOT TO A NO SUBSTANCE INTER PART OF A PERSON.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
An abridgment from Miles Grant, Positive Theology, chapter 5 "Conditional Immortality," 1885,
"The Hebrew word nehphesh and the Greek word psukee are translated in FIFTY DIFFERENT WAYS IN THE
BIBLE. These fifty may be reduced to three. (1) The LIFE of any living being. (2) ANY living being. (3) The
DESIRE of any living being." ALL FIFTY WORDS HAVE A REFERENCE TO THIS LIFE, NOT ONE TO AN
IMMORTAL SOUL.
(1) "The LIFE of any living creature."
SOUL:
Nehphesh and psukee "The word soul occurs in our English Bible 535 times." [Note: Mr. Grant was using
the King James Version where nehphesh and psukee are translated soul about 535 times. If the New
International Version were used, they are translated soul only 140 times. Life, person, heart, or a pronoun
for a person is used much more than in the list he gives below]
• Nehphesh is used over 870 times in the Old Testament and translated soul 475 times in the King
James Version. Psukee is used 106 times in the New Testament and translated soul 58 times in the
King James Version.
• From ndeevah 1 time [Job 30:16, the only time this word is in the Bible]
• From nshahmah 1 time" Nshahman is used 24 times, mostly translated "breath" or "breath of life," It
is translated "souls" only 1 of the 24 times in the King James Version [Isaiah 57:16], but is changed to
"breath" in the New American Standard
129
1. "The soul [nehphesh] that sins, it shall die" Ezekiel 18:4, 20. How is it that Ezekiel did not know an
immortal soul couldn't die?
2. "No soul [nehphesh] of you shall eat blood" Leviticus 17:12. Can a soul that has no earthly subjects
eat blood?
3. "That soul [nehphesh] shall be cut off" Leviticus 7:20
4. "Our soul [nehphesh] dried away" Numbers 11:6
5. "They have dug a pit for soul [nehphesh]" Jeremiah 18:20. Could they put an immortal soul in a pit?
6. "To slay the souls [nehphesh] that should not die, and to save the souls [nehphesh] alive that should
not live" [Ezekiel 13:19]. By today's definition of soul, "an invisible something that cannot die," this
passage is nonsense and foolish. It was lives, or persons that were saved or killed, not invisible souls
that cannot die.
7. "For you have delivered my soul [nehphesh] from death" [Psalms 56:13]. His life [nehphesh] had been
saved from death. Not his soul that could not be dead, but it was dead anyway and was brought back
to life. He had been saved from death, past tense, not will be delivered from death, future tense.
8. "Let them be put to shame and confounded that seek after my soul [nehphesh]" [Psalms 70:2]. "Let
the enemy pursue my soul [nehphesh], and overtake it" [Psalms 7:5]. "Deliver my soul [nehphesh]
from the wicked" [Psalms 17:13]. "Deliver my soul [nehphesh] from the sword" [Psalms 22:20].
"Rescue my soul [nehphesh] from their destructions" [psalms 35:17]. "For strangers are risen up
against me, and violent men have sought after my soul [nehphesh]" Psalms 54:3. "But those that seek
my soul [nehphesh] to destroy it" [Psalms 63:9]. "Let them be put to shame and confounded that seek
after my soul [nehphesh]" [Psalms 70:2]. "They that lay in wait for my soul [nehphesh]" [Psalms
71:10]. "He spared not their soul [nehphesh] from death" [Psalms 78:50]. "You have delivered my soul
[nehphesh] from death" [Psalms 116:8]. Clearly the writers of Psalms did not understand soul to
mean a part of a person that cannot die. Even the King James translators repeatedly translated
nehphesh as life in the same type of passages. "They devised to take away my life [soul nehphesh]"
[Psalms 31:13]. "They also that seek after my life [soul nehphesh] [Psalms 38:12 and many more like
this]." Today's readers would have understood it better if they had been more uniform for if someone
were trying to kill us, we would not say they were after our "soul" but after our "life." Most
translations are somewhat better than the King James and a few are much better translated.
9. 515 more. Some have reference to man, both to living men and to dead men. Some have reference to
any living beings (living creatures). Some have reference to both man and other living beings.
10. "Able to destroy both body and soul [psukee]" Matthew 10:28
11. "Shall save a soul [psukee] from death" James 5:20
LIFE:
• Nehphesh "is rendered life and lives one hundred and twenty times, and is applied indiscriminately
to man and beast." Genesis 1: 20. Genesis 1: 30; 9: 4; 9: 5; 19:1 7; 19:19; 32:30; 44:30; Exodus 4:19; 21:
23; 21:30; Leviticus 17:11; 17:14. Numbers 35:31. Deuteronomy 12:23. Deuteronomy 19:21.
Deuteronomy 24:6. Joshua. 2:13; 2:14; 9:24; Judges 5:18; 9:17; 12:3; 18:25; Ruth 4:15. 1 Samuel: 19:5.
1 Samuel. 19:11. 1 Samuel. 20: 1. 1 Samuel. 22:23. 1 Samuel. 23:15. 1 Samuel. 26: 24; 1 Samuel. 28:9;
1 Samuel. 28:21; 2 Samuel. 1:9; 4:8; 14:7; 16:11; 18:13; 19:5; 23:17; 1 Kings 1:12; 2:23; 3:11; 19:2; 19:3;
19:4; 19:10, 14; 20:31; 20:39; 20:42; 2 Kings 1:13; 1:14; 7:7; 10:24; 1 Chronicles 11:19; 2 Chronicles
1:11; Esther 7:3; 7:7; 8:11; 9:16; Job 2:4; 2:6; 6:11; 13:14; 31:39; Psalms 31:13; 38:12; Proverbs 1:18;
1:19; 6:26; 7:23; 12:10; 13:3; 13:8; Isaiah 15:4; 43:4; Jeremiah 4:30; 11:21; 21:7; 21:9; 22:25; 34:20, 21;
38:2; 38:16; 39:18 [2 times]; 44:30; 45:5; 46:26; 48:6; 49:37; Lamentations 2:19. Lam 5:9; Ezekiel
32:10; Jonah 1:14; Jonah 4:3
• Psukee life and lives forty times. Matthew 2:20; 6:25; 10:39; 16:25 [2 times]; 20:28; Mark 3:4; 8:35 [2
times]; 10:45; Luke 6:9; 9:24 [2 times]; 9:56; 12:22, 23; 14:26; 17:33; John 10:11; 10:15; 10:17; 12:25 [2
times]; 13:37, 38. [2 times]; 15:13; Acts 15:26; 20:10; 20:24; 27:10; 27:22; Romans 11:3; 16:4;
Philemon 2:30; 1 John 3:16; Revelation 8:9; 12:11
• GHOST [soul - nehphesh] two times. "The giving up of the ghost [soul - nehphesh]" Job 11:20. "She
has given up the ghost [soul - nehphesh]" Jeremiah 15:9
• MORTALLY [soul - nehphesh] one time. "If any man hate his neighbor...and smite him mortally [soul -
nehphesh]" Deuteronomy. 19:11
• BREATH [soul - nehphesh] one time. "His breath [soul - nehphesh] kindles coals" Job 41:21.
(2) "ANY living being" (living creatures)
CREATURE [soul - nehphesh] nine times.
1. "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creature [souls - nehphesh]" Genesis. 1:20
2. "And God created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature [souls - nehphesh]" Genesis. 1:21
3. "Let the earth bring forth living creature [souls - nehphesh] after their kind, cattle, and creeping
things, and beasts of the earth" Genesis 1:24
4. "And whatsoever the man called every living creature [souls - nehphesh], that was the name thereof"
Genesis 2:19
5. "Living creature [souls - nehphesh]" Genesis 9:10 birds, cattle, every beast of the earth
6. "Living creature [souls - nehphesh]" Genesis 9:12 every living creature
7. "Living creature [souls - nehphesh]" Genesis 9:15 every living creature of all flesh
8. "Living creature [souls - nehphesh]" Genesis 9:16 every living creature of all flesh
9. "Every living creature [souls - nehphesh] that moves" Leviticus. 11:46
PERSON [soul - nehphesh] thirty times
130
1. "Give me the persons [souls - nehphesh]" Genesis14:21, not, "Give me the immortal souls of the
persons"
2. "And dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the
persons [souls - nehphesh] that were there, and upon him that touched the bone" Numbers 19:18. Is
water to be sprinkled on immortal souls that have no substances just as it is on the tent and vessels?
How can this be? Even the King James translators know water could not be sprinkled on something
that could not be seen
3. "That the manslayer that kills any persons [souls - nehphesh] unwittingly...everyone that kills any
persons [souls - nehphesh]" [Numbers 35:11-15]. Could anyone kill an immortal soul that can never
die?
4. "Whoso kills any persons [souls - nehphesh], the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses;
but one witness shall not testify against any persons [souls - nehphesh] that he die" [Numbers
35:30]. How could anyone be a witness to the killing of a soul that they cannot see?
5. "I have occasioned the death of all the persons [souls - nehphesh] of your father's house" [1 Samuel
22:22]
6. "They traded the persons [souls - nehphesh] of man and vessels of brass for your merchandise"
[Ezekiel 27:13]. How could they trade souls if no one can see souls?
7. 7 to 30 person(s) twenty-three more times: Genesis 36:6; Exodus 16:16; Leviticus 27: 2; Numbers 5:6;
31:19; 31:35; 31:35; 31:40; 31:46; Deuteronomy 10:22; 27:25; Joshua 20:3; 20:9; 2 Samuel 14:14;
Proverbs 28:17; Jeremiah 43:5; 43:6; 52:29; 52:29; Jeremiah 52:30; Ezekiel 16:5; 17:17; 33:6
MAN [soul - nehphesh] four times
1. "Every man [soul - nehphesh] must eat" Exodus. 12:16. Not "Every immortal soul must eat"
2. "He that kills the life of a man [soul - nehphesh]" Leviticus. 24:17
3. "The money that every man [soul - nehphesh]" 2 Kings 12:4
4. "To him whom man [soul - nehphesh] despised" Isaiah 49:7
MEN [soul - nehphesh] one time.
1. "And of men [soul - nehphesh] a hundred thousand" 1 Chronicles 5:21. A hundred thousand invisible
immortal souls or a hundred thousand people?
HIM [soul - nehphesh] four times
1. "Let us not kill him [soul - nehphesh]" Genesis 37:21, it does not say, "Let us not kill an immortal soul
that cannot be killed?"
2. "Less the avenger of the blood...slay him [soul - nehphesh]" Deuteronomy. 19:6
3. "And slay him [soul - nehphesh]" Deuteronomy 22:26. Slay an immortal soul or a person?
4. "Seven are an abomination unto him [soul - nehphesh]" Proverbs 6:16.
HE [soul - nehphesh] two times
1. "He [soul - nehphesh] was laid in iron" Psalms 105:18. An immortal soul in iron?
2. "He [soul - nehphesh] that labors" Proverbs 16:26
ME [soul - nehphesh] three times
1. "Let me [soul - nehphesh] die" Numbers. 23:10; this is "let me die" not "let my immortal soul die"
2. "Let me [soul - nehphesh] die with the Philistines" Judges 16:30
3. "I pray thee, let me [soul - nehphesh] live" 1 Kings 20:32
YOUR SELVES [soul - nehphesh] six times
1. "You shall not make yourselves [soul - nehphesh] abominable" Leviticus. 11:43
2. "Neither shall you defile yourselves [soul - nehphesh]" Leviticus 11:44
3. "Take you good heed unto yourselves [soul - nehphesh]" Deuteronomy. 4:15
4. "Take good heed therefore unto yourselves [soul - nehphesh]" Joshua. 23:11
5. "Take heed to yourselves [soul - nehphesh]" Jeremiah 17:21
6. "Deceive not yourselves [soul - nehphesh]" Jeremiah 37:9
YOU [soul - psukee] one time. "And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you [soul - psukee]" 2 Corinthians
12:15
HER [soul - nehphesh] one time. "At her [soul - nehphesh] pleasure" Jeremiah 2:24
SHE [soul - nehphesh] one time. "Let her go whither she [soul - nehphesh] will" Deuteronomy 21:14
THEE [soul - nehphesh] two times. "To slay thee [soul - nehphesh]...wherefore should he slay thee [soul -
nehphesh]" Jeremiah 40:14; 40:15
US [soul - psukee] one time. "How long do you make us [soul - psukee] to doubt?" John 10:24
WE [soul - nehphesh] one time. "Ah, so would we [soul - nehphesh] have it." Psalms 35:25
THEY [soul - nehphesh] one time. "They [soul - nehphesh] die in youth" Job 36:14
HIMSELF [soul - nehphesh] eight times
1. "Requested for himself [soul - nehphesh]" 1 Kings 19:4
2. "He tears himself [soul - nehphesh] in this anger" Job 18:4
3. "He justified himself [soul - nehphesh]" Job. 32:2
4. "The Lord...sworn by himself [soul - nehphesh]" Jeremiah 51:14
5. "Neither shall the mighty deliver himself [soul - nehphesh]" Amos 2:14
6. "And he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself [soul - nehphesh]" Amos 2:15
7. "The Lord God has sworn by himself [soul - nehphesh]" Amos 6:8
8. "Wished in himself [soul - nehphesh] to die" Jonah 4:8
MYSELF [soul - nehphesh] one time. "I have behaved and quieted myself [soul - nehphesh]" Psalms 131:2
HERSELF [soul - nehphesh] two times
131
1. "Hell has enlarged herself [soul - nehphesh]" Isaiah 5:14. Does Hell have an enlarged immortal soul?
2. "Backsliding Israel has justified herself [soul - nehphesh]" Jeremiah 3:11. Does a nation have an
immortal soul?
THYSELF [soul - nehphesh] one time. "Think not with thyself [soul - nehphesh]" Esther 4:13.
THEMSELVES [soul - nehphesh] three times
1. "They have decreed for themselves [soul - nehphesh]" Esther 9: 31
2. "But themselves [soul - nehphesh] are gone into captivity" Isaiah 46:2
3. "They shall not deliver themselves [soul - nehphesh]" Isaiah 47:14
ANY [soul - nehphesh] three times
1. "And when any [soul - nehphesh] will offer a meat offering" Leviticus. 2:1.
2. "He that touches the dead body of any [soul - nehphesh] man" Numbers. 19:11. Can anyone touch a
dead soul that has no body to be touched and cannot be dead?
3. "A man be found stealing any [soul - nehphesh]" Deuteronomy. 24:7
OWN [soul - nehphesh] one time. "The heart knows his own [soul - nehphesh] bitterness" Proverbs 14:10
DEAD [soul - nehphesh] five times
1. "Any cutting in your flesh for the dead [soul - nehphesh]" Leviticus. 19:28
2. "There shall none be defiled for the dead [soul - nehphesh]" Leviticus 21:1
3. "Anything unclean by the dead [soul - nehphesh]" Leviticus 22: 4-6
4. "Whosoever is defiled by the dead [soul - nehphesh]" Numbers. 5:2
5. "He sinned by the dead [soul - nehphesh]" Numbers 6:11
BODY [soul - nehphesh] seven times
1. "Any dead body [soul - nehphesh]" Leviticus 21:11
2. "Shall come at no dead body [soul - nehphesh]" Numbers 6:6
3. "Defiled by the dead body [soul - nehphesh] of a man" Numbers 9: 6
4. "Defiled by the dead body [soul - nehphesh] of a man" Numbers 9:7
5. "Unclean by reason of a dead body [soul - nehphesh]" Numbers 9:10
6. "Whosoever touches the dead body [soul - nehphesh] of any man" Numbers 19:13
7. "Unclean by a dead body [soul - nehphesh]" Haggai 2:13
FELLOWS [soul - nehphesh] one time. "Lest angry fellows [soul - nehphesh] run upon you, and you lose your
life" Judges 18:25
DEADLY [soul - nehphesh] one time. "My deadly [soul - nehphesh] enemies" Psalms 17:9
TABLETS [soul - nehphesh] one time. "The tablets [soul - nehphesh] and the earrings" Isaiah 3:20
BEAST [soul - nehphesh] three times. 1, 2, and 3 "And he that kills a beast [soul - nehphesh] shall make it good;
beast [soul - nehphesh] for beast [soul - nehphesh]" Leviticus. 24:18 [3 times]. Can anyone make an immortal
soul good, soul for soul?
THING [soul - nehphesh] two times
1. "Any living thing [soul - nehphesh]" Leviticus 11:10
2. "Every thing [soul - nehphesh] that lives" Ezekiel 47:9
ONE [soul - nehphesh] four times
1. "Let one [soul - nehphesh] die with the Philistines" Judges 16:30. Can anyone "let" an immortal soul
die or live?
2. "Let one [soul - nehphesh] die the death of the righteous" Numbers 23:10
3. "I pray you, let one [soul - nehphesh] live" 1 Kings 20:32
4. "If any one [soul - nehphesh] of the common people sin" Leviticus. 4:27
FISH [soul - nehphesh] one time. "All that make sluices and ponds for fish [soul - nehphesh]" Isaiah 19:10
(3) "The DESIRE of any living creature"
DESIRE [soul - nehphesh] five times
1. "The wandering of the desire [soul - nehphesh]" Ecclesiastes 6:9
2. "The land whereunto they desire [soul - nehphesh] to return" Jeremiah 22:27
3. "To the which they have a desire [soul - nehphesh]" Jeremiah 44:14
4. "He utters his mischievous desire [soul - nehphesh]" Micah 7:3
5. "Who enlarges his desire [soul - nehphesh]" Habakkuk 2:5
MIND [soul - nehphesh] fifteen times
1. "If it be your mind [soul - nehphesh] that I should bury" Genesis. 23:8
2. "In mine heart and in my mind [soul - nehphesh]" 1 Samuel. 2:35
3. "My mind [soul - nehphesh] could not be toward this people" Jeremiah 15:1
4. Twelve more: Deuteronomy. 18:6; 28:65; 2 Samuel. 17:8; 2 Kings 9:15; 1 Chronicles 28:9; Ezekiel
23:17; 23:18 [2 times]; 23:22; 23:28; 24:25; 36:5
Psukee - soul three times
1. "And made their minds [soul - psukee] evil affected against the brethren" Acts 14:2
2. "With one mind [soul - psukee] striving together for the faith of the gospel" Philemon 1:27
3. "Less you be wearied and faint in your minds [soul - psukee]" Hebrews 12:3
HEART [soul - nehphesh] fifteen times
1. "And cause sorrow of heart [soul - nehphesh]" Leviticus. 26:16
2. "Sets his heart [soul - nehphesh] upon it" Deuteronomy. 24:15
3. "The wicked boasts of his heart's [soul - nehphesh] desire" Psalms 10:3
4. Twelve more: Exodus. 23:9; 1 Samuel. 2:33; 2 Samuel 3:21; Proverbs 23:7; 28:25; 31:6; Jeremiah 42:20;
Lamentations 3:51; Ezekiel 25:6; 25:15; 27:31; Hosea 4:8
132
Psukee - soul one time. "Doing the will of God from the heart [soul - psukee]" Ephesians 6:6
LUST [soul - nehphesh] two times
1. "My lust [soul - nehphesh] shall be satisfied upon them" Exodus. 15:9
2. "By asking meat for their lust [soul - nehphesh]" Psalms 78:18
WILL [soul - nehphesh] three times
1. "Unto the will [soul - nehphesh] of mine enemies" Psalms 27:12
2. "Unto the will [soul - nehphesh] of his enemies" Psalms 41: 2
3. "Delivered thee unto the will [soul - nehphesh] of them" Ezekiel 16:27
PLEASURE [soul - nehphesh] three times
1. "When you come into your neighbor's vineyard, then you may eat grapes your fill at your own
pleasure [soul - nehphesh]" Deuteronomy. 23:24
2. "To bind his princes at his pleasure [soul - nehphesh]" Psalms 105:22
3. "Set at liberty at their pleasure [soul - nehphesh]" Jeremiah 34:16
DISCONTENTED [soul - nehphesh] one time. "Everyone that was discontented [soul - nehphesh]" 1 Samuel. 22:2
GREEDY [soul - nehphesh] one time. "They are greedy [soul - nehphesh] dogs" Isaiah 56:11
HEARTY [soul - nehphesh]
• Nehphesh - one time. "Of a man's friend by hearty [soul - nehphesh] counsel" Proverbs 27:9
• Psukee - one time. "And whatsoever you do, do it heartily [soul - psukee], as to the Lord" Colossians
3:23
APPETITE [soul - nehphesh] two times
1. "If you be a man given to appetite [soul - nehphesh]" Proverbs 23:2
2. "The appetite [soul - nehphesh] is not filled" Ecclesiastes 6:7
FROM THE ABOVE, IT IS CLEAR THAT ALL THE WORDS INTO WHICH
NEHPHESH AND PSUKEE ARE TRANSLATED CLEARLY SHOW THAT A PERSON
DOES NOT HAVE A PART THAT HAS ANY EXISTENCE WITHOUT THE BODY OR
ANY FUNCTION OR LIFE AFTER DEATH. "NEHPHESH" OR "PSUKEE" IS NOT
SOMETHING THAT CAN LIVE WITHOUT THE BODY. IT IS ANY LIVING BEING, A
PERSON, OR ANIMAL. IN A PERSON "SOUL" IS THE EARTHLY PERSON WHO IS
IN THE IMAGE OF ADAM, NOT AN IMMORTAL PART OF A PERSON THAT CAN
LIVE WITHOUT THE WHOLE PERSON. Both persons and animals ARE nehpheshs [living
beings, souls], not a living being that HAS a nehphesh [a soul] that will live without them
------------------------------------------------
The following quotation will illustrate the vague idea of many in relation to that which may be
saved through Christ.
"A man stands looking over the rail of a vessel into the surging water, and cries out, 'Save it!' Men come
rushing up with, 'Save what? A man overboard?' 'No.' 'A woman?' 'No.' 'Then it must be a child.' 'No, it is
not a child.' 'What then can it be?' 'I cannot tell.' 'Well, what does it look like?' 'I do not know, it has never
been seen.' 'What form is it?' 'It has no form.' 'How large is it?' 'Why, it has no size.' 'Well, about how much
will it weigh?' 'It has no weight.' 'Will it perish in the water?' 'No, no; it can never perish but save it, save
it.'"
"IT" OR "ME"
Many who believe the doctrine of unconditional immortality often say "IT" when they speak
of the soul. Will it be "ME" or will it be my soul "IT" in Heaven? If I had a soul and "IT" had
thoughts and emotions which are not my thoughts and emotions, "IT" is not "ME," but another
being living in me.
The whole person will be raised from the dead at the resurrection. It will be "ME" changed
from a "soul" [nehphesh-psukee] a living creature in the image of Adam into a new spiritual body
in the image of Christ. Some believe and teach it will only be an immaterial (no substance)
invisible part of "ME," which they call the soul "IT" that will be in Heaven.
If "IT" thinks, has any thoughts or knowledge, has any kind of sensibility different than or
apart from "ME"; it is not "ME," but is another being. If the spirit "IT" is not my mind, then "IT"
must have a mind of "ITS" own and thoughts of "ITS" own.
Is "IT" intelligent and has a brain of "ITS" own? If not, then "IT" has no sensibility, then "IT"
is only a nonliving thing.
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If the "soul," ["nehphesh" and "psukee"] as used in the Bible, is not our life, mind, feeling and
emotions; if "IT" is not the whole of a person; then "IT" could only be another being existing
within "ME"; but "IT" and "ME" are not the same; and only the soul "IT" shall be in Heaven, but
not the real "ME" [the part that now feels, thinks, and lives]. Only this no substance being living
in "ME" which I can know nothing about. Not what "IT" looks like, or what "IT" thinks, how
"IT" feels, or any other thing about "IT."
I could not even know "IT" is in "ME" without being told that "IT" is there. Therefore, "IT"
could only be another being that will live on after "ME" is dead. When "IT" lives in Heaven, it
will be "IT" living, not "ME," and my mind and thoughts will be dead, and "ME" will not even
know that "IT" is living.
If my spirit "IT" is not "ME," then when "ME" dies, my mind will be dead. If "IT" is a part
different from my mind, heart, feeling, thoughts, then how can "IT" be condemned for what "ME"
thinks, and feels, and does?
If what will be in Heaven is "ME" [my mind, feeling, thoughts, heart, life] with a spiritual
body in the image of Christ; where is the "soul" ["IT"], which I now have, but cannot see, or
know anything about what "IT" will be? Will "IT" be in Heaven with "ME," and I still will not
know anything about "IT" or see “IT”?
If "IT" is not my mind, what does "IT" think? If "IT" is only something living in "ME," which
I know nothing about; and "IT" will leave "ME" at my death and go onto another home without
"ME"; and I still will not know anything about "IT," or what "IT" is, or what "IT" thinks, or
where "IT" is, or what "IT" is doing, or looks like.
After MY death, "IT" will live without a body or substance where "ME" [my mind, feeling,
thoughts, heart] cannot live. If I am a "dual being" and "IT" is the second of my two beings, when
my first being is dead, "ME" will be dead, and only the second being "IT" will be alive. Only a
part of "ME" is immortal and only a part of "ME" will ever be in Heaven or Hell, and that is the
part of "ME" that will never know anything about what "IT" is like.
If my spirit ["IT"] came into existence when I was born, and "IT" is different from my earthly
being, then "ITS" thoughts are not the thoughts of "ME" [not the thoughts of my mind]; therefore,
how do I know "IT" has ever had any thoughts, or that "IT" knows anything?
If "IT" is immortal, "IT" has no need of the tree of life to live forever; but "ME" is not immortal,
and could not live forever without the tree of life. Death is not the enemy of "IT" for "IT" cannot
die for the sins of "ME." "IT" cannot pay the wages of the sins for "ME."
WILL YOU HAVE ETERNAL LIFE IN HEAVEN, OR WILL "IT" TO HAVE ETERNAL
LIFE IN HEAVEN? The Bible does not teach there is another part living in a person, but the
whole of a person as he is now, and only the body will be different in Heaven from what we now
are. A person is only one being, and will be the same one part being in Heaven. We do not have a
soul [do not have an "IT"], but we are a living soul, which is the image of Adam, a living being, a
living person. Men and animals do not have a soul, but are a living soul [living creatures]. There
is a world of differences in being a living soul, as is taught in the Bible, and having an
"immaterial invisible" soul as is taught today.
After death the Bible never speaks only of the sleep of the body, or only of the sleep of the
soul, but of the sleep or death of the person. God's creation of this earth is very good even with
the thorns caused by sin; but His creation of Heaven is far better and does not have the thorns.
Nevertheless, the soul "IT" is made to be living in us and to be of neither creation, just some thin
air something with no substance. When Lazarus was raised, he was the exact identical person he
was before his death, with the same body, a "soul" [nehphesh - psukee] living creature in the
image of Adam. At the resurrection the saved will be the exact identical person as now, but with a
new "spiritual body," in the image of Christ, not some thin air no substance "IT" that will be
different from the person we now are.
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Many use "soul sleeping" just as many have used "Campbellism," and "water salvation." They
can see only Plato's immortal part of a person that lives on after the death of the person. It will not
be Plato's inter immortal no substance part of a person that will exist after the death of the body.
It will be "ME" not just some part of "ME" that will be raised from the dead, not "IT" that is not
dead. It is "ME" that will sleep and "ME" that will wake up at the resurrection. Not "IT" that I
will know nothing about.
If "IT" [the soul] is immortal from birth, "IT" can never die for "IT" is immortal. If "IT" is
what will be in heaven, there can be no resurrection, for "IT" is not dead to be resurrected. If "IT"
can never die, "IT" did not need Christ to die in "its" place to keep "IT" from dying, for "IT" is
immortal and cannot die. "IT" has no need of the death of Christ to save "IT" from the death that
"IT" cannot die. It is a person "ME" that will put on immortality at the resurrection, and not just a
part of a person "IT," which is both alive and immortal before the resurrection. It will be my life,
mind, feeling and emotions, my whole person "ME" that will be immortal in Heaven, not just
some unknown part of me.
I do not know how God can raise "ME" from the grave and give "ME" a new spiritual body
and it still be "ME"; not just some "IT" which was not dead to be raised; but I have complete faith
that He can and will. My faith is in Christ and the resurrection He taught. Will faith in the pagan
doctrine or in the immortal soul it teaches save you or condemn you?
Do you believe that it will be YOU that will be saved or lost or SOMETHING in you that you
that is not the real you, something that you cannot see or know what it? THE NEVER DYING
SOUL DOCTRINE OF AN IMMORTAL SOUL IS IN DIRECT CONFLICT WITH
HUNDREDS OF THE PLAINEST STATEMENTS OF THE BIBLE. HOW CAN ANYONE
SAY THEY BELIEVE THE BIBLE WHEN THEY HAVE REPLACED IT WITH THE
TEACHING OF THE HEATHEN PHILOSOPHY OF PLATO?
CHAPTER TWO
Life or Death
Many continually preach, "The wages of sin is death" but do not believe what they
preach and contradict them self by preaching that unbelievers will go to Hell, "The wages
of sin is an eternal life of torment in Hell."
The changing of Life and death to:
• Has "life" has been changed to mean only a "reward" and "death" changed to
mean "eternal life with torment"?
• Is "the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord"? Romans 6:23, or is death eternal life with torment?
Eternal life is a conditional gift to the saved at the resurrection and judgment. “HE
THAT HAVE THE SON HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. HE THAT HAS NOT THE SON HAS
NOT LIFE” (Immortality) 1 John 5:12. "He that hears My word, and believes Him that
sent Me, has eternal LIFE, and comes not into judgment, but has passed out of DEATH
into LIFE" (John 5:24).
"I have set before you LIFE and DEATH" (Deuteronomy 30:19). Life and death are
two of the most misused words in the Bible. Many are unwilling to believe that when
God said, "The wages of sin is death" that He did really mean what He said, that death is
death and not eternal life in some other place. Death is not a lifelong imprisonment with
torture. DEATH IS DEATH, it is LIFE or DEATH, NOT A BETTER LIFE IN HEAVEN
OR A WORSE LIFE IN HELL. Death is the exact opposite of life, and death cannot be
changed to be eternal life with torment. For a person to have an immortal soul from birth,
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death as the wages of sin must be explained away. Innate inborn immortality is hostile to
God's word. If a person is born with an immortal "immaterial, invisible part of men" (W.
E. Vine) that is not subject to death and this "soul" is the only part of a person that will
survive death, the law of God has no power over whether that soul lives or dies for it
cannot die; God can only say how or where this "immaterial, invisible part of men" is to
live, for this "part of man" is not subject to death and must live some place.
"He that hears my word, and believes him that sent me, HAS ETERNAL LIFE, and
comes not into judgment, but has passed OUT OF DEATH INTO LIFE" (John 5:24). Not
a soul that has eternal life passing out of one kind of eternal life into another kind of
eternal life but has passed OUT OF DEATH INTO LIFE.
"It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this comes judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).
"For the hour comes, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall
come forth; they that have done good, unto the RESURRECTION OF LIFE; and they that
have done evil, unto the RESURRECTION OF JUDGMENT" (John 5:28-29). We bear
the image of Adam, and like Adam, we all will die; but both the saved and those not
saved will be raised at the second coming of Christ and be judged. The saved will bear
the image of Christ and have life forever (1 Corinthians 15:45-49). The church at Smyrna
was told, "Be you faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life...He that
overcomes shall not be hurt of the SECOND DEATH" (Revelation 2:10-11). Throughout
the Gospels, Christ promised life to all who believed Him. Paul says, "His servants you
are whom you obey; whether of SIN UNTO DEATH, or OBEDIENCE UNTO
RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Romans 6:16). "What fruit then had you at that time in the things
whereof you are now ashamed: for the END of these things is DEATH. But, now being
made free from sin and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification,
and the END ETERNAL LIFE" (Romans 6:21-22). As clear as human language can be,
Paul says, "For the wages of sin is DEATH; but the free gift of God is eternal LIFE in
Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
In Romans 6:23, the issue is:
LIFE - - - - - - - - - - - -OR - DEATH
NOT LIFE IN ONE PLACE-HEAVEN – OR - LIFE IN ANOTHER PLACE-HELL
DEATH IS THE ABSENCE OF LIFE – NOT - ANOTHER KIND OF LIFE, WHICH WILL BE EITHER BETTER OR WORSE THAN
THIS LIFE
ALL WHO OBEYS CHRIST AND "OVERCOMES," WILL AT THE JUDGMENT
BE GIVEN THE CROWN OF LIFE; AND SHALL NOT BE HURT OF THE SECOND
DEATH. THE CLEAR IMPLICATION IS THAT ANYONE WHO DOES NOT
OVERCOME SHALL BE HURT OF THE SECOND DEATH AT THE JUDGMENT
(Revelation 2:11). "He that OVERCOMES shall inherit these things: and I will be his
God, and he shall be my son. BUT for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and
murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be
in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; WHICH IS THE SECOND DEATH"
(Revelation 21:7-8).
There may be more in the New Testament on life and death than any other subject. If
God can destroy a person (the whole person, Matthew 10:28), unconditional immortality
cannot be true. If a person can lose his life (Matthew 10:39) unconditional immortality
cannot be true. Those who believe a person has a part that cannot die knows "the wages
of sin" (Romans 6:23) must be made to be something other than death for if "death"
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means "death"; the sinner will die; he cannot live forever in Hell. THEY MUST DO
AWAY WITH THE BIBLE TEACHING ON DEATH OR THERE CAN BE NO HELL.
JOHN 3:16: If all have eternal life at birth, why did God give His Son that all who
believe on Him would have eternal life and not perish? If we are born with eternal life,
how could the gift of God to those who believe and obey Him be eternal life? Eternal life
is only for those who believe. Just as sure as those that believe on Christ will have eternal
life, those who do not believe on Christ will not have eternal life any place.
JOHN 11:25: "I AM THE RESURRECTION, AND THE LIFE: he that believes on me,
though he die, yet shall he live; and whosoever lives and believes on me shall never die."
"And declare unto you the life, the eternal life" (1 John 1:1). Only those who are raised
with Christ through baptism have life. They are the only ones who, “Though he die, yet
shall he live” [John 11:25]. Christianity without a resurrection to life for those in Christ is
inconceivable.
(1) LIFE
The gift of God is eternal life but only to those in Christ. God's gift of LIFE is not
just a reward to those who are born with eternal life and cannot die.
1. The Greek concept of an immortal soul assumes that the soul already possess
eternal life and is not subject to death.
2. The orthodox view is that a person has an "immaterial, invisible part of men," and
only this part of himself possesses eternal life at or before birth and is not subject
to death; the orthodox view is that this is the only part of a person that will be in
Heaven or Hell immediately after death before and without the resurrection and
judgment. According to the orthodox view all the dead are now in Heaven or Hell
and will always be there even if there never will be a second coming of Christ or
resurrection or judgment.
3. THE BIBLE VIEW IS THAT CHRIST "ABOLISHED DEATH, AND BROUGHT
LIFE AND IMMORTALITY TO LIGHT THROUGH THE GOSPEL" (2 Timothy
1:10). Without the resurrection there would be no life after death. Before the
resurrection, no person or no part of a person has immortality.
Psukee (life) is the only word-translated soul in the New Testament. THE
ADJECTIVES ETERNAL AND EVERLASTING ARE NEVER USED WITH
PSUKEE. Psukee is translated: life 40 times, you 1 time, us 1 time, mind 3 times, heart 1
time, heartily 1 time, soul 57 times in the King James Version. Psukee (life) is the natural
life or a person from Adam or the natural life of any living being (Revelation 8:9; 16:3).
It is the life common to all living creatures, man and all animals, and is never said to be
eternal. All living creatures by natural birth have psukee (life) from birth to death. "The
first man Adam become A LIVING SOUL (psukee-living being)" (1 Corinthians 15:45):
psukee is the same as nehphesh in the Old Testament. Adam became "A LIVING SOUL"-
nehphesh-a living being (Genesis 2:7). It is the life Adam had in common with animals
and all living creatures.
Zoee (life) is a gift from Christ to those who believe, the eternal life He gives to
those who are His. "Zoee" is used about one hundred thirty times (Wigram, Page 339,
Sometimes spelled "zoe") and is translated "life" every time. It refers to the life given by
Christ to believes in all but about ten of the about one hundred thirty times it is used
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where it is life or existence in this life time, “Seeing He Himself gives to all life (zoee),
and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25).
B. W. Johnson said "The zoee, (life, existence) is never said to end, or perish. It is the psuchee
(breath, or animal life), that is laid down, or perishes." Commentary on John, 1886, John 10:27-
28.
Passages where life (zoee) is the life Christ gives to believers that nonbelievers will
never have; a life that is beyond the earthly life that both believers and nonbelievers now
have. Life (zoee) that Christ gives to believers is existence for believers as opposed to
non-existence or death for nonbelievers, it is existence and being alive as opposed to nonexistence
and being dead. THE PENALTY FOR SIN IS DEATH AND CHRIST MAKE
THE ATONEMENT FOR OUR SINS BY HIS DEATH; LIFE FOR US IS ONLY
THROUGH CHRIST’S ATONEMENT AND WITHOUT HIS ATONEMENT THERE
IS ONLY DEATH, NOT ETERNAL LIFE ANYPLACE WITH OR WITHOUT
TORMENT. The wages of sin is death and unless Christ has not made the atonement for
the sins of the wicked that never believe Him and there is no life for them, without eternal
life they cannot be eternally tormented.
• "Shall inherit eternal (aionios) LIFE (zoee)" Matthew 19:29
• "That whosoever believes may in him have eternal (aionios) LIFE (zoee)" John
3:15. The only way to have eternal life is through believing in Christ, not by birth,
not being born with an immortal soul that his eternal life without believing in
Christ.
• "Whosoever believes on him should not perish, but have eternal (aionios) LIFE
(zoee)" John 3:16
• "He that believes on the Son has eternal (aionios) LIFE (zoee); but he that obeys
not the Son shall not see LIFE (zoee)" John 3:36. He or she that obeys not the
Son is not now immortal and will never be immortal in Hell or any place, will
never have eternal life any place
• "The water I shall give him shall become in him a well or water springing up
unto eternal (aionios) LIFE (zoee)" John 4:14
• "Fruit unto LIFE (zoee) eternal (aionios)" John 4:36
• "Son also gives LIFE (zoee)" John 5:21
• "Out of death into LIFE (zoee)" John 5:24
• "That you may have LIFE (zoee)" John 5:40
• "Unto the resurrection of LIFE (zoee)" John 5:29
• "Food which abides unto eternal LIFE (zoee)" John 6:27
• "Should have eternal LIFE (zoee); and I will raise him up at the last day" John
6:40
• "And I give unto them eternal LIFE (zoee)" John 10:28. He is not giving them
life that they had at birth, but life that they or no part of them had before the new
birth. When Jesus said, "He that believes not the Son shall not see life," eternal
life in torment shall not be seen.
• "He should give eternal LIFE (zoee)" John 17:1-3
• "You may have LIFE (zoee)" John 20:31
• "The free gift of God is eternal LIFE (zoee) in Christ Jesus our Lord" Romans
6:23
• "Believe on Him unto eternal LIFE (zoee)" 1 Timothy 1:16
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• "Lay hold on the LIFE (zoee) eternal, whereunto you were called" 1 Timothy
6:12
• "May lay hold on the LIFE (zoee) which is LIFE (zoee) indeed" 1 Timothy 6:19
• "Abolished death and brought LIFE (zoee) and immortality to light" 2 Timothy
1:10
• "In hope of eternal LIFE (zoee)" Titus 1:2
• "We might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal LIFE (zoee)" Titus
3:12
• "Shall receive the crown of LIFE (zoee)" James 1:12
• "Declare unto you the LIFE (zoee), the eternal LIFE (zoee), (Christ) which was
with the Father" 1 John 1:2
• "And this is the promise which he promised us, even the LIFE (zoee) eternal" (1
John 2:25). At the resurrection the saved shall put on immortality (eternal life).
This is so sure that it is spoken of as if we now have it.
• "And in the world to come eternal LIFE (zoee)" Mark 10:30
• (1) "God gave unto us eternal LIFE (zoee), (2) and this LIFE (zoee) is in his
Son. (3) He that has the Son has the LIFE (zoee); (4) he that has not the Son of
God has not the LIFE (zoee)" 1 John 5:11-12. No invisible immaterial part of a
person that is not in Christ now has eternal life or the promise of eternal life.
• "And the end, eternal LIFE (zoee)" Romans 6:22
• "Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal LIFE (zoee)" Jude
21
• "That of all that which he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it
up at the last day" (John 6:29). "For this is the will of my Father, that every one
that beholds the Son, and believes on him, should have eternal LIFE (zoee); and
I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:40). "And I will raise him up at the
last day" (John 6:44) "And I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:54)
• "Who will render to every man according to his works: to them that by patience
in well doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal LIFE (zoee)"
Romans 2:7
• "I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE (zoee)" "Jesus said unto her, I
am the resurrection, and the LIFE (zoee): he that believes on me, though he die,
yet shall he live; and whosoever lives and believes on me shall never die" (John
11:25-26)
• "Our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought LIFE (zoee) and
immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Timothy 1:10). Christ is the Word of
life. "Concerning the Word of life (and the life was manifested, and we have seen,
and bear witness, and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with
the Father)" (1 John 1:2). Only those raised with Christ through baptism have the
promise of eternal life and will not be subject to the Second Death.
THE PROMISE OF ETERNAL LIFE AT THE JUDGMENT ONLY TO THOSE
WHO BELIEVE IN AND OBEY CHRIST IS POSITIVE PROOF THAT WE DO NOT
NOW HAVE IMMORTALITY. A born again person cannot be given life and
immortality at the judgment if all men are now immortal and cannot die, for they would
have been born with life and born immortal. The theology, which says a person is born
with immortality, robs Christ of the gift of life to all who believes and gives life to all at
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birth. THESE PASSAGES MAKE NO SENSE IF WE ARE BORN WITH A SOUL
THAT HAS LIFE AND CAN NEVER DIE, AND THIS SOUL THAT IS NOT
SUBJECT TO DEATH IS THE ONLY PART OF US THAT WILL BE IN HEAVEN.
DO THEY THINK CHRIST GIVES LIFE ONLY TO A PART OF A PERSON, WHICH
IS ALREADY IMMORTAL AND HAS HAD ETERNAL LIFE FROM BIRTH AND
CANNOT DIE? Immortality is conditional on being in Christ; there is no eternal life
except in Christ.
• "He that eats this bread shall live forever" John 6:51, 6:57
• "For if... we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection" Romans 6:5
• “And this mortal must put on immortality” 1 Corinthians 15:53
• "Made alive" Ephesians 2:1-5
• “Who according to his great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, unto an inheritance incorruptible,
and undefiled, and that fades not away, RESERVED IN HEAVEN FOR YOU,
who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto A SALVATION
READY TO BE REVEALED IN THE LAST TIME...receiving the end of your
faith, the salvation of your souls” (psukee-lives "the salvation of your lives" Our
lives are saved from death by the blood of Christ who give His life to save our
life, not just an "immaterial, invisible part of a man") “Set your hope perfectly on
THE GRACE THAT IS TO BE BROUGHT UNTO YOU AT THE
REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST” (1 Peter 1:3-13)
• "But if by the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body you shall live"
Romans 8:13
• "That we may be also glorified with Him" Romans 8:17
• "With the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward" Romans 8:18. When? Not
now, but at the resurrection
• "Waiting for our adoption" Romans 8:23. (Not an immaterial part or “our”
waiting for "its" adoption)
• "Foreordained to be conformed to the image of His Son" Romans 8:29
• For this hope we must "with patience wait for it" Romans 8:25
• FOUR TIMES IN JOHN 6:39-54 CHRIST SAYS HE WILL RISE UP THOSE
THAT ARE HIS "AT THE LAST DAY" (John 6:39, 40, 44, and 54)
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible, "The idea of a life to come is in many portions
of the OT conspicuous by its absence. There is nothing anywhere that will compare
with the NT conception of 'eternal life'" Page 546.
Eternal life is the gift of Christ to those who obey Him, not something all mankind
possess without obeying Christ.
ETERNAL LIFE
• Will be received in the future [John 3:16], “but have” is undeniably future tense.
• Will be inherited [Matthew 19:29], not something that the “soul” of all now has.
• Is the gift of God [Romans 6:23] only to those who obey God, not something all
have from birth.
• We now have the hope of eternal life [Titus 3:7] in the future, something only
believers shall receive.
• Eternal life is promised [1 John 1:25]. If all have it from birth it could not be the
gift of God promised only to believers.
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(2) DEATH
Salvation is from death, not from torment for those who cannot die. Eternal life
with torment in Hell means there is no death. The penalty of sin is death (Romans
6:23), not eternal life in Hell. This passage is preached continually, but very few that
preach it believe it. They preach, "The wages of sin is death," and in the same breath
preach a person has a part that cannot die and the wages of sin for our deathless
part of us is an eternal life of torment in Hell. Death is death, not an eternal dying but
never dead. Death is not eternal life with torment.
All have sinned; the wages of sin is death. Death is God's penalty for sin; how could
God have said this anymore clear and simple? The gift of God canceled the wages of sin
and gives life. The free gift of God is not changing one kind of life for another kind of
life, or life in one place for life in another place. IT IS GIVING LIFE IN PLACE OF
DEATH. This is made possible not by Christ living our life of eternal torment for us, but
by Christ dying our death for us. THE FREE GIFT OF GOD IS LIFE, NOT JUST A
CHANGE OF ADDRESS FROM HELL TO HEAVEN FOR THOSE WHO HAVE
ETERNAL LIFE AND CANNOT DIE.
"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life" (Romans 6:23). There
are two reasons why the sinner will die in this passage. (1) They will receive the wages
they earned for sin, which is death. (2) Eternal life, immortality, is given only to those
who are in Christ. The lost will never be given the gift of immortality.
"Shall save a soul (psukee-life or person) from death" "Will save him from death"
New International Version James 5:20. The person saved is saved from death, not from
an eternal life of torment.
"Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls (life-psukee)" 1
Peter 1:9
"Sin unto death" Romans 6:16: Not sin unto an eternal life of torment
"What fruit then had you at that time in the things whereof you are now ashamed? For
the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin and become servants
to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end eternal life (at judgment).
For the Wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life" Romans 6:21-23.
DEATH is not a gateway to a better LIFE. Death is an "enemy" and our hope is the
resurrection, never death. "For you shall be recompensed in the resurrection"(Luke
14:14), not instantly after death
"Be you faithful unto death (end of this life) and I will give you the crown of life (at
the judgment)...shall not be hurt of the second death" ("You" not to a immaterial "part of
you") Revelation 2:10. And with the world they shall "passes away" 1 John 2:17
"For if you live after the flesh, you must die" Romans 8:13 ("You" not just a part of
"you" must die)
"We (not only a part of us) have passed out of death into life" 1 John 3:14
Death is so sure to those not in Christ that they "abides in death" 1 John 3:14
"If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable. But now
has Christ been raised from the DEAD, the first fruits of them that are asleep. For since
by man came DEATH, by man came also the resurrection of the DEAD. For as in Adam
all DIE, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:21-23). In the
plainest language possible, Jesus said, "If you believe not, you shall die in your sins"
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(John 8:21-24). Many read this passage and see, “If you believe not, your soul that cannot
die is now dead.”
Those who believe in eternal torment are saying to the unsaved that they already have
eternal life but will spend it in the wrong place. They are saying to the lost that they can
never die but that they will live an unhappy everlasting life. They are saying the lost will
be in Hell and just as alive as those in Heaven, and in no sense can the lost to be said to
be dead; in no plain common sense language can the wages of sin be said to be death to
an immortal being that cannot die for if it could die or if it were dead it would not be an
immortal being. They are saying that death cannot be death, but death is only a transfer of
life from this realm to life in another realm. For a person to now have an immortal soul
that can never die, death, particularly the second death must be changed to a second life.
Those who believe men are now immortal must take death out of the Bible. In all the
repeatedly times Christ promised eternal life to believers, He must be made not to mean
what He promised; not eternal life, but to be promising only a reward or happiness.
"WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH," not an eternal life of torment for those who
cannot ever be dead (Romans 6:23). Death is not life in a different form; death ends life
and without the resurrection death means the utter destruction of life to both believers and
unbelievers. Death is to be abolished at "the end" (1 Corinthians 15:24-26) by casting it
into lake of fire. Jesus endured the wages of sin in our place so that we would not have to.
CHRIST COULD NOT BE OUR SAVIOR IF THE WAGES OF SIN IS ETERNAL
TORMENT. Jesus died in our place; but He did not endure eternal torment in our place,
therefore, if the wages of sin were eternal torment He could not be our savior. He would
not have paid our debt. He did "taste of death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9). Today's
theology that death is only life in a different place and is not really death makes our
salvation impossible by making the death of Christ impossible.
Robert Turner said, "Sin separates us from God, and 'the soul that sinneth, it shall die.'" Florida
College Annual Lectures, 1986, Page 172. Which one is he saying? (1) The soul that sins lives
forever separated from God, or (2) "The soul that sins shall die." The two are a total
conduction of each other and both cannot be true.
Romans 6:21-23 If we have a soul that is now immortal, it now has eternal life and
will always have eternal life, even if is not in Christ, even if there were no resurrection,
even if Christ had not died in our place the wages of sin could not be death to a soul that
cannot die.
• "For the end of these things is death...for the wages of sin is death" King James
Version
• "For the outcome of these things is death...for the wages of sin is death" New
American Standard
• "These things result in death...for the wages of sin is death" New International
Version
• "These things only bring death...when people sin, they earn what sin pays--death"
New Century Version
• "And they lead to death...sin pays off with death" Contemporary English Version
• "Things that end in eternal doom...for the wages of sin is death" New Living
Translation
• "The result of those things is death...for sin pays it wage--death" Today's English
Version
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o There is not the slightest sign of an immortal soul that is not subject to
death in this passage.
THE THREE STEPS TO DEATH in James 1:15: (1) LUST (when it has conceived)
(2) gives birth to SIN (3) sin (when it is accomplished) brings DEATH. In today's
preaching the three steps are changed to (1) LUST (2) SIN (3) ETERNAL LIFE IN
HELL.
• "Then when LUST hath conceived, it bringeth forth SIN; and sin, when it is
finished, bringeth forth DEATH" (King James Version)
• "Then, when DESIRE has conceived, it gives birth to SIN: and sin, when it is fullgrown,
brings forth DEATH" (New King James Version)
• "Then the LUST, when it hath conceived, beareth SIN: and the sin, when it is full
grown, bringeth forth DEATH" (American Standard Version)
• "Then when LUST has conceived, it gives birth to SIN and when sin is
accomplished, it brings forth DEATH" (New American Standard Version)
• "Then, when that DESIRE has conceived, it gives birth to SIN, and that sin, when
it if fully grown, gives birth to DEATH" (New Revised Standard Version)
• "Then, after DESIRE has conceived, it gives birth to SIN; and sin, when it is fullgrown,
gives birth to DEATH" (New International Version)
It is LIFE or DEATH, not reward or torment; never an everlasting life of torment with
God doing the tormenting. There is so much teaching in the New Testament on life and
death that it is as if God foreknow men would change the wages of sin into an everlasting
life of torment, and He gives them no way to say at the judgment "I did not know." Why
do men not believe God? DEATH IS IN CONTRAST TO LIFE. IT IS THE OPPOSITE
OF LIFE, AND NOT JUST ANOTHER KIND OF LIFE. DEATH IS NOT LIFE IN
HEAVEN, HELL, PURGATORY, OR HADES. IT IS NOT LIFE OF ANY KIND,
ANYWHERE; DEATH IS DEATH, NOT EVERLASTING LIFE WITH TORMENT,
NOT A MERE CHANGE IN THE MODE OF EXISTENCE. The unsaved cannot be
both eternally dead and eternally alive and conscious. They cannot be both dead and alive
at the same time
"For if you live according to the flesh, YOU WILL DIE: but if by the Spirit YOU put to
death the deeds of the body, YOU WILL LIVE" Romans 8:13. “YOU” will live or die, not
just an "immaterial, invisible part of man" (W. E. Vine). THE SAME THING THAT
"WILL DIE" IS THE SAME THING THAT "WILL LIVE," BUT WE ARE TOLD THAT
"IT" CANNOT DIE.
• Narrow way = LIFE - Broad way = DESTRUCTION (Matthew 7:13-14)
• LIFE or DEATH (Romans 6:23; 4:17; 1 Corinthians 3:22)
• LIFE or PERISH (John 3:16)
• LIFE or DIE (Romans 8:13)
• LIFE AND PEACE or DEATH (Romans 8:6)
• SAVED or DESTROY (James 4:12)
• LIFE or DESTRUCTION (Matthew 7:13-14)
• Into LIFE out of DEATH (1 John 3:14)
• Under the Old Testament Law (earthly life or death)
o LIFE and DEATH (Deuteronomy 30:15-20)
o DEATH and LIVE (Ezekiel 18:23)
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o DEATH and LIVE (Ezekiel 18:32) The Bible says what it means and
means what it says. God inspired John to say, "should not perish" but
many say God did not mean, "perish" but "have an eternal life of
torment."
Is the world on Satan's side?
• God said, "You shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17)
• Satan said, "You shall surely not die" (Genesis 3:4)
• Most Protestant theologians say, "You shall surely not die"
In Romans 1:28-23, Paul gives a list of sins, then says, "They that practice such things
ARE WORTHY OF DEATH." Not have an eternal life of torment in Hell, but of death, but
many today say, "They that practice such things ARE WORTHY OF ETERNAL LIFE
IN HELL." Will you believe them or Paul? You cannot believe both. "What fruit then
had you at that time in the things whereof you are now ashamed? For THE END OF
THESE THINGS IS DEATH...You have your fruit unto sanctification, AND THE END
ETERNAL LIFE, for the wages of sin is DEATH; but the free gift of God is ETERNAL
LIFE in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:21-23). The gift of God to those who believe
on His Son is eternal life (John 3:16), and this gift is something they do not already have;
not something ALL were born with. If all have eternal life from birth, even those who do
not believe, how could life be a gift to believers? When those who believe that all now
have eternal life (an immortal soul) read the Bible, and change "life" into "a reward" and
change death, die, perish, destroyed, and destruction into "punishment." To them, the
Bible cannot mean what it says and they must change it.
ADDITIONS TO THE BIBLE
“Eternal Hell,” “immortal soul,” “save your immortal soul,” and “eternal suffering in
Hell fire” are not in the Bible but are used often by preachers and Bible teacher and are
falsely presented as being the teaching of the Bible.
The first death is the end of life of the flesh (life as it exist now). The second death
then must also be the end of life (life as it will exist then), or it is not a second death, but
something altogether different from death - a second life. An everlasting life of torment is
not a second death. The traditional concept is that a person has an immortal soul, which
neither the first or second death can kill, therefore; death must be made to be something
other than death. On about every page throughout the New Testament it is life or death,
not just reward or punishment. THE UNSAVED DIE, PERISH, ARE DESTROYED,
AND ARE LOST. THE OBEDIENT ARE SAVED FROM DEATH AND GIVEN LIFE
AND IMMORTALITY AT THE JUDGMENT. If the soul now has eternal life, if it is
immortal and cannot die, then much of the language of the Bible has no meaning and is
saying nothing. WHY IS THERE SO MUCH IN THE BIBLE ON DEATH WHEN
THERE IS NO DEATH? Many have believed what their preacher or church says and
have rejected the Bible as being untrue. Eternal life is frequently promised to the
righteous, but never to the wicked. If they do not have eternal life they cannot endure
eternal torment.
Our body will be "fashion a new" American Standard Version, "Change" King James
Version. "Transform" New American Standard Version, Philippians 3:20-21. "But when
this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in
victory...but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." If
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the lost will live forever in Hell, do they also have the victory over death; will not their
life (not their death) be just as eternal as the saved?
Summery: If it were true that there is no real death, that death is only a separation
from God, then there could not be a resurrection of the dead for no one could be really
dead. The pagan doctrine of the immortality of the soul makes the Bible doctrine of the
resurrection of the dead both impossible and useless. Any life after death depends wholly
on the resurrection of the dead at the coming of Christ (Luke 14:13-14; 1 Thessalonians
4:16; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55).
THE BIBLE HAS BEEN CHANGED
TO TEACH THAT DEATH IS ETERNAL LIFE
"We have passed out of death into life" (1 John 4:14). It is us (the whole person) that
were dead in our relation to God, not a dead soul that “passed out of death into life” and
is now alive. IF IT IS THE SOUL THAT WAS DEAD BUT IS NOW ALIVE, IT
WOULD BE A CONTRADICTION OF THE DOCTRINE THAT THE SOUL CAN
NEVER DIE, FOR AN IMMORTAL SOUL THAT CANNOT BE DEAD WOULD
HAVE BEEN DEAD, AND IT WOULD HAVE "PASSED OUT OF DEATH INTO
LIFE;" the soul, which we are told can never be dead was dead at one time but now the
soul that was a dead soul is now alive. It was the person that was dead before they were
in Christ, but is now alive in Him, it is the person that has passed out of death into life,
not an undying immaterial part of the person that could never be dead.
Believers in immortality from birth must change the Bible to say:
1. Those who are destroyed are not destroyed. (James 4:12; 2 Peter 2:12; 2 Peter
3:7)
2. Those who perish do not perish. (1 Corinthians 1:8: John 3:16)
3. Those who die do not die. (Romans 6:23) (Death is not death)
4. The end of the wicked is not their end. (Philippians 3:19; Hebrews 6:8)
5. Those who are consumed are not consumed (Hebrews 10:27)
6. Mortals are born immortal; (1 Timothy 6:16) therefore, how can there be any
such thing as being mortal? There are no mortals and could never be a mortal if
all men are created immortal
7. The second death is not a death; it is eternal life with torment (Revelation 21:8)
Are they really teaching the Bible when they corrupt it into saying the opposite of
what it really says, or teaching what they want the Bible to say?
IS “THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH”
Or
IS THE WAGES OF SIN AN ETERNAL LIFE OF TORMENT?
It cannot be both. If all are immortal from birth, then death could not exist; no one will
ever die; no one will ever be dead; therefore, the wages of sin could not be death.
DEATH, THE ENEMY DEFEATED FOR BELIEVERS: "Jesus said unto her, your
brother shall rise again. Martha said unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the
resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he
that believes on me, though he die, yet shall he live; and whosoever lives and believes on
me shall never die" (John 11:23-26). "If a man keep my word, he shall never see death"
(John 8:55). "I am the living bread which came down out of heaven: if any man eat of this
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bread, he shall live forever" (John 6:51). It is evident that Jesus was not speaking of
physical death for like Lazarus believers shall die, but unlike nonbelievers they have a
new existence, a new life in Christ that is no longer subject to the enemy, death. They
have a victory over death and can say with Paul, "Death is swallowed up in victory, O
death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin: and the power of sin is the law: but
thinks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians
15:55-56). We are told twice that the second death has no power over believers
(Revelation 2:11; 20:6). They are not subject to it and shall live forever. "Our Savior
Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel" (2 Timothy 1:10); Christ defeated the enemy by His resurrection and gave life to
faithful believers.
"The words of the Bible contain all the ideas in it. These words, then, rightly understood, and
the ideas are clearly perceived. The words and sentences of the Bible are to be translated,
interpreted, and understood according to the same code of laws and principles of interpretation
by which other ancient writings are translated and understood; for, when God spoke to man in
his own language, He spoke as one person converses with another-IN THE FAIR, STIPULATED,
AND WELL-ESTABLISHED MEANING OF THE TERMS. This is essential to its character, as a
revelation from God; otherwise, it would be no revelation, but would always require a class of
inspired men to unfold and reveal its true sense to mankind" Alexander Campbell, "The Christian
System," Page 3, Gospel Advocate Company, 1835. "It is absolutely essential to the very idea of a
Divine communication in the form of a revelation, that its words and sentences be understood
according to their usual sense at the time when that communication was made, and amongst the
people to whom it was addressed and to whose care it was committed" A. Campbell, An essay on
"Life And Death" from the Millennial Harbinger, 1844.
“’Perish’! ‘ Perished’!! ‘Perisheth’ and ‘Perishing’!!! What do these words mean? They occur in
the sacred scriptures about one hundred and forth times. Again, I ask what do the mean? I
answer in every reference the word carries the thought of destruction; in numerous cases, utter
annihilation, utter destruction. Let us suppose that all we can know of the destiny of the ungodly
we must get from the passages in which these words are found. What would we conclude?
Eternal conscious punishment for all the wicked, without regard to how wicked? Not if there
is any meaning in the language? The word is used in the scriptures in the exact sense in
which the word as it stands in English is used, or its corresponding word in every language and
dialect. We say: ‘His hand has perished.’ We say: ‘For want of rain our crops have perished.’ We
say: ‘Babylon has perished.’ We say: ‘The seed we sowed perished because it was without life.’
What do we mean? We can only mean one thing. Absolute destruction! So far as we know God
has but one way of communicating with man; namely, language. This language is clear, pointed,
unmistakable. Christianity has life, or immortality, and he offers it to men hear, and those who
reject the light and the life must perish.” Ashley Johnson, Founder and president of the Johnson
Bible College, “The Resurrection And The Future Life,” Page 420-421, 1913, Knoxville
Lithographing Company, church of Christ.
“When the Lord talked with men, and used human language, if he placed other meanings on
the words than those understood by men, HOW COULD GOD TEACH US? Or if he used them in
a figurative sense, in their last and most important application, why were we not apprised of the
change...IF THE BIBLE DOESN’T MEAN WHAT IT SAYS, THEN NOBODY KNOWS WHAT IT
DOES MEAN.” E. D. Slough, “The Indictment Of Eternal Torment—The Self-negation Of A
Monstrous Doctrine,” Page 195-206, F. L. Rowe, Publisher, 1914, evangelist, church of Christ.
Those who believe men are now immortal have to make the words that God used not
mean what they say. Is it not unreasonable to make words in the Bible has a meaning
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attached to them that is unlike the way they are used in any other book in the world,
unlike the way they were used in the language of those God spoke to?
(1) LIFE must be changed to be not life but is only a reward to those who are born
with eternal life. Is it not unreasonable to say the many times Christ promised eternal life
to those that believe Him, that He only promised them a reward and not eternal life? And
just as unreasonable to say that He promised life to only to a part a person that was born
with eternal life and cannot die and only this immaterial part of a person will be in
Heaven. This doctrine of an immortal soul that cannot die makes Christ promise us
something over and over that we already had. Throughout the Book of John, Christ
repeatedly promised life to those who believed and those who did not believe would not
see life (John 3:36; 4:14; 4:36; 5:21; 5:40; 6:33, 39, 44, 47, 57, 63, 68). "That to all whom
you have given him, he should give eternal life. And this is life eternal, that they should
know you the only true God, and him whom you did send, even Jesus Christ" (John 17:2-
3). There could not be a stronger statement saying only those who believe in Jesus will
have life, and those who do not believe will not be given any life anywhere.
Alexander Campbell in his preface to "The Living Oracles," his translation of the New
Testament said, "The reader will please to consider, that, when God spoke to man, he adopted
the language of man. To the fathers of the Jewish nation he spoke in their mother tongue. By his
Son, and his Son by the Apostles, spoke to every nation in its own language. When he spoke to
any nation, he uniformly adopted the words of that nation in expressing his will to it. And that he
used their words in the commonly received sense, needs no other proof than this, that if he had
not done so, instead of enlightening them in the knowledge of his will, he would have deceived
and confounded them: than which, no hypothesis is more impious. For example: were God to
speak to us in English, and select from our vocabulary the words death, punishment, perpetual,
and wicked; were he to use the last term as we use it, and annex to the others a significant
different from that we affix to them--such as to mean life by the term death, happiness
by the punishment, and a limited time by the word perpetual; and without apprising us of such a
change, in their meaning...what a deception would he practice on us!" HOW MANY CHANGE
"DEATH" TO "LIFE," BY CHANGING "THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH" TO "THE WAGES OF SIN
IS ETERNAL LIFE WITH TORMENT"?
"Its uniform testimony (the New Testament) is that 'eternal life' hereafter will be the exclusive
possession of the just, and that the wicked will certainly not obtain it: 'He that believeth on the
Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life.' Our simple enquiry
is, what is meant by that Greek word translated 'life' in the passages referred to. Our Lord in
addressing Himself to the Jewish people, Luke in writing a Gospel for the Gentile world, Paul in
writing to Rome, the metropolis of heathenism, or Corinth priding itself on the Grecian tongue,
James, Peter, and Jude writing to Christians wherever scattered over the earth, all alike use this
word as universally understood. We have only, therefore, to refer to our classical dictionaries,
and there we find its primary and universally accepted sense to be existence. If we want any
further confirmation, let us listen to the Apostle James defining it's meaning: 'What is your life? It
is even a vapor, that appeared for a little time, and then vanishes away.' On the classical usage,
and express definition of the New Testament, we take our stand. Dictionaries of the New
Testament, and commentators on it, may, if they please, put upon the phrase the sense of
'happiness' in the numberless passage where it occurs, but we deny to them the right to alter the
meaning of a well understood Grecian word for the sake of bolstering up their baseless and
horrid creed" Henry Constable, The Duration and Nature of Future Punishment" 1871.
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(2) DEATH must be changed so that it does not mean death but eternal life with
torment for those who can never be dead. The dead are not really dead for death is only
"a loss of well being" a loss of happiness and is eternal life with torment. Death must be
made to be not death but a doorway to a spiritual world where ALL, both the saved and
the lost are alive and have eternal life; to the saved death means an instant doorway to a
greater and fuller life; to the lost an instant doorway to an eternal life of pain. In no plain
language can death be said to be the wages of sin to an immortal being that cannot die.
DEATH IS MADE TO BE NOT DEATH BUT A MERE CHANGE IN THE MODE OF
EXISTENCE. TO MANY, DEATH MEANS TO BE ALIVE, TO HAVE ETERNAL
LIFE, BUT SEPARATED FROM GOD AND TORMENTED BY GOD. TO MAKE
THE WORD "DEATH" FIT THEIR VIEW; THEY MUST MAKE IT FIGURATIVE.
THE TRUE MEANING OF THE WORD WILL DESTROY THEIR VIEW. ALL
PLAIN PASSAGES LIKE ROMANS 6:23 (THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH) MUST
BE MADE INTO FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, BUT THEY CANNOT TELL US HOW
THEY KNOW WHAT THE FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE MEANS. THEY CANNOT
TELL US HOW THEY KNOW "DEATH" MEANS "LIFE." A basic rule of Bible study,
which is accepted by most, is a word or a passage must be assumed to be literal unless the
context demands that it must be taken figuratively. They cannot tell why the word
"death" must be made figurative other than it would destroy their teaching if it were used
with it's true meaning. For those in Hell to feel pain they could not be dead, they would
have to be just as alive as those in Heaven.
When the death of anyone is spoken of in the Bible, the modern phraseology (they
have gone to be with Christ, have gone to their reward, have gone to be with their loved
ones in Heaven, etc.) is never used. Not even Abraham is said to have gone to his home
in Heaven at his death before the judgment. "And Abraham breathed his last and died in
a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people"
(Genesis 25:8 New American Standard Version). Such a radical change of death to life in
torment is a denial of death; an attempt to evade death by saying the real person is
immortal and therefore is not subject to death. It is a deliberate carefully thought out
wresting of the scriptures (2 Peter 3:16).
DEATH HAS BEEN CHANGED TO LIFE
• Those that refused to have God in their knowledge “are worthy of DEATH”
(Romans 1:28-32), but are given life in Hell.
• Sin is “unto DEATH” (Romans 6:16) “Leads to DEATH” New International
Version, has been changed to sinners live forever in torment.
• “The wages of sin is DEATH” (Romans 6:23), but the wages can never be paid because man
teaches an immortality soul cannot die.
• “For if you live according to the flesh, you must DIE” (Romans 8:13), but an
immortality soul would have has eternal life and could not die.
• “For the end of these things is DEATH” (Romans 6:21) “These things result in
DEATH” New International Version. This has been changed to, “For the end of these thing is
eternal life in torment.”
• “Acts that lead to DEATH” (Hebrews 9:14) New International Version
• “His servants you are whom you obey; whether sin unto DEATH, or obedience
unto righteousness” (Romans 6:16).
• “For to be carnal minded is DEATH” (Romans 8:6).
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• “Sin…brings forth death”(James 1:15) but we are repeatedly told that an immortal soul is not
subject to death.
(3) DIE "If you live after the flesh, you must DIE; but if by the spirit you put to death
the deeds of the body, you shall LIVE" (Romans 8:13). The immoral soul doctrine must
make DIE to mean exactly the same thing as LIVE, just live in two different places;
therefore, "die" and "live" both mean eternal life! "Die" and "live" must both be
interpreted to means to exist forever! Who can believe it? It is obvious that "die" is only
interpreted to mean "eternal life in torment" when it serves the purpose of the doctrine of
eternal torment, and all other times "to die" really means "to die"; also that we must have
someone tell us when "die" means "eternal life in torment" and when "die" really means
"die"; and without this help we could never know when God intended us to understand
the opposite of what He said and when He intended us to understand what He said in the
way He said it.
(4) DESTRUCTION must be changed to be only a loss of well being. The
traditionalist argument is that the words "destroy" and "destruction" should not be taken
with their established meaning but be interpreted as "a loss of well being" or an
"irreparable loss." How could they or anyone know this without a revelation from God?
How can the Scriptures speak of the destruction of the lost if they are not destroyed? Why
would God say He were going to destroy the lost if He knows the soul is immortal and
He could not destroy it? DESTRUCTION HAS BEEN CHANGED TO EXISTING
FOREVER IN TORMENT.
(5) DESTROY must be made to mean to preserve forever. They must add, "Can never
be" to destroyed and make it read, "Can never be destroyed." They argue that an
immortal soul cannot die, therefore, "destroy" cannot mean "destroy" and the Bible did
not really mean "destroy" when it said "destroy," just as "death" cannot really mean
"death;" but these words must mean something; therefore, they are changed and given a
meaning that is the opposite of their true meaning. Many words MUST always be used
with a meaning that is the opposite of what the words mean. They argue that nothing can
be annihilated in the scientific sense, that nothing is annihilated by fire; it just changes its
form. They overlook the fact that the Bible is not a scientific book and is not written in
today's scientific language, and that God made all things out of nothing and all things will
go back to nothing. No one to whom Paul was writing would not have thought that if a
book were burnt up that it was not destroyed.
In Matthew 10:28 there is no figurative language, but we are told that one word must
be used in a figurative way to mean just the opposite of its true meaning, that the one
word "destroy" must be made to mean "an eternal life of torment." There is no figurative
language in 2 Thessalonians 1:9, but two words, "destruction" and "perish" must be made
figurative to mean the same, "an eternal life of torment."
One word must be made figurative even when nothing is figurative in the context that
the word is in.
• DEATH, when made figuratively, is eternal life in Hell separated from God but
definitely not dead.
• DESTRUCTION, when made figuratively, is only a loss of well being.
• DESTROY and PERISH, when made figuratively, means to preserve forever.
Did God intend to say imperishable when He said perish?
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• SLEEP, when made figuratively, is to be awake in Heaven or Hell but definitely
not asleep, that would make their "immaterial, invisible part of men" be asleep in
Hell; therefore, they have labeled this "soul sleeping." It is true that the Bible says
nothing about "soul sleeping" of an "immaterial, invisible part of men," but it
repeatedly says a person sleeps unto he or she wakes at the resurrection.
(6) PERISH like destruction and destroy, perish must be made to mean, "can never
perish or be destroyed but to live forever in an unhappy and miserable condition in Hell."
Forever perishing but imperishable!
(7) FIRE destroys useless things like chaff, we know what fire is and what it does,
fire consumes, devours and destroys. For today’s theology to be true fire must be made
into figurative language of something that is not like fire, something that is altogether
different from fire, something that cannot consume. With this kind of "fire" you would
only have to put wood in your fireplace one time and it would heat your house forever. It
took some thought to come up with a fire that does not do what fire does, a fire that burns
but never burns, which consumes but never consumes. Fire destroys, consumes; in
figurative language there is always a parallel; if it were figurative language, just as real
fire consumes the chaff the wicked will be consumed, devoured, destroyed by the wrath
of God (Hebrews 10:27).
• FIRE WILL BURN UP the useless chaff of wheat [Matthew 3:12, Luke 3:17]
• FIRE WILL BURN UP the weeds, tares and bad fish [Matthew 13:30-50]
• FIRE WILL BURN UP the withered branches [John 15:6]
Chaff, tares, weeds, stubble, dry branches are highly combustible materials, but the
“figurative fire” of today’s theology is nothing like fire and the “figurative fire” burn up
nothing.
(8) SPIRITUAL DEATH is not found in the Bible but added and used repeatedly in
today's preaching. To escape from death being death the word “spiritual” is added to
death despite the fact that “spiritual death” is not in the Bible. The wages of sin is not
spiritual death, which would be a death that cannot really be death to a spirit if that spirit
can never be dead.
The wages of sin is death to the person whom sins are not washed away by the blood
of Christ. If adding to God’s word is a sin why would adding and preaching “spiritual
death” not be a sin?
(9) SLEEP does not mean sleep but awake. If the dead are being tormented in Hell,
how could they in any way be sleeping? ALL the dead are sleeping unto the resurrection.
The metaphor of the dead being asleep that is used repeatedly is made void and
foolishness by the doctrine of an immortal soul being awake in Heaven or Hell. The Bible
does not use words in such a self-contradictory manner. Death is referred as sleep about
67 times in the Bible, about 47 in the Old Testament and about 20 in the New Testament
with both the righteous dead and the unrighteous dead being asleep.
"The body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of His glory (Phil. 3:20, 21).
We do not expect this at the moment of each one's death, for at death we sleep in Jesus and rest,
but when He comes from heaven." Bill Reeves, Truth Magazine, February 15, 1973.
“May they rest in peace” that is often on graves would make no sense if the person in
the grave was not in asleep in the grave but were awake and enjoying Heaven or suffering
in Hell.
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(10) KILLS "And I will KILL her children with PESTILENCE" (Revelation 2:23).
Kill is used interchangeably with die and destroyed. "To be killed," "to die," "to be
destroyed."
Summary: LIKE DEATH, THESE WORDS MUST BE MADE INTO FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE EVEN WHEN THEY ARE IN PLAIN PASSAGES. ALL THESE
WORDS MUST BE GIVEN A THEOLOGICAL MEANING THAT IS NOT FOUND
IN THE WORDS, BUT THEY NEVER TELL US HOW THEY KNOW WHAT THIS
THEOLOGICAL MEANING IS. BUT, ONE THING IS CLEAR, IF THEY DID NOT
CHANGE THEM INTO FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, THEIR THEOLOGY WOULD
BE DESTROYED. DEATH, DESTRUCTION, DESTROY, AND PERISH ARE
SIMPLE WORDS AND THERE IS NO HINT OF THEM BEING FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE WHEN THEY ARE USED IN PLAIN PASSAGES, THEREFORE,
THEY MUST BE TAKEN IN THEIR SIMPLE LITERAL MEANING. THEY
CANNOT BE MADE TO BE FIGURATIVE AND GIVEN A MEANING NOT FOUND
IN THE WORDS TO SAVE A THEOLOGICALLY THAT IS NOT IN THE BIBLE.
THEY CAN AND THEREFORE SHOULD BE TAKEN LITERALLY. The only reason
many make these words figuratively language is that if these words are taken with their
literal meaning they make the doctrine of an immortal soul and eternal life in Hell not
passable.
WHEN FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE (LAKE OF FIRE) IS MADE LITERAL, THEN
THE LITERAL LANGUAGE MUST BE MADE TO AGREE WITH THE
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE THAT HAS BEEN CHANGED INTO LITERAL
LANGUAGE. If not, the Bible would say in one place, that destruction is not destruction,
and in many others that destruction is destruction; and say that there is no death.
• When figurative language is changed to literal language
• Literal language must be changed to figurative language in order for them not to
conflict with each other
To say an immortal soul can die, be destroyed or perish is a contradiction of words or
terms. THE PRESENT DEFINITIONS OF WORDS MUST BE DESTROYED,
AND NEW DEFINITIONS GIVEN. The new definitions end up being the opposite of
the old definition, death is no longer death; death is life, eternal life in Hell. When we say
anything, a plaint, animal or person is dead, we do not mean that plaint, animal or person
is alive and being tormented. Death must be made to mean one thing when it is a plaint or
animal that is dead and another when it is a person that is dead. Where is the revelation
by which this is known; where is the book, chapter and verse for it? IS THERE ANY
WORD GOD COULD HAVE USED THAT THEY WOULD NOT SAY IT DOES
NOT MEAN WHAT IT SAYS? No, there is not a one that would not be changed if it
would conflict with their theology.
"My mind fails to conceive a grosser misinterpretation of language then when the five or six
strongest words which the Greek tongue possesses, signifying 'destroy,' or 'destruction,' are
explained to mean maintaining an everlasting but wretched existence. To translate black as white
is nothing to this" R. F. Weymouth, Life In Christ, page 365. R. F. Weymouth is the translator of
"The New Testament in Modern Speech."
Dr. C. Campbell, who believed in eternal torment said, "If the words and phrases employed by
the apostles and evangelist, in delivering the revelation committed to them by the Holy Spirit,
had not been agreeable to the received usage of the people to whom they spoke, their discourse
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being unintelligible, could have conveyed no information, and consequently would have been no
revelation to the hearers" Preliminary Dissertation, Part 1, Sect. 1, 1854.
"There must exist some argument of almost overpowering influence which has thus
determined the interpretation of masses of language to a sense exactly contrary to its natural
meaning. For the process by which such terms as death, perishing, destruction are made to stand
for the idea of endless misery, is one so remarkable as to arrest attention and demand instant
inquiry. A corresponding action on the word 'life' so often used in the Bible to denote the eternal
reward of the saints would result in making it stand for the strange idea of a happy extinction, or
a blessed abolition of existence--an euthanasia. The radical idea of destruction, that is extinction
of being, if first taken out of the term Death; then the word is made to stand for its opposite,
eternal being; and then the associated idea of misery is grafted upon the stock of the converted
primary; the result being, that destruction stand for endless misery. An exactly parallel treatment
of the promise of Life, therefore, will result, first, in taking out of it its radical idea or conscious
existence--next, in making it stand for its opposite, extinction--and lastly, in joining the idea of
happiness with the converted primary, -so that you obtain the complex result of a happy
extinction. It would require some argument of overmastering force to persuade nine-tenths of
the scholars of Christendom to perform this operation upon the promise of life to the righteous"
Edward White, "Life in Christ," page 357.
The Bible must be made to use opposite word than what it means. The theological use
of these words today is the same as saying white is black, sweet is bitter, night is day.
• White must be made to mean black
• Sleep must be made to mean awake
• Death must be made to mean life
• To die must be made to mean to live forever in torment
• Destruction must be made to mean eternal torment
• To perish, be destroyed, must be made to mean to be preserved incorruptible and
imperishable in Hell. Perish and destroy do not mean a loss of well being and
never has
• Fire must be made into something that preserves, not something that devours or
consumes.
With definitions such as are given by today's theology, anything, whatever
anyone wants, can be proved; and whatever anyone does not want can be disproved.
Those who believe in Hell give God the power to "destroy both body and soul in
Gehenna," but only after they put their own meaning on both destroy and Gehenna, and
they say the meaning of both is an eternal life of misery and suffering in Hell.
There is no way anyone could know that death is not death but eternal life in torment.
How could the wages of sin be death when the sinner will have an eternal life in Hell?
Without a revelation from God, no one could know that God meant only a loss of well
being when He used these words.
If Hell exists then death cannot be death, if death is death there cannot be a Hell.
THE MISSING WORDS
Words that are not in the Bible but are preached today as if they were on every page
(1) Immortal soul (2) Hell (3) An eternal life of torment. The Bible is made to say what
the readers want it to say and their faith (what they believe) is only a projection of their
own desires.
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John Locke wrote, "By death some understand endless torments in hell fire; but it seems a
strange way of understanding a law, which requires the plainest and directest of word, that by
death should be meant eternal life in misery."
Dean Alford, "A canon of interpretation, which should be constantly born in mind, is that a
figurative sense of words is never admissible except when required by the context" Commentary
on Acts 10:42. "Death" used in a figurative sense to be "eternal life separated from God" is never
required by the context but that "death" means "eternal life" is a must for today's theology.
Today's teaching is that the Bible almost never means what it says and must be interpreted. One
of the ways it must be interpreted is to explain the meaning of death to be life.
H. L. Hastings, "Eight times he (Paul) speaks of the wicked as destined to perish. Death is
used to express their destiny seven times. Nine times they are spoken of as be destroyed, once as
devoured by fire, and once as burned. Not one of these words has, in the original or the
translation, the meaning of eternal torment. Not one of them means any such thing in common
conversation, AND IT IS ONLY BY A 'THEOLOGICAL' OR FALSE DEFINITION, ALIKE
REPUGNANT TO THE LAWS OF LANGUAGE AND COMMON SENSE, THAT SUCH AN IDEA CAN
BE CONVEYED BY SUCH LANGUAGE. Paul does not tell us that he used these words in a
peculiar or theological sense. No Greek would have supposed so, had they heard him; and we
are led to conclude that as Paul would not use words calculated to mislead, therefore, we should
take these words in their most obvious and current signification. Paul did teach the utter
destruction or perishing, or death, or extermination of ungodly men. He would not have taught
it unless it was true; therefore, it is the truth" The Last Judgment, Page 22.
Summary: If immorality is unconditional and the only part of a person that will live
forever in Heaven or any other place cannot die, then many words cannot "be translated,
interpreted, and understood according to the same code of laws and principles of
interpretation by which other ancient writings are translated and understood." MANY
WORDS, LIFE, DEATH, DIE, DEAD, DESTROY, PERISH, DESTRUCTION,
CONSUMED, KILL, END, BURNED UP, AND SLEEP, MUST BE REDEFINED IN A
WAY THAT THE WORLD DOES NOT USE THEM. We must have "a class of inspired
men to unfold and reveal its true sense to mankind." The belief that men are born
immortal and can never die makes death impossible and death must be redefined as a
different kind of life in a different place. This is just what they have done by saying death
does not mean to be dead, but death means to be alive and living an eternal life with
torment separated from God. Anyone who reads the Bible believing that a soul is an
"immaterial, invisible part of a person" (W. E. Vine) that is immortal and can never die,
is compelled to change all texts that speak of the lost being destroyed to mean that they
are only tortured forever but are not destroyed. "Destroy" cannot be understood "IN THE
FAIR, STIPULATED, AND WELL-ESTABLISHED MEANING OF THE TERMS."
Parables, symbols, and figurative languages are made to be superior over plain
statements. What is clear language is made to agree with what they think is said in the
symbolic language. In truth, they are saying the clear language just is not the truth, and
God did not know what He was saying. If God had used words in a way that those
hearing Him would not understand them in the way He used them, and those reading
them today would also not understand them in the way He used the words; THEN HE
DELIBERATELY MISLEADS THEM.
God said it the way He meant it.
1. LIFE is life, not just a reward to an immaterial invisible part of a person that now
has eternal LIFE and can never be dead.
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2. DEATH is death and it is the opposite of life, not a different form of life. Not
eternal life with torment.
3. DESTRUCTION is destruction. Destruction does not mean there is a part of a
person that can never be destroyed. Destruction does not mean kept alive in
eternal torment.
4. END is end, not going on without an end.
5. KILL is to end life and does not mean never able to be killed, never able to end
life.
6. BURNED UP is burned up, not ever able to be burned up.
7. CONSUMED is consumed, not ever able to be consumed.
8. PERISH is perish, not just a loss of well being to those who cannot perish.
9. SLEEP is sleep, not to be awake in Heaven or Hell.
There is no way that God could have said, “the wages of sin is death” any clearer
that what He did.
CHANGES THAT MUST BE MADE BY THOSE WHO BELIEVE
IN ETERANL LIFE IN HELL MUST MAKE
TO MAKE THE BIBLE AGREE WITH THEM
Traditionalist must change the Bible to say the opposite of what it says.
• “He that believes on the Son has eternal life; but he that believes not the Son shall
not see life” [John 3:36] must be changed to, “He that believes not the Son was
born with eternal life and will see life in Hell where he will live forever.”
• “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and few are they
that find it” [Matthew 7:13-14] must be changed to, “For the gate is narrow and
the way is hard that leads to life in Heaven, and most will find eternal life in
Hell.”
• “For God so loved the world that He give His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believes on Him should not perish, but have eternal life” [John 3:16] must be
changed to, “That all will have eternal life someplace, in Heaven or in Hell.”
• “Even He who is able to save and to destroy” [James 4:12] must be changed to,
“Even He who is able to save alive in Heaven or save alive in Hell.”
• “For he that sows unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption: but he
that sows unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life” [Galatians 5:8] must
be changed to, “Both shall reap eternal life, just not in the same place, some
eternal life in Heaven and some eternal life in Hell.”
• “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord” [Romans 6:23] must be changed to, “For the wages of sin is
eternal life in Hell, but the gift of God is a reward for those who were born with
eternal life.”
• “Whosoever shall seek to gain his life shall lose it: but whosoever shall lose his
life shall preserve it” [Luke 17:33] must be changed to, “Whosoever shall seek to
gain his life shall preserve it in Hell: but whosoever shall lose his life shall
preserve it in Heaven.”
The changes that must be made by those who teach eternal life in Hell could be
extended to many pages but this should be enough for anyone who loves the truth more
than the “doctrines and precepts of men” [Matthew 15:9].
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The reinterpretation of the many words used that mean the end of life has no
equal. Other reinterpretations are based on the changing of a few passages; Peter
being the first Pope is based mostly on a reinterpretation of Matthew 16:18; but for
souls to be deathless and tormented forever there had to be many plus many more
changes or adding to. "Everlasting destruction" had to be changed to be "everlasting
life with torment." Was Paul trying to deceive by using the word "destruction" and
today's theology has to correct him by saying, "No Paul, you really meant to say
everlasting torment"? Destruction does not mean to preserve alive in eternal
torment.
In Matthew 10:39 LOSE HIS LIFE (Greek psukee-soul) MUST BE CHANGED
TO MEAN AN EVERLASTING LIFE OF TORMENT.
1. "He who finds his life (soul-psukee) shall lose it."
2. "He who loses his life (soul-psukee) shall find it." This is one of the passages the
translators did not dare translate psukee into "soul."
The person who saves his life by denying Christ will lose it at the judgment. The
person that loses his life because he is a Christian and will not deny Christ will find life at
the judgment. There is no way Christ could have said it any clearer or plainer. It is
"LIFE" that is being spoken of, not a part of a person that was born with life and cannot
lose it. There is not a word said about eternal life with torment in this passage. THOSE
WHO DO NOT OBEY CHRIST SHALL LOSE THE VERY THING THAT IS SAVED
BY THOSE WHO DO OBEY HIM. THEY SHALL LOSE LIFE. THE LOST SHALL
DIE. THE SAVED SHALL LIVE.
"AND YOU KNOW THAT NO MURDERER HAS ETERNAL LIFE ABIDING IN HIM"
(1 John 3:15). Was John wrong when he said no murderer has eternal life? If, as many
say, mankind has a "soul" that is immortal and cannot die, and if the only part of men that
shall live after the judgment is an ever-living soul which all even murderers have, then a
murderer does have eternal life from birth and can never die, for they have the same
"immaterial, invisible part of man" (W. E. Vine) that will live forever that all have.
Without eternal life, a murderer cannot have an immortal soul. If he did have an
immortal soul, he would have eternal life abiding in him; if he does not have eternal
life abiding in him, he does not have an immortal soul. To teach the soul of all is
eternal and can never die make all have eternal life, it can only be a question of where
they will spend their eternal life. John said, "And this is the promise which he promised
US, even the life eternal" (1 John 2:25). "We have passed out of death into life...no
murderer has eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3:14-15). Is there anyway John could
have said any clearer that a murderer does not have an immortal soul that now has eternal
life?
DEATH IS NOT HELL. A DEAD PERSON CANNOT BE TORMENTED; THEY
CAN FEEL NO PAIN. ONLY THE LIVING CAN BE TORMENTED. IF HELL WERE
A REAL PLACE, THOSE IN IT WOULD BE ALIVE, NOT DEAD. THEIR LIFE
WOULD BE JUST AS ETERNAL AS THE LIFE OF THE SAVED.
• Death makes Hell impossible
• Hell makes death impossible
• Hell makes the resurrection of the dead impossible
If there is no death, there cannot be a resurrection of the undead. If there is no
resurrection, we have no hope 1 Corinthians 15:16-19. CAN THERE BE A DOCTRINE
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MORE HARMFUL THAN THE DOCTRINE OF HELL, WHICH TAKES AWAY OUR
RESURRECTION AND HOPE OF SALVATION?
WHAT THE DEAD DO NOT DO?
1. There is no activity (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
2. They do not have plan (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
3. They have no wisdom (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
4. Their bed is in darkness (Job 17:13)
5. They do not mention God (Psalms 6:5)
6. They give God no thanks (Psalms 6:5)
7. They have no thoughts (Psalms 146:4)
8. They know nothing (Ecclesiastes 9:5)
9. The wicked are silent, no speech (Ps. 31:17)
What do the dead do, think, and know? Nothing. Does anyone think this is a picture of
Heaven or Hell? Without the resurrection the dead would never know anything after
death (1 Corinthians 15:12-22).
UNWILLING TO ACCEPT GOD'S WORD: Inspired writers speak often about death
being a sleep, and about its unconscious nature. "His breath goes forth, he returns to the
earth; in that very day his thoughts perish" (Psalms 146:4). If Solomon had said, "Their
love, as their hatred and their envy will continue...for there is work, and device, and
knowledge, and wisdom, in Sheol, whither you go" (Ecclesiastes 9:5-10), then those who
teach a "immaterial, invisible part of man" is alive from our death unto the resurrection,
could rightly say this ends all debate on this subject. But, when it is put the way God
inspired it; THEY REJECT IT. If you try for the rest of your life, you would never be
able to say any stronger than Solomon that there is nothing after death unto the
resurrection. Unconditional immorality must have knowledge in sheol, the grave, and
therefore, many plain statements that there is not knowledge in the grave must be
rejected, and many plain statements that death is a sleep must be rejected. See Isaiah
38:18-19; Psalms 115:17; 6:5; John 11:11-14; Daniel 12:1-2; Job 14:12-15; 1 Corinthians
15:20.
Some say that Ecclesiastes is the view of those in the world, the way they see life
when God is left out, but it is not the way a child of God sees life. Ecclesiastes has
statements that are so conductivity to the soul being immortal that many try to make the
whole book not be the truth but it is only "life...viewed from the perspective where God is
left out." Because it was conductivity to his belief that salvation is by faith only without
works Calvin did with the book of James the same as many do to Ecclesiastes. There is
much in Ecclesiastes that cannot be said to be the way those in the world look at life (see
Ecclesiastes 12:1, 12:13 and many other statements throughout the book) but to do away
with these statements, they are willing to do away with all. If Ecclesiastes 12:7 is
"life...viewed from the perspective where God is left out" why do they not use it that way
when they use Ecclesiastes 12:7 to prove the "soul" is immortal?
DEATH THAT NEVER DIES! THE LIVING DEAD! THE UNDEAD DEAD! If this
sounds like something out of a horror film, it is the teaching of many about some
deathless something which is an "immaterial, invisible part of man." If there is a "part of
man" that can never die, the lost can never be dead; common sense tells you that an
immortal being can never die would have no need of a savior to die in its place to keep it
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from dying. Death is not life whether good or bad. To die is not to live. There cannot be
life after death without a resurrection that ends the death.
"IF A MAN DIE, SHALL HE LIVE AGAIN?" Job 14:14 must be made to read, "When
a man dies, he does not die but continues to live." It must be changed from a question
"shall he live again" to a statement "he continues to live," and "man" must be changed to
only an "immaterial, invisible PART of a person” that continues to live after the other
part of him or her is dead. IF JOB'S "SOUL" WERE NOT GOING TO DIE, BUT GO
TO HEAVEN JUST AS SOON AS THE BODY WAS DEAD, THIS PASSAGE, JUST
AS MANY OTHERS, WOULD MAKE NO SENSE.
FIRST RESURRECTION-SECOND DEATH
"He that over comes shall not be hurt of the second death" (Revelation 2:11, 20:6).
The first resurrection is when a person is "born anew...born of the water and the Spirit"
(John 3:3-5). "And you did he make ALIVE when you were dead...made us ALIVE
together with Christ (by grace have you been saved), and RAISED US UP with him"
(Ephesians 2:1-6; Galatians 2:18-19; 3:1). The first resurrection is when, "We were
buried therefore with him through baptism into death: that like as Christ was RAISED
FROM THE DEAD" (Romans 6:3-4). "And you did he MAKE ALIVE...even when WE
WERE DEAD through our trespasses, MADE US ALIVE together with Christ...and
RAISED US UP with him" (Ephesians 2:1-6). "I say unto you, the hour comes, and now is
when THE DEAD shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and THEY THAT HEAR SHALL
LIVE" (John 5:25).
"There are only two alternatives, the crown of life-eternal life-or the second death" Homer Hailey,
Revelation, Page 128, Baker Book House. It is life or death, not life in Heaven or life in Hell. Death is
real.
• "But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even while we were
dead because of our sins, he GAVE US LIFE when he raised Christ from the
dead...FOR HE RAISED US FROM THE DEAD ALONG WITH CHRIST"
(Ephesians 2:4 New Living Bible).
• "But God, rich in mercy, for the great love he bore us, BROUGHT US TO LIFE
WITH CHRIST...HE RAISED US UP" (Ephesians 2:4 New English Bible).
All that are in the grave, both saved and lost, will hear His voice and come forth at the
resurrection. All will be raised for judgment. All who are born again, made alive by being
raised with Christ through Baptism, and live faithful shall not be hurt of the second death
after the judgment. Christ paid the wages of sin for them. All others will pay their own
wages of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23). "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and
abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars,
their part shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; WHICH IS THE
SECOND DEATH" (Revelation 21:8). From this death there will never be a resurrection.
The results will be eternal. An endless life of torment is not a second death; it is eternal
LIFE with torment. IT BEARS NO RESEMBLANCE TO A DEATH. To feel pain, those
in Hell would have to be just as alive as those in Heaven are. For an immortal, immaterial
soul that cannot be dead to be forever alive and tormented in a literal lake of fire is so
dissimilar to death that a person would be in desperate need to prove his or her theology
to say an eternality of being ALIVE in a like of fire is DEATH.
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I. D. Williamson, "Relative to the question, whether the lake that burns with fire and brimstone is
to be understood literally or figuratively, I have little to say. During the dark ages, it might have
been necessary to discuss that question; but the day has passed when any man, claiming even a
tolerable share of theological knowledge, would risk his reputation, as a man of sane mind, in an
attempt to maintain the existence of a real lake of literal fire and brimstone, in which immortal
and immaterial spirits are to be burned. It is a figure used to represent a reality, and this reality is
the second death." "An Examination Of The Doctrine Of Endless Punishment."
"THE SECOND DEATH" is used four times, all in Revelation.
1. He that overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death (Revelation 2:11). The
saved will not have a part in the second death. Only the lost.
2. Those who are buried and raised with Christ (Romans 6) in the first resurrection,
"Over these the second death has no power" (Revelation 20:6).
3. Death and hades, and any not found written in the book of life are cast into the
lake of fire; which is the second death. All three come to the same end. All three
end in death (Revelation 20:14-15).
4. He that overcomes shall inherit and be God's son, but for all others, "Their part
shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death"
(Revelation 21:8). No ransom has been offered for the second death. It is forever.
SECOND DEATH
IN PLAIN UNSYMBOLIC LANGUAGE
"There remains no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of
JUDGMENT, and a fierceness of fire which shall DEVOUR the adversaries" (Hebrews
10:27). For the lost (1) judgment then (2) devour in the lake of fire, which is the second
death. Not as it is preached today (1) judgment (2) then an eternal life of torment in Hell
forever but never devoured, or as preached by many an eternal life in Hell at death before
and without the resurrection and judgment day.
"IF YOU LIVE AFTER THE FLESH, YOU SHALL DIE" “For if you are living
according to the flesh, you must die (apothncesko); but if by the Spirit you are putting to
death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13). All mankind, even the faithful,
have been dying the first death since the sin of Adam, this is not a reference to the first
death but the second when only those who live according to the flesh will die. Paul did
not say, "If you live after the flesh you are now spiritually dead," but "YOU shall die."
Not your soul shall live forever separated from God, but "YOU shall die." Why do many
that say they believe God but work hard to change His word? "But if by the Spirit YOU
put to death the deeds of the body, YOU shall live." It is YOU that will live or die, not A
PART OF YOU that will always live and cannot die.
“For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Not the death of the flesh which all
die, but the second death.
“I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died
(apothncesko). This is the bread which came down out of Heaven, that a man may eat
thereof, and not die (apothncesko)” (John 6:48-50). All die the first death, even the
apostles, but there will be a resurrection and those who eat of the bread that came down
out of Heaven will not die the second death, all that do not eat of it will die the second
death”
“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes on me though he die
(apothncesko), yet shall he live; and whosoever lives and believes on me shall never die
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(apothncesko)” (John 11:25-26). Although those who believe will die the first death just
as all do, they will be resurrected and never die the second death; those who do not
believe will also die and be resurrected for judgment and will die the second death. “For
the hour comes in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come
forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done
evil, unto the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29). “For if we sin willfully after
that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for
sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall
devour the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26-27).
“For the land (those who were once enlightened and fell away Hebrews 6:4-6) which
has drunk the rain that comes often upon it, and brings forth herbs meet for them for
whose sake it is also tilled, receives blessing form God: but if it bears thorns and thistles,
it is rejected and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned” (Hebrews 6:4-8). Those
that fall away will be burned in the lake of fire, which is the second death just as thorns
are burned.
“Why do we burn briers and thorns? To destroy them, to get permanently rid of them.” Ashley
Johnson, Founder and president of the Johnson Bible College, “The Resurrection And The Future
Life,” Page 413, 1913, Knoxville Lithographing Company, Church of Christ.
"As there is a second higher life, so there is also a second and deeper death. And as after that life
there is no more death, SO AFTER THAT DEATH THERE IS NO MORE LIFE" Afford. As quoted by
Homer Hailey in "Revelation."
The resurrection of all at the coming of Christ makes death be a sleep from which all
will awake, but there will be no resurrection from the second death. It will be permanent
and everlasting death.
MADE ALIVE AT HIS COMING, NOT AT DEATH: "In Christ all will be made
alive. But, each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who
belong to him" 1 Corinthians 15:22-23 New International Version. Paul says that those
who belong to Christ will be "made alive" at His coming. If the "immaterial, invisible
part of man" is very much alive in Heaven or Hell it could not be "made alive" at the
resurrection. Christ the first fruits of them that are asleep (now) then they that are
Christ's, at his coming. Unconditional immortality makes all, Christ, those that are His,
and those that reject Him now be alive before, not at His coming, therefore, Christ could
not have been the "first born" (Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:15-18) for all who died before
Christ died would have been alive before Him.
DEATH IS THE END: Paul says of those who are servants of sin that "the end of
those things is death" (Romans 6:21-22). But, many now say "the end of those things is
eternal life with torment without an end"? Who are you going to believe, God or man?
THE STING OF DEATH 1 Corinthians 15:54-57: After the resurrection when the
saved will have put on immortality, DEATH would have been swallowed up in victory.
Victory over what? Over death. We will have put on immortality, and will never again be
subject to death, but we are now subject to it and it takes away our life. If we now have
immortality we would now have the victory over death. If there is no death, then death
has no sting. The doctrine of unconditional immortality from birth makes nonsense out of
1 Corinthians 15:54-57, and gives all, those in Christ, and those not in Christ the victory
over death; and gives all this victory without the death and resurrection of Christ. If all
are born immortal and cannot die, then no one is subject to death from the day of their
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birth and never will be. What kind of victory could there be over the nothingness of death
that is not death to a soul that was never subject to death?
IS DEATH AN ENEMY OR A GATEWAY TO HEAVEN? A companion of Paul,
Epaphroditus, was nigh unto death but God had mercy on him. If death is a gateway to
Heaven, then when God had "mercy on him," was God not being cruel by keeping him
out of Heaven? Why do most do all they can to live a little longer even if it is in pain? If
death is a friend, why is this friend not a welcome visitor? Why are we grief-stricken and
not rejoicing when someone we love is taken by his "friend" to be with Christ and God in
Heaven? How could going from this life (from pain and troubles for many) to paradise be
an enemy? If death is a doorway by which we go to Heaven at the moment of death, why
would a person who had lived in pain for years, do everything possible to live a little
longer? Why do we mourn and not rejoice if a love one who lives in pain would go to
their everlasting residence in Heaven immediately after death where there is no pain? Is it
not because we know death is an enemy, not a friend (1 Corinthians 15:26), and they are
under the power of death, not in Heaven; do they not by their actions demonstrate beyond
any doubt that they do not believe what they profess, that death is a friend that takes there
loved one to be with Christ? We will not have the victory over death unto the
resurrection? But, many say going to Heaven is just what happens at death, even for the
Old Testament saints who died before the death of Christ, therefore before their sins were
paid for by His death. If this were true, death would then be a friend, not an enemy.
HOW CAN DEATH BE AN ENEMY TO AN IMMORTAL "IMMATERIAL,
INVISIBLE PART OF MEN" (W. E. Vine) THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO DEATH
AND IT AND CANNOT DIE?
What is it that will be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26)? Just what is the "enemy?"
Could the enemy be anything other than changing from life on this earth to life in
Heaven? Is not this change what many say death is, moving from earth to Heaven or Hell,
is this moving an enemy that will be destroyed? There would be no death, and it is
impossible to die. DEATH (moving to Heaven or Hell) WOULD BE AN ENEMY
ONLY TO THE LOST WHO WERE MOVING TO HELL. IT WOULD BE A FRIEND
TO THE SAVED WHO WERE MOVING TO HEAVEN. But there is a problem. HOW
CAN THERE BE A RESURRECTION IF NO ONE IS DEAD? If no one is dead, the
Bible teaching of a resurrection is out of place and should not be in the Bible. Maybe this
is why the teaching of the resurrection is being abandoned in many churches. IF DEATH
IS NOT REAL, THERE IS NO RESURRECTION. IF DEATH IS REAL, THE
RESURRECTION IS OUR ONLY HOPE. Without the resurrection, we perish forever
when we die (1 Corinthians 15:18). Without the resurrection, the enemy of death will
never be destroyed and we will be forever dead.
DEATH IS TO BE "ABOLISHED" (1 Corinthians 15:26) American Standard Version
"DESTROYED" King James Version. How? By being cast into the lake of fire
(Revelation 20:14). Yet, some teach that when evil men are cast into this same lake of
fire, they are tormented by it, but not abolished or destroyed. DOES THE LAKE OF
FIRE ABOLISH DEATH BUT TORMENT PEOPLE? "Death shall be no more"
Revelation 21:4. Therefore, "being cast into lake of fire" cannot be "being separated from
God" (their definition of death), for then death will last forever and could never be
"abolished." Death is to be "abolished" before Christ will be subjected" to God (1
Corinthians 15:28ff), before when we will be in Heaven, "death shall be no more"
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(Revelation 21:4), therefore, all "wages of sin" (Romans 6:23) shall have been paid; if
not, they can never be paid as there will be no death; and cannot go on being paid in Hell
forever; for then death would last as long as the "wages" were bring paid, which would
be forever. If death is "being separated from God," then death must last forever. If death
did not last forever, Hell could not last forever, the last enemy (death) can never be
abolished (1 Corinthians 15:26). The people in Bible times would not have understood
"death" to mean "separation" any more than the people of the world today understand it
or use it in this way. It has never been used with this meaning, but theological makes it be
used in a way it has never been used, all because many do not want death to be death. We
use death in our everyday language to mean to be dead, not to have life, but in the
theology use of the word, it does not mean dead, but to be dead is to have life and be
more alive than we are while we are living! Why did God not just say what He means,
that death means alive not dead? Do some think God in some way apart from His word
revealed to them that He did not mean what He said in the Bible, but He only revealed
this to some and not to all?
IS DEATH LIFE SEPARATION FROM GOD?
IS THERE LIFE WITHOUT GOD?
Many who do not want to say, “You are going to Hell and be eternally tormented by
God” say, “You are going to be eternally alive separated from God.” They really believe
God is going to forever be tormenting most of humanity but this is so revolting that they
water down what they really believe. All who believe in Hell must use their theology to
explain death out of the Bible. Trying to put separation in the place of death is a poor try,
but is the best they could do. Such a radical redefining of death to be life is nothing more
that a denial of death. If death means "separation," then we can use it in place of
death. Try it.
• "And the LIVING ONE; and I WAS SEPARATED, and behold, I AM ALIVE
for evermore" Revelation 1:18. Therefore, if Jesus were always alive,
SEPARATED, but alive, there could not have been a resurrection. Jesus just
returned from somewhere, just a reunion, but He could not have been resurrected
from the dead if He were alive.
• "It is Christ Jesus that was SEPARATED, yet rather, that raised from the
SEPARATION" Romans 8:34
• "The firstborn from the SEPARATION" Colossians 1:18
• "He that raised up Christ Jesus from the SEPARATION" Romans 8:1. This
redefining of death to be life would make Christ not to have died for our sins;
therefore, there could not have been a resurrection. Christ could not have been
raised from the dead; He was never dead, JUST SEPARATED. It would make
His death not be a genuine death, but a reunion of Jesus and God when neither
one was dead, just separated from each other.
• "They also that are SEPARATED in Christ have perished" 1 Corinthians 15:18
• "Christ was SEPARATED for our sins" 1 Corinthians 15:3
• "The law of sin and SEPARATION" Romans 8:2
• "For the mind of the flesh is SEPARATION" Romans 8:6
• "For without the law sin was SEPARATED" Romans 7:8
• "I through the law am SEPARATED to the law" Galatians 2:19
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• "Again from the SEPARATION" Hebrews 13:20
• "Was translated that he should not see SEPARATION" Hebrews 11:5
• "How are the SEPARATED raised?" 1 Corinthians 15:35
• "So also is the resurrection of the SEPARATED" 1 Corinthians 15:42
• "SEPARATION is swallowed up" 1 Corinthians 15:55
• "Abolished is SEPARATION" 1 Corinthians 15:26. If separation is abolished or
swallowed up, then where are the separated or dead going to be?
• "And the SEPARATED, shall be raised incorruptible" 1 Corinthians 15:52
• "By man came SEPARATION, by man came also the resurrection of the
SEPARATED" 1 Corinthians 15:21
• "You proclaim the Lord's SEPARATION till he comes" 1 Corinthians 11:26
• "Whosoever lives and believes on me shall never SEPARATE" John 11:26
• "Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and SEPARATES" John 12:24
• "It is Christ Jesus that SEPARATED" Romans 8:24
• "The body is SEPARATED because of sin" Romans 8:10
• "Sin revived, and I SEPARATED" Romans 7:9
• "These all SEPARATED in faith" Hebrews 11:23
• "And I will kill her children with SEPARATION" Revelation 2:23
• "A name that you live, and are SEPARATED" Revelation 3:1
• "SEPARATION shall be on more" Revelation 21:4. Also "The last enemy that
shall be abolished is SEPARATION" 1 Corinthians 15:26. This is the same as
saying "separation shall be separated."
• "Though he DIE, yet shall he LIVE" John 11:25. This would be saying, "Though
he be SEPARATED, yet shall he be UNSEPARATED."
“For the wages of sin is DEATH, but the free gift of God is eternal LIFE” [ROMANS
6:23]. If “life” is literal then “death” in the same passage is just a literal. How could
anyone know that just one word in a literal sentence is not just as literal as all the other
words? If the death for sinner is not literal death, the life for believers is not literal life.
The same persons that tell us death is not literally death tell us that death literally means
death when it is used in reference to animals; dead animals are dead, not separated.
Those who tell us that death means "SEPARATION" do not want to use
"SEPARATION" when talking about the just dead or the death of animals, AND
DEFINITELY NOT WHEN TALKING ABOUT THE DEATH OF JESUS, for then
it does not fit in with the theology that says death cannot mean death, therefore,
death can only mean separation for the lost. But, according to this theology, death
cannot mean separation for the saved. DEATH MEANS SEPARATION ONLY
WHEN THEY WANT IT TO MEAN SEPARATION.
If death is only eternal separation from God, that separation would be forever and
death could never be destroy, the lost would always be separated for God and Paul was
wrong in 1 Corinthians 15:54.
THE SAME ONES THAT TELL US DEATH IS SEPARATION FROM GOD TELL
US THAT GOD WILL FOREVER BE WITH THE LOST IN HELL TORMENTING
THEM, THAT THE LOST CAN NEVER BE SEPARATED FROM GOD. WHICH
TIME DO THEY BELIEVE WHAT THEY SAY? All life depends on God the giver of
life; therefore, separated from God no one could have life, not life in Hell or any other
place.
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This theology makes nonsense of the Bible. The Bible speaks repeatedly of death and
the wages of sin being death, but this theology tells us that everyone is born deathless. If
no one is dead, the resurrection will not be from the dead to living, but just a change of
address from the living who are separated to the living who are unseparated.
"Spiritual death" and "death is a separation" are not Biblical expressions. They are
interpretations. They are additions used to teach what man wants to hear, not what the
Bible teaches. Death and separation are different words in both the Hebrew and the Greek
and have different meanings just as they do in English. When someone dies we say that
person is dead, not that person is separated.
How can death be a separation of the body and soul when the soul (a living being,
person) is the earthly body that is in the image of Adam? 1 Corinthians 15:48-50: It is the
image of Adam, the soul, a living being that is flesh and blood and cannot inherit the
kingdom of God.
IS THERE LIFE WITHOUT GOD? If death is life separated from God, then mankind
can live without God, and life can exist that is not sustained by God. But, the truth is the
dead can never be separated from God if they have eternal life with torment with God
doing the tormenting. There could be absolutely NO EXISTENCE if one is separated
from God for there can be NO LIFE without God, and without life there can be NO
TORMENT. If any have life in Hell, God must be in Hell with them giving them this life;
and He must be there to do the tormenting, for if He were not, there would be no life and
no torment. TO BE SEPARATE FROM GOD CAN ONLY MEAN TO BE NOWHERE.
IF A PERSON CAN EXIST SEPARATED FROM GOD, THAT PERSON IS SELFEXISTING.
THEY ARE A GOD FOR ONLY A GOD CAN BE SELF-EXISTING,
THEREFORE, ACCORDING TO TODAY'S THEOLOGY, ALL THE LOST ARE
SELF-EXISTING GODS. How far will they go to prove "Hell"?
The King James Version puts God in Hell. "If I make my bed in Hell behold thou art
there" (Psalms 139:8). If those in Hell are separated from God, then God cannot be in
Hell but by its mistranslation to put Hell in the Bible the King James Version says that
God is in Hell. Do they think God has forever given the lost to Satan to do with them
what he wants to? Will Satan have his own kingdom where he is in total control, which
will have more in it than God's kingdom? He will if the dead are separated from God and
God is not in Hell with them. If there were a Hell, which way do they want it? (1) Either
God is in Hell doing the tormenting and sustaining the life they have and they are not
separated from Him; (2) or God is not in Hell and the lost are separated from Him and He
is not doing the tormenting or sustaining the life they have. It cannot be both ways.
Today's theology makes many problems. Where did the concept come from that there is
any life when one is separated from God, the source of all life? It is not a matter of
eternal life with Christ or eternal life separated from Christ, for there is no life separated
or apart from Christ. A sinner does not have any kind of immortal life. Only those in
Christ will have it.
If death is "separation" of our soul from this earthly body and not a real death, then the
resurrection could only be the return and reuniting of the soul to the earthly body and
they must forever be together or the resurrection would not be forever. If the earthly body
ends at the end of the world, then death (separation) of the saved will be forever.
Campbell said, "Every word not specially explained or defined in a particular sense by any standard
writer of any particular age and country, is to be taken in the current or commonly received signification
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of that country and age in which the writer lived and wrote." Alexander Campbell, Christian System, Page
3. Theological meaning of words came about after the New Testament. Both the Old
Testament and New Testament use the words as they were used then. THERE ARE NO
WORDS IN THE BIBLE THAT HAVE A THEOLOGICAL MEANING IN PLACE OF
THE COMMON MEANING THAT THE PEOPLE HEARING THEM WOULD
UNDERSTAND. Did God say one thing, but mean something different from what He
said? If so, then we need a Pope or someone who is inspired to tell us what God said,
"otherwise it would be no revelation, but would always require a class of inspired men to
unfold and reveal its true sense to mankind" Campbell, Christian System, Page 3.
There is no need for us to read the Bible. No one could know that God used "death" to
mean "separation" without a revelation from God, or someone who is inspired to tell us.
Who was the inspired person that told us "death" means "separation?" If no inspired
person did tell us, many preach that which they have no way of knowing, for they would
have no revelation to tell them that when God said death that He really intended to say
separation.
Summary: IF, AS SOME TEACH, THAT HELL IS THE PUNISHMENT FOR SIN,
THEN TORMENT, NOT SEPARATION OR DEATH IS "THE WAGES OF SIN."
TORMENT, NOT SEPARATION, IS MADE TO BE THE THING THEY CALL
DEATH, BUT THOSE WHO SAY DEATH IS SEPARATION DO NOT SEEM TO
SEE THEY ARE TEACHING TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DOCTRINES AT
THE SAME TIME. (1) DEATH IS AN ETERNAL LIFE OF TORMENT WITH GOD
DOING THE TORMENTING, AND (2) DEATH IS ETERNAL LIFE SEPARATED
FROM GOD. MOST THAT BELIEVE UNCONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY DO
NOT THINK OF THE LOST AS REALLY BEING SEPARATED FROM GOD
BUT OF GOD BEING WHERE THE LOST ARE AND TORMENTING THEM
FOREVER. THEY SAY SEPARATION, BUT THAT IS ONLY AN ATTEMPT TO
TAKE DEATH OUT OF THE BIBLE WHEN THEY ACTUALITY THINK AND
TEACH GOD IS THE ONE WHO WILL BE WHERE THE LOST ARE AND
WILL BE THE ONE WHO WILL BE ETERNALLY TORMENTING THEM.
THEY DO NOT REALLY BELIEVE SEPARATION FROM GOD IS THE
WAGES OF SIN OR THAT THE SINNER IS REALLY FOREVER SEPARATED
FROM GOD. They seem to be somewhat confused for they say death is separation from
God and "a loss of well being," but tell those who grieve at funerals that their dead loved
ones are not separated from God but are in Heaven with Him, and their well being is now
much better than it was before death. They are going both ways simultaneously, they say
for the lost death is eternal life with torment, and for the saved death is eternal life in
Heaven. If they were right, then for both the lost and the saved, death is really life for
there cannot be death to an immortal soul that is not subject to death, therefore, cannot
die. Death must be changed to be eternal life for both the saved and the lost. BUT IN
THEIR ATTEMPT TO DO AWAY WITH DEATH, THEY ARE DRIVEN TO SAY
DEATH IS LIFE SEPARATION FROM GOD BUT WHAT THEY REALLY BELIEVE
IS THAT DEATH IS ETERNAL LIFE BEING TORMENTED BY GOD.
JOHN 3:36 "But, he that obeyed not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God
abides on him." Implied: he shall see death, the opposite of life. You are alive, or you are
dead, no in between. Will those in Hell that cannot die have no life? If they "shall not see
life" how can they be alive to be tormented when they are in Hell? Can a rock that does
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"not see life" be tormented? "Shall not see life" is not to be alive anywhere, not to be
alive in Hell. How much clearer could Jesus have possibly have been, how much clearer
could He have said whoever rejects Him shall not see life, not see an eternal life of
torment?
EVERLASTING LIFE OR EVERLASTING DESTURUCTION Matthew 7:13-14:
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to
destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way
is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Destruction is used in contrast
to life, not two kinds of life. Jesus said as clear as language can be that the wide gate
leads to destruction not life. “Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and
killed them…except you repent, you shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:4-5). “Killed”
and “likewise perish” are both the same, both death, not eternal life.
“WORTHY OF DEATH” BUT CANNOT DIE Romans 1:32. "They that practice such
things are worthy of death," but if they have an immortal never dying something from
birth they can never die. Why did Paul bother to say they are worthy of death if he knows
they could not die?
WHEN DOES A SINNER DIE? If death means only separation, the sinner is
separated from God now. Is the second death to be a "double separation?" Will they be
any more separated than they now are? If the lake of fire, which is the second death, is
only a separation from God, and they are now separated from Him, they cannot be any
more separated than they are now.
LITERALLY OR FIGURATIVELY: Thomas Andrews says that those who accept
annihilation as the end of mankind claim that the words destroy and death that are used to
describe eternal punishment should be understood literally (1997 Florida College
Lectures, Page 169). Those who believe in Hell must make "death" figuratively or
allegorical, not real; but they make "life" real even when both are used in the same
sentence. On the same page he said, “The Biblical concept of eternal extends to both life
and death.”
• The Biblical concept, eternal death
• The Biblical concept, eternal life
o The Biblical concept is that the death is just as eternal as the life
If one is figuratively, then both are. He cannot make one figuratively and the other literal
just because he need it that way for his theology. If death is figurative, then there is no
death, but two kinds of life. He cannot give any reason why death is figurative, and life is
literal other than he needed it to be, for it must be or there can be no "Hell."
• IF DEATH IS FIGURATIVE, then LIFE MUST BE FIGURATIVE.
• ETERNAL "DEATH" is as literal as ETERNAL "LIFE." Does a real sin have a
figurative punishment? Death must be "wrest" (2 Peter 3:16) into something that
is not death to make it fit around the doctrine an immortal, immaterial, invisible
"soul" that cannot die but have a figurative death.
• “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to SAVE AND TO
DESTROY” (James 4:12). “But we are not of those who shrink back and are
DESTROYED, but of those who believe and are SAVED” (Hebrews 10:39). If the
destroying is figuratively and is not literally destroying then the saving is also
figuratively and is not literally saving.
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Three blind men were told to feel an elephant and tell what it looks like. One felt the
tusk and said, "It is hard and smooth." One the leg- "It is like a tree." One the tail- "It is
like a brush." Each one told only what a small part of the elephant is like, but not the
elephant. "It is like a brush" is not a description of an elephant, and "separated" from God
but alive without Him is not a description of death.
"DEAD WHILE SHE LIVES" 1 Timothy 5:6: Dead and alive at the same time. In what
sense is she alive? Physically she is not dead but alive. In what sense is she dead? She is
the same as all other sinners and unsaved people. Their death is so certain that they are
spoken of as being dead (See Luke 9:60). They do not have Christ living in them, and the
"life" He came to give (John 5:21-29). They have only the resurrection of judgment (John
5:29) to look forward to, and the wages of sin, death (Romans 6:23), not the resurrection
unto life (John 5:29). Both life for those who believe, and death for those who do not
believe, are so certain that through out the New Testament it speaks as if we now have
the eternal life or death, which will come at the judgment. THE ONLY LIFE SHE HAS
IS PHYSICAL LIFE. HOW CAN AN IMMORTAL SOUL THAT WILL ALWAYS
HAVE LIFE BE GOTTEN OUT OF "WHILE SHE LIVES"? It was her body that "lives,"
not an immortal, immaterial, invisible something that lives without the body; therefore, if
a "soul" were in this passage it could only be in the part of her that was "dead" to which
is added “spiritual dead.” BECAUSE THE PASSAGE SPEAKS OF HER BEING DEAD
WHILE SHE LIVED, HER HAVING A SOUL THAT IS ALIVE WHILE SHE IS
DEAD IS READ INTO THIS PASSAGE WHEN NOTHING IS SAID ABOUT AN
IMMORTAL SOUL OR ABOUT LIFE AFTER DEATH. THIS PASSAGE IS OFTEN
USED TO PROVE THAT THE "SOUL" CANNOT BE DEAD BUT IT HAS
ANOTHER KIND OF LIFE EVEN WHEN THERE IS NOTHING SAID ABOUT A
"SOUL" IN IT. "Dead while she lives" MUST be changed to be "Alive while she is
alive." Death MUST be removed from this passage. This is what is called pulling
something out of thin air or reading into a passage something that is wanted to be in it.
• The Bible uses death in both a literal and a figurative application. In the literal use
of death life has ceased to exist. The figurative use of a word must take it meaning
from it literal use. The figurative use of death is often confused with the literal use
of death. She had a relationship with God that is dead; it no longer existed.
• In Luke 15:11-32, Matthew 8:21-22. "Follow me; and leave the dead (those who
have no relationship with God) to bury their own dead." There is nothing about an
"immaterial invisible part of man" that is alive in the dead that are to bury the
dead. Neither the dead that was doing the burying, nor the dead that were buried
were a dead immortal soul, both were dead in their relationship to God. The
Prodigal son had a relationship with his father, the relationship ceased to exist,
then was restored when the son returned. He was alive, then dead, then alive in his
relationship with his father, but he was never literally dead and there was no
literal resurrection of the dead. In this passage there is nothing said about an
immortal soul.
• This was more than a simple separation. Frequently one person is separated from
another but not counted as dead. When a child leaves home we do not say our
child is dead, but in Bible times the Hebrews would say the child was dead if it
left home and had no relationship with the father or mother, it was as if he was
dead to them. When God gives a revelation, He used words just as the words were
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used by the persons to whom He gave the revelation, and not only the words but
also the customs of the persons to whom He give the revelation. To the Hebrew
mind and to the Oriental cultures even today, the Prodigal son is counted as dead
and the father no longer has a son.
• "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me,
has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into
life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when THE DEAD
SHALL HEAR THE VOICE OF THE SON OF GOD; AND THOSE WHO HEAR
SHALL LIVE" (John 5 24-25). He was not saying He was going to the graveyard
and the dead there would hear His voice and live, be resurrected from the grave.
He was not speaking of a physical resurrection but of those who are not believers
(dead by the Hebrew and Oriental cultures) becoming believers and alive to God.
The widow was dead to God just as the Prodigal Son was dead to his father
because she had put something ahead of God in her life.
DIE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT: Die is from "moosh" in the Old Testament and
occurs over 800 times. (Wigram, Old Testament, Pages 675-681). None of the 800 has
any references to death being anything but death. In none is death a separation of the
earthly body from the soul or spirit or that any part of a person lives after death.
Throughout the Old Testament, "moosh" is used of both men and animals and makes no
distinction between them. Both die. "For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts
is the same. As one dies (moosh) so dies (moosh) the other" (Ecclesiastes 3:19). Fish,
cattle, frogs, men, dogs, lions, a city, and flies all die (moosh). For all, death is the end of
life and if there was no resurrection, a person would be as all the above, dead forever.
"SPIRITUALITY DEAD" Spiritual (pnumatikos) is used in the New Testament 21
times, but "spirituality dead" not one time, yet many preach it continually. From where
did they get this? Do they mean the spirit is dead? If they mean "lost," why do they use
an unscriptural term that does not say what they mean? In his review of my "From Where
Came Hell" Csonka says, "We are spiritually dead when, as Isaiah says, 'your sins have
separated you from your God'" Guardian of Truth, January 5, 1995, Page 17, (Isaiah
59:2). He must know that Isaiah is speaking about "the house of Jacob their sins" (Isaiah
58:1) "A nation" (Isaiah 58:2). This is about a nation that had left God being separated
from God, and there is not one word about any kind of death of a person in it, but he
reads it in. He changes this from a nation (Israel) being separated from God to a person
"we" being separated from God and then changes this person "we" from a living person
separated from God to a dead person that is not really dead, but alive and has eternal life
in Hell forever separated from God. Has he heard this verse misused so often he does not
know that he is misusing it? He must add changes to changes to make the nation of Israel
be a living person in Hell, but he did not seem to know whether he wanted it to be (1) a
dead person that is alive in Hell, (2) or a living person that is "spiritually dead."
"Spiritual death" is not in the Bible, but if there were such a thing as "spiritual death,"
it would have to be when the spirit had no life for if it still had life, it would not be dead.
If it were living somewhere with eternal life, how could it not be alive? It could not be
"dead" if it were "alive." Most who believe in Hell say the second death is a "spiritual
death" which is only separation from God, not a real death; but they also say the lost are
now "spiritual dead" even before they die. Do they not make the second death be nothing
more that a continuation of the state they say the lost are now in, just a continuation of
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the lost being separated from God? Therefore, they have done away with the second
death, for they tell us that the lost are already "spiritual dead" and will always be
“spiritual dead” even when they are alive in Hell.
In "Truth Magazine," June 7, 2001, Page 343, Johnie Edwards has a short article,
"What Death Says." What does death say? It says that for there to be life after death, there
must be a resurrection from the dead. What does the resurrection say? It says if there is to
be a resurrection there must be death, not a higher kind of life than we now know. It says
someone who is not dead cannot be raised from the dead by a resurrection. The
resurrection says death is a real death.
2 Corinthians 2:16 "The meaning therefore is, the Gospel, which arises from Christ and which is
preached through us, is to the unbelieving, but the incense arising from one crucified and dead,
and so it is to them a savor from the dead and producing death. But to the believing it is a savor
FROM THE LIVING, PRODUCING LIFE." J. W. McGarvey, 1916. "McGarvey pointed out the
extremely significant phrases 'from death' and 'from life' as used in this passage. To the
unbelieving, the news of the Gospel is from one who was crucified and is dead: so, for them, it is
an odor from death unto death EVEN ETERNAL DEATH; but to Christians, the news of the
Gospel is 'from life unto life' in them that are saved." J. B. Coffman.
The sentence of death has been removed for those in Christ, and the promise of life
(immortality, incorruption) given to them. For those not in Christ, there is only death, the
wages of their sin. They will be raised only to face the judgment and the second death "a
savor from death unto death."
"A SAVOR FROM LIFE UNTO LIFE" The new birth (John 3:3). "Walk in newness of
life" (Romans 6:4). "Have passed out of death into life" (1 John 3:14). At the second
coming of Christ shall "put on immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:53) after which there will
be no death.
"A SAVOR FROM DEATH UNTO DEATH" Dead while she lives (1 Timothy 5:6).
"Abides in death" (1 John 3:14). The lost will be raised from the dead at the second
coming of Christ then judgment and the second death after which there will never be any
life, never a resurrection from this death.
"In all classical literature no instance can be found where the word death has this signification of
eternal torment" H. L. Hastings, "The Last Judgment," 1853
For those who are not in Christ, there is no eternal life anywhere.
Chapter Three
Truth Magazine, August 7, 2008, page 457 had an article about “Reinterpretation Of
The Scripture.” The main point this article makes is about reinterpreting Genesis 3 to
mean the Serpent was not real, but was taken from well-known pagan myths. The article
points out that when one reinterpretation is accepted more will soon come and gives some
reinterpretations they think may come. Without doubt, many have made reinterpretations
of many scriptures and many more will make reinterpretations. Reinterpretation that the
magazine said nothing about have been made and accepted by many. Some
reinterpretations that have been made in the past that are historical facts and believed by
many today, reinterpretations that have caused many of the divisions we now have are
Purgatory, Limbo, worship of Mary and Saints, Nether World, holy water, the rosary,
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forbidding Priest to marry, the crucifix, Monks and Nouns, forbidding eating of meat on
Friday, and candle-burning. About all Protestants believe Purgatory to be a change or
reinterpretation, and there are hundreds more reinterpretations that are historical facts and
are believed by many today, but no one believes all to the hundreds of reinterpretations
made in the past. Most believe only a few of them, and all the many others they believe to
be the doctrine of man, not God. On what does anyone basic his or her belief that most
reinterpretations are not from God, but a few are from God? Going to God's word is the
only way anyone can know whether any teaching is from man or if it is from the Bible.
THE SUBJECTS OF THIS CHAPTER
(1) THE NATURE OF MAN, FROM MANKIND NOW BEING MORTAL
REINTERPRETED TO MANKIND NOW BEING IMMORTAL. The reinterpretation of
the nature of a person; that a person has a part that is now immortal and it goes to Heaven
or Hell at death. The general confusion of soul and spirit. Are they both the same or are
they two different immortal parts of a person that one or both will live after the person is
dead? The resurrection versus an immortal soul that cannot die, therefore, needs no
resurrection.
(2) THE WAGES OF SIN BEING CHANGED FROM DEATH TO BEING ETERNAL
LIFE WITH TORMENT. "The wages of sin is death" reinterpreted to be the wages of sin
is an eternal life of torment in Hell for an immortal soul that is not subject to death.
(3) THE REINTERPREATION OF THE FINAL DESTINY OF A PERSON CHANGED
FROM HEAVEN TO EARTH. That the saved will forever be with Jesus in Heaven is
reinterpreted to be that Jesus will forever be with the saved on this earth and no person
will ever be in Heaven.
These three reinterpretations are believed by many today and have caused many of the
divisions we now have.
UNCONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY MAKES MANY OF THE GREAT DOCTRINES
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT USELESS ANDOR IMPOSSIBLE.
[1] THE REINTERPRETATION
OF THE DEATH OF JESUS
"Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the
righteousness of God in him" [2 Corinthians 5:21]. Jesus actually died for our sins
[Romans 5:8], and "We were reconciled to God through the death of his Son" [Romans
5:10]. The wages of sin is death [Romans 6:23], and Christ died our death that we may
have life, not to keep us from an eternal life of torment, but to give us life [eternal life].
He paid the wages for our sin and died our death in our place, but He is not forever being
tormented in our place. Death alone is the penalty for sin, not torment. [Hebrews 9:11-28;
1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:16-19; Matthew 27:20; John 10:15; 12:23-26; 1 Corinthians
15:3; Hebrews 2:14; 9:16-17; 10:14; Isaiah 43:12]. IF, AS MANY TEACH, THE
WAGES OF SIN IS ETERNAL LIFE IN TORMENT, CHRIST DID NOT SUFFER
ETERNAL TORMENT FOR US, THEREFORE, HE WOULD NOT HAVE PAID THE
WAGES OF SIN FOR US. Jesus bore the punishment of sin that the sinner will bear at
the judgment, but He is not suffering eternal torment; therefore, if eternal torment were
the wages of sin, He is not paying it for us. Life is His gift to us, not just a reward for an
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immaterial, invisible "soul" that has eternal life and cannot die. Those who do not reach
the blood of Christ [His death] will die, for the wages of their sin is death, "For if we
have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness
of his resurrection" [Romans 6:5]. If those not united in the likeness of His death will not
be in the likeness of His resurrection, then what likeness will they have in Hell? THE
WAGES OF THEIR SIN IS DEATH, NOT HAVING THE LIKENESS OF
CHRIST OR ADAM OR ANY OTHER LIKENESS WHEN IN HELL. The only part
of a person many says is immortal and will be in Heaven or Hell is his undying soul that
can never die, therefore, Christ could not have died in its place to save it from the wages
of sin for that immortal soul would not be subject to death have would have no need for
Him to have died in its place.
If Christ were as much alive in the three days His earthly body was in the grave as He
was after the resurrection then there was no difference in Christ (1) than when before He
came to earth (2) than when His earthly body was in the grave (3) and now when He is in
Heaven, if His death were not total and complete. If only His earthly body were dead,
then He was the same spiritual being with all the power and glory in the three days His
body was in the grave that He had before He came to earth, or that He now has in
Heaven. Jesus could have given nothing but His earthly body for our sins. According to
those who believe we have a soul, which is only a part of us that cannot die, the soul of
Christ could not and did not die, THEREFORE, ACCORDING TO THEIR TEACHING
JESUS DID NOT DIE FOR OUR SINS FOR HE WAS NEVER DEAD, and the death of
Jesus was not just a door by which He went instantly back to Heaven before His
resurrection. He was not "received up from you into heaven" [Acts 1:11] unto 50 days
after His death, not at the time of His death, not before His resurrection.
CHRIST “POURED OUT HIS BEING UNTO DEATH” [Isaiah 53:12]. “He poured
out Himself to death” New American Standard Bible. Christ poured out his being, not
just a human body, unto dead. Unto His resurrection He was dead, not His being alive in
Hell or any other place.
THE DEATH CHRIST DIED AND HIS RESURRECTION ARE OPPOSITES. IF
HIS DEATH WAS NOT A REAL DEATH, HIS RESURRECTION COULD NOT
BE A REAL RESURRECTION. Then what would God has given when He give His
only Son, nothing more than one human body for three days. There was no real sacrifice
by God or Christ, NO REAL RESURRECTION as Jesus was not really and in truth dead.
We are told repeatedly God raised Christ [Acts 3:15; 4:10; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30; 13:37;
Romans 4:24; 8:11; 10:9; 1 Corinthians 6:14; 15:15; 2 Corinthians 4:14; Galatians 1:1;
Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 2:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Peter 1:21]. "May the God of
peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back form the dead our
Lord Jesus" [Hebrews 13:20 New International Version]. Christ was as dead and as much
under the power of death as mankind will be after death. He was not somewhere very
much alive with the same body [spiritual body], and the power and glory He had before
He came to earth; and just came back to His human body. THAT WOULD NOT HAVE
BEEN A DEATH OR A RESURRECTION, and we would still be in our sins with no
hope. His coming back to His earthy body on the third day would not have been a
resurrection of anything but His earthly body. The Wages of sin is death [Romans 6:23]
and Christ died in our place with all God's wrath that we would have had upon us at the
judgment. JESUS PAID OUR DEBT IN FULL. HE "LAY DOWN HIS LIFE" FOR US
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[John 15:13] BUT HE IS NOT SUFFERING ETERNAL PUNISHMENT FOR US,
THEREFORE, IF ETERNAL PUNISHMENT IS THE WAGES OF SIN, HE IS NOT
NOW PAYING OUR DEBT. Suffering is never said to be the wages of sin, but MANY
TAKE AWAY THE WAGES OF SIN (death) AND PUT AN ETERNAL LIFE OF
SUFFERING IN HELL IN ITS PLACE. Not to take anything away from the suffering of
Christ, but if He had suffered all He did right up to His death, and then not have died for
our sin; we would still have to pay the penalty of our sin, which is death [Romans 6:23].
Jesus died for us, but He is not being forever tormented for us.
• "He laid down his LIFE for us" [1 John 3:16].
• "Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man BE RISEN FROM THE DEAD"
[Matthew 17:9].
• "And go quickly, and tell his disciples, HE IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD"
[Matthew 28:7].
• "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and RISE AGAIN FROM THE
DEAD the third day" [Luke 24:46].
• "This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after that
HE WAS RISEN FROM THE DEAD" [John 21:14].
• "And killed the Prince of life; whom God RAISED FROM THE DEAD" [Acts
3:15].
(a) CHRIST IS OUR PASSOVER Exodus 20: The lamb died in the place of the firstborn.
It was slain, not forever tormented. Its blood was placed on the doorpost, and the
death angel passed over. If there were no blood, there was death for the first born, not an
eternal life of torment. "For our Passover also has been sacrificed, even Christ" [1
Corinthians 5:7]. "That by the grace of God he should taste of death for every man"
[Hebrews 2:9]. Christ died in the place of the sinner. It is by His blood that we are saved
from death just as the blood of the lamb saved the first-born from death; the saved will be
passed over by the second death. He tasted of death for all, but He is not forever being
tormented for all.
(b) NO ATONEMENT: If God's penalty for sin is not death, it would not have been
necessary for Christ to die to redeem us from the curse of the law; for if the law did not
inflict death on the sinner, and yet required the death of Christ for the redemption of the
sinner, it inflicted on Christ as payment for our sins something it would not have inflicted
on us as payment for our sin.
"If the punishment due for our sins is not actual death, then Christ could not have made an
atonement for us by his death. Under the Mosaic Law there was no such punishment as
imprisonment for life, much less imprisonment for life under continuous torture. The penalty for
the greatest offenses was always and only death." Curtis Dickinson, What The Bible Teaches
About Immortality And Future Punishment, Page 16.
If the soul does not die, but is translated to Heaven or Hell at death, then Christ was
not dead. He was not raised the third day, but only came back from Heaven or Hell, BUT
IT COULD NOT BE A RESURRECTION. In Old Testament types, it was the LIFE
given up in the blood poured out on the altar that atoned for sin; and it was LIFE given up
by Christ that atones. Sin must be atoned for; the wages of sin is death. If Christ did not
die, no atonement was made. If the wages of sin is an everlasting life of torment, then
Christ did not pay it and no atonement was made. When "soul" [nehphesh - life] is
reinterpreted to be an immaterial, invisible, undying inter part of a person, then when
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Christ "poured out his soul [nehphesh - life] unto death" [Isaiah 53:10-12], was this
undying part of Him dead? If He were not dead, He did not pour out his life [nehphesh]
unto death and there was no atonement.
(c) NO NEW COVENANT: "For where a testament is, there must of necessity be the
death of him that made it. For a testament is in force where there has been death: for it
never avail while he that made it lives" [Hebrews 9:16-17]. If Christ only changed from
living on Earth to living any other place, whether it is Heaven, Hell or wherever.
1. If His soul which was alive before He came to Earth
2. Was alive while He was on Earth
3. And was alive when His earthly body was in the grave
4. Just as it now alive in Heaven
He did not die, there was no death and the New Covenant is not in force.
"HE WAS CUT OFF OUT OF THE LAND OF THE LIVING: for the transgression of
my people was he stricken. AND HE MADE HIS GRAVE WITH THE WICKED, AND
WITH THE RICH IN HIS DEATH" [Isaiah 53:8-9]. "Him being delivered by the
determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands
have crucified and slain: WHOM GOD HAS RAISED UP, HAVING LOOSED THE
PAINS OF DEATH: because it was not possible that he should be held of it...Men and
brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and
buried, and his grave is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing
that God had sworn with and oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the
flesh, HE WOULD RAISE UP CHRIST to sit on his throne, he seeing this before SPAKE
OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST, that his soul was not left in hades, neither did
his flesh see corruption. THIS JESUS HAS GOD RAISED UP, whereof we are all
witnesses" [Acts 2:24-32].
"And therefore it was imputed unto him for righteousness. Now it was not written for
his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if
we believe on him that RAISED UP JESUS OUR LORD FROM THE DEAD; who was
delivered for our offenses AND WAS RAISED FOR OUR JUSTIFICATION" [Romans
4:22-25]. "For He has MADE HIM TO BE SIN FOR US, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him" [2 Corinthians 5:21]. "Who in the days of his flesh, when he
had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him THAT
WAS ABLE TO SAVE HIM FROM DEATH, and was heard in that he feared, though he
were a Son, yet learned he obedience through the things that he suffered; and being made
perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him" [Hebrews.
5:79]. "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are figures
of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: nor yet
that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entered into the holy place every year
with the blood of others; for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the
world: but now once in the end of the age (aion-age, not world, probably the end of the
Jewish age that ended at His death) has he appeared to put away sin BY THE
SACRIFICE OF HIMSELF And as it appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment: SO CHRIST WAS ONCE OFFERED TO BEAR THE SINS OF MANY; and
unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation"
[Hebrews 9:24-28].
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WE ARE SAVED BY THE DEATH OF CHRIST. We were baptized into the death of
Christ and raised from the dead. In some way that we may never fully understand we died
with Him and His death became our death for our sins. See 2 Corinthians 5:14; Romans
6:3-8; Colossians 2:12; Galatians 2:20; Philippians 3:10; 2 Timothy 2:11.
(d) MAKES CHRIST'S DEATH BE INADEQUATE: Many who say they "speak
where the Bible speaks and are silent where the Bible is silent" say "we cannot fully
grasp the righteousness and holiness of God, nor the sinfulness of sin in His perfectly
created universe." They believe that the sinfulness of sin makes eternal torment in Hell
necessary, and eternal death would not be enough for God to be a just God. If they "speak
where the Bible speaks," then how do they know that sin is not evil enough to require the
supreme penalty of the death of the sinner, therefore, the sinner must be let off with a
lesser penalty of a life of torment. The Bible clearly says death is required. "The wages of
sin is death" not just a life of torment. They are clearly speaking where the Bible does not
speak. It is often said that the sinfulness of sin makes Hell necessary but not once does
the Bible say this; it says, "The wages of sin is death."
Summary: WHEN CHRIST PAID THE WAGES OF SIN FOR US, IT WAS WITH
HIS DEATH. HE IS NOT SUFFERING ETERNAL TORMENT FOR US,
THEREFORE, IF THE WAGES OF SIN IS ETERNAL TORMENT AND NOT DEATH
THEN THE DEATH OF CHRIST WAS INADEQUATE TO PAY FOR OUR SINS. IF
ETERNAL TORMENT IS THE WAGES OF SIN CHRIST DID NOT PAY IT AND
THERE IS NO SALVATION FOR ANYONE.
[2] THE REINTERPRETATION OF
THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
If all the saved are now in Heaven with Christ and all the lost are now in Hell, why is
He coming back to this earth? Death the "last enemy" has been made to do what Christ
would have done at His second coming, namely taken all the saved to Heaven. There
would be no need for Him to come back to do what death has already done. The doctrine
of an immortal undying soul has supplanted the second coming of Christ by making the
enemy of mankind be his best friend that takes him instantly to Heaven. THIS VIEW
HAS CHRIST COMING BACK TO EARTH FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT ON
EARTH BUT ARE WITH HIM IN HEAVEN.
The Abraham's bosom view says Christ is coming back to the earth for the
resurrection, but the ones He is coming back to earth to raise from the dead are those who
are not dead but are alive somewhere other than on earth where He is coming back to.
This view makes souls be alive wherever they think Abraham's bosom to be. No one is
dead; therefore, there cannot be a resurrection of the undead who are alive either in
Heaven or alive in Abraham’s bosom.
[3] THE REINTERPRETATION OF THE RESURRECTION
OF THE DEAD FROM THE GRAVE
MAKES A RESURRECTION IMPOSSIBLE
AND NOT NEEDED BY ELIMINATING DEATH
Those that are not dead cannot be raised from the dead. Unconditional immortality
says a person has an immaterial part that is immortal and not subject to death, and that all
go to Heaven or Hell at death. If this were true, it would make the resurrection be of no
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consequence, impossible, and not needed. Most unconditional immoralists say that this
immaterial part of a person is the only part of a person that will be in Heaven, and it is
not now dead and not in the grave and will not be dead or in the grave at the coming of
Christ; and we are told the souls (the immaterial part) of those who have died are now in
Heaven or Hell and are not now on this earth and will not be on this earth when He
comes. If all are now in Heaven or Hell, then all have been judged. If it were true that the
only part of a person that can never die is the only part of him that will ever be in Heaven
and it is already there, then there could not be a resurrection of the dead for this part of a
person would not be dead. The resurrection is at the coming of Christ; if those who have
died in Christ are alive in Heaven, some for two thousand years or more, what would be
the point of the second coming of Christ to receive them unto Himself [John 14:3].
Would it not be ridiculous for Christ to come to Earth for His people when they had been
with Him in Heaven, some for thousands of years? There would be nothing on earth to
rise but the earthly body that will never be in Heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:50 "Flesh and
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God."
There could not be a resurrection to immortal life if a person now has immortal life;
the only part of them that would be in Heaven would just go on living. Can those who are
not asleep wake up? DYING HAS BEEN MADE INTO A TRANSLATION TO
ANOTHER KIND OF LIFE, NOT A DEATH. DEATH HAS BEEN MADE INTO A
DOORWAY INTO A CONTINUATION OF LIFE WITHOUT THE
RESURRECTION IN WHICH THE LOST WILL BE JUST AS ALIVE AS THE
SAVED AND HAVE LIFE THAT IS JUST AS ETERNAL AS THE SAVED. The
sting of death has been removed and death made into a victory, instantaneous life in
Heaven, and in so doing has completely eliminated the need for a resurrection. Many
believe the dead now have a spiritual body that now has incorruption [1 Corinthians
15:42]; it now has glory and power [1 Corinthians 15:43], and is now in the image of the
heavenly [1 Corinthians 15:49]. If, as soon as they die, the dead are alive and they have
the image of Christ, what more will they have or could want after the resurrection?
GOING INSTANTLY TO HEAVEN AT DEATH MAKES DAVID AND ALL THE
OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS TO HAVE BEEN SAVED AND WENT TO HEAVEN
BEFORE AND WITHOUT ANY NEED OF THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF
CHRIST.
What about those who would now be in Hell; are they to be resurrected; what could
possibly be the purpose of their resurrection; if it is for judgment why are they now in
Hell before they are judged? To judge them after they had been in Hell, some for
thousands of years, would be nothing but pure mockery; it would make God to have sent
them to Hell without a judgment, or be unsure of His first judgment and need a second
one.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
IS AN UNSOLVABLE PROBLEM
For those who believe an undying soul is translated to Heaven or Hell at the moment
of death without the resurrection at the second coming of Christ the resurrection is a
problem for which they seem to have no solution. What do they think will be raised from
the dead when Christ comes? What body will be raised; what will be done with the
earthly body if it were raised from the dead? It cannot go to Heaven. What will happen to
it after it is raised? A RESURRECTION OF THOSE WHO ARE ALIVE IN HEAVEN
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OR HELL IS NO RESURRECTION AT ALL. IT IS AN EMPTY SHOW. IT IS AN
INESCAPABLE FACT THAT ACCORDING TO THE POPULAR TEACHING,
THAT THERE IS NO PLACE FOR A RESURRECTION IN THE POPULAR
VIEW OF TODAY AND NO LOGICAL REASON FOR IT. A resurrection requires
that the person raised be dead at the time of their resurrection, not more alive than when
they were living. THE BIBLE TEACHING OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
AT THE COMING OF CHRIST CANNOT BE RECONCILED WITH THE HEATHEN
DOCTRINE OF AN IMMORTAL SOUL. THEY ARE OPPOSED TO EACH OTHER
AND BOTH CANNOT BE TRUE.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD IS A FUTURE EVENT
[John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15]
If a person has an immortal soul that will never be dead and this "soul" is the only part
of a person that will be in Heaven, the New Testament teaching of the resurrection has
been destroyed. The Greek concept of the immortal soul assumes that an individual
already posse's eternal life and the only question is “where will this eternal life be spent?”
It cannot be said that something that is now living can be raised from the dead. It is
utterly impossible to harmonize the New Testament teaching of a resurrection with the
pagan teaching of an immortal soul. If there is no resurrection, then all life ceases at
death. "For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised: and if Christ has
not been raised, you faith is vain; you are yet in your sins. Then they also that are fallen
asleep in Christ have perished. If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all
men most pitiable." There is no stronger way Paul could have said that there is no
hope of life after death if there is no resurrection; that those who are fallen asleep in
Christ have perished, that they are not now in Heaven before the resurrection. If
they were in Heaven they could not have perished in any way. (1) Before the
resurrection those who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished if the dead are not
raised or (2) they have not perished for that are alive in Heaven before and without
the resurrection. Both cannot be true.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD DESTROYS
THE THEORY OF AN IMMORTAL SOUL THAT IS NEVER DEAD,
THEREFORE, CANNOT BE RESURRECTED
THE TWO ARE INCOMPATIBLE
1. An immortal soul makes the resurrection impossible.
2. The resurrection makes an immortal soul impossible.
3. Death is the end of life. The resurrection is a return to life.
4. If death is life in another place, the resurrection is nothing more than a moving
day to another place, just a continuation of life in another place, not a real
resurrection.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
IS THE ONLY HOPE OF LIFE AFTER DEATH
THE BIBLE COULD NOT SAY ANY STRONGER THAN IT DOES THAT AN
AWAKENING FROM THE DEAD BY THE RESURRECTION IS OUR ONLY HOPE
OF LIFE AFTER DEATH. Without the resurrection to life from death, there would be no
existence after death. Being raised from the grave to immortality is the teaching of the
New Testament [See 1 Corinthians 15; Matthew 22:31; Luke 14:14; John 11:25; Acts
17:31; Philippians 3:8-11; John 6:3-9]. Without the resurrection, "Your faith is
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worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ
have perished" [1 Corinthians 15:17-18]. "If from human motives I fought with will
beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, LET US EAT AND
DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE" [1 Corinthians 15:32]; not tomorrow our immortal
soul lives. Both reincarnation and the immoral soul from birth are a poor substitution for
the truth. As clearly as life and death, the return of Jesus, the resurrection from the grave,
and the Judgment Day are taught in the New Testament, how could anyone read the New
Testament and believe reincarnation or that Plato's immortal soul is alive before and
without the resurrection?
“If the dead are not raised” (1 Corinthians 15:16-19)
• “Neither has Christ been raise”
• “Your faith is vain (useless)”
• “You are yet in your sins”
• “They also that are fallen asleep (are dead) in Christ have perished.” If there is
no resurrection of the dead there will be no hereafter for anyone who has died.
• “If we have only hoped in Christ I this life, we are of all men most pitiable” for
there would be no resurrection, no judgment day, no second death, no eternal life
If we had a soul that will never be dead, it will always live independent of the
resurrection; all would now have eternal life and will live forever without the death and
resurrection of Christ. The doctrine of the immortality of the soul has replaced the
resurrection of the dead and made the resurrection to be completely of no consequence, it
has destroyed the need for the resurrection. It is a fact that the doctrine of an immortal
soul that cannot die has pervaded over the doctrine of a resurrection in most churches.
THERE COULD NOT BE A GOSPEL MORE DIFFERENT THAN THE GOSPEL
OF AN IMMORTALTY SOUL THAT WILL NEVER DIE. Nothing is more plainly
taught then there will be no life for anyone after death without the resurrection of
the dead at the coming of Christ.
AFTER THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
IS THE ONLY TIME ANY OF THE DEAD
WILL BE ALIVE AND WITH THE LORD
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we
who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord" [1 Thessalonians 4:16-17].
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
IS WHEN THE JUST SHALL BE RECOMPENSED
NOT AT DEATH FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT DEAD
"For you shall be recompensed in the resurrection of the just" [Luke 14:14]. No one is
recompensed by going instantly to Heaven at death before the resurrection and judgment.
"In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I
go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,
and will receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also" [John 14:3]. No
one or no deathless part of a person will at the death of the body go to His Father's house
in Heaven before He comes again. “Unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled,
and that fades not away, RESERVED IN HEAVEN FOR YOU, who by the power of God
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are guarded through faith unto a salvation READY TO BE REVEALED IN THE LAST
TIME” [1 Peter 1:4-5].
THE INCONSISTENCY OF MAKING DEATH A FRIEND
According to the belief of many the dead are instantaneous translated to Heaven at
death and are with God. Yet they do all they can, pray to God to keep the sick alive and
out of Heaven, spend a great sum of money to keep them on earth, and grieve when they
think a loved one goes to be with Jesus. It is obvious there is an inconsistency in what
they claim to believe and what they really believe, that they believe death to be an enemy,
not a friend.
Christ was the first fruits [first one raised from the dead] afterward those who are
Christ's shall be made alive [raised from the dead] at His coming [1 Corinthians 15:22-
23]. The doctrine of an immortal soul that grow out of Plato's teaching makes Christ
being the first fruits or firstborn from the dead not possible for it makes those who lived
and died before His resurrection be alive before Him.
NEW BIBLE DICTIONARY: "The most startling characteristic of the first Christian preaching is
its emphasis on the resurrection. The first preaches were sure that Christ had risen, and sure, in
consequence, the believers would in due course rise also. This set them off from all the other
teachers of the ancient world...Nothing is more characteristic of even the best thought of the day
than its hopelessness in the face of death. Clearly the resurrection is of the very first importance
for the Christian faith" Page 1010, 1996. The resurrection is a New Testament teaching. The word
resurrection is used forty-one times in the New Testament but not once in the Old Testament.
ADAM CLARKE on 1 Corinthians 15:32: "I believe the common method of pointing this verse
is erroneous; I propose to read it: 'If, after the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at
Ephesus, what does it advantage me? If the dead rise not, let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we
die.' What the apostle says here is a regular and legitimate conclusion from the
doctrine that there is no resurrection; for if there be no resurrection, then
there can be no judgment-no future state or rewards and punishment ; why,
therefore, should we bear crosses, and keep ourselves under continual discipline? Let us eat and
drink, take all the pleasure we can; FOR TOMORROW WE DIE, AND THERE IS AN END
OF US FOREVER."
JERRY CROSS: "It is important to notice that Paul argues for a resurrection, and not a release.
Paul does not have in mind some disembodied existence such as advocated by Greek thinkers
such as Plato. Furthermore, Paul is arguing for a resurrection that is a transformation and not a
continuation or resumption of life just as it had been laid down. The resurrected body is to be
radically different from the body of this earthly life (vv. 35-49). This is the same position argued
by Jesus against both the view of the Sadducees and that of the Pharisees (Matt. 22:23-33; esp. v.
30)" Magnolia Bible College 1984 Lectures, pages 47-48.
DILLARD THURMAN, Brown Trail Church of Christ: "The hope and aspiration of many has been
shifted from His coming again to receive His own, to an immediate immortality and heavenly bliss
immediately at death! Jesus DID NOT promise that!" Gospel Minutes, Volume 34, Number 5, February
1, 1985. “I have heard funeral orations extol the happiness and bliss the departed has instantly with
death: but on checking the New Testament assiduously, I have yet to find a single promise where the
dead go into heaven on an instant pass, or have immediate conscious happiness” Gospel Minutes,
Volume 34, Number 5, February 1, 1985.
The resurrection was the backbone of the belief and teaching of the New Testament
Church [Philippians 3:10-11; Acts 17:31, 23:6, 24:15, John 6:39-54, Luke 14:13-14,
Hebrews 9:27, 1 Corinthians 15:1-58]. If the body is only a house in which the soul lives,
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then the putting off this house is not a death; if the soul is alive and anything comes forth
out of the grave, it could only be the body of flesh; and then the "soul" must come back
from Heaven to rejoin the body, or we would have our dead earthly body resurrected but
with no "soul" on earth and our “soul” alive in Heaven both at the same time. THE
APOSTLES NEVER PREACHED A DISEMBODIED LIFE AFTER DEATH, BUT A
RESURRECTION FROM DEATH. "God both raised the Lord, and will raise up us" [1
Corinthians 6:14].
IF WE ARE NOW A TWO PARTS BEING OF BODY AND SPIRIT, WHAT IS
THE SPIRITUAL BODY THAT THE SAVED SOUL OR SAVED SPIRIT WILL "PUT
ON" [1 Corinthians 15:44]? Is the "soul" (as the word is used today) different from the
spiritual body that we will put on at the resurrection? Is the spirit part of a person, which
some teach we now have, going to put on another body at the resurrection, and become a
different spiritual body from what it is now? Will it be a second spiritual body? If we
now have this spirit or soul, how can it be changed in any way? Will it be different from
the soul we now have? If it will not be different, all we could do would be to put off the
body of flesh; and then our immortal part would be just as it will be in Heaven; if not,
why not? There could be no other change or a resurrection; nothing other than putting off
the body of flesh at death, and those who have died would have already done this and are
NOW without the resurrection just as they will always be. IF THE "SOUL" IS NOW
IMMORTAL THERE WILL BE NO RESURRECTION AND NO SPIRITUAL BODY
TO BE PUT ON AT THE RESURRECTION.
• "How are the dead raised, and with what manner of body do they come?" [1
Corinthians 15:35].
• "You sow not the body that shall be" [1 Corinthians 15:37].
• "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in
incorruption" [1 Corinthians 15:42].
• "And as we have born the image of the earthy [Adam], we SHALL also bear the
image of the heavenly [Christ]" [1 Corinthians 15:49].
• "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" [1 Corinthians 15:50].
• "We shall all be changed in a moment" [1 Corinthians 15:49].
• "The dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed" [1 Corinthians
15:52].
• "It is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be
manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is" [1 John 3:2].
Summary: THE REINTERPRETATION OF THE NATURE OF A PERSON, THAT
HE IS NOW A TWO PART BEING OF BODY AND SOUL OR SPIRIT, THAT HE
NOW HAS AN IMMORTAL SPIRIT and/or SOUL THAT IS JUST AS IT WILL BE
AFTER THE RESURRECTION, AND THE DEAD IN CHRIST ARE NOW JUST AS
THEY WILL ALWAYS BE. IF THIS WERE TRUE, THEN THE "SOUL," WHICH IS
NOW THE IMMORTAL PART OF A PERSON WERE ALIVE, IT COULD NOT PUT
ON IMMORTALITY, IT COULD NOT BE CHANGED, IT COULD NOT BE
TRANSFORMED, OR IT COULD NOT BE RESURRECTED AT THE COMING OF
CHRIST. IF THIS IMMMORTAL SOUL WERE CHANGED OR RESURRECTED
FROM THE DEAD THEN THE SPIRIT and/or SOUL SOME SAY WE NOW HAVE
CANNOT BE THE SAME SOUL AS THE SOUL THEY SAY WE WILL HAVE
AFTER THE RESURRECTION. The simple Bible truth is that the saved will be changed
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and resurrected with a spiritual body, not resurrected with the earthly body [1 Corinthians
15:53].
All this is only because unconditional immortality must have something come from
the grave that was dead, which could not be the "soul" for we are repeatedly told that it is
as much alive both (1) now and (2) after death before the resurrection (3) as it will ever
be after the resurrection; and it will be "at home with the Lord" from the time of the death
of the body before and without the resurrection. David Owen says it should be noted that
Paul says we will be raised with a spiritual body, not a spirit. 1996 Florida College
Lectures, Page 216. It will be "us" that is raised with a new "spiritual body," not an
undying inter spirit part of a person that is not dead being raised from Heaven?
If the resurrection were taken from the Bible, it would not affect the theology of many
churches today. They take a short cut and go directly to heaven at death without the
resurrection. Because they believe they are born with an immortal soul, which is the only
part of them that they believe will be in Heaven, they do not need to put on immortality at
the resurrection which they have bypassed.
A believer in unconditional immortality says, "Therefore, at the Second Coming,
all the resurrected saints are brought together and publicly displayed, not raised at
that time." From a web site at: http//www.tranexp.com/win/intertrans.gif.
The belief in the resurrection and the need for it is being abandoning by many. But,
the Bible teaches that all die, and none will live before the resurrection; and without it
there would be no life for anyone after death, no life for the saved or no life for the lost.
IF YOU BELIEVE THAT ONLY A PART OF A PERSON WILL BE SAVED, AND
THAT PART IS HIS IMMORTAL SOUL, WHICH CAN NEVER DIE, YOU CANNOT
BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION. BOTH CANNOT BE TRUE. IF THE SOUL
WAS IMMORTAL IT COULD NOT DIE AND IT NOW POSSESSES ETERNAL
LIFE, EVEN IF IT REJECTS CHRIST AND IT COULD BE RAISED FROM THE
DEAD. Satan's lie, "You shall not surely die" after being changed to "My soul shall not
surely die" has succeeded to the point that many now say, "No Christ, a part of me needs
no resurrection, my soul is immortal and at death it will come to you in Heaven; this part
of me will not wait to go to heaven unto after your second coming and the resurrection."
One of the "church fathers," Justin Martyr said those "who say there is no resurrection of
the dead, and that their souls, when they die, are taken to heaven are not Christian at all."
A faith in something God has not spoken is a vain useless faith, therefore; a faith
based on life after death because we have an immortal soul that is not subject to
death is a vain faith that is based on a lie.
[4] THE REINTERPRETATION OF THE WAGES OF SIN
MAKES "THE WAGES OF SIN" IMPOSSIBLE
BY ELIMINATING DEATH [Romans 6:23]
If the soul cannot die, it cannot pay the wages of sin, which is to die, therefore, the
wages of sin had to be changed from death to an eternal life of torment.
• Romans 6:23: "The wages of sin is death" has been reinterpreted to be an eternal
life with torment
• James 1:15: James should not have said, "And sin, when it is accomplished, it
brings forth death." He should have said, "And when it is accomplished, sin
brings forth eternal life in Hell to be eternally tormented by God."
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AS LONG AS A PERSON HAS LIFE, THAT PERSON IS NOT DEAD,
THEREFORE, AS LONG AS ANY PART OF THAT PERSON IS ALIVE, THAT
PERSON HAS NOT RECEIVED THE WAGES OF SIN. NOR CAN A PERSON BE
SAID TO BE DYING IF DEATH CAN NEVER BE REACHED. To an immortal soul
that cannot die, death cannot be the wages of sin. Mankind does not like death, and most
have made themselves believe THERE IS NO REAL DEATH. Even at the time of our
death, many believe we do not die, and have reduced God's death row to life in prison.
And as we now have immortality, the promise of "eternal life" must be reduced from
being eternal life to just being a reward [heaven]. If only the earthly body dies, not the
real "us," the resurrection could not be the center of the gospel [1 Corinthians 15:1-10]; it
could not even be a part of it; therefore, the undying immortal soul doctrine takes the
resurrection out of the Gospel; both the resurrection of Christ and our resurrection.
NEVER A VICTORY: Evil and good beings must live side by side. If death is only
separation from God, the separation must go on forever. THERE NEVER CAN BE AN
END TO DEATH. There never can be an end to separation, for if the separation did end,
both the lost and the saved would then be together. There will never be an end to evil.
Satan, evil angels, and evil men are just moved to another place, not ended, and not
defeated. They will remain just as evil, just as much in rebellion to God as they are now.
ACCORDING TO THE TRADITIONAL DOCTRINE OF HELL THERE WILL BE
TWO KINGDOMS, THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE KINGDOM OF SATAN
WITH THE KINGDOM OF SATAN BEING MANY TIMES LARGER THAN THE
KINGDOM OF GOD. WHAT KIND OF VICTORY WOULD THAT BE? IT MAKES
SATAN WIN.
DEATH WILL BE OUR ENEMY UNTO OUR RESURRECTION AT THE
COMING OF CHRIST.
[5] THE REINTERPRETATION OF THE JUDGMENT DAY
MAKES THE JUDGMENT A MOCKERY and NOT NEEDED: The judgment day at
the coming of Christ is opposed to an immortal soul being translated instantly to Heaven
or Hell at death. If the dead are now in Heaven or Hell, all would have been judged at
death and the judgment is going on now as each person dies. To take those who have
already been judged out of Heaven or Hell FOR A SECOND JUDGMENT only to put
them back in the same place where they now makes the Judgment be a useless and empty
show. It would make a mockery of both the resurrection and the judgment. The popular
idea of an immortal soul going instantly to Heaven at death makes the resurrection and
judgment be out of place and many have abandoned it. At the most, the judgment day
could be nothing more than another reward day for these who were already judged and
rewarded at death. Many churches say we get our reward of going to Heaven at death;
therefore, for them the judgment day is made to be nothing more than an empty and
useless show.
The judgment of all will take place on a special day IN THE FUTURE, the day of the
second coming of Christ, NOT AT DEATH. Matthew 16:27; John 5:27-29; 2 Timothy
4:1; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Peter 3:7; Acts 17:31; Matthew 10:15; 11:22; 11:24; Mark 6:11;
Matthew 7:22; Luke 19:22; John 6:39, 40, 44, 54; 11:24; 12:48; Romans 2:5; 2:16; 1
Corinthians 1:8; 3:13; Ephesians 4:30; 6:13; Philippians 1:6; 1:10; 2:16; 1 Thessalonians
5:2; 5:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:2; 2:3; 2 Timothy 1:12; 1:18; 4:8; 2 Peter 2:9; 3:7; 3:10; 3:12;
1 John 4:17; Jude 6. The Bible is so clear on when anyone will be judged that I find it
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difficult to understand how anyone can read the Bible and then say we are judged at death
to be saved or loss.
A SECOND JUDGMENT: If all are translated instantly to Heaven or Hell at death as
is taught by today's theology, WOULD NOT A SECOND JUDGMENT MAKE GOD
UNSURE OF HIMSELF? If in all the billions He had judged at death and sent them to
Heaven or Hell, if He found just one that He had misjudged, He would not be infallible
and, therefore, would not be God. Satan fashions himself as an angel of light and his
ministers as ministers of righteousness, and they has done their work well [2 Corinthians
11:14-15].
“The immortality of the soul makes a mockery of all this. Resurrection becomes superfluous,
since we can relate to Christ “out of body.” Because the saints have already spent long ages with
Christ, the Parousia becomes something less than the great ‘revelation’ portrayed by Scripture.
Finally, the Judgment is transformed into a farce. After spending thousands of years in heaven,
will Abel have to pass before the bar of divine justice to determine whether or not his name is
written in the Book of Life? Conversely, will Judas be summoned from a hell he has occupied for
two millennia to discover if he is really among the damned? Any doctrine, which allows for such
scenarios ought to be suspect from the very outset.” Kenneth Fortier, Resurrection Magazine,
Volume 95, Number 2, 1992.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, "Hell" by P. Kreeft says, "God must appoint some fixed term for
the time of trial, after which the just will enter into the secure possession of a happiness that can
never again be lost in all eternity...Accordingly, it is the belief of all people that eternal retribution
is dealt out immediately after death." Most Protestants also believe a person goes to Heaven or
Hell immediately after death, therefore, their judgment must be immediately after death, not at
the second coming of Christ.
“Inasmuch as He has appointed A DAY in which He will judge the world” [Acts
17:31]. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” [Hebrews
9:27]. “For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each
one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether it
be good or bad” [2 Corinthians 5:10]. THERE WILL BE A DAY OF JUDGMENT
WHEN ALL WILL COME BEFORE THE JUDGMENT-SEAT OF CHRIST, NOT A
JUDGMENT OF EACH PERSON AT DEATH.
"For the hour is coming when ALL WHO ARE IN THEIR GRAVES WILL HEAR HIS
VOICE AND COME OUT, those who have done good TO THE RESURRECTION OF
LIFE, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation" [John 5:28-29
New Revised Standard Version, also 2 Corinthians 5:10]. THE DEAD WILL HEAR
THE VOICE OF JESUS “WHEN THEY ARE IN THEIR GRAVES”
AND “COME OUT” OF THEIR GRAVES, NOT HEAR WHEN THEY ARE IN
HEAVEN, HELL, OR ABRAHAM'S BOSOM. THE RESURRECTION IS NOT A
BRINGING BACK FROM HEAVEN OR HELL THOSE WHO ARE NOT DEAD; IT
WILL BE A REAL RESURRECTION FROM A REAL DEATH. Jesus clearly said,
“ALL who are in their graves.” He did not say, "The souls of ALL who are in Heaven or
Hell." If the dead now have life in Heaven or Hell, then Christ was wrong. “But should
raise it up AT THE LAST DAY. For this is the will of my Father that everyone that
beholds the Son, and believes on him should have ETERNAL LIFE; and I will raise him
up AT THE LAST DAY” [John 6:39-40] “And I will raise him up IN THE LAST DAY”
[John 6:44] “And I will raise him up AT THE LAST DAY” [John 6:54]. "I know that he
SHALL RISE AGAIN in the resurrection AT THE LAST DAY" [John 11:24].
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[6] THE REINTERPRETATION OF DEATH
TO BE NOT DEATH BUT ETERNAL LIFE
EITHER ETERNAL LIFE IN HEAVEN OR ETERNAL LIFE IN HELL
BEFORE THE RESURRECTION AND JUDGMENT
AND BEFORE THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
UNCONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY MAKES DEATH A FRIEND, NOT THE
LAST ENEMY THAT SHALL BE ABOLISHED AT THE SECOND COMING OF
CHRIST [1 Corinthians 15:26]. "To die" never signifies "to live in torment." If
Abraham, David and all the saints of the Old Testament were in Heaven they were there
before and without the resurrection or the death of Christ; neither His death or
resurrection would have been needed, nor would there be any death to abolish to a “soul”
that cannot die.
1. Death would have been destroyed by changing death into eternal life for everyone
at the time of their death, not at Christ's second coming. Death would have been
destroyed for those in the Old Testament before and without the death of Christ
by putting them all in Heaven or Hell at the time of their death.
2. If death that takes anyone to Heaven it would be no enemy to him or her.
3. Death would not be death, for changing from life on this earth to life in Heaven or
life in Hell would not be death.
THERE CANNOT BE ETERNAL LIFE IN HELL FOR “THE FREE GIFT OF
GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD” [Romans 6:23]. Without
Christ there is no eternal life. “He that believes on the Son has eternal life; but that obeys
not the Son SHALL NOT SEE LIFE” [John 3:36]. DEATH IS NOT LIFE. The doctrine
of the immortality of the soul, which gives eternal life to the lost, is in direct
conduction to the Bible. “He that believes on the Son of God has the witness in him: he
that believes not God has made Him a liar; because he has not believed in the witness
that God has borne concerning His Son. And the witness is this that God gave unto us
eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that has the Son has the life, HE THAT HAS
NOT THE SON OF GOD HAS NOT THE LIFE” [1 John 5:10-12]. What we believe
does make a difference.
God said, “You shall surely die.”
Satan said, “You shall not surely die.”
The theology of many says, “All have an immortal soul that ‘shall not surely
die,’” all the dead are more alive then they were before they died, that death is not
really death but only a change from life in one place to life in another place.
[7] THE REINTERPRETATION OF ASLEEP
ARE THE DEAD ASLEEP OR AWAKE?
What is asleep, the body, or soul, or spirit, or man? The scriptures never speak of a
soul being asleep, or the body, or spirit, but the whole person as being asleep and will be
asleep unto the resurrection day. If Christ were not raised the dead are gone; those who
are asleep in Christ will never wake up. The Bible must be changed and made to say that
the soul, the only part of a person that many believe will be in Heaven is not asleep and
can never sleep. 1 Corinthians 15:18 "Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have
PERISHED [Apollumi]." WHEN PAUL SAID THOSE WHO ARE ASLEEP IN
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CHRIST HAVE "PERISHED" HE IS SAYING THEY WILL NEVER LIVE AGAIN
ANYWHERE IF THERE IS NO RESURRECTION FROM THE SLEEP OF DEATH.
THEY ARE GONE "PERISHED" FOREVER. HE IS NOT SAYING THEY HAVE
JUST "lost their well-being" BUT ARE ALIVE SOMEWHERE EVEN IF CHRIST
WERE NOT RAISED FROM THE DEAD. Perished cannot mean tormented, but a total
end, for if "perished" means "tormented," then Paul said those who are "asleep in Christ"
will be "tormented" if there is no resurrection [1 Corinthians 15:12-19]. Paul is not saying
that if Christ were not raised, the dead in Christ have just "lost their well-being" because
they are alive and will forever live in pain and torment, but he is saying that they are dead
and will never live again anywhere if there is no resurrection. If a part of us cannot die
and must forever live somewhere then Paul has no argument for it cannot perish, and
there cannot be a resurrection of the undead that cannot die; when Paul said some had
perished, he just did not understand that a soul cannot perish, that the only part of a
person that will live forever cannot die or perish. Paul's argument has been neutralized,
and he is made to be saying nothing; and the death and resurrection of Christ has been
made to be useless and not needed? PAUL SAID THE DEAD IN CHRIST ARE
ASLEEP, THE THEOLOGY OF MANY SAYS NOT SO PAUL, ALL THE DEAD IN
CHRIST ARE AWAKE IN HEAVEN.
• Jesus said, "Lazarus is fallen asleep" [John 11:11].
• Then said, "Lazarus is dead" [John 11:14].
He did not say Lazarus's body is asleep, but his soul is alive in Heaven. Lazarus would
have spent four days in Heaven, but Lazarus or no others in the Bible that were raised
from the dead ever said one word about what it was like. Do you think that if they had
seen the joy of Heaven, or the pain of Hell, which many believe they would have seen,
that a single one that was brought back from Heaven or Hell could have kept quiet about
what they had seen? Could you? They said nothing because they were as Christ said
"asleep," not more alive than the living. Lazarus was a problem to the chief priests and
Pharisees because everyone knew he had been dead and was alive [John 11:47], not
because he was telling of what he had seen. Not a one that was brought back from the
dead had an "afterlife experience." Why? Because they were "asleep." Is earth better than
Heaven; if Lazarus were in Heaven for four days, would he want to come back to earth?
Would you or anyone want to leave Heaven and come back to this earth? Why would
Christ have been cruel to Lazarus by taking him out of the joy of Heaven?
• Lazarus had to be dead to be resurrected from the dead.
• A "soul" would have to be dead if it was resurrected from the dead but we are told
that it cannot be dead; then this part of us that has no substance cannot be
resurrected from the dead.
a) GATHERED TO HIS PEOPLE: Abraham [Genesis 25:8-9] and others died, and
were "gathered to his people." The argument is made that this could not refer to their
physical body; therefore, it was the soul that was gathered to his people. If that were true
then the souls would be asleep together, not awake together, therefore, it would not prove
a part of a person is conscious after death. The Hebrew belief was that both the good and
the bad went to sheol-the grave. See Genesis 3:7-35; Job 7:21; 14:12; 24:19; Psalms 13:3;
1610; 31:17. "Slept with his fathers" is in the Old Testament about 38 times.
• Abraham "was GATHERED TO HIS PEOPLE" [Genesis 25:8-9].
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• "Moses, Behold, YOU SHALL SLEEP WITH YOUR FATHERS" [Deuteronomy
31:16].
• "So DAVID SLEPT WITH HIS FATHERS" [1 Kings 2:10; 11:21]. "David...fell
asleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption" [Acts 13:36].
• "From the day that the FATHERS FELL ASLEEP" [2 Peter 3:4].
• "So man lies down and rises not: Till the heavens be no more, they SHALL NOT
AWAKE, NOR BE ROUSED OUT OF THEIR SLEEP" [Job 14:12].
• "CHRIST...THE FIRST FRUITS OF THEM THAT ARE ASLEEP" [1 Corinthians
15:20]. Christ is the only one who has been raised from the dead and is the only
one who is not now "asleep."
If, "gathered to his people,” means "awake" then, "asleep" has to mean, "awake." If
not, then wherever Abraham was he would be "asleep" and he would not know where he
was or who was with him. How could Christ be the first fruits if Abraham were alive
before Him?
ABRAHAM'S FATHER SERVED OTHER GODS. "Terah, the father of Abraham,
and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods" [Joshua 24:2], which, according to
most Catholics and Protestants, would send him to Hell, but both believe Abraham went
to Heaven, and was "gathered to his people"; which would include his father. Both seem
to be somewhat unsure of where Abraham is; not sure if Abraham was "gathered to his
people" in sheol, which is the grave, or if he is in Heaven and not "gathered to his
people" for his father the idolater they believe is in Hell.
Not one of the passages, which speak of being "gathered to his people,” is speaking of
any one being gathered in Heaven. Sheol (the grave) is not Heaven; therefore, these
passages are not speaking of anyone at death being translated to Heaven even though they
are often used to prove it.
b) THE STATE OF THE DEAD. THE ANALOGY OF SLEEP IS USED
THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE. If death does not indicate unconsciousness, then the
analogy of sleep, which is used throughout the Bible, is meaningless for the dead are not
asleep. [Deuteronomy 31:16; 2 Samuel 7:12; 1 Kings 1:21; Job 7:21; 14:12; Psalms 13:31
Jeremiah 51:39, 57; 1 Kings 2:10; 11:21, 43; 14:20, 31; 15:8, 24; 16:6, 28; 22:40, 50; 2
Kings 8:24; 10:35; 13:9, 13; 14:16, 22, 29; 15:7, 22, 38; 16:20; 20:21; 21:18; 24:6; 2
Chronicles 9:31; 12:16; 14:1; 16:13; 21:1; 26:2, 23; 27:9; 28:27; 32:33; 33:20; Job 3:13;
Isaiah 26:19; Matthew 9:24; 25:5; 27:52; Mark 5:39; Luke 8:52; John 11:11-14; Acts
7:60; 13:36; 1 Corinthians 15:6, 18, 20, 51; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15; 5:10; 2 Peter 3:4].
THE SCRIPTURES OFTEN SPEAK OF A PERSON BEING ASLEEP AFTER DEATH
BUT NEVER SAY ANIMALS SLEEP WHEN THEY DIE. Why? If they were asleep,
they would wake up.
THE STATE OF THOSE WHO ARE ASLEEP
(1) They have perished if there is no resurrection [1 Corinthians 15:18].
(2) Their thoughts have perished [Psalms 146:4].
(3) They are as though they had never been [Job 3:11-18; Psalms 39:13; 146:2].
(4) They have no remembrance of God [Psalms 6:5].
(5) They rest in the dust of the earth [Job 17:13].
(6) They cannot give thanks to God [Isaiah 38:18].
(7) “The dead know not anything” [Ecclesiastes 9:5; 9:10].
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The resurrection is the only hope for the dead. Without it, the dead will never have life
again.
D. Padfield seems to make knowing or not knowing each other in Heaven to be
dependent on Abraham being awake with his people. He leaves out the resurrection and
makes Abraham be alive without it, therefore, Abraham will not need the resurrection for
he is not dead. He jumps from death in sheol before the resurrection to Heaven as if they
are the same place and everything will be the same in both. What we will be and know in
Heaven after the resurrection does not depend on what we will know while in the grave
and will not depend on being awake while we are in the grave. Is he not so desperately
trying to prove a person is now immortal that he is saying to God, "Abraham being with
the fathers proves he is not 'asleep with the fathers'?" This view is used by those who
believe in "Abraham's bosom" but it is so desperately an attempt to prove that the dead
are not asleep they makes the saved and the unsaved be awake together waiting for the
resurrection even though they are not dead to be resurrected from the dead.
This view makes:
1. The dead not be dead but alive.
2. Those who "sleep with the fathers" are not asleep but are "awake with the
fathers."
3. The resurrection impossible as no one is dead.
4. Makes the Bible not mean what it says. The many times it says "sleep with the
fathers" must be changed to be "awake with the fathers" and the many times the
Bible uses the metaphor of sleep for death are not true.
c) THE AWAKENING, WAKENING UP AT THE RESURRECTION: The
resurrection will be an awakening. Death is likened to sleep because it is a state of
unconsciousness, which will be followed by an awakening. Christ is the first fruits
and the rest will be resurrected "at his coming" [1 Corinthians 15:23]. Abraham and
his people fell asleep, and will be asleep unto the resurrection, "From the day that the
fathers fell asleep" [2 Peter 3:4]. The Bible says nothing about the state of a person
from the time he falls asleep unto the resurrection. THE CHRISTIAN HOPE IS
NOT ON DEATH, NOT ON BEING AWAKE ANYWHERE BEFORE THE
RESURRECTION BUT ON THE RESURRECTION, ON BEING RAISED
FROM THE DEAD AT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.
Albert Barnes said "In the Scripture sleep is used to intimate that death will not be final: that
there will be an awakening out of this sleep, or a resurrection. It is a beautiful and tender
expression, removing all that is dreadful in death, and filling the mind with the idea of calm
repose after a life of toil, with a reference to a future resurrection" Barnes' Notes On the New
Testament.
What is the resurrection?
• Is it spirits who are now awake and living in Heaven or Hell returning to their
earthly bodies?
• Or is it all that are asleep in the grave will wake up at the judgment?
It was Lazarus who was asleep. Not just his body while his soul was alive [John
11:11]. Some of the saints had fallen asleep. Not just the body had fallen asleep, but the
"living being," the whole person [1 Corinthians 15:6]. The Bible nowhere speaks of the
body being asleep while some immaterial, invisible, inter part of a person is awake. It is
the whole person that sleeps unto the resurrection, and the whole person that will wake up
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at the resurrection. If only the body were asleep with the spirit alive in another world,
why would there never be a hint that the real person was not asleep in any of the passages
that use sleep as a metaphor of death?
ABRAHAM, WHERE ARE YOU?
Three views about where Abraham is
1. BIBLE VIEW: Abraham is asleep with the fathers.
2. CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT VIEW: Abraham is awake in Heaven.
3. A NEWER AFTER JUDGMENT VIEW: Abraham is awake in Abraham's
bosom, the good side of hades. This view has been widely taught in the church of
Christ and the Christian Church.
o Many who do not know whether they believe #2 or #3 will say some loved
one had gone to be with Jesus in Heaven, but if they are trying to prove
the soul is alive before the resurrection will use Luke 16. Abraham is
moved back and forth from Heaven to Abraham's bosom as they need to,
but most of them do not seem to know they are moving him.
[8] THE REINTERPRETATION OF THE LIFE
THAT CHRIST PROMISED TO THEM THAT OBEY HIM
John 4:14; 4:36; 5:21; 6:40 See chapter two, Life or death. If all are born with an
immortal soul that cannot die, all have eternal life and Christ could only give them a
reward, not life. Unconditional immortality gives both the sinners and the saved eternal
life without the death of Christ.
[9] THE REINTERPRETATION OF THE RESURRECTION
MAKES BELIEVING IN THE RESURRECTION FOOLISHNESS
Most Protestant churches believe the dead go to Heaven or Hell at the time of death.
After living in Heaven for hundred's of years, to come back to the earth and put the
earthly body back on to be judged; and then put off the earth body and go back to Heaven
or Hell would be nothing but pure foolishness.
TWO VERY DIFFERENT GOSPELS
UNCONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY AND THE RESURRECTION ARE TWO
VERY DIFFERENT GOSPELS Galatians 1:6-9. There is a dividing line between
unconditional immortality and conditional immortality so sharp that the two are
completely different Gospels as far apart as night and day. Both cannot be true. One is a
"delusion" [2 Thessalonians 2:11, King James Version] "A working of error" [American
Standard Version]. Do you believe a working of error? Unconditional immortality is very
different from anything preached in Paul's day [Galatians 1:6].
It is the "doctrines and precepts of men" [Matthew 15:9], and is wresting the writings
of Paul and the other scriptures [2 Peter 3:16]. It takes away a need for the death of
Christ, and the need of the resurrection.
TWO INCOMPATIBLE BELIEFS
Either one makes the other one impossible.
1. The resurrection: Makes an immortal never dying soul impossible. If it is not
dead, a soul that is alive cannot be raised from the dead.
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2. Unconditional immortality: 1. Makes the resurrection an unanswerable problem.
If the soul is immortal and never dies, what will be the use of the resurrection?
What will be raised from the dead? 2. Makes a real resurrection impossible.
These two Gospels are so opposed and contradictory to each other that if one is true, it
makes the other one a lie of Satan that will destroy you at the judgment. Believing it is
disbelieving God. Believing this doctrine, or not believing it, can be the difference in
whether you believe God or man. One came from man and is vain worship [Matthew
15:9]. The resurrection and an undying immortal soul are not compatible. If one is
true, then the other one cannot be. Christ taught the resurrection. It is our only hope,
not now having immortality and never dying. The undead cannot be raised.
THE SILENCE OF THE BIBLE
All the great doctrines of the Bible are clearly expressed. The doctrine of God, of
Christ, the resurrection, the church, the judgment, sin, etc., and are all as clear and plain
as our language can say them, but the doctrine of an "immortal soul" or "a never-dying
soul," which is constantly expressed today, cannot be found in the Bible. From where did
it come? If anyone believes, practices, or teaches anything in the name of Christ, they are
obligated to prove it from the Bible. If they do not or cannot, it is a sin to believe,
practice, or teach it. It is up to the person who affirms anything to prove it, and it is not
up to the person in the negative to prove something is not true. Have those who believe in
and teach Hell proved it to be from God's word? Hell MUST be proved if it is taught. At
the judgment, what will you say to God if there is no Hell and you have taught many that
God was the cruel and sadistic God of Hell?
HOW MANY TIMES CAN A PERSON MAKE CHRIST A LIAR BY BELIEVING
AND TEACHING THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT HE TAUGHT AND ATTRIBUTING
THESE LIES TO HIM? How often can we attribute the teaching of man to Christ before
it becomes the "precepts of man" and "vain worship?" (Matthew 15:9). Will you say to
God at the judgment that you loved your theology, a different gospel, more than His
word?
IT ADDS TO THE BOOK OF REVELATION: Most all who believe in Hell misuse
many symbolic passages in revelation to prove it. John said, "If any man shall add unto
them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book" [Revelation
22:18]. Do some love this cruel and evil teaching enough to have these plagues added to
them selves?
"HEAVIER JUDGMENT" James 3:1 and "VAIN WORSHIP" Matthew 15:9. When we
teach things that slander God, and makes the resurrection of Christ not needed, etc., we
teachers will answer to God at the judgment and with a heavier judgment. As teacher we
will be judged for not knowing and teachings the truth. We teach that following the
teaching of man is vain worship and sinful for others, but it is as sinful for us when we do
the same things. If we are not sure beyond any doubt that God's word teaches eternal
torment, but teach it anyway; and it is the commandments of men, it may be the
difference in living or the second death for us. "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin"
[Romans 14:23], and faith comes by hearing the word of Christ [Romans 10:17],
THEREFORE, IF THE DOCTRINE OF HELL IS NOT TAUGHT IN THE BIBLE IT IS
SIN TO BELIEVE OR TEACH IT. Do we think this would not apply to us if we teach
anything that we have any doubt about? At the judgment we will give an answer for both
what we teach, and for what we do not teach. If we teach Hell or that men are born with
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an immortal second part that God cannot destroy, then we better make sure it is from the
Bible; for we will answer to God in the very same way as anyone teaching "faith only";
or any other doctrine of men. Do some condemn themselves by teaching it is a sin to
change God's word, and then preaching what may be the biggest change ever made to it?
There is no acceptable reason for a gospel preacher not to know and teach the truth. What
will they say to God at the judgment?
It is taught by some that the promise of being immediately in Heaven with God has
more comfort than the promise of being in Heaven after the resurrection.
• Comfort that is based on a lie (“you shall not surely die”) is a vain useless
comfort.
• To add to or change God’s word is a sin.
• Only by teaching the truth can a preacher save those who he preaches to and
himself.
Is a person born with an immortal soul, or do the saved put on immortality at the
resurrection? This is one of the most important questions of all times. It has more
influence on our conception of our nature, our view of life in this world, and life
after death, the nature of God, than any other question. YOUR WHOLE
THEOLOGY [all that you believe] IS DETERMINED BY YOUR VIEW OF THE
SOUL. Not only does man now having an immortal soul make the resurrection
impossible, it makes the judgment be passed; and the second coming of Christ
pointless for there could not be a resurrection or a judgment at His coming.
The doctrine of unconditional immortality
• Changes the nature of God, makes Him cruel and sadistic.
• Changes the hope set forth in the New Testament that there will be a resurrection.
It makes no one ever be dead to be resurrected from the dead. At funeral services
we are told the departed are not dead but are now in Heaven looking down of their
loved ones, and any who point out that the Bible says the dead are not in Heaven
before the resurrection is branded as being a part of a cult, often even by those
who believe the dead are in Abraham’s bosom unto the Resurrection.
• Changes the resurrection of Christ, which gives us a hope of being resurrected, by
reducing the death and resurrection of Christ to His earthly human body only if
His soul were immortal and could not have died; therefore, the resurrection of
Christ must be the "first fruits" only of the resurrection of this earthly body. If we
have an immortal "soul" then this part of us that could not die, and therefore could
not be resurrected. Makes the part of a person that cannot be resurrected be the
only part of him that will be in Heaven.
• Changes the message we preach to the lost and their fate, whether they will have
an eternal life with torment or a second death from which there will never be a
resurrection, changes from the wages of sin being death, to the wages of sin is
eternal life with torment in Hell.
• Changes the nature of a person from mortal, to both mortal and immortal at the
same time. Two opposite natures at the same time is not a possibility.
• Changes the nature of the resurrection of Christ, whether He was dead and raised
by God or only His earthly body was dead, and He just came back from Heaven
to it.
• It makes the judgment be passed.
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• Changes the nature of the resurrection from whether the dead are resurrected or
just come back from somewhere. It makes a real resurrection impossible.
• It makes the second coming of Christ pointless.
• Changes many words [die, death, perish, destroyed, lost, end, sleep] to mean the
opposite of the way they were used by those living then, and the opposite of the
way the world now uses them. See chapter two). CHANGES ETERNAL LIFE
TO ETERNAL REWARD, AND CHANGES ETERNAL DEATH [The wages of
sin] TO ETERNAL LIFE WITH TORMENT.
ANYTHING MORE DIFFERENT FROM THE GOSPEL THAN THE IMMORTAL
SOUL THEOLOGY WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE. It makes the resurrection
of those who were never dead and are already in Heaven be nothing but pure foolishness
and the judgment of those who were judged at the moment of death pure folly. If it is not
a total different gospel there could not be one, for not just some part of it is different but
it is one hundred percent different.
The belief in an immortal soul is the foundation of
• Much of philosophy beginning with the Egyptians, the Greeks, and today.
• Reincarnation-transmigration of souls to other bodies after death.
• Most Eastern religions.
• The Catholic and the Protestant immortal soul at birth.
• The doctrine of Hell.
• Purgatory.
• Limbo.
• Nether world.
• Worship of Mary and the reported sighting of her.
• Intercession of and worship of saints.
• The belief that Abraham's bosom is a real place.
• Spiritualism.
• Communication with the spirits of the dead.
• The "New Age" movement and channeling craze with spirits of the dead.
• Near-death experiences or out-of-body experiences
Those who claim to have died and gone to Heaven or Hell are claiming to
have been resurrected from the dead, to have gone to Heaven or Hell and
came back to earth. All near-death experiences are totally dependent on
the belief of the person; Hindus, Muslims and others claim to have neardeath
experiences but their experiences are what are taught by their
beliefs; those who do not believe in Heaven or Hell have near-death
experiences but never believe they go to Heaven or to Hell.
• An evil, cruel, and sadistic God who made most of mankind just so he could
torment them.
All of the above teachings are based on the soul being immortal, which is of
pagan origin. WITHOUT THE DOCTRINE THAT A PART OF A PERSON, HIS
OR HER IMMORTAL SOUL, IS NOT SUBJECT TO DEATH NONE OF THE
ABOVE COULD BE TRUE. Unconditional immortality is the mother or foundation of
more false doctrines than any other teaching. Eternal torment of the soul cannot be unless
Plato's immortal soul is true, Mary could not be seen or make intercession if she is asleep,
there could be no communication with souls of the dead if the whole person were asleep.
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If unconditional immortality were true the resurrection as taught by Christ could not be
true for there could be no resurrection of those who are not dead.
“HOW ARE THE DEAD RAISED?
AND WITH WHAT KIND OF BODY?”
1 Corinthians 15:35-45
WHAT BODY WILL THE SAVED HAVE IN THE RESURRECTION?
"YOU SOW A BARE GRAIN" 15:37| "THE BODY THAT SHALL BE" 15:37
IT IS SOWN IN | IT IS RAISED IN
(1) CORRUPTION | (1) INCORRUPTION
(2) DISHONOR | (2) GLORY
(3) WEAKNESS | (3) POWER
(4) A NATURAL BODY | (4) A SPIRITUAL BODY
EARTHLY BODY | RESURRECTED BODY OF THOSE IN CHRIST
"AS WE HAVE BORNE THE IMAGE | WE SHALL ALSO BEAR THE
OF THE EARTHY 15:49 | IMAGE OF THE HEAVENLY" 1 COR. 15:49
"FLESH AND BLOOD CANNOT | WE SHALL ALL BE CHANGED IN A MOMENT, IN
INHERIT KINGDOM OF GOD"15:50| THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE, AT LAST TRUMP
HOW ARE THE DEAD RAISED AND WITH WHAT BODY DO THEY COME? 15:35
YOU BURY A GRAIN OF WHEAT GOD GIVES IT A BODY 1 CORINTHIANS 15:38
BURIED(SOWN)IN CORRUPTION RAISED IN INCORRUPTION 1 CORINTHIANS 15:42
BURIED(SOWN)A NATURAL BODY RAISED A SPIRITUAL BODY 1 COR. 15:44
BURIED(SOWN)IN DISHONOR RAISED IN GLORY 1 CORINTHIANS 15:43
BURIED(SOWN)IN WEAKNESS RAISED IN POWER 1 CORINTHIANS 15:43
THE DEAD SHALL BE RAISED INCORRUPTBLE 1 CORINTHIANS 15:52
LIVING SAINTS ARE CHANGED IN A MOMENT 1 COR. 15:51
"THIS CORRUPTIBLE MUST PUT ON INCORRUPTION" 1 CORINTHIANS 15:53
"THIS MORTAL MUST PUT ON IMMORTALITY" 1 CORINTHIANS 15:53
ALL NOW HAVE THE BODY OF ADAM SAINTS TO BE LIKE CHRIST 1 JOHN 3:2
BODY OF HUMILIATION |"CONFORMED TO THE BODY OF HIS GLORY" PHIL 3:21
EARTHLY TENT |"A HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS" 2 COR. 5:1-10
EARTHLY IMAGE OF ADAM | HEAVENLY IMAGE OF CHRIST 1 CORINTHIANS 15:49
ADAM A LIVING SOUL | CHRIST A LIFE GIVING SPIRIT 1 CORINTHIANS 15:45
"Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, BUT WE SHALL ALL BE
CHANGED, IN A MOMENT, IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE, AT THE LAST
TRUMP: FOR THE TRUMPET SHALL SOUND, AND THE DEAD SHALL BE RAISED
INCORRUPTIBLE, AND WE SHALL BE CHANGED" [1 Corinthians 15:51-52].
1. "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" [1 Corinthians 15:50]
2. "We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound" [1 Corinthians 15:51]
3. "And the dead shall be raised incorruptible" [1 Corinthians 15:52]
4. "And we shall be changed" [1 Corinthians 15:52
5. "For this corruptible must put on incorruption" [1 Corinthians 15:53]
6. "And this mortal must put on immortality" [1 Corinthians 15:53]
“But some one will say, ‘How are the dead raised AND WITH WHAT MANNER OF
BODY DO THE COME’…you sow not the body that shall be…God gives it a body even
as it pleased Him” [1 Corinthians 15:35-49].
• “It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption” not “sown and raised in
corruption then changed to incorruption.”
• “It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory” not “sown and raised in dishonor
then changed to honor.”
• “It is sown in natural body; it is raised a spiritual body” not “sown and raised a
natural body then changed to spiritual body.” It is a SPIRITUAL BODY that is
raised, not an “immaterial invisible no substance SPIRIT” that has no body.
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• “It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory” not “sown and raised in dishonor
then changed to honor.”
A CHANGED BODY versus AN IMMORTAL SOUL: Paul says “How are the dead
raised? And with what manner of BODY to they come?...you sow not the BODY that shall
be, but a bare grain...but God gives it a BODY...to each seed a BODY of its own...So also
is the resurrection...it is sown a NATURAL BODY; it is raised a SPIRITUAL BODY. If
there is a NATURAL BODY, there is also a SPIRITUAL BODY...howbeit that is not first
which is SPIRITUAL, but that which is NATURAL; then that which is SPIRITUAL...and
as we HAVE borne the image of the earthly, we SHALL also bear the image of the
heavenly...We all shall not sleep, but we shall ALL BE CHANGED, in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and WE SHALL BE CHANGED. For this corruptible MUST PUT
ON INCORRUPTION, and this mortal MUST PUT ON IMMORTALITY” [1 Corinthians
15:35-54]. It is this mortal body or person that will put on immortality, not a immortal
soul that will put on immortality.
The image of Christ is not just a glorified earthly image of Adam. The body made
for this earth that is put in the ground will be raised a spiritual body suitable for life in
Heaven. The immortal soul doctrine says not so, (1) the “immaterial invisible no
substance souls” that are now exist and are immortal while we are living and cannot be
changed that will be in Heaven (2) and these “souls” are in Heaven from the moment of
death; (3) these “souls” are not dead, therefore, they cannot be raised from the dead. Who
is wrong, Paul or today's theology?
THE BODY CHANGED, NOT AN IMMORTAL SOUL CHANGED "For our
citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: who
SHALL FASHION ANEW THE BODY OF OUR HUMILIATION, THAT IT MAY BE
CONFORMED TO THE BODY OF HIS GLORY" [Philippians 3:20-21]. "The body of our
humiliation" is not an "immaterial, invisible, no substance" soul that will be remade
("fashion anew") into another "immaterial, invisible, no substance" soul, but it is us that
will be changed from an earthly body to a body like Christ now has, changed from a body
that is suitable for life on this earth to a body that will be suitable for life in Heaven. It is
our body that will be changed, not an immaterial something in us that is now just as it
will be in Heaven and cannot ever be changed. I do not know how I can be raised without
this earthly body and still be me, but I believe God when He says that it will be me with a
spiritual body. Those who believe a person now have an immortal immaterial soul now
living in them believe this invisible something in them is now "conformed to the body of
His glory."
WHAT BODY WILL BE RESURRECED? Many believe that without the
resurrection of the earthly body it would not be us but a new creation. Are they saying
God could not make this change without first resurrecting the earthly body?
• Some say the dead in Christ will be, "raised an earthly body, then changed to a
spiritual body"
• Others say it will be “raised an earthly body and restored to be like the
earthly body of Adam before he sinned”
o Both are adding to and changing what the Bible says, “raised a spiritual
body”? [1 Corinthians 15:44]
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IMAGE OF ADAM versus IMAGE OF CHRIST: We are now a soul in the image of
Adam. We will be raised in the image of Christ [1 Corinthians 15:45-49]. THE "LIVING
SOUL," THE PHYSICAL BODY IN THE IMAGE OF ADAM WE NOW HAVE
[Genesis 2:7; 1 Corinthians 15:44-45] IS NOT THE "SPIRITUAL BODY" [1 Corinthians
15:44] IN THE IMAGE OF CHRIST THAT WE WILL HAVE. An immortal soul, which
many believe we need to save so that it will live in Heaven is not the "spiritual body,"
which we will have after the resurrection. We do not now have the "spiritual body,"
which is in the image of Christ, and will not have it unto we put on immortality at the
resurrection [1 Corinthians 15:54]. We will be the same person we now are, but our
bodies will be changed from the image of Adam to the image of Christ, from earthly
bodies to spiritual bodies. All of us, our whole person, will be in Heaven; not just some
thin air, immaterial, invisible part of us that has no body.
“If there is a natural [psuchikos – soulish] body there is also a spiritual body” [1
Corinthians 15:44-45]. Paul is quoting Genesis 2:7, The first man, Adam became a living
soul [psuche]. Terms Paul used of the natural soulish body.
• It is “a living soul [psuche]” [1 Corinthians 15:44]
• It is “of the earth, earthy” [1 Corinthians 15:47]
• It is the “image of the earthy” (Adam) [1 Corinthians 15:47]
• It is “flesh and blood” [1 Corinthians 15:50]
When God made the earth He give fish bodies that are appropriate to live in water and
birds bodies that are appropriate to fly. He gives Adam a body that was appropriate for
life on this earth, a body of flesh and blood. Where will we be after the judgment day; if
on earth we will need to have earthly body suitable for life on this earth, if in Heaven we
will need to have a spiritual body suitable for life in Heaven? Flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God, but the earthly body in the image of Adam both before and
after he sinned, was flesh and blood. If the earthly body is to be resurrected then it is the
natural body of flesh and blood that sinned that is to be resurrected, but in the
resurrection we will be like angels who are in Heaven [Matthew 22:30]. Is there anyone
who believes angels have earthly bodies of flesh and blood in the image of Adam either
before or after he sinned? After the resurrection Christians will have spiritual bodies in
the image of Christ, not earthly bodies in the image of Adam that CAN NOT INHERIT
the kingdom of God [1 Corinthians 15:50].
If Christians are to be reunited with their earthly bodies at the resurrection no mater
where the kingdom of God will be after the resurrection it cannot be inherited by “flesh
and blood” [1 Corinthians 15:50].
1. If, as the Bible teaches, the kingdom of Heaven will be in Heaven after the
resurrection, the “flesh and blood” earthly bodies we now have “cannot inherit
the kingdom of God.”
2. Or if, as some teach, the kingdom of Heaven is to be on this earth, “flesh and
blood” bodies that are in the image of Adam could not inherit it [1 Corinthians
15:50]. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” [John 3:6]. “It is sown a natural
body [It is the body of “flesh and blood” that is put in the grave]; it is raised a
spiritual body” [1 Corinthians 15:44]; this passage IS NOT COMPLICATED,
the body is put in the ground is a natural body and resurrected a spiritual
body. An “incorruptible physical body” would still be a body of “flesh and
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blood,” not a spiritual body and it could not “inherit the kingdom of God.” The
spiritual body is not just a glorified earthly body.
• The natural body is sown in the ground in corruption, dishonor, and
weakness.
• The spiritual body is raised with incorruption, glory, and power.
3. Or if, as others teach that the “soul,” the “immaterial, invisible, no substance”
something is to be is to be reunited with the body of “flesh and blood” at the
resurrection, neither the body nor the “soul” could inherit the kingdom of Heaven
as long as the “soul” is reunited to the “flesh and blood” body.
HOW COULD IT BE SAID ANY MORE CLEARLY THAT THIS EARTHLY
BODY WILL NOT BE RAISED, OR THAT WE DO NOT NOW HAVE THE BODY
WE SHALL HAVE AFTER THE RESURRECTION? (1) Or that it is not an inter
immortal part of us, which we now have, which needs no change, which will never be
dead to be raised? (2) Nor any more clearly that we are now "mortal," but will be raised
"immortal"? We could not put on immortality if we have it on, if we now have an
immortal (undying) soul that is not subject to corruption (death). It is this mortal person
that must put on immortality, not an immortal soul that is now in this mortal person that
must be freed. If a person did have a soul that is now immortal, that immortal soul could
not "put on immorality."
1. Those asleep: Their physical bodies sowed will be raised spiritual bodies. “It is
sown a natural body” but it is not the natural body (the body of flesh and blood)
that will be raised but “it is raised a spiritual body.”
2. Those living: Their physical bodies will be changed to spiritual bodies. The
change to both those asleep and those who will be living will be identical and at
the same time, both at the resurrection. On this side of the coming of Christ we
have only physical bodies. On the other side of the coming of Christ we will have
spiritual bodies. It will be an alteration of the whole person from being physical in
the image of Adam to being spiritual in the image of Christ, not just an immaterial
part of us forever being unchanged.
3. "But now has Christ been raised from the DEAD, the first fruit of them that are
ASLEEP. For since by man came DEATH, by man came also the resurrection of
the DEAD. For in Adam all DIE, so also in Christ shall all be made ALIVE. But
each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then they that are Christ's at his
coming" [1 Corinthians 15:20-23]. The term "dead" or "die" means the same
every time it is used in this passage. It is the person that is dead and will be made
alive at the resurrection, not just some part of the person that is alive and cannot
be dead. Death is death and cannot be made to mean alive.
THE BIBLE TEACHES ---------- BUT MAN TEACHES
WE PUT ON IMMORTALITY AT THE |WE ARE IMMORTAL FROM BIRTH
JUDGMENT 1 CORINTHIANS 15:53 |(ALSO WE "SEEK" IT ROMANS 2:7)
WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH ROM 6:23 |HUMAN SOUL CAN NEVER DIE
THE "END" OF THE LOST IS TO BE |LOST WILL BE BURNED,
BURNED HEBREWS 6:8 |BUT WILL HAVE NO "END"
THE WORD THE OR IDEA OF "HELL" |"HELL" IS TAUGHT AS THOUGH IT IS
IS NOT IN BIBLE |ON MOST EVERY PAGE OF THE BIBLE
"RAISE UP EVEN FROM THE DEAD" |LIVING SOULS TO BE BROUGHT BACK FROM
HEBREWS 11:19 |SOMEWHERE, NOT RAISED FROM DEATH
THE EVIL SHALL PERISH |THE EVIL CAN NEVER PERISH,
BE DESTROYED |OR BE DESTROYED, OR DIE
DEATH TO BE ABOLISHED |DEATH IS "SEPARATED FROM GOD"
1 CORINTHIANS 15:26 AND 15:55 |AND CAN NEVER BE ABOLISHED
LOST WILL BE DEVOURED HEB 10:2 |THE LOST CAN NEVER BE DEVOURED OR
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CONSUMED HEBREWS 12:29 |CONSUMED, THEY MUST BURN FOREVER
GOD CAN DESTROY SOUL IN |GOD CAN TORMENT THE SOUL,
GEHENNA MATTHEW 10:28 |BUT HE CANNOT DESTROY IT
CHRIST DIED (GIVE HIS LIFE) |HIS SOUL DID NOT DIE: ONLY
FOR OUR SINS |HIS HUMAN BODY WAS DEAD
CHRIST CAME TO GIVE US LIFE |ALL HUMANS ARE ETERNAL FROM BIRTH
JOHN 10:10; 10:28 |(HAVE LIFE AND IMMORTALITY) THERE-
"ETERNAL LIFE" JOHN 17:2 |FORE ALREADY HAVE "ETERNAL LIFE"
GOD IS EVERYWHERE |GOD IS NOT EVERYWHERE
|(IF DEATH IS SEPARATION FROM GOD)
GOD IS JUST AND LOVING |THIS TEACHING MAKES GOD
|UNJUST, SADISTIC, CRUEL, EVIL
FIRST THE NATURAL [NOW] |WE WERE BORN WITH A NATURAL
"THEN THAT WHICH IS SPIRITUAL" |BODY WITH A SPIRITUAL BODY
[AFTER THE RESURRECTION] |INSIDE THE NATURAL BODY
A DAY OF WRATH AND JUDGMENT |A DAY OF JUDGMENT BUT AN
(SAME DAY) ROMANS 2:5FF |ETERNITY OF WRATH
NOTHING ABOUT GOD TORMENTING |BOTH ARE TAUGHT AS IF THEY
ANYONE OR WRATH OF GOD ON THE |WERE GOSPEL FACTS
LOST AFTER JUDGMENT DAY | .
THE RESURRECTION IS UNTO LIFE |THE DEAD ARE NOW LIVING IN HEAVEN
JOHN 5:29 AND IS "FROM THE |OR HELL - HAVE LIFE AND REWARDED
DEAD" ROMANS 1:4; ACTS 23:6 |OR PUNISHED WITHOUT THE RESURRECTION
CHRIST SAID "I GIVE UNTO THEM |HE GIVES ETERNAL (IMMORTAL) LIFE
ETERNAL LIFE" JOHN 10:18 |TO ALL AT BIRTH
EARTHLY BODY IS BUT A BARE |WE NOW HAVE THE FULL-GROWN
SEED OF SPIRITUAL BODY WHICH |SPIRITUAL BODY, THE SOUL,
WE WILL HAVE AFTER JUDGMENT |BEFORE DEATH AND THE JUDGMENT
DAY - 1 CORINTHIANS 15:35-49|NOT JUST A SEED OF IT
JUDGMENT AND PUNISHMENT ARE AT |WE ARE JUDGED GOOD OR BAD AT DEATH
THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST |AND PUNISHED/REWARDED AT THAT TIME
"THEY ARE WORTHY OF DEATH" |BUT THEY CANNOT DIE AND GOD
ROMANS 1:32 |CANNOT KILL THEM
"FOR THERE IS NO WORK, NOR |"FOR THERE IS WORK, AND
DEVICE NOR KNOWLEDGE, NOR |DEVICE, AND KNOWLEDGE, AND
WISDOM, IN SHEOL, WHITHER |WISDOM, IN SHEOL WHITHER YOU
YOU GO" ECCLESIASTES L9:10 |GO " ECCLESIASTES 9:10
"SOUL THAT SINS, IT SHALL DIE" |THE SOUL IS IMMORTAL,
EZEKIEL 23:4* |THEREFORE, IT CANNOT DIE *THIS SEEMS TO BE A PERSON BRING PUT TO DEATH UNDER
THE LAW, BUT MANY ALMOST ALWAYS APPLY IT TO THE SOUL DYING AT THE JUDGMENT, EVEN WHILE THEY ARE TEACHING THE
SOUL CANNOT DIE. SEE HEBREWS 10:28.
GOD --- VERSUS --- THEOLOGY |
GOD SAID "DESTRUCTION" |GOD MEANT "TORMENT" |
GOD SAID "DEATH" |GOD MEANT "SEPARATION" |
GOD DID NOT SAY MAN HAS AN |PLATO AND THEOLOGY SAYS |
IMMORTAL SOUL FROM BIRTH |AND TEACHES IT FOR HIM |
NOTHING IS SAID ABOUT WRATH|SOME KNOW AND TEACH IT WILL|
AFTER THE JUDGMENT DAY |LAST FOR ETERNITY IN HELL |
NOT FLESH OR SPIRIT! - WHAT IS THIS THIRD KIND OF BODY BEFORE THE RESURRECTON?
NOT EARTH OR HEAVEN! - WHERE IS THIS THIRD KIND OF PLACE WHERE THOSE WHO ARE NOT ASLEEP ARE
NOW IN?
(EARTH)-DEATH |(ASLEEP IN CHRIST)| RESURRECTION (HEAVEN)
BY MAN | LIVING OR DEAD? | BY MAN (CHRIST)
(ADAM)-DEATH |1 CORINTHIANS 15:21| RESURRECTION OF DEAD
DIE IN ADAM | ALIVE BEFORE BEING | IN CHRIST "MADE ALIVE"
1 COR. 15:22 | "MADE ALIVE" | AT HIS COMING
"UNTO DEATH" | ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?| "CROWN OF LIFE" REVELATION 2:10
"ONCE TO DIE" | THE SILENCE OF GOD| "AFTER THIS COMES
| BUT WE SPEAK | JUDGMENT" HEBREWS 9:27
"THIS WORLD" | THE THUNDEROUS | "THAT WHICH IS TO COME"
EPHESIANS 1:2 | SILENCE OF GOD | ____________________
NATURAL BODY | WHAT BODY? | SPIRITUAL BODY 1 COR. 15:44FF
IMAGE OF EARTHLY| WHO'S IMAGE? | IMAGE OF HEAVENLY 1 COR. 15:49
CORRUPTION | NEITHER ONE | INCORRUPTION 1 COR. 15:42-43
DISHONOR | NEITHER ONE | GLORY 1 CORINTHIANS 15:43
WEAKNESS | NEITHER ONE | POWER 1 CORINTHIANS 15:43
MORTAL | NEITHER ONE | IMMORTALITY 1 CORINTHIANS 15:54
"We shall ALL BE CHANGED, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye AT THE LAST
TRUMP: for the trumpet shall sound, and the DEAD shall be RAISED
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INCORRUPTIBLE, and WE shall be CHANGED" 1 Corinthians 15: 52. If all the saved
are ALIVE in Abraham's bosom, who are the DEAD that shall be RAISED? The dead are
neither mortal nor immortal. Then if they are now living, what kind of being are they? "In
my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to
prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will
receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2-3). He has
not yet come to receive them. Where are those who have died unto Christ comes?
The two "all's." "We ALL shall be changed." Both ALL those who are asleep in Christ
and ALL those who are alive at the second coming will BOTH be changed. The immortal
soul doctrine says, "None of us shall sleep for this would be soul sleeping."
• In 1 Corinthians 15:50-53 Paul says nothing about a soul or spirit that needs no
resurrection or changes but is speaking of the changing of our body to a spiritual
body.
• "For in the resurrection they...are as the angels IN HEAVEN" [Matthew 22:30].
Angels are not in the image of Adam.
• "And as we have borne the image of the earthy (Adam), we shall also bear the
image of the heavenly (Christ)" [1 Corinthians 15:49].
• “Beloved, we are now children of God, and it is NOT YET MADE MANIFEST
WHAT WE SHALL BE. We know that, if he shall be manifested, WE SHALL BE
LIKE HIM; for we shall see him even as he is” [1 John 3:2].
• "For our citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait for a Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ: who shall FASHION ANEW the body of our humiliation, that it may
BE CONFORMED to the body of his glory” [Philippians 3:20-21 American
Standard Version].
o "CHANGE" King James Version
o "TRANSFORM" New American Standard Version
If the dead are now living in some kind of paradise somewhere, but not Heaven, Hell
or earth, why do they hope for a resurrection of the earthly body, and what good would it
be? "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" [1 Corinthians 15:52] what would be the
reason for raising the natural body for such a short time? Will the soul come back from
Heaven to put the earthly body back on, only to put it off ("Be changed") in a moment all
before the judgment? See 1 Corinthians 15:50; 1 Thessalonians 5:15-17; Philippians
3:21). Then it would have the earthly body resurrected only for the "twinkling of an eye"
[1 Corinthians 15:52]. If the soul is living in heaven or hell, the resurrection of the body
for only a moment is all there could be to the resurrection, why have it; no part of a
person would be dead but his body; no part of a person could be raised from the dead but
his body. The only part of a person they believe will be in heaven or hell, the immaterial,
invisible soul, would be as alive as it will ever be and already be where they think it will
always be. Robert C. Welch says we will not come forth with the same kind of body,
which is planted. Florida College Lectures, Page 238, 1975.
WHAT KIND OF BODY WILL WE HAVE FOR ETERNITY? When we are caught
up to meet Christ in the air, will He bring us back to earth and have His kingdom of earth
where we will have an earthly body, or will we be with Him in Heaven and have a
spiritual body? If you believe on earth, an earthly body is a must, if you believe in
Heaven it cannot be an earthly body. WHERE WE WILL BE FOR ETERNITY WILL
DETERMINE WHAT KIND OF BODY WE WILL HAVE.
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NOT ONE KIND OF BODY LIVING IN ANOTHER KIND OF BODY: 1
Corinthians 15:42 is a simple and undeniable statement that says that we do not now have
incorruption and immortality, and will not have them after death; we will not have put on
incorruption or immortality unto the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:54). No one knows
anything about what our spiritual body will be like, but it is not something we now have
inside this body of flesh, just waiting to get out at death. It will be a body, not just a thin
air nothing or some kind of ghost; therefore, it will have substance of some kind, but not
any kind of earthly substance, not flesh [1 John 3:2]. And not something that will fit
within this body and not be seen. NOT ONE KIND OF BODY, MADE WITH ONE
KIND OF SUBSTANCE, LIVING INSIDE ANOTHER KIND OF BODY THAT HAS
ANOTHER KIND OF SUBSTANCE. Likewise, Heaven is a place with substance (most
certainly far greater than this earth), and not just a cloud in the sky. This world and
universe are so complicated and large that there is much on this earth that man does not
yet know, and he does not yet even know the size of this creation (this universe). My
opinion is that it is small and insignificance in both size and splendor when compared to
Heaven, and this body is an insignificance seed, an acorn compared to a large oak tree [1
Corinthians 15:35-39], of the spiritual body we will have in Heaven. Seeds are unlike the
trees yet the same identity is in them; we cannot know what the characteristics of the
spiritual body will be by looking at our physical body. Will the lost have the same great
new and splendid spiritual body in Hell, which the saved in Heaven will have?
We cannot see God's greatest work (Heaven and spiritual beings) or know anything
about what they are like; therefore, this universe shows us only a small part of the power
of God. We each do different things in a day, not all the same things, or all think the same
thoughts. Today we do not do the same thing that we did the day before. While there will
not be days as we know them, Heaven will not be an eternity with everyone doing and
thinking the same thing, or all seeing the same thing with never any change. Heaven will
not be just a glorified earth, but we will each one be the same individual as we now are,
not just carbon copies of each other. Heaven will be great far beyond this earth or
anything that can come into our minds now, but many act in such a way that shows going
there is not the most important thing to them; and taking others to it is even less
important.
"I do not know what all we will be doing in heaven, but I do know we will not be
dormant and inactive" B. Reeves, Guardian of Truth, Page 8, 1996.
"What we will be has not yet been revealed, what we do know is this: when He is
revealed, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is" [1 John 3:2, New Revised
Standard Version]. I do not know how God made this world out of nothing, but He said
in His word that He did and I believe Him. I do not know how God can raise me with a
spiritual body without this earthly body and it still be me, but His word says He will and I
believe Him.
The resurrection will be from the DEAD, not from life. It shows we are now
MORTAL and will die, and we will be DEAD, not living with immortality before the
resurrection. It will be a bringing back to life those who are DEAD.
"BUT EACH IN HIS OWN ORDER" 1 Corinthians 15:23-38
"Christ the first-fruits"
1. "Then they that are Christ's AT HIS COMING."
The order of being raised from the dead is changed to:
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1. "Christ the first-fruits"
2. "Then all that are in Christ" are raised AT THEIR DEATH, and Paul was wrong
when he said, "AT HIS COMING."
But in truth the order has been changed to:
1. The dead in the Old Testament were raised AT THEIR DEATH, before Christ
and without His resurrection.
2. Therefore, Christ was not the first-fruits
3. "Then all that are in Christ" are raised AT THEIR DEATH, and Paul was wrong
both times. Wrong when he said Christ was the first-fruits and wrong when he
said, "they that are Christ's AT HIS COMING."
DO YOU BELIEVE MAN OR GOD?
Unto His coming, CHRIST IS THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS BEEN RAISED FROM
THE DEAD, all others are still asleep in Christ (dead) and will be dead unto the
resurrection. But many say, "Not so Paul, all the dead in Christ are alive and in Heaven
before the resurrection"? BOTH CANNOT BE RIGHT. IF THOSE WHO TEACH THE
DEAD IN CHRIST INSTANTLY GO TO HEAVEN AT DEATH AND TAKE UP
RESIDENCE IN THEIR PERMANENT RESIDENCE ARE RIGHT, THEN PAUL DID
NOT SPEAK THE TRUTH AND THERE CANNOT BE A RESURRECTION AT THE
COMING OF CHRIST FOR ALL ARE RAISED AND GO TO HEAVEN AT THEIR
DEATH.
Many believe that the living saints will be changed from their earthly bodies into
spiritual bodies at the coming of Christ, but the dead saints who now have spiritual bodies
will come back from Heaven and put back on their earthly bodies at the resurrection. DO
THEY THINK WE ARE A SPIRIT NOW, BUT WILL BE A SPIRITUAL BODY
AFTER THE RESURRECTION?
Can you imagine such a thing as people standing before God clothed with white robes
and praising God, but they have no body? It is inconceivable. A thin air nothing cannot
wear a robe or speak to praise God. If this earthly body "the body of our humiliation" that
shall be fashioned anew "that it may be conformed to the body of his glory" shall be a thin
air ghost with no body, then it would make Christ also be a thin air nothing. How can
nothing have "glory"? How can thin air nothing be like anything "conformed"
["fashioned" King James Version]? There would be nothing to "conform" to anything.
Mary Magdalene had seven evil demons or evil spirits cast out of her [Luke 8:2;
Mark 16:9]. One man had a legion of demons in him [Luke 8:26-36]. They were spiritual
being that were known about by the person they were in and by those who knew them.
Evil spirits are beings that are completely separate beings from the being they are in. To
make a person have a "spirit" that would be the same as an evil spirit that is a completely
separate being, just as separate a being as an evil spirit in Mary Magdalene were not in
any way her. We now have a "natural body" and after the resurrection will have a
"spiritual body." Do evil spirits have a body? If God, angels and evil spirits have no
substance of any kind, if they are nothing but thoughts with no body, there can not be a
"spiritual body" [1 Corinthians 15:44]. This being in us would now be like the angels but
Christ said we will be “as angels” in the resurrection, but we are not now “as angels”
[Matthew 22:30]. Though we can now know only of material substances of this earth
does not mean there is no spiritual substances. If there were not, there could be no
Heaven and no spiritual body; just as this earth is a real place made up of real substance,
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Heaven is a real place and spiritual being are real being. We are not now a spirit as the
angels and demons are and will not be unto the resurrection. We may not understand how
God, Christ and the Spirit dwell in us, nor how evil spirits can be in a person but the fact
that they do does not make them be nothing but thoughts with no substance as Robert A.
Peterson says they are in “Hell On Trial.” Does not make all spiritual being be nothing
but thin air, they have a body that has substance though not earthly substance that we can
see with our natural eyes.
Guardian of Truth (Page 254, 1994 "In 1 Thess 4:13-18...Paul deals with one-half of the resurrection."
He is speaking only of those in Christ and says nothing about those not in Christ. This is
also true of most of 1 Corinthians 15 "They that are Christ's at His coming" 15:23. The
lost will not be "raised in glory" 15:43, in "power" 15:43, or in "the image of the
heavenly" (Christ) 15:49. CAN YOU FIND ONE THING SAID ABOUT THE BODY
OF THE LOST AFTER THE JUDGMENT? WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE?
• Will their body be in the image of Christ when they are in Hell?
• Will their body still be in the image of Adam when they are in Hell?
• Will God give the lost a spiritual immortal body only so He can torment them
forever?
The doctrine of eternal torment makes the whole Bible need to be rewrote.
• "Wages is sin is death" [Romans 623] must be rewrote to be, "Wages of sin is an
eternal life of torment"
• "You shall surely die" [Genesis 2:16-17] must be rewrote to be, "You shall surely
suffer eternal torment in Hell"
• "Through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin" [Romans
5:12] must be rewrote to be, "Through one man sin entered into the world, eternal
Hell through sin"
• "For God so loved the world, that whosoever believes on him should not perish"
[John 3:16] must be rewrote to be, "For God so loved the world, that whosoever
believes on him should not go to Hell"
MAKES 1 CORINTHIANS 15 IMPOSSIBLE by teaching that we are immortal and
have incorruption from birth. We cannot put on that which we now have on. If we have
an immortal "immaterial, invisible part of man," (W. E. Vine) which cannot die, then
Paul's argument in 1 Corinthians 15 to prove there is a resurrection is destroyed. If they
had a spirit that could not die, they had not perished, and could not perish.
MAKES PAUL'S "CHANGED" IMPOSSIBLE 1 Corinthians 15:51. If a person
now has an immortal incorruptible soul, it cannot be "changed." It is "us" not just a part
of "us" that will come forth from the grave "changed." If a "soul" were now immortal, it
could not be "changed" from mortal to immortal, it could not "put on immorality" at the
resurrection. We do not have immortality before the resurrection. The doctrine of
immortality from birth makes the soul now have incorruption. Paul says, "This mortal
must put on immortality" 1 Corinthians 15:53. "THIS MORTAL" is what will put on
immortality, not a soul that now has immortality. It is not some inter immaterial,
invisible part of us that is now immortal, and can never die, which shall be raised from
the dead and "changed," but it is "us" that will be "changed" at our resurrection.
MAKES TREE OF LIFE NOT NEEDED Genesis 3:22-24: If a person is immortal,
he cannot die. He will live forever somewhere, on earth or wherever. A person moving
from earth too wherever; and having more joy, more power, more blessing, etc., when he
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gets there than he has while he is in this body, then it would not be a death. Without the
tree of life, he will always live for he would be immortal and cannot die.
MAKES THE BIBLE CONTRADICT THE BIBLE. A soul that cannot die-
VERSUS-death, perish, destroy, lost, end. If the wages of sin is death, there cannot be an
eternal life of torment. By misusing some scriptures, those who teach men have a soul
that can never die, makes the Bible contradict itself.
IT MAYBE A DELUSION TO SOME 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, "And with all the
deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the
truth so as to be saved. And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence
so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not
believe the truth." The delusion can be any doctrine of man that is not the truth. HOW
BIG A LIE AND HOW MANY LIES CAN YOU BELIEVE AND STILL SAY YOU
BELIEVE CHRIST? Where do you draw the line on how much error you can believe?
Some believe there is no line, and God will accept anything as worship. Some believe
God will accept worship only if it is by faith, which comes from hearing His word
[Romans 10:17; 14:23].
• Most do not believe Pagan worship is acceptable to God.
• Many do not believe worshiping the Pope, or a saint is acceptable to God.
• Many do not believe infant baptism and sprinkling are acceptable to God.
• Many do not believe having many wives is acceptable to God.
• Many do not believe the error of an immortal soul at birth, which is the
foundation of many other errors; and the doctrine of Hell, which makes God more
sadistic than any other being, to be acceptable to God.
Worshiping after the doctrines and precepts of men is not acceptable to God [Matthew
15:9]. Not in the time of Christ and not today. If something is not clearly taught in the
Bible, you cannot say that something is of faith that comes by hearing [Romans 10:17; 2
Corinthians 5:7]. The truth shall make you free [John 8:32]. Can anyone who believes
any of Satan's lies over God's word be made free by the truth? WHAT YOU BELIEVE
AND TEACH CAN BE A DELUSION AND THE DIFFERENCE IN WHETHER YOU
LIVE OR DIE AT THE JUDGMENT IF YOU MAKES GOD MORE SADISTIC AND
EVIL THAN SATAN.
MAKES MODERN SPIRITUALISM POSSIBLE. The teaching, that a person is
conscious after death, makes it possible and even probable that spirits can and do return
to earth and speak to us. This has prepared the way for spiritualism. Satan may be using
this to send his angels with lies to lead those who go to spiritualists into his way and keep
them from the truth of God. If the truth, that all mankind are asleep from death to the
resurrection, were believed, and not the pagan doctrine, then spiritualism would not be
possible. If Mary is asleep then the appearances of her ghost are the manifestations of a
demon that makes many believe a lie. Satan is using spiritualism to make many believe
his lie, "You shall not surely die."
MAKES SOME BELIEVE IN "AFTER DEATH EXPERIENCES," AND
MAKES THEM BELIEVABLE TO MANY. If a person has a soul, which does not die
when the body dies, it makes it possible for some to believe a person can come back and
tell things they saw on the other side of death. The truth, that a person is "asleep" from
death unto the resurrection, and has no knowledge in the grave [Ecclesiastes 9:10] makes
"after death experiences" impossible and unbelievable. A person who is asleep unto the
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resurrection has no afterlife experiences to tell us. In the many after death experiences I
have read, no two are the same.
Not to take anything away from the power of Satan in the world, or his danger to us
[see 1 Peter 5:8 etc.], but by making him be an eternal being, and the eternal ruler over
Hell; he is being given a power he does not have, which may add to his being worshiped
by many. Some seem to think that to exist in torment with Satan over them may be better
than not to exist, and they worship the one who they think will be over them. But, if they
knew the truth that at death he will have no more power over them, and his end will be
the same as theirs; he may not have the appeal of a being to be worshiped. SATAN HAS
HAD MANY VICTORIES, BUT HIS LIE THAT MANKIND IS NOW IMMORTAL,
THEREFORE, THERE IS NO DEATH; AND THE INVENTION OF HELL MAYBE
HIS BIGGEST VICTORIES. MANY PREACH HIS LIES!
UNCONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY REDUCES GOD AND ALL SPIRIT
BEINGS TO BEING NOTHING BUT "MIND," TO BEING NOTHING BUT
MENTAL THOUGHTS WITH NO BODY, NO SUBSTANCE, JUST THIN AIR
NOTHING. Although most who believed unconditional immortality does not realize it
makes God, angels, and mankind after the judgment to be nothing more than mental
thoughts, but some have realized what it does to God and men. Robert Morey in "Death
and The Afterlife," on page 79 says from the meaning of rephaim, when the body dies, a
person enters a new kind of existence and exists as a spirit as angels and other spirits. If
that were true then both men and angels would be only energy beings and would be
composed only of mind or mental energy, and be capable of supradimensional activity as
thought and speech without any kind of body. Although he did not mention God, he has
reduced God to being nothing more than thoughts, an "energy being." According to him
God and the soul of a person has no substance of any kind, they are only a disembodied
mind or mental energy being. Ron Halbrook said God is an immortal spirit, without a
body, Page 117, Florida College Annual Lectures, 1986. W. E. Vine says, "immaterial,
invisible part of man," Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary Of Old And New
Testament Words, Page 593. According to them Heaven can exist only in the mind of
God; it cannot be a real place if spirits are nothing more than thoughts with no substance;
a spirit, which is just mental thoughts, cannot be any more real than a dream is for it
would have no more actual existence and no more substance than a dream. Not only is it
this doctrine the same as the Pagan doctrine from which it came [we have an immaterial
soul in us that has no body or substance], but also it makes God be the same and be
nothing but thoughts. Most who believe a part of a person is now immortal have not
come to the realization of where this belief takes them.
Summary: Is God immaterial? If by immaterial you mean not of any earthly material,
then God and angels are immaterial; if you mean by immaterial that God has no
substance, that He is just thin air nothing, then He is not immaterial. What ever materials
Heaven is made of we cannot at this time know, but it is greater by far then the substance
the earth is made of, just as the spiritual bodies of all heavenly beings are greater than
earthy beings. God, angels, heaven all has substance (materials of some kind but not
earthly substance) just as we will have when we put off the earthy bodies, and put on the
spiritual bodies will have bodies that have substance, but not earthly substance.
If you remain a conscious being after your body dies, have you really died?
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Anything that is not taught in the Bible is not a Bible doctrine. Faith comes by
hearing God's word. Can anyone who believes something not taught in the Bible
truly say he or she has faith?
CHAPTER FOUR
FROM WHERE CAME HELL, FROM MAN OR GOD?
HOW DID A REAL EARTHLY VALLEY NEAR JERUSALEM
WHICH EXISTED IN THE TIME OF CHRIST
AND IS STILL TODAY CALLED BY THE NAME “GEHENNA”
BECOME A PLACE OF ETERNAL TORMENT NAMED “HELL”
WHICH IS NOT ON THIS EARTH?
How was "the wages of sin is death" changed to be “the wages of sin is an eternal life
of torment for an immoral soul that is not subject to death.”
The word Hell in the King James Version is translated from four different words, three
in the Greek New Testament [Gehenna, hades and Tartarus], and one in the Hebrew Old
Testament [sheol].
Both sheol in the Old Testament, and hades in the New Testament mean grave, but are
translated Hell in the King James Version, and Tartarus is translated Hell one time. Most
other translations [American Standard Version, New American Standard Version,
Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, New International Version,
and others] translate only one word [Gehenna] into Hell, and only in the New Testament,
not four different words, which have different meanings. The word Hell is not in the Old
Testament in any of the above translations or is not in most other translations. Although
this valley is mentioned frequently in the Old Testament called the valley of Hinnom, but
not even the King James Version translated it "Hell" as they did in the New Testament.
Gehenna was a well-known valley south of Jerusalem long before it was made into a
dump and it exists and has the name “Gehenna” to this day. Josiah might have made this
valley into a rubbish dump [2 Kings 23:10; 2 Chronicles 28:1-4]. In the time of Christ
this valley was the city dump. Most newer translations, and most all Bible students, now
admit sheol, hades, and Tartarus do not mean Hell; but some still believe Gehenna should
be translated Hell; a detailed look at this valley is used in both the Old and New
Testament is necessary.
GEHENNA IS THE NAME OF A VALLEY SOUTH OF JERUSALEM. IT IS A
REAL GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION, which was used in the time of Christ as the
city dump of Jerusalem. In the fifties I did some work at the dump of a city about the size
of Jerusalem in the time of Christ. The refuse would be put in large piles and set on fire,
and all day rains could not put it out. There would have been no way for the people of
Jerusalem to quench it (put out). The remains of animals were put in pits to be covered
and worms (Greek, Maggots-Young, Page 1074) would get into them, and even after we
put many gallons of spray in a pit, you could see the remains moving from the working of
the maggots. Back in the fifties and before, cities did not have landfills; but had garbage
dumps where they would put the garbage in piles and burn them. Big city garbage dumps
were always burning night and day, and the smoke could sometimes be seen for miles.
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They were the same as Gehenna was in the time of Jesus, and were literally used for the
destruction of the unwanted city garbage. Brimstone (sulfur) was added to keep the
garbage burning in Gehenna, and it was always burning night and day, and those near by
could see the smoke always rising. On some of the four occasions Christ used Gehenna as
a metaphor those He was speaking to might have been able to see the smoke of Gehenna
in the background while He was speaking. The people of Jerusalem did not have a trash
pickup as we do, and had to take their own trash to Gehenna, most of those Christ was
speaking to would be very familiar with the never-ending fires and worms for many
would have taken their trash to it.
Albert Barnes in his commentary on Matthew 5:22 says, "The extreme loathsomeness of the
place, and filth and putrefaction, the corruption of the atmosphere, and the lurid fires blazing by
day and by night, made it one of the most appalling and terrific objects with which a Jew was ever
acquainted."
Alexander Campbell says, "In the time of our Savior, it [Gehenna] was the place to which all
the filth, and the dead bodies of animals and criminals from the city of Jerusalem, were conveyed.
Here worms were ever reveling on the carcasses of the dead, and fires were ever kept burning to
consume the noxious matter and to purge the air from its pestilential stench" "Five Discourses
On Hell" 1848.
In the time of Jesus Gehenna was used as a place of destruction, but there was no
torment in it. Those who heard Jesus would understand the use of Gehenna as a
symbol of destruction, but would not have been able to look at Gehenna, their city
dump, and understand how it could be used as a symbol of a place of torment for
there was no torment in their city dump. When most who use the King James Version,
read Hell they never understand that Christ was speaking of the city dump, for they
cannot from the King James Version for the translators have completely hid this from
their readers. It was mistranslated to make the readers understand Christ to be speaking of
a place that is not on this earth where God will be forever tormenting immortal souls and
will be even after the earth is destroyed.
A PROPER NOUN IS THE NAME OF "A PARTICULAR PERSON, PLACE,
OR THING." GEHENNA IS A PROPER NOUN, THE NAME OF A WELLKNOWN
PARTICULAR PLACE NEAR JERUSALEM. TO TRANSLATE IT
INTO HELL, ANOTHER PROPER NOUN, THE NAME OF A COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT PARTICULAR PLACE, IS MORE THAN A BAD TRANSLATION.
IT IS A DELIBERATE CHANGING. Bethlehem, Dead Sea, Gehenna, Rome, and
Jericho are all proper nouns and should not be translated. Why is this the only
name that is changed to another name? Proper nouns (names) are the same in most
languages, and therefore, they are not translated; but Gehenna was changed, not
translated, into Hell, another proper noun, the name of another particular place just
because the King James translators needed to. Hell is not a translation of Gehenna in
the same way that New York is not a translation of Jerusalem. Gehenna and Hell
are two different proper names of two different places. From where did the King
James translators get this name, and why did they want to deliberately mislead all
who read their translation? This valley is used in the New Testament only when
speaking to the Jews for it was not a locality that would be known to most Gentiles that
did not live near Jerusalem. It was a local particular place and Gehenna would be a name
known and used only to those who lived in or near Jerusalem. The names of the city
dumps of most cities are not well known to any but those who live in or near that city,
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and those not from that city would not know or use it. Paul did not use it in any of his
letters to those not at Jerusalem.
• Mistranslating Gehenna into Hell
o Is same as mistranslating New York into Jerusalem
o And the same as mistranslating Jericho into Florida
It was not translated into Hell in the Septuagint, a translation of the Old Testament
form Hebrew to Greek that was used in the time of Christ. "Hell" is not a translation but a
deliberate changing of one place for another completely different place. I believe it was
deliberately changed to put "Hell" in the Bible. A place has been made up that is not in
the Bible; and a name given to it that is not in the Bible; if this is not adding to then what
would it take to add to the Bible? That Christ used the name of a valley, which was
the city dump, is completely hid from the reader of the King James Version,
whether intentional or not; and they are led to believe He spoke of a different place,
which has been named "Hell." The teachings of Christ have been deliberately
changed. It was a geographical location on this Earth. Not somewhere under the
earth or out in space. IT IS A REAL GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION AND IN THE
TIME OF CHRIST THE REAL FIRES WERE CONSTANTLY KEPT BURNING
SINCE IT SERVED AS AN INCINERATOR FOR THE USELESS REFUSE OF
THE CITY. CHRIST USED IT AS A SYMBOL [An illustration] OF
DESTRUCTION [Like the burning of the useless chaff of Luke 3:17]. GEHENNA
CANNOT BE TRANSLATED OR CHANAGED INTO HELL. To say Gehenna, as
used by Christ, is Hell; is to say it has no reference to the Gehenna [the city dump] near
Jerusalem.
The Jews might have made the valley of Gehenna a dump because of their hatred
of its misuse in Old Testament times, but the figures or symbols used by Christ [fire
and maggots] came from its use in New Testament times, not its use in Old
Testament times. THEY ARE SYMBOLS OF DESTRUCTION, NOT OF
TORMENT. IN THE TIME OF CHRIST THERE WAS NO TORMENT, AND NO
IDOL WORSHIPPED IN GEHENNA [the city dump]. CHRIST WAS NOT
ALLUDING TO IDOL WORSHIP OR TORMENT BUT TO THE DESTRUCTION OF
THOSE WHO REJECTED HIM. Worms [maggots] do not eat living being, but dead
ones, NOT TO TORMENT THEM, BUT TO CONSUME [eat up for food], NEITHER
DO MAGGOTS EAT “SOULS.” As long as there was something to burn or eat, the
maggots would never die out, and the fire would not go out; but be consuming, not
tormenting what was being cast in. In the time of Christ it was a place used to dispose of
useless things, not to torment them. Many misuse this to show that living being will be
tormented forever, and make God be doing the tormenting. LIVING VICTIMS WAS
NOT PRESERVED ALIVE AND TORMENTED IN GEHENNA, BUT FIRE OR
WORMS DEVOURED DEAD VICTIMS. TO MAKE IT A PLACE OF ETERNAL
TORMENT IS WITHOUT ANY BASE WHATSOEVER. How and when did a valley
that exists to this day get turned into Hell?
Gehenna and the Lake of Fire are often thought to be the same metaphor by many.
Gehenna is a place of destruction, and the lake of fire is a place where no life as we know
it could exist; they are two different symbolic pictures [Revelation 20:14]. Neither one is
a symbol of an eternal life of torment. Both picture the total destruction of whatever was
thrown into them.
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On 11/1/2010 I found this on the web by Steven Clark Goad, church of Christ Christian Ekklesia
Podcast: “In summation, isn’t it strange indeed that false teachers have taken a “real place”
(Gehenna) referred to by Jesus himself as a metaphor of destruction and have changed in into
another made up/fabricated “real place” (hell) where souls (spirits, living beings, whatever) will
be tortured unendingly by a loving heavenly Father? If Gehenna is a metaphor of “hell” as it is
traditionally taught, isn’t it a poor one, for Gehenna (the Jerusalem city dump of Jesus’ era) was a
real place of destruction and consummation with no torment and no torture involved, while
“hell” is a made up place of torment and torture with no destruction at all? Is this twisted
thinking the height of misguided thinking?” “Thoughts on Punishment of the Wicked,”
http://www.godsmessageontheweb.net/2010/07/25/thoughts-on-punishment-of-the-wicked/
UNQUENCHABLE FIRE OF GEHENNA
IMMORTAL WORMS OF GEHENNA
"UNQUENCHABLE FIRE" AND "THEIR WORM DIES NOT" AS THEY ARE
USED IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS: UTTER DESTRUCTION.
John the Baptist used "Unquenchable fire" on one occasion. He says Christ "will
gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will BURN UP with unquenchable fire"
[Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17]. Will this unquenchable fire forever torment the chaff, which
has been burned up?
Adam Clarke, "He will burn up the chaff that is, the disobedient and rebellious Jews, with
unquenchable fire that cannot be extinguished by man."
When firefighter cannot put out a burning building, they say it is an unquenchable fire
but it is not a fire that will burn forever; no one will be able to escape from it by putting it
out, but it will go out when there is nothing more to burn. An unquenchable fire is one
that no person can put out but it is not an eternal fire.
Unquenchable fire is used on one occasion by Christ of the burning of trash in the city
dump in Mark 9:43-48 where He repeats it a second time (verses 43 and 48) in the
American Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, New International Version.
"Unquenchable fire" is repeated five times in Mark 6:43, 44, 45, 46 and 48 in the King
James Version. BOTH the chaff and trash are utterly destroyed by burning to get rid of
something unwanted. The chaff or the trash was not tormented. Like Gehenna,
unquenchable fire is not used in the rest of the New Testament; Paul, Peter, John, etc
never used it.
Christ used the "worm that dies not" only on one occasion [Mark 9:44-48; Repeated
three times in verses 44, 46 and 48 in the King James Version but only one time in verse
48 in the American Standard Version]. He used both the maggots and the fire of Gehenna
as a symbol of total destruction, not to show that God will forever torment most of
mankind. If this is not figurative language, will there be immortal maggots in Hell? Can
earthly maggots eat an immortal soul in "Hell?" Even most who believes in "Hell" make
the maggots figurative, not real maggots in Hell, but make the "fire" be literal fire.
If Gehenna’s "unquenchable fire" and "their worm dies not" are a description of the
endless punishment of the wicked in "Hell," the silence of the New Testament writers
would be unexplainable. (1) Acts, a history of the preaching and church for about thirty
years does not mention Gehenna, unquenchable fire, or immortal maggots. (2) In none of
Paul's fourteen letters, he never mentioned any of them. (3) Peter, John, James, and Jude
are also as silent as Paul. (4) Neither can they be found in the Book of Revelation.
[1] The one time Christ used "unquenchable fire" in Mark 9:48, He was quoting from
Isaiah 66:24. TO UNDERSTAND HIS WORDS, THEY MUST BE UNDERSTOOD
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IN THE WAY THE OLD TESTAMENT USED THEM, just as much of Revelation is
to be understood by the way the same symbols are used in the Old Testament.
“UNQUENCHABLE FIRE” WAS A WELL-KNOWN EXPRESSION IN THE OLD
TESTAMENT AND WOULD BE UNDERSTOOD BY THOSE HEARING CHRIST.
"And the strong man will become tinder, his work also a spark, thus, they shall both burn
together, and there will be none to quench them" [Isaiah 1: 31]. Jeremiah warned
Jerusalem of the consequence of their sins, "Then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof,
and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and it shall not be quenched" [Jeremiah
17:27]. His warning was fulfilled in 2 Chronicles 36:19-21. Jerusalem was destroyed
with an "unquenchable fire." It consumed all, and was not quenched unto it went
out when there was nothing more to consume; then the unquenchable fire went out.
Jerusalem is not burning today. An unquenchable fire is not an eternal fire, but one
that cannot be put out unto there is nothing to burn. Those who believe in Hell
change "unquenchable" into "eternal" then move the unquenchable fire that destroyed
Jerusalem from Jerusalem on this earth and put this "eternal fire" in their "Hell" which
they say is not on this earth. First, they must change the fire and second; they must move
the changed fire from Jerusalem to "Hell." Isaiah says, " For behold, the Lord will come
in fire and His chariots like the whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke
with the flames of fire. For the Lord will execute judgment by fire and by His sword on
all flesh, and those slain by the Lord will be many...Then they shall go forth and look on
the corpses [dead bodies in American Standard Version] of the men who have
transgressed against me. For their [the corpses] worm shall not die, and their [the
corpses] fire shall not be quenched; and they [the corpses] shall be an abhorrence to all
mankind" [Isaiah 66:15-24]. The worms consumed the corpses, and the fires were not
quenched unto there was no more flesh to consume or burn. IT WAS CORPSES, DEAD
BODIES WHICH WERE ON THE EARTH THAT WERE BEING CONSUMED
BY THE UNQUENCHABLE FIRE AND UNDYING MAGGOTS, “THOSE SLAIN
BY THE LORD” (ISAIAH 66:16) NOT “THOSE TORMENTED BY THE LORD,”
NOT IMMORTAL SOULS IN HELL THAT CANNOT BE SLAIN SCREAMING
IN ANGUISH AND PAIN; ISAIAH 66:16; 66:24 DESCRIBES THE AFTERMATH
OF A BATTLE WITH THE DEAD UNBURIED. THOSE PEOPLE BACK IN THE
TIME OF ISAIAH DID NOT LOOK FROM HEAVEN DOWN INTO HELL AND
SEE LIVING SOULS BEING EATEN BY MAGGOTS. IT WAS THE LIVING
PEOPLE ON THIS EARTH IN THE TIME OF ISAIAH THAT WENT OUT TO
THE BATTTLE FIELD AND SAW REAL DEAD BODIES ON THIS EARTH
BEING EATEN AND BURNED, NOT IMMORTAL SOULS IN HEAVEN THAT
"SHALL GO FORTH AND LOOK ON THE CORPSES" AND SEE LIVING SOULS
THAT ARE THAT ARE BEING TORMENTED IN HELL AS WORMS AND
FIRE ARE CONSUMING THEM. HOW CAN FIRE OR WORMS ETERNALLY
TORMENT A DEAD BODY? It is the fire that is unquenchable and both Isaiah and
Christ speak only of the maggots that being alive, not the corpses that were being burnt
up or eaten, they are dead, have be slain, there is nothing said about them being alive and
in torment, but today’s theology says there are both alive in being forever tormented by
fire. There is not even a hint that the corpses that were in the unquenchable fire were
aware of anything. For this to prove the soul is immortal they would have to be viewing
disembodied immortal souls that had been "slain by the Lord" [Isaiah 66:16] but were
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still living after the Lord had slain them, not viewing dead bodies that were on this earth.
It was living people viewing dead bodies that had been "slain by the Lord," not living
people on this earth looking into Hell and seeing an immaterial, invisible part of a living
person being tormented in Hell. WITHOUT DOUBT, THIS WAS A JUDGMENT
AND PUNISHMENT ON THIS EARTH THAT HAS ENDED, NOT A
PUNISHMENT IN HELL THAT WILL NEVER END.
• There is no mention of torment. The ungodly had been killed; it says nothing
about the Lord TORMENTING them.
• There is no mention of living souls that are being eaten by maggots and being
consumed by fire. The witness sees the RESULT OF THIS DESTRUCTION
(slaying). They see the CORPSES, DEAD BODIES being consumed by fire and
maggots, not a living immaterial, invisible part of a person being tormented.
• They do not see them in pain and anguish, not in endless tortured for the corpses
they see are dead and are on this earth, not in Hell. The dead bodies that are being
eaten by maggots on this earth have been changed to living souls suffering eternal
torture in Hell; it is beyond me to see how those who make such a change and still
say they do not change the Bible; there is nothing about souls, eternal torment, or
Hell in this passage but they add all three.
• Some believers in Hell change the Bible by transferring the qualities of the worm
being undying to the dead bodies that were eating.
[2] "Therefore thus says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, mine anger and my wrath shall be
poured out upon this place, upon man and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and
upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched" [Jeremiah
7:20].
[3] Ezekiel also speaks of the destruction of Judah using the imagery of a forest
burning. "And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, son of man, set your face
toward the south, and drop your word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest
to the field in the South; and say to the forest of the South, Hear the word of Jehovah:
Thus says the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall consume
every green tree in you, and it shall devour ever green tree in you, and ever dry tree; the
flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be
burnt thereby. And all flesh shall see that I, Jehovah, have kindled it; it shall not be
quenched" [Ezekiel 20:47-48].
Adam Clarke, "The forest of the south field is the city of Jerusalem; which was as full of
inhabitants as the forest is of trees. I will kindle a fire, i. e., I will send war; and it shall devour ever
green tree, i. e., the most eminent and substantial of the inhabitants; and every dry tree, i. e., the
lowest and meanest also; it shall not be quenched, i. e., till the land be utterly ruined."
The “unquenchable fire” was God using Babylonian to destroy Israel (Ezekiel 21:19;
Nehemiah 1:3). God’s judgment on Israel was unquenchable, no one could stop it, but it
ended when Israel was destroyed.
[4] Isaiah describes the desolation of Edom, "For my sword has drunk its fill in
heaven; behold, it shall come down upon Edom, and upon the people of my curse, to
judgment...For Jehovah has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of
Zion. And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into
brimstone, and the land there of shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched
night or day; and the smoke thereof shall go up forever; from generation to generation
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it shall lay waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever. But the pelican and the
porcupine shall possess it; and the owl and the raven shall dwell therein" [Isaiah 34:6-
15]. If this fire that "shall not be quenched night nor day" is the Hell that is taught
today, how is it that "none shall pass through it forever and ever," is their no one that
shall be in Hell but pelican, porcupine, owl, and ravens? This is clearly an earthly
judgment on Edom that has long passed, not an unquenchable fire in Hell after the
judgment day. After the unquenchable fire had done it’s work it went out and the land
became a desert inhabited by pelicans, porcupines, owls and ravens.
[5] For more examples of God's judgments in this world being spoken of as an
unquenchable fire see Isaiah 1:31; Jeremiah 17:27; 21:12; Amos 5:6; 2 Kings 22:26-17; 2
Chronicles 34:24-25.
THESE PASSAGES SHOW THAT THE WRITERS OF THE OLD
TESTAMENT USED "UNQUENCHABLE FIRE" AS A FIGURE OF A
JUDGMENT BY WAR AND FAMINE BOTH ON ISRAEL AND ON WICKED
NATIONS WHEN THEY SINNED. When Jesus was speaking of the fire and worms
of Gehenna, he was giving a description of the finality of the coming destruction of
Israel who rejected Him. His audience would know the way unquenchable fire and
undying worms were used in the Old Testament and would understand His use of them.
They would have known that Gehenna that He was speaking of was a foul place of
destruction where worthless things were disposed of, and would have known He was
saying the destruction He was speaking of would be like the destruction of the garbage in
Gehenna, like the destruction of Jerusalem by unquenchable fire and maggots in the Old
Testament. They knew they were being threatened with complete destruction just as the
trash in the city dump. Jerusalem was destroyed and burnt, and historian's say in AD 70
many dead bodies were burned and many were left unburied for the maggots. "The vision
of Isaiah the son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem…And the strong man will
become tinder, his work also a spark, thus, they shall both burn together, and there will
be none to quench them" [Isaiah 1:1-31].
“There are some 70 cases in scripture where fire is used as judgment upon wickedness…never
was it used for the purpose of torture.” Curtis Dickinson, “A Place Called Gehenna”
Summary: The worm that dies not, and the unquenchable fire, as used in the Old
Testament and by Christ, proves UTTER DESTRUCTION, not everlasting torment.
GEHENNA IS BELIEVED BY THOSE WHO TEACH EVERLASTING TORMENT
TO BE THEIR STRONG HOLD, BUT THE SYMBOLS OF MAGGOTS EATING
DEAD BODIES ON THIS EARTH, AND FIRE CONSUMING UNWANTED TRASH
["dead bodies" Isaiah 66:24] ARE SYMBOLS OF DESTRUCTION, NOT SYMBOLS
OF TORMENT. MANY THINK THIS IS THE STRONGEST PROOF OF
EVERLASTING TORMENT IN THE BIBLE, BUT IT IS THE OTHER WAY
AROUND, IT IS A STRONG PROOF THAT THE LOST WILL BE EVERLASTING
DESTROYED. IT DOES NOT PROVE THAT A SADISTIC GOD WILL FOREVER
TORMENT ANYONE.
THE OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY OF GEHENNA
Gehenna was first mentioned in Joshua 15:8; 18:16 although it was never called
"Gehenna" in the Old Testament. Ahaz "burnt incense in the valley of the son of
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Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire" [2 Chronicles 28:3; 2 Kings 16:3]. Manasseh
also burnt his children in the fire in this valley [2 Chronicles 33:6].
Jeremiah 7:31-32 Children of Judah burned their sons and daughters in the fire in this
valley, and Jehovah said, "And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the
valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did
not command, and it did not come into My mind. It shall no more be called Topheth, nor
The valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in
Topheth, till there be no place to bury. And the dead bodies of this people shall be food
for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall frighten them
away." [Note: Those who teach "Hell fire" are saying to God, "O yes it came into Your
mind. You have said You are going to burn most of Your children in a fire much hotter
than the fire in which they burnt their children."]
Jeremiah 19:1-15 "Thus says the Lord, Go and buy a potter's earthenware jar, and
take some to the elders of the people and some of the senior priests. Then go out to the
valley of Ben-hinnom, which is by the entrance of the potsherd gate; and proclaim there
the words that I shall tell you, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and
inhabitants of Jerusalem: thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold I am
about to bring a calamity upon this place, at which the ears of everyone that hears of it
will tingle. Because they have forsaken Me and have made this an alien place and have
burned sacrifices in it to other gods that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings
of Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the blood of the
innocent and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt
offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded nor spoke of, nor did it enter My
mind; therefore, behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when this place will no
longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the valley of
Slaughter. And I shall make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I
shall cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who
seek their life; and I shall give over their carcasses as food for the birds of the sky and
the beast of the earth. I shall also make this city a desolation and an object of hissing;
everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of the disasters. And I
shall make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they will
eat one another's flesh in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies and those
who seek their life will distress them. Then you are to break the jar in the sight of the men
who accompany you and say to them, Thus says the Lord of hosts, Just so shall I break
this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter's vessel, which cannot again be
repaired; and they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place for burial. This
is how I shall treat this place and its inhabitants, declares the Lord so as to make this
city like Topheth. And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will
be defiled like the place Topheth, because of all the houses on whose rooftops they
burned sacrifices to all the heavenly host and poured out libations to other gods. Then
Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord has sent him to prophesy; and he stood
in the court of the Lord's house and said to all the people; thus says the Lord of host, the
God of Israel, Behold, I am about to bring on this city and all its towns the entire
calamity that I have declared against it, because they have stiffened their necks so as not
to heed My words." Jeremiah used the valley of Gehenna to warn Israel of their
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destruction as a nation. Christ also used the valley of Gehenna to warn Israel of
their destruction as a nation.
Many believe the angel of the Lord killed the185,000 Assyrians in this valley when
they were laying siege to Jerusalem [Isaiah 37:36]. They were killed near Jerusalem and
it could have been in this valley, but I can find no sure proof that it was. See Isaiah 30:31-
33.
Josiah "defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no
man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech" [2 Kings
23:10]. This may be when it became the trash dump that it is in the New Testament.
It is also mentioned in Nehemiah 11:30; Jeremiah 19:2: Because of their worshiping
other gods in it, God made it a place of destruction and death, not torment. Topheth
[Gehenna in the New Testament] literally means a place of burning, and a place of death,
"The valley of slaughter" [Jeremiah 7:31].
EVERY REFERENCE TO GEHENNA IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WAS TO
A PLACE ON THIS EARTH. NOT ONE OF THEM SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT
ETERNAL TORMENT AFTER THE JUDGMENT. It is admitted by all that
Gehenna in the Old Testament was not a place of eternal torment, and it was not changed
to "Hell" in any Old Testament passage, not even in the King James Version which is
sometimes called "Hell's Bible."
Henry Thayer, "Gehenna, the name of a valley on the S. and E. of Jerusalem...The Jews so
abolished the place after these horrible sacrifices had been abolished by king Josiah (2 k.xxiii, 10) that
they cast into it not only all manner of refuses, but even the dead bodies of animals and unburied
criminals who had been executed. And since fires were always needed to consume the dead bodies,
that the air might not become tainted by the putrefaction, it came to pass that the place was called
(Gehenna)." "A Greek-English Lexicon Of the New Testament" Page 111. He also said in "Theology"
"Our inquiry shows that it is employed in the Old Testament in its literal or geographical sense only,
as the name of the valley lying on the south of Jerusalem-that the Septuagint proves it retained this
meaning as late as B. C. 150-that it is not found at all in the Apocrypha; neither of Philo, nor in
Josephus, whose writings cover the very times of the Savior and the New Testament, thus leaving us
without a single example of contemporary usage to determine its meaning at this period-that from A.
D. 150-159, we find in two Greek authors, Justin and Clement of Alexandria, the first resident in Italy
and the last in Egypt that Gehenna began to be used to designate a place of punishment after death,
but not endless punishment since Clement was a believer in universal restoration-that the first time
we find Gehenna used in this sense in any Jewish writing is near the beginning of the third century, in
the Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel, two hundred years too late to be of any service in the argumentand
lastly, that the New Testament usage shows that while it had not wholly lost its literal sense, it
was also employed in the time of Christ as a symbol of moral corruption and wickedness; BUT
MORE ESPECIALLY AS A FIGURE OF THE TERRIBLE JUDGMENTS OF GOD ON THE
REBELLIOUS AND SINFUL NATION OF THE JEWS" Henry Thayer, "Theology."
Canon Farrar, "In the Old Testament it is merely the pleasant valley of Hinnom (GeHinnom),
subsequently desecrated by idolatry, and especially by Moloch worship, and defiled by Josiah on this
account. (See 1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 23:10; Jer 7:31; 19:10-14; Isa. 30:33; Tophet). Used according to
Jewish tradition, as the common sewage of the city, the corpses of the worst criminals were flung into
it unburied, and fires were lit to purify the contaminated air. It then became a word which secondarily
implied (1) the severest judgment which a Jewish court could pass upon a criminal-the casting forth
of his unburied corpse amid the fire and worms of this polluted valley; and (2) a punishment-which
to the Jews a body never meant an end-less punishment beyond the grave. WHATEVER MAY BE THE
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MEANING OF THE ENTIRE PASSAGES IN WHICH THE WORD OCCURS, 'HELL' MUST BE A
COMPLETE MISTRANSLATION, SINCE IT ATTRIBUTES TO THE TERM USED BY CHRIST A SENSE
ENTIRELY DIFFERENTLY FROM THAT IN WHICH IT WAS UNDERSTOOD BY OUR LORD'S HEARERS,
AND THEREFORE, ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FROM THE SENSE IN WHICH HE COULD HAVE USED IT."
From the preface to "Eternal Hope."
"Gehenna, the Greek word translated hell in the common version, occurs twelve times. It is the
Grecian mode of spelling the Hebrew words, which are translated, 'The Valley of Hinnom.' This valley
was also called Tophet, a detestation, an abomination. Into this place were cast all kinds of filth, with
the carcasses of beasts and unburied bodies of criminals, who had been executed. Continual fires
were kept to consume these. Sennacherib's army of 185,000 men was slain there in one night. Here,
children were burnt to death in sacrifice to Moloch. GEHENNA, THEN, AS OCCURRING IN THE NEW
TESTAMENT, SYMBOLIZES DEATH AND UTTER DESTRUCTION, BUT IN NO PLACE SYMBOLIZES A
PLACE OF ETERNAL TORMENT" From the Emphatic Diaglot.
George Lemasters said Gehenna is said to have been a receptacle of bones, bodies of beasts and
criminals, and all unclean things. Page 265, Florida College Annual Lectures, 1975.
Ron Halbrook said Gehenna became a common refuse dump for the dead bodies of criminals,
animal carcasses, and other kind of filth. Page 123, Florida College Annual Lectures 1986.
WHATEVER WAS CAST INTO GEHENNA [the city dump], IF IT WERE TRASH
OR THE BODIES OF CRIMINALS WERE CAST INTO THE TRASH DUMP TO BE
DESTROYED AND BOTH WERE DESTROYED, NOT TORMENTED. Trash or dead
bodies cannot be tormented. Whatever was cast into Gehenna was soon consumed. THE
FATE OF ISRAEL IS COMPARED TO TRASH AND DEAD BODIES THAT
WERE CAST INTO THE CITY DUMP TO BE DISPOSED OF.
THE USE OF GEHENNA BY CHRIST
Gehenna was used on four occasions by Christ, and was used one time by James, the
brother of the Lord [James 3:6]. The name Gehenna is in the four gospels eleven times
but as the four gospels repeat the same discourses, Jesus did not really use it more than
six or seven times and these were all used in only four occasions (four sermons).
• FIRST OCCASION, IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. "Shall be in danger
of Gehenna...your whole body be cast into Gehenna...and not your whole body
go into Gehenna" Matthew 5:22, 29, 30.
• SECOND OCCASION, IN A LESSON TO THE TWELVE DISCIPLES. "Fear
him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna" Matthew 10:28.
"Fear him, who after he has killed has power to cast into Gehenna" Luke 12:5.
• THIRD OCCASION, IN ANOTHER LESSON TO HIS DISCIPLES. "Rather
than having two eyes to be cast into Gehenna" Matthew 18:9. Also in the parallel
account in Mark 9:43, 45, 47.
• FOURTH OCCASION, TO THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES. "You make him
twofold more a son of Gehenna than yourselves...How shall you escape the
judgment of Gehenna" Matthew 23:15, 33.
• AND ONE TIME BY JAMES, TO THE TWELVE TRIBES. "The tongue, which
defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by
Gehenna" James 3:6.
Both Christ and James used the name of the city dump [Gehenna]. Although the
translators have James using the word Hell, when James wrote this neither the English
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word “Hell,” nor a Greek word for "Hell" did not exist. Even in Old English Hell did not
have the meaning it has in today’s English.
THE FIRST OCCASION
IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
Gehenna is used 3 times in Matthew 5. Christ is teaching His disciples, who at that
time were under the Law.
THE FIVE JUDGMENTS
Five judgments the disciples had heard that the Law said.
[1] THE FIRST JUDGMENT Matthew 5:21-26, "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 shall say to his brother, 'Raca,' shall be guilty
before the Supreme Court; and whoever shall say, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to
go into the fiery hell [Greek-Gehenna of fire]" New American Standard Bible. Gehenna,
the city dump of Jerusalem was always burning, day and night, 24/7.
The three crimes that were judged by the courts: All three have to do with the way
they felt toward their brother, all three were judged by an earthly court. "Murder shall be
liable to the court: but I say to you everyone who is,"
1. Everyone who is "Angry with his brother" guilty before THE COURT (New
American Standard Version): A judgment under the Old Testament Law. "Not the
final judgment of the world, but the tribunal established by the Law of Moses in each city for the
trial of murders and other criminals. [See Deut. xvi. 18.] Every man slayer was tried before this
tribunal, and either put to death or confined in the city of refuge." J. W. McGarvey, The New
Testament Commentary, Page 53, The Standard Publishing Company, 1875.
2. Whoever "Shall say to his brother, 'Raca'" guilty before the SUPREME
COURT (New American Standard Version): A judgment under the Old
Testament Law. "An epithet of contempt; 'empty head'" B. W. Johnson, The People's New
Testament, Gospel Light Publishing, 1889. "The council mentioned is the supreme court
provided for by the Law of Moses [Deut. xvii. 8-13], and represented in the days of Jesus by the
Sanhedrim." J. W. McGarvey, The New Testament Commentary, Page 54, 1875.
3. Whoever "Shall say, 'You fool'" guilty enough to go into the fiery Gehenna:
This, like the first two is a Jewish judgment where the bodies of criminals that
were thought to be unworthy of a burial were cast into the city dump to be burned.
To whom will they say, "you fool"? Could it be anyone other than "his brother"
just as the first two were? Could the difference in the sinfulness of saying to your
brother "race" [empty headed] and saying to him "you fool" be enough to jump
from a judgment of the Jewish court to the judgment of God at the coming of
Christ? How could anyone know Christ changed from judgments under the Law
to a judgment at the resurrection when there is no indication that He changed?
According to the teaching of some, a person can be angry with his brother and
have contempt for him and not go to Hell, but if you say, "You fool" to your
brother, them you will go to Hell.
Matthew 5:23-26, A lesson on how to make your offering acceptable to God. "Agree
with your adversary quickly, while you are with him in the way; lest haply the adversary
deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, AND YOU ARE CAST
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INTO PRISON. Verily I say unto you, you shall by no means come out TILL you have
paid the last farthing" [Matthew 5:25-26]. "Make friends quickly with your opponent at
law" New American Standard Version. WHEN IT IS PAID, THEN THE PERSON IN
PRISON SHALL COME OUT. This is speaking of a judgment and punishment under the
Law, not at the resurrection.
• Who is to agree with whom? It is the person charged who is to "Make friends
quickly with your opponent at law" that charged him, "while you are with him in
the way" [in the way to the judge].
• What will happen if there is not an agreement? "Lest haply the adversary
(opponent at law) deliver you to the judge, and the judge delivers you to the
officer, and you are cast into prison." Does this sound to you like the judgment at
the last day and being cast into "Hell," or does this sound like an earthly opponent
at law, judge, officer, and prison?
• How long will the person who is cast into prison be in the prison? "You shall by
no means come out thence, TILL you have paid the last farthing." WHEN the debt
for which the person was cast into prison is paid, THEN he will come out. Those
who believe in Hell tell us no one will ever come out. If this were speaking of
punishment after the judgment, then a limited punishment, which would end when
the last farthing was paid would be taught, not an eternal Hell." [Matthew 5:26-
27].
• That this use of "Gehenna" is taken completely out of the context of earthly courts
and law by today's theology is beyond any doubt. This is speaking of a judgment
and punishment under the Law, not at the resurrection.
• To teach "Hell' from this passage, Christ must be made to jump from judgments
and punishments under the Law of Moses in verse 21-22 to the judgment and
punishment at His coming in last part of verse 22 and then back to judgment and
punishment under the Law in verse 25-26 without anything to show He was
speaking of a different judgment and punishments. A part of one verse must
FIRST be taken out of context, and then SECOND changed from Gehenna to
Hell.
[2] THE SECOND JUDGMENT, "YOU HAVE HEARD that it was said, 'You shall
not commit adultery'" Matthew 5:27-30 "And if your right eye causes you to stumble,
pluck it out, and cast it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members
should perish, and not your whole body be cast into hell [Greek - Gehenna]. And if your
right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from you: for it is profitable for
you that one of your members should perish, and not your whole body go into hell
[Greek - Gehenna]." Jesus is saying to them that they had heard that it was said (in the
Law), “You shall not commit adultery” for which they would be put to death under the
Law of Moses [Leviticus 20:10] and their body cast into Gehenna.
Christ is teaching them that if there is a danger that they may look on a woman to lust
after her, if their eye causes them to stumble, cut it out and cast it away. If taken literal a
disfigurement of their body would have been unlawful by the Old Testament Law they
were under. The lesson to them was that they were to remove anything from their lives,
which would cause them to be judged unworthy to be buried and their bodies to be cast
into Gehenna. Under the Law adultery was death and could therefore cause their whole
bodies to be cast into the fire and maggots in Gehenna [Leviticus 20:10-16]. The lesson
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to them and to us is that if something in our life that would cause us to be lost, even if it
is as dear to us as our eye or hand, it needs to be cut off unless the whole body be
destroyed, the removal of anything in our life that would cause us to be destroyed by God
as worthless trash was destroyed in Gehenna. Christ was saying to them anything in their
life; adultery or any other sin that would cause them to perish needed to be removed.
THOSE THAT USE THIS TO PROVE HELL DO NOT BELIEVE THAT TO "CUT
OFF" ANY PART OF THE BODY OF A LIVING PERSON WILL KEEP THAT
PERSON OUT OF HELL AFTER DEATH. TO THEM THE HAND AND THE EYE
ARE A LITERAL HAND OR EYE, BUT ACCORDING TO THEIR TEACHING "THE
WHOLE BODY" IS NOT A BODY AT ALL BUT A FORMLESS, NO SUBSTANCE,
INVISIBLE PART OF A PERSON THAT HAS NO BODY.
The loss of a hand or eye is contrasted with the lost of the whole body [of which
the hand was a part] by being cast into Gehenna, not the loss of a hand being
contrasted with the soul [of which the hand was NOT a part] being cast into Hell.
The "eye" and the "right hand" are a part of the "whole body." No one can cut off the
hand of a soul which they say has no substance and Christ does not change from parts of
the earthly body to something that most who believe in "it" says "it" has no body. No one
that I know of who believes Hell is an eternal place of torment believes the human body
or any part of it will be eternally tormented by God in that eternal place. In the same
sentence, did Christ change from a literal physical hand to a "soul"? IF THE "WHOLE
BODY" IS A FORMLESS NO SUBSTANCE SOUL, THEN THE "HAND," WHICH
WAS CUT OFF THIS BODY IS A PART OF THE "WHOLE BODY," AND WOULD
ALSO BE A FORMLESS NO SUBSTANCE SOMETHING THAT WE COULD NOT
CUT OFF, AND IF WE COULD, THEN THE CUT OFF HAND OF AN IMMORTAL
SOUL WOULD BE AS IMMORTAL AS THE REST OF THE NO SUBSTANCE
FORMLESS SOUL FROM WHICH IT WAS CUT OFF. IN TODAY'S THEOLOGY
NO ONE BELIEVES YOU CAN CUT OFF THE HAND OF A SPIRIT SO THAT
THE REST OF THE SPIRIT WILL NOT GO TO HELL. The "whole body" is not a
spirit that will go to Hell [Gehenna], but this spirit will not go to Hell if the hand of the
soul or spirit had been cut off. It is the hand that is a part of this earthly body that is to be
cut off that the whole earthly body would not be cast into a real earthy valley. Today this
has been changed to an invisible immortal hand that cannot die, but it is to be cut off an
immortal soul that cannot die because if it is not cut off the soul that cannot die will be
cast into a place of torment that is not on this earth. I have never heard anyone say what
he or she thinks will happen to the cut off immortal hand that cannot die. No one that I
know of believes the "soul" shall "enter into life," which he or she says is Heaven, with a
cut off hand of that soul in Hell. The "soul" in Heaven but its "hand" in Hell! They don't
believe that a disfigurement of the body, whether it is a self inflicted disfigurement or any
other disfigurement, will be passed onto the immaterial, invisible part of a person in
Heaven. Neither do they believe any person has the power to cut of any part of his soul.
Most that believe in "Hell" make this cutting off the hand be figurative language meaning
to remove anything from our lives that will cause us to sin, but they want to take just this
one word in the sentence be literal. They must first mistranslate "Gehenna" into "Hell"
and then make just this one word out of context and make it be literal. Gehenna must be
changed to Hell and made literal, but the cutting off the hand that is cast into Hell cannot
be literal.
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"Though his followers were called to suffer the loss of all things; though the hand of persecution
might be raised against kindred and friends, yet, better to enter into life thus maimed, than to
cling to those friends and share with them the judgments of God, figuratively represented by
Gehenna fire. Jesus required his disciples to forsake all for him. He said: 'Whoso loves father or
mother more than me, is not worthy of me.' Those who loved ease and fame and popularity
more than him and his unpopular cause were not worthy of him. As though Jesus has said: 'In
embracing my cause, now unpopular, now scorned and rejected by the world, the chief priests
and rulers, you may be called upon to part with something dear to you as a member of your
body; some dear friend may turn coldly from you and forsake you; it may be like severing a limb
from the body; like cutting off a hand, or plucking out an eye; yet, better to enter into life thus
maimed; better to cherish the hope of everlasting life at this great sacrifice, than to reject the
truth, and remain in a state of unbelief and moral blindness'" D. P. Livermore, "Endless
Punishment" Page 49, 1864.
"Perish" must be made to mean, "preserve." God's word says He will destroy the soul,
but many change this and make it say God will preserve the soul forever. There seems to
be no end to the changes they are willing to make. "Destroy the body and soul" must be
changed to "preserve the soul but destroy the body."
A dead body part or a whole dead body being cast into the city dump [Gehenna] to be
destroyed by fire or worms is not a picture of a living immortal soul being tormented
forever. There is no suggestion of eternal torment in this. THERE IS NOTHING, NOT
ONE WORD ABOUT AN IMMORTAL SOUL OR AN IMMORTAL SPIRIT IN
THIS PASSAGE. It was their "whole body" that would be cast into Gehenna; nothing is
said about an immaterial, invisible part of a person that will be cast into "Hell, nothing
about eternal torment." INSTEAD OF SAYING THAT IMMORTAL SOULS WILL
BURN FOREVER IN GEHENNA IT SAYS THE BODY WILL BE DESTROYED IN
GEHENNA. Nothing is said about an immaterial part of a person in Matthew 5:22, 29 or
30. "Soul" is not in Matthew 5. IT HAS BEEN CHANGED AND PREACHED TODAY
THAT THE "SOUL" WILL BE CAST INTO "HELL," NOT THE WHOLE BODY
CAST INTO THE GEHENNA THOSE HEARING CHRIST WOULD KNOW ABOUT.
THIS PASSAGE IS ONE OF THE MOST USED PASSAGE TO PROVE A PERSON
HAS IN IMMATERIAL PART THAT WILL BE IN AN ETERNAL PLACE OF
TORMENT, BUT NEITHER (1) A IMMATERIAL PART OF A PERSON (2) OR A
PLACE OF ETERNAL TORMENT IS IN IT. EVERYTHING THAT CHRIST SAID IS
CHANGED AND THAT BY THOSE THAT SAY THEY DO NOT CHANGE THE
BIBLE.
[3] The third, "You have heard you shall not forswear yourself" [Matthew 5:33].
[4] The fourth, "You have heard…an eye for an eye” [Matthew 5:38].
[5] The fifth, "You have heard…love your neighbor” [Matthew 5:43].
All five of the "you have heard" are about judgments of the Old Testament Law
that had punishment in this life, not about things in the life after the resurrection
and judgment. BEING CAST INTO GEHENNA IS AN EARTHLY JUDGMENT
MIXED (in the same context) WITH OTHER EARTHLY JUDGMENTS. This is the
first time Christ used the term Gehenna; if He had used it to teach endless torment, He
said nothing that those hearing Him, or those who read His words today, could know He
was speaking of anything more than an earthly judgment; there is absolutely no
indication He was speaking of eternal torment of a “soul.”
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THE SECOND OCCASION
IN A LESSON TO THE TWELVE DISCIPLES
"FEAR HIM, WHO AFTER HE HAS KILLED HAS POWER TO CAST INTO
GEHENNA" Luke 12:4-5; GOD IS ABLE TO DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND
BODY IN GEHENNA Matthew 10:28. This was spoken to the twelve apostles when
they were sent forth to preach, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" [Matthew 10:1-28].
He was persecuted, and they would be, but they were to "Fear them not." "But I will
warn you whom you shall fear: fear him, who AFTER HE HAS KILLED has power to
cast into Gehenna" [Luke 12:4-5]. "AFTER HE HAS KILLED" must be changed to
"ALIVE BUT SEPARATED FROM GOD" to fit today's teaching for an immortal soul
cannot be killed and this passage must be made to teach an immortal soul that cannot be
killed is alive and tormented in "Hell." After all, they cannot have God killing an
immortal soul before He cast it into "Hell" could they?
Man can destroy the life we now have, but God alone is able to destroy [Apollumi]
both soul [life-psukee] and body in Gehenna "AFTER HE HAS KILLED." To prove Hell,
many have this earthly body tormented in Hell after the Judgment Day. If both the body
and soul are destroyed in Gehenna proves an immortal "immaterial, invisible part of
man" [W. E. Vine] that cannot die will be tormented in Hell, then it also proves the
earthy body will be tormented in Hell. IF THE "IMMATERIAL, INVISIBLE PART OF
MAN" CANNOT DIE BECAUSE IT IS IMMORTAL FROM BIRTH, GOD COULD
DO NO MORE THAN A MAN. HE COULD ONLY DESTROY [KILL] THE BODY,
BUT NOT THE IMMORTAL "IMMATERIAL, INVISIBLE PART OF MAN" THAT
CANNOT DIE AND CANNOT BE DESTROYED. Was Jesus telling the twelve apostles
not to fear God? He was if the soul [psukee] is immortal from birth and cannot be killed.
Does it mean what it says, or does "destroy," mean to "torment forever," as today's
theology interprets and demands? If it were as is taught today that destroy means torment,
and Gehenna means Hell, then they have God tormenting both this body of flesh and the
"soul" in Hell forever, which is more than they want it to say, but when they change
Gehenna to "Hell," this passage teaches something that even those who make the change
do not believe. Will this earthly body be in "Hell" and be immortal? If it is to be
tormented forever in "Hell," then the earthly body is as immortal as the soul is.
When a person has killed the body, he can do no more. At the worse, a person can only
take a few years of life from you, but there will be a resurrection and God can take an
eternity of life from you.
God has the power to kill, or the power to torment (if He was that kind of a God, a
fiendish and sadistic God); but we must look to the Bible to know what He will do and
not look to theology. A man can only take this life from you, and then can do no more,
and most of the twelve Christ was speaking to were soon killed by men who could do no
more, but there will be a resurrection of all they kill. God can DESTROY this life, and
then DESTROY the resurrected life after the judgment. There is a second death for those
not in Christ.
Apollumi is used 95 times in the New Testament. . Matthew 10:28 is the only time it
is used of the soul and it says God is able to kill [apollumi] the soul just as the body
is killed in the other passages. Those who believe we have a soul that cannot die must
deny this plain statement made by Christ. In the King James Version the other 94 times it
is the body that is destroyed (the end of life of the body) or things (such as bottles
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Matthew 9:27 - meat John 6:27 – gold 1 Peter 1:7 - etc.) that are. It is translated destroy,
destroyed, perish, lose, lost, and die.
• In the Greek it is not “soul" but "psukee" (life) that God can and will destroy.
• The saved will never perish (apollumi) [John 10:28].
• The lost will perish (apollumi) [1 Corinthians 1:18].
• Anyone can perish (apollumi) by drowning [Mark 4:38; Matthew 8:25]. When
apollumi is applied to persons whether in this life or at the judgment it is life that
is destroyed, not living forever being tormented by God and cannot perish.
Men did kill the bodies of many disciples and Christ warned that they would be killed,
but this has no effect on their or their ultimate existence. Death is but a brief sleep, which
will be as if it were only a moment from death unto the resurrection. [Deuteronomy
31:16; 2 Samuel 7:12; 1 Kings 1:21; Job 7:21; 14:12; Psalms 13:31 Jeremiah 51:39, 57; 1
Kings 2:10; 11:21, 43; 14:20, 31; 15:8, 24; 16:6, 28; 22:40, 50; 2 Kings 8:24; 10:35;
13:9, 13; 14:16, 22, 29; 15:7, 22, 38; 16:20; 20:21; 21:18; 24:6; 2 Chronicles 9:31; 12:16;
14:1; 16:13; 21:1; 26:2, 23; 27:9; 28:27; 32:33; 33:20; Job 3:13; Isaiah 26:19; Matthew
9:24; 25:5; 27:52; Mark 5:39; Luke 8:52; John 11:11-14; Acts 7:60; 13:36; 1 Corinthians
15:6, 18, 20, 51; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15; 5:10; 2 Peter 3:4]. There will be a resurrection,
and in the ultimate eternal sense, man cannot kill the soul-life [psukee]. God can destroy
and make our memory to perish [Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6; Ecclesiastes 9:4-6;
Psalms 31:12; 88:5; Isaiah 26:14; Ecclesiastes 9:10; Matthew 10:28; Luke 12:5; Romans
6:23]. If death does not indicate unconsciousness, then the analogy of sleep, which is
used throughout the Bible, is meaningless for the dead are not asleep. It is more than just
meaningless, being asleep when they are awake in Heaven or Hell would be an outright
lie that is repeated frequently.
The second death is never called a sleep because there will be no waking up or
resurrection from it.
Many believe that the destroying spoken of in Matthew 10:28 is to be after the
resurrection, but just do not agree on if destroy really means destroy or if destroy
mean an everlasting life with punishment. IT IS CLEARLY SAID THAT THE
DESTROYING IN THIS PASSAGE IS IN GEHENNA, WHICH IS A PLACE ON THIS
EARTH, however, if the destroying were after the judgment, even then it would not
prove no one could be destroyed, therefore, destroy must be changed to torment. "Fear
him who is able to destroy" if it is as many believe this destroying to be at death, or as
others believe the destroying is to be after the judgment, this passage clearly says God is
able to destroy the psukee [life-soul]. I know many who have a gun but there is no point
to fear someone because he has a gun and could kill you if you know he never will. There
would be no point to fear God because he has the power and could destroy you, but you
know he never will. Jesus is not just making an idle threat. GOD IS TO BE FEARED
BECAUSE HE WILL DESTROY. The fear is not of the fact that He can, but on the
fact that He will destroy, on the certainty that He will destroy. IF THERE IS AN
"IMMATERIAL, INVISIBLE PART OF MAN" THAT IS IMMORTAL AND CAN
NEVER DIE, THEN GOD CANNOT KILL IT AND CHRIST IS SAYING DO NOT
FEAR GOD FOR HE CANNOT KILL THE IMMATERIAL, INVISIBLE PART OF A
PERSON. If a person kills us, God will raise us at the judgment. Those whom God
will destroy will be destroyed forever with no hope of a resurrection to life. God is
able to destroy both body and soul is changed to: God is able to preserve both body and
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soul. Without this change there would be no way to put "Hell" in this passage, and
without it there would be no way to put the "soul" in "Hell" without also putting the body
in "Hell"; but most important, without changing this passage, there would be no way to
keep the soul that many say, "cannot be destroyed" from being destroyed.
EITHER WAY:
• IF THIS IS SPEAKING OF DESTROYING IN GEHENNA
• OR IF THIS IS SPEAKING OF GOD DESTROYING AFTER THE
JUDGMENT.
1. There is nothing said about a person now having an immortal soul that cannot be
destroyed.
2. Or about God tormenting anyone after the Judgment is over. Noting about
torment anyone at any time, neither in Gehenna nor after the Judgment.
3. If the destroying is in Gehenna or if the destroying is at the Judgment, the
destroying cannot be moved to after the Judgment is over and them changed from
destroying in Gehenna to eternal life in Hell.
If the words "immortal soul" were substituted for "soul" and "life," it would be
absurd. "But are not able to kill the immortal soul [life-psukee]: but fear him who is
able to destroy both immortal soul [life-psukee] and body in Hell [Gehenna]...He that
finds his immortal soul [life-psukee] shall lose his immortal soul [life-psukee]; and he
that loses his immortal soul for my sake shall find his immortal soul " [Matthew 10:28-
39]. In using this to prove that a person has an immortal soul, which cannot be destroyed,
they prove that it can be. If psukee were an immortal soul, then God would be able to
destroy this immortal soul. THERE IS NO STRONGER WAY IN WHICH TO SAY
GOD CAN AND WILL DESTROY IT. He is to be feared by those of the world
because He will. There would be no reason to fear Him if He could not, or if He will not
destroy the psukee [soul or life]. I FIND IT STRANGE THAT ONE OF THE MOST
USED PASSAGES TO PROVE THERE IS AN "IMMATERIAL, INVISIBLE PART
OF MAN" THAT CANNOT BE DESTROYED SAYS GOD CAN DESTROY IT;
BUT, NO STRANGER THEN THE USE OF DEATH TO MEAN AN ETERNAL
LIFE OF TORMENT WITH GOD DOING THE TORMENTING. By saying black
is white you can prove anything.
The point some are trying to make from God being "able to destroy" is that there is
life after death, an immortal soul that cannot be destroyed, which this does not prove. At
the resurrection there will be life that GOD CAN DESTROY, not that there is an
immortal soul that God cannot destroy. IT SAYS NOTHING ABOUT AN
"IMMATERIAL, INVISIBLE PART OF MAN" THAT IS ALIVE BEFORE THE
RESURRECTION THAT CANNOT BE DESTROYED. It does not say there will be
any life from death unto the resurrection. That there will be a resurrection is taught
through out the New Testament, but if all are alive when Christ comes, there cannot be a
resurrection of those that are not dead. GOD CAN DESTROY THE LIFE NOW IS
AND THE LIFE THAT WILL BE AFTER THE RESURRECTION. He is to be
feared by the lost because He will destroy the life they will have after the resurrection.
PROVES MORE THAN THE ADVOCATE'S OF AN IMMORTAL SOUL
WANT TO PROVE. Matthew 10:28 proves more than they believe and more them they
want to prove, for they do not believe this earthly body will be tormented in "Hell" or that
the "immaterial, invisible part of man" will be destroyed. But, to prove their Hell, they
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make destroy be just a loss of well being, but still alive and being tormented in Hell. If
the immaterial, invisible part of a person is not destroyed, but just lost its well being, then
the earthly body is not destroyed, but has just lost its well being. The same thing happens
to both the body and the immaterial, invisible part of a person, therefore, if destroy means
one is tormented, not destroyed, then destroy means the earthly body will be tormented in
Hell just as the soul will.
• “Fear him who is able to destroy BOTH soul and body in hell [Gehenna].”
• What ever happens to the soul [psukee] also happens to the body.
• What ever happens to the body also happens to the soul [psukee].
The word "destroy" is from apollumi. Christ is speaking of a soul [life-psukee]
whose destruction is expressed by the same Greek word, apollumi, as is the
destruction of the body. Whatever you believe the "soul" to be, it is shown to be as
destructible as the body is. WHAT GOD CREATED, GOD CAN DESTROY.
The advocate's of an immortal soul say, "destroy,” [apollumi] means "torment." If this
is true, "torment" should be used in place of "destroy" in all places. Try it. The same is
true when apollumi is made to mean "a loss of well-being."
• "The young child to torment [apollumi] him" Matthew 2:13. "The young child to
a loss of well-being [apollumi] him"
• "One of your members should torment [apollumi]" "One of your members should
a loss of well-being [apollumi]" Matthew 5:29
• "Lord, save us, we torment [apollumi]" Matthew 8:25
• "And the bottles tormented [apollumi]" Matthew 9:17
• "That finds his life shall torment [apollumi] it" Matthew 10:39
• "One of these little one should torment [apollumi]" Matthew 18:14
• "If she torment [apollumi] one piece" Luke 15:14
• "Flood came and tormented [apollumi] them all" Luke 17:27
• "Torment [apollumi] not him with your meat" Romans 14:15
• "I will torment [apollumi] the wisdom of the wise" 1 Corinthians 1:19
• "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do harm? To save a life, or to
torment [apollumi] it" [Luke 6:9]. In the parallel passage Mark used "kill," not
apollumi. "To save a life, or to kill [apokteino]" [Mark 3:4]. Those who say to
destroy means a lost of well being, not death, will have a little trouble saying
Mark's "kill" does not mean death. Mark and Luke make destroy [apollumi] and
kill [apokteino] both means the same thing, both means death; not eternal life with
a lost of well being.
• Many more. See Wigram Englishman's Greek Concordance Page 74 for a long list
of passages where destroy could not mean a lost of well being. Just as they only
want death to be "separation" or "a lost of well being" part of the time [See
chapter two, "Life or Death"] they only want apollumi to be "a lost of well being"
or eternal life of torment part of the time. Only when they need them to be
translated separation and torment, only when it would destroy their immortal soul
doctrine of it were not changed. As translated in the King James Version, both
words destroy the doctrine of an immortal soul from birth. They must use their
theology meaning to save it. Destroy does not mean to torment forever in any
dictionary. [Note: By "lost of well-being" they mean, "God will forever be
tormenting them"].
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"Destroy both body and soul [psukee]" Just as certain as the garbage of Jerusalem
was consumed by the fire God will destroy, consume both body and soul [psukee, life,
living creature]. When Jesus says that God can destroy the body and soul in Gehenna, it
is the whole being of man, not just his "well-being." THERE IS NO GROUND FOR
THE TRADITIONAL VIEW OF AN IMMORTAL SOUL THAT CANNOT BE
DESTROYED IN THIS PASSAGE OR ANY OTHER PASSAGE, BUT THERE IS
GROUND FOR THE WHOLE OF MAN, BODY AND SOUL [life-psukee], BEING
DESTROYED IN THIS AND MANY OTHER PASSAGES.
JESUS USED BOTH KILL AND DESTROY, BUT SAID NOTHING ABOUT
TORMENT. Theology must be used to make destroy mean torment for if the words
kill and destroy do not mean torment, there will be no living "souls" to be
tormented in Hell, therefore, no Hell.
Christ speaks of being destroyed in Gehenna but never says anything about Gehenna
being eternal or about torment in Gehenna, but those who change Gehenna into Hell add
both eternal life and torment to Gehenna then change Gehenna to Hell. To have the
"Hell" that is taught today, they must first add to and them change what they have added.
Most who believes in Hell do not believe the flesh and blood "body" will be tormented,
but, it is clear that whatever happens to the "body" also happens to the "soul." If one is
killed, both are killed, if one is tormented, both are tormented. IF GOD IS ABLE TO
KILL OR DESTROY BOTH BODY AND SOUL, NEITHER ONE COULD BE
IMMORTAL.
FROM THE SAME LESSON (God is able to destroy) TO HIS DISCIPLES Lose his
life [Greek soul-psukee] must be made to mean an everlasting life of torment
[Matthew 10:39].
"He who finds his life [soul-psukee] shall lose it." The person who saves his life
[psukee] by denying Christ will lose his life at the judgment. He who finds his life is one
who puts this life ahead of Christ, but he will "lose it" at the judgment, not have an
everlasting life with torment. (1) "The wages of sin is death" [Romans 6:23] (2) "A
certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the
adversaries" [Hebrews 10:27]. (3) "The day of judgment and destruction of ungodly
men" [2 Peter 3:7]. "And forfeit his life" [soul-psukee] [Mark 8:36]. "And lose himself"
[Luke 9:25] Luke used the pronoun "himself" in the place of "psukee - life" that Matthew
used making them be the same thing. It is the life of the person that will be lost or saved,
not just an inter invisible part of the person that has no substance, not just something
inside of a person that no one can tell us what it really is. The teaching today is that this
no substance part of the person will not really be lost, but will just change its address to
Heaven to Hell. Life [psukee] is the same word that is translated soul 58 times, and is the
only word that is translated soul in the New Testament. An immortal soul had to be put in
the Bible, but to do so, the translators had to throw away the whole person we now are to
make only an immaterial, invisible part of a person be immortal, and only this "invisible
part of man" will have eternal life in Heaven. Those who are lost will lose the same
thing that those who are saved will save-LIFE [their psukee]. Many are saying, "Not
so Lord, they 'shall not lose it,' for the 'immaterial, invisible part of a man' shall have
eternal life in Hell." If this is not what they say, than what are they saying? It is LIFE
that is being spoken of as being saved or lost, nothing more, not an immortal soul that can
never lose its life being saved from eternal torment by God. There is not a word said
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about Hell or an immortal, immaterial, invisible part of a person. THOSE WHO DO
NOT OBEY CHRIST SHALL LOSE THE VERY THING THAT IS SAVED BY
THOSE WHO DO OBEY HIM-LIFE; THE LOST SHALL DIE AND THE SAVED
SHALL LIVE. "But the righteous shall go into eternal life" [Matthew 25:46]. "In Christ
all shall be made alive" [1 Corinthians 15:22].
"He who loses his life [soul-psukee] shall find it." How could Christ have said it any
clearer that the person that loses his life [soul-psukee], his earthly life because he is a
Christian and will not deny Christ will find life at the judgment? If "lose his life" [soulpsukee]
is to lose his life [soul-psukee] for being a Christian, them "lose his life [soulpsukee]"
cannot be to have an everlasting life with torment.
The same thing that is saved is the same thing that will be lost.
• The person who saves his life by denying Christ
• Will lose the same thing, his life at the judgment
o It is not the soul that is saved by denying Christ but life on earth
o It is not the soul that will be lost at the judgment but life in Heaven
• John 12:25 says the same, "He that loves his life [soul-psukee] shall lose it; and
he that hates his life [soul-psukee] in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal"
When save and lose in Matthew 10:39 are applied to an immaterial soul that cannot
die as it is used in today's theology it makes nonsense.
• To save ones soul means to save it from Hell-according to today's theology.
• To lose ones soul means to go to Hell forever according to today's theology.
When "shall lose it" is made mean going to Hell then "lose his life [soul-psukee]"
for Christ mean gong to Hell for Christ.
• “He that finds his soul [saves his soul-psukee from Hell according to today’s
theology] shall lose it [shall lose his soul in Hell-losing one's soul in today's
theology is to go to Hell] and he that loses his soul for my sake [he that goes to
Hell for my sake] shall find it [shall save his soul from Hell]." Today's theology
makes utter nonsense of the Bible.
Life and death and finding life and losing life are the same thing. Death and losing
life are not an everlasting life of torment separated from God. (1) "He that finds his life
shall lose it," by some kind of magic charm losing life is turns into eternal life in Hell.
"Shall lose it (his life)" is made to mean an ETERNAL LIFE of torment in Hell. How
could anyone know this? What dictionary is being used? How can losing life mean
eternal life in Hell!!! (2) "He that loses his life for my sake shall find it." Losing the life
of the body - being put to death for believing in Christ, also by some kind of magic is
turned into eternal life for an "immaterial, invisible part of man" at death before the
resurrection. Their magic makes the resurrection useless for they say eternal life is given
to all at birth and none can lose it, therefore, Christ cannot give us life. He can only give a
reward for being good and can only punish for being bad. TO MAKE PSUKEE BE IN
"IMMATERIAL INVISIBLE, IMMORTAL PART OF MAN" THAT CANNOT DIE
MAKES IT BE NONSENSE. No doctrine of the Bible is more plain than the loss of
life in this passage is the lost of our earthly life because of being faithful to Christ,
not eternal life with torment for the sinner; finding life is to find eternal life at the
resurrection, and the person that saves his earthly life [psukee] by denying Christ
will lose his life at the judgment.
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"For whosoever would save his life [soul-psukee] shall lose it: and whosoever shall
lose his life [soul-psukee] for my sake shall find it. For what shall a man be profited, if he
shall gain the whole world [become very rich in this life], and forfeit his life [soulpsukee]?
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his life [soul-psukee]?" [Matthew
16:25-26 American Standard Version].
• Mark 8:35-36 "For whosoever would save his life [soul-psukee] shall lose it; and
whosoever shall lose his life [soul-psukee] for my sake and the gospel's shall save it.
For what do it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life [soulpsukee]?
For what should a man give in exchange for his life [soul-psukee]?"
• Luke 9:24-25"For whosoever would save his life [soul-psukee] shall lose it; but
whosoever shall lose his life [soul-psukee] for my sake, the same shall save it. For
what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lost of forfeit his own self?"
"He that finds his life [soul-psukee] shall lose it; and he that loses his life [soul-psukee]
for my sake shall find it" [Matthew 19:39].
• Luke 17:33"Whosoever shall seek to gain his life [soul-psukee] shall lose it: but
whosoever shall lose his life [soul-psukee] shall preserve it"
"He that loves his life [soul-psukee] loses it; and he that hates his life [soul-psukee] in
this world shall keep it unto life eternal" [John 12:25].
THE THIRD OCCASION
IN ANOTHER LESSON TO HIS DISCIPLES
This was a different discourse than Matthew 5:29-30 above, but He was teaching the
same thing. See the notes on the first occasion above. Matthew 18:9 "And if your eye
causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from you: it is good for you to enter into
life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell [Greek-Gehenna] of
fire." Mark 9:43, 45, 47 "And if your hand cause you to stumble, cut it off: it is good for
you to enter into life maimed, rather then having your two hands to go into hell [Greek-
Gehenna], into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot cause you to stumble, cut it off; it
is good for you to enter into life halt, rather then having your two feet to be cast into hell
[Greek-Gehenna]. And if your eye cause you to stumble, cast it out; it is good for you to
enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into
hell [Greek-Gehenna] where their worm dies not, the fire is not quenched" "Where their
worm dies not, the fire is not quenched" is in Mark 9:44, 46, and 48 in some translations.
The footnote in the American Standard Version says, "Verses 44 and 46 (which are
identical with verse 48) are omitted by the best ancient authorities." I AM AWARE OF
NO ONE BELIEVES THE HUMAN BODY IS GOING TO BE CAST IN “HELL” AND
BE TOREMTED, YET THIS PASSAGE ABOUT THE HUMAN BODY BEING CAST
INTO THE VALLEY OF GEHENNA IS OFTEN USED TO PROVE THE “SOUL”
WILL BE ETERNALITY TORMENTED. "Where their worm dies not, the fire is not
quenched" is a direct quotation from Isaiah 66:23-24 where it is speaking of dead
bodies on this earth being burned with fire and eaten by worms just as anything
that was cast into Gehenna was burned with fire and eaten by worms. Gehenna, a
place on this earth, has been changed to Hell, a place not on this earth; and no one can
give a Bible passage that tells of a place called "Hell." “It is better for you to enter life
crippled” [Mark 9:43], what “life” is Christ speaking of, this life “crippled,” or life in
Heaven “crippled”? If Christ were speaking of Heaven, unless it is possible to be
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crippled with only one foot and one eye in Heaven this passage would make no sense. Do
unconditional immoralists believe Christ is saying it is better for an immortal soul to
enter life in Heaven a “crippled” soul; “it is good for you to enter into life halt, rather
then having your two feet to be cast into hell [Greek-Gehenna]”? If Christ were
speaking of immortal souls entering life in Heaven or being cast into Hell, would there be
any way to say there will not be crippled souls in Heaven? These are symbolic words
teaching that if there is anything in our lives that would be in the way of entering into the
kingdom of Heaven we need to remove them; a person who uses drugs needs to repent, a
person who is a thief needs to repent.
THE FOURTH OCCASION
IN A SERMON TO THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES
Gehenna is used two times in a sermon to the Scribes and Pharisees warning them of
God's rejection of Israel. In Matthew 23 and 24 Christ speaks of the destruction of Israel.
"All these things shall come upon this generation" [Matthew 23:36]. The context of
these two uses of Gehenna are clearly an in time judgment of Israel, a judgment that
has now passed, not of anything that will be after the judgment at the coming of
Christ. THEY HAVE NO REFERENCE TO "HELL." The "damnation of Hell" as
it is preached today did not come on that "generation," but the judgment and
destruction of Israel did. "Damnation" is from krisis which means judgment, not
damnation as it is mistranslated in the King James Version, the "judgment of Gehenna,"
not the "damnation of Hell."
ISRAEL THE WICKED HUSBANDMEN Matthew 21:33-46: Before looking at this
use of Gehenna it may help understand it to first look at the parable of the wicked
husbandman that comes just before it and is a part of the same sermon spoken to the
Scribes and Pharisees. "When; therefore, the lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he
do unto these husbandman? They say unto him, HE WILL MISERABLY DESTROY
THESE MISERABLE MEN, AND WILL LET OUT THE VINEYARD UNTO OTHER
HUSBANDMEN, who will render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus said unto them,
did you never read in the scriptures, the stone, which the builders rejected, the same was
made the head of the corner; this was from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes?
THEREFORE SAY I UNTO YOU, THE KINGDOM OF GOD SHALL BE TAKEN
AWAY FROM YOU, AND SHALL BE GIVEN TO A NATION BRINGING FORTH THE
FRUITS THEREOF. And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on
whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust. AND WHEN THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND
PHARISEES HEARD HIS PARABLES, THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT HE WAS
SPEAKING ABOUT THEM." How is it that today most do not understand these
parables to be about Israel? Many parables deal with the rejection of Christ by Israel and
its destruction. See chapter 8, part 1, and part 2.
[1] SON OF GEHENNA: Matthew 23:15 "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is become
so, you make him twofold more a son of hell [Greek-Gehenna] then yourselves." In
speaking to the Pharisees, Christ said, "For you are like unto whitewashed tombs, which
outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead man's bones, and of all
uncleanness" [Matthew 23:27]. The Scribes and Pharisees made their proselytes twofold
more a son of Gehenna than them selves [Matthew 23:15]. A place cannot give birth to a
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person. No one, not even those who believe in Hell believe Hell is literally the father or
mother of anyone. To call a person a son of a place is not to say that place is literally the
person’s mother, but is to say a part of his or her character is similar to the place.
Gehenna was a place of filth and uncleanness. To use the metaphors "son of Gehenna" is
to say they were unclean like the filthy city dump. To be a "son of Gehenna" means to be
like Gehenna and the things in it: to be filthy and contemptible fit only to be destroyed.
The proselytes were made twofold more unclean then the Pharisees. Because Gehenna
does not literally have sons, this is a figure of speech and not intended to be taken
literally not in this life or after death. James and John are called "sons of thunder" [Mark
3:17]. Thunder did not give birth to them, but a part of their character is similar to
thunder. "And if a son of peace be there" [Luke 10:6], "Son of exhortation" [Acts 4:36],
"Sons of disobedience" [Ephesians 2:2], "The son of destruction" [2 Thessalonians 2:3].
"The child of anything in Hebrew phraseology expressed the idea of special property which one
has in the thing specified, as, for instance, children of disobedience [Eph. ii. 2]" J W McGarvey,
Matthew 8:11, The Fourfold Gospel, Standard Publishing Company, 1914.
This metaphor is taken from the filth and uncleanness of Gehenna. Although this
passage is repeatedly used to prove eternal torment after death, there is nothing
about any torment in it, not in this lifetime or after death.
In the same address to the Scribes and Pharisees Christ gives two more examples of
their uncleanness.
1. They washed the outside of the cup to make it clean "but within they are full from
extortion and excess. You blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of
the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also" [Matthew 23:25-26].
2. They were like whitewashed graves "which appear beautiful, but inwardly are
full of dead man's bones, and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear
righteous unto men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity" [Matthew
23:27-28]. Matthew 23:13-39 is a list of seven woes to the Scribes and Pharisees.
"Twofold more a son of Gehenna"
Matthew 23:15 is the second of the seven woes on the Scribes and Pharisees [Matthew
23:13-39].
1. Shut the kingdom of heaven against men and enter not in [Matthew 23:13-14].
2. Made their proselytes twofold more a son of Gehenna than them selves
[Matthew 23:15].
3. To swear by the temple is nothing [Matthew 23:16-22].
4. Left undone the weightier matters [Matthew 23: 23-24].
5. Within they are full of hypocrisy and iniquity, cleaned only the outside of the cup
[Matthew 23:25-26].
6. Are whitewashed tombs full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness [Matthew
23:17-28].
7. Are sons and partakers with their fathers that slew the prophets. "How shall
you escape the judgment of Gehenna"? [Matthew 23:29-39].
[2] JUDGMENT OF GEHENNA: Matthew 23:33-36 "Fill you up then the measure
of your fathers. You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how shall you escape the
judgment of hell [Greek-Gehenna]? Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and
wise men, and Scribes: some of them shall you kill and crucify; and some of them shall
you scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city: that upon you may come
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all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the
blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you slew between the sanctuary and the
altar. Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation." Christ
had just told the Scribes and Pharisees they made their proselytes more a "SON of
Gehenna" more unclean than themselves; then He calls them "offspring [SONS of]
vipers," and "all these things (all the righteous blood from Abel to Zechariah) shall
come upon this generation." Matthew 23 is a discourse about the Scribes and the
Pharisees; many take one word of this discourse out of it context, then change one noun
to another noun, which is not in the Bible.
The Scribes and Pharisees knew the law, but did not keep it. Outwardly they were as
beautiful as white sepulchers, but inwardly were full of dead man's bones. They would
not escape the judgment to come. "Verily I say unto you, all these things SHALL
COME UPON THIS GENERATION" [Matthew 23:36]. Matthew 24 is a discourse to
His disciples about the destruction of Israel of which He had spoken of to the Pharisees in
the chapter before. That generation would not escape the judgment of Gehenna. It
came in A. D. 70 when some historians say Gehenna was filled with the dead bodies of
Jews from the destruction of Jerusalem [See Jeremiah 19]. To the Jews, to be left
unburied, to be judged as not being fit to be buried and thrown into the city dump just as
they were doing to those they judged as being unfit to be buried was the worse of all
insult. It was the most severe judgment of contempt upon a criminal known to the Jews.
In the judgment soon to come upon them Josephus said six hundred thousand dead bodies
of the Jews were carried out of Jerusalem and lift unburied.
"Condemnation," "damnation," and "damned"
Of the King James Version
The seventh woe of this lecture and warning to the Scribes and Pharisees is about the
judgment coming to them and on Israel. Why did the King James translators change
“THE JUDGMENT [krisis] OF GEHENNA” INTO “THE DAMNATION [krisis] OF
HELL” [Matthew 23:33]?
1. “Judgment of Gehenna” for Israel is changed to:
2. “Damnation of Hell” for all that “shall come upon this generation” [Matthew 23:36].
Krisis is used in the New Testament 48 times and translated "judgment" 41 times,
"damnation" 3 times, condemnation 2 times, accusation 2 times in the King James
Version. Did they think that if they put damnation with Hell that it would make the threat
of Hell stronger? Krisis should have never been translated damnation or condemnation.
In the American Standard Version Krisis is translated "judgment" 47 times, and "sin" one
time in Mark 3:29.
THE RESURRECTION OF DAMNATION [krisis] (KJV), JUDGMENT [krisis]
(ASV). "The resurrection of judgment (krisis)" [John 5:29] says nothing about an eternal
life of torment in Hell after the judgment although this passage is continually used to
prove eternal torment. The verdict of the judgment, if it be death, eternal life with
torment, or what ever it maybe, the verdict of the judgment is not in this passage. In an
attempt to put Hell in the Bible, the translators of the King James Version changed the
judgment and made it be the verdict of the judgment and made the verdict be what they
needed it to be.
John 5:29
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• "Unto the resurrection of damnation [krisis]" King James Version, New King
James Version.
• "Unto the resurrection of judgment [krisis]" American Standard Version
John 5:24
• "Shall not come into condemnation [krisis]" King James Version
• "Shall not come into judgment [krisis]" New King James Version, American
Standard Version
Matthew 23:33
• "Escape the damnation [krisis]" King James Version, New King James Version
• "Escape the judgment [krisis]" American Standard Version
John 3:19
• "And this is the condemnation [krisis]" King James Version, New King James
Version
• "And this is the judgment [krisis]" American Standard Version
If "krisis" means "damnation" then we are all in trouble for "It is appointed unto men
once to die, and after this comes damnation judgment (krisis)" [Hebrews 9:27]; judgment
will come to all, both the saved and the lost, but not damnation. When it is applied only
to the lost the King James translators translated "krisis" condemnation, but when it is
applied to all [Hebrews 9:27] they translated "krisis" judgment. Just one more example of
how they were willing to mistranslate to put "Hell" into the Bible. The American
Standard Version and most others do not translate "krisis" into condemnation or
damnation. TWO WORDS HAD TO BE CHANGED IN MATTHEW 23:33 TO PUT
TODAY'S HELL IN THE BIBLE. "JUDGMENT" HAD TO BE CHANGED TO
"DAMNATION" AND "GEHENNA" HAD TO BE CHANGED TO "HELL."
NO ROOT, NO BRANCH, NO HOPE OF LIFE FOR ISRAEL. Foy E. Wallace, Jr. said, "The prophet
declares that 'the day shall burn as an oven' and 'it shall burn them up'--a pronouncement against
the Jewish nation and governments that rejected and condemned the Christ, and persecuted his
saints. The advent of the Messiah would be 'the coming of the great and dreadful day of the
Lord'" "God's Prophetic Word," Page 545.
Krino is translated judge, judged, 86 times in the King James Version, damned 1 time,
condemn 1 time, condemned 2 times, condemneth 1 time in the King James Version.
John 3:17-18
• “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn [krino] the world; but that
the world through him might be save. He that believeth on him is not condemned
[krino]: but he that believeth not is condemned [krino] already” King James
Version.
• “For God sent not the Son into the world to judge [krino] the world: but that the
world should be saved through him. He that believeth on him is not judged
[krino]: he that believeth not has been judged [krino] already” American
Standard Version.
Romans 14:22
• “Happy is he that condemneth [krino] not himself” King James Version.
• “Happy is he that judgeth [krino] not himself” American Standard Version.
2 Thessalonians 2:12
• “That they all might de damned [krino]” King James Version.
• “That they all might be judged” American Standard Version.
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Condemnation, damnation, and damned were all taken out of the American Standard
Version and most others. How many millions have been made to believe a lie by this
deliberate changing of the Bible?
The language of judgment on nations in the Old Testament that the Jews would have
been acquainted with. Malachi 4:1. Malachi's pronouncement is against the Jewish
nation. "For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and
every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze, says the
Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root not branch" [Malachi 4:1]. Job says
when a tree is cut down there is hope that the root will sprout [Job 14:8]; there is hope of
life. In the last chapter in the Old Testament of our English Bible Malachi says Israel will
not be left a root to sprout a branch or a branch to sprout roots, therefore, there will be no
hope for life.
Summary: JUST AS EVERY REFERENCE TO GEHENNA IN THE OLD
TESTAMENT IS TO A PLACE ON THIS EARTH, TO THE VALLEY SOUTH OF
JERUSALEM AND IS NEVER TRANSLATED "HELL." EVERY REFERENCE TO
GEHENNA BY CHRIST IS ALSO TO THE SAME PLACE ON THIS EARTH. IN
THE FOUR OCCASIONS THAT GEHENNA IS USED, NOT IN A ONE IS
GEHENNA SAID TO BE ETERNAL OR EVERLASTING, NOT ONCE IS THERE
ANY TORMENT OF LIVING PERSONS IN IT, AND NOT ONCE IS IT USED IN
CONNECTION WITH THE RESURRECTION, BUT TODAY PREACHERS MOST
ALWAYS ADD EVERLASTING AND SAY IT WILL NEVER END. HOW DO THEY
KNOW THIS? NONE OF THE APOSTLES EVER PREACH ANYTHING ABOUT
GEHENNA. IF IT WERE A PLACE OF TORMENT WHERE GOD SHALL
TORMENT ALL THE LOST, WHY DID THEY NEVER SAY ANYTHING
ABOUT IT? THEY USED DEATH, DESTROY, DESTROYED, PERISH, DIE,
AND END; BUT NEVER "HELL."
AND ONE TIME BY JAMES
TO THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL
SET ON FIRE BY GEHENNA James 3:6 "And the tongue is a fire; the world of
iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire
the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by hell [Greek-Gehenna]." James used the same
proper noun [the name of a particular place] that Christ used, but he used it as Christ did
in Matthew 23:15 as a metaphor of uncleanness. The tongue is a fire and is set on fire by
Gehenna-the filthy, contemptible garbage dump. Most who are given to gossip look for
some filthy rotten garbage on someone, and then cannot wait to tell it. James did not use
Gehenna to teach the Jews about what was going to happen them after death if they
rejected Christ. To say "The tongue is set on fire by the place of eternal torment after the
judgment," which is what many teach, makes no sense. This metaphor is not taken from
the destruction by the fire and maggots in Gehenna; but it is a metaphor taken from the
filth and uncleanness of Gehenna. There is nothing about torment or destruction in it,
and nothing about after death. The tongue is a fire now in this lifetime. To make Hell be a
literal place not of this earth that sets on fire a literal tongue of a living person on this
earth would somehow make that person's tongue be in contact with a place that is not on
this earth. Gehenna is a place of corruption, which was figuratively applied to a vile
tongue.
| KJV | ASV NASV RSV NRSV*| OTHERS**
226
MATTHEW 5:22, 29, 30_ | HELL | HELL FOOTNOTE-GREEK GEHENNA| GEHENNA
MATTHEW 10:28 | HELL | HELL FOOTNOTE-GREEK GEHENNA| GEHENNA
MT 18:9 MK 9:43,44,45| HELL | HELL FOOTNOTE-GREEK GEHENNA| GEHENNA
MATTHEW 23:15, 33 | HELL | HELL FOOTNOTE-GREEK GEHENNA| GEHENNA
LUKE 12:5 | HELL | HELL FOOTNOTE-GREEK GEHENNA| GEHENNA
JAMES 3:6 | HELL | HELL FOOTNOTE-GREEK GEHENNA| GEHENNA
The American Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard
Version, and others have a footnote "Gr. Gehenna."
**New American Bible (Catholic), World English Bible, Young's Literal New
Testament (author of "Young's Analytical Concordance"), Wesley's New Testament
(founder of Methodist Church), Christian Bible 1991, and many more have "Gehenna" in
the text as it should be as a Proper Noun (the name of a particular place). The Amplified
Bible has it as an insert in the text: "Hell (Gehenna) of fire."
THE TRANSLATION OF GEHENNA IN SEVEN TRANSLATIONS
[1] YOUNG'S LITERAL BIBLE (1891) AUTHOR OF "YOUNG'S ANALYTICAL CONCORDANCE TO THE BIBLE"
FIRST OCCASION, IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
MATTHEW 5:22 - GEHENNA OF THE FIRE - MATTHEW 5:29 – GEHENNA - MATTHEW 5:30 - GEHENNA
SECOND OCCASION, IN A LESSON TO THE TWELVE DISCIPLES
MATTHEW 10:28 - DESTROY IN GEHENNA - LUKE 12:5 - GEHENNA
THIRD OCCASION, IN ANOTHER LESSON TO HIS DISCIPLES
MATTHEW 18:9 - GEHENNA OF THE FIRE - MARK 9:43 – GEHENNA - MARK 9:44------- MARK 9:45 - GEHENNA
FOURTH OCCASION, TO THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES
MATTHEW 23:15 - SON OF GEHENNA - MATTHEW 23:33 - GEHENNA
AND ONE TIME BY JAMES, TO THE TWELVE TRIBES - JAMES 3:6 - SET OF FIRE BY THE GEHENNA
[2] WESLEY'S NEW TESTAMENT (1755) THE ORIGINAL EDITION BY WESLEY, THE FOUNDER OF METHODIST CHURCH, NOT THE UPDATED EDITIONS THAT WERE MADE LATER BY
OTHERS.
FIRST OCCASION, IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
MATTHEW 5:22 – GEHENNA - MATTHEW 5:29 – GEHENNA - MATTHEW 5:30 - GEHENNA
SECOND OCCASION, IN A LESSON TO THE TWELVE DISCIPLES
MATTHEW 10:28 – GEHENNA- LUKE 12:5 - GEHENNA
THIRD OCCASION, IN ANOTHER LESSON TO HIS DISCIPLES
MATTHEW 18:9 – GEHENNA -MARK 9:43 – GEHENNA - MARK 9:44 – GEHENNA - MARK 9:45 - GEHENNA
FOURTH OCCASION, TO THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES
MATTHEW 23:15 – GEHENNA - MATTHEW 23:33 - GEHENNA
AND ONE TIME BY JAMES, TO THE TWELVE TRIBES - JAMES 3:6 - GEHENNA
[3] WEYMOUTH NEW TESTAMENT (1903)
FIRST OCCASION, IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
MATTHEW 5:22 - GEHENNA OF FIRE - MATTHEW 5:29 – GEHENNA - MATTHEW 5:30 - GEHENNA
SECOND OCCASION, IN A LESSON TO THE TWELVE DISCIPLES
MATTHEW 10:28 – GEHENNA- -LUKE 12:5 - GEHENNA
THIRD OCCASION, IN ANOTHER LESSON TO HIS DISCIPLES
MATTHEW 18:9 - GEHENNA OF FIRE - MARK 9:43 – GEHENNA - MARK 9:44------- MARK 9:45 - GEHENNA
FOURTH OCCASION, TO THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES
MATTHEW 23:15 - SON OF GEHENNA - MATTHEW 23:33 - GEHENNA
AND ONE TIME BY JAMES, TO THE TWELVE TRIBES - JAMES 3:6 - SET OF FIRE BY GEHENNA
[4] THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE (1991) (CATHOLIC)
FIRST OCCASION, IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
MATTHEW 5:22 - WHOEVER SAYS, 'YOU FOOL,' WILL BE LIABLE TO FIERY GEHENNA
MATTHEW 5:29 - BETTER TO LOSE PART OF YOU BODY THAN HAVE IT ALL CAST INTO GEHENNA
MATTHEW 5:30 - BETTER TO LOSE PART OF YOU BODY THAN HAVE IT ALL CAST INTO GEHENNA
SECOND OCCASION, IN A LESSON TO THE TWELVE DISCIPLES
MATTHEW 10:28 GEHENNA
LUKE 12:5 - FEAR HIM WHO HAS POWER TO CAST INTO GEHENNA AFTER HE HAS KILLED
THIRD OCCASION, IN ANOTHER LESSON TO HIS DISCIPLES
MATTHEW 18:9 - BETTER TO ENTER LIFE WITH ONE EYE THAN BE THROWN WITH BOTH INTO FIERY GEHENNA
MARK 9:43 - BETTER FOR YOU TO ENTER LIFE MAIMED THAN TO KEEP BOTH HANDS AND ENTER GEHENNA WITH ITS UNQUENCHABLE FIRE
MARK 9:44 - BETTER FOR YOU TO ENTER LIFE CRIPPLED THAN TO BE THROWN INTO GEHENNA WITH BOTH FEET
MARK 9:45 - BETTER FOR YOU TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD WITH ONE EYE THAN TO BE THROWN WITH BOTH EYES INTO GEHENNA
FOURTH OCCASION, TO THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES
MATTHEW 23:15 -------- MATTHEW 23:33 - GEHENNA
AND ONE TIME BY JAMES, TO THE TWELVE TRIBES - JAMES 3:6 - AND ITS FIRE IS KINDLED BY HELL
[5] THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE (1991
FIRST OCCASION, IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
MATTHEW 5:22 - THE GEHENNA OF FIRE - MATTHEW 5:29 - YOUR WHOLE BODY SHOULD BE THROWN INTO GEHENNA - MATTHEW 5:30 - YOUR
WHOLE BODY SHOULD PASS AWAY INTO GEHENNA
SECOND OCCASION, IN A LESSON TO THE TWELVE DISCIPLES
MATTHEW 10:28 - AND THE BODY IN GEHENNA - LUKE 12:5 - GEHENNA
227
THIRD OCCASION, IN ANOTHER LESSON TO HIS DISCIPLES
MATTHEW 18:9 - THEN TO HAVE TWO EYES AND TO BE THROWN INTO THE GEHENNA OF FIRE
MARK 9:43 – GEHENNA - MARK 9:44------- - MARK 9:45 - THROWN INTO GEHENNA
FOURTH OCCASION, TO THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES
MATTHEW 23:15 - A SON OF GEHENNA - MATTHEW 23:33 - GEHENNA
AND ONE TIME BY JAMES, TO THE TWELVE TRIBES - JAMES 3:6 - THE TONGUE...IS SET OF FIRE BY GEHENNA
[6] WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE
FIRST OCCASION, IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
MATTHEW 5:22 - SHALL BE IN DANGER OF THE FIRE OF GEHENNA
MATTHEW 5:29 THAN FOR YOUR WHOLE BODY TO BE CAST INTO GEHENNA
MATTHEW 5:30 - AND NOT YOUR WHOLE BODY BE CAST INTO GEHENNA
SECOND OCCASION, IN A LESSON TO THE TWELVE DISCIPLES
MATTHEW 10:28 - ABLE TO DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND BODY IN GEHENNA - LUKE 12:5 - GEHENNA
THIRD OCCASION, IN ANOTHER LESSON TO HIS DISCIPLES
MATTHEW 18:9 - THAN HAVING TWO EYES TO BE CAST INTO THE GEHENNA OF FIRE
MARK 9:43 – GEHENNA - MARK 9:45 – GEHENNA - MARK 9:47 - GEHENNA OF FIRE
FOURTH OCCASION, TO THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES
MATTHEW 23:15 - YOU MAKE HIM TWICE AS MUCH OF A SON OF GEHENNA AS YOURSELVES
MATTHEW 23:33 - HOW WILL YOU ESCAPE THE JUDGMENT OF GEHENNA?
AND ONE TIME BY JAMES, TO THE TWELVE TRIBES
JAMES 3:6 - THE TONGUE IS A FIRE...AND IS SET ON FIRE BY GEHENNA
[7] PHILLIPS NEW TESTAMENT (1952)
FIRST OCCASION, IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
MATTHEW 5:22 - FIRE OF DESTRUCTION - MATTHEW 5:29 - RUBBISH-HEAP - MATTHEW 5:30 - RUBBISH-HEAP
SECOND OCCASION, IN A LESSON TO THE TWELVE DISCIPLES
MATTHEW 10:28 - FIRE OF DESTRUCTION - LUKE 12:5 - THROW YOU INTO DESTRUCTION
THIRD OCCASION, IN ANOTHER LESSON TO HIS DISCIPLES
MATTHEW 18:9 - FIRE OF THE RUBBISH-HEAP - MARK 9:43 - GO TO THE RUBBISH-HEAP - MARK 9:44 - THROWN ON TO THE RUBBISH-HEAP - MARK
9:45 - THROWN ON TO THE RUBBISH-HEAP
FOURTH OCCASION, TO THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES
MATTHEW 23:15 - RIPE FOR DESTRUCTION - MATTHEW 23:33 - FIRE OF DESTRUCTION
AND ONE TIME BY JAMES, TO THE TWELVE TRIBES
JAMES 3:6 - IT CAN SET THE WHOLE OF LIFE ABLAZE, FED WITH THE FIRES OF HELL
[8] THERE ARE ALSO MANY OTHER TRANSLATIONS THAT DO NOT HAVE "HELL" IN THEM.
THE NEW TESTAMENT IN MODERN ENGLISH" BY J. B. PHILLIPS SAYS, "AND GO TO THE RUBBISH-HEAP WHERE THE FIRE NEVER DIES" (MARK 9:43); AND "THROWN ON THE
RUBBISH-HEAP, WHERE DECAY NEVER STOPS AND THE FIRE NEVER GOES OUT" (MARK 9:49). ALSO MATTHEW 5:29, 18:9, MARK 9:47, "FIRE OF DESTRUCTION" IN MATTHEW 5:22,
10:28, 32:33, LUKE 12:5. HE LEAVES OUT "GEHENNA," A NAME OF A PARTICULAR PLACE; AND PUTS WHAT JERUSALEM'S GEHENNA WAS TO THE PEOPLE OF THAT TIME TO MAKE IT
WHERE PEOPLE TODAY WILL UNDERSTAND THE SAME THING THE JEWS CHRIST WAS SPEAKING TO WOULD HAVE UNDERSTAND. MANY TODAY WOULD NOT KNOW THAT GEHENNA
WAS THE RUBBISH-HEAP OF JERUSALEM. THIS IS NOT A TRANSLATION OF THE GREEK, BUT IT IS A GOOD COMMENTARY. HE TRANSLATED "GEHENNA" INTO HELL ONLY ONE TIME
(JAMES 3:6). THIS IS THE ONLY TIME HELL IS IN HIS TRANSLATION, AND SHOWS HE BELIEVED IN HELL, BUT KNOWS THE GREEK MANUSCRIPTS DID NOT HAVE IT.
DID JESUS SAY MORE ABOUT HELL THAN HEAVEN?
It has been said so often by many preachers that Jesus said more about Hell than He
did about Heaven. Is this the truth or a lie that has been told so many times by preachers
that many believe it without questioning it? The truth is that without mistranslating to
make Jesus say something He or any New Testament writers did not say, there is not one
word about Hell in the Bible. Although they said nothing about Hell they did say much
about Heaven. Although Hell is not in the Bible, Heaven is hundreds of times referring to
Heaven it’s self, the kingdom of Heaven, and to the universe – the heavens. The claim
that Christ said more about Hell than He did about Heaven IS NOT TRUE and is only a
desperate attempt to prove Hell.
• A PLACE IN HEAVEN "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it
were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I
am, there you may be also” [John 14:12].
• OUR TREASURES ARE IN HEAVEN Matthew 6:20; 10:21; 19:21; Luke 18:22
• OUR CITIZENSHIP IS IN HEAVEN Philippians 3:20-21
• RESERVED IN HEAVEN FOR US 1 Peter 1:4; Matthew 6:20; 19:21; Mark
12:25; Luke 6:23
228
THE VANISHING HELL
TRANSLATIONS ARE GETTING AWAY FROM HELL
The King James Version and the New King James Version ARE THE ONLY TWO
OF THE MAJOR TRANSLATIONS THAT HAVE HELL IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
ALL OTHERS HAVE ABANDONED IT AS A BAD TRANSLATION. Hell is rapidly
vanishing from the Bible. It has vanished from the Old Testament in most conservative
translations. Moses or Abraham did not know about it. It has all but vanished from the
New Testament in the conservative translations, and has vanished altogether in many.
Even in the 31 times Hell is in the King James Version, in 12 of these, the New King
James Version changed Hell in the King James Version to sheol (from 31 times to 19
times). Were the translators trying to ease away but were afraid to go to far?
THE VANISHING HELL: WHY IS THE NUMBER OF TIMES HELL IS USED
DECREASING? TRANSLATORS CANNOT AGREE ON HOW MANY TIMES TO
MISTRANSLATE IT.
NUMBER OF TIMES HELL IS USED IN - - - THE BIBLE | THE O.T.| THE N. T.
THE WYCLIFFE BIBLE (1395) 83 TIMES | 57 TIMES | 26 TIMES
MILES COVERDALE BIBLE (1535) 70 TIMES | 50 TIMES | 23 TIMES
THE BISHOP'S BIBLE (1568) 59 TIMES | 35 TIMES | 24 TIMES
THE GENEVA BIBLE (1587) 36 TIMES | 16 TIMES | 20 TIMES
THE ORIGINAL KING JAMES VERSION(1611) 52 TIMES| 30 TIMES | 22 TIMES
KING JAMES VERSION 54 TIMES | 31 TIMES | 23 TIMES
THE KING JAMES VERSION HAS HAD SEVERAL REVERSIONS AND THE ONE THAT IS USED TODAY IS NOT THE ORIGINAL
1611 VERSION; IT IS THE LAST OF SEVERAL REVISIONS.
WESTSTER BIBLE (1611) 49 TIMES | 26 TIMES | 23 TIMES
NEW KING JAMES VERSION (1982) 32 TIMES | 19 TIMES | 13 TIMES
YOUNG'S LITERAL BIBLE (1891) 0 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 0 TIMES
AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION (1901) 13 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 13 TIMES
NEW AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION (1960) 13 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 13 TIMES
REVISED STANDARD VERSION (1946) 13 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 13 TIMES
DERBY TRANSLATION (1890-1961) 12 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 12 TIMES
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (1987) 14 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 14 TIMES
AMPLIFIED BIBLE (1987) 15 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 15 TIMES*
NEW CENTURY VERSION (1987) 12 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 12 TIMES
NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION (1989) 13 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 13 TIMES
REVISED ENGLISH BIBLE (1989) 28 TIMES | 15 TIMES | 13 TIMES
CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH VERSION (1995) 20 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 20 TIMES
NEW LIVING TRANSLATION (1996) 19 TIMES | 2 TIMES | 17 TIMES
ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION (2001) 14 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 14 TIMES
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION - UK 14 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 14 TIMES
TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION 13 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 13 TIMES
HOLMAN CHRISTIAN STANDARD BIBLE(2003) 11 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 11 TIMES
UPDATE BIBLE VERSION 1 9 (2003) 12 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 12 TIMES
PESHITTA - LAMSA TRANSLATION 12 TIMES | 1 TIME | 11 TIMES
ROTHERHAM EMPHASIZED (1902) 0 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 0 TIMES
FENTON'S BIBLE IN MODERN ENGLISH(1903) 0 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 0 TIMES
NEW AMERICAN BIBLE (CATHOLIC) (1991) 0 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 0 TIMES
WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE (CATHOLIC) 0 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 0 TIMES
HEBREW NAMES VERSION OF WEB 0 TIMES | 0 TIMES | 0 TIMES
DANIEL MACE NEW TESTAMENT (1729) 3 TIMES
WESLEY' N T (THE ORIGINAL, NOT SOME UPDATED EDITIONS)(1755) 0 TIMES
SCARLETT'S NEW TESTAMENT (1798) 0 TIMES
THE NEW TESTAMENT IN GREEK AND ENGLISH (KNEELAND) (1823) 0 TIMES
NEW COVENANT, NEW TESTAMENT (1884) 0 TIMES
SCRIVENRE NEW TESTAMENT (1884) 0 TIMES
HANSON'S NEW COVENANT (1884) 0 TIMES
TWENTIETH CENTURY NEW TESTAMENT (1900) 0 TIMES
ROTHERHAM'S EMPHASIZED BIBLE (REPRINTED) (1902) 0 TIMES
FENTON'S HOLY BIBLE IN MODERN ENGLISH (1903) 0 TIMES
WEYMOUTH'S NEW TESTAMENT IN MODERN SPEECH (1903) 0 TIMES
PANIN'S NUMERIC ENGLISH NEW TESTAMENT (1914) 0 TIMES
THE PEOPLE'S NEW COVENANT (OVERBURY) (1925) 0 TIMES
WESTERN NEW TESTAMENT (1926) 0 TIMES
THE NEW TESTAMENT, A TRANSLATION (CLEMENTSON) (1938) 0 TIMES
J B PHILLIPS NEW TESTAMENT IN MODERN ENGLISH (1947) 1 TIMES
229
NEW TESTAMENT OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR ANOINTED(TOMANEK) (1958) 0 TIMES
WESTERN NEW TESTAMENT (1959) 0 TIMES
RESTORATION OF ORIGINAL SACRED NAME BIBLE (1976) 0 TIMES
THE NEW TESTAMENT, A NEW TRANSLATION (GREBER) (1980) 0 TIMES
CONCORDANCE LITERAL NEW TESTAMENT (1983) 0 TIMES
CHRISTIAN BIBLE, NEW TESTAMENT (1991) 0 TIMES
RECOVERY VERSION, NEW TESTAMENT (1991) 0 TIMES
NEW TESTAMENT OF OUR LORD AND SAVOR JESUS ANOINTED 0 TIMES
THE ORIGINAL BIBLE PROJECT (DR TABOR) 0 TIMES
INTERLINEAR GREEK-ENGLISH NEW TESTAMENT(NOTE A)(BERRY)(1897) 0 TIMES
EMPHATIC DIAGLOTT, GREEK/ENGLISH INTERLINEAR (WILSON) (1942) 0 TIMES
ZONDERVAN PARALLEL N T IN GREEK AND ENGLISH (NOTE A)(1975) 0 TIMES
NASB-NIV PARALLEL N T IN GREEK AND ENGLISH(MARSHALL)(1986) 0 TIMES
INTERLINEAR NASB-NIV PARALLEL NT GREEK-ENGLISH(NOTE A)(1993)0 TIMES
JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY BIBLE OLD TESTAMENT(NOTE B)(1917) 0 TIMES
TANAKH, THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, OLD TESTAMENT (NOTE B)(1985) 0 TIMES
THE COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE (NOTE B) 0 TIMES
THE SEPTUAGINT-TRANSLATION OF HEBREW TO GREEK 3RD CENTURY BC 0 TIMES
*12 times the Amplified Bible has "Hell (Gehenna)" in the text, not in a footnote.
Note A. The word-for-word translations beneath the Greek, not the translations in
the margin.
Note B. All Jewish translations I found of the Old Testament do not have "Hell" in
them. It is not in the Septuagint, a translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew to
Greek that was in used in the time of Christ.
I find it strange that the Catholic Church believes in Hell, but they removed Hell from
two translations they made.
I have been told that there is a NWT translation by the Jehovah's Witnesses that do not
have "Hell" in it, but I could not confirm this. I am sure there are many others that I do
not know about in English, and there are many in other languages for Gehenna, like all
other proper nouns, is seldom translated or changed to another proper noun in the
translations in other languages.
ONE EXAMPLE OF THE VANISHING HELL Psalms 116:3.
• "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of HELL gat hold upon me: I
found trouble and sorrow." King James Version.
• "The pains of death encompassed me, and the pangs of SHEOL laid hold of me"
New King James Version.
• "The cord of death compassed me, and the pains of SHEOL gat hole upon me"
American Standard Version.
• "The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of SHEOL laid hold on me"
Revised Standard Version.
• "The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the GRAVE came upon me"
New International Version.
• "Death had its hands around my throat; the terrors of the GRAVE overtook me"
New Living Translation.
• "The cords of death bound me, SHEOL held me in its grip" Revised English
Bible.
• "The cords and sorrows of death were around me, and the terrors of SHEOL [the
place of the dead] had laid hold of me" Amplified Bible.
• "The ropes of death bound me, and the fear of the GRAVE took hold of me" New
Century Bible.
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU HEARD A SERMON OF HELL? There was a
time when most every revival had one or more sermons on the horrors of the Hell that
most were going to. Most every sermon ended with a warning that all that did not repent
was going to Hell. Jonathan Edwards was well known for his “Hell-fire” sermons. These
"Hellfire" preachers are not as poplar as they once were and their audience is much
230
smaller. Today in most churches a sermon on Hell is never preached and no one is told he
or she will go to Hell if they do not repent. Although there are many who do not believe
in Hell and other that are no longer sure that there is a Hell why do many say nothing
about it in their sermons and Bible lessons?
• A preacher may think he would not be allowed to preach and most would not.
Many churches would brand him a heretic and he would not be able to preach in
most churches.
• Elders and Deacons would not be allowed to continue as Elders and Deacons.
• Bible teachers would not be permitted to teach.
• Members would not be permitted to lead singing, lead prayer, or do anything in
the worship service.
About all that anyone who does not believe in Hell is permitted to do in most churches
is come and sit and give their money; you will be shut out and not be permitted to lead
prayer or take part in the worship in any way but no matter what you believe you will be
permitted and even expected to give your money. Along with many others I can tell you
for a fact that this is sure to happen in most congregations of the church.
THE VANISHING HELL
THE CHANGING HELL
Why are there many conflicting Hells? In “Four Views of Hell” William Grocket
gives four different and conflicting views of Hell by four top of the line orthodox
Protestant scholars that are now being taught in the Protestant churches. In “Two Views
Of Hell” Robert A. Peterson and William Fudge give two competing views. These two
books show that there are very different competing views about Hell in the Protestant
churches, but in true there are many more than four very different conflicting views in
Protestant and Catholic churches, all with a large number of believers, and many more
views in other churches. ANY VIEW A PERSON MAY HAVE, ALL THAT BELIEVE
THE SAME VIEW IS IN A SMALL GROUP WHEN COMPARED WITH ALL THAT
ARE IN ALL OTHER GROUP. NOT ONE OF THE MANY VIEWS OF HELL HAS
EVEN ONE-FIFTH OF ALL THOSE THAT CLAIM TO BELIEVE THE BIBLE. The
divisions on what Hell is and who will be in it is unbelievable, and most who say they
believe in Hell has no idea of the vast number of the visions of Hell, or the unbelievable
differences in what Hell is believed to be, how long it will last, who will be in it, and
where it will be.
TWENTH-FOUR PLUS VERSIONS OF HELL
THREE CATHOLIC VERSIONS OF HELL
1. The Dark Age Catholic version of Hell
2. The New Catholic version of Hell
3. Nether World
SOME OF THE MANY DIVISIONS OF THE PROTESTANT VERSIONS OF HELL
The Jonathan Edwards version
1. The Graphic view of Hell
2. Satan doing the tormenting
3. God doing the tormenting
4. The Metaphorical view of both Heaven and Hell
5. Mental anguish only Hell - Billy Graham
231
6. C. S Lewis - the almost pleasant Hell
7. Protestant Traditionalist
8. Many Protestant Premillennial versions
9. Realized Eschatology – A. D. 70 version
10. Protestant Rephaim version
EIGHT OTHER VERSIONS OF HELL
1. Church of Christ, Christian Church Abraham’s bosom after Judgment Hell, A
newer version
2. Edward Fudge version: The short Hell
3. Christadelphians version
4. Church of God and others
5. Universalist version of Hell
6. Seventh-Day Advent version
7. Latter-day Saints version [Mormons]
8. The Grave is Hell version [Jehovah's Witnesses]
NO BIBLE HELL
WHICH HELL DO YOU BELIEVE IN?
FROM WHERE DID HELL COME?
How Hell was put into and is being kept in the Bible
THREE CATHOLIC VERSIONS OF HELL
[1] The Medieval Dark Age Catholic version of Hell: The soul being immortal
came from Greek philosophy, and was brought into the church by some of the church
fathers, by Augustine more then most others. The doctrine of Hell came soon after the
immortal soul doctrine along with Purgatory, the sale of indulgences, Limbo, worship of
Mary and saints, Nether World, Holy Water, the rosary, forbidding Priest to marry, the
crucifix, Monks and Nuns, forbidding eating of meat on Friday, and many other teaching;
and was fully developed by the Dark Age Catholic Church before the Protestant
Reformation. I have found it difficult to pen down just what is the official teaching. It
seems to be that in the past they believed that only a very few, the very bad, will go to
Hell, which is a real place, at their death with no judgment, most go to Purgatory at death.
A few of the very good will go to Heaven at their death with no judgment [an instant
rapture]. At death most Catholic will go immediately to Purgatory, which seems to be a
limited version of Hell, unto they have suffered enough to pay for their sins or unto their
love ones have paid all they can, then they go to Heaven. How long a person will be in
Purgatory is sometimes taught to be a short time and sometimes millions of years to those
who have no one to win indulgences for them. It has brought enormous wealth to the rich
Catholic Church from the poor who paid what little they had and even done without food
to help a loved one. The Catholic Purgatory gives no hope for heathens, heretics, or the
unbaptized.
[2] The new Catholic version of Hell:
Pope John II, "Hell is not a punishment imposed externally by God, but the condition resulting
from attitudes and actions which people adopt in this life...So eternal damnation is not God's
work but is actually our own doing...More than a physical place, Hell is the state of those who
freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy." In a
statement made to his general audience, July 28, 1999.
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There are other high up Catholics who have made statements like this one but I see no
use in adding more when you have the top dog in the Catholic Church. Maybe this is why
two of their Bible English translations do not have the word "Hell" in them, and who
knows how many other Catholics translations in other languages do not; however,
because it has been the official doctrine for centuries and the decrees of councils and
Popes, the Roman Catholic Church cannot officially not teach Hell is a place of eternal
torment without giving up completely her claim of infallibility. Protestantism has not
made this claim of infallibility and many are giving Hell up.
[3] THE NETHER WORLD: IS THIS A NEW (third) CATHOLIC VERSION
OF HELL? More and more in today's writing, The Neither World is being used as if it is
a Bible place that is clearly taught in the Bible; but I have yet to read where anyone told
where it is in the Bible. Do both the Nether World and Abraham's bosom now exists at
the same time? If so, how are they different? I have heard the same preachers preach one
at one time and the other at another time. The American Heritage Dictionary says,
“NETHER, Located beneath or below; lower or under: the nether regions of the earth.”
Where did this world that is located beneath or under this world come from? It is
not in the Bible, therefore, how anyone know about it? It came from the Catholic Church.
Like Hell, they mistranslated it from hades to get it into the Bible. BOTH HELL AND
NETHER WORLD WERE MISTRANSLATED FROM THE SAME WORD (HADES)
AND BOTH FROM THE SAME PASSAGE. See Acts 2:27 New American Bible "for
you will not abandon my soul to the Nether World." Also Psalms 16:10 etc. THE
NETHER WORLD IS A NEW NAME BEING PUT INTO THE BIBLE BY THE SAME
PEOPLE (the Catholic Church) WHO PUT HELL INTO IT, AND IT IS BEING PUT
INTO THE BIBLE IN THE SAME WAY, BY MISTRANSLATING THE SAME
WORD THEY MISTRANSLATED TO PUT IN HELL.
1. First: hades was mistranslated Hell in Catholic translations
2. Second: the same word in the same passage is now mistranslated Nether World in
some Catholic translations.
IT WORKED FOR THEM THE FIRST TIME, SO THEY TRIED IT A SECOND
TIME. When they need to prove Hell, they use one mistranslation; and when they need to
prove the Nether World, they use another mistranslation of the same word in the same
passage.
The Nether World and Universalist version of Hell, the "age lasting" Hell are very
singular in many ways. Both have those who are not worthy of being in Heaven going
through some kind of punishment but will end up in Heaven. The main different is that
some in the Nether World are to evil to ever be saved and will always be tormented by
God but in the Universalist age lasting punishment all will end up in Heaven.
MORE THAN TWENTY
PROTESTANT VERSION OF HELL
SOME OF THE MANY DIVISIONS OF THE PROTESTANT VERSIONS OF
HELL. Going to Heaven or Hell one by one at death, before and without the judgment or
the Resurrection. After much conflict among the reformers, most Protestants accepted
much of the early Catholic version but without Purgatory. Unconditional immortality,
which is the foundation on which Hell stands, was accepted mostly due to Calvin
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winning out over Martin Luther. If they had accepted Luther's views on immortality,
there would be no foundation for Hell. Many Protestants believe the soul of all who do
not accept Christ will instantly be transported to Hell at the death of the body before the
resurrection and judgment day. God deliberately chooses to make them suffer and feel the
pain without any letup forever. The saved will go to their eternal home in Heaven at
death [an instant rapture]. The Westminster Confession says, "The souls of the righteous...are
received unto the highest heavens...the soul of the wicked are cast into Hell." Does God judge them
at death, them maybe thousands of years later, takes them out of Heaven and Hell to
rejudge them at the resurrection to see whether He made a mistake? Many believe an
unbaptized baby will not be saved. This version is still believed by many today, even by
many that say they are looking for the rapture. An opposition to belief in Hell is rapidly
growing in the Protestant churches. From the Protestant Reformation unto now there have
been many changes and new Protestant versions of Hell.
[1] THE CALVIN VERSION OF HELL: The given no chance Hell. An extension
of the early Protestant Version, but with a god that made most of mankind knowing he is
going to torment them in Hell forever, and there is nothing they can do to keep from
going to Hell. This god made them just so he could torment them forever as their creed
says "to His good pleasure." No amount of preaching or teaching can change the number
that shall be in this Hell not even by one person. The Westminster Confession says, "By the
decree of God, for the Manifestation of is glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto Everlasting
Life, and others foreordained unto everlasting death." Some Protestants still believe this version
of Hell that their god made most of mankind just so he could torment them for eternality
but it is not near as poplar as it was a few years ago. Those who say they are orthodox
Protestants who do not believe the Calvin Version of Hell may far out number those who
do.
[2] THE JONATHAN EDWARDS VERSION OF HELL: Also, an extension of
the early Protestant Version and there was a time when most Protestants believed this
view of Hell but now only a few believe it. There are about as many variations of this
version as there are preachers who preach it. Most taught God had given Hell over to
Satan and Satan will roast most of mankind forever and torment them however he wishes
to. Some have demons peeling off the burning flash of those in Hell with God making
sure they keep it up forever. Some have God doing the tormenting of Satan, the demons,
and man, with God forever pouring in fire and brimstone, and thousands of other ways of
tormenting with each preacher trying to out do the others in telling of the horrors of Hell.
Each one trying to make the god of Hell more evil then the others have. Jonathan Edwards
said God "will crush their blood out and make it fly, so that it will sprinkle his garment and stain all his
raiment." They never tell how they know such details. Put all their horrors together and it
would take many books to tell then all. Some of them get very specific with the details of
the torment. These "Hellfire" preachers are not as poplar as they once was and their
audience is much smaller. It is unimportant to them if they have no Bible for their Hell or
its horrors; the badly mistranslated King James Version is all they need to make their
Hell believable to many with whatever kind of torment they want to put in it. Some
believers of the Calvin version also believe this version and mix the two together. There
is not much unity of belief among the Protestants. Today, in almost any church if the
preacher started preached sermons about Hell that was like the one's Edwards preached
he would be out of work very soon.
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This version of Hell makes there be something like two kingdoms or two universes
after the judgment with Satan over one with most of mankind and God over a few. Both
God and Satan would have eternal power in their kingdom and the division between
them, between Heaven and Hell would mean God would not ever have a victory over
evil. The god Edward believed in would have no problem with tormenting the lost, he
would love it.
[3] THE GRAPHIC VERSION OF HELL: The sinners will be tormented in the
parts of their bodies that sinned.
"In short, whatever member of the body sinned, that member would be punished more than any
other in hell...In Christian literature we find blasphemers hanging by their tongues. Adulterous
women who plaited their hair to entice men dangle over boiling mire by their...hair." William
Crockett, "Four Views on Hell" Page 46.
[4] SATAN WILL BE DOING THE TORMENTING VERSION OF HELL:
Satan and his angels will be doing the tormenting, but they could only be executing the
will of God that the lost be tormented for they could not torment the lost without God
letting them. This view was believed by most in the Dark Age and by most Jonathan
Edwards preachers who often speak of “the devil Hell” as though Hell was a place that
belonged to Satan. Most Protestants have now abandon the view of Satan and his demons
doing the tormenting, but I remember that this was believed by most when I was a child
and was what most Protestants believed at that time. Many painting in museums and
churches show Satan and his demons roasting those in Hell and tormenting them in every
way the painter could think up. SATAN AND HIS ANGELS ARE NEVER PUNISHED.
In this version of Hell Satan and evil spirits are forever over "Hell" and will forever be
able to torment most of mankind. Instead of being punished, they will have forever
triumphed over God and will forever have a kingdom of their own where they will work
their evil on mankind as they please to and as it gives them pleasure.
[5] GOD WILL BE DOING THE TORMENTING VERSION OF HELL: Satan
and his angels will be tormented by God just as all the lost of mankind will. There has
been a major change by many Protestants from Satan to God doing the tormenting.
[6] THE METAPHORICAL VIEW OF BOTH HEAVEN AND HELL: We are
not told what Heaven and Hell will literally be like. We are told in pictures that tell us
Heaven will be a place of beauty more than anything on this earth and that Hell will be
worse than anything on this earth. Because we cannot understand what Heaven will really
be like, we are given the picture of a city with gold streets and pearl gates to picture for
us its great beauty and value, but it will not literally be made of gold, pearls, or of
anything that we have on this earth. The metaphorical view of is Hell is pictured as a
place of fire, but it will not literally have fire as we know it, or darkness as we know it. In
this view none of the literal torments of the Jonathan Edwards Version are possible for
they are all things of this earth that will not be in Hell. This version of "Hell" seems to be
growing rapidly for it is looked on as a way to make God less evil, but in fact it does not
for whatever would be symbolized by being tormented by eternal fire would be just as
bad as being eternally tormented by literal fire.
[7] BILLY GRAHAM’S MENTAL ANGUISH VERSION OF HELL: Hell is only
a state of mind. In "The World To Come" Page 300, Isaac Watts makes the worm be the
conscience of a person eating on himself for all eternally. A survey by US News, January
2000, Page 47, says 53 percent of Americans believe Hell to be only mental anguish. This
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is an attempt by some to lessen the negative effect of Hell making God cruel and sadistic,
but the attempt is a complete failure. Replacing physical torment with mental anguish
does nothing to change Hell by making the torment be less. Mental anguish can be worse
than physical pain, and it would still be torment without end, and would still be God
doing the tormenting. Billy Graham who is an orthodox Protestant would in no way be
called orthodox by Calvin or Jonathan Edwards, nor would many others that believe Hell
is only mental anguish as he does. The old orthodox is some times the very opposite of
the new orthodox. In the mental anguish version of Hell for sins after death, the
sinner punishes himself after death, it is not God that punishes him.
Alexander Campbell said, "The sinner's suffering by mental agony, produced by sin, greater than
could be caused by material fire." "Five discourses on Hell" 1848. Then he says, "We do not
maintain that men are punished eternally for sins committed in this life only. The analysis of the
sufferings of a future retribution, which we have just given, is itself sufficient evidence of this fact;
for the indulgence of voluntary depravity is itself both sin and punishment. As a consequence of
past sins, the sinner has formed the habit of sinning. It is a law of man's nature, that habit creates
both a tendency to certain acts, and a facility in their performance. As the result of the habit of
sinning, formed in this life, a tendency to repeat acts of sin is carried on the sinner into a future
world; and every such act repeated in that world not only perpetuates, but increases the
tendency to further acts of the same kind: and thus, as by every repeated act the tendency to sin
is increased, and as every act also brings with it its own punishment, so, by the laws of man's
mental and moral nature, the sinner's progress in both sin and suffering in a future world, is like
that of a falling body, which increases its velocity as the square of the distance increase through
which it falls. There is, therefore, just as little probability that a sinner, left to himself in a future
world, should repent and turn to God, as that a falling body should arrest itself in its downward
course, and ascend to the elevation from which it fell...surely the assumption that out doctrine
supposes that God punishes sinners eternally for sins committed in this brief and frail life is
wholly gratuitous." Alexander Campbell, "Five discourses on Hell," Page 65, April 9, 1848, Daniel
Davies Publisher. Not many members of the Christian Church and the church of Christ believe as
Alexander Campbell but many Protestants now do.
[8] C. S. LEWIS’S THE ALMOST PLEASANT HELL In Great Divorce C. S.
Lewis pictures Hell as not black but only a little gray almost pleasant place where those
in it can take bus trips into Heaven for the day and return to Hell. See “The Destruction
Of the Finally Impenitent” by Clark H. Pinnock at
http://www.abccoggc.org.jrad/volume2/issue1/jrad_v02.1_art2.htm
[9] PROTESTANT TRADITIONALIST VERSIONS OF HELL: Most who say
they are orthodox and traditionalist believes the lost will be kept alive with some kind of
punishment, but beyond this there is little agreement among them. Some believe much as
did Jonathan Edwards and Calvin that there will be torment beyond anything that we can
now know of and others who utterly repudiate Edward's Hell and only believe that there
will be some kind of eternal punishment, but it may be nothing more then a little mental
anguish or just being deprived of all good. Others are at all points between the two even
when they are in the same denomination. From the top (the Calvin version) to its bottom
(eternity existing but being deprived of all good, to forever lose everything that is good),
in those who call themselves "traditionalists" there are a wide range of views; yet, they all
say they are orthodox and traditionalist! Orthodox is a big blanket and growing bigger all
the time. Even so, few if any who are orthodox and traditionalist believe the same and
there is a world of difference in what is orthodox in the Protestants churches. Many who
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say they are orthodox do not believe in once saved always saved, infant baptism,
Augustine's view on predestination, the millennium, and countless other differences in
what is traditional and orthodox. Although they cannot agree among themselves over
what is traditional, they attack all who do not believe in one of their many versions of
"Hell" for not being orthodox or traditional and nonetheless accept many as being
orthodox who believes in an entirely different "Hell" and even accept Premillennial
which has many who do not believe in any version of Hell, or believe that Hell will be on
this earth and will last for only a short time.
[10] PROTESTANT PREMILLENNIAL VERSIONS OF HELL: From all the
information I can find there are many more Protestants who believe in some form of
Premillennialism than not. Premillennial variations found in the Protestants churches are
pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, post-tribulation, partial-rapture, many mini-raptures,
already past rapture, the tribulation period, historic Premillennialism, Post Millennialist,
Dispensationalist, and many more. Most Premillennial versions of Hell are somewhat
similar to either the Seventh-Day Advent Version of Hell or the Church of God Version
of Hell. See "Seventh-Day Advent Version of Hell" and "Church of God (and others)
Version of Hell" below. Many of the Premillennial versions of Hell are far from being
what is thought of as being orthodox, but most all Premillennialists are thought of as
being Protestant, orthodox and traditional.
Unorthodox In Orthodox Churches
It may come as a surprise to many that those who say they are orthodox Protestant but
do not believe in Hell as a place of eternal torment that there are more who say that are
orthodox Protestants who do believe Hell to be eternal torment than there are
orthodox Protestants who do believe Hell to be a place of eternal torment. When US
New says 53 percent of Americans believes Hell to be only mental anguish, most of that
53 percent are orthodox Protestant and this 53 percent is in addition to the many
Protestant Premillennialists who do not believe Hell to be a place of eternal torment.
When some say that is only Jehovah's Witnesses teaching, they seem to be blind to the
fact that this is the teaching by far more than half of the orthodox Protestants and the
number of orthodox Protestants who do not believe in the Jonathan Edwards or Calvin
versions of Hell is by far greater then the number of Jehovah's Witnesses who do not
believe in Hell. Much of what is accepted as orthodox today would have been called
heresy 200 years ago by most all Protestant Churches. It does not matter what any groups
believe or what is accepted as orthodox but what the Bible says for the Bible is the only
authority.
It came as a surprise to me, as I am sure it will be to many, that many orthodox
Protestants plus a great many who may not be called orthodox, believe none of the saved
will go to Heaven, but will live on this earth for eternity. Many Protestant
Premillennialists believe this. It may also come as a surprise to many that those who say
they are orthodox Protestant but do not believe Christ to be God but is a created being
that did not exist before His birth. Many believe Him to be a chosen one by God and that
He is now in Heaven but will come back to earth, set up the kingdom of God in
Jerusalem and will rule the kingdom which will always be on this earth. It seems to be
OK to not believe in Christ as being equal with God but not OK not to believe God to be
crueler than any other being and will torment most forever.
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[11] REALIZED ESCHATOLOGY - THE A. D. 70 VERSION OF HELL: I have
found it difficult to pen down just what they believe. According to Samuel G. Dawson in
"Jesus' Teaching On Hell." Hell is something the Catholic Church invented to scare
people into obedience. They seem to believe that death is the end of those who are not
faithful, for them there will never be a resurrection. The second coming of Jesus was in
A. D. 70, the resurrection day was also in A. D. 70 when the Old Testament Saints where
resurrected, no judgment day to come, no day that the earth will end. All the Old
Testament faithful was resurrected in A. D. 70 which they believe to have been the
second coming of Christ and after that time each person judgment day, the second death
of the lost and the resurrection to eternal life is at the moment of death. This seems to be
their general teaching, but I am sure that are many variations within Realized
Eschatology.
[12] REPHAIM VERSION OF HELL - ONE OF THE PROTESTANT
VERSIONS OF HELL: A version of Hell that is Protestant, but in no way can it be
called orthodox or traditional although most who believe it call themselves both orthodox
and traditional. God, angels, and man (after death) are disembodied energy being capable
of thought and speech without the need of a body. This version of Hell is Protestant; as
far as I have been able to find no one teaches it but those who are called orthodox
Protestants, but it cannot be called traditional or orthodox. Rephaim is in the Hebrew Old
Testament eight times and is translated dead seven times and deceased one time in the
King James Version; it is defined in some Lexicons as "departed spirits," "shades,"
"shadows," "ghosts," "name of the dead in sheol."
FIVE OF THE EIGHT ARE IN THE POETICAL BOOKS.
1. Job 26:5-6 "They that are deceased (rephaim) tremble beneath the waters and the
inhabitants thereof. Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon ("Destruction" New
International Version) has no covering."
2. Psalms 88:10-12 "Will you show wonders to the dead (rephaim)? Shall they that
are deceased arise and praise you? Shall your loving kindness be declared in the
grave? Or your faithfulness in destruction?"
3. Proverbs 2:18-19 "For her ("adulteress" New American Standard Version) house
sinks down to death, and her tracks lead to the dead; (rephaim) none who go to
her return again, neither do they reach the paths of life."
4. Proverbs 9:18-19 "But he knows not that the dead (rephaim) are there; that her
(the foolish woman or adulteress) guests are in the depths of Sheol."
5. Proverbs 21:16 "The man that wandered out of the way of understanding shall
rest in the assembly of the dead (rephaim)."
All five refer to the lost and speak of their death, deceased, destruction, dead, not
attaining unto the paths of life, resting with the dead. The dead are simply spoken of as
being dead. Nothing is said about them being alive some other place, nothing about a soul
or a spirit that lives after the death of the body. THERE IS NOTHING IN ANY OF THE
FIVE PASSAGES ABOVE THAT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT ANYONE BEING
ALIVE IN HEAVEN, HELL, OR ABRAHAM'S BOSOM AT ANY TIME, NOT
BEFORE OR AFTER THE JUDGMENT, BUT THEY AR AN UNDENIBLE
CONDICTION TO THE ORTHEDEX DOCTRINE OF GOING TO HEAVEN OR
HELL AT DEATH.
THREE OF THE EIGHT ARE IN ISAIAH
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This is a book of many symbols, much like Revelation
(1) Isaiah 14:9-11 "Sheol from beneath is moved for you to meet you at your coming:
it rises up the dead (rephaim) for you, even all the chief ones of the earth; it has raised up
from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall answer and say unto you,
Have you also become weak as we: have you become like unto us? Your pomp is brought
down to Sheol, and the noise of your viols: the worm is spread under you, and worms
cover you." This is a description of the fall of Babylon and has nothing to do with a part
of a person after death. In this metaphor the past dead nations, nations that no longer
existed were surprised to see a nation as strong as Babylon joining them. If the dead were
alive, why would the dead in sheol be surprised to see another person join them when all
that die would join them? It would make no sense if they were surprised to see anyone
joining them. Even the trees join in with the dead nations and talk [14:8]. Only in a
metaphor can past nations that are dead, that no longer exist, and trees talk [Isaiah 14:8].
In this passage Rephaim (one word) is translated:
• “The dead” (two words) in both the King James and the New King James
• “The spirits of the dead” (five words from one word) in the New American
Standard even though “ruach” (spirit) is not in the Hebrew they added it
• “The spirits of the departed” (five words from one word) in the New
International Version. It also added spirits even though it is not in the Hebrew
• “The ancient dead” (three words from one word) in the Revised English Bible
even though there is not a word in the Hebrew in this passage that is even
remotely kin to “ancient”
(2) Isaiah 26:14 "They [the Nations] are dead (rephaim), they shall not live; they are
deceased, they shall not rise; therefore have you visited and destroyed them, and made
all remembrance of them to perish." This is about nations that did not remember God. It
has nothing to do with an "immaterial, invisible part of man" after death. It is hard to
believe this passage is used to prove that a person has an immortal immaterial, invisible
part of a person for if it were speaking of this part of a person then that part of a person is
dead, deceased, shall not rise (no resurrection), and all remembrance of them has been
made to perish. If this were an immortal soul, it would be nothing like the immoral soul
of today's theology, it would teach there is no life or resurrection after death but some use
this passage anyway to prove that there is life for all after dead in either Heaven or Hell.
(3) Isaiah 26:19 "Your dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing,
you that dwell in the dust; for your dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast
forth the dead (rephaim)." The nation that was dead, they were not a nation but slaves in
bondage to another nation because they had left God, now they had repented and was
being restored as a nation.
WHAT DO MANY BELIEVE? These passages are used to prove all, both the good
and the evil souls are "rephaim." Many who believe the dead go immediately to Heaven
or Hell at death use it although it would make the dead not be in Heaven or Hell, as they
believe the immaterial, invisible part of a person will be after death.
1. The Protestant version is that the dead are now in Heaven or Hell.
2. The after judgment version is that the dead are now in hades with some on the
good side of hades and some on the bad side, but they use these passages and
have the dead being in three places simultaneously.
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3. The rephaim version is that both the good and the bad are together and exist only
as shades or shadows not in Heaven or Hell. Yet, those who believe the Protestant
version or the newer after judgment version of Hell sometimes use "rephaim" to
prove "Hell" even though it would put all the dead together and not where they
believe them to be, AND DEFINITELY NOTHING LIKE THE IMMORTAL
SOUL OF TODAY'S THEOLOGY. The attack on Hell that is coming from many
in most all churches is forcing them to take views not many Christians believe. It
seems to be used only by those who are trying to prove a person has an immortal
soul but are hard pushed to find any passage to prove it.
Which way do they go? "Rephaim" is used in both the Protestant and the after
judgment versions of Hell in a way that does not agree with what they believe and teach;
both believe that the saved will be in their eternal home with Christ in Heaven at death or
comforted in Abraham's bosom; but both step away from their belief and say at death
both the saved and unsaved are together, and both have only a weak shadowy existence
and will have this shadowy existence unto the resurrection. Even if we did grant that
rephaim is the "immaterial, invisible part of man" after death, it would contradict their
beliefs about the "soul" being in Heaven, Hell, or Abraham's bosom. It makes all the dead
be "shades" "shadows." Anyway you look at it, the eight times rephaim is used does more
to refute the belief of going to Heaven or Abraham's bosom at death than it does to
support them. Are they so desperately in need of proof that a person has an immaterial,
invisible part that can never die that they reach for anything even if it is far from what
they believe and want to find?
Robert Morey, an orthodox Protestant, has written one of the most accepted and used
books in defense of the doctrine of Hell that has come out in recent years. In his book he
makes an argument for Hell which I think shows just how desperate he is for any kind of
proof. In "Death And The Afterlife," On page 79 he says FROM THE MEANING OF
REPHAIM, WHEN THE BODY DIES, MAN ENTERS A NEW KIND OF
EXISTENCE. HE THEN WILL EXIST AS A SPIRIT CREATURE AND
EXPERIENCES WHAT ANGELS AND OTHER SPIRITS EXPERIENCE. JUST AS
ANGELS ARE DISINCARNATE ENERGY BEINGS AND ARE COMPOSED ONLY
OF MIND OR MENTAL ENERGY AND ARE CAPABLE OF THOUGHT AND
SPEECH WITHOUT THE NEED OF AN EARTHLY BODY, WHEN MAN DIES, HE
BECOMES A DISEMBODIED ENERGY BEING AND IS CAPABLE OF THOUGHT
AND SPEECH WITHOUT THE NEED OF A BODY. This is nothing more than a
desperate attempt to prove that the "immaterial, invisible part of man" has some
kind of life somewhere before and without the resurrection. NOT A ONE OF THE
EIGHT PASSAGES REPHAIM IS USED IN SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT A
REPHAIM BEING LIKE GOD AND ANGELS. He must have made that up out of thin
air and hoped you would not see it is not in any of the eight passages. I wonder if he sees
how low he is making God if God were like the rephaim in the eight passages? That he is
making God be only "shades," "shadows," "ghosts," "name of the dead in sheol."
1. HE HAS MADE GOD BE NOTHING MORE THAN AN "ENERGY BEING,"
NOTHING MORE THAN MENTAL THOUGHTS WITH NO SUBSTANCE.
He has made God, angels, and mankind after the judgment to be nothing more
than mental thoughts; although he did not mention God, he has reduced God to
being nothing more than thoughts, an "energy being." Morey's God has no body,
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no substance of any kind; therefore, Morey's Heaven can exist only in the mind of
God. It cannot be a real place.
2. HE HAS MADE GOD WEAK. He has made, man and angels be disembodied
energy being capable of thought and speech without the need of body and they are
described as "Are you also become weak as we: have you become like unto us?"
"God is a Spirit" [John 4:24]; he has spirits without bodies described as weak and
being nothing more than mental thoughts, which according to him would include
God being described as weak and being nothing more than mental thoughts. Is his
God just weak mental thoughts; is that what your God is like?
3. HE HAS MADE THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IN A PERSON AFTER DEATH
AND GOD TO BE ONLY A DIFFERENCE IN INTELLIGENCE. Both are
nothing but mind. Thomas Jefferson in a letter to John Adams in 1820 said, "To
say that God, angels, and the human soul, are immaterial, is to say they are
nothing. At what age of the church the heresy of immaterialism crept in, I do not
know; but a heresy is certainly is--Jesus taught nothing of it."
4. HE HAS MADE GOD LIMITED: There is no way out for those who believe an
immortal spirit is now within a person for this spirit could have no solid substance
of any kind. If it did, then it could not now be inside of a person. God is spirit;
therefore, according to Morey, God cannot have any substance, He must, then be
only thoughts without a body. This has not entered the mind of most who believe
a person now has an immortal spirit in him and if it did most would reject it, but
their belief that an immortal spirit is now in a person, means a person, God, and
all heavenly being are nothing more than thoughts without a body. Robert Morey
and others who try to prove a person has an immortal spirit in him has been
pushed into this belief. The belief that a person has a dual nature dictates what
they can believe about the nature of God. They believe the immortal spirit in a
person cannot be seen for it has no substance, therefore, because God is spirit,
then He can have no substance; He can be only a mind with no body.
5. He has developed Plato's doctrine that the body is a prison to the soul, which is set
free by the death of the body, far beyond what Plato ever did. To put the soul (an
"energy being" "mind") back in a body at the resurrection would be to put it back
in a prison.
6. Also, Morey's Hell could only be mental anguish. There would be no body to
torment. He has made it impossible for Hell to be anything more than mental pain.
Only something in the mind of persons who are nothing but mind. None of the
other "orthodox Protestant" version of Hell could be possible, therefore, what
most Protestants have believed for centuries was wrong.
7. He has made Paul not know what he was talking about when he said, "It is sown a
natural body; it is raised a spiritual body...there is also a spiritual body" (1
Corinthians 15:44). He cannot believe in the resurrection. How could he when he
has made a person after death be composed only of "mind," just as he says the
angels and God now are composed only of mind? There could not be a mortal that
"must put on immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:54), for his "energy being" is just as
it will always be, and like God and angels now are. There cannot be a resurrection
of any kind of body, not one in the image of Adam or in the image of Christ. Not
the earthly body or the new spiritual body for there will be nothing but "mind."
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There cannot be a resurrection of the "mind or mental energy" for at death it will
be just as it will always be; therefore, THERE COULD NOT BE ANY KIND OF
RESURRECTION.
8. If the spiritual body that we will have is nothing but "mind," how is it that we do
not now have the spiritual body? Do we not now have "mind"? Will the "mind"
that we will have then, the spiritual body that we will put on at the resurrection [1
Corinthians 15:42-54], which according to Morey will be nothing but "mind," not
be the same "mind" that we now have?
WHAT IS THEIR NO SUBSTANCE SOUL? What could it be if it has no substance?
God made all things out of nothing. If the soul has no substance, it is still nothing. Are
they saying God made nothing out of nothing? And this God who made nothing out of
nothing is Himself nothing.
"The Hebrew rephaim denotes those who have 'sunk' to the unseen abode, descending into
Hades as the sun goes down to a fiery death in the west; the rephaim are those who 'sank,'
vanished, disappeared, passed away, departed. The best translation would be 'the departed.'"
Paul Haupt "American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literature"
NOTE: I have tried to give the views of the majority in each in the above versions of
Hell. In each of them, there are some individuals and/or small groups who believe in a
variation of that believed by the majority.
EIGHT OTHER VERSIONS OF HELL
[1] Church of Christ, Christian Church, Abraham's bosom or the after judgment
Hell, A newer version of Hell: This version is based almost entirely on an interpretation
of Luke 16:19-31 (see chapter eight, part two). Most members of the church of Christ, the
Christian Church and some Protestants, believe it although it is not generally accepted as
being orthodox or traditional Protestant. In this version all who do not obey Christ will go
to Hell, but Hell will not be unto after the coming of Christ and the judgment; and no one
goes to Heaven before the judgment [no instant rapture]. At death all are taken to an
intermediate holding place where the lost are tormented, and the saved are rewarded in a
place sometimes called "Abraham's bosom." Instead of all being in Heaven and Hell unto
the second coming of Christ, all are in the good and bad side of hades from which Christ
will take them out of hades at His coming and judge them a second time to see whether
He made a mistake the first time and put them on the wrong side of hades. A baby who
has not come to the age of accountability is not lost and will go to the good side of hades.
After the judgment God will personally do the tormenting of all the lost for eternality.
Satan and his angels and all the lost will be tormented together.
This view has two places where God is going to torture the lost. One side of hades that
is a temporary place of torture and will last only unto the second coming of Christ, and
"Hell" which will be a permanent place where God will torture most of mankind without
end but no one is now in Heaven or Hell and will not be unto after the resurrection and
judgment. This is the view that I have been taught from the time I became a Christian and
believed it a long time. I have many books and tracts in which well-known preachers and
teachers, such as H. Leo Boles, E. M. Zerr, B. W. Johnson, J. W. McGarvey, and many
others who teach this view; but lately it seems to be dying out in the church and is being
replaced by going immediately to Heaven or Hell at death without the Resurrection or
Judgment particularly at funerals where preachers often say the dead person are now in
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Heaven. Most all think of and speak of their loved ones as now being in Heaven or with
Jesus, not in Abraham's bosom unto the judgment.
[2] Edward Fudge version: The short Hell: He uses the name Hell as if it was a
Bible name, but thinks it will last for only a limited time and will end with the total
destruction of those in it. He may have Hell, and the wrath and fury of God at the
judgment confused. Roger Dickson believes the duration of Hell will fit the crime and
then will end. It will be short for some and longer for other. He says, "After the stripes
have been given, then the destruction occurs for which there is no reverse" Page 162ff,
"Life, Death And Beyond." Is he renaming the Judgment Day and calling it "Hell?" If I
understand him right, he thinks the lost will go to Hell, but the not so bad will not be
tormented as long as the very bad. After the "punishment matches the crime," he says
they will then be destroyed [Page 163]. (1) "Shall be beaten with many stripes" [Luke
12:47]. This is used to prove there will be an end after the stripes. If this were after the
judgment, "Beaten with few stripes" could not be as long as "beaten with many stripes,"
therefore, could not take forever. Some will be tormented longer than others, but the
torment will end with death for all. (2) This short Hell is different from the Church of
God short Hell in that it may not be on this earth, and there will be no second chance.
In the Bible God limited "many stripes" to 40 lashes [Deuteronomy 25:3; Luke 12:47;
Acts 16:23; 2 Corinthians 11:24]. Yet, this "many stripes" is used by many to prove that
God will forever give not 40 but stripes without end to those in Hell.
[3] Christadelphians version of Hell: Those who never heard the Gospel will never
be raised. Death is the end of them. Only those who heard the Gospel will be raised at the
second coming of Christ and judged to see whether they were faithful. The faithful will
have eternal life on Earth, which will be restored to be like Eden before Adam sinned.
The unfaithful of those who heard the Gospel and were raised will be annihilated by the
second death.
[4] Church of God version of Hell (and others): Both Heaven and Hell will be on
this earth. After the resurrection of earthly bodies on this restored earth, all will be given
a second chance to accept Christ. Most will, but the few who will not accept Christ will
suffer the second death. Their torment will end in death from which there will never be a
resurrection. The saved will be raised and live on the earth restored to the way it was
before Adam sinned with a body like Adam before he was put out of the garden. No one
will ever be in Heaven. I have not been able to find how they think Adam's body was
different before he was put out of the garden than it was after. Many Premillennialists
who are in most Protestant churches believe this version of Hell or one that is very
similar to it.
[5] Universalist version of Hell, The "age lasting" Hell: Hell will last for only an
age; then all will be saved. Universalist calls it a time of "attitude adjustments," or "ageduring
correction." They do not see it as God torturing people in a literal lake or anything
like that, they see it as simply as a time when God will be correcting or teaching them
further unto they are fit for His kingdom. All, even the most evil, will eventually end up
in Heaven.
[6] Seventh Day Advent version of Hell: They believe that at the second coming of
Christ the unrighteous will be kill, the righteous will be taken back to Heaven for a 1,000
years. During the 1,000 years only Satan and his angels will inhabit the earth. At the end
of the 1,000 years Christ will return to earth with the saved and the unrighteous will be
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raised for judgment. Satan gathers his angels and will the help of the resurrected
unrighteous attempt to interfere with the judgment, they will be destroyed. The judgment
and destruction of the lost will take place on this earth. Their Hell will be on this earth
and will last only unto those in it are burned too ashes, the second death. The saved will
live forever with earthly bodies on a restored earth on which there will be no evil. No one
will ever be in Heaven. Just as with the Christ of God version of Hell many
Premillennialists who are in most Protestant churches believe this version of Hell or one
that is very similar to it. The number of those who are called Protestant but do not believe
any of the orthodox Protestant versions of Hell is growing.
[7] Latter-day Saints version of Hell [Mormons]: They believe in three Heavens
that they call Kingdoms, Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial Kingdoms. They believe in a
Hell, but only a very few, the sons of perdition, will be in it forever. They are those that
were once faithful Mormons but become apostates and left the Mormon Church. All will
be raised from the dead. Except for the sons of perdition, most of those in Hell will in
time pass out of it into the lowest Telestial Kingdom and will be there forever, even those
who are not Mormons, but those who are not Mormons can go no higher then the lower
Telestial Kingdom.
[8] The grave is Hell version [Jehovah’s Witnesses]: The grave is Hell and all go to
it at death. There is no knowledge or torment in this Hell, just sleep or death. Some from
many different groups believe this version of Hell. They get support mostly from the
older translations like the King James Version, and most who believe it think the newer
translations that translate only Gehenna into Hell are wrong. They believe Gehenna is a
trash dump, not Hell. This Hell is going on now with all the dead in it, both the good and
the bad are asleep in it and it will wake up at the Resurrection. All are unconscious and
there is no torment of the wicked or reward of the righteous in "Hell" where all the dead,
both the good and the bad now are. In this version, Hell will end at the resurrection and
there will be no Hell after the resurrection and judgment.
The Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Hell is the “common grave of mankind” where
people go when they die. They are not conscious there.
A. B. Robinson, September 1996 [A Jehovah's Witnesses]. "We do not have the word 'hell' in the
NWT. We translate gehenna as gehenna, hades as hades and sheol as sheol. By doing this we can
get the true import of these words. Gehenna is a garbage dump and sheol and hades often refer
to the grave. We believe everyone who dies goes to 'hell' or sheol [hades]. The dead are
unconscious, asleep if you will [Ecc 9:5,19 and 1 Thes 4:13-16] and will remain such until they are
resurrected. We also believe that 'hell' will be emptied, as is clearly stated in Rev 20:13. The
persons who were in hell, both the righteous and the unrighteous [Acts 24:15] will be
resurrected and judged. Those who are deserving of it will then be thrown into the lake of fire,
the second death [Rev 20:14,15]."
Brian Holt in an E-mail to me. He said, "JW's do not have the word ‘hell’ in the NWT," then
says everyone who dies goes to Hell. In today's English Hell has come to mean a place of
eternal torment after death, and to translate hades into Hell is an untrue translation. The
grave is Hell was not the intentions of the translators who first put the word "Hell" into
the Bible, the grave is Hell is not the way it would have been understood by English
speaking people when it was first used by the translators or the way it is understood
today.
I have been told that what I believe "is what Jehovah's Witnesses have been teaching for years."
One person said to me, "You believe the same thing Jehovah's Witnesses believe. Why don't you join
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them and leave us alone?" ONE WRITER SAID, "A NEW STANDARD OF TRUTH HAS
BEEN FOUND. IF THE OCCULTS OR LIBERALS BELIEVE IT, THEN IT IS
WRONG." The problem with this is (1) I do not believe as they do that the grave is Hell
(2) that most all denominations, whether they are occults, liberals, or whatever, teach
many things that the Bible teaches and many that the Bible does not teach. Nothing is
right or wrong because a denomination teaches it, not even right or wrong if the
Jehovah's Witnesses denomination teaches it. It is right if the Bible teaches it or wrong if
the Bible does not teach it. Catholic, Baptist, Jehovah's Witnesses, Church of God, and all
others each teach many things that the Bible teaches and each one teaches many things
that the Bible does not teach. Anything is right if the Bible teaches it even if the
Jehovah's Witnesses teach it and wrong if the Bible does not teach it. JEHOVAH’S
WITNESSES TEACH ADULTERY IS A SIN; IS IT WRONG TO TEACH THAT
ADULTERY IS A SIN BECOUSE JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES TEACH IT TO BE? To
say, "That is what the Jehovah's Witnesses teach," is said for the same reason the Baptist
says, "That is water salvation" or "That is Campbellism." THEIR REAL PROBLEM IS
NOT THAT ONE OF THE OCCULTS TEACH IT, BUT THAT THEY HAVE NO
OTHER ANSWER AND KNOW THAT THEY CAN TURN MANY OFF JUST BY
SAYING "THAT IS WHAT JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES TEACH" JUST AS THE
BAPTIST DID WITH "THAT IS WATER SALVATION." The Moslem religion
believes in eternal torment; can we say it is wrong because those who believe in eternal
torment believe something the Moslems teach? No, it is wrong because the Bible does
not teach it.
Why? What is the real reason they say that is Jehovah's Witnesses teaching? I think
one reason is that they just do not want to deal with it. Do not want to take the time.
Another reason is the same reason the Baptist call us "Campbellism" and say, "You
believe in water salvation." They could not show that a person can be saved without
baptism, therefore, they would say, "You believe in water salvation" for they know this
would make others prejudice and not believe the Bible. Now the same thing is being done
to anyone who does not believe in Hell by saying, "You are nothing but a Jehovah's
Witnesses." EVEN THOUGH WHAT I BELIEVE IS FAR FROM WHAT THE
JEHOVAH'S TEACH, SOME SAY TO ME, "YOU BELIEVE WHAT THE
JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES BELIEVE." They believe there is a Hell, but it is going on
now, and I do not believe the Bible says anything about any kind of Hell; not one that is
going on now or will be at any time after death. The truth is that if Jehovah's Witnesses
did believe as I do (they do not, but even if they did) as long as the Bible teaches it, I
would not care if it were what they believed, but would say that it is great that they
believe the Bible on that point, and would wish that they believed the Bible on all points.
If you made two lists, one a list of things any denomination believes that is not in the
Bible, and a list of things it believes that is in the Bible, both lists would be long. The
persons who say "That is Jehovah's Witnesses teaching" believes many of the same
things that would be on the list of things the Jehovah's Witnesses believes.
Some of the many things Jehovah's Witnesses teach that I do not believe.
1. Jesus was not the Son of God
2. The Millennium
3. Only 144,000 will go to Heaven
4. All the rest of the saved will live forever on this earth for all eternality
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5. They don't believe in blood transfusions
6. Hell is the grave and all the dead are now in Hell. Unfortunately, it is not true that
they do not believe in Hell but believe Hell is now going on. The more there are
that do not believe that God slandering teaching the better, but, they do believe in
Hell, just not one of the many orthodox Protestant versions of Hell although many
Premillennialists who are called orthodox Protestants believe as they do, that Hell
is the grave. Unto the resurrection death is death, not any kind of life anyplace.
7. And many others.
IF "THAT IS WHAT JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES BELIEVES" MAKES
ANYTHING WRONG, IT IS SUCH A BROAD ARGUMENT THAT THERE IS
NOTHING IN THE BIBLE THAT IS NOT DESTROYED BY IT FOR THERE IS
NO BIBLE TEACHING THAT IS NOT BELIEVED BY MANY FLASE
RELIGIONS.
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF THIS VERSION OF HELL. Sheol is translated Hell in the
King James Version thirty-one times and grave thirty-one times. It puts all in Hell or the
grave together, both the good and the bad, where they will be unto the resurrection. If one
believes the mistranslation of the King James Version, then he or she must believe the
grave is Hell version of Hell for it is clearly taught in the Old Testament of the King
James Version. The Jehovah's Witnesses and others who believe this version have all the
proof they need in the mistranslation in the King James Version.
The Bible version of Hell: There is no Bible version of Hell. Both the name Hell and
the concept, a place where God will forever torment most men was not known about in
Old or New Testament times. The Greeks did not know it about or anyone back them.
Christ or Paul used neither the place nor the name. It was not known about by anyone
unto long after the last page of the Bible.
WHICH HELL DO YOU BELIEVE IN?
Most of the versions of Hell below are based on the belief that:
• A person has some part of them self that is immortal from birth and is not subject
to death.
• That death is not death, the dead are more alive then the living, "You shall not
surely die."
SOME BELIEVE:
• 1). SOME BELIEVE SATAN IS THE TORMENTER. According to Jonathan
Edwards and most Hell fire preachers; Satan will be doing the tormenting of all
that are in Hell forever.
• 2). SOME BELIEVE GOD IS THE TORMENTER. Today many believe God
will be doing the tormenting.
• 3). Some denominations believe Hell will be on this earth.
• 4). Others believe that Hell will last for a while; but will end with all that are in
Hell being saved and going to Heaven.
• 5). Some believe that Hell will only last unto the ones in it have paid for their
sins, and then they will be destroyed.
• 6). Some believe Hell is hot.
• 7). Some believe that Hell is cold.
• 8). Some believe Hell is dark.
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• 9). Some believe Hell is Metaphorical, it is not literally hot, cold or dark; we
cannot understand what it is really like and are given pictures to tell us how bad it
is.
• 10). Some believe that Hell is only mental anguish.
• 11). Some believe that Hell is a place of separation from God without any torment
from God.
• 12). Some believe that Hell is under the earth.
• 13). Some believe Hell is who knows where. Most, but not all, now realize there
is not a place of torment under the earth and have moved it. Now who knows
where they think Hell is, maybe somewhere out in space.
• 14). Some believe Hell exists now, and the lost dead are now being tormented in
it.
• 15). Some believe Hell will not exist unto after the judgment.
• 16). Some believe that Hell now exists with the angels that sinned in it, but no
person will be in Hell unto after the judgment.
• 17). Some believe that although God is omnipresent [present in all places at the
same time], nevertheless He is not present in Hell. They believe those in Hell are
separated from God, they believe death is separation from God and the second
death is an eternal Hell, and at the same time they believe God is there tormenting
them and gives them life. All life comes from God. He would have to be present
and not present at the same time. The lost would be separated from God and not
separated from God simultaneously, for He would be wherever they were
separated from Him if He were doing the tormenting.
• 18). If you go back in time 50 or 100 years, most all preachers were teaching
"Hell" to be a place of "fire and brimstone." Today "fire and brimstone" is almost
never used by preachers or in today's theology. Do you believe in the "Hell" of
today or the "Hell" of 100 years ago?
HELL HAS BEEN MOVED
Pagan philosophers mostly believed the soul was somewhere underground unto it was
reincarnated. The first time Hell is used in the King James Version, it is on this earth, and
is the punishment and scattering of Israel [Deuteronomy 32:22-26]. "Though they dig
into Hell" [Amos 9:27 King James Version]. Most of the "church fathers," and the
Church in the Dark Age, believed Hell was underground. Both the Catholic Church and
the "Apostle's creed," which is used by many Protestants says Christ descended into Hell
at His death; and preached to the souls in prison. Many encyclopedias and lexicons still
say this. The New Oxford American Dictionary says, “hell ‘hel’ a place regarded in
various religions as a spiritual realm of evil and suffering, often traditionally depicted as
a place of perpetual fire beneath the earth where the wicked are punished after death.”
When I was a child, I heard repeatedly that the "Devil" lived under the ground and would
get you if you were bad. Now almost no one believes Hell is under ground and it has
been moved to some dark place on the backside of some far away no one knows where
place. Most who believed Hell to be under the earth also believed the earth will end at the
coming of Christ. I have never heard them explain how the earth will be destroyed, but
the Hell that is under ground (inside of the earth) will last forever.
O-well, one is as good as another and one place is as good as any other for there is no
Bible teaching for any of them. They are all man made, and believing any of them is to
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believe a lie. "But in vain do they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of
men" [Matthew 15:9]. The only sure thing is that what men believe about Hell is that Hell
is always changing to suit the times and the denominations.
BELIEVERS IN HELL MUST
Must do away with death. If death is real, if when God said death, God meant what
He said, then Hell cannot be.
Must prove that men are now immortal Must prove that there is an immaterial,
invisible part of a person that has no substance and this nothing, whatever "it" is, is now
as immortal as it will be after the judgment; and this nothing is the only part of a person
Christ will save and the only part of a person that will be in Heaven. If a person is now
mortal, he cannot now be immortal.
Must make words like destroy, perish, die, death, lost be used only with a
theological sense. If they are used "in the fair, stipulated, and well-established meaning
of the terms" then Hell cannot be.
Must prove that Hell is in the Bible, both the name and the particular place they
call Hell. If they do not prove there is a Hell, but teach it, they have added to the Bible.
Must prove that the "nehphesh" animals have in Genesis 1:20; 1:21; 1:24; 1:30;
2:19 is mortal but the "nehphesh" men have in Genesis 2:7 is immortal.
FROM WHERE DID HELL COME?
IT CAME FROM PAGAN PHILOSOPHERS, and was brought into the church along
with Purgatory, the sale of indulgences, Limbo, worship of Mary and saints, Nether
World, Holy Water, the rosary, forbidding Priests to marry, the crucifix, forbidding
eating of meat on Friday, candle-burning, and many other teachings; and was opposed by
such men as Luther, Tyndale, Moses Lord, and many others. It came into the church in
the Dark Age from Pagan Greek philosophers and writers like Dante Aligheri's (1265-
1321) "The Divine Comedy" and Milton's "Paradise Lost" added things like Satan has a
red suit, horns, and pitchfork and is forever tormenting the damned. Aligheri was a pagan
who believed the teaching of Plato on the soul being immortal and his book is basically
Plato's view of the soul that is in "The Divine Comedy." This view of Hell was adopted in
the Middle Age Church to create fear of leaving the church. The church in the Dark Age
and the translators of the King James Bible were more influenced by this Pagan
philosophy and writers of that time then they were from the teaching of God.
Growler 1995 Encyclopedia ASPS says, "In Greek Mythology, Hades is the underworld ruled
by the god of that name, who is also known as Pluto; in Nurse Mythology, Hel is a cold and
shadowy subterranean realm." Both Hel and Hell are from the same root word- "Kel."
The American Heritage Dictionary, Page 2108 says, "KEL-1. O-grade from kal 1. A Hell, from Old
English Hell, Hell; B HEL, from Old Nurse Hel, the underworld, goddess of death."
Compton's 1995 Encyclopedia, "Hell and Hades" "The modern Western understanding of Hell
derives from the latest period in ancient Israel's history, and it was more fully developed by early
Christianity...There is no fully developed teaching about Hell in the New Testament, though
there are frequent mentions of it. Only in the course of later church history was it elaborated into
official church doctrine. Today the New Testament statements and their later explanation are
taken literally by some Christians, regarded as allegory or myth by some, and denied altogether
by others."
Encyclopedia Britannica, Volume 2, Page 402, "Old English. Hel, a Teutonic word from a root
meaning 'to cover.'"
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Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 14, Page 81, "Much confusion and misunderstanding has
been caused through the early translators of the Bible persistently rendering the Hebrew Sheol
and the Greek Hades and Gehenna by the word hell. The simple transliteration of these words by
the translators of the revised editions of the Bible has not sufficed to appreciably clear up this
confusion and misconception."
[1]. HEL AND OTHER PAGAN TEACHING WERE BROUGHT INTO THE
BIBLE [as Hell] BY REINTERPRETING FOUR WORDS FIFTY-SEVEN TIMES in
the King James Version, but much fewer times in later translations, and none at all in
many translations. The American Standard Version, which many say is the most accurate
translation ["This honored version of 1901, long held to be the most accurate translation
in the English language" Star Bible catalog Page 3, 1996], uses it 13 times; and even then
has a footnote which says, "Gr. Gehenna" or "Gr. Tartarus."
Csonka says, "Every good Bible student know Hades is not Hell" Truth Magazine, 1995, Page
17. Then why do so many in the Lord's church teach it is?
"The word Gehenna does not occur in the LXX or Greek literature...In contrast with later
Christian writings and ideas, the torments of hell are not described in the NT...Neither does the
NT contain the idea that Satan is the prince of gehenna, to whom sinners are handed over for
punishment" The Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Volume 2, Page 208-209.
One writer in the Lord's church [who believes in Hell] says, "The New Testament is
loaded with metaphors that describe Hell" and then he says Gehenna is one of the
metaphors. On the page before he says that Gehenna is not used in secular Greek
literature, not used in the Septuagint, and not by Josephus in the last part of the first
century in any of his writings. When he says they did not use Gehenna, he is using it to
mean Hell; therefore, he is saying Hell was not used by any of the above. Neither is it in
any of the Apocryphal books. The first time Gehenna (not Hell) is used by any Christian
writer was by Justin Martyr in about A. D. 150 and he says the unrighteous will suffer
and then pass out of existence. NO ONE KNOW OF OR USED “HELL” FOR THE
FIRST 15O YEARS! THEN IT WAS A HELL THAT LASTED FOR ONLY A
LIMITED TIME THEN ENDED!
[2]. NOT IN VOCABULARY: Heaven and Earth are named together about 30 times,
and each is named separately 100's of times, but not one time is Hell named or even
spoken of. Why? No doubt, it would have been if Hell was real and there is such a place.
We are even told not to swear by Heaven or Earth [Matthew 5:34], but today men swear
by Hell as much or more than anything. Why not then? Was it not because it is a word
that was not in their vocabulary? No word with the meaning of today's English Hell was
used in the ancient writing as a swear word or any other way; no such word was in their
vocabulary and they knew of no such place. THE CONCEPT OF THE PLACE CALLED
HELL, OR THE NAME HELL IS NOT IN THE BIBLE, AND DOES NOT OCCUR IN
ANY WRITING OF EITHER THE HEBREWS OR THE GREEKS UNTO LONG
AFTER THE BIBLE. THE OLD TESTAMENT HEBREW, OR THE NEW
TESTAMENT GREEK, HAS NO WORD THAT IS EVEN CLOSE TO TODAY'S
ENGLISH WORD "HELL." It is not in Greek literature in New Testaments times or
before, first century writers did not use it, Josephus or any other historian of that time did
not use it, it is not in the Septuagint, it was unknown about unto long after the last book
of the Bible was written. HOW DO WE KNOW ABOUT THIS PLACE CALLED
HELL? WHERE DID HELL COME FROM? Not by faith that comes by hearing God's
word. It is from the doctrines and precepts of men [Matthew 15:9]. It was not used in the
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first century because it was a place they knew nothing about. The word "Hell" is of
Saxon origin about the 3rd to 5th century A. D. and originally was any covered over
place such a roof or a grave. The nearest thing I can find to the English word Hell is in
Greek Mythology and Nurse Mythology [According to Socrates, Plato and other Greek
philosopher], was a shadowy subterranean realm somewhere under the earth where souls
went unto they could be reincarnated; but this shadowy place was far from being as
terrible or as dreadful a place as today's Hell is, and "souls" would only be in it unto they
were reincarnated. This underground place did not have the name Hell and is nothing like
the Hell that grew out of it in the Dark Age.
"Three hundred years or so ago the word 'Hell' was commonly used to refer to any dark or
foreboding place. A grave could be referred to by that term without readers or hearers
automatically envisioning 'the lake of fire, which is the second death' [Rev. 20:15]. The hole dug
in the ground to receive the body of a deceased loved one is certainly a foreboding place. A
prison, dungeon, lunatic asylum, or a valley such as the valley of Hinnom outside of Jerusalem
with equal propriety could be spoken of as 'Hell' three or four hundred years ago. That is no
longer so...in our time 'Hell' has a fairly settled meaning...its use conjures up visions of the
awesome lake of fire judgment reserved for sinners" Russell Boatman, Dean at Saint Louis
Christian College, Christian Church, "What The Bible Says, The End Time," College Press, Page
305.
"Hell has entirely changed its old harmless sense of dim under-world: and that meaning, as it
now does, to myriads of readers...it conveys meanings which are not to be found in any of the
New or Old Testament words for which it is presented as an equivalent" Canon Farrar, Excursus
II, "Eternal Hope."
A doctrine as terrible as Hell must not be assumed, but demonstrated by
unquestionable proof. Such proof is not in the Bible. Heaven is in the Bible over 600
times, but Hell not one time. Why? The Bible is full of warnings. Paul warned that many
"shall not inherit the kingdom of God" [1 Corinthians 5:9], but he never said anyone
would "go to Hell." Paul said he declared the whole counsel of God [Acts 20:27]; yet
not one time [even in the King James Version] did he use the word Hell. Why? T. L.
Andrews says our English word Hell has come to mean the eternal abode of the sinner
where this tormenting punishment takes place? Florida College Lectures, 1997, Page 168.
When? The English word Hell did not exist in Paul's time. It therefore come to mean the
eternal abode of sinners long after the New Testament; and came from man, not God.
Therefore Paul could not, and did not use it.
IF HELL WERE A REAL PLACE, WHICH WAS KNOWN ABOUT IN THE TIME
OF CHRIST, OTHERS OF THAT TIME WOULD HAVE KNOWN ABOUT IT AND
USED ITS NAME; BUT NONE DID. Gehenna was the name of a real place near
Jerusalem [the city dump], which the people near Jerusalem would know about it, and
would understand what Christ was saying when He used its name as a place of
destruction. The rest of the world would not know about Jerusalem's trash dump or know
what its name was, and would not have understood. If Paul had used the name Gehenna
in Rome or in writing to Gentiles, it is unlikely that any would have known what or
where Gehenna was. When the Greek philosophy about the underworld was brought into
the church by the "church fathers," what Christ had said about Gehenna was made to
order for them to misuse. "Gehenna" was soon mistranslated into Hell, probably it came
from "Hel" [see above]. Whatever is not taught in the Bible cannot be a Bible doctrine. If
it is the doctrine of man, is it not sinful to teach it as God's word?
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Hell is not a Bible word. It is a word chosen by Bible Translators to translate four
Bible words, sheol, hades, Gehenna, and Tartarus. Not one of the four has the meaning of
Hell as it is used today. Not only is there no Hebrew or Greek word for Hell, but also at
first even the English word Hell did not mean a place of torment after death as it does
today; like many English words it has had a radical change of meaning. In Old English it
was a covered place. A farmer would say "I helled my potatoes" meaning he put them in
a hole and covered them to keep them from the cold. Helling a house meant to cover it
with a roof. Helmet, a covering for the head is derived from the same word. Hell was
never the best translations of hades, but formerly it would have been acceptable in Old
English. It is not an acceptable translation of hades in modern English and has been
abandoned by many of the newer translations. When the King James Version was made,
the doctrine of Hell was completely developed and the translation of sheol and hades into
Hell were a mistranslation. Most likely a deliberate mistranslation for in 1611 it had
taken on the modern meaning of a place of torment after death.
Those who believe in Hell use the word as if both the place and the name are used
repeatedly in the Bible. Their proof texts are metaphors, parables, and symbolical
language as is found in the book of Revelation. If there is a place as terrible as Hell, why
is it never spoken of in clear words that the common person could not misunderstand? If
Hell were real, it would be strange if a doctrine as important as Hell would be would have
to depend on an interpretation of a parable or symbolical language.
[3]. NOT IN EARLY CREEDS The two earliest creeds, The Apostles Creed,
traditionally ascribed to the 12 Apostles, and the Nicean Creed, 325 A. D., were both
doctrinal statements saying what those that used them believed, but neither one contained
the concept of Hell.
[4]. TODAY'S PREACHING - versus - FIRST CENTURY PREACHING. Heaven is
taught throughout the Bible [used about 635 times in the New American Standard Bible],
but there is nothing about today's Hell. Adam was warned that he would die if he ate, but
not that he would go to Hell. Moses warned about death to those who did not keep the
law, but he said nothing about Hell. The Bible is as silent as a tomb on it. It is beyond
belief that there would not be many clear and unmistakable warning about Hell if
there were such a place. There are many clear and unmistakable warning that the
wages of sin is death, but not a one about Hell or an eternal life of torment.
HOW HELL WAS PUT INTO THE BIBLE
AND IS BEING KEPT IN THE BIBLE
"Jesus said it [Hell] was a place where 'the fire...never shall be quenched...Hell is further
described as a place where" Whitlock, Seibles Road Church of Christ bulletin, August 9, 1998.
Christ did not say anything about Hell, but was using Gehenna as a metaphor of
destruction; but Whitlock uses Hell and in the same sentence he quotes only a part of a
sentence used by Christ, adds to it, and makes it all one sentence. In doing so he has put
the word Hell into the mouth of Christ, but he must deny that this is a metaphor. [1] He
changes one proper noun into another proper noun, but does not tell us from where he got
the proper noun "Hell." [2] He makes Christ say something He did not say. [3] He says,
"Hell is further described as a place where," but he did not say where it is described as a
place. Hell is not described as a place or is not described in any other way in the Bible.
This is the very way the words of Christ were first misused by some of the so called
church fathers in about the third century and after, long before it was mistranslated into
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any Bible translation. Unto after the end of the second century only a few of the "church
fathers" taught that men have an immaterial, invisible part of a person that is immortal
and it was not unto later that Hell came into being. The half converted "church fathers,"
looking for a way to put their philosophy into Christianity, used the words of Christ in the
same way Whitlock did. The church fathers had to have a place to put their immortal
soul, which came from their Greek philosophy. Very often statements like the one John
Benton made, that the same word aionios, (eternal) is used to describe both Heaven and
Hell. "How Can a God of Love Send People to Hell?" Page 44, 1985. Dr. Bert Thompson
said both Heaven and Hell are described with the exact same terminology in the Bible.
Reason and Revelation, July 2000. The sad thing is that many will believe such a
statements without question. The truth is that aionios, (eternal) is not used in any passage
with sheol, hades or Gehenna, not in any passage that any of the three words that are
translated Hell in the King James Version. Dr. Thompson did not give one passage where
Hell is described with the same terminology as Heaven. There is not one.
Summary: In Pagan and Greek philosophy [Plato, Socrates and others], souls went to a
place underground to "a cold and shadowy subterranean realm" unto they could be
reincarnated. They believed in the soul being immortal and would be reincarnated, but
they did not believe in Hell, a place of everlasting torment before or after the judgment
was unknown to them; and they had no word for it. The doctrine of Hell, as is believed
today, became fully developed in the medieval Dark Age. Tyndale and many others in the
Protestant reformation fought the Catholic Church teaching that most go to Purgatory to
be purified on their way to Heaven, but "Hell" was accepted without Purgatory by most
Protestant churches. It was preached in all its terror by the Jonathan Edwards type of Hell
fire preacher and many Gospel preachers a few years back, with Satan tormenting the lost
from the time of their death. Today it is almost never preached or written about by
Gospel preachers; but when it is, it is almost always toned down from the Jonathan
Edwards type of Hell fire preaching; and it is now God, not Satan, who will be doing the
tormenting.
ANOTHER CHANGE: In the same way the King James Version changed Gehenna
into Hell, it also changed the proper noun "Passover (Pasha in Greek)" into "Easter."
"Pasha" is in the New Testament twenty-nine times. Twenty-eight times the King James
Version translates it Passover. Only one time [Acts 12:4] is it translated Easter, which
according to Webster’s New World Dictionary came from “Eastre” which is the Anglos
Saxon goddess of the dawn. There is no way the King James translators could not have
known Pasha is not Easter; this is another deliberate change where a Proper Noun was
changed into another Proper Noun, which they know had a completely different meaning.
Most other translations have corrected this change.
IF GEHENNA IS A METAPHOR, WHAT IS IT A METAPHOR OF? Present day
preachers make it be a metaphor of a place unknown unto long after the last page of the
Bible was written. BUT (after they change it's name) THEY CONTINUOUSLY USE IT
AS IF IT IS A REAL PLACE, NOT AS A METAPHOR.
CAN ONE METAPHOR HAVE SEVERAL OTHER METAPHORS THAT ARE
METAPHORS OF IT? After saying Gehenna was a valley that was used as a place of
refuse where fires were always needed to consume, Hamilton says, Jesus took the term
and applied it to the place of eternal torment. C. Hamilton in Truth Commentaries, 1
Peter, Page 385. This is a typical example of how even well-educated men who know
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how Christ used Gehenna, but they are compelled to use the mistranslation of the King
James Version to prove their belief. Then he says Hell is represented by several
metaphors. He says Gehenna is a metaphor, and then he says this metaphor (Gehenna) is
represented by several metaphors. He has one metaphor that has several other metaphors
that are metaphors of it. Then on the same page he says, Gehenna, Hell, means the place
of punishment in the next life. First, he says Gehenna, a valley used for the destruction of
the unwanted city garbage, is a metaphor of Hell, and then on the same page says
Gehenna is Hell! Which one does he think Gehenna is, a metaphor or a real place? It
comes down to what is the real thing, and what is the metaphor. He says all three, that
Gehenna, the lake of fire, and the second death, are all metaphors. Then how could any of
them be hell if all three are metaphors? How could he say Hell-Gehenna is a real place
when he has just said it is a metaphor? His problem is that he knew Gehenna was the city
dump (a real place), but needed to make it into another real place, namely Hell. He has
the both the lake of fire and the second death being a metaphor of Gehenna-Jerusalem's
trash dump. He says Hell is called the second death, and the lake of fire on page 385; but
he did not give one verse where either one is called Hell. He did not for there is not one.
This is one of the biggest adding to the word of God that can be found anywhere by
anyone. When was Gehenna changed into Hell? When was one place changed into
another place? When did a place of destruction of unwanted trash become a place of
eternal torment and damnation? The second death is not a metaphor of anything. If the
second death is only a metaphor then the first death would also have to be only a
metaphor; or there would not be the first and the second, but two different and unlike
things. The second death is a real death, just as real as is the first death. He changed
Gehenna into Hell and used it over and over as if it were a Bible name for a real place
(but not the name of the city dump). He has done what many do, He has taken the name
of a particular place [the city dump] and made it into another particular place, which does
not exist in the Bible; and then made the second death into a metaphor of the place he has
made. He has taken a thing [death-the second death] and then made this thing into a place
and calls this place he had made out of death "Hell."
How could he know Gehenna is a metaphor of Hell? If it is, then he would have to
know about Hell from some other place, for he could never know Gehenna was a
metaphor of a place called Hell if the Bible said nothing about that place. We would
never be able to understand a metaphor if it were about somewhere far out in space which
we know nothing about if we are not told by revelation that there is such a place. This is
just what he is doing if he does not know there is a Hell from another part of the Bible.
From where did he learn of Hell? From where did he learn it name? Maybe from the very
badly mistranslated King James Version, and the theology he has heard all his life, but
not from any revelation from God for there is not a word in the Bible that has the
meaning of today's English word hell. He says in one breath that Gehenna is a metaphor
of Hell and in the next breath it is not a metaphor, but that it is Hell. He and most others
that believe in Hell say Gehenna is a metaphor of Hell. But if Gehenna, the city dump,
is a metaphor of Hell why is this metaphor of Hell translated into Hell? If it is a
metaphor of Hell, in what passage is "Hell" to be found? Without changing
Gehenna into Hell, there is nowhere that Hell can be found in the Bible. They seem
to be between a rock and a hard place. They know Gehenna is a metaphor, but if it is then
they have no place to get the name of Hell. Yet, they tell us it is a metaphor and then tell
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us it is not a metaphor but that they know it is an actual real place of eternal torment even
if they cannot tell us what passage they know this from.
Here is a strange statement for one who believes Hell is found in revelation from God. Hamilton
quotes Henry Thayer who says, "Gehenna, the name of a valley on the S. and E. of
Jerusalem...which was so called from the cries of little children who were thrown into the fiery
arms of Moloch...an idol having the form of a bull. The Jews so abhorred the place after these
horrible sacrifices had been abolished by King Josiah...that they cast into it not only all manner or
refuse, but even the dead bodies of animals and of unburied criminals who had been executed.
And since fires were always needed to consume the dead bodies, that the air might not become
tainted by the putrefaction, it came to pass that the place was called Gehenna tou puros" A
Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament, Page 111. THAYER SAID GEHENNA IS A VALLEY. IF
IT IS A VALLEY ON THIS EARTH, IT COULD NOT BE HELL THAT IS NOT ON THIS EARTH.
Hamilton says the concept of hell is derived from a valley south and east of Jerusalem.
Truth Commentaries, 1 Peter, Page 385. Who does he think had this "concept," man or
God? Is he saying God or man had this concept from the misuses of a valley on this
earth? When was this "concept"? A big part of the Old Testament was past history before
the Jews so abhorred the place, Page 385. Was it just a late afterthought with God, which
he derived from man's misuse of a valley? He overlooked the fact that "Hell" is in the
King James Version before the "Jews so abhorred the place after these horrible
sacrifices." He said (1) Hell was unknown in much of the Old Testament and (2) "the
concept of Hell is derived" by man. Do you see what he has done? He has taken what
Thayer said about the origin of the name of a real valley that is "S. and E. of
Jerusalem" then he changed the name of this real valley from Gehenna to Hell, and
then applied what was said in the lexicon about the valley of Gehenna to the origin
to his Hell, which he says is a place not on this earth. He completely changed what
Thayer said about the name of a valley on this earth to make it be proof of what he
needed, but did not have. If the lake of fire were prepared for the Devil and his angels
(Matthew 25:41), how did it become a metaphor of Gehenna, a place that did not exist
unto long after the creation of man, and very long after the fall of Satan and his angles?
According to Hamilton, it did not exist unto after the Jews so abhorred the place.
THAYER SAYS WHERE THE NAME OF A VALLEY NEAR JERUSALEM
(Gehenna) IS DERIVED FROM, BUT WHERE IS HELL (as we use the word
today) DERIVED FROM? EITHER THE NAME OR THE PLACE? The answer is
clear that it came from pagan philosophy and was brought into the church by the socalled
church fathers.
If Gehenna were a metaphor of Hell, a place of eternal torment, it would be a very
poor one, for GEHENNA THE CITY DUMP WAS A PLACE OF DESTRUCTION
WITH NO TORMENT; BUT HELL AS IT IS USED TODAY IS A PLACE OF
TORMENT WITH NO DESTRUCTION. IN THE TIME OF CHRIST GEHENNA WAS
A PLACE OF DESTRUCTION, NOT A PLACE OF TORMENT.
STEP AFTER STEP AFTER STEP
• First step: Many teach and believe that Gehenna was the valley outside of
Jerusalem [the city dump].
• Second step: The name is changed to the name of another place, but not a place
near Jerusalem. Changed from "Gehenna" near Jerusalem to "Hell" who knows
where it is but not near Jerusalem, not on this earth.
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• Third step: Then the place of destruction which is near Jerusalem named Gehenna
is changed into a place of torment which is not on this earth and renamed Hell,
and the very words (mistranslated words) of Christ are used to make Him be
speaking of their Hell. Christ is made to be speaking of a place not of this earth,
and not the Gehenna near Jerusalem. With this kind of reasoning anything can be
proved. THE PLACE CALLED "GEHENNA" BY CHRIST IS NOT THE
PLACE THAT IS CALLED "HELL" TODAY.
Summary: Major changes must be made to the Bible to teach a person now has an
immortal immaterial, invisible part of a person that will be tormented in Hell.
1. Destroy what? Soul [psukee - a living creature] MUST BE CHANGED TO A
FORMLESS, NO SUBSTANCE BEING THAT CANNOT DIE. A mortal living
being (psukee) must be changed to an immortal being. How did the translators
know when it was one and when it was the other? The same word is used four
times in Matthew 10:28-39 and is translated soul two times and life two times,
and in Matthew 16:25-39 it is used four times and in the King James Version it is
also translated soul two times and life two times, but life all four times in the
American Standard Version. In verse 39 Christ says, "He that finds his life
[psukee-life or soul] shall lose it; and he that loses his life [psukee-life or soul] for
my sake shall find it." Although the translators have tried to make it sometimes
refer to one part of a person and sometimes to another part of a person, it always
refers to the whole person, not just a part of him. When it refers to God, it is
referring to all of God, not just an immortal inter part of Him. When both
nehphesh in the Old Testament and psukee in the New Testament are used with
reference to God, angels, man, or animals, it is always a living being, not just a
part of a living being.
2. Destroy where? They were destroyed in Gehenna, not Hell. The twelve apostles
were told to fear God who was able to destroy in Gehenna. A place where there
was destruction but no torment must be changed to a place where there is torment
but no destruction. CHRIST SAID DESTROY IN GEHENNA, BUT THIS
MUST BE CHANGED TO TORMENT IN HELL.
3. The name Gehenna must be changed to another name, Hell. The name of the city
dump of Jerusalem, a real place, must be changed to the name of another place
which those who have made the change say is a place that is not on this earth.
Many who say they speak where the Bible speaks and are silent where the Bible is
silent make all these changes. IF THEY DID NOT CHANGE THE NAME
"GEHENNA" TO "HELL" THEY WOULD HAVE NOTHING ABOUT "HELL"
IN THE BIBLE.
4. The fire of Gehenna must be changed to the fire of "Hell" Our earthly bodies
cannot be burned forever in a literal fire. Both our bodies and the fire would have
to be changed in such a way that it would be something other than the bodies we
now have, and it could not literal fire as we know it. Would it not mean God
would make something new, then forever burn this new something as if it were
our bodies in place of our bodies?
5. Death must be changed to life for the lost to have eternal life in Hell. "The
wages of sin is death" [Romans 6:23]. "But for the fearful...their part shall be in
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the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death"
[Revelation 21:8].
Nowhere does the Bible say there is such a place as Hell, and it is up to those who
teach it to prove there is a place in the Bible. This they have not, and cannot prove.
1. Not one passage that says most of mankind will be given to Satan to forever
torment for his pleasure.
2. Not one passage that says most of mankind was made by a sadistic and fiendish
God who knew before He made them that He would forever torment them.
USE OF FIRE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Consumed Or Not Consumed
Fire is always used for destruction, never for preservation. It is never used for torment.
Fire always destroys and never preserves anything.
• Burning of unfruitful trees and useless chaff of wheat by John the Baptist
[Matthew 3:4-12].
• Burning of trash in the city dump-Gehenna [see chapter four].
• Burning of tares at the end of the age [Matthew 13:24-50].
• Burning of unfruitful branches [John 15:6]. Unfruitful trees [Luke 3:9].
• Land that bears thorns and thistles is to be burned. To get rid of the thorns. Those
that fell away are likened or compared too thorns and thistles that are destroyed
by fire, not tormented by fire [Hebrews 6:1-7].
• God is a consuming fire. [Hebrews 12:29] See Luke 9:54.
• Sodom-punishment of eternal fire-was forever destroyed by fire, not forever
burning [Jude 7; 2 Peter 2:6].
• The heavens shall pass away, be dissolved, and the earth and the works that are
therein shall be burned up [2 Peter 3:7-14]. The lost are of the world, which will
pass away [1 John 2:16-17].
• 2 Thessalonians 1:7
• Lake of fire, which is the second death (not preserved alive) [Revelation 21:8;
2:11].
Fire is never used by God to torment, but for destruction. "Gather his wheat [the
saved] into the garner, but He will burn up the chaff [the lost] with unquenchable fire"
Matthew 3:12. Tares and bad fish are burned to get rid of them, NOT TO TORMENT
FOREVER, OR AS SOME SAY "TO BURN IN HELL FOREVER" Matthew 13.
Theology teaches the exact opposite of the Bible that the chaff will not be burned up but
will be tormented forever, but not burned, not consumed and destroyed as the farmer does
the chaff.
• Farmer: Burns up chaff to destroy it.
• God: Burns up sinful to destroy them.
• Fisher: Burns bad fish to get rid of them. [There is no parallel if you say, "torment
them." It would make God be using very poor metaphors, for the ones God used
do not teach torment, and would not make sense.]
o Tares are burned, the wheat is saved [Matthew 13:30]
o Lost are burned, the faithful are saved. Does the farmer burn the tares to
torment them or to destroy them?
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When tares are cast into a furnace of fire they are burnt. Like the chaff that is totally
consumed in the furnace, there is no suggestion of life beyond the burning in the lake of
fire.
FURNACE OF FIRE in the Old Testament, destruction not eternal torment or
preservation, Psalm 21:9; Malachi 4:1-3; Daniel 3:13-27; Psalm 12:6.
CONSUMED OR NOT CONSUMED: Those who believe a person has a soul that is
immortal also believe a person's soul can never be consumed. How is consumed used in
the Bible. Is a consuming fire one that burns up (consumes) or one that is forever burning
but cannot consume what it is burning? Why would God use "consumed" if a person has
a soul that cannot be consumed?
1. Leviticus 10:2: “And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed
them, and they died before the Lord.”
2. Exodus 3:2-5: The burning bush was "not consumed." This was so unnatural of
fire that Moses said, "I must turn aside now, and see this marvelous sight, why the
bush is not burnt up."
3. Exodus 15:7 "You do send forth your burning anger, and it consumes them as
chaff." When chaff is consumed by fire the chaff no longer exists.
4. Exodus 32:10: "Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against
them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of you a great nation."
"Destroy" in New American Standard Version. They would no longer exist.
5. Exodus 32:12: "Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, saying, For evil did he
bring them forth, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the
face of the earth? Turn from your fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against
your people." They would have been completely removed from the face of the
earth.
6. Leviticus 9:23-24: The fat was on the altar. Fire comes forth and consumed it. The
consumed fat no longer existed.
7. Psalms 37:20: "They shall consume; in smoke shall they consume away."
8. Hebrews 12:29: "For our God is a consuming fire."
USE OF TORMENT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Those who teach the sinner will be tormented forever in Hell use:
1. The symbolic language in the parable of the rich man, which must be made literal
for it to support their teaching. [Luke 16:23; 24; 25; 28].
2. The symbolic language of Revelation, which must also be made literal, if not
neither would it support their teaching .
a. Revelation 9:5: Locusts out of the pit torment those who have not the seal
of God tormented for five months. Believers in Hell do not believe the
torment in the Hell they believe in will be for only five months.
b. Revelation 11:10: "Tormented them that dwell on the earth." A symbolical
picture of something on this earth, not in Hell.
c. Revelation 14:10, 11: Worshipers of Babylon tormented. Babylon:
"Roman Empire and its pagan religions that were the persecutor of the
church" [See Hailey, Wallace, and Ogden above].
d. Revelation 18:7 10, 15: Babylon tormented. "In one hour God is she made
desolate...for has judged your judgment on her." This is an evil nation on
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this earth, not the lost in "Hell" although it is often misused to prove
"Hell."
e. Revelation 20:10: The devil tormented by being cast into the lake of fire,
which is the second death. "Day and night," as long as there is day and
night, unto the ages of ages See [19] Revelation 20:10 above in this
chapter.
3. Torment is used in non-symbolical language in the New Testament, but it is never
applied to the lost after Judgment Day. Matthew 4:24; 8:6; Mark 8:6, 18:34;
Hebrews 11:37; 1 John 4:18. Unconditional immortality uses only the symbolic
language passages to prove torment in Hell. Yet in their preaching they frequently
use it literally, saying God will forever torment the lost, and then say they are
"speaking where the scriptures speak, and keeping silent where the scriptures are
silent."
Demons tormented [Matthew 8:29; Mark 5:7; Luke 8:28] Knowles on page 203 in
"What the Bible says about Angels and Demons" said, "Demons Believe in Hell," and he
uses "BEFORE the appointed time" in Matthew 8:29, as his proof. "To torment us
BEFORE THE APPOINTED TIME?" The question is WHEN and WHAT torment is
being spoken of. What is "the appointed time?" The only torment in this is what the
demon's thought Christ was going to do to them THEN AT THAT TIME ["before the
appointed time"], not in Hell. [Torment "...2. to agitate or upset greatly 3. to annoy,
pester, or harass." American Heritage Dictionary]. They asked Christ if He came to
torment [harass] them at that time. Nothing is said about Hell or TORMENT AT THE
APPOINTED TIME [at the judgment], OR TORMENT AFTER THE APPOINTED
TIME [after the judgment], but many read it in. THE DEMONS DID NOT ASK
CHRIST IF HE WERE GOING TO TORMENT THEM AT THE JUDGMENT (the
appointed time) BUT WAS CHRIST GOING TO TORMENT THEM AT THE TIME
HE WAS TALKING TO THEM (before the appointed time). How does he find Hell or
the Demons believing in Hell in this passage?
Thomas P. Connelly in "A Debate On The State Of The Dead" makes the argument
that demons are the departed souls of dead men. For this to be true, it must first be shown
that men do have a part that lives after the death of the body, and second, contrary to the
Protestant theology that the lost goes to Hell at death, and contrary to the Abraham's
bosom view that the lost are not on the bad side of hades, but that the lost dead are on this
earth; it would have to be shown that are now roaming around on this earth. If the lost
were in Hell it would make them able to leave Hell and return to earth.
As was said at the first of this chapter, those who believe in the Pagan doctrine of an
immortal soul from birth and Hell have no plain statement. That they must make
figurative language, metaphors and symbolic passages into literal statements,
WHICH SHOWS THE WEAKNESS OF THEIR BELIEF, that it is from man and not
from God. They must make parables, and figurative language to be superior over plain
statements. What is clear language must be made to agree with what they think is said in
the symbolic language.
Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are completely silent on today's
concept of a place where God will unending torment most of mankind. HOW CAN
ANYONE BELIEVE IT IS NOT A SIN TO ADD SUCH A PLACE TO GOD'S
WORD? WHAT DO THEY THINK GOD WILL SAY AT THE JUDGMENT TO
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THOSE WHO ATTRIBUTE SUCH AN EVIL TEACHING TO HIM? Does not
attributing this evil to God make them a sinner?
CHAPTER FIVE
Sheol, Hades, Tartarus
In the King James Bible, there are four words translated Hell [sheol, hades, Tartarus,
and Gehenna]. Most Bible students now admit that sheol, hades and Tartarus should
never have been translated into Hell, but many still hold onto the badly mistranslated
King James Version, and Gospel preachers and Bible teachers do little or nothing to teach
the truth. Many, who do all they can too correct any lesser error just do not seem to care
about this one.
[1] SHEOL in the King James Version is translated grave 31 times, Hell 31 times, and
pit 3 times. The American Standard Version used the untranslated Hebrew word "sheol."
The New International Version translated it "grave" 60 times and "death" 5 times. The
New Century Version and others also translated it grave. The American Standard Version
and other newer translations knew Hell as used today [a place of eternal punishment after
the resurrection] was not right, but did not translate it "grave"; they left the Hebrew word
untranslated. Maybe they thought it would make their translation unacceptable if they
translated it, and it most likely would have. Neither sheol nor hades have any meaning in
English and left all free to use any theological definition they wanted. Hamilton says
contrary to popular opinion it does not mean Hell as we use this term, Page 384, Truth
Commentaries.
The King James Version makes sheol be three different places, the grave, Hell, and a
pit. How did they know the same word means three different places? "HELL" AS IT IS
USED TODAY IS NOT A THIRTY-FIRST COUSIN TO GRAVE YET IT IS THE
SAME WORD IN THE HEBREW OLD TESTAMENT. How did they know when the
same word in one place was a grave for the dead, and when the same word was an
entirely different place, a place of torment for those who can never be dead?
"THERE DOES NOT SEEM TO BE A VERY CLEAR DISTINCTION IN THE O. T. BETWEEN THE
FINAL DESTINY OF THE GOOD AND THE EVIL. THEY ALL ALIKE GO TO THE GRAVE" Baker
Encyclopedia of the Bible, "SHEOL," Volume 1, Page 953. The reason for there being no
distinction in the Old Testament is that both the good and the evil do go to the grave, and will
not come out unto the resurrection.
The Hebrew word "sheol" is left untranslated all sixty-five times it is used in the
American Standard Version, New American Standard Version, and many others. An
untranslated Hebrew word in an English translation does not help the English reader
understand what was said, but it is better than mistranslating it as the King James Version
did and teaching a lie. Why do many translations translate all other words and leave this
one untranslated? Was the reason that if sheol were translated, it would be contrary to
what the translators believed, or is it an attempt to side step the question and not have to
deal with it. Were the translators afraid that if they told us the truth their translation
would not be accepted?
ALL SIXTY-FIVE TIMES SHEOL IS USED
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT IN FOUR TRANSLATIONS
| ASV |
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SHEOL in the | NASV |
Old Testament | KJV | NKJV | NRSV | NIV |
1. Genesis 37:35 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
2. Genesis 42:38 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
3. Genesis 44:29 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
4. Genesis 44:31 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
5. Numbers 16:30 | pit | pit | Sheol | grave |
6. Numbers 16:33 | pit | pit | Sheol | grave |
7. Deuteronomy 32:22| Hell | Hell | Sheol | death |
8. 1 Samuel 2:6 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
9. 2 Samuel 22:6 (1)| HELL | SHEOL | Sheol | grave |
10. 1 Kings 2:6 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
11. 1 Kings 2:9 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
12. Job 7:9 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
13. Job 11:8 (2)| HELL | SHEOL | Sheol | grave |
14. Job 14:13 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
15. Job 17:13 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
16. Job 17:16 (3)| PIT | SHEOL | Sheol | death |
17. Job 21:13 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
18. Job 24:19 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
19. Job 26:6 (4)| HELL | SHEOL | Sheol | death |
20. Psalms 6:5 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
21. Psalms 9:17 | Hell | Hell | Sheol | grave |
22. Psalms 16:10 (5)| HELL | SHEOL | Sheol | grave |
23. Psalms 18:5 (6)| HELL | SHEOL | Sheol | grave |
24. Psalms 30:3 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
25. Psalms 31:17 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
26. Psalms 49:14 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
27. Psalms 49:14 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
28. Psalms 49:15 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
29. Psalms 55:15 | Hell | Hell | Sheol | grave |
30. Psalms 86:13 (7)| HELL | SHEOL | Sheol | grave |
31. Psalms 88:3 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
32. Psalms 89:48 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
33. Psalms 116:3 (8)| HELL | SHEOL | Sheol | grave |
34. Psalms 139:8 | Hell | Hell | Sheol | depths|
35. Psalms 141:7 |Grave's| Grave | Sheol | grave |
36. Proverbs 1:12 (9)| GRAVE | SHEOL | Sheol | grave |
37. Proverbs 5:5 | Hell | Hell | Sheol | grave |
38. Proverbs 7:27 | Hell | Hell | Sheol | grave |
39. Proverbs 9:18 | Hell | Hell | Sheol | grave |
40. Proverbs 15:11 | Hell | Hell | Sheol | grave |
41. Proverbs 15:24 | Hell | Hell | Sheol | grave |
42. Proverbs 23:14 | Hell | Hell | Sheol | grave |
43. Proverbs 27:20 | Hell | Hell | Sheol | grave |
44. Proverbs 30:16 | grave | grave | Sheol | death |
45. Ecclesiastes 9:10| grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
46. Song of Solomon 8:6 | grave | grave | Sheol#| grave |
47. Isaiah 5:14 (10)| HELL | SHEOL | Sheol | grave |
48. Isaiah 14:9 | Hell* | Hell | Sheol | grave |
49. Isaiah 14:11 (11)| GRAVE | SHEOL | Sheol | grave |
50. Isaiah 14:15 (12)| HELL | SHEOL | Sheol | grave |
51. Isaiah 28:15 (13)| HELL | SHEOL | Sheol | grave |
52. Isaiah 28:18 (14)| HELL | SHEOL | Sheol | grave |
53. Isaiah 38:10 (15)| GRAVE | SHEOL | Sheol | grave |
54. Isaiah 38:18 (16)| GRAVE | SHEOL | Sheol | grave |
55. Isaiah 57:9 (17)| HELL | SHEOL | Sheol | grave |
56. Ezekiel 31:15(18)| GRAVE | HELL | Sheol | grave |
57. Ezekiel 31:16 | Hell | Hell | Sheol | grave |
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58. Ezekiel 31:17 | Hell | Hell | Sheol | grave |
59. Ezekiel 32:21 | Hell | Hell | Sheol | grave |
60. Ezekiel 32:27 | Hell | Hell | Sheol | grave |
61. Hosea 13:14 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
62. Hosea 13:14 | grave | grave | Sheol | grave |
63. Amos 9:2 | Hell* | Hell | Sheol | grave |
64. Jonah 2:2 (19)| HELL* | SHEOL | Sheol | grave |
65. Habakkuk 2:5 | Hell | Hell | Sheol | grave |
KJV, King James Version; == NKJV, New King James Version, == ASV; American Standard Version, == NASV; New American Standard Version, == NRSV ;
New Revised Standard Version, == NIV ; New International Version
#Song of Solomon 8:6 is the only time grave is used in place of sheol in the New Revised Standard Version.
*Margin reads "or the grave" in Isaiah 14:9, Amos 9:2, and Jonah 2:2 in the King James Version.
THERE ARE NINETEEN CHANGES in the King James and the New King James
[See (1) to (19) in the above chart]. If there were a way to know when to translate sheol
into Hell and when not to, the translators of the only two of the major translations that
have Hell in the Old Testament should have known and be in agreement. Are they? The
New King James Version takes Hell out of many passages where it is in the King James
Version. When they translated a common noun [sheol-grave] into a proper noun [Hell],
they did not agree often. Men never agree on what they want when they change the word
of God.
Sheol in Hebrew, hades in Greek, and grave in English are common nouns and should
not be capitalized but some translations do. If the translators of the New American
Standard Version had been honest with their reader they would have translated sheol; it
looks as if they were afraid to tell us the truth, but were did not want to lie by translating
sheol into Hell so they used the Hebrew word knowing that most of there readers would
understand sheol and Hell to the same place.
“The uniform substitution of ‘sheol’ for ‘the grave,’ ‘the pit,’ and ‘hell,’ in places where these
terms have been retained by the English Revision, has little need of justification. The English
Revisers use ‘Sheol’ twenty-nine times out of the sixty-fore in which it occurs in the original. No
good reason has been given for such a discrimination. If the new term can be fitly used at all, it is
clear that it ought to be used uniformly” Preface to the American Standard Bible.
OBVIOUSLY, IF "SHEOL" MEANS "HELL" IT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN
TRANSLATED "GRAVE" IN THE KING JAMES OR ANY OTHER
TRANSLATIONS FOR THEY ARE DIFFERENT PLACES. IT IS ALSO OBVIOUS
THAT IT CANNOT MEAN BOTH.
W. E. Vine said, "First, the word means the state of death. ‘ For in death, there is no remembrance
of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks' (Ps 6:5; cf. 18:5). It is the final resting place of all men:
'they spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave' Job 21:13...second, 'sheol' is used
of a place of conscious existence after death" "Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary Of Old And New
Testament Words" Page 227. He could not (or anyone) ever know for sure when it was used
the first or second way in any verse. How could they? Does everyone just use the one
they want to? Although he is Protestant, this is not anything like the orthodox
Protestant version of all going to directly to Heaven or Hell at death.
• FIRST VINE SAID SHEOL IS THE STATE OF DEATH WHERE THERE IS
NO REMEMBRANCE.
• SECOND HE USED THE SAME WORD FOR A PLACE OF CONSCIOUS
EXISTENCE.
HOW DOES HE THINK THE SAME PLACE COULD BE BOTH A PLACE OF
DEATH WITH NO REMEMBRANCE AND AT THE SAME TIME A PLACE OF
LIFE WITH CONSCIOUS EXISTENCE but not life in Heaven or Hell? He is
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speaking of conscious existence in sheol-the grave after death; therefore, he is saying the
orthodox Protestant view of all be transported instantaneous to Heaven or Hell at death is
not true. He tries to prove the second with Genesis 3:7-35 "I will go down to sheol in
mourning for my son" New American Standard Version. The New Century Version says,
"unto the day I die." "You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; neither will thou allow your
holy one to undergo decay" (Psalms 16:10 New American Standard Version). "And lie
silent in the grave" (Psalms 31:17 New International Version). "As heat and drought
snatch away the melted snow, so the grave snatches away those who have sinned" (Job
24:19 New International Version). "So MAN lies down and does not roused from their
sleep. If only you would hide ME in the grave" (Job 14:12-13 New International
Version). It is man that lies down in sleep, not an immaterial part of man; Job wanted
God to hide him (“me”) in the grave, not just his body while the real Job was in Heaven.
In the very verses W. E. Vine uses to prove his second use of the word, God could not be
saying the first any clearer. IN THESE PASSAGES AND OTHERS, IT IS SO
CERTAIN AND UNDENIABLE THAT SHEOL IS THE GRAVE THAT MANY (LIKE
W. E. VINE) HAD TO CREATE A NEW SHEOL. A DIFFERENT GOSPEL IS
PREACHED WITH TWO SHEOLS (OR HADES). ONE FOR THE BODY TO
"SLEEP" IN FROM DEATH UNTO THE RESURRECTION, AND ONE FOR THE
SOUL (OR THE LIVING DEAD) TO "LIVE" IN FROM DEATH UNTO THE
RESURRECTION; AND THEN A THIRD PLACE MUST BE ADDED FOR THE
LOST TO BE TORMENTED IN FOREVER AFTER THE JUDGMENT DAY.
Summary: The King James translators tried to put the preconceived belief of Hell in
the Bible by mistranslating sheol, but could not consistently conceal the truth in all 65
times sheol is used. If they had:
1. THEY WOULD HAVE PUT ALL MAN KIND IN HELL: They found it
impossible to translate sheol into Hell every time it is used. If they had been
consistent in their mistranslation, they would have put the righteous in Hell. All
go to sheol at death. Even with all their mistranslating, they sometimes ended up
with the righteous in Hell.
o a) Jacob goes to Hell (sheol). Genesis 37:35 "For I will go down to Hell
(sheol) to my son mourning."
o b) Job prayed to go to Hell (sheol) (Job 14:13). He was praying to go to
the grave where his suffering would end, not to a place where it would be
increased many times over and would last forever. THE TRANSLATERS
OF THE KING JAME VERSON KNOW IT WOULD HAVE BEEN
ABSURD TO HAVE JOB PRAYING TO GO TO HELL.
o c) "My soul is full of troubles: and my life draws nigh unto the Hell"
(sheol-grave in King James Version). Psalm 88:3. Sheol (the grave-a quiet
place of unconsciousness sleep where both the righteous and the wicked
go) is the nearest thing to today's Hell that the translators could find and
then could translate it Hell less than half the time. For the thousands of
years of the Old Testament, God told no one about a place called Hell.
2. THEY WOULD HAVE MADE A RESURRECTION FROM HELL: They
would have caused themselves a problem by making some be resurrected from
Hell. (1 Samuel 2:6; Job 21:23:32; 30:23; Psalms 30:3; 49:15: 86:13; Hosea
13:14; Nahum 1:14). All go to sheol. If sheol were Hell, any resurrection, even
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at the second coming of Christ, would have to be a resurrection from Hell.
"But God will redeem my soul from the power of the Hell" (sheol-translated grave
in King James Version) Psalm 49:14-15.
3. THEY WOULD HAVE MADE THOSE IN HELL COMPLETELY
UNCONSCIOUS with "no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Hell
(sheol-grave) where you go" (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Did they know that a person
with no knowledge would not know he was being tormented?
4. W. E. Vine who is a Protestant seems to have abandoned the orthodox Protestant
view and made many of the dead be in the grave. "Sheol" Page 277, Vine's
Complete Expository Dictionary Of Old and New Testament Words.
WHERE ARE THE DEAD?
[1] ACCORDING TO THE KING JAMES VERSION: (a) It sometimes puts all the dead
in sheol (the grave) with none in Heaven or Hell. (b) Sometimes put the dead in Hell. (c)
Sometimes puts past nations in both sheol and Hell. (e) It puts none of those in sheol
(grave) in Heaven, not even David, Abraham, or Job. (f) If sheol is Hell as it is translated
in the King James Version, all instantly go to Hell at death and none to Heaven. Even
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob went to the Hell of the King James Version and their spirit
could not have "returned to God." In trying to put the evil in Hell, they had trouble
keeping the good out of it. The King James translators did put the name Hell in the Bible
by mistranslating, but could not put in today's concept of Hell.
[2] ACCORDING TO THE OLD TESTAMENT (most translations): All the dead are in
the grave. The way sheol is used in the Old Testament it cannot be made to fit the
Catholic or Protestant versions of Hell for if all go to sheol at death, no one could go to
Heaven or Hell at death. The Hebrews believed that all, both good and evil together went
to sheol [the grave] when they died. Examples: "You shall bring down my gray hairs with
sorrow to the grave" [Genesis 37:35; 42:38; 44:29]. "O that you would hide me in the
grave" [Job 14:13]. Not one of the sixty-five times "sheol" is used does it teach the
Protestant version of Hell.
"Nowhere in the Old Testament is the abode of the dead regarded as a place of punishment or
torment. The concept of an infernal 'hell' developed in Israel only during the Hellenistic period"
The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, Page 788.
[3] ACCORDING TO MOST PROTESTANTS AND CATHOLICS: Everyone will be in
Heaven or Hell at death. Not all together in sheol. Many Protestants put all, even
everyone that lived under the Old Testament in Heaven or Hell at death. IF THE
“SOUL” OF ALL GO TO HEAVEN OR HELL AT DEATH, NO “SOUL” HAD
EVER BEEN IN SHEOL OR ABRAHAM’S BOSOM OR EVER WILL BE. There
would be no time when they could be. All the passages in the King James Version where
the translators translated sheol sometimes grave and sometimes Hell would be worse than
meaningless; they would be untruthful, for the King James Version puts ALL, both the
good and the evil together, sometimes ALL together in the grave and sometimes it puts
ALL together in Hell. Sheol is translated "down to the grave" one time and "down to
hell" two times in the same passage [Ezekiel 31:15-17]. Why such inconsistency? The
Septuagint, a Greek version of the Old Testament made in the third century B. C.
translated "sheol" into "hades." These Hebrew scholars put all (both the righteous and the
unrighteous) together in hades just as both are together in sheol in the Hebrew Old
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Testament. Did the King James translators know more about the Hebrew language than
the Hebrews? Why did they tell God He was wrong when He put both together in one
place - sheol? The reason is obvious; they had to put some in Hell. They did a poor job of
it for by their mistranslating they put some of those in sheol in Hell, but could not put
some in Heaven. They had to leave them in sheol where God put them for they could not
translate sheol into Heaven in any passages.
[4] ACCORDING TO MANY PROTESTANTS: All return to God in Heaven at death,
both the saved and the lost. At death the spirit of all "will return to God who gave it"
[Ecclesiastes 12:7]. If the spirit or the soul is the only part(s) of a person that lives
after the death of the body and "The spirit returns to God who gives it" then the soul
never goes to sheol or hades; therefore, if there were a place under the earth called
"sheol" no person ever goes to it. Sheol could not be the receptacle or the place of
abode of disembodied spirits if the spirit returns to God in Heaven at death. NONE
COULD BE IN HELL IF AT DEATH ALL RETURN TO GOD IN HEAVEN. Today's
theology repeatedly makes the Bible speak of a place that does not exist. Nevertheless,
we are repeatedly told the saved go to Heaven at death and the lost go to Hell at death.
The same preachers put the dead in three places simultaneously.
1. The spirit of all returns to God.
2. The dead are in sheol which is believed by many to be somewhere under the
earth.
3. The soul of the saved go directly to Heaven at death and the soul of the lost go
directly to Hell at death.
[5] ACCORDING TO THE ABRAHAM'S BOSOM VERSION: Nor can sheol be made
to fit the after judgment view. No one will be in Heaven or Hell at death, not unto after
the resurrection and judgment. In this view Hell is a place where only the evil will go
only after the judgment, but no one will be in Hell unto after the judgment, and no one in
the Old Testament times was in Hell before or after his or her death. Therefore, if sheol
were Hell, none would go directly to it at death, therefore, no one in the Old Testament
could have gone to sheol at death. But, even when it is completely contradictory to their
view, most that believe the after judgment version of Hell use the mistranslation of sheol
into Hell in the Old Testament of the King James Version to prove there is a Hell and that
some were in it even in the Old Testament times. Can they not see how inconsistent they
are being with their own view?
It seems as if no one today believes what the Old Testament says about sheol. Not
even the translators of the King James Version; they believed as most Protestants of their
time did that all the lost are in Hell and all the saved are in Heaven, therefore, no one was
in a place called sheol.
[6] ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE: In both the Old Testament and the New Testament
the dead are all asleep and will be asleep unto the Resurrection.
[2] HADES in the New Testament
Hades is the same word in Greek as sheol is in Hebrew [Psalms 16:10-Acts 2:27]. It is
used eleven times and mistranslated “Hell” in the King James Version; it is not translated
but transliterated (English letters used in place of Greek letters) just as sheol is
transliterated in the Old Testament in many translations.
The way hades is mistranslated or transliterated in eight translations
| RSV | |REVISED |AMERICAN
KJV| NKJV | ASV | NIV |PHILLIPS|ENGLISH B| BIBLE
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MATT 11:23| HELL| HADES| HADES| DEPTHS| DEAD | HADES | DEATH
MATT 16:18| HELL| HADES| HADES| HADES | DEATH | DEATH | DEATH
LUKE 10:15| HELL| HADES| HADES| DEPTHS| DEAD | HADES | DEATH
LUKE 16:23| HELL| HADES| HADES| HELL | DEAD | HADES | DEAD
ACTS 2:27 | HELL| HADES| HADES| GRAVE | HADES | DEATH |NETHER WORLD
ACTS 2:31 | HELL| HADES| HADES| GRAVE | HADES | DEATH |NETHER WORLD
1 COR15:55|GRAVE| HADES| DEATH| DEATH | DEATH | DEATH | DEATH
REV 1:18 | HELL| HADES| HADES| GRAVE | GRAVE | HADES |NETHER WORLD
REV 6:8 | HELL| HADES| HADES| HADES | GRAVE | HADES |NETHER WORLD
REV 20:13 | HELL| HADES| HADES| HADES | GRAVE | HADES |NETHER WORLD
REV 20:14 | HELL| HADES| HADES| HADES | GRAVE | HADES |NETHER WORLD
The way hades is translated or not translated (transliterated) in five translations. NOT
EVEN THE NEW KING JAMES WOULD GO ALONG KING JAMES WITH THIS
BAD TRANSLATION OF TRANSLATING "HADES" INTO HELL. Even in 1
Corinthians 15:55 where the King James translated it grave, the New King James
transliterated it hades.
| HELL | GRAVE | DEATH | TRANSLITERATED
KING JAMES VERSION | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0
NEW KING JAMES VERSION | 0 | 0 | O | 11
AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10
REVISED STANDARD VERSION | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 |DEPTHS 2 |
The translators believed in Hell, but could not get away from grave every time. The
one time the King James translators did not try to put their Hell into the Bible; they
translated it grave. If they had translated hades into Hell in 1 Corinthians 15:55 as they
did in the other ten passages, It would have said, "O Hell, were is your victory?" They
had to change "Hell" to "grave" because it is obvious that Paul is speaking of victory over
death, not victory over Hell.
The New American Bible (Catholic) removed Hell but added a new place, the Nether
World that is neither a translation nor a transliteration but a change of one place into
another place despite the fact that in their earlier translation they changed hades into Hell.
• In the same passage in some translations Catholics put the dead in “Hell.”
• Then in the same passage in other translations put the dead in “The Nether
World.”
They changed hades into two altogether differ places.
In the New Testament there are only two words the translators did not want to or
would not translate into English words, therefore they transliterated them (translated the
letters of the Greek alphabet into English letters). They are baptizo (immersion) and
hades (grave). Baptizo, if translated into English would be "immersion," which would not
have fit into the theology of the King James translators. Many uphold and even use the
mistranslation of hades into “Hell” in the King James Version, and the non-translation in
the American Standard Version of both hades and sheol. Both are common nouns, which
some use as if they were proper nouns [names of particular place] to have a biblical name
for their non-biblical place. If any other word were put into the Bible, as was the word
Hell, there would have been sermon after sermon and articles after articles showing it
was a mistranslation, just as there has been on baptism. Although the translators of the
New International Version believed in Hell, they were honest enough to translate sheol
correctly but would not translate hades in four of the eleven times it is used. In many
translations the Greek word hades was put into many English versions untranslated for if
it had been translated it would not fit with the belief of the translators, or the belief of
many they wanted to sell it to; but there is a correct translation, and even the King James
Version had to translate it correctly part of the time. They do not want to translate hades,
for them it would not say what they want it to say, therefore, the Greek word hades is
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either mistranslated into Hell in the King James; or is left untranslated in many others.
They want "hades" to be the only Greek word in the New Testament that cannot be
translated into English. Why? The problem was made because the translators did not
want hades understood the way it was by Greek speaking people. DO YOU THINK GOD
GIVE THEM A REVELATION THEY COULD NOT UNDERSTAND, OR THAT HE
USED A WORD WE CANNOT TRANSLATE OR UNDERSTAND IN OUR OWN
LANGUAGE?, IF HE DID, HE IS SAYING NOTHING TO US. The right translation of
sheol and hades is grave and we can understand it. In the Old or New Testament, no one
used or understood these names as we use them. We do not, and the world does not use or
understand them in this way. The Hebrew "sheol" or the Greek "hades" have no meaning
in English, therefore, English-speaking people would not understand them. Proper names
like Jerusalem, New York, and Gehenna are the same in most languages and should not
be translated but common nouns must be translated to be understood, not left untranslated
or transliterated. Both sheol and hades are common nouns and need to be translated just
as all other common nouns were.
1. Baptizo transliterated into baptism because the translators believed in sprinkling
and would not translate it.
2. Hades mistranslated into "Hell" because the translators believed the wages of sin
is an eternal life of torment and sinners instantly went to "Hell" at death, not to
the grave.
3. Hades left untranslated into many English translations because the translators did
not want it understood and would not translate it.
[3] GEHENNA See Chapter four for notes on the four occasions that Christ used
Gehenna.
[4] TARTARUS 2 Peter 2:4 is the only time this word is used. Tartarus in the Greek,
and was changed to Hell in the King James Version. "For if God spared not angels when
they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus ["Hell" in the King James Version], and
committed them to pits of darkness, TO BE RESERVED UNTO JUDGMENT" [2 Peter
2:4]. "And angels that kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation, he
has kept in everlasting bonds under darkness UNTO THE JUDGMENT OF THE
GREAT DAY" [Jude 6]. This is the place where the angels that sinned ARE NOW
BEING KEPT UNTO THE JUDGMENT DAY. Neither Peter nor Jude says anything
about fire, torment, or pain, but those who believe in Hell most always add them after the
place where these angels NOW ARE has been changed from Tartarus to Hell. As far as
we know, no man will ever be in Tartarus and it will last only "unto the judgment." If, as
many teach, the angels are now being tormented in Hell, why bring them out of torment
for judgment only to put them back into torment? Note: This is a difficult passage to
understand, and just as difficult to use, as many do, as the base of any theology in the
light of the other passages on the angels that sinned. It is not my purpose to go into
Demonology, but I think it is safe to say the angels that sinned are the demons of the New
Testament. Just what the "everlasting bonds" ["chains" King James Version] are is
difficult to say, but they are not chains of iron as we think of chains being. "Your
adversary the devil as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour" [1 Peter
5:8]. "His (Satan) ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness" [2
Corinthians 11:14]. Since both Satan and his angels are still deceiving people it is
obviously that that are only in bonds in what they can do, that there is a limit to what they
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can do? These angels were "delivered into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto
judgment." God also bounds Satan. In tempting Job, he was allowed to go so far and no
farther. He has the power to tempt us, but not the power to make us do anything we do
not want to. "Be sober, be watchful: you adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks
about seeking whom he may devour" [1 Peter 5:8]. "And no marvel for even Satan
fashions himself into an angel of light" [2 Corinthians 11:14]. Space will not allow a long
discourse on demons, but most likely they are the angels that sinned and they are bound
in what they can do just as Satan is, but it is nowhere said that Satan, demons or fallen
angels are now in a place called Hell. If the King James Version were right and they were
in Hell, it would be great for us for then they could not tempt us, but they still do.
Forever in Jude
In speaking of the angels that sinned (verse 6), Jude used "aidion," which is used only
one other time in the New Testament in Romans 1:20 where it is applied to God. If, as
some assume aidion always means eternal as eternal is used today (never an end), why is
it never used with reference to the "eternal soul"? In the very next verse Jude changes
from aidion when speaking of angels to aionios (age) when speaking of Sodom suffering
the punishment of eternal (aionios - age) fire. Why, if the writers of the New Testament
had a word that always had the same meaning as eternal does today, why did they never
use it with reference to man?
In verse 7 he used "aionios" the adjective form of the noun "aion."
• He changed from "aidion" when speaking of the angels in verse 6 to "aionios"-age
in verse 7 when speaking of Sodom. "He has kept in EVERLASTING (aidion)
bonds under darkness UNTO the judgment of the great day." This
"EVERLASTING" (aidion) will last only "UNTO the judgment of the great day,"
therefore, it is clearly not endless for it will end at the judgment.
• If, as some say without any authority, aidion means endless and aionios means
age, then endless would be applied only to one time to God [Romans 1:20] and
one time to angels [Jude 6], never to man. If aidion did mean endless, then
throughout the New Testament "endless" is strictly avoided as descriptive of
mankind or any invisible immaterial part of a person.
• In verses 12 and 25 he used the noun "aion" (age).
JUST AS THEY DID WITH GEHENNA, THE KING JAMES TRANSLATORS
CHANGED ONE PROPER NOUN, THE NAME OF ONE PARTICULAR PLACE
THAT NOW EXISTS, INTO ANOTHER PROPER NOUN, THE NAME OF
ANOTHER PARTICULAR PLACE THAT MANY BELIEVE WILL NOT EXIST
UNTO AFTER THE JUDGMENT.
1. GEHENNA, a proper noun and the name of a particular place, HAS BEEN
CHANGED INTO HELL, another proper noun, the name of another particular
place, where some think angels plus evil men will go to after the judgment.
2. THE NAME OF A PLACE THAT NOW IS TARTARUS, a proper noun-a name
of a particular place, WHERE THE ANGELS THAT SINNED ARE NOW AT,
HAS BEEN CHANGED INTO HELL, another proper noun, the name of another
particular place, but not a place or name that is in the Bible.
3. THEY HAVE TWO "HELLS." ONE HELL THAT NOW IS WHERE THESE
ANGELS ARE NOW AT, AND ONE HELL THAT SOME BELIEVE WILL
NOT BE UNTO AFTER THE JUDGMENT. According to the King James
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Version, these angels are in one Hell now before they are judged; but they will
come out of it at the Judgment Day, be judged and go into another Hell. They did
what they had to do to have the name Hell into the Bible. That a group of men
who were as learned in languages as they were would do this shows how far they
were willing to go to keep their Hell. When we know that they were wrong, as
many do, but use and teach their mistranslation to others, do we not sin? Do
elders sin when they let such teaching go on and do nothing?
4. FIVE WORDS FROM ONE WORD, "CAST THEM DOWN TO HELL" IS
TRANSLATED FROM ONE GREEK WORD, "TARTARUS." It looks as if the
translators did not know what to do with this word, but they knew where they
wanted the angels to be and put them there; but they used five English words to
translate one Greek word to move these angels from Tartarus to "Hell" where they
wanted them to be.
ARE THESE ANGELS NOW IN TARTARUS OR HELL? WHY ARE THESE
ANGLES USED TO PROVE HELL? Jude 6; 2 Peter 2:4 "UNTO the judgment," not
"after the judgment," for these angels are being kept in Tartarus NOW and will be kept
there UNTO the judgment day. The place where these fallen angels are now at is changed
into the place where some think these angels will be after the judgment. Many do not
believe anyone will be in Hell unto after the judgment, but the King James Version is
mistranslated to say these angels are NOW in Hell before and without the judgment.
The orthodox Protestant view is inconsistent in that they put lost in Hell now without
the judgment, but the angles that sinned are being kept in Tartarus unto the judgment,
there are not in Hell. They have the lost in Hell before the angles that sinned will be there
even though they say Hell was first made for the angles [Matthew 25:41].
Those who believe in Abraham's bosom think that the lost will not be in Hell unto after
the Judgment, and these angels are not now in Hell. They do not believe this passage
teaches these angles are now in Hell, but they use it to teach that both lost men and angels
will be in Hell after the Judgment Day is over despite the fact that Jude 6 says nothing
about Hell.
• This passage says where these angels are NOW but it says nothing about were
they will be after the Judgment Day, or about where lost men will be, and IT
SAYS NOTHING ABOUT A PLACE CALLED HELL.
• CHANGED, THEN MOVED: "Tartarus" is changed to "hell," and then is moved
from where these angels are now unto where many think they will be after the
judgment.
Many say it is a sin to change God's word, but despite this some have made many
changes in it.
1. Changed a common noun [sheol-grave] into a proper noun [SHEOL changed into
HELL].
2. Changed another common noun [hades-grave] into a proper noun [HADES
changed into HELL].
3. Changed a proper noun [Gehenna] into another proper noun [GEHENNA
changed into HELL].
4. Changed another proper noun [Tartarus] into another proper noun [TARTARUS
changed into HELL].
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5. Changed GEHENNA that existed then into the HELL that they think will not
exist unto after the Judgment day.
6. Changed "TARTARUS" a prison that existed then into the HELL that they think
will not exist unto after the Judgment day, then changed who is in it, the angels
that sinned are changed unto both the angels and men that sinned.
THE THREE PROPER NOUNS THAT ARE CHANGED INTO ANOTHER
PROPER NOUN IN THE KING JAMES VERSION
1. GEHENNA changed into HELL
2. TARTARUS changed into HELL
3. PASHA [Passover] changed into EASTER [Acts 12:4]
THE TWO COMMON NOUNS THAT ARE CHANGED INTO THE SAME
PROPER NOUN IN THE KING JAMES VERSION
• A common noun [sheol-grave] changed into a proper noun. [SHEOL changed
into HELL]
• A common noun [hades-grave] changed into a proper noun. [HADES changed
into HELL]
• A common noun [hades-grave] changed into a proper noun. [HADES changed
into NETHER WORLD]. "Hades" is changed into "Nether World" in some of
the newer translations of the Catholic Church. In the same passage (Acts 2:27)
they used to change hades into Hell in older translations.
Summary: SHEOL, HADES, OR TARTARUS ARE OFTEN USED TO PROVE AN
ETERNAL LIFE OF TORMENT IN HELL, BUT THEY HAVE NEVER HAD
THE MEANING THAT HELL HAS TODAY AND SHOULD HAVE NEVER
BEEN TRANSLATED HELL. THOSE WHO USE THIS MISTRANLATION OF
SHEOL INTO HELL ARE CHANGING THE BIBLE.
CHAPTER SIX
The sixty-five sheol passage and the eleven hades passages
THE WAY SHEOL IS TRANSLATED IN THE KING JAME VERSION
[1] Down into a pit in the earth (in 3 passages)
[2] Nations in sheol (in 18 passages)
• Nations in the grave in 4 passages
• Nations in Hell in 14 passages
[3] Individual in sheol (in 17 passages)
• The good in the grave in 10 passages
• The bad in the grave in 7 passages
[4] Both the good and bad together in sheol (in 12 passages)
• The good and bad in the grave together in 10 passages
• The good and bad in Hell together in 2 passages
[5] Both the good and bad in sheol (in 15 passages)
• The good in Hell in 7 passages
• The bad in Hell. In only 8 of the 65 passages that have sheol
HADES IS USED ELEVEN TIMES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
• Hades in the three passages that have reference to the death of Christ
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• Hades in the one passage that have reference to death
• Hades in the two passages that have reference to the destruction of cities or
countries
THE WAY SHEOL IS TRANSLATED IN
THE KING JAME VERSION
The only word that is translated Hell in the Old Testament is translated Hell only 31 of
the 65 times it is used in the King James Version, and only 19 of the 65 times it is used in
the New King James Version. In most cases, the King James translators put the wicked in
Hell and the just in the grave even though many Protestants believe the just go directly to
Heaven at death. The Hebrew Old Testament has them all in one place, the grave [sheol].
Almost all other translations have removed Hell from the Old Testament [American
Standard Version, New American Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, New
Revised Standard Version, New International Version and most others], but as long as the
King James and New King James Versions are used, those who are new in Christ and
those who still need milk and not solid food will be misled by them.
SHEOL IS NOT USED WITH ETERNAL IN ANY OF THE SIXTY-FIVE TIMES
IT IS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, AND THERE IS NO ETERNAL TORMENT IN
ANY OF THEM.
• 18 passages with dead nations that no longer existed are spoken of as being in
the grave (sheol) Deuteronomy 32:22; Psalms 9:17; Isaiah 5:14; 14:9; 14:11;
14:15; 28:15; 28:18; 57:9; Ezekiel 31:15; 31:16; 31:17; 32:21; 32:27; Hosea
13:14; 13:14; Amos 9:2; Habakkuk 2:5.
• 18 passages with the good in the grave (sheol) Genesis 37:35; 42:38; 44:29;
44:31; 2 Samuel 22:6; Job 14:13; 17:13; Psalms 16:10; 18:5; 30:3; 49:15; 86:13;
88:3; 116:3; 139:8 Isaiah 38:10; 88:10 Jonah 2:2.
• 13 passages with the good and bad together in the grave (sheol) 1 Samuel 2:6;
Job 7:9; 11:8; 26:6; Psalms 6:5; 89:48; 141:7; Proverbs 1:12; 30:16; 39:16;
Ecclesiastes 9:19; Song Of Solomon 8:6; Isaiah 38:18.
• 16 passages with the bad in the grave (sheol) Numbers 16:30; 16:33; Psalms
55:15; Proverbs 5:5; 7:27; 9:18; 15:14; 15:24; 23:14; 27:20; Psalms 31:17; 49:14;
Job 17:16; 21:13; 24:19 1 Kings 2:6; 2:9. Of these 16 passages 8 have the bad in
the grave, not Hell and 8 have the bad in Hell, 8 of the 54 times sheol is used
o Sheol is not represented as a place of eternal torment in fire in any of the
sixty-five passages, but today Hell always means eternal torment in fire.
o Everlasting or eternal is not in any of the sixty-five passages.
THE SIXTY-FIVE TIMES SHEOL IS USED
AS TRANSLATED IN THE KING JAMES VERSION
In the King James Version, three words are translated from one Hebrew word. The
thirty-four times it is translated pit and grave give most no problem, but the thirty-one
times it is translated Hell does. That the translators of the King James Version translated
sheol into Hell less than half the time shows they found it not to fit with their theology.
They made one place "sheol" be three different places, grave, pit, and Hell. THEY DID
NOT, AND MOST TODAY WHO BELIEVES IN HELL DO NOT BELIEVE THE
GRAVE AND HELL TO BE THE SAME PLACE. HOW DID THEY KNOW
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WHEN THE SAME WORD WAS ONE PLACE OR WHEN IT WAS ONE OF
THE OTHER TWO PLACES? SOME TIMES EVEN WHEN IT IS IN THE SAME
PASSAGE, SHEOL WAS MADE TO BE TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
PLACES. Is it that they could not find a way to put their view, the Protestant view, into
the Bible and had to settle for the best they could, even if it was not what they believed?
There is nothing in the Hebrew that would make it mean one place (grave) in one passage
and another completely different place (Hell) in another; they picked the passages where
they thought they could put their Theology in the Bible and get away with it.
• Sheol is translated pit three times
• Sheol is translated grave thirty-one times
• Sheol is translated Hell thirty-one times
THE THIRTY-ONE "GRAVE" TRANSLATIONS
It is hid from those who use the King James Version that "grave" in these thirty-one
passages is the same word that is translated "Hell" in thirty-one passages and “pit” in
three passages. Did the translators do this deliberately? THE DEFINITION OF DEATH
BY TODAY'S THEOLOGY IS THAT DEATH IS ONLY SEPARATION OF AN
IMMORTAL SOUL FROM GOD. IF THAT WERE RIGHT THE SEPARATED SOUL
COULD NOT BE IN SHEOL (THE GRAVE) FOR IF IT WERE THEN IT COULD
NOT BE IN HELL WHERE THEY BELIEVE IT TO BE. The King James Version used
the same word to put the dead in both the grave and Hell at the same time without and
before the judgment, and by putting the dead in the grave it destroyed the Protestant view
that ALL the dead are in Heaven or Hell and none are in sheol. The American Standard
Version and many others left sheol untranslated and put ALL the dead in it with none in
Heaven or Hell before the resurrection. The New International Version translated sheol
into grave and puts ALL the dead, both the good and the bad together in the grave. I read
the Bible for many years without seeing this so I can understand how many read it and
cannot see through their theology and see what God has so clearly said that now or at the
judgment we can have no excuse for not understanding and believing His word. No
excuse for teaching something in His name, which is in opposition to what God did say.
THE THIRTY-ONE "HELL" TRANSLATIONS
In the Hebrew, sheol is a common noun as is grave in English [SHEOL a common
noun in Hebrew = GRAVE a common noun in English]. How can a common noun be
translated into a proper noun [SHEOL a common noun in Hebrew = HELL a proper
noun in English]? It is against all rules of translation to change a common noun into a
proper noun. The King James Version left it a common noun thirty-four times, but thirtyone
times they changed it into a proper noun. The same word is translated into two
common nouns, grave and pit, and one proper noun, Hell. Which one did they think it is,
common or proper? How did they know when it is a common noun and when they should
change it to a proper noun? They put Hezekiah, a godly king in the grave [Isaiah 38:10
but put the wicked in Hell [Psalm 9:17] despite the fact that God used the same word
(sheol-grave) for where both would go after their death. The New American Standard
Version did not translate it but used the Hebrew word in the English translation; however,
they capitalized it as if it were a proper noun. The New International Version translates
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the common noun "sheol" into the common noun "grave" sixty times and into the
common noun "death" five times and did not capitalized it.
In none of the sixty-five passages where sheol is used is it said to be a place of fire or
torment. It is said to be a place of silence and darkness but never fire. Sheol is never used
with the word eternal or everlasting, and sheol will be destroyed [Hosea 13:14].
HOW SHEOL IS TRANSLATED ALL SIXTY-FIVE TIMES
IN THE KING JAME VERSION
[1] DOWN INTO A PIT IN THE EARTH (In 3 passages)
(1) Numbers 16:30 "But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth,
and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them. And they go down quick into the
PIT [sheol-Hell]." They and all that belong to them fell into the pit in the ground. It is
undeniable that the "pit" is a hole in the ground that they fell into. Does anyone think this
hole in the ground is Hell? The translators of the King James Version did not seem to.
They went down into sheol alive, their earthly bodies alive with all their belongings into
the hole in the ground, which was their grave. Can the earthly body go alive to a place for
the soul? Can anyone take all their earthly belongings with them to Hell or Heaven? This
simply says they were buried alive and all their belongings were buried with them, not
that they took their belongings with them to Hell. Physical things, such as all their
belongings and weapons of war [Ezekiel 32:26-27] are put in graves, but not in "Hell."
Neither could they have taken their things to the bad side of hades that many believe in.
(2) Numbers 16:33 "And the earthed opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and
their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They and
all that appertained to them, went down alive into the PIT [sheol-Hell], and the earth
closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation." It was their earthly
bodies that went into sheol while they were alive; they had not died at the time the earth
closed upon their bodies. Do any that believe in Hell think they went to Hell while their
bodies were alive? It was not their immortal souls that went to Hell or to either side of a
subterranean chamber under the earth; God called this hole in the ground in which they
were buried alive sheol.
(3) Job 17:13-16 "If I wait, the GRAVE [sheol-Hell] is mine house: I have made my
bed in the darkness...They shall go down to the bars of the PIT [sheol-Hell], when our
rest together is in the dust." The dead rest in the dust; both Korah and Job went to sheol,
not to Heaven or Hell. The same word in the same context is translated both grave and
pit.
[2] THE NATIONS IN SHEOL (In 18 passages)
Nations in the grave in 4 passages
PASSAGES THAT ARE SPEAKING OF THE DESTRUCTION OF NATIONS
AND SAY NOTHING ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION INDIVIDUALS
(1) Isaiah 14:11 "Your pomp is brought down to the GRAVE [sheol-Hell], and the
noise of your viols: the worm is spread under you, and the worms cover you." In the same
context sheol is translated HELL in Isaiah 14:9, GRAVE in Isaiah 14:11, and HELL in
Isaiah 14:15 in the King James Version and in all three it is Israel's "taunt against the
king of Babylon" [Isaiah 14:4], and of the description of Babylon joining the other dead
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nations in sheol [Isaiah 14:9-10]. They do not seem to know whether they wanted to put
Babylon in "Hell" or in the "grave." How inconsistent could they be? They were just as
inconsistent throughout the Old Testament. "Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath
you, and worms are your covering" New American Standard Bible. The worms that eat
the body are in the grave, not maggots in Heaven or Hell; Babylon was dead and in its
grave.
(2) Ezekiel 31:15 "Thus says the Lord God; In the day when he went down to the
GRAVE [sheol-Hell] I caused a mourning." See notes on Ezekiel 31:16 where sheol is
translated "Hell."
(3) And (4) Hosea 13:14 "I will ransom them from the power to the GRAVE [sheol-
Hell]; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be your plagues; O GRAVE [sheol-
Hell], I will be your destruction." This is God redeeming the nation of Israel from
captivity, not individual Jews being resurrected from the grave. The whole chapter is
about the nation of Israel; God brought them out of Egypt [Hosea 13:4]. "It is your
destruction, O Israel, that you are against me, against your help. Where now is your king
that he may save you in all your cities, and your judges of whom you requested, ‘Give me
a king and a prince’? I gave you a king in My anger, and took him away in My wrath"
[Hosea 13:9-11]. "O Israel, return unto Jehovah your God; for you have fallen by your
iniquity" [Hosea 14:1]. The translators did not believe any one would be redeemed,
individuals or nations, from Hell, therefore, they have the redeeming being from the
grave; if they had translated sheol into Hell they would have had Hell being destroyed by
God (“O sheol I will be your destruction”), but the Hell they believed in could not be
destroyed and no one could ever be redeemed from it.
Because 1 Corinthians 15:54 says, “Then shall come to pass the saying that is
written” many think Paul quoted Hosea 13:14 in 1 Corinthians 15:55 but it is difficult to
see how “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death
where is your sting?” is a quotation from “O death, I will be your plagues; O grave I will
be your destruction" [Hosea 13:14]. Hosea was speaking of Israel rebellion being their
plagues and destruction. Paul was speaking of death being swallowed up in victory by the
resurrection at the second coming of Christ. Hosea was speaking of the destruction of
Israel, Paul of the victory of the faithful. NEITHER HOSEA NOR PAUL WAS
SPEAKING OF ETERNAL TORMENT AFTER DEATH.
Nations in Hell in 14 passages
FOURTEEN OF THE THIRTY-ONE PASSAGES TRANSLATED HELL IN THE
KING JAMES VERSION, EIGHTEEN OF THE FIFTY-FOUR PASSAGES WITH
SHEOL ARE THE DESTRUCTION OF NATIONS AND HAVE NOTHING TO DO
WITH INDIVIDUALS. ALTHOUGH WHAT IS SAID IN THESE EIGHTEEN
PASSAGES DO NOT IN ANYWAY FIT WITH TODAY'S THEOLOGY OF "HELL,"
THEY ARE OFTEN USED ANYWAY, mostly by the Jonathan Edwards type of Hell
fire preacher who take them out of their context of speaking about the end of nations and
make they be speaking of lost individuals that they will have no end but will live forever
being tormented by God.
(1) Deuteronomy 32:22 GOD'S ANGER TOWARD ISRAEL. "For a fire is kindled in
mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest HELL [sheol], and shall consume the earth
with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains." Hundreds of years
from Genesis to Deuteronomy had passed, and it was not unto the seventh time sheol is
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used before the King James translators thought they could put the Hell they believed in
into the Bible. But, what does this passage say? Jeshurun forsook God [32:15]. They
(Israel) provoked God to jealousy with strange gods [32:16]. They (Israel) sacrificed unto
devils [32:17]. They moved God to jealousy with that which is not a god and provoked
Him to anger [32:21]. In God's anger, a fire is kindled which would burn to the lowest
sheol [grave] and shall consume the earth. This fire is on earth, not in Hell. "I will heap
mischief upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. They shall be burnt with
hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the
teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. The sword without, and
terror within, shall destroy both the young man and virgin, the suckling also with the man
of gray hairs. I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of
them to cease from among men" [Deuteronomy 23:23-26, Also 1 Thessalonians 2:16].
ALL THIS, INCLUDING THE FIRE UNTO THE LOWEST GRAVE IS GOD'S
PUNISHMENT TO THE NATION OF ISRAEL AT THAT TIME. ALL THESE
PUNISHMENTS ARE THOSE THAT CAN ONLY BE INFLICTED ON THE LIVING,
NOT ON AN IMMATERIAL, INVISIBLE PART OF A PERSON THAT HAS NO
SUBSTANCE. THERE IS NOT ONE WORD ABOUT ANYONE BURNING IN HELL
AFTER DEATH OR AFTER THE JUDGMENT. If it were a Hell, there would be beast,
poison serpents, swords, etc. in Hell. Suckling babies would be destroyed in Hell.
The "how" of this burning "unto the lowest hell [grave-sheol]," is described in
Deuteronomy 32:21-26 in a way that it could not be the "Hell" that is believed in by
many today, but is God's anger with the nation of Israel. This is almost a repeat of
Leviticus 26:14ff of what would happen to Israel if they did not obey God.
• Verse 21 "I will provoke them (Israel) to anger with a foolish nation."
• Verse 22 "And consumes the earth with it yield."
• Verse 23 "I will heap disasters upon them (Israel)."
• Verse 24 "They (Israel) shall be wasted with hunger, devoured with pestilence."
See 2 Samuel 24:13-15; Exodus 9:15; 2 Chronicles 21:14
• Verse 24 "And the teeth of beasts I will send upon them (Israel), with the venom of
crawling things of the dust."
• Verse 25 "The sword will destroy outside."
• Verse 26 "I would scatter them (Israel) afar, I would make the remembrance of
them (Israel) to cease from among men."
If "lowest Hell" spoken of in this passage were the "Hell" that is taught today, was
David forever tormented by God in this "lowest Hell"? Or was he in it for a period of
time and came out of it? See Psalm 86:13 below where the King James Version David
says he was delivered out of the “lowest Hell.” Had David literally been in Hell and
delivered out of it before his death, or had the nation of Israel literally been in Hell?
FROM GENESIS TO DEUTERONOMY, CENTURIES HAD PASSED BEFORE
THE KING JAMES TRANSLATORS FIRST PUT HELL IN THE BIBLE ALTHOUGH
SHEOL HAD BEEN USED OFTEN. HUNDREDS MORE YEARS PASSED BEFORE
THE NEW KING JAMES TRANSLATORS TRANSLATED SHEOL INTO HELL THE
SECOND TIME.
FIVE OUT OF THIRTY-SIX The New King James Version translates "sheol" into
Hell only five times out of the first thirty-six times "sheol" is used.
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1. THE 7TH TIME SHEOL IS USED IS THE FIRST TIME IT IS
TRANSLATED "HELL" Deuteronomy 32:22.
2. THE 20TH TIME SHEOL IS USED IS THE SECOND TIME IT IS
TRANSLATED "HELL" Psalms 9:17. Centuries has passed from when Adam
sinned and was put out of the garden before the King James translators thought
they had found a second place where it was safe to put “Hell” in the Bible. Did it
not mean Hell in eighteen of the first twenty times sheol is used? Did it mean
"grave" a place on this earth for centuries and then the same word was changed to
"Hell," a place not on this earth? A place where there is no life or torment
changed to a place of eternal life in torment?
3. THE 28TH TIME SHEOL IS USED IS ONLY THE THIRD TIME IT IS
TRANSLATED "HELL" Psalms 55:15
4. THE 33RD TIME SHEOL IS USED IS ONLY THE FOURTH TIME IT IS
TRANSLATED "HELL" Psalms 139:8
5. THE 36TH TIME SHEOL IS USED IS ONLY THE FIFTH TIME IT IS
TRANSLATED "HELL" Proverbs 5:5. All the other thirty one times sheol is
used before this is either translated grave or pit. EVEN IN "HELL'S BIBLE,"
THE KING JAMES VERSION, THE TRANSLATORS DID NOT THINK
SHEOL MEANS "HELL" IN THIRTY-ONE OF THE FIRST THIRTY-SIX
TIMES IT IS USED AND DID NOT TRANSLATE IT "HELL."
(2) Psalms 9:15-17 "The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have
made...The Lord is known by the judgment which he executes: the wicked is snared in the
work of his own hands ... The wicked shall be turned into HELL [grave-sheol], and all the
nations that forget God" ["return to Sheol" New American Standard Bible, Psalms 9:15-
17]. The same thing will happen to both the wicked persons and the nations that forget
God. They both will go to sheol, the grave. Do some think evil nations live in torment in
Hell after the nations no longer exists on this earth or that evil nations do not have some
good people in them that would not be in Hell? Both will be in the grave, both will be
dead, not both in eternal torment together in Hell. According to the American Standard
Version the wicked are the wicked nations. "The wicked shall be turned back unto sheol,
even all the nations that forget God." Psalms 9:15-20 is speaking of the nations that
forget God. There is no threat of after-death punishment of individuals in this passage.
(3) Isaiah 5:14 "Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no
knowledge: and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with
thirst. Therefore, HELL [grave-sheol] has enlarged herself and opened her mouth without
measure." Because they had left the Lord, they went into captivity. See Proverbs 27:20
above. Their captivity was a grave [sheol] to them as a nation; grave is used as a
metaphor of their captivity, their death as a nation, a literal grave cannot enlarge herself
and has no mouth. Can anyone tell my why the translators put the nation of Israel in Hell;
does a nation in captivity being make Hell be on the earth and end when the captivity of
that nation ends?
(4) Isaiah 14:9 "HELL [sheol "grave" in margin of King James Version] from beneath
is moved for thee to meet you at your coming: it stirs up the dead [rephaim] for you, even
all the chief ones of the earth; it has raised up from the earth; it has raised up from their
thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto you, Are you also
become weak as we? are you become like unto us?" This is a deception of the fall of
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Babylon and has nothing to do with the soul after death. In this metaphor, the past dead
nations were surprised to see a nation as strong as Babylon joining them. If the dead were
alive in sheol, why would they be surprised to see other persons joining them when all
would? Isaiah 26:14 "They [the Nations] are dead, [rephaim] they shall not live; they are
deceased, they shall not rise; therefore has you visited and destroyed them, and made all
remembrance of them to perish." This is about nations that did not remember God. It has
nothing to do with an immortal immaterial part of a person after death being tormented
by God. Because dead nations (not dead souls) are speaking in verse 9, the King James
Version translated it Hell but verse 11 has worms and they feed on dead bodies not an
immaterial immortal part of a man, therefore, they translated it "grave." This parable
where dead nations speak is not to be taken literally any more then the parable before it
where the trees speak [Isaiah 14:8]. If it were taken literally, it would be a completely
different Hell than any Hell that is taught today, a Hell where God “visited and destroyed
them, and made all remembrance of them to perish." God destroyed nations but in the
Hell that is taught today no one can ever be destroyed. How did the translators think they
could get the Hell they believed in out of this passage?
(5) Isaiah 14:15 "Yet you shall be brought down to HELL [grave-sheol]." See Isaiah
14:9 above. The picture of maggots and worms covering the king of Babylon [Isaiah
14:15] and warriors lying with their swords under their heads [Ezekiel 32:27] is a picture
of the grave, and is far from what the Hell is that is taught today.
(6) (7) Isaiah 28:15 and Isaiah 28:18 "Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, you
scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because you have said, we have
made a covenant with death, and with HELL [grave-sheol] [HELL CHANGED TO
SHEOL IN NEW KING JAMES VERSION] are we at agreement; when the overflowing
scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us." Isaiah 28:18 "And your covenant
with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with HELL [grave-sheol] [HELL
CHANGED TO SHEOL IN NEW KING JAMES VERSION] not stand; when the
overflowing scourge shall pass through, then you shall be trodden down by it." When the
"overflowing scourge" passed through, many would die, but they thought they could
escape death and the grave. This is the nation of Israel that had made a covenant with
some and thought they were safe but were not; it is not about individuals going to Hell.
(8) Isaiah 57:9 "And you went to the king with ointment, and did increase your
perfumes, and did send your messengers far off, and did debase yourself even unto HELL
[grave-sheol] [HELL CHANGED TO SHEOL IN NEW KING JAMES VERSION]." See
Isaiah 57:8 and notes on Proverbs 15:24 above. Israel is spoken of as a woman who is
unfaithful to her husband (God). Ultimately this leads to the death of any nation. Does
anyone believe nations will be forever tormented in Hell; does anyone believe the nation
of Israel is or has ever been in eternal torment in an eternal Hell? Nothing is said about an
individual going to Hell.
(9) Ezekiel 31:16 In this chapter God is saying to Egypt about Assyria, “I made the
nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to HELL [grave-sheol]
with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of
Lebanon.” This chapter of Ezekiel is about a nation, Assyria, which God had cast down
and it was no more, not people being tormented in Hell, see notes on Isaiah 14:9-20
above.
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(10) Ezekiel 31:17 "They also went down into HELL [grave-sheol] with him unto them
that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelled under his shadow
in the midst of the heathen." The nations around Assyria also perished.
In the same context, the King James Version translated the same Hebrew word both
Hell and grave [GRAVE in 31:15 and HELL in both 31:16 and 31:17]. In the same
passage they put the same nations in both the grave and in Hell at the same time.
Ezekiel 31:15 "Thus says the Lord God; in the day when he went down to the
GRAVE [sheol-Hell] I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I
restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused
Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him. 16. I made
the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to HELL
[grave-sheol] with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the
choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the earth
beneath. 17. They also went down into HELL [grave-sheol] with him unto them
that be slain with sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow
in the midst of the heathen (Hebrew - nations).”
(11) Ezekiel 32:21 "The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst
of HELL [grave-sheol]." Egypt will join the other mighty nations in SHEOL [the grave].
Ezekiel is talking about nations, not individual people. In this metaphor dead nations
have the power to speak. “They have come down and they lie with the uncircumcised,
with those killed by the sword. Assyria is there with her whole army; she is surrounded
by the graves of all her slain, all who have fallen by the sword. Their graves are in the
depths of the pit and her army lies around her grave. All who had spread terror in the
land of the living are slain, fallen by the sword” [Ezekiel 32:21-23 New International
Version].
(12) Ezekiel 32:26-27 "There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are
round about him: all to the uncircumcised slain by the sword, through they caused their
terror in the land of the living. And do they not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the
uncircumcised, which are gone down to HELL [grave-sheol] with their weapons of war:
and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their
bones." Swords under their heads refer to ancient practice of burying the weapons of
warriors with them. Their weapons of war could be under their heads in the grave but not
taken with them after death to Hell or to a subterranean chamber for souls someplace
under ground, neither would there be graves in an under ground chamber or in graves in
Hell. Those who believe in Hell do not believe any belongings from this life can be taken
to Hell; those who believe souls of the dead are storied in a chamber do not believe they
have their weapons. It was those that were killed by the sword that were in the grave with
their weapons under their head; they have gone down to the grave with their swords
under their heads, not down under the earth to Hell.
(13) Amos 9:2 "I saw the Lord standing upon the altar; and he said, Smite the lintel of
the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay
the last of them with the sword: he that flees of them shall not flee away, and he that
escapes of them shall not be delivered. Though they dig into HELL [grave-sheol], thence
shall mine hand take them." Amos 8 and 9 is speaking of God punishing the nation of
Israel, not tormenting individuals in Hell after their death. "Have I not brought up Israel
from the land of Egypt...And I will destroy it from the face of the earth" [Amos 9:7-10].
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There was no place where Israel could flee from God. Even if they dug into the grave
[sheol] God would find them. Many of the graves were caves or a room dug out of rock
and sealed up. Does anyone think that a living person or a nation can dig into the place
where they say the "immaterial invisible" souls of the lost are being tormented after their
death? DOES ANYONE SERIOUSLY BELIEVE ANY LIVING PERSON CAN DIG
INTO HELL? Can "souls" in Hell run away, and can souls in Hell be slain with the
sword? Will there be a sword in Hell? Anyone can see that this is the living that are the
enemies of God that cannot find a place to hide from His wrath, not even by hiding in a
grave or pit. The very idea of the nation of Israel or individuals digging down into the
earth into the Hell that is taught today is absurd, just as ridiculous or unreasonable as
Israel digging into a chamber under the earth where God has souls stored, but it would, if
possible, be even more absurd if the souls were being tormented on one side and in
Abraham’s bosom on the other side.
(14) Habakkuk 2:5 "Yea also, because he transgress by wine, he is a proud man,
neither keeps at home, who enlarges his desire as HELL [grave-sheol], and is as death,
and cannot be satisfied." Habakkuk is a book of prophecy about Chaldea. Chapter 2:4-17
Chaldea conquered many nations. "He enlarges his appetite like Sheol...He also gathers
to himself all nations" Habakkuk 2:5 New American Standard Bible. They were like a
man intoxicated with power and their desire was as the grave [sheol] that can never be
satisfied. See Proverbs 27:20.
[3] INDIVIDUAL IN SHEOL (In 17 passages)
The good in the grave in 10 passages
(1) Genesis 37:35, 42:38, 44:29, and 44:31 "You shall bring down my gray hairs with
sorrow to the GRAVE [sheol-Hell]." The only word translated Hell in the Old Testament
is sheol; the first three times sheol is used, if it means Hell is Jacob saying his son is
being tormented in Hell and he will go down to "Hell to be with him?" No, he is saying
he will go down to the grave mourning the death of his son; he was not saying he
expected to go to eternal torment in Hell. The King James translators know that Hell
would not teach what they wanted to teach. They did not want Jacob in HELL. This and
many others times they know they could not translate sheol into Hell.
• (2) Genesis 42:38 "Then will you bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the
GRAVE [sheol-Hell]."
• (3) Genesis 44:29 "You will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the GRAVE
[sheol-Hell]."
• (4) Genesis 44:31 "Shall bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father
with sorrow to the GRAVE [sheol-Hell]."
Some say that the "grave" is the abode of departed spirits. My question to them is
where did they learn this? There is not one passage in the Bible that speaks of "a place"
where all departed spirits go, and not one passage that speaks of "departed spirits." Do
they out of thin air come up with both a place and departed spirits to put in that place?
They manufacture terms and use them as if they were Biblical and expect all others to
accept their manufactured terms without question.
If Jacob were going to Heaven at death, why did he say he was going DOWN to his
son IN SORROW? If he were going to Heaven, he should have said he was going UP to
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his son REJOICING. Those today who speak of going to Heaven always speak of going
UP, never DOWN, and never speak of there being SORROW in Heaven.
(5) Job 14:13 "O that you would hide ME in the GRAVE [sheol-Hell], that you would
keep ME secret, until your wrath be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and
remember ME!" Job was in so much pain that he was asking God let him die, he wanted
to go to the grave-sheol [Hell] for relief from his sufferings, but today's Hell is
incomparably worse than the suffering he wanted relief from. The translators did not dare
to make this Hell for them they would have Job asking to go to Hell for relief from his
sufferings. "There is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man" [Job 1:8]
asking to go to "Hell" to escape his sufferings. Those who believe in Hell teach the
sufferings in it are much worse than anything in this life. Job certainly would not have
wanted to escape from the painful time he was having by going to a place much more
painful, a place where there would be no end to suffering. "Why died I not from the
womb? Why did I not give up the ghost when my mother bare me? Why did the knees
receive me, or why the breasts, that I should suck? For now should I have lain down and
been quiet; I would have slept; then had I been at rest ... There the wicked cease from
troubling: and there the weary are at rest" [Job 3:11-17]. Beyond any doubt, Job did not
know about or believe in Hell as it is taught today. Job did not want to go to today's Hell
and be tormented; he wanted to go the "grave" to avoid the torment he was in. WHY IS
IT THAT NO PREACHER WHO BELIEVES IN "HELL" NEVER SPEAKS OF
"HELL" IN THE WAY JOB DID? THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE, SHEOL DID NOT
MEAN A PLACE OF TORMENT, BUT A PLACE OF REST, AND THOSE WHO
PREACH "HELL FIRE" TODAY JUST DO NOT BELIEVE JOB.
(6) Job 17:13 "If I wait, the GRAVE [sheol-Hell] is my house: I have made my bed in
darkness. I have said to corruption, you are my father: to the worm, you are my mother,
and my sister. And where is my hope? As for my hope, who shall see it? They shall go
down to the bars of the PIT [sheol-Hell], when our rest together is in the dust." It was
clear even to the King James translators that Job was not saying Hell was gong to be his
bed. He gives a description of the corruption and maggots of the grave. An undeniable
statement that the grave was to be his house, not Heaven, Hell, or Abraham's bosom; he
had no thought of being eternally tortured in the Dark Age Hell, but all of both the good
and the bad are resting together in the dust. Death is never said to be a gateway to
Heaven. It is described as a place of darkness and forgetfulness. In the same passage they
translated the same word, sheol, into both grave and pit.
• Verse 13: "If I wait, the GRAVE [sheol-Hell] is my HOUSE" A house is an abode,
not a place of torment.
• Verse 13: "I have made my BED in DARKNESS." The darkness of the grave. Is a
place of fire or darkness?
• Verse 14: "I have said to CORRUPTION, you are my father." Corruption is in the
grave.
• Verse 14: "To the WORM, you are my mother, and my sister." The worms that eat
dead bodies are in the grave.
• Verse 16: "They shall go down to the bars of the PIT [sheol-Hell], when our
REST together IS IN THE DUST." There is no rest in the "Hell" that is taught
today, and I know of none that think "Hell" is in the dust of the earth [Job 17:13-
16].
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(7) Psalms 30:3 "O lord, you have brought up my soul from the GRAVE [sheol-Hell]:
you have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit." David was not saying he
had been dead and his soul was in Hell. God had saved him from his foes and death,
therefore, saved him from going to the grave. He did not come back from Hell. He was
expressing his gratitude for his recovery, not being brought back from Heaven or Hell.
"You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit" and "you have brought up
my soul from the grave" is Hebrew dualism where the same thing is said in two ways. In
verse nine David said, “What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the pit? Will the
dust praise you? Will it declare Your fullness?” The dust of the dead is in the grave. This
is Hebrew dualism where the same thing is said in two ways. David who was not dead
but was giving thinks to God for saving him and keeping him alive said:
• “O lord, you have brought up my soul from the GRAVE [sheol]”
• “You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the PIT [bohr]”
Grave [sheol] and pit [bohr] are parallel. What is the meaning of pit [bohr] in the Old
Testament; it is used 69 times and in the King James Version is translated: pit 42 times,
dungeon 13 times, well 9 times, cistern 4 times and fountain 1 time. All except maybe
fountain, which would have been better translated well or cistern, means a hole in the
ground does; (a grave, pit or well which was dug by man or a natural pit - hole) not a
place where an immaterial, invisible something that is in a person would go down to, and
not a chamber someplace under ground where all souls are kept together unto the
resurrection are a chamber that has two sides, one side for the saved and one side for the
lost.
PIT (bohr), which is used in Hebrew parallelism or dualism as being parallel to in
meaning to GRAVE (sheol) is a hole in the ground and was a pit or will that was
sometimes dug by man.
“Cast him (Joseph) into some pit (bohr)” Genesis 37:20
“Cast him into this pit (bohr)” Genesis 37:22
“Cast him into a pit (bohr): and the pit (bohr) was…” Genesis 37:24
“Reuben returned unto the pit (bohr); and behold, Joseph was not in the pit (bohr)”
Genesis 37:29
“Should put me into the dungeon (bohr)” Genesis 40:15
“Brought him hastily out of the dungeon (bohr)” Genesis 41:14
“The captive that was in the dungeon (bohr)” Exodus 12:29
“Open a pit (bohr), or if a man shall dig a pit (bohr)” Exodus 12:33
“The owner of the pit (bohr) shall make” Exodus 21:34
“Nevertheless a fountain or pit (bohr)” Leviticus 11:36
“And wells (bohr) dug” Deuteronomy 6:1
“In high places, and in pits (bohr)” 1 Samuel 13:6
“Came to a great well (bohr)” 1 Samuel 19:22
“Brought him again from the well (bohr)” 2 Samuel 3:26
“The water of the well (bohr) of Bethlehem” 2 Samuel 23:15
“Drew water out of the well (bohr)” 2 Samuel 23:16
“In the midst of a pit (bohr) in time” 2 Samuel 23:20
“Slew them at the pit (bohr) of the shearing house” 2 Kings 10:14
“The water of his cistern (bohr)” 2 Kings 18:31
“The water of the well (bohr) of Bethlehem” 1 Chronicles 11:17
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“Drew water out of the well (bohr) of Bethlehem” 1 Chronicles 11:18
“Slew a lion in a pit (bohr)” 1 Chronicles 11:22
“Dug many wells (bohr)” 2 Chronicles 26:10
“Wells (bohr) dug” Nehemiah 9:25
“He made a pit (bohr), and dug it” Psalms 7:15-16
“Them that go down into the pit (bohr)” Psalms 28:l
“That I should not go down into the pit (bohr)” Psalms 30:3
“Out of an horrible pit (bohr)” Psalms 40:2
“Them that go down into the pit (bohr)…like the slain who lie in the grave” Psalms 88:4-
5
“You have laid me in the lowest pit (bohr)” Psalms 88:6
“Them that do down into the pit (bohr)” Psalms 143:7
“As those that go down into the pit (bohr)” Proverbs 1:12
“Drink waters out of your own cistern (bohr)” Proverbs 5:15
“Person shall flee to the pit (bohr)” Proverbs 28:17
“Or the wheel broken at the cistern (bohr)” Ecclesiastes 12:6
“To the sides of the pit (bohr)” Isaiah 14:15
“That go down to the stones of the pit (bohr)” Isaiah 14:19
“Prisoners are gathered in the pit (bohr)” Isaiah 24:22
“The waters of his own cistern (bohr)” Isaiah 36:16
“They that go down into the pit (bohr)” Isaiah 38:18
“To the hole of the pit (bohr)” Isaiah 51:1
“As a fountain (bohr) cast out” Jeremiah 6:7
“Into the dungeon (bohr)” Jeremiah 37:16
“Cast him into the dungeon (bohr)” Jeremiah 38:6
“And in the dungeon (bohr) there was no” Jeremiah 38:6
“Had put Jeremiah in the dungeon (bohr)” Jeremiah 38:7
“They have cast into the dungeon (bohr)” Jeremiah 38:9
“The prophet out of the dungeon (bohr)” Jeremiah 38:10
“Down by cords into the dungeon (bohr)” Jeremiah 38:11
“Took him up out of the dungeon (bohr)” Jeremiah 38:13
“Into the midst of the pit (bohr)” Jeremiah 41:7
“Now the pit (bohr) wherein Ishmael” Jeremiah 41:9
“Cut off my life in the dungeon (bohr)” Lamentations 3:53
“Out of the low dungeon (bohr)” Lamentations 3:55
“With them that descend into the pit (bohr)” Ezekiel 26:20
“With them that go down to the pit (bohr)” Ezekiel 26:20
“With them that go down to the pit (bohr)” Ezekiel 31:14
“With them that descend into the pit (bohr)” Ezekiel 31:16
“With them that go down into the pit (bohr)” Ezekiel 32:18
“Set in the sides of the pit (bohr)” Ezekiel 32:23
“With them that go down to the pit (bohr)” Ezekiel 32:24; 32:25; 32:29; 32:30
“Sent forth your prisoners out of the pit (bohr)” Zechariah 9:11
In Psalms 30:9 David spoke of going down to the pit, but used ghath, which is
translated much the same way as bohr, pit 13 times, ditch 2 times, grave 1 time,
corruption 4 times and destruction 2 times in the King James Version.
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1. “That I should not go down to the PIT (bohr)” verse 2
2. “You have brought up my soul (Nshahmah – life) from the GRAVE [sheol]” verse
3
3. “When I go down to the PIT (ghath)” verse 9
Sheol, bohr and ghath are also used by in Isaiah 38:17-18:
• “Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but you have in love to my soul
(Nshahmah – life) delivered it from the PIT (ghath) of corruption:
• for you have cast all my sins behind your back. For the GRAVE (sheol) cannot
praise you, death cannot celebrate you:
• they that go down into the PIT (bohr) cannot hope for your truth”
His life was delivered from the pit of corruption, the grave for the grave cannot praise
God; the pit of corruption and the grave are the same, corruption is in the grave but there
could be no corruption in a chamber someplace under ground where an immaterial,
incorruptible part of persons were stored.
“Yet shall you plunge me in the DITCH (ghath)” Job 9:21
“I have said to CORRUPTION (ghath), you are my father” Job 17:14
“Deliver him form going down in the PIT (ghath)” Job 33:28
“Is fallen into the DITCH (ghath)” Psalms 7:15
“Down into the PIT of destruction (ghath)” Psalms 55:23
“Soul” as it is used today (an immaterial immortal part of a person) would have no
need to be delivered from the pit or corruption, the grave which is would never be in and
it would not be subject to corruption.
Summery: Bohr is used in Hebrew parallelism or dualism as being parallel to in
meaning to grave (sheol) is a hole in the ground and was sometimes dug by man.
Bohr and ghath are a pit, dungeon or well, a real place on this earth that the living can go
down into and come up out of as Joseph when he was cast into a pit, or dead persons as
David was asking God not to let him die or be killed and go down to the pit; they are not
a place where bodiless souls are put; they are not a subterranean chamber someplace
under ground where all immaterial, bodiless, living but totally unconscious and unaware
of anything souls are kept together, not God’s warehouse where He keeps both the
unconscious saved and the unconscious lost together unto the resurrection; or not a
chamber that has two sides, one side for the conscious saved and one side for the
conscious lost who are in torment. It is used in Hebrew dualism in verse 2 as parallel in
meaning to sheol – grave.
(8) Psalms 49:15 "But God will redeem my soul from the power of the GRAVE [sheol-
Hell] for he shall receive me." The translators did not believe God would redeem any
from Hell. At the resurrection, his life will be redeemed from the grave, from death. If
"sheol" were really "Hell," then this passage would be saying God will redeem from Hell,
and the writer of this Psalm would have been saying he expected to be in Hell and
redeemed from it.
(9) Psalms 88:3 "And my life draws nigh unto the GRAVE [sheol-Hell]." He thought
he would soon die, not soon be in Hell. This is one of the good guys but he clearly
indicates that he was expecting to be in sheol soon; therefore, sheol was not translated
Hell. He asked, “Will you show wonders to the dead? Shall they that are deceased arise
and praise you? Shall your loving kindness be declared in the grave? Or your
faithfulness in destruction? Shall your wonders be known in the dark? And your
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righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?” [Psalms 88:10-12]. It is certain that this
righteous man did not think he would be alive in Heaven or conscious any place after
death and this Psalm is a prayer for deliverance form death; he was asking to be saved
from the darkness of death, not from the light of Heaven.
(10) Isaiah 38:9-12 "A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after his illness and
recovery: I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the GRAVE [sheol-
Hell]: I am deprived of the residue of my years…You do make an end of me." King
Hezekiah, a godly king of Israel when he was ill had thought he would die and go to the
grave before he was old. If Hell had been used in this passage, he would have said he
expected to go into eternal torment in Hell.
(11) Isaiah 38:16-18 King Hezekiah continues by asking God, "Restore me to health,
and let me live…for the GRAVE [sheol-Hell] cannot praise you, death cannot celebrate
you: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for your truth." No distinction is made of
the dead. Neither the good or bad dead can praise God. If the good dead are living in
Heaven, why could they not praise God? Those who go down to the pit [the grave] are
asleep and know nothing; they cannot hope for God's truth while they are asleep. Death,
pit and grave (sheol) are used interchangeably in this passage. If the faithful goes to
Heaven at death why was Hazekiah earnestly praying not to.
The bad in the grave in 7 passages
(1) 1 Kings 2:6 "And let not his hoar head go down to the GRAVE [sheol-Hell] in
peace." No one could have peace while he was being burned by Satan or burned by God
with a fire many times hotter than any fire on earth and tormented far worse than any
torment known to anyone. The Hell preached today is not a place of peace. In 1 Kings
2:6-9 David is telling Solomon not to let Joab die peacefully because of the evil he had
done. There is nothing about Joab being forever tormented in Hell in this. David knew
Solomon had the power to bring Joab down the grave, but no one has the power to send
anyone to "Hell" as the word is used today, but to make this teach their theology, they
seem to be more than willing to give Solomon this power.
(2) 1 Kings 2:9 "But his hoar head bring you down to the GRAVE [sheol-Hell] with
blood," see notes on 1 Kings 2:6 above. A man can shed the blood of another man and
bring him down to the grave, but only God could say he was going to Hell if there were
one.
(3) Job 21:13 "They spend their day in wealth, and in a moment go down to the
GRAVE [sheol-Hell]." They "go DOWN to the grave," not to somewhere out in space or
who knows where. At one time Hell was believed to be under the earth. In Greek
philosophy after death the souls waiting to be reincarnated were under the earth; and
Hell, which grew out of Greek philosophy had the souls in torment under the earth. From
the Dark Age unto not many years ago, most who believed in Hell believed it was under
or deep in the earth just as many who believed in pagan reincarnation believed it was
under the earth. Most, but not all, now realize there is no place of torment under the earth
and have moved it. Now who knows where they think it is, maybe somewhere out in
space, but under the earth is no more unscriptural than any other place. Any torment in
the grave [sheol] has to be read into this passage; The New International Version says,
“And they go DOWN to the grave IN PEACE.” In Job 3:17-19 Job gives a picture of
sheol – the grave with the wicked and the righteous at rest together that is nothing like
today’s teaching of the soul or all being in Heaven or tormented in Hell. “ There the
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wicked cease from raging, and there the weary are at rest. The prisoners are at ease
together; they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. The small and the great are there,
and the slave is free from his master.” They all sleep; Job would be out of his torment.
(4) Job 24:19 "Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so does the GRAVE
[sheol-Hell] those which have sinned." All those who have sinned and are consumed by
the grave just as heat consumes the snow is a far cry from torment in a Hell where we are
told that those that have sinned are never consumed. Job just did not understand and
needed Jonathan Edwards to tell him that those, which have sinned, are not in the grave
but are in Hell, a place of endless torment where they will never be consumed, that the
heat of Hell will never consume them “as heat consumes the snow.”
(5) Psalms 31:17 "Let me not be ashamed, O Lord; for I have called upon you: let the
wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the GRAVE [sheol-Hell]." This is David
asking God to let his enemies that were trying to kill him die. The translators knew David
was not asking God not to let those in Hell cry out in pain as they were being tormented.
He was asking for their end, not for them to be silent when they are being tormented in
Hell. Most who believe in Hell believe that it will be anything but silent, but that there
will be eternal yells in the pain there; those who believe in Hell teach that the wicked will
be weeping, wailing and gnashing their teeth, there is nothing silent about weeping and
wailing. According to the view of the Hell that many believe in David would be asking
God to torment many, but most of those who believe in eternal torment in Hell would
condemn anyone who prayed in church for God to forever burn most in the hot fires of
the Hell they believe in.
(6) (7) Psalms 49:14 "Like sheep they are lain in the GRAVE [sheol-Hell]; death shall
feed on them" Also Hebrew dualism. Although this is speaking of the wicked, no one
believes sheep will be tormented in Hell, therefore, the translators could not put them in
Hell as they usually did with the wicked; sheep do go to sheol – the grave just as the dead
of mankind and all animals, but not to a chamber under the earth where many believe all
the dead go; if sheol was such a chamber this passage would put sheep and all living
being in it. "And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their
beauty shall consume in the GRAVE [sheol-Hell].” No matter how much beauty a person
may have when living, that beauty will consume in the grave. They will swell up and
decay in the grave. Although this is speaking of the wicked, sheol was not translated Hell
for the translators did not believe anyone will decay and be consumed in Hell; they
believed an immortal soul is the part of a person that will always be the same, not
consume or decay away with the swelling of the dead body, but they had to put both
decaying bodies and sheep in sheol, but neither decaying bodies or sheep could be in
sheol if it was a chamber or place (called by some “the place of the dead” or “the holding
place of souls”) where all the souls of the dead are stored away. "And their form shall be
for Sheol to consume, so that they have no habitation" [New American Standard Bible].
If they were in Hell they would have an eternal habitation and sheol could not consume a
soul if it were immortal; “their form” is their bodies, which are consumed in sheol – the
grave.
[4] BOTH THE GOOD AND BAD IN THE GRAVE TOGETHER
(In 17 passages)
The good and bad in the grave together in 10 passages
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(1) 1 Samuel 2:6 "The lord kills and makes alive: he brings down to the GRAVE
[sheol-Hell], and brings up." If they had translated this Hell, they would have the Lord
brings up from Hell, but they believed no one could come out of Hell and have a second
chance after they were in Hell, therefore, they did not use Hell. Coming out of Hell
would completely upset their theology.
(2) Job 7:9 "As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away: so he that goes down to the
GRAVE [sheol-Hell] shall come up no more." ALL go down to the grave. They could not
have translated this into Hell for then they would have put ALL in Hell together, both the
good and the bad. Neither do they believe any in "Hell" will vanish away as bodies in the
grave do; there is no torment in bodies vanishing away in the grave.
(3) Psalms 6:5 "For in death there is no remembrance of you: in the GRAVE [sheol-
Hell] who shall give you thanks?" David is not saying that only these in Hell have no
remembrance of God, but that none of the dead have any remembrance or none can give
Him thanks. If the bad were in Hell and the good in Heaven or Abraham's bosom, then
both the bad and the good would have a remembrance of God. Do some think anyone
could be in Heaven and have no remembrance of God or those who are being tormented
in Hell will have no remembrance of the God who is tormenting them? If they had
translated this Hell, they would have put ALL, both the good and the bad in Hell with no
remembrance of why they were there or of the God that was tormenting them. THIS
STATEMENT IS A FLAT CONTRADICTION OF TODAY'S THEOLOGY OF AN
IMMORTAL SOUL THAT IS ONLY A PART OF A PERSON. That the dead are
unconscious is so strongly stated in this passage that those who believe the dead are
conscious have a hard time with it. This is shown in the Connelly-Field "Debate On The
State Of The Dead" when Thomas P. Connelly said, "The desire expressed here is for
salvation, in view of the fact that there is no chance of salvation in the grave; those who
go to the grave unprepared give God no thanks, they do not remember the Lord, the term
remembrance being used in the sense of obedience." David was asking God to save him
from death "for in death there is no remembrance of You." It was David who did believe
in God that would have no remembrance of Him, not someone who went to the grave not
believing in God. David was not, as he says, someone who went "to the grave
unprepared."
• Although it may be out of place to bring up Psalm 146:3-4 at this time, but
Connelly's statement on it again shows the dilemma of those who do not want to
believe God. "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there
is no help. His breath goes forth, he returns to his earth; IN THAT VERY DAY
HIS THOUGHTS PERISH." He says, "The term thoughts in this text, as is evident not
only from the word used in the Septuagint, but from the context, means designs or purposes. We
are exhorted not to trust in man, for though he may design to bless us, he is destined to die,
when his purpose must fail--they must perish." The Christian Church, in which he is an
Evangelist, believes no one can change God's word, but he changes "thoughts"
into "purpose" when they are different words in the Hebrew and the word
"thoughts" never means "purpose." and is never translated "purpose." Connelly-
Field "Debate On The State Of The Dead"
(4) Psalms 89:48 "What man is he that lives and shall not see death? Shall he deliver
his soul [life - nehphesh] from the hand of the GRAVE [sheol-Hell]?” This is another
Hebrew dualism that is used throughout Psalm; in this dualism the grave and sheol are
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synonymous terms. A person cannot keep himself from death and the grave; he was
speaking of his life [nehphesh] that he could not be kept from the grave, not an
“immaterial invisible” something that cannot die and will never go to the grave. If this
grave [sheol] were Hell, then no person could keep himself from Hell, not even the
righteous. All die and go to the grave [sheol], but no one believes all go to Hell. Although
this Psalm is speaking of all, both the good and the bad, all can see why the translators
did not translate sheol into Hell in this passage for they believed the righteous will keep
their souls from Hell, but why did the translators make the writer say no one can keep
their “soul” (that the translators believe cannot die) from the grave?
(5) Psalms 141:7 "Our bones are scattered at the GRAVE'S [sheol-Hell] mouth, as
when one cuts and cleaves wood upon the earth." Will the bones of those in Hell be
scattered at the mouth of Hell and not be in it? Whatever David means by grave's mouth,
he is not saying that the inside of the grave [sheol/hades] has two sides, one side for the
good and one for the bad. Even the King James translators did not think so and translated
it grave, not Hell. There is nothing about torment or an immortal soul in this Psalm.
(6) Proverbs 1:12 "Let us swallow them up alive as the GRAVE [sheol-Hell]: and
whole, as those that go down into the pit."
(7) Proverbs 30:16 "The GRAVE [sheol-Hell] says not 'It is enough.'" No matter how
many die, the point will never be reached when no more can die.
(8) Ecclesiastes 9:10 "Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for
there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the GRAVE [sheol-Hell],
whether you go." In the same chapter Solomon says, "The dead know not anything"
[Ecclesiastes 9:5]. “His breath departs, he returns to the earth; in that very day his
thoughts perish” [Psalms 146:4]. “The dead do no praise the Lord, nor do any that go
down into silence, but we (those who are alive) will bless the Lord” [Psalm 115:17].
Those in the grave know nothing and will know nothing unto the resurrection. A Hell or a
Heaven where those in them knows nothing and does nothing neither good or bad
would not be the Hell or the Heaven the Catholics or the Protestants believe the dead to
be living in. Solomon is not speaking in figurative language. A more positive statement
that the dead are now unconscious could not be made; “whether you go” not “whether an
immaterial something in you goes.” It could not be said any plainer that death is death
and no part of anyone is alive before the resurrection; that after death no part of a person
has thoughts or knows anything.
(9) Song of Solomon 8:6 "Love is as strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the GRAVE
[sheol-Hell]." No distinction is made of the good or the bad. The bad and the good are the
same to the grave, it takes everything from all.
The good and bad together in Hell in 2 passages
(1) Job 11:8 "It is as high as heaven; what can you do? Deeper than HELL [gravesheol]
[HELL CHANGED TO SHEOL IN NEW KING JAMES VERSION]; what can
you know?" "They are higher than the heavens-what can you do? They are deeper than
the depths of the grave-what can you know" New International Version. This is one of
Job's comforters, Zophar. God said, "My wrath is kindled against you and against your
two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has"
[Job 42:7]. Can the words of Job's friends, which God says are not "right," be used to
prove any truth? WHAT IS BOTH HIGHER THAN THE HEAVENS AND DEEPER
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THAN THE DEPTHS OF THE GRAVE? THE MYSTERIES OF GOD AND THE
LIMITS OF THE ALMIGHTY [11:7]. All though Job's friend might not have been
speaking what was right, there still is nothing in what they said about anything after death
or after the judgment. In this, as in all the sixty-five uses of sheol, there is no torment
after death.
(2) Job 26:6 " HELL [grave-sheol] [HELL CHANGED TO SHEOL IN NEW KING
JAMES VERSION] is naked before him, and destruction has no covering."
When a person who believes in the Hell that is taught today reads the King James Old
Testament he or she finds a Hell that is totally difference and contradictorily to what they
have been taught. The passages where sheol was mistranslated to put Hell in the Bible
describe a place very unlike the Hell that is now believed in by many, and the wrong
people are sometimes in it.
[5] BOTH THE GOOD AND BAD IN SHEOL (In 15 passages)
In Hell in King James Version
The good in Hell in 7 passages
(1) 2 Samuel 22:6 "When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men
made me afraid; The sorrows of HELL [grave-sheol] [HELL CHANGED TO SHEOL IN
NEW KING JAMES VERSION] compassed me about; the snares of death prevented
me." Up to the time of David, Hell is used in the King James Version only one time.
FROM GENESIS ONE TO THE TIME OF DAVID IN 2 SAMUEL, OVER THREE
THOUSAND YEARS HAD PASSED BEFORE THE SECOND TIME THE WORD
HELL WAS PUT INTO THE KING JAMES VERSION; BUT, EVEN THEN, THE
NEW KING JAMES TAKES IT OUT. 2 Samuel 22:5-6 is David speaking about
troubles and fears he had, including fear of death for he was running from Saul who was
trying to kill him. It is difficult to see why the King James Version put "Hell" in this
passage for when they did it is far from being what those who believe in "Hell" believe.
Was David running from Saul because he thought Saul would send him to the grave or
would send him to Hell? Even those who believe in Hell do not believe Saul could have
sent David to it. THERE IS NOTHING IN IT ABOUT ANYTHING AFTER DEATH
OR AFTER THE JUDGMENT DAY. "The sorrows of HELL compassed me about" and
"the snares of death prevented me" are Hebrew dualism.
Matthew Henry said, "This is expressed figuratively. He was surrounded with death on every side,
threatened to be overwhelmed, and saw no way of escape" Matthew Henry's Commentary, Page
357.
(2) Psalms 16:10 "For you will not leave my soul in HELL [grave-sheol] [HELL
CHANGED TO SHEOL IN NEW KING JAMES VERSION]: neither wilt you suffer
your Holy One to see corruption." This is used in Acts 2 and is about Christ. The
translators put most of the saved in the grave, not in Hell, but this says his soul was not
left in sheol. The translators were in a dilemma in this passage.
1. They could not put a "soul" (as the word is used today-an invisible, immaterial, no
substance nothing) in the grave, which would be to admit that a soul could be
dead.
2. Or they had to put Christ in Hell. If Christ were alive in Hell, He was alive and
never was dead, therefore, there was no resurrection of Christ. Did God raise
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Christ from the dead, or did God just take the living Christ who was not dead out
of Hell? Christ paid our debt, which was death, not eternal torment.
This is Hebrew dualism where the same thought is given in two ways.
1. “For you will not leave my soul in HELL [grave-sheol]”
2. “Neither wilt you suffer your Holy One to see corruption.” Corruption is in the
grave, not in “Hell.”
(3) Psalms 18:5 "I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be
saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly
men made me afraid. The sorrows of HELL [grave-sheol "grave" in margin of King
James Version] [HELL CHANGED TO SHEOL IN NEW KING JAMES VERSION]
compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the
Lord, and cried unto my God; he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came
before him even into his ears." This is David saying about the same thing that he said in 2
Samuel 22:5-6. See notes there. This is Hebrew dualism where the same thing is said in
two ways. "The sorrows of sheol compassed me about" and "the snares of death
prevented me" are two ways of saying the same thing. If Hell were a place of eternal
torment after death and David had been compassed about by it, he would not have been
alive on earth to write this. This is one of the good guys who came near unto death, not
near unto Hell.
(4) Psalms 86:13 "For great is your mercy toward me: and you have delivered my soul
from the lowest HELL [grave-sheol]." [HELL CHANGED TO SHEOL IN NEW KING
JAMES VERSION]. [Footnote in King James Version: "Or, grave"]. Neither the
Catholic, Protestant nor the after judgment versions of Hell believe that a person can go
the Hell and come back to live on Earth. The writer of this Psalm is thanking God for
saving his life from the grave, not for bring him back from eternal torment in Hell, but for
bring him back from a place he had been and was delivered from it while he was alive in
the body. The New Revised Standard Version says, "You have delivered my soul from the
depths of Sheol" [sheol-grave]. AT THE TIME DAVID WAS WRITING THIS HE
HAD NOT BEEN TO THE HELL THAT IS TAUGHT TODAY TO BE DELIVERED
FROM IT FOR THE TODAY’S HELL IS A PLACE OF ETERNAL TORMENT FROM
WHICH NONE WILL EVER BE DELIVERED. It is no wonder that the New King
James took "Hell" out of this passage.
IF THIS PASSAGE WERE BELIEVED AS IT IS TRANSLATED IN THE KING
JAMES VERSION, USING THE WORDS "SOUL" AND "HELL" AS THEY ARE
USED AND UNDERSTOOD TODAY IT WOULD TEACH:
• THE SOUL CAN BE IN HELL AND BE TORMENTED WHEN THE
PERSON IS STILL LIVING ON EARTH, BEFORE DEATH.
• THE SOUL CAN COME BACK FROM HELL. A soul in Hell can be
delivered from Hell! Also 1 Samuel 2:6; Psalms 16:10: 30:3 49:15; 88:3.
• THERE IS MORE THAN ONE HELL. If there were a "lowest hell," there
would have to be one or more Hells above it. Does anyone believe that are many
Hells?
• THE SOUL OF THE RIGHTEOUS CAN BE IN HELL. The soul of David
would have had to be in Hell if it was delivered from Hell.
• SOULS ARE IN HELL BEFORE THE JUDGMENT DAY.
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In trying to put Hell in the Bible, they made a mess of things, a mess that no one
believes, not even the translators that made the mess. In the next verse it is clearly
indicated that this is deliverance from a threat of death from those who sought his life. "O
God, arrogant men have risen up against me, and a band of violent men have sought my
life [nehphesh]" [New American Standard Bible].
In this Psalm the beliefs of the translators give them only two choices. They had to:
• Put a soul that could not be dead in the grave
• Or put a soul in Hell
There choice was to put a soul in Hell even if it was David’s soul in Hell before his death.
(5) Psalms 116:3 "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of HELL [gravesheol]
[HELL CHANGED TO SHEOL IN NEW KING JAMES VERSION] gat hold
upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I
beseech thee, deliver my soul." The writer could see that death and the grave may be
close. When they translated sheol into Hell did they not put the righteous in Hell? Did he
pray that his soul be taken out of Hell while he was living, when according to today's
teaching his soul would not have been in Hell? The New King James Version did not
think so and changed Hell to sheol. His trouble and sorrow were in this life, and he called
upon the name of the Lord to deliver him from death and the grave, which he thought was
near, not to deliver him from Hell when he was not in Hell.
(6) Psalms 139:8 "If I ascend up into heaven, you are there: if I make my bed in HELL
[grave-sheol], behold, you are there." He is saying God is everywhere, He is
omnipresent. There is nowhere one can go away from God for He can reach into the
grave and raise the dead. The King James Version makes God be in Hell, but if He were,
then those in Hell would not be away from the presence of God and death would not be a
separation from God as some teach it is. Sleep is used as a metaphor of death throughout
the Bible. "If I make my bed in Sheol" [Hell in the King James Version], those who
believe in Hell do not believe those in Hell will have a bed and sleep. If David had made
his bed in Hell, this would be saying one of the good guys was asleep in Hell? See
GATHERED TO HIS PEOPLE - WAKENING UP AT THE RESURRECTION in
chapter three on the use of sleep in the Bible.
• Also 2 Samuel 22:5-6; Psalms 18:3-6 David was in fear of death (not in fear of
Hell as is translated in the King James Version) and was running from Saul who
was trying to kill him. Also Psalms 86:13; 116:3-4; Jonah 2:2
• Most of the times when sheol is referring to the good it is translated grave. See
Genesis 37:35; 42:38; 4429: 44:31; Job 14:13; 17:13-16; Psalms 49:15 etc.
(7) Jonah 2:2 "And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he
heard me; out of the belly of HELL [grave-sheol] ["grave" in margin of King James
Version] [HELL CHANGED TO SHEOL IN NEW KING JAMES VERSION] cried I,
and you heard my voice." In the belly of the great fish was a dark covered place as the
grave is but nothing like a place of torture in fire brimstone. Jonah was not dead and
neither the Catholics, Protestants, nor the after judgment versions of Hell believe that a
person can be in Hell before his death or that he can come back to this world from Hell.
For 374 years [from 1611 to 1985] the readers of the King James Version were told Jonah
was in Hell, then the New Kings James Version came along and said not so, he was in
sheol. This passage is as are many others, difficult to see how the King James translators
thought they could get their view of "Hell" out of it even when they mistranslated it.
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1. NO ONE BELIEVES HELL IS IN THE BELLY OF A GREAT FISH.
2. DO ANY BELIEVE A LIVING PERSON IN THE FLESH CAN EVER BE IN
HELL?
3. OR THAT ANYONE THAT DOES GO TO HELL WILL EVER COME OUT
OF IT TO LIVE ON THIS EARTH?
BUT THE KING JAMES VERSION MAKES ALL THREE OF THESE TRUE. DID
THE TRANSLATORS BELIEVE WHAT THEY MADE THIS PASSAGE SAY? DOES
ANY ONE THAT BELIEVES IN HELL BELIEVE WHAT THEY MADE IT SAY?
The bad in Hell
In only 8 of the 54 passages that have sheol.
(1) Psalms 55:15 "Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into HELL
[sheol-grave in the margin of the King James Version]: for wickedness is in their
dwellings, and among them." David is asking that they die and go to SHEOL [the grave]
quickly. He is not asking that they be tormented in Hell forever. Those who believe in the
after judgment Hell do not believe the wicked go quickly to Hell at death, but some of
them are desperate enough for proof of their Hell that they use this and other verses like
it. Though this is the twenty-ninth time sheol is used, it is only the eighth time Hell is in
the New King James Version. Numbers 16:29-33 is similar. "If these men die the death of
all men, or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. But, if the
Lord brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows
them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into SHEOL [grave-sheol, PIT in
King James Version], then you will understand that these men have spurned the Lord.
Then it came about as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground that was
under them split opened; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and
their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah, with their possession, So they
and all that belonged to them went down alive to SHEOL [sheol-grave-pit in King James
Version]; and they perished from the midst of the assembly" New American Standard
Bible. Their possessions went into the grave with them, but those who believe in Hell do
not believe anyone can take their possessions to Hell. If they had translated this "sheol"
into "Hell," it would have put Hell in a hole in the ground and on this earth.
• Psalms 55:15 "Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into HELL
[sheol] for wickedness is in their dwellings."
• Psalms 32:17 "Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the GRAVE
[sheol]." The King James translators did not know whether they wanted the
wicked in the grave or in Hell. They most certainly are not the same place. Did
they divide up the dead and put some in Hell, some in the grave, and some in a
hole in the ground? Sheol is translated grave and Hell at random.
Hebrew dualism where the same thing is said in two ways is used throughout Psalms
and Proverbs. Sheol is used in dualism repeatedly.
Psalms 30:3
1. "O lord, you have brought up my soul from the GRAVE [sheol-Hell]:
2. You have kept me alive."
Psalms 55:15
1. "Let death seize upon them,
2. And let them go down quick into HELL [sheol-grave]."
Psalms 89:48
1. "What man is he that lives and shall not see death?
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2. Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the GRAVE [sheol-Hell]."
Psalms 116:3-4
1. "The sorrows of death compassed me,
2. And the pains of HELL [sheol-grave] gat hold upon me."
Proverbs 5:5
1. "Her feet go down to death:
2. Her steps take hold on HELL [sheol-grave]."
Proverbs 7:27
1. "Her house is the way to HELL [sheol-grave],"
2. "Going down to the chambers of death."
Proverbs 9:18
1. "But he knows not that the dead are there;
2. and that her guests are in the depths of HELL [sheol-grave]."
Proverbs 15:10-11
1. "He that hates reproof shall die.
2. HELL [sheol-grave] and destruction are before the Lord."
Isaiah 38:18
• "For the GRAVE [sheol-Hell] cannot praise you,
• Death cannot celebrate you."
(2) Proverbs 5:5 "Her feet go down to death: her steps take hold on HELL [gravesheol]."
Through out the poetry books, a statement is made and then for emphasis will be
repeated in a different way.
1. "Her feet going down to death" is repeated for emphasis
2. "Her steps taking hold on sheol [the grave]."
Adultery had the death penalty under the Law [Leviticus 20:10-16]; they were stoned
to death [John 83-11]; even today many die from Aids and other incurable sexual
diseases. In Proverbs 1:11-12, it was the innocent victims of the evil, therefore, the King
James Version puts the victims in the grave; but in Proverbs 5:5, it is the evil women,
therefore, the King James Version puts her in Hell even though they had to translated the
same word into two completely difference places, even though they had to make the same
word be both a common noun and a proper noun; even though the same word cannot be
both. Proverbs 5 is about prostitutes, and it says of those that go to them, "And you groan
at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed" [Proverbs 5:11].
(3) Proverbs 7:27 Another Hebrew dualism where the same thing is said in two ways.
Going down to the chambers of death is the same as the way to the grave [sheol].
Proverbs 7 is a comparison of keeping God’s commandments or not keeping them
pictured as being enticed by an adulteress woman.
• "Her house is the way to sheol"
• "Going down to the chambers of death,"
“Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, do not stray into her paths. For many are
the victims she has cast down, and numerous are all her slain. Her house is the way to
the grave, descending to the chambers of death” [Proverbs 7:25-27].
(4) Proverbs 9:18 "But he knows not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in
the depths of HELL [grave-sheol]." Proverbs 9 is a comparison of wisdom and folly with
folly pictured as a wicked woman and those who come to her dying a premature death.
1. "The dead are there"
2. "Her guests are in the depths of sheol [the grave]" is a repeat of the same thing.
(5) Proverbs 15:11 "Correction is grievous unto him that forsakes the way: and he
that hates reproof shall die. HELL [grave-sheol] and destruction are before the Lord."
The grave and destruction is not a picture of Hell as it is painted by today's Theology
where none that are in Hell shall never die or be destroyed.
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(6) Proverbs 15:24 "The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from the
HELL [grave-sheol] beneath." Protestants do not believe that any will depart from Hell
once they are there. See Psalms 18:3-6 and Psalms 55:15. The writers of Psalms,
Proverbs and all the Old Testament believed God would in their lifetime reward the
righteous and punish the evil even with premature death; “All these blessings” and “All
these curses” in Deuteronomy 28 were in their lifetime. Israel went into captivity
frequently and many of them died in captivity; when they would repent God would bring
them out of captivity. Even under the New Covenant the wrath of God is on the sinner
now in this life [Romans 1:18; 2 Peter 2:9].
(6) Proverbs 23:14 "You shall beat him with the rod, and shall deliver his soul from
HELL [grave-sheol]." A child that is not punished when it does wrong will not keep the
law and may be punished even with death [see note on Proverbs 15:24 above]. "You shall
beat him with the rod, and deliver (save) his life from the grave." No child can be
delivered from the Hell that is taught today by disciplining him, so why was Hell used in
this passage?
(7) Proverbs 27:20 "HELL [grave-sheol] and destruction are never full." "And he that
hates reproof shall die [Proverbs 15:24]. Hell [grave-sheol] and destruction are before
the Lord" [Proverbs 15:10-11]. The grave and destruction are associated many times. No
matter how many die, as long as time goes on, there will be room for more. In Proverbs
30:16 the translators translated the same thought as grave. "The GRAVE [sheol]...says not
'It is enough.'" This is not saying Hell is so large a place that it can never be filled. This
passage is like the other 64 passages that have sheol in them, nothing is said about
torment in Hell.
Mr. Stuart, who believes in "Hell" said, "The inconsistency with which they have sometimes
rendered the word Sheol, in the same connection and with the same sense, is a striking
circumstance which cannot but be regarded with some wonder by an attentive inquirer."
Note: There are four others words in the Hebrew Old Testament that are translated
"grave" in the King James Version (kvooraf, kehver, shahaghath, bgee), but to my
knowledge none of them are used by anyone to prove there is any kind of life in the
grave.
PASSAGES FROM WHICH THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION REMOVED
"HELL" THAT WAS IN THE KING JAMES VERSION The New King James Version
took Hell out of thirteen of the thirty-one times it is in the King James Version. It
changed the way sheol was translated in the King James Version 19 of the 65 times sheol
is used. It also changed the three words used in the King James Version Old Testament to
four words; pit, grave, Hell, and sheol.
| KJV | NKJV |
2 Samuel 22:6 | Hell | Sheol|
Job 11:8 | Hell | Sheol|
Job 26:6 | Hell | Sheol|
Psalms 16:10 | Hell | Sheol|
Psalms 18:5 | Hell | Sheol|
Psalms 86:13 | Hell | Sheol|
Psalms 116:3 | Hell | Sheol|
Isaiah 5:14 | Hell | Sheol|
Isaiah 14:15 | Hell | Sheol|
Isaiah 28:15 | Hell | Sheol|
Isaiah 28:18 | Hell | Sheol|
Isaiah 57:9 | Hell | Sheol|
Jonah 2:2 | Hell | Sheol|
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More Changes | KJV | NKJV |
Job 17:16 | Pit | Sheol|
Ezekiel 31:15 | Grave| Hell |
Isaiah 14:11 | Grave| Sheol|
Isaiah 38:10 | Grave| Sheol|
Isaiah 38:18 | Grave| Sheol|
Proverbs 1:12 | Grave| Sheol|
The New King James Version removes much of the foundation on which the belief in
Hell was built, and the American Standard Version and most others removed the
foundation completely from the Old Testament, but the belief now still stands without it.
After looking at the sixty-five passages where sheol is used in the Old Testament,
there is only one conclusion that we can come to, death really is death for both the
good and the evil, and there is no life for anyone or any part of anyone before the
resurrection.
• THERE IS NO HINT OF AN ETERNAL LIFE OF TORMENT AFTER
DEATH OR AFTER THE JUDGMENT IN ANY OF THE SIXTY-FIVE
PASSAGES.
• THE OLD TESTAMENT DOES NOT CONTAIN TODAY'S CONCEPT OF
HELL.
• THERE IS NO WORD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THAT EVEN COMES
CLOSE TO THE MEANING THAT HELL HAS TODAY.
TWO DEFINITIONS: Webster's New World Dictionary.
1. A place in the ground where a dead body is buried. Any place where a dead body
is laid or comes to rest."
2. Today's theology, "A place where the living that can never be dead are tormented
forever by Satan or by God."
HOW DID THE TRANSLATORS GET TWO WORDS, GRAVE AND HELL,
WITH SUCH A VAST DIFFERENCE IN MEANING FROM THE SAME
HEBREW WORD? It is as if the same word [sheol] means "white" in thirty-four
passage and "black" in thirty-one passages. TO MISTRANSLATE THE WAY THE
KING JAMES TRANSLATORS DID IS NOT ONLY A BAD TRANSLATION, IT IS
SINFUL TO SO MISUSE GOD'S WORD, BOTH SINFUL FOR THE TRANSLATORS
AND SINFUL FOR THOSE WHO KNOW IT IS WRONG BUT USE IT ANYWAY
AND DO NOT SPEAK OUT ABOUT WHAT THEY KNOW TO BE WRONG. What
will they say to God at the judgment?
L. Ray Smith, "I do not even contend that this is bad scholarship. This is NO scholarship at all.
This is nothing less than FRAUD-a Christian HOAX! Show me where else in historic academia we
find such reckless abandonment of the facts? I am not contending for my personal preference in
translating the scriptures, but to merely translate accurately and consistently what we find in all
the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts."
Often, the person who teaches sheol is somewhere beneath the surface of the earth and
the dead all to sheol will at other times teach all go to Heaven or Hell at death. The Old
Testament teaching of all the dead being asleep in sheol, the grave is in direct
contradiction to today's teaching of going directly to Heaven at death, yet many teach
both depending, I guess on what their needs are at any given time, but most seem to be
unaware of what they are doing, unaware that they are changing back and forth between
two contradictory teachings.
THE ENGLISH "HELL" OF TODAY ------ VERSUS - SHEOL OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
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A PLACE OF REMORSE AND SUFFERING -- VERSUS - "FORGETFULNESS" PS 88:11-12
A PLACE OF ENDLESS FIRE ---------- VERSUS - "DARKNESS" JOB 10:21
OF TORMENT WITH SHRIEKS AND GROANS - VERSUS - "SILENCE" PSALMS 115:17
HADES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT (Used 11 times)
Hades used with reference to the death of Christ (3 passages)
Hades used with reference to death (1 passage)
Hades used with reference to the destruction of cities or nations (2 passages)
Hades in the symbolic passages (5 passages)
The Greek word hades in the New Testament corresponds to sheol in the Old
Testament. Hades is used in the Septuagint Version, a translation of the Old Testament
into Greek, sixty of the sixty-five times where sheol is used. It is used in the New
Testament when the Old Testament is quoted [Psalms 16:10; Acts 2:27]. HADES DOES
NOT HAVE ANY REFERENCE TO THE SOUL OF ANYONE IN ANY OF THE
ELEVEN PASSAGES WHERE IT IS USED. NOR DOES IT HAVE ANY
REFERENCE TO TORMENT IN HELL. An examination of every passage where hades
is used in the New Testament shows that not one of them says anything about everlasting
conscious torment or of eternal punishment. Not a one of them says anything about what
will be after the judgment day.
Hades in the three passages
That has reference to the death of Christ.
(1) Matthew 16:18 "And I say also unto you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I
will build my church: and the gates of HELL [the grave-hades] shall not prevail against
it." "And the gates of HADES shall not prevail against it" New King James Version. The
grave is pictured as a fortified city with gates as many cities at that time had; the
believers were told pray that their flight be not on a Sabbath for then the gates of the city
would be closed and would hold them in [Matthew 24:20]. The gates were unable to hold
Christ in the grave and will be unable to hold the dead in Christ, they will be resurrected
and have the victory over death. Death and the grave will “not prevail against IT” – the
church, which is all that are in Christ.
"Death shall neither destroy the organic church which is in the world, nor the members thereof
which go down into the grave." J. W. McGarvey, The Fourfold Gospel, Standard Publishing Company,
Page 412.
• "And the gates of HELL shall not prevail against it" King James.
• "And the gates of HADES shall not prevail against it" New King James.
Which translation do you believe? There is no way that both could be right.
According to today's theology Hell and Hades are two entirely different places, but
these two translations are in conflict with each other on the place all through the New
Testament.
(2) Acts 2:27 "Because you will not leave my soul in HELL [the grave-hades], neither
will you suffer your Holy One to see corruption." Hades is the Greek translation of the
Hebrew sheol. In Acts 2:27, hades is a translation of sheol from Psalm 16:10. Only the
King James Version translates hades into Hell. Most translations, even the New King
James Version, have not translated hades into Hell. Many would not translate it and
therefore left the untranslated Greek word in the English translation. This does not help
the English reader who does not know Greek; but it was left untranslated in many
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versions of the Bible because those who believe the soul is immortal and believe in Hell
do not want neither sheol in the Old Testament or hades in the New Testament to be
translated.
(3) Acts 2:31 "He seeing this before spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul
was not left in HELL [the grave-hades]; neither his flesh did see corruption." "That His
soul was not left in HADES" New King James Version. This is a quotation of Psalms
16:10. David "both died and were buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day" [Acts
2:29]. If David were living at this time and he was not in the tomb, Peter had no point or
argument, and what he said had no meaning. "From the day that the fathers fell asleep" 2
Peter 3:4. This shows that David is still asleep, along with all other's that "are fallen
asleep" 1 Corinthians 15:6. To say that David is not dead or has been raised is to say the
resurrection is passed, and Christ was not the "first fruits" 1 Corinthians 15:20, or the
"first born" Colossians 1:18, Revelation 1:5. To say that David was never dead is to make
a resurrection impossible. The resurrection at the coming of Christ is the subject, and
nothing is said about what will be from death to the resurrection. Jesus was in His grave
until God resurrected Him, and David will be in his grave until the resurrection. David
and all who have died except Christ are still in the grave [in sheol-hades] and will be unto
the Resurrection. The King James Version has the "soul" of David being taken out of
Hell but those who believe in Hell do not believe that a "soul" that has gone to Hell will
ever be taken out of it. If His soul [Hebrew-nehphesh; Greek-psukee] "was not left in
hades [the grave]," then His soul, the part of Him that cannot die, according to those who
say the soul is immortal, was in the grave [hades], IF NOT, IT COULD NOT HAVE
BEEN LEFT IN THE GRAVE OR TAKEN OUT OF THE GRAVE, IF HIS SOUL
WAS NEVER IN THE GRAVE IT WAS NEVER DEAD, THEREFORE, THIS
PASSAGES MAKES NO SENSE. IF, AS THE KING JAMES VERSION AND
MANY TEACH, CHRIST WAS ALIVE IN “HELL” HE WAS NEVER DEAD
AND THERE WAS NO RESURRECTION.
Hades in the passage
That has reference to death
(4) 1 Corinthians 15:55 "O death [thanatos], where is your sting; O grave [hades],
where is your victory?" It is so obvious that a place of torment after death is not what
Paul was speaking of that even the King James translators could not translate this into
Hell See Revelation 20:13-14 below. This is the only time in the King James Version that
hades is translated grave. The New American Standard and many others translate both
"thanatos" and "hades" into "death" only in this passage. "Death [thanatos] is swallowed
up in victory. O death [thanatos], where is your victory? O death [hades], where is your
sting? The sting of death [thanatos] is sin" [1 Corinthians 15:54-56]. They translate
"thanatos" into death many places, but this is the only time they translate "hades" into
death. Why the inconsistency? Was it not because translating either sheol or hades into
grave would not fit with their theology everywhere else? If death is only separation of an
immortal soul from God, the separated soul could not be in the grave; if it were, then it
could not be in Hell where many believe it to be.
This is believed by many to be a quote from Hosea 13:14 where the King James
Version translated "sheol" into "grave," not "death." "I will ransom them from the power
of the grave [sheol]; I will redeem them from death; O death, I will be your plagues; O
grave [sheol], I will be thy destruction." The whole chapter of Hosea 12 is about the
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nation of Israel; God redeeming the nation of Israel from captivity, restoring or
resurrecting the nation, not individual Jews being resurrected from the grave then or at
the second coming of Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:55 is speaking of the victory over death by
those who are in Christ at the resurrection. Neither Hosea 13:14 or 1 Corinthians 15:55
does not say anything about endless torment or what will happen to those who are not
saved.
Hades in the two passages
That has reference to the destruction of cities or nations
(5) Matthew 11:23 "And you, Capernaum, which are exalted unto heaven, shall be
brought down to HELL [grave-hades]: for if the mighty works, which have been done in
you, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day." Capernaum, a city
to be brought down to the grave and remain no more just as Sodom did not remain.
(6) Luke 10:15 "And you, Capernaum, which are exalted to heaven, shall be thrust
down to HELL [grave-hades]." They were favored more than most cities by seeing and
hearing Christ "exalted unto heaven," but because of their unbelief they were brought
down to the grave. Capernaum ceased to exalt and was covered by sand of Galilee's
seashore, its grave. Not even those who believe in Hell believe cities will go to Heaven or
Hell, yet they use this passage to prove that lost souls of individuals will go to Hell just as
the King James translators sends Capernaum to Hell. Cities do cease to exalt [brought
down to hades-the grave]: as both Capernaum and Sodom have been. There is nothing
said about eternal torment of cities or nations. JUST AS CAPERNAUM WAS NEVER
LITERALLY IN HEAVEN, IT WAS NEVER LITERALLY IN "HELL."
"And you, Capernaum, which are [present tense] exalted to heaven, shall be [future
tense] be brought down to the grave." I know of no one who believes Capernaum, was at
the time Christ was speaking [present tense], was in Heaven with God, but would be
[future tense] brought down to Hell to be with Satan, yet this is what this passage would
have to be saying if it proved "Hell."
Albert Barnes, who believes in Hell, admits that in this passage Hell does not mean Hell. He said,
"This does not mean that all the people should go to hell; but that the city which had flourished
so prosperously, should lose its prosperity, and occupy the lowest place among cities. The word
hell is used here, not to denote a place of punishment in the future world, but a state of
desolation and destruction as a city" Note on Matthew 11:23.
Hades in the symbolic passages
(7) Luke 16:23 "And in HELL [grave-hades] he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and
seeing Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom." This is one of the first passages
many use to prove there is torment after death. See THE INTERMEDIATE BOSOM in
chapter eight for notes on this parable.
(8) Revelation 1:18 "I am he that lives and was dead; and behold, I am alive for
evermore, Amen: and have the keys of HELL [grave-hades] and of death." Many do not
believe Hell will exist unto after the judgment, but they make Him be saying He has the
keys to a place that does not yet exist.
What this passage does not and does say:
• If it exists now or will not exist unto after the judgment, most all who believe in
Hell do not believe Christ will use the keys to open Hell and take out any who are
in it. They believe that once a person is in Hell he is there forever.
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• It does say Christ will use the keys to take all out of the grave [hades] at the
resurrection and judgment day.
(9) Revelation 6:8 "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that set on
him was Death, and HELL [grave-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." This is a symbolic passage, but to prove Hell it is
taken out of context and made literal, but when they do they have Hell, which they
believe to be a place of torment after death, killing the living before their death, which is
definitely not what they believe. If those in Hell will be killed with the sword and with
hunger, how can they be tormented forever? If this were made literal, then death and Hell
would have power over only one fourth of mankind. Will the other three fourths live
forever without dying and never go to Hell? If so, then they had no need of the death of
Christ to save them from death or Hell. EVEN FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN HELL
IT MUST BE DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE DEATH LITERALLY RIDING ON A
HORSE, AND HELL AND A PLACE LITERALLY FOLLOWING THE HORSE; but
without badly mistranslating there is nothing about Hell in Revelation 6:8. The New King
James Version has hades, not Hell, following death; which do you believe, Hell or hades?
(10) Revelation 20:13 "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and
HELL [hades-footnote in King James Version says "the grave"] delivered up the dead
which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." Will the
"Hell" that is taught today give up those who are in it? If made literal, this also would not
be today's theology; those in this “Hell” are dead, not alive in torment. This passage
makes a distinction between the dead in the sea and the dead in the grave [hades]. If
hades were a place where all the dead go, the good to one side of hades (Abraham's
bosom) and the lost to the other side of hades, all the dead would be in hades and none in
the sea. Neither the Catholics or Protestant versions of Hell believe any will come out of
Hell, but the way the King James Version is translated ALL that are in Hell do come out
of Hell when this is made literal, and many do make it literal when they are trying to
prove Hell is real.
(11) Revelation 20:14 "And death and HELL [grave-hades] were cast into the lake of
fire. This is the second death." NEITHER DO THEY BELIEVE HELL WILL BE CAST
INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE. THEY BELIEVE HELL IS THE LAKE OF FIRE. If it
were, then the King James Version would have Hell being cast into Hell, but John says it
is death and the grave that are being cast into the lake of fire, not Hell cast into Hell. THE
GRAVE, NOT HELL, WILL DELIVER UP THE DEAD AT THE COMING OF
CHRIST. The victory of death over mankind will have ended [See I Corinthians 15:55
above]. MOST ALL THAT USE THIS MISTRANSLATION IN THE KING JAMES
VERSION DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT THE KING JAMES VERSION SAYS, THAT
HELL WILL DELIVER UP THOSE IN IT, FOR IF IT DID THEIR HELL WOULD
NOT BE ETERNAL. This mistranslation in the King James Version makes Hell end at
the resurrection.
Dr. George Campbell: "It is very [interesting] that neither in the Septuagint version of the Old
Testament, nor in the New, does the word hades convey the meaning which the present English
word hell, in the Christian usage, always conveys to our minds" Diss. vi., Page 181.
Conscious in sheol-hades or Conscious in Heaven or Hell; some believes and teach
two contradictory beliefs at the same time.
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1. CONSCIOUS IN SHEOL-HADES. A disembodied soul in sheol that will be
transmigrated back to its earthly body at the judgment. They believe sheol to be
under the Earth or who knows where, but anyone in sheol is not in Heaven or
Hell.
2. OR CONSCIOUS IN HEAVEN OR HELL. A living soul in Heaven or Hell,
which will leave there and come back to Earth for judgment, then go back to
Heaven or Hell after the judgment. If the dead are in Heaven or Hell, they are not
in sheol.
Both cannot be right, but I have heard preachers say one at one time, then the other at
another time. Did they just forget what they had said the first time? If they prove one,
they disprove the other. They spend much time and use many passages of scripture to
prove both. Which one do they believe? MANY THAT BELIEVE THE PROTESTANT
VERSION WORK HARD TO PROVE THERE IS CONSCIOUSNESS IN SHEOL BUT
WHY? IF THE LOST GO DIRECTLY TO HELL AND THE SAVED GO TO THEIR
ETERNAL HOME IN HEAVEN AT DEATH, THEN THEIR IMMORTAL SOULS
CANNOT BE IN SHEOL. THEY COULD NOT BE IN TWO PLACES AT THE SAME
TIME. IF THEY DID PROVE THE DEAD ARE ALIVE IN SHEOL, THEY WOULD
PROVE THAT THE DEAD ARE NOT IN HELL OR HEAVEN. ARE THEY TRYING
TO DISPROVE THEIR OWN BELIEF? HOW CAN THEY NOT SEE HOW
INCONSISTENT THEY ARE?
"Christians, when they speak of hell, adopt the phraseology used about Sheol and Hades rather
than Gehenna, though it is contended that Gehenna is the word which signifies the place of
endless misery. I shall explain what I mean. For example, it is evident, from an inspection of the
passages in which Sheol, Hades, and Gehenna occur, that Gehenna for depth is never contrasted
with heaven for height, like Sheol and Hades. Nor do we read of persons going down to
Gehenna; of the depths of Gehenna, or of the lowest Gehenna. Neither do we read of the gates
of Gehenna. All these things are said of Sheol and Hades...Besides, no representation are given of
Gehenna, as of Sheol and Hades, that all the dead, or even the wicked, are there. No persons are
ever represented as alive in Gehenna, as speaking out of Gehenna, or as tormented in its flames.
It is never, like Sheol and Hades, represented as a dark, concealed place, under the earth. No; it
is represented as on a level with the persons addressed concerning it. These facts show a
remarkable difference in the scripture representations of the two places. Such a marked
difference must strike every man's mind with great force that takes the trouble to examine this
subject. An examination of the twelve places in which Gehenna occurs in the New Testament will
show that what I have stated is strictly correct. In them we read of the judgment of Gehenna or
hell; persons are said to be in danger of it; they are threatened with going into it, or being cast
into it; but we never read that any one was alive in it, and lifter up his eyes in its torments. Now,
comparing all these different forms of speech, about Sheol and Hades, with those of Gehenna,
the difference is not only manifest, but very significant" Walter Balfour, "An Inquiry Into The
Scriptural Import Of The Words, Sheol, Hades, Tartarus and Gehenna," 1854.
Summary of chapter six: TO TRANSLATE SHEOL, GEHENNA, HADES, OR
TARTARUS INTO HELL, IS A TOTAL PERVERSION OF THE TRUTH; AND
IS AN INTENTIONAL MISTRANSLATION. IF WE USE IT OR TEACH IT, CAN
THERE BE ANY HOPE FOR US? HELL IS A VERY DIFFERENT GOSPEL
[GALATIANS 1:9]. IT IS CERTAINLY MORE DIFFERENT THAN ANYTHING
THAT WAS PREACHED IN PAUL'S TIME.
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CHAPTER SEVEN
A STRANGE AND UNEXPLAINABLE SILENCE
THE SILENCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
ON PUNISHMENT AFTER DEATH
In the Old Testament the penalty for disobedience is always in this lifetime.
There is no allusion made to any punishment after this lifetime. THE
PUNISHMENTS WERE TEMPORAL, NOT ENDLESS BUT LIMITED
PUNISHMENTS, NOT PUNISHMENTS IN THE HEREAFTER BUT IN THIS
LIFETIME.
FROM ADAM TO MOSES
[1] ADAM: God told Adam in the day he ate he would die. The day he ate was the
beginning of the dying process, "Dying you shall die." The death that came into the world
by Adam's sin is the same death that he died for eating, a physical death. His punishment
was that he had to work to live, and dying. It was not the death of Adam's "soul," an
inward immortal never dying part of Adam that could not die but it would die anyway if
he eat. He was not told that after his death he would be subjected to endless torment in
Hell, but endless torment is almost always read into this. The complete silence of any
punishment after death would be unthinkable if the doctrine of Hell were true.
[2] CAIN: His sin was the first murder, which by most is believed to be the greatest of
all sins. What was his punishment? Today he would be told that he would go to Hell if he
did not repent, but his punishment was that he was to be a fugitive and a vagabond in his
lifetime on the earth. Not one word about any punishment after his death. The
punishment for anyone who killed Cain would be SEVEN TIMES GREATER than the
punishment of Cain. How could anything be seven times greater than today's Hell?
[3] THE FLOOD: The people had become so evil that God destroyed them. Only eight
were saved. What was their punishment? Read the Bible. It was death. There is no
mention of any punishment after their death. They were not told they had lost their souls
or that they would go to Hell. Their punishment was not something that would be after
the flood; it was the flood and their death. "And the Lord was sorry that He had made
man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. And the Lord said, 'I will BLOT OUT
MAN whom I have created from the face of the land'" [Genesis 6:6-7 New American
Standard]. "And all flesh DIED that moved upon the earth, both birds, and cattle, and
beasts, and every creeping thing that creeping that creeps upon the earth, and every man:
all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, of all that was on the dry land
DIED. And every living thing was DESTROYED that was upon the face of the ground,
both man, and cattle, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; and they were
DESTROYED from the earth" [Genesis 7:21-23]. The same thing happened to "every
man" also happened to every beast; their punishment was death, not eternal torment. If
the punishment of Hell awaited all those who drown in the flood, the punishment given to
them utterly pales into insignificance when it compared to an eternal life of torment in
Hell, yet absolutely nothing is said about eternal punishment after death.
"I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; and with every living
creature (soul-nehphesh) that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the
earth with you; of all that go out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. And I will
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establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters
of the flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to DESTROY the earth" [Genesis
9:9-11]. All the souls, both of beast and man were destroyed, not forever tormented.
"For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth
compacted out of water and amid water, by the word of God; by which means the world
that then was, being overflowed with water, PERISHED [apollumi]" [2 Peter 3:5-6
American Standard Version]. "WAS DESTROYED" New American Standard Bible.
Nothing is said about endless torment or any torment after death.
[4] THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH: Genesis 13 and 14:
These cities were literally burnt up [Psalms 11:6; Isaiah 34:9], not still burning with the
people walking around in torment. Their end was complete total destruction and is an
example of the total destruction that is coming to the ungodly at the judgment. Sodom did
not just suffer a lost of “will being” but was completely and forever totally destroyed “by
burning them to ashes and made them an example of what is going to happen to the
ungodly” [2 Peter 2:6]. Peter adds in the next chapter that the earth will be “burned up.”
The earth has been stored up for fire “being reserved against the day of judgment and
destruction of ungodly men” [2 Peter 3:7-13].
[5] FROM ADAM TO MOSES: For about twenty-five centuries, from Adam to
Moses, Lot's wife, Pharaoh, building of Babel, etc., punishment was always in this life,
not in life after death.
THE LAW OF MOSES
ALL THESE BLESSING, ALL THESE CURSING
"Now it shall be, if you will diligently obey the Lord our God, being careful to do all
His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high
above all the nations of the earth. AND ALL THESE BLESSING SHALL COME UPON
YOU AND OVERTAKE YOU, if you will obey the Lord your God" [Deuteronomy 28:1-
2]. "Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians" [Acts 7:22], therefore, he
knew of their teaching of life after death, but he did not put a word of it in the Law.
ALL THESE BLESSINGS of the Law were in this lifetime, not after death
[Deuteronomy 28:11]. NOT ONE WORD ABOUT A BLESSING AFTER DEATH.
• God would set Israel high above all nations [Deuteronomy 28:1].
• Blessing in the city and in the country [Deuteronomy 28:4].
• Blessing in children, cattle, and the ground [Deuteronomy 28:5].
• Blessing in full barns [Deuteronomy 28:8].
• Blessing in all they set their hand to do [Deuteronomy 28:8].
• The Lord will establish them as a holy people to Himself [Deuteronomy 28:9].
• All nations will see and be afraid of you [Deuteronomy 28:10].
• They will abound in prosperity, in children, and the fruit of the land
[Deuteronomy 28:11-12].
• They will lend to many nations and not borrow, be the head and not the tail
[Deuteronomy 28:12-13].
ALL THESE CURSES of the Law if they did not keep it were in this lifetime
[Deuteronomy 28:18-19]. NOT ONE WORD ABOUT A CURSE AFTER THIS
LIFETIME. "But it shall come about, if you will not obey the Lord your God, to observe
to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that ALL
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THESE CURSES SHALL COME UPON YOU AND OVERTAKE YOU" [Deuteronomy
28:15].
• Cursed in the city and the country [Deuteronomy 28:16].
• Cursed in your basket and kneading bowl [Deuteronomy 28:17].
• Cursed in their children, the produce of their ground, the increase of their herd
[Deuteronomy 28:18].
• Cursed when they come in and when they went out [Deuteronomy 28:19].
• Confusion, rebuke, in all they did unto they were destroyed [Deuteronomy 28:20].
• Cursed with pestilence until they were consumed from the land [Deuteronomy
28:21].
• Smite with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with fiery heat, with the
sword, with blight, with mildew, and pursued unto they perished [Deuteronomy
28:22].
• The heaven over their head as bronze and the earth under them as iron
[Deuteronomy 28:23].
• The rain on their land made as power and dust unto they were destroyed
[Deuteronomy 28:24].
• Defeated before their enemies and their carcasses shall be food for birds
[Deuteronomy 28:25-26].
• Smite with boils of Egypt, with tumors, with scab, with an itch, which cannot be
healed, with blindness, madness and bewilderment of heart [Deuteronomy 28:27-
28].
• They would not prosper and would be oppressed and robbed continually
[Deuteronomy 28:29].
• Their wives would be violated, and they would build a house and not live in it,
plant a vineyard but not use it [Deuteronomy 28:30].
• Many more curses if they did not obey the Lord [Deuteronomy 28:31-68]. Those
who came out of Egypt and provoked the Lord died in the wilderness. Death was
their punishment, not eternal torment after death [Numbers 14; Hebrews 3:16-19].
"I declare unto you this day, that you shall surely PERISH; you shall not prolong your
days in the land" [Deuteronomy 30:18]. "So they, and all that appertained to them, went
down alive into Sheol: and the earth closed upon them, and they PERISHED from among
the assembly" [Numbers 16:33]. "And whatsoever soul it be that does any manner of
work in that same day, that soul will I DESTROY from among his people" [Leviticus
23:30]. Throughout the Old Testament perish and destroy means dying and has nothing to
do with any kind of torment after death. It would be past comprehension that God would
give them such detail of what would happen to then in this lifetime and say nothing of the
unending pain He was going to forever heap on them in Hell that awaited them.
"One of the first phenomena which draws attention in the Pentateuch is the omission, both in
the historical and perceptive portions of it, of any mention of the immortality of the soul. If this
view of man's nature were true in our time, it was true from the beginning, and true in the time
of Moses. And if it were as important as it is supposed to be now, it was equally important then.
Yet no single indication of it is discoverable in the writings of Moses...There is but one tolerable
explanation of this silence. Moses was withheld by divine control from teaching what was not
true; a doctrine which was radically opposed to the fundamental facts of man's sin and mortality,
on which redemption proceeds" Edward White, Life In Christ, Third Edition, Page 148, 1878.
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The fifth commandment is the "first commandment with promise" [Ephesians 6:2].
What was the promise? Was it that one would be rewarded in Heaven? No, it had nothing
to do with life after death, but life on earth, "That your days may be prolonged, and that it
may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you" [Deuteronomy
5:16].
UNDER THE JUDGES AND KINGS
Both under the Judges and later under the Kings the history of the Jews is one of
rebellion against God followed by defeat and captivity. When they repented and turned
back to God, they came out of exile and prospered.
"The entire history of the Jewish people as a nation, and as individuals, from generation to
generation, shows with what exactness the threatening of the law was fulfilled in judgment.
When they were obedient, the Lord prospered them, and rewarded them with fruitful seasons,
with increasing wealth and power, and made them superior to their enemies. But, when they
were rebellious and wicked, then followed adversity, defeat, captivity, and all the physical
calamities threatened in the Law. But, all this while we have not one syllable of an endless woe,
which is to be added to all the other woes. In no instance of rebellion against God, not when
their corruption and idolatry were at the highest reaches of crime and blasphemy, do we find
them threatened with the torments of a hell beyond the present life." Thomas Thayer, "Origin
And History Of The Doctrine Of Endless Punishment"
All the blessings and all the punishments of the Law were physical in their lifetime.
Punishment or reward after death is not promised. For thousands of years throughout the
Old Testament, God warned of punishments in this lifetime if anyone did not keep the
Law, but not one warning that anyone would "go to Hell." Death [mooth] is used
hundreds of times and except the few times it is used in a symbolic passage it always
means an actual physical death. The concept of Heaven is in the Old Testament but only
as the dwelling place of God [Psalms 11:4; 33:13-14] and of angels [Genesis 21:17;
22:11; 28:12]. Heaven in the Old Testament was not a place where any person would
ever be and where they would live forever. The God of Israel was a God who would
protect them, give them blessings in this lifetime if they were faithful to Him and punish
them only in this lifetime if they were not. The savior they looked for was A PERSON
(not the Son of God) who would restore Israel as a nation and make it be superior to other
nations. Even after His death and resurrection His apostles still thought the Christ they
and all Israel looked for would restore the nation of Israel to their land and rule national
Israel in his lifetime, that he would be a human king only of Israel only in his lifetime as
David was [Acts 1:6]. A resurrection to immortality and life in Heaven was a new
teaching by Christ [2 Timothy 1:10] and was unknown in the Old Testament. The
word resurrection is used forty-one times in the New Testament but not once in the Old
Testament. One of the great difficulties with the eternal torment view is the profound
silence of the Old Testament about it. How could God have warned Israel in detail about
punishments in this life, droughts, plagues, and other punishments and not say one word
about an eternal Hell which would be the worst of all punishments? The TOTAL
SILENCE of the Old Testament for thousands of years about this endless torment is proof
that it does not exist.
"For man to endure unending pain (characterized by fire) is a doctrine so awful to contemplate,
that it is reasonable to conclude it would be revealed to man from the beginning, and so revealed
that he could by no possibility misapprehend the consequences of sinning against his Maker; and
we might expect to find the terrible sentence reiterated from time to time throughout the
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Scriptures, especially upon occasions of aggravated sin and wickedness" W. T. Berger, The Wages
Of Sin And Everlasting Punishment, 1886.
"First. If their belief was the same as in our day, why did they never express themselves as
people now do in books, sermons, and common conversation. None can deny the wide
difference in the language used, or that the difference is proof that the new language had its
origin in new views concerning the future. An unscriptural doctrine always give rise to
unscriptural language; for the words of Scripture are the very best which could be chosen to
express the will of God to man. If the doctrine were of God, the words of Scripture would be
sufficient to express it. As we do not find this new phraseology in the Bible, we infer that the
doctrine it was introduced to teach is not there. Second. How is it to be accounted for that the
fears and feeling and exertions of good people, under the old dispensation, were so different
from the fears and feelings and exertions of Christians in our day, about saving men form hell? I
do not find that they express and fear of hell, and it is fair to conclude that
they had none. I find no examples of their fears about their children, their
relations, their neighbors, or the world at large, gong to eternal misery. As to
their feelings, I do not find a sigh heaved, a tear shed, a groan uttered, a prayer offered, or any
exertions made, as if they believed men were exposed to endless misery. We see parents, and
others, deeply affected at the lost of their children and friends by death; we see pious people
grieved on account of their disobedience to God's laws; but we find no expression of
feeling arising from the belief that such persons would lift up their eyes in
endless misery. Now, is it not strange that all this should be the state of the fears and feelings
of good people, if they believed such misery was to be the portion of the wicked? The whole race
of mankind was swept from the earth by a flood, Noah and his family excepted; but does this
good man deplore, in any shape, that as many precious souls should be sent to hell? God also
destroyed the cities of the plain. Abraham interceded that they might be spared, but used no
argument with God that the people might not go to hell to suffer eternal misery. If Abraham
believed this doctrine, it is possible he should have failed to urge it as an argument that all those
wicked persons must go to hell, if God destroyed them? No notice is taken of the very argument,
which, in our day, would be most urged in prayer to God, if anything similar was to take place. All
who have read the Old Testament know what vast numbers were cut off in a day, by war and
pestilence, and other means; yet do you ever hear it deplored by a single individual, as is often
done in our day, that so many were sent out of the world to eternal misery? If, in short, this
doctrine was then believed, a dead silence and the most stoical apathy were
maintained even by good men about it.”
“Under the Old Testament dispensation the sinful condition of the heathen nations is often
spoken of. But do we ever find the inspired writers representing those nations as all going to
eternal misery, or did they use similar exertions to save them from it as are used in the present
day? If the doctrine of eternal misery was know and believe in those day, is it not unaccountable
that so many ages should pass away before God commanded the gospel to be preached to every
creature, and before those who knew their danger should use exertions to save them from it? If
the doctrine be false, we may cease to wonder at this; but if it be true, it is not easy to reconcile
these things with the well known character of God, and the feelings of every good man. What
an immense multitude of human beings, during four thousand years, must
have lived and died ignorant that such a place of misery awaited them!" Walter
Balfour, "An Inquiry Into The Scriptural Import Of The Words, Sheol, Hades, Tartarus And
Gehenna" 1854.
The Law of Moses offered no atonement of reconciliation, if it had, the death of Jesus
would not have been needed. Then Jesus, our High Priest, would not have presented his
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sacrifice to the Father, and would not have brought life and immortality to light through
the gospel [2 Timothy 1:10].
From the first page to the last page of the Old Testament God warns no one of an
eternal life of torment after death if they were not faithful to Him.
THE SILENCE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
ON PUNISHMENT AFTER DEATH
Gehenna was used on four occasions by Christ and recorded in three of the four
Gospels, and one time by James. In the rest of the New Testament Gehenna was not used,
as Gentiles would not understand it; and the people not living near Jerusalem would not
know what Gehenna was, that it was the name of the trash dump of Jerusalem. Just as
most who read this would not know the name of the trash dump of London. John did not
use Gehenna in his gospel for when he wrote the destruction of Jerusalem was passed and
most believe his gospel was written to Gentiles, and Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles;
neither John nor Paul used Gehenna. EVERY TIME CHRIST USED GEHENNA, ON
ALL FOUR OCCASIONS IT WAS SPOKEN TO THE JEWS. Gentiles are not once
threatened with destruction in Gehenna.
Today, those who believe in Hell are always warning unbelievers about going to Hell
if they do not believe. Acts covers about thirty years of preaching, but not one time is
anything said about Hell. Paul said he did not keep back anything that was profitable
[Acts 20:20] and that he declared the whole counsel of God [Acts 20:27], yet in none of
his letters did he say anything about Hell. In about thirty years of preaching to many in
many countries, he never told any that they would be forever tormented in Hell if they
did not believe. Why? He certainly would not have omitted such a doctrine as Hell.
Today it is preached as a most profitable teaching, and the fear of Hell is used to keep
many going to church. Paul did not declare anything about Hell for the same reason he
did not declare anything about purgatory; there are no such places.
If the lost shall be forever tormented in Hell, it is only reasonably to believe there
would be many warning about it, but there are none. The Hell, which is preached today
was not a part of the teaching of the apostles and early church. The same strange silence
that is found through out the Old Testament is also through out the New Testament. Did
God just forget to warn a person of the awful place some are always preaching about?
Those who believe in Hell, try to prove it by their interpretation of metaphors and
symbols for they have not one plain statement in the whole Bible. The name they give it
(Hell) is not in the Bible. The place they preach about is not in the Bible under any name.
Its origin is Pagan to the core.
With no revelation from God about Hell, how could we: (1) Know about it. (2) Know
what it is. (3) Know its name. (4) Know there will be torment in it. (5) Know it will last
forever. (6) Know who or if anyone will be in it. (7) Who told us these things? God has
given us not one word of revelation on it.
GOD WAS NOT SILENT ON THE FATE OF THE LOST
The apostles did tell what would be the fate of the unbelieving, but the words they
used are very different than what is preached today. Most churches would throw a
preacher out if he preached the lost would be destroyed, perish, die, death, or end. Death
is very different than everlasting life in Hell [see chapter two, "Life and Death"]. The
words used to describe the fate of the lost are miles apart from much of today's preaching.
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SOME OF THE NONE SYMBOLIC GREEK WORDS USED TO DESCRIBE THE
FATE OF THE LOST ARE:
[1] DEATH "For the wages of sin is DEATH" [Romans 6:23]. See chapter two "Life
or Death." DEATH IS DEATH, NOT EVERLASTING LIFE WITH TORMENT;
LIFE AND DEATH ARE OPPOSITES, NOT TWO KINDS OF LIFE.
Unconditional immortality makes both life and death into life in a different place.
Death has been changed to be life.
1. To them, death is eternal life in Hell
2. To them, the only difference in life and death is the place where all will have
eternal life. Neither one means to be dead. Both the saved and the lost will be
alive and have eternal life; they just will not live at the same place.
• To them life is life in Heaven.
• To them death is life in Hell.
Death deprives us of all life. It does not give more life than we now have. It is not just
a continuation of life in a different form. The resurrection restores the life death took
away. It is a return to life from death, not a return of the undead to still being undead just
as they were before the resurrection. The resurrection is our only hope of life after death.
A change from one state of being to another state of being, moving from one place to
another place, is not a resurrection.
• Moving from earth to Abraham's bosom and then moving from Abraham's bosom
to Heaven is not a death or a resurrection.
• Moving from earth to Heaven or Hell is not a death or a resurrection.
o To them, no one dies; they just change their address.
DEATH IS THE BIG PROBLEM FOR UNCONDITIONAL IMMORALISTS.
Innate immortality says whether it is a sinner or saint, an immortal soul cannot die and
cannot be subject to death. They MUST prove that death is not death but is only a change
from one kind of life to another kind of life. THEY MUST PROVE THAT DEATH IS
ETERNAL LIFE AND NOT DEATH, but if they did, then they would have proven
that Christ could not have died and that He has not been raised from the dead.
Unconditional immoralists have taken all resurrections, both of Christ and ours, out of the
Gospel. Without the resurrection death is the end of life and means our utter destruction.
The immortal soul doctrine says death is not the enemy Paul thought it to be [1
Corinthians 15:26], but the friend Plato and Greek philosophy thought it to be. IN
GREEK PHILOSOPHY THE PREACHING OF THE RESURRECTION WAS
FOOLISHNESS FOR DEATH WAS A GATEWAY TO A BETTER LIFE. IN TODAY
TEACHING DEATH HAS REPLACED THE RESURRECTION BY BEING THE
GATEWAY TO A BETTER LIFE IN HEAVEN.
"The words of the Bible contain all the ideas in it. These words, then, rightly understood, and the
ideas are clearly perceived. The words and sentences of the Bible are to be translated,
interpreted, and understood according to the same code of laws and principles of interpretation
by which other ancient writings are translated and understood; for, when God spoke to man in
his own language, He spoke as one person converses with another-IN THE FAIR, STIPULATED,
AND WELL-ESTABLISHED MEANING OF THE TERMS. This is essential to its character, as a
revelation from God; otherwise, it would be no revelation, but would always require a class of
inspired men to unfold and reveal its true sense to mankind." A. Campbell, "The Christian
System," Page 3, Gospel Advocate, 1970.
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In today's teaching of an immortal part of a person that is not subject to death, and
death cannot be used "IN THE FAIR, STIPULATED, AND WELL-ESTABLISHED
MEANING OF THE TERMS." Death must be changed to be life.
1. "The END of these things is death" Romans 6:21
2. "Whose END is destruction" Philippians 3:19
3. "Whose END is to be burned" Hebrews 6:18
4. "Sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth DEATH" James 1:15
5. "Sin unto DEATH" Romans 6:16
6. "Wages of sin is DEATH" Romans 6:23
7. “For if you live according to the flesh, you must DIE” [Romans 8:13]
THE WORLD'S GREATEST SCHOLARSHIP IS COLLECTIVELY SEEN IN THE
TRANSLATIONS AS TO THE MEANING OF [1] DEATH [2] APOLLUMI [3]
APOLIA [4] OLETHROS [5] PHTHIRO [6] PHTHORA [7] KATAPHILEO [8]
"PASSES AWAY...ABIDES FOREVER" [9] EXOLOTHREUO [10] KATARGEO,
AND [11] DESTROY BY THE WAY THEY TRANSLATED THEM. THE
TRANSLATORS CHOSE WORDS THAT TO THE AVERAGE MIND CONVEY
THE END OF LIFE, NOT LIFE IN ANOTHER LOCATION. The Bible is not a
physics textbook and does not give a scientific definition of annihilation, but God could
not have been any clearer on what will happen to the lost, and the translators of most
versions give us a true translation of the above words. God could have used words that
means separation from God in torment, eternal life in torment, deathless, but instead He
used death, die, destruction, destroy and perish.
Robert Dozier gives us a true picture of the way many try to prove these scholars wrong. He says,
"The scripture in Mt. 10:28 is translated 'destroy.' But I don't want to believe that, as it
contradicts my preconceived ideas. So I go to the lexicon and find out if the translators and
translation is correct. I know little of the language compared to the translators, but I do find out
that the Greek word translated 'destroy' is defined by the lexicons. The first definition is, 'to
destroy' but that won't work for me. If I accept that, the translators are correct. Also included in
the definition is 'to put out of the way entirely.' That is just not precise enough. Next is 'abolish'
but that is not much better than destroy. Then, 'put an end to.' Nope, that may be the worst yet!
Then 'ruin.' Finally! Something I can work with! I am not saying that James or others are
consciously or deliberately trying to avoid the meaning of words or discredit the scholarship of
the translations, but if we start out with a false premise and then try to defend it, we can find
ourselves making some unreasonable arguments and claims along the way. That all the
translators made huge blunders over and over regarding the end of the lost is such a claim. The
men who wrote the lexicons rendered it 'destroy' in our Bible, and defined it the same way, but if
that won't fit our idea, we must point out their error and be thankful that they left us one word in
a lexicon to grasp at. While the word 'annihilation' is not in our scripture, the
words translated are much closer to it than they are to 'never ending
conscious torment.' that's for sure...Even the rendering of 'ruined' doesn't help that much. It
may neutralize that text from being one that favors annihilation, but it sure doesn't teach 'never
ending conscious torment.'" Robert Dozier-James Johnson Debate on eternal punishment at:
http://www.religiousdebates.com/
BUT, WHAT DO LEXICONS MEAN BY "RUINED"?
A book that is burned up is "ruined." As a book it does not exist anymore. It has been
destroyed, the ashes are not the book.
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A school teacher has a good reputation, then everyone finds that she is working at a
house of prostitution at night. Her good reputation is "ruined." It is destroyed, it does not
exist anymore.
“As one examines the many biblical examples of God’s dealings with the wicked, it will be
quickly perceived that not one single time in all of recorded biblical teaching is the punishment
for sin against God ever declared to be torture. The ultimate punishment, instead, is always
declared to be death. Thus, if indeed God’s final punishment for the wicked is endless torture, as
some maintain, it is a fate completely without biblical precedents. Nowhere in Scripture does
God ever use torture as divine punishment for man. Not even once!” Al Maxey, Reflections, Issue
46, June 6, 2003.
“It will be noted that in each case the thing that threatened was DEATH, not incessant torture.
The types and shadows in no instance teach the idea of an immortal soul or eternal spirit being
tortured as the punishment for sin. In ALL cases they show the penalty for sin to be death of the
person…If God intended for us to understand something other then total death for the wicked,
certainly He could have found the means in the marvelous Greek language to express such.
Instead He used the plainest terms indicating destruction of the whole man” Curtis Dickinson,
“What The Bible Teaches About Immortality And Future Punishment,” Pages 20-21, 1984.
[2] APOLLUMI Used 92 times in the New Testament. "Englishman's Greek
Concordance," Page 74. In King James Version, it is translated [1] Destroy 19 times, [2]
Destroyed 7 times, [3] Perish 25 times, [4] Perished 8 times, [5] Lost 13 times, [6] Lose
18 times, [7] Die 1 time, [8] Be marred 1 time (perished in American Standard Version).
All from the same Greek word: "Bottles perish" (apollumi) [Matthew 9:17]. "Lose
(apollumi) his reward" [1 Peter 1:7]. The Heavens and Earth "shall perish"; (apollumi
see 2 Peter 3:10). Even those who believe in eternal torment do not believe these things
will be tormented forever, but will come to an end: yet, when the same word is used for
people [Romans 2:12, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 2 Corinthians 2:15, 4:3], some teach they will
not and cannot come to an end; but must live forever in torment. It would be hard to say
any plainer that "apollumi" means to perish, to come to an end, to be destroyed
than the King James Version says it. "Slain" and "perished" [apollumi] are used
interchangeability in Acts 6:36:37.
"TO DESTROY UTTERLY, TO MURDER, TO KILL, TO LAY WASTE; FROM OLLUMI, TO DESTROY,
TO CONSUME, TO MAKE AN END OF, TO PERISH, TO COME TO AN END, TO DIE" Liddell and
Scott.
1) To destroy (apollumi) is to kill. Matthew 2:13; 12:14; 21:41; 22:7; 27:20; Mark
3:6; 9:22; 11:18; 12:9; Luke 11:51; 17:27; 17:29; 19:47; 20:16; Jude 5; 2 Peter 3:6
2) To perish (apollumi) is to die, Matthew 8:25; Mark 4:38; Luke 8:24; 13:33; 15:17;
John 18:14; Acts 5:37; 1 Corinthians 10:9; 15:18; Hebrews 11:31. Perish must be
changed to live. When it is the body that perishes, as in Mark 4:38 "Teacher, do you not
care that we are perishing [apollumi]," even those who say to perish does not mean to
die if it is the soul must admit that when the same word is applied to the body of a person
or to a tree, it means the person and the tree unquestionably dies. They want the body
that perishes to be dead, but the soul that perishes to be alive. I marvel that they
cannot see their inconsistency, but then I remember that when I believed as they do I
could not see it either. "Theudas was slain" Acts 5:34-36. A Pharisee, named Gamaliel
said Theudas died [was slain]. "Judas...also perished.” Both apollumi [perished] and
slain are same thing, both means to die, to be dead; neither Theudas who was slain, nor
Judas who perished, was alive and being tormented. MOST ADMIT IT IS ACTUAL
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DEATH WHEN IT REFERS TO THE EARTHLY BODY BEING DESTROYED OR
PERISHING BUT SAY IT MEANS TO PRESERVE ALIVE FOREVER WHEN IT
REFERS TO THE "SOUL" BEING DESTROYED OR PERISHING. It must first be
assumed mankind has a "soul" that can never die, then the meaning of any word must be
change if it would be in conflict with what have been assumed. However, they see that it
cannot be changed to preserve alive in the many times the same words are used when it
refers to the earthly body being dead. The same questions must be asked again, how do
they know it must be changed and how do they know what it must be changed to? What
new revelation do they have? How would those who Paul was writing to know when Paul
used it one way and when he used it the other way?
3) "In like manner perish (apollumi)" "Now there were some present at that very
season who told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their
sacrifices. And he answered and said unto them, Think you that these Galilaeans were
sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they have suffered these things? I tell you, No:
but, except you repent, you shall all in like manner perish (apollumi). Or those eighteen,
upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them, think you that they were offenders
above all the men that dwell in Jerusalem? I tell you, No: but, except you repent, you
shall all likewise perish *(apollumi)" [Luke 13:1-5]. Both groups literally died, and all
who do not repent will literally likewise perish [apollumi], not literally live forever in
torment. "Killed" and "perish" are the same thing in this passage. They were being told
that all who do not repent will likewise be killed, will literally lose their life (after the
judgment, not their earthly life).
2 PETER 3:6 APOLLUMI-PERISHED. The world before the flood "perished" [2
Peter 3:6]. When the Lord comes, the heavens "shall pass away...shall be
dissolved...burned up" [2 Peter 3:10]. "To be dissolved...shall be dissolved" [2 Peter
3:12]. "Shall melt" [2 Peter 3:12]. Just as those who "perished" [2 Peter 3:6] when the
flood came, the lost "perished" with the world that then was, the lost "Shall...surely be
destroyed" [2 Peter 2:12]. Peter could not have said any clearer that the heavens and the
lost will come to the same end at the same time at the Judgment Day. Theology says,
"Not so Peter, God can destroy the heavens and the earth; but He cannot destroy the
immaterial, invisible, inter part of a person; for our theology says it is immortal,
therefore, He must torment this immaterial part of a person." "Burned up" in 2 Peter 3:10
is from the Greek word "katakaio." The same thing that happened to the chaff and tares
will happen to the earth and those who perish. "He will burn up (katakaio) the chaff"
[Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17]. Not, "He will eternally torment the chaff." "The tares are
gathered and burned (katakaio)" [Matthew 13:40].
"Pass away" in 2 Peter 3:10 is from the Greek word "parerchomai." There is no sense
of being made new in parerchomai.
• Both the flower of the grass and the rich shall "pass away" [parerchomai] [James
1:10].
• The fast was now already "passed" [parerchomai] [Acts 27:9].
• Heaven and earth shall "pass away" [parerchomai] but my words shall not "pass
away" [parerchomai]. [Luke 21:33].
o Earth shall "pass away" -- but -- my word shall not "pass away."
• "But the day of the Lord...in which the heavens shall pass away" [parerchomai].
[Peter 3:10].
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"In the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of your
hands; they will PERISH [Apollumi], but you will remain" [Hebrews 1:11].
THE QUESTION IS, WHAT WOULD THE GREEK PEOPLE IN THE TIME OF
THE NEW TESTAMENT UNDERSTAND BY THE ONE WORD ALL NINETY-TWO
TIMES THAT APOLLUME IS USED AND IS THERE A WORD IN ENGLISH THAT
WOULD BE UNDERSTOOD IN THE SAME WAY? Would it not be unreasonable to
continually say that any will perish or be destroyed if they are forever preserver alive in
suffering and preserved from ever perishing or from being destroyed?
[3] APOLIA a noun derived from aplooumi and is used 20 times. Wigram, Page 79.
In the King James Version it is translated [1] Destruction 5 times, [2] Waste 2 times, [3]
Perdition 8 times, [4] Perish 1 time, [5] Damnation 1 time, [6] Damnable 1 time, [7]
Pernicious ways 1 time, [8] To die 1 times.
• "Waste (apolia) of the ointment" [Mark 14:4]
• "Vessels of wrath fitted to destruction (apolia)" [Romans 9:22]
• "Money perish (apolia)" [Acts 8:22 King James Version] "Your silver perish
(apolia) with you" [American Standard Version]. If perish (apolia) means that
Simon is going to have an eternal life of torment, then his silver that will perish
(apolia) with him is going to have an eternal life of torment.
These things will come to an end, not be tormented for eternity. If you destroy
something, it does not then exist in another higher state of being; but this is just what
those who believe in unconditional immortality believe will happen.
PHILIPPIANS 3:19 APOLIA DESTRUCTION
• "Whose END is DESTRUCTION (apolia)" King James Version, New King James
Version, and New American Standard Version.
• "Whose END is PERDITION (apolia)" American Standard Version. [A Latin
word in an English translation! WHY?]
• "Their END is DESTRUCTION (apolia)" Revised Standard Version and New
Revised Standard Version.
• "Their DESTINY is DESTRUCTION (apolia)" New International Version.
• "Their DOOM is DESTRUCTION (apolia)" William's. New Testament
• "They are HEADING FOR DESTRUCTION (apolia)" Revised English Bible
• "Men...for UTTER DESTRUCTION (apolia)" Phillips New Testament
• "Their COMPLETION is DESTRUCTION (apolia)" The Christian Bible.
• "In the END they will be DESTROYED (apolia)" Beck
• "Whose END is DESTRUCTION (apolia)" Campbell, MacKnight and Doddridge.
Gospel Advocate Co.
• "Their END is DESTRUCTION (apolia)" McCord's New Testament Translation,
Freed Hardeman Press.
Put the translators of the major translations together, and you have hundreds of the
most learned men on the New Testament Greek. Most if not all the translators of these
translations did not believe a soul could be destroyed and most if not all of them believed
in Hell, but they did not translate Apolia into "torment." If all of them translate a word in
a way that disproves something those who did the translating believed in, there could be
no stronger proof of the way that word should be translated. This is just what happened
with the word "destruction." SOME OF THE WORLD'S BEST SCHOLARSHIP SAYS
APOLIA IS THEIR UTTER DESTRUCTION, THEIR END, THEIR DOOM, THEIR
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DESTINY, AND COMPLETION EVEN WHEN THEY DID BELIEVE A PERSON
HAS A SOUL THAT CANNOT BE DESTROYED AND WILL NOT COME TO AN
END. THERE IS NO WAY GOD COULD HAVE SAID IT ANY CLEARER OR
STRONGER. Some are openly saying God is wrong when they teach the lost will have
no end, or completion, or doom; but will have an endless life in extreme pain and
anguish. Men are driven to absurd reasoning when they try to avoid plain Bible teaching.
PHILIPPIANS 1:28 APOLIA-DESTRUCTION
• "Which is a sign of DESTRUCTION (apolia) for them, but of SALVATION for
you" New American Standard Version.
• "A sure sign to them that DESTRUCTION (apolia) is in store for them and
SALVATION for you" Revised English Bible.
• "Evidence of their DESTRUCTION (apolia), but of your SALVATION" New
Revised Standard Version.
• "A clear omen to them of their DESTRUCTION (apolia), but of your
SALVATION" Revised Standard Version.
• "A sign to them that they will be DESTROYED (apolia), but that you will be
SAVED" New International Version.
This clearly says the wicked will be destroyed and the righteous saved, and the only
way anyone can get around it is to use the word with a theological meaning that it does
not have in English or Greek. Both the destruction and the salvation are at the Judgment
Day. Paul is not telling the Philippians that their enemies are going to be destroyed or go
away in this life, or that their salvation will be in this life.
• If the lost are now in Hell, what more "destruction is in store for them" at the
resurrection and judgment? [Revised English Bible].
• If the saved are now in Heaven, what more salvation will there be for them at the
resurrection and judgment?
HEBREWS 10:39 APOLIA - DESTRUCTION
• "But we are not of those who shrink back and are DESTROYED (apolia), but of
those who believe and are SAVED" New International Version.
• "But we are not among those who shrink back and so are LOST (apolia), but
among those who have faith and so are SAVED" New Revised Standard Version.
• "But we are not those who turn back and are LOST (apolia). We are people who
have faith and are SAVED" New Century Version.
• We are not among those who draw back and PERISH (apolia), but among those
who have faith and LIVE" New American Bible [Catholic].
• "But we are not among those who shrink back and are LOST (apolia); we have
the faith to preserve our LIFE" Revised English Bible.
2 PETER 2:1 APOLIA - SWIFT DESTRUCTION
• "And bring on themselves SWIFT DESTRUCTION (apolia)" New King James
Version.
• "Bringing SWIFT DESTRUCTION (apolia) upon themselves" New American
Standard Version.
2 PETER 3:7 APOLIA - DESTRUCTION The destruction BY FIRE of "the ungodly"
AND "the heavens that now are, and the earth" will BOTH be at:
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• "DAY of JUDGMENT and DESTRUCTION (apolia) of ungodly man" American
Standard Version, New American Standard Version, Revised Standard Version,
New International Version, and Living Oracles by Campbell.
• "DAY of JUDGMENT and DESTRUCTION (apolia) of the Godless" New
Revised Standard Version.
• "DAY of JUDGMENT and PERDITION (apolia) of ungodly men," King James
Version, and New King James Version. Perdition is a Latin word, which means,
"utter destruction."
• "DAY of JUDGMENT when the godless WILL BE DESTROYED (apolia)"
Revised English Bible.
• "DAY of JUDGMENT and DESTRUCTION (apolia) of ungodly people"
Amplified Bible.
• "DAY of JUDGMENT and DESTRUCTION (apolia) of godless men" McCord's
New Testament Translation, Hardeman College.
• "The DAY of JUDGMENT, the DAY when godless men WILL BE DESTROYED
(apolia)" New American Bible.
• "Are being kept for the JUDGMENT DAY AND THE DESTRUCTION (apolia)
of all who are against God" New Century Bible.
IN 2 PETER CHAPTER 3 THE DESTRUCTION OF THE EARTH AND THE
DESTRUCTION OF UNGODLY MEN IS THE SAME. WHAT HAPPENS TO ONE
WILL HAPPEN TO THE OTHER. BOTH ARE TO BE DESTROYED BY FIRE AT
THE SAME TIME, ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. If the same word in the same
sentence was used with two different meanings there would be no way anyone could
know the writer was saying God will destroy (apolia) the earth but will torment (apolia)
men. God could not have said any clearer that He will destroy both? Do you believe God
or man?
"PASSES AWAY...ABIDES FOREVER" 1 John 2:17. This is a contrast showing that
the world with those who are of the world shall pass away, but
• "He that does the will of God abides forever."
• Those who are of the world shall pass away with the world, and do not "abides
forever."
The world "shall pass away...be dissolved...be burned up...dissolved...shall melt with
fervent heat" [2 Peter 3:10-11]. The unsaved are "not of the Father, but is of the world,
and the world passes away" [1 John 2:17]. There is no way to say any stronger or clearer
that the lost shall pass away [come to an end] just as the world will come to an end. "BUT
THE HEAVENS THAT NOW ARE, AND THE EARTH, BY THE SAME WORD HAVE
BEEN STORED UP FOR FIRE, BEING RESERVED AGAINST THE DAY OF
JUDGMENT AND DESTRUCTION OF UNGODLY MAN" [2 Peter 3:7]. Both are
destroyed "in the day of," not one [the earth] destroyed "in the day of," and one [the lost]
being destroyed for all eternity but never destroyed; not that they will be just as
undestroyed after a million years as they were at it's beginning and will be undestroyed
for all eternity. Not the destruction of one and the everlasting torment of the other one,
but it is the same destruction of both at the same time. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE
EARTH AND THE UNGODLY IS ON THE JUDGMENT DAY, THE
THEOLOGY OF TODAY SAYS, "NOT SO, SINNERS WILL HAVE NO
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DESTRUCTION, BUT WILL LIVE FOREVER IN TORMENT FOR THEY CAN
NEVER BE DESTROYED."
JOHN 3:16 APOLIA - PERISH "Should not PERISH, (apolia) but have ETERNAL
LIFE." This verse certainly teaches that God sent His Son that a person may have eternal
life, not just a reward to those who are born with eternal life. It does not teach that a
person is born with a soul that cannot die, and this part of a person had eternal life before
Christ came and without the death of Christ. John 3:16 teaches those who believe on
Christ will have life, and those who do not will have death, not life without end in Hell.
ACTS 8:20 APOLIA - PERISH "May your silver PERISH (apolia) with you" [Acts
8:20]. The SAME THING that happens to the silver happens to the person ["PERISH
WITH YOU"]. Is the silver being tormented WITH HIM or did both perish?
The King James and New King James translators try to cover this up by using
"perdition." Apolia is translated "perdition" Eight times in the King James Version, and
comes from the Latin Bible used by the Catholic Church, not from the Greek. Does this
show the unwillingness of the translator's to translate it honestly? Were they trying to
hide its true meaning; if not, WHY DID THEY TRANSLATE THIS GREEK WORD
INTO A LATIN WORD IN AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION? Was it because they did
not want it understood? Perdition in Latin is not a synonym for endless torture; perdition
means "utter destruction," but not many English readers would know this. It hides the
true meaning from all who do not understand Latin but nonetheless lets the translators say
they did not mistranslate it. Apolia is translated "perdition" in both the King James
Version and the American Standard Version in John 17:12; Philippians 1:28; 2
Thessalonians 2:3; 1 Timothy 6:9; Hebrews 10:39; Revelation 17:8; 17:11. In 2 Peter 3:7
the King James Version says "perdition" and the American Standard Version says,
“destruction." The New Revised Standard Version, New International Version and most
other translations have been more truthful to the English readers and taken "perdition" out
and replaced it with "destruction."
[4] OLETHROS is used 4 times. Translated DESTRUCTION all 4 times. Wigram,
Page 528.
2 Thessalonians 1:9 "Who shall be punished with EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION
[olethros] from the presence of the Lord." WE ARE TOLD CLEARLY AND
EXACTLY:
• (A) WHAT THE PUNISHMENT IS: EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION. Not
punished with everlasting torment, but PUNISHED WITH EVERLASTING
DESTRUCTION. "Punishment, even eternal destruction." American Standard
Version, 2 Thessalonians 1:9. "And these will pay the penalty of eternal
destruction" New American Standard Version
• (B) Also when it shall be: [2 Thessalonians 1:10] "when He shall come" [not
forever or in "Hell"]. "At the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the
angels of his power" [2 Thessalonians 1:7]
Two views of 2 Thessalonians l:9
One view) THE EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION COMES FROM THE
PRESENCE OF THE LORD. The "everlasting destruction" comes "from [apo] the
presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" New King James Version. This
destruction is the penalty for sin [death] to those who are not in Christ and are not saved
by His death. Henry Thayer said, "Destruction proceeding from the [incensed, wrathful]
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countenance of the Lord, 2 Th 1.9" A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament,
Page 59. In Jeremiah 4:26, the origin of the destruction is from God. In Isaiah 2:10: 2:19;
and 2:21 the Septuagint, a Greek version of the Old Testament made in third century BC,
has the same Greek words ["from the presence of the Lord"] used by Peter in Acts 3:19
where it is used as proceeding from the Lord.
• "And fire came out FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD and consumed them,
than they died before the Lord" [Leviticus 10:2]
• "Fire also came forth FROM THE LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty
men" [Numbers 16:35]
• "We would see a sign FROM [apo] you" Matthew 12:38
• "So there may come seasons of refreshing FROM [apo] THE PRESENCE OF
THE LORD" [Acts 3:19]
• "Everlasting destruction FROM [apo] THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD and
from the glory of His power" [2 Thessalonians 1:9 New King James Version]
A second view) THE DESTRUCTION IS TO BE SENT AWAY FROM THE
PRESENCE OF THE LORD. Unconditional immoralists add "away" from the presence
of the Lord. They want this destruction to be only being sent away from the presence of
God [as if there were such a place], to be banished to some place where God is not there.
To be away from the presence of God is to be nowhere at all. Not to be; to have no
existence at all anywhere. To be alive anywhere is to be where God is [Psalms 139:7-9];
and with God sustaining the life they have, for there can be no life that is not sustained by
God. There cannot be a place where there is life away from the presence of God. Today's
theology denies the omnipresence of God by saying there is a place where God is not
present, then says mankind can forever live there without God being there to sustain their
life. The destruction comes from God. It is "destruction from the presence of the Lord,"
not to be given eternal life but then "being sent away from the presence of the Lord."
Both Acts 3:19 and 2 Thessalonians 1:9 have the identical words, “FROM (apo) the
presence of the Lord.” A sign, many things, destruction, and seasons of refreshing are all
things that came FROM God, not things that were SENT AWAY FROM God and will
exist forever away from His presence. Apo is used many times in the New Testament and
never means away.
• “We would see a sign FROM (apo) you” [Matthew 12:38]. A sign that came
FROM (apo) Christ, not a sign that was “forever away FROM the presence of
Christ.”
• “FROM (apo) the presence of the Lord” [Acts 3:19]
• “FROM (apo) the presence of the Lord” [2 Thessalonians 1:9]
• “And suffer many things FROM (apo) the elders” [Matthew 16:21 New
American Standard]. Christ suffered many things FROM (apo) the elders, not
many things that were “forever away FROM the elders.”
• “So all the generations FROM (apo) Abraham unto David are fourteen
generations [Matthew 1:17]
• “He is risen FROM (apo) the dead” [Matthew 14:2]
TWO PASSAGES THAT ARE USED BY SOME TO PROVE TORMENT IN
HELL, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 and Revelation 14:10-11. Where is Hell? Those who
believe in Hell use 2 Thessalonians 1:9 to prove Hell is away from the presence of God
and that death, the wages of sin is separation from God, but not a real death. Yet, they
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make Revelation 14:10-11 be literal to prove Hell, but when they make this torment be
literal torment, they literally make it be in Heaven, not Hell.
1. "IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD."
2. Or AWAY (which is added) "FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD"
Those who believe in Hell use both to prove Hell; both "from" and "in" the presence
of the Lord are where the torment of Hell will be, they clearly contradict themselves. Is
Hell in Christ's presence or away from His presence? They say death is separation from
God. They have it both ways with the dead both separated from God and at the same time
in the presence of God.
Robert Peterson commenting of 2 Thessalonians 1:9 in "Hell on Trial" says:
• Peterson: A person EXISTS but remains excluded from God's good presence.
• Paul "Who shall be punished with everlasting DESTRUCTION from the presence
of the Lord."
Peterson changed "destruction" to "exists." From what dictionary does Peterson find
"destruction" to mean "exists"? The English or the Greek word does not mean to exist.
Nothing can exist and be destroyed at the same time. There is no passage in the Bible that
says a part of a person will exist apart from God before or after the judgment. He changed
"everlasting destruction" to "everlasting existing."
• Anything that exists has not been destroyed.
• Anything that has been destroyed does not exist.
DESTRUCTION HAS BEEN CHANGED TO EXIST, to exist in some faraway place
where God does not exist. Who made this place? Did God make it and then abandoned it
to exist on it own just as those sent there must exist on their own and sustain their own
life without the help of God who is not there? WHERE IS THE REVELATION FROM
WHICH ANYONE COULD KNOW DESTRUCTION MEANS TO EXIST AWAY
FROM GOD AND WITHOUT GOD? They know that if destruction is destruction, then
those who are destroyed do not exist any longer, therefore, they must change the word
God used to exist. They must say to God, "Not so God, even despite the fact that You
said they will be destroyed, no one can be destroyed." This is an example of how far
Peterson and all who believe this heathen teaching are willing to go to save their
theology. BEING PERMANENTLY APART FROM GOD MAKES LIFE
IMPOSSIBLE. IT MAKES TO EXIST IN ANY WAY IMPOSSIBLE. How can anyone
who says he or she “speaks where the Bible speaks and is silent where the Bible is silent”
change “everlasting destruction” into “everlasting torment” and still say they do not
change God’s word when even a child can see they have changed it?
For this passage to prove God will forever be tormenting most of mankind, "eternal
destruction" must be changed to "eternally destroying." God is made to be like a man that
sets out to destroy a house by tearing it down, but works on it all his lifetime, and not one
part of the house is destroyed. They have God spending eternity destroying a soul but
never will destroy any part of that soul. "Destroy" and "torment" are different things and
cannot be made to be the same thing.
1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 "For yourselves know perfectly that THE DAY OF THE LORD
so comes as a thief in the night. When they (those of the world) are saying, Peace and
safety, then sudden destruction (olethros) comes upon them, as travail upon a woman
with child; and they shall in no wise escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness,
THAT DAY should overtake you as a thief." The sudden destruction, which "they shall in
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no wise escape" is on "THE DAY OF THE LORD," "THAT DAY" not eternal torment
after "THE DAY OF THE LORD." Also 1 Timothy 6:9; 2 Corinthians 5:1-5.
Roger E. Dickson said, "2 Thessalonians 1:9 should thus be translated that 'these shall be
punished with destruction that has unending result.' The word 'destruction' means something is
terminated, that the action of destruction would not continuously go on forever and ever...The
result of the destruction would continue forever. In other words, those destroyed would not
come back into existence. Taken literally, they are destroyed" "Life, Death and Beyond" Biblical
Research Library, Volume 11, 1998, Page 160, church of Christ.
[5] PHTHIRO is used 8 times: Wigram, Page 786. It is translated [1] Destroy 2 times,
[2] Corrupt 4 times, [3] Corruption 2 times. "If any man DESTROYS (phthiro) the
temple of God, God will DESTROY (phthiro) him" 1 Corinthians 3:17 New American
Standard Version. Against all rules of interpretation, the same word is used in the same
sentence with two completely different meanings. By today's theology it is changed to be,
"If any man DESTROYS (phthiro) the temple of God, God will TORMENT
(basanisnios) him." They change horses in the middle of the stream. Why such
inconsistency? Do those who have their own theory change the Bible to keep their
theology?
[6] PHTHORA is used 9 times: Wigram, Page 786. It is translated [1] Corruption 7
times, [2] Perish 1 time, [3] Destroyed 1 time.
• "All which things are to PERISH (phthiro) with the using" [Colossians 2:22
American Standard Version]. Things are not going to be tormented, but will come
to an end. Yet, when the same word is used in reference to a person, some say,
"Not so, a person cannot perish; and not even God can destroy him, for a person is
eternal and therefore cannot be destroyed."
• "Beast, made to be taken and DESTROYED (phthiro)" [2 Peter 2:12] King James
Version].
• "Shall UTTERLY PERISH (kataphileo) in their own CORRUPTION (phthiro)" [2
Peter 2:12] King James Version. "DESTROYED" New American Standard
Version.
• "But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured
and KILLED, (phthiro) reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the
DESTRUCTION (kataphileo) of these creatures also be DESTROYED (phthiro)"
New American Standard Version. This is changed to say animals will be killed
(phthiro), but men will be tormented (phthiro). When this passage is changed, the
same word must be given two different interpretations in the same sentence to
keep animals from having souls.
[7] KATAPHILEO is used 2 times: Wigram, Page 416, Translated [1] Utterly perish
1 time, 2 Peter 2:12, [2] Corrupt 1 time, 2 Timothy 3:8.
• "But these [men] as natural brute beast made to be taken and destroyed...SHALL
UTTERLY PERISH (kataphileo) Wigram, Page 416] in their own
CORRUPTION (phthiro)" King James Version. Both evil men and beast shall
utterly perish.
• "But these (men), as creatures without reason, born mere animals to be taken and
DESTROYED (kataphileo)...shall in their [men] destroying surely be
DESTROYED (phthiro)." [At end of world]. American Standard Version.
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• "But these (men), like unreasoning animals, born as creatures...to be captured
and killed...will in the DESTRUCTION (kataphileo) of these creatures also be
DESTROYED [phthiro]" New American Standard Version.
• "These people, however, are like irrational animals...born to be caught and
KILLED (phthiro) and when these creatures are DESTROYED (kataphileo), they
[men] also will be DESTROYED (phthiro) " New Revised Standard Version.
• "They, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and are like brute beast,
creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and DESTROYED (kataphileo) and
like beasts they [men] too will PERISH (phthiro)." New International Version.
• "These [men] (like unreasoning wild animals born to be captured and
DESTROYED (phthiro), ranting in their ignorance) will also be DESTROYED in
their destroying." Hugo McCord, New Testament Translation, Printed by Freed-
Hardeman College.
• “Animals...destruction...[men] shall be UTTERLY DESTROYED (kataphileo)”
Living Oracles, A Campbell, Gospel Advocate Co.
"Truth Commentaries" on 2 Peter 2:12 changes what Peter said about the same thing
shall happen to these men that happened to the beast, and tried to side step by saying they
only act as if they are of the same nature. NOTHING IS SAID ABOUT A PERSON
AND BEAST HAVING THE SAME NATURE, HE ADDED THAT, BUT PETER
SAID THAT THEY BOTH WILL HAVE THE SAME END: "BE DESTROYED"
American Standard Version. The writer could not get around this so he changed what
Peter said from both beast and corrupt men having the same end, to both having the same
nature; and then says they do not even have the same nature, but only act as if they do?
The "same end" is not the same thing as "same nature." From where did he get "same
nature"? Is he not a county mile from what Peter did say? Does he think only the "nature"
of a person or beast is to be destroyed (phthora) [Psalms 49:20]?
[8] EXOLOTHREUO is used only one time. "And it shall be, that every soul
[psukee] that shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be UTTERLY DESTROYED from
among the people" [Acts 3:23]. It is the "psukee" [soul, living being, person] that shall be
"utterly destroyed." The very thing many say is immortal from birth and cannot be
destroyed is "utterly destroyed." In Acts 3:22-23 Peter is speaking of anyone who will not
hear Christ shall be "utterly destroyed," not forever preserved alive. Not only shall they
that do not hearken to Christ be destroyed, but they are to be “utterly destroyed.”
"Exolothreuo is found in this one passage. This is the strongest word in
Greek for the action of God towards man in his evil. There is not a shade of
modification from the idea or absolute eradication. The word means clearly
'the wiping out of existence.' Even the translators used an adjective, 'utterly'
to convey the idea of eradication. It clearly refers to all those who reject
Christ as being eradicated." G. A. Adams, "The Judgment," Page 25.
When the strongest words in the Greek language that signify destroy or destruction are
made to mean an everlasting existence in torment; there cannot be a grosser
misinterpretation of language.
[9] KATARGEO is used 27 times. Wigram, Page 415. Translated [1] Abolished, [2]
Vanish away, [3] Bring to naught (nothing), [4] Do away with, [5] Destroy [6] Destroyed,
[7] Be done away, [8] Ceased, [9] etc.
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• Death "SHALL BE ABOLISHED (katargeo)" [1 Corinthians 15:26]. No one
thinks death will exist forever in torment. If a person were immortal, there would
be no death to be abolished.
• Knowledge "SHALL VANISH AWAY (katargeo)" [1 Corinthians 13:8]. Not be
tormented.
• "God SHALL BRING TO NAUGHT (katargeo) both it and THEM" [1
Corinthians 6:13]. GOD WILL BRING TO NAUGHT [bring to nothing] BOTH
THEIR BELLY AND THEM. "Do away with both" New American Standard
Version. "Destroy both" New Revised Standard Version. Their belly will go back
to the dust from which it came and cease to be just as they will. God will bring to
nothing "both it (their belly) and them."
• "That through death he might BRING TO NAUGHT (katargeo) him that had the
power of death, that is, the devil" [Hebrews 2:14], Satan is to be brought to
nothing, not forever tormented. How? By being cast into the lake of fire
[Revelation 20:10] "which is the second death " [Revelation 21:8]. God made
Satan, man and all that was made out of nothing and both Satan and all lost men
will return to nothing.
• "HAVING ABOLISHED (katargeo) in his flesh the enmity, even the law of
commandments" [Ephesians 2:15]. No one thinks the law of commandments is
being tormented forever. It was brought to naught (nothing), vanished away, was
abolished just as Satan and all the lost will be. The same word is used for the end
of death, knowledge, the belly, Satan, the Law of Moses, and the lost. Whatever
happens to one happens to the others.
[10] DESTROY like death, is used in a way it is not used in any English Dictionary,
or is not used in everyday language by us or the world, but only by some in their special
theological way. The English word "destroy" never means "torment." If the Greek word
did, then "destroy" would be a very bad mistranslation. None of the Bible translations
translate it "torment."
If, as many teach, destroy means banishment to Hell, then it means the same for all the
creatures named in Genesis 7:21-23 where all mankind was destroyed along with all
living beings not in the ark. "Destroyed" in King James Version, "blotted out" in the New
American Standard. I know of no one who believes all living creatures will be in Hell.
[11] APOTHNEESKO is used 110 times and is translated die, dying, died, dead,
death, perished: Apothneesko always means die or dead. “Christ DIED (apothennsko)
for us” [Romans 5:8]. “For as in Adam all die (apothennsko)” [1 Corinthians 15:22]
those in Christ and those not in Christ get old and die. “So then, brethren, we are debtors,
not to the flesh, to live after the flesh: for if you live after the flesh, you shall DIE
(apothennsko): but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you shall live”
[Romans 8:12-13]. Paul is speaking of a death (the second death) that only those who live
after the flesh shall die but those who put to death the deeds of the body shall not die but
shall live [Revelation 2:11]. To die (apothennsko) never means to live, it never means to
live forever in torment, “for if you live after the flesh, you shall DIE (apothennsko).”
Only believers are promised eternal life; not one passage ever says nonbelievers will ever
have eternal life in Hell or any other place, many passages say they will die.
“For not one of us lives for himself, and not one DIES (apothennsko) for himself; for
if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we DIE (apothennsko), we DIE (apothennsko) for the
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Lord; therefore whether we live or DIE (apothennsko), we are the Lord's. For to this end
Christ DIED (apothennsko) and lived again” [Romans 14:7-9]. Paul is speaking of our
life now on earth, being alive or being dead, if we live to preach Christ or if we die, are
put to death because we believe in Christ, to say die means being alive makes nonsense
of this passage just as it does in all the passages where die (apothennsko) is used.
[12] THE DEVOURING, CONSUMING, DESTROYING FIRE Hebrews 10:27: "But
a certain terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire that will consume the
adversaries" [New American Standard Version]. Some have made the wicked into a
burning bush that is not consumed [Exodus 3:2], and have put out the consuming fire of
God [Hebrews 12:29]. Therefore, God is no more a consuming fire. They use consume
by fire to mean to burn up [see 1 Kings 18:38; Leviticus 9:24; Deuteronomy 28:38],
except when it is God consuming the evil, for then it would not fit with their teaching.
Therefore, they must use consume with two different meanings. They must make
consume mean eternal torment, but it has never meant torment.
• "Judgment and fiery indignation, which SHALL DEVOUR the adversaries" King
James Version.
• "Judgment, and fiery indignation which WILL DEVOUR the adversaries" New
King James Version.
• "Judgment, and a fierceness of fire which SHALL DEVOUR the adversaries"
American Standard Version.
• "Judgment and the fury of a fire which WILL CONSUME the adversaries" New
American Standard Version.
• "Judgment, and a fury of fire which WILL CONSUME the adversaries" Revised
Standard Version.
• "Judgment, and a fury of fire that WILL CONSUME the adversaries" New
Revised Standard Version.
• "Judgment and of raging fire that WILL CONSUME the enemies of God" New
International Version.
• "Judgment and a fierce fire which WILL CONSUME God's enemies" New
English Bible.
• "Judgment, of a fierce fire which WILL CONSUME God's enemies" Revised
English Bible.
• "Judgment and the fierce fire which WILL DESTROY those who oppose God"
Today's English Version.
• "Judgment and the fire of God's indignation, which WILL CONSUME all that sets
itself against him" Phillips Modern English.
• "Judgment and a flaming fire TO CONSUME the adversaries of God" New
American Bible.
• "Judgment, and of a fiery indignation, which SHALL DEVOUR the adversaries"
Living Oracles, Campbell.
• "Judgment and fierceness of fire which is READY TO CONSUME the enemies"
McCord's New Testament Translation, Freed-Hardeman College.
The fury of fire is at the judgment and is a consuming, devouring, destroying fire, not
an everlasting tormenting fire that cannot consume. There is a big difference. The
adversaries of God will be judged and will be devoured, consumed, destroyed by the lake
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of fire, which is the second death, and will never be raised again. It is a death from which
there will never be a resurrection.
THE DEVOURING, CONSUMING, DESTROYING FIRE
THE CHAFF [Matthew 3:11-12]: Those who responded to Christ are the wheat. The
chaff is the useless parts of the wheat, those who do not respond to Christ, are "burned
up." Peter used the same words when he said the world and its works will be "burned up"
[2 Peter 3:10]. Neither the world nor the chaff will be tormented forever.
WEEDS, TARES AND BAD FISH [Matthew 13:30-50]: Both the wheat and the tares
(the children of the devil) exist together in the world, but at the judgment, God will burn
the tares and save the wheat. In the parables, both the tares and bad fish represent people.
DRY BRANCHES [John 15:1-10]: Jesus is the vine. Any branches that do not bear
fruit are cut off. The dry dead branches are cast into the fire and burnt up. When dead
lifeless branches are burnt up, the branches do not exist, there is nothing left but ashes. "If
a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather
them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned" [John 15:6]. A man that does not
abide in Christ is burned and ashes are not immortal souls in eternal torment. Unless
someone can find a way to torment ashes this teaching of Christ makes eternal torment
impossible.
HOW FIRE IS USED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
TO CONSUME NEVER TO TORMENT
"Then fire came out from before the Lord and CONSUMED the burnt offering and the
positions of fat on the altar...And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and
CONSUMED them, and they died before the Lord" [Leviticus 9:24-10:2].
"Fire also came forth from the Lord and CONSUMED the two hundred and fifty men
who were offering the incense" [Numbers 16:35].
"So I will send fire upon the wall of Gaza, and it will CONSUME her citadels" [Amos
1:7]. "And it will CONSUME her citadels" [Amos 1:14].
"But I will send a fire on its cities that it may CONSUME its palatial dwellings"
[Hoses 9:14].
"And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty. ‘ If I am a man of God, let fire
come down from heaven and CONSUME you and your fifty.' Then fire came down from
heaven and CONSUMED him and his fifty" [2 kings 1:10].
"But a certain terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire that will
CONSUME the adversaries" [Hebrews 10:27].
HEBREWS 10:29: On the Judgment Day, when all the saved and the lost will most
likely be able to see what Heaven will be like, and the lost to know that they are going to
die; and know there will not be another resurrection, that they have forever missed being
in Heaven, it will be a death very much sorer than physical death. It is not said that the
"sorer punishment" is to be tormented forever; but some read this into it, and teach it as if
it is a Bible truth; and that everlasting torment in Hell is the only "sorer punishment" that
is possible. TO DIE FOREVER AFTER THE JUDGMENT IS A MUCH SORER
PUNISHMENT THAN TO DIE ONLY UNTO THE RESURRECTION AND
JUDGMENT WHEN THEY WILL BE RAISED FROM THE DEAD. When we die, that
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death is not endless for there will be a resurrection, but the second death will be without
end and there will never be a resurrection from it.
HEBREWS 11:31: Rahab "PERISHED NOT with them that were disobedient." If we
know what happened to those who were disobedient then we will know what did not
happen to her. "And they UTTERLY DESTROYED everything in the city, both man and
woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword"
[Joshua 6:21]. To perish is to be utterly destroyed, not to have eternal life and be
tormented forever. THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO BOTH AN OX AND A MAN.
BOTH PERISHED. BOTH WERE UTTERLY DESTROYED WITH THE EDGE OF
THE SWORD.
ROMANS 9:22: "Vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction." Many of today's preachers
do not like the way God said this and change it to, "Vessels of wrath fitted unto an eternal
life of torment;" after all they have been taught an immortal soul cannot be destroyed.
The response I get more than all others combined is that "if there is no Hell, then it
does not make any difference what we do." I do not think most find life that useless. Most
will do anything they can to live. Those who are sick do all they can to live a little longer.
Only a few, who must not be right in the head, would not care if they did not live. Those
who teach Hell are like a drowning man reaching for a straw. They reach for anything to
save their theology. This theology belittles the death of Christ. God thought it important
enough to give His only Son. Christ gave His life that we could live, but some say His
gift of life to us is not important if there is no Hell to be tormented in. To die is O.K. with
them. This is the same as saying, "If I will not go to Hell, then I do not care if I die and
do not go to Heaven, for I only want to go to Heaven to keep from going to Hell." Fear of
Hell has made many hypocrites who go to church and think that they are Christians, but it
has never made one true Christian. Never saved one person, but it has made many
hypocrites and will go on making them as long as it is taught. Anyone who goes to
church because they fear Hell and would not go without this fear, is a hypocrite, not a
Christian. Would they cheat on their wife, lie, and steal if it were not for fear they would
be found out? If it is not from love of God, going to church for any other reason will do
no good. If one is not a Christian because of the love of God and the hope of eternal life,
he cannot be a Christian because of the fear of going to Hell. The Lord does not add
anyone to the church because of fear of the nonexistence pagan Hell. Some would say,
"Has not the fear of Hell made many Christian?" No, the believing of Satan's lie over
God has made many be lost even while they think they are saved. No one can be
frightened into Heaven. Hellfire preaching is the gospel of fear used by men like
Jonathan Edwards. It cannot save, it deceives.
The Judgment Day will be a fearful day for the lost [Hebrews 10:26-31]. Maybe more
fearful than anything a person has ever known. We will all stand before the judgment seat
of God; those who have not obeyed the Gospel, or have not remained faithful will face
God's wrath at the judgment.
Summary: IT WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE TO SAY ANY CLEARER THAT EVIL
MEN WILL BE KILLED, UTTERLY PERISH, BE UTTERLY DESTROYED JUST
LIKE AND WITH THE ANIMALS AND THINGS AT THE END OF THE WORLD.
ALL THE RIGHT WORDS, BOTH IN THE GREEK AND IN THE ENGLISH
TRANSLATION ARE USED TO SHOW EVIL MEN WILL DIE, COME TO AN END.
IT COULD NOT BE SAID ANY STRONGER OR CLEARER. ON THE OTHER
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HAND, NONE OF THE WORDS USED SO OFTEN TODAY ARE USED, AN
UNDYING SOUL, AN IMMORTAL SOUL TO SAVE, EVERLASTING TORMENT,
ETERNAL HELL, YOU ARE GOING TO HELL WHEN YOU DIE, ETC. THESE
WORDS, WHICH ARE USED REPEATEDLY FROM TODAY'S PULPITS WOULD
BE AN ABSOLUTE MUST TO PROVE TODAY'S TEACHING OF HELL, BUT
THEY ARE TOTALLY ABSENT IN THE BIBLE. If you think you could say it better,
try it. There are no better words in our language. There is not anything that shows a
person will live forever in torment. The parables and metaphors Christ used clearly
show destruction, not torment. Did the Holy Spirit do a poor job of choosing words
when He was guiding into all truth? Luckily He has some with their theology to help Him
out lest the new convert understand the English words the way they are translated. Is it
not unreasonable to make words in the Bible have a meaning attached to them that is
unlike their use in any other book in the world?
THE WRATH OF GOD
"Vengeance belongs unto me, I will recompense and again, the Lord shall judge His
people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" Hebrews 10:30-31.
See Romans 2:1-16; 1 Thessalonians 1:10. The Day of Judgment will be a fearful day to
the lost, when they must give an account to God. The theology of many makes it essential
that the wrath of God keeps the fire of Hell hot, and forever tormenting the lost in
extreme pain and anguish. The Bible does not one time say His wrath will mean He will
inflict everlasting pain and anguish on the lost.
1) WRATH OF GOD IN THIS LIFE: MANY OF THE SCRIPTURES ON THE
WRATH OF GOD IS HIS WRATH ON THE SINNER NOW IN THIS LIFE [Romans
1:18; 2 Peter 2:9]. Sodom was destroyed. It was totally annihilated with all that were in it.
In the flood all life not in the ark was totally destroyed, annihilated, abolished, not
tormented. Throughout the Old Testament God's wrath has been on people, cities, and
nations that disobey Him. They were destroyed by fire, sword, wars, floods, famines,
pestilences, but never forever tormented. Capernaum was thrust down to the grave. It
does not exist today.
2) WRATH OF GOD "IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT." MANY OTHER
SCRIPTURES ARE ABOUT HIS WRATH IS AT THE JUDGMENT DAY
• "Wrath IN THE DAY OF WRATH and revelation of the righteous judgment of
God...but unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey
unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation, tribulation and anguish, upon
every soul of man that worked evil...IN THE DAY when God shall judge the
secrets of man" [Romans 2:5-16 American Standard Version].
• "For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth,
there remains no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of
judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. A man that
has set at naught Moses law died without compassion on the word of two or three
witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, think you, shall he be judged worthy,
who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the
covenant wherewith he was sanctified and unholy thing, and has done despite
unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that said, vengeance belongs unto me,
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I will recompense, and again, the Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the living God" [Hebrews 10:26-31].
• "And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this comes
judgment" [Hebrews 9:27].
• "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the
wrath of God through him" [Romans 5:9].
• "Inasmuch as he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in
righteousness by the man whom he has ordained" [Acts 17:31].
• Also 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9
3) WRATH OF GOD AFTER THE JUDGMENT: There is not one word about the
wrath of God after the judgment. MANY MIX THE FIRST TWO TOGETHER AND
MISAPPLY MOST OF THEM TO THEIR HELL AFTER JUDGMENT DAY which
they must prove at all cost. Is it that they want them burning in Hell while we are in
Heaven? NOTHING IS SAID ABOUT GOD TORMENTING ANYONE AFTER THE
JUDGMENT DAY IS OVER, OR ABOUT HIS WRATH AFTER THAT DAY; BUT IT
IS TAUGHT AS IF IT WERE A GOSPEL FACT. God's wrath will be on the Judgment
Day [Matthew 16:27; Luke 14:4; John 5:27-29; Acts 17:31; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Timothy
4:1; 2 Peter 3:7; Malachi 4:1-3]. WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT GOD'S
WRATH AFTER THE JUDGMENT IS OVER? NOT ONE WORD.
THE TYPES OF THE JUDGMENT
The types and shadows all teach death, not an eternal life of torment. The
punishment for sin is always death.
1. THE FLOOD 2 Peter 2:5: Eight lived; but for the rest of mankind there was only
death in the flood, not a life of torment. Genesis 7:13-23 "And God said unto Noah, The
END of all flesh is come before me... AND BEHOLD, I WILL DESTROY THEM WITH
THE EARTH...And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to DESTROY
all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is in the earth
SHALL DIE...And all flesh that moved on the earth PERISHED, [died, King James
Version] birds, and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the
earth, and all mankind; of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the
breath of the spirit of life DIED. Thus, He BLOTTED OUT [was destroyed, American
Standard Version] every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to
animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were BLOTTED OUT [was
destroyed, American Standard Version] from the earth; and only Noah was left [alive]
and they that were with him in the ark" [New American Standard Version]. DIED,
PERISHED. WAS DESTROYED, BLOTTED OUT, AND NOT LEFT ALIVE WAS
LITERALLY THE END OF THEM, ALL IN WHOSE NOSTRILS WAS THE
BREATH OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE DIED. Does anyone think "birds and cattle and
beasts and every swarming thing..." etc., did not perish when they died, and are living in
some third world somewhere with these evil men that did not perish when they died? The
flood is a type of the judgment. THE WICKED WILL LITERALLY PERISH, DIE, BE
BLOTTED OUT, AND NOT BE LEFT ALIVE; AND ONLY THE SAVED WILL
"REMAINED" ALIVE. "For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of
old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God; by
which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, PERISHED: but the
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heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being
reserved against the DAY OF JUDGMENT AND DESTRUCTION OF UNGODLY MAN"
[2 Peter 3: 5-7]. Just as those outside of the ark were all destroyed by the flood and none,
animals or man, were left alive and tormented, all those outside of Christ will be
destroyed. There is no question or doubt that destroy, perish, die, and end was the end of
all life at the time of the flood. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE [type] OF THE JUDGMENT
TO COME. ONLY THOSE IN THE ARK [Christ] WILL BE LEFT ALIVE.
2. SODOM AND GOMORRAH Jude 7: "ARE SET FORTH AS AN EXAMPLE,
SUFFERING THE PUNISHMENT OF ETERNAL FIRE" [American Standard Version].
GOD "CONDEMNED THEM TO EXTINCTION AND MADE THEM AN EXAMPLE OF
WHAT IS COMING TO THE UNGODLY" [2 Peter 2:6 New Revised Standard Version].
These cities were literally burnt up, not still burning with the people walking around in
torment. THEIR END [EXTINCTION] WAS COMPLETE TOTAL
DESTRUCTION AND ETERNAL; AND IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE TOTAL
DESTRUCTION THAT IS COMING TO THE UNGODLY AT THE JUDGMENT.
SODOM HAS CEASED TO EXIST. SO THOROUGH WAS ITS DESTRUCTION
THAT ITS LOCATION IS NOT KNOWN. Some believe it was under what is now the
Dead Sea, some that it was other places. THE ANNIHILATION, END,
DESTRUCTION, EXTINCTION OF THE UNGODLY WILL BE TOTAL AND
ETERNAL, JUST AS IT WAS OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH. THEY WILL CEASE
TO EXIST. This is the first use of "fire and brimstone" and the only time it was literally
rained on anyone. It was the total destruction of the two cities, and is later used as a
symbol of total and eternal destruction. [Psalms 11:6; Isaiah 34:9; Ezekiel 38:22;
Revelation 19:20; 20:10; 21:8]. "By turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes
he condemned them to extinction and made them an example of what is coming to the
ungodly" [2 Peter 2:6 New Revised Standard Version]. That they were reduced to ashes
and the fire went out is also a part of the example of what will happen to the ungodly.
The fire did not preserve them in eternal torment, but eternity destroyed them. Where is
the revelation that changes this example of total destruction by a fire that went out when
the destruction was complete into an example of destruction that will never be complete
and the fire will never go out?
2 Peter 2:6
• "And if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes HE
CONDEMNED THEM TO EXTINCTION AND MADE THEM AN EXAMPLE
OF WHAT IS COMING TO THE UNGODLY" New Revised Standard Version.
• "And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with
an overthrow, HAVING MADE THEM AN EXAMPLE UNTO THOSE THAT
SHOULD LIVE UNGODLY" American Standard Version.
• "He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing
them to ashes, HAVING MADE THEM AN EXAMPLE TO THOSE WHO
WOULD LIVE UNGODLY THEREAFTER" New American Standard Version.
• "He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes,
AND MADE THEM AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE
UNGODLY" New International Version.
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• "And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to
destruction, MAKING THEM AN EXAMPLE TO THOSE WHO AFTERWARD
WOULD LIVE UNGODLY" New King James Version.
• "And God also destroyed the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them
until they were ashes. HE MADE THESE CITIES AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT
WILL HAPPEN TO THOSE WHO ARE AGAINST GOD" New Century Bible.
• "And He condemned to ruin and extinction the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah,
reducing them to ashes [AND THUS] SET THEM FORTH AS AN EXAMPLE TO
THOSE WHO WOULD BE UNGODLY" The Amplified Bible.
• "God reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, condemning them to
total ruin AS AN OBJECT LESSON FOR THE UNGODLY IN FUTURE DAYS"
Revised English Bible.
If Sodom and Gomorrah are an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly,
how could the ungodly have an eternal life of torment? These cities were both reduced to
ashes and when there was nothing more to burn, the fire went out. They are an example
of extinction, of total destruction, not of eternal torment.
What is Sodom an example of?
"Condemned them too extinction" -- Sodom -- or an eternal life of torment?
"Condemned them too extinction" -- ungodly - or an eternal life of torment?
Does anyone think Sodom is now being tormented in Hell today? If it is not, then how
is it an example of being tormented in Hell?
WILL THERE BE DEGREES OF PUNISHMENT IN HELL? Christ spoke of the
Day of Judgment for lands or cities.
1. More tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for Chorazin, Bethsaida, and
Capernaum [Matthew 11:21-24, Luke 10:10-12].
2. More tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for the cities that did not receive
those He sent out [Matthew 10:14-15, Mark 6:11, Luke 10:10-12].
There is no mention of eternal punishment of any individual and no mention of Hell in
any of these passages. The punishment spoken of is a punishment of cites and took place
IN THE DAY WHEN GOD JUDGED AND DESTORYED THEM, NOT IN HELL.
HELL OR ETERNAL PUNISHMENT IS NOT MENTIONED IN ANY OF THESE
PASSAGES. Those who believe in Hell read it in. WHEN ARE CITIES AND
NATIONS JUDGED? WHEN IS THEIR DAY OF JUDGMENT TO BE? "And you,
Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You shall descend to Hades"
[Matthew 11:23]. It was a great city but would go down to hades-the grave. Today, there
are only a few ruins of Capernaum. They went from greatness to non-existence. From
exalted to heaven to the grave [hades].
Nations and cities will not be judged at the judgment at the coming of Christ. Matthew
24 is of the judgment of Jerusalem [Matthew 23:36-38]. ALL THESE CITIES HAVE
HAD A DAY OF JUDGMENT AND WERE BROUGHT DOWN TO THE GRAVE.
THE DAY OF JUDGMENT FOR THEM IS PAST. The destruction of Sodom was quick
and soon over. The destruction of Jerusalem, which saw and rejected Christ was long and
drawn out with much more suffering, therefore, much less tolerable. The Day of
Judgment for a city or a nation is the time when God will cause it to be destroyed. The
Old Testament is full of God's days of judgment on nations and cities.
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"Punished by death and destruction, neither Sodom nor Gomorrah ever again became a
living city. Rather, the two joined as one became a symbol of total destruction as used by Moses
and the prophets (Deuteronomy 29:23; Isaiah 1:9; 3:9; Jeremiah. 49:18; Amos 4:11; Zephaniah
2:9), By Jesus (Luke 17:29), and by the apostles (II Peter 2:6; Jude 7; Romans 9:29)." Homer
Hailey, "God's Judgments and Punishments of Nations and Individuals" Page 30.
"From that day until this day, Sodom and Gomorrah have symbolized God's fierce hatred of all
immorality...The grave of Sodom and Gomorrah is not covered with fertile soil bearing grass,
forests, and crops like other cities of antiquity, No, its grave is covered by the Salt Sea, the Dead
Sea...God has utilized this symbol of his wrath over and over throughout the history of the
world...Sodom represents brazen evil followed by the judgment of God from which none can
escape...Thus, Sodom symbolizes utter ruin and desolation...When God rained 'brimstone and
fire' upon Sodom, He literally turned the city 'into ashes.'" Ron Halbrook, "Sodom and
Gomorrah..." Page 594, Guardian of Truth, October 3, 1991.
"AS AN EXAMPLE" Jude 7: If they are an example, what do they teach if is not that
those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire will no longer exist.
• "They were overthrown in the wilderness" - They died in the wilderness [1
Corinthians 10:5].
• "Fell in one day three and twenty thousand" - Twenty-three thousand died in one
day [1 Corinthians 10:8]. Not “Twenty-three thousand were eternally tormented
in one day.”
• "Some of them made trial, and PERISHED by the serpents" - Those bit by the
serpents died, they were not eternally tormented by the serpents [1 Corinthians
10:9].
• "Some of them murmured, and PERISHED by the destroyer" - They were killed
[1 Corinthians 10:10].
• "Unto the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and
DESTROYED them all" [Luke 17:27]. They died in the flood, not still being
tormented by it.
o "Perished" and "destroyed" means death, not torment.
Some seem to think there will there be a resurrection and judgment of cities? If so,
will the individuals of these cities be judged as individuals or as a part of the cities or
both? If cities will be judged at the judgment day at the coming of Christ, then God
would be condemning people for where they live, not for what they did or did not do
themselves. BUT, EITHER WAY (1) If this is God's judgment day on their cities when
they were destroyed (2) or even if God did judge cities in the judgment day at the coming
of Christ, there is nothing said about an immortal soul or about God tormenting anyone in
Hell. Hell is read into it. If the judgment is "in the Day of Judgment," it could not be in
Hell after the Day of Judgment is over.
ANOTHER PASSAGE THAT IS SOMETIMES USED TO TEACH THERE BE
DEGREES OF PUNISHMENT IN HELL. When will the many or few stripes be? The
master "will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour he does not
know, and will cut him in pieces" [Luke 12:46]. THIS WILL BE WHEN THE MASTER
COMES, whether this is speaking of His coming in judgment on Israel or His coming in
judgment on the world. Nothing is said about the stripes being in Hell, but Hell is read
into it. If the stripes will be given forever, the few would last as long as the many,
therefore, they would be the same. A few would not be a few if they were given forever;
both would be a countless and forever growing number of stripes. There would be no
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difference in the few and the many for both would last forever and have no end. Many
and few are not specific as to how many, but both are a limited number of stripes,
therefore could not last forever. Neither Hell nor forever are in this passage but both are
read into it.
Anyone must reject many plain statements of the Bible to believe man has an
immortal soul that will forever be tormented in Hell. The Bible does not support
today's Hell fire preaching. It flatly opposes it.
THE NOTHING CAN BE DESTROYED ARGUMENT
In his reply to my article "From Where Came Hell" Csonka says, "They [bottles, gold,
and sheep...spirits] would be in a state of detriment and not annihilation" [Truth
Magazine, 1995, Page 17]. He makes broken bottles, and our spirits after death have the
same "state." Will the bottles be "annihilation" after the earth is destroyed, or will they
still be in the same "state" as our spirit? Does he think earthly bottles will be in Heaven?
All the elements [atoms] in a tree come from the soil, and were created when God made
the earth; and when a tree is burnt, the elements go back to the earth. They existed before
the tree did, and will exist after the tree unto the end of the earth [Peter 3:12]. Does he
think that a tree was a tree before the seed came up? But worst of all, does he think the all
wise and all knowing God could not have used symbols that taught what He wanted to
teach? He is saying matter cannot be destroyed, not even when it is burnt up, it just
changes back to the base elements from which the bottle was made, therefore, the soul
can never be destroyed. WHAT BASE ELEMENTS DOES HE THINK THE SOUL [the
"immaterial, invisible part of man"] IS MADE OF THAT IT WILL GO BACK TO AT
THE DEATH OF THE BODY? WHEN SOMETHING BURNS UP, ARE THE ASHES
THAT REMAIN CONSCIOUS AND IN TORMENT? When a bottle changes back to the
base elements, it is no longer a bottle; what does he think the soul is if it has changed
from a soul back to its base elements, and what does he think are the base elements of a
soul that he believes has no substance? Is he saying only the materials of which souls are
made are in existence? A bottle has substance, but according to today's theology the soul
has no substance. He is making a comparison of something he says has no substance with
the substance of a bottle that was destroyed. Is he saying only the base element of a soul
that has no base element, no substance, is in Abraham's bosom? He has made death be
nothing but "a loss of well-being," or "a loss of all the quality of life." Therefore, life can
be nothing but "well-being." The elements of tree and the elements that a person are
made of existed before the tree or the person and will exist after their death, but they were
not a person before his or her birth and are not after his or her death. The elements that
make up my body existed from the time God made the earth, but I did not exist before my
birth. If a dead body is burned, the smoke and ashes remain but are they still the person?
The base elements of all things were made out of nothing and will go back to nothing at
the end of the world, therefore, his argument, that nothing can be destroyed is not true for
all things will be destroyed. When anyone tries to prove an error, they have to fall back
on human wisdom and misusing or changing God's word. With all love and respect, this
is one of the most far out arguments I have ever heard. He must have needed something
very badly with which to prove his teaching. THE IMPACT OF THE TEACHINGS OF
CHRIST IN THESE PARABLES IS SO STRONG THAT SOME WOULD MAKE THE
WORDS OF CHRIST BE SAYING NOTHING JUST TO GET AWAY FROM IT. If a
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tree cannot be destroyed, then Christ the master teacher is saying nothing. They make
Christ to be just a "vain babbler," speaking things that cannot be; for if they do not, then
their Hell could not be.
The same science that tells us nothing can be destroyed also tells us that nothing can
be created out of nothing. This science does not realize that the God that made all things
out of nothing can send that which He made out of nothing, back to nothing. THOSE
WHO USE THE NOTHING CAN BE DESTROYED ARGUMENT TO PROVE A
PERSON HAS A PART THAT CANNOT BE DESTROYED MAY GIVE GOD THE
POWER TO CREATE OUT OF NOTHING BUT DENIES HIM THE POWER TO
DESTROY WHAT HE HAS CREATED OUT OF NOTHING. If all the elements that
were in a person's body existing after his death proves that he is still alive somewhere, it
would also prove he was alive somewhere before his birth for all the elements in his body
also existed before his birth. The elements are not a body after it's death any more than
they were a body before birth. BUT, WHY ARE THEY USING ELEMENTS OF
THIS EARTH TO PROVE SOMETHING ABOUT SOULS THAT THEY SAY
ARE NOT MADE OF ELEMENTS OF THIS EARTH? This is like a drowning man
reaching for a straw.
Csonka said, "five of these passages are parables that do not describe what will literally happen; but,
explain in the closest terms the things that will take place in the spiritual parallel." Csonka, " Truth
Magazine, 1995, Page 16. Unless a tree is tormented, there is no close parallel to the teaching
of eternal torment.
• If trees that are burnt up by the farmer are DESTROYED;
• And the lost that are burnt up by the Lake of Fire are DESTROYED; there is a
parallel. It is the end of both.
• - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
• If trees that are burnt up by the farmer are DESTROYED;
• And the lost that are burnt up by the Lake of Fire are TORMENTED; If one [a
tree] is destroyed, and the other one [a lost man] is tormented, there is no parallel.
It is the end of one but not the other.
Summary: When we burn up something, are the ashes in conscious torment? Skins,
bottles that perish [Matthew 9:17], moths destroyed cloth [Luke 12:33], foods that
perished [John 6:27] are not in conscious torment after they are destroyed or perished, yet
traditionalists use these to prove conscious torment after death because these materials
are not annihilated. By using the same logic, the bodies of beasts are not annihilated after
their death for all the elements of their bodies still exist, therefore, they are now just as
conscious as people are for none of the elements of their bodies has not been destroyed,
they still exist.
We are told, "that which thinks and remembers cannot be matter, therefore, a person
must have a soul, which is composed of some other substance." Animals can think and
remember, some of them can think and remember very good, therefore, animals "must
have a soul, which is composed of some other substance."
THE JUSTICE OF GOD
The argument of some is that God would not be a just God if He did not punish the
sinner. They then jump from justice demands punishment to Hell being the only way God
can punish the sinner; most of the time without any kind of an attempt to prove there is a
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Hell. They are so indoctrinated that they assume the only kind of punishment there could
be is their Hell, and are blind to what God does say. The question is how do they know
the punishment will be in Hell when there is not one word about it in the Bible? There is
much on the punishment being death, but nothing on it being Hell. Death is the worst
kind of punishment, but some cannot see it as a punishment because they are so blinded
by their Hell theology.
It is almost beyond belief that not one time in any of the major translations of the
Bible, made by men who believed in eternal torment, is any of these words ever
translated torment. NOT ONE TIME IS IT SAID THAT GOD OR SATAN WILL
TORMENT ANYONE FOREVER; BUT IT IS SAID REPEATEDLY, USING
MANY DIFFERENT GREEK WORDS, THAT GOD WILL DESTROY THOSE
WHO ARE NOT HIS CHILDREN.
CHAPTER EIGHT
First Resurrection And Second Death
An Immortal Soul or Resurrection of the Dead
The interpretation of figurative language, metaphors and symbolic passages
1. ISRAEL'S DESTRUCTION, her weeping, gnashing of teeth, outer darkness,
Matthew 24
• Preterits Eschatology - Realized Eschatology - The A. D. 70 Doctrine
• The day of the Lord
• 2 Peter 3
2. THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS The intermediate bosom
3. THE SYMBOLICAL PICTURES OF REVELATION VERSUS A LITERAL
INTERPRETATION
• Souls under the altar
• The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever
• The Lake of Fire
4. FOREVER AND EVER of the King James Version
5. ETERNAL
Those who believe in the Pagan doctrine of an immortal soul from birth and Hell have
no plain statements. That they must reinterpret figurative language, metaphors and
symbolic passages into literal statements SHOWS THE WEAKNESS OF THEIR
BELIEF, that it is from man and not from God. Parables and figurative language are
made to be superior over plain statements. The clear language must be made to agree
with what is thought to be said in the symbolic language, therefore, MANY LITERAL
PASSAGES MUST BE MADE FIGURATIVE TO KEEP THEM FROM BEING IN
CONFLICT. Many of the metaphors about the destruction of Israel have been discussed
in the first seven chapters. This chapter is a close look at some of the other symbolic
passages that must be made into literal statements.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
PART ONE
SCRIPTURES ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL
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THAT ARE MISAPPLIED TO HELL
Israel's destruction, her weeping, gnashing of teeth, outer darkness
Many of the passages spoken by John the Baptist and by Jesus about Israel's rejection
of Christ and its destruction are misapplied to Hell. Matthew 24 is often misused to prove
Israel will be restored, and Christ will return to earth and rule the world forever from
Jerusalem and that the saved will forever live on this earth, not in Heaven.
JUDGMENT OF ISRAEL Matthew 21-25
• Cleaning of the Temple Matthew 21:12-16
• The fig tree Matthew 21:18-22
• Israel's rulers question Christ's authority. Parable of the two sons Matthew 21:23-
32
• Parable of the wicked husbandman who Christ will destroy and give the vineyard
to another Matthew 21:33-41
• The stone Israel rejected made head of the corner; the stone will scatter as dust.
The kingdom taken from Israel and gave to another Matthew 21:42-46
• Parable of the marriage feast. His armies destroyed those invited and invited
others Matthew 22:1-14
• Seven woes on Israel leaders, how can they escape the judgment of Gehenna; all
these things shall come upon this generation. Matthew 23:13-36
• Their house left desolate Matthew 23:37-39
• The questions and His answer Matthew 24:1-51
o Parable of the fig tree. This generation shall not pass away, till all these
things be accomplished Matthew 24:32-34
o Israel the unfaithful servant Matthew 24:45-51
• Unprofitable servant cast into outer darkness Matthew 25:30
THE JEWS THAT CAME TO JOHN THE BAPTIST
"But when he saw the PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES coming to his baptism, HE
SAID UNTO THEM, YOU offspring of vipers, WHO WARNED YOU TO FLEE FROM
THE WRATH TO COME? Bring forth; therefore, fruit worthy of repentance: and think
not to say within yourselves, WE HAVE ABRAHAM TO OUR FATHER: for I say unto
you, that God is able of these stones to rise up children unto Abraham. AND EVEN NOW
THE AXE LIES AT THE ROOT OF THE TREES: every tree; therefore, that brings not
forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you in 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 in the Holy Spirit and in fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he
will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor; and he will gather his wheat into the garner,
BUT THE CHAFF HE WILL BURN UP WITH UNQUENCHABLE FIRE" [Matthew 3:7-
12]. John was the Elijah that was to come [Matthew 17:11; 11:10]. Cutting down a tree or
forest is a common symbol of judgment and destruction of cities and nations in the Old
Testament [Isaiah 10:34; Jeremiah 46:22-23; 22:7-8; Ezekiel 31:3-14]. If a tree is cut
down, there is hope that it will sprout again from the stump [Job 14:7-8; Isaiah 11:1], but
when the axe is put to the root there is no hope that the tree will ever sprout again.
Adam Clarke said this is "the desolation which was about to fall on the Jewish nation."
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Lightfoot: "By the axe being now laid to the root of the tree, may fitly be understood, first, the
certainty of their desolation; and second, the nearness, in that the instrument of their
destruction as already prepared, and brought close to them; the Romans that should ruin their
city and nation, being already master and rulers over them."
B. W. Johnson: "Think not to say...we have Abraham to our father. They believed that
Abraham's race was to be saved, if all else was destroyed...'The axe is laid at the root of the tree' a
sign that the tree is to be cut down. The tree meant is the Jewish nation. Every tree. A fruitless fig
tree was afterward made by our Lord to representative of the whole Jewish nation (Luke 13:6)."
Also, Matthew 3:10-12 "And with fire. The term fire is used in verse 10, and there means a
destroying agency; it is used again in verse 12 in the same sense; it is used in verse 11, also, the
intervening verse, and must be used in exactly the same sense as in the other two verses. It
cannot mean a curse in verses 10 and 12, and a blessing in verse 11, without a word of
explanation. It is strange, therefore, that all commentators should not agree that the baptism of
fire is a baptism of trial and suffering. THERE WERE TWO CLASSES BEFORE JOHN. SOME
WOULD REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED FINALLY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT; THERE WERE OTHERS
WHO WOULD REMAIN IMPENITENT, AND BE BAPTIZED IN THE AWFUL TRIALS THAT WOULD
COME UPON ISRAEL" B. W. Johnson, "The People New Testament With Notes," 1889, Gospel
Light Publishing Company.
OUTER DARKNESS, WEEPING
AND THE GNASHING OF TEETH
"But the SONS OF THE KINGDOM shall be cast forth into the outer darkness: there
shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth" [Matthew 8:12]. Even according to those
who believe in Hell, no one is cast out of Heaven, BUT WHEN THIS "WEEPING AND
THE GNASHING OF TEETH" IS MADE TO BE AFTER THE JUDGMENT IN HELL,
IT IS THE "SONS OF THE KINGDOM" THAT ARE CAST INTO THE OUTER
DARKNESS. IN USING THIS PASSAGE TO PROVE THE OUTER DARKNESS IS
HELL IT MAKES SOME THAT BE IN HEAVEN BUT THEY WILL BE CAST OUT
OF HEAVEN INTO HELL AFTER THE JUDGMENT. If "and yourselves cast forth
without" is cast into Hell where those who believe in Hell say the "weeping and gnashing
of tenth" will be, THEN THIS MAKES THOSE FROM THE EAST AND WEST GO
TO HEAVEN AFTER THE JUDGMENT DAY. THEY HAVE SOME GOING INTO
HEAVEN, AND SOME BEING CAST OUT OF HEAVEN AFTER THE KINGDOM
HAS BEEN DELIVERED UP TO GOD, THEREFORE, AFTER THE JUDGMENT.
This is more than those trying to prove Hell want to prove, for they do not think any will
be cast out of Heaven after the judgment and no one who is in Heaven after the judgment
will go to Hell so why is this passage used in a way that makes it prove there will be
some cast out of Heaven into Hell after the judgment?
J. W. McGarvey, Matthew 8:11: "AND I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT MANY SHALL COME FROM
THE EAST AND THE WEST, AND SHALL SIT DOWN WITH ABRAHAM, AND ISAAC, AND JACOB,
IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN [Jesus here predicts the conversion of the Gentiles, since that
fact is suggested to him by the faith of this centurion. The east and the west represent the
extreme points of the compass in the directions in which the world was most thickly inhabited.
But Jesus refers rather to spiritual separation than to geographical distances--Mal. i. 11; Isa. xlix.
19; Jer. xvi. 19; Zech. viii. 22.] 12 But The Sons Of The Kingdom [The child of anything in
Hebrew phraseology expressed the idea of special property which one has in the thing specified,
as, for instance, children of disobedience (Eph. ii. 2). Jesus here means, then, the Jews, to whom
the kingdom belonged by hereditary descent--Rom. ix. 4] SHALL BE CAST FORTH INTO THE
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OUTER DARKNESS: THERE SHALL BE THE WEEPING AND THE GNASHING OF TEETH. [In this
paragraph Christ's kingdom is set forth under the simile of a great feast, a familiar simile with
Jesus (Matt. xxvi. 29; Luke xxii. 30). The Jews were accustomed to speak of the delights of the
Messianic kingdom as a feast with the patriarchs (Luke xiv. 15), but lost sight of the fact that
Gentiles should share in its cheer and fellowship (Isa. xxv. 6). Marriage feasts and other great
feasts of the Jews were usually held in the evening. Inside, therefore, there would be joy and light
and gladness, but outside there would be darkness and disappointment, tears and bitter selfreproach
(Matt. xxv. 10-13). The despised outcasts should be brought in and placed at the festal
board, while the long-invited guests-the natural and fleshly heirs of Abraham's invitation-would
be excluded (Matt. xxi. 43)" The Fourfold Gospel, Page 272, 1914, Standard Publishing Company.
J. W. McGarvey, Luke 13:28 28: "There shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth, when
you shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, AND
YOURSELVES CAST FORTH without. 29 And they shall come from the east and west, and from
the north and south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold [little as you may
think it], they are last who shall be first, and they are first who shall be last. [A familiar proverb of
Christ's (Matt. xix. 30; xx. 10), to be interpreted by such passages as Matt. xxi. 31 and Rom. ix. 30,
31. The Jew who thought the Gentile had no hope at all, and that he himself was sure of
salvation, would be surprised to find that his opinion was the very reverse of the real fact as time
developed it]." The Fourfold Gospel, 1914, Standard Publishing Company. The Jews were cast
forth OUT OF THE KINGDOM, but nothing is said about CASTING INTO "HELL."
B. W. Johnson, Matthew 8:12: "BUT THE CHILDREN OF THE KINGDOM. The Jews, the
natural children of Abraham, the 'Father of the faithful,' heirs of the promises made to him. CAST
OUT because they rejected the Messiah, in whom all the promises center. INTO OUTER
DARKNESS" The People's New Testament With Notes, Gospel Light Publishing Company.
THE THREE TIMES "OUTER DARKNESS" IS USED BY CHRIST [Matthew
8:12; 22:13; 25:30] ARE IN THREE PARABLES, WHICH REFER TO GOD'S
DEALING WITH THE JEWS BEING CAST OUT AS GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE AND
THEIR DESTRUCTION AS A NATION, BUT HAS BEEN CHANGED TO BE THE
LOST IN HELL ARE IN OUTER DARKNESS.
THE SEVEN TIMES "WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH" IS USED BY
CHRIST [Matthew 8:12; 13:42; 13:50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28] ARE ALL
SEVEN ABOUT THE JEWS BEING CAST OUT AS GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE, BUT
HAS ALSO BEEN CHANGED TO BE THE LOST IN HELL THAT ARE WEEPING
AND GNASHING THEIR TEETH. None of these passages mention Hell although they
are often used to prove there is a place called “Hell.” In Matthew 13:39 and 13:50 the
Greek is the end of the “age” not the end of the world, the end of the age that then was,
the Jewish age when they were cast out as God’s chosen people. To those who thought
they were and would always be God’s chosen people, being told that they would be cast
out was no small thing.
Although many of the wisest preachers and writers whose writings have stood the test
of time like B. W. Johnson, J. W. McGarvey, Adam Clarke, Lightfoot, H. Leo Boles,
Barnes, R. C. H. Lenski and many others say the "weeping and gnashing of teeth" is
speaking of the Jews being rejected as God's chosen people, some still misuse this as did
Stephen Wiggins in the Firm Foundation, 2006, Page 6. Gehenna is not even in any of the
same passages. If he did any study it would be difficult to believe he did not know the
weeping and gnashing of teeth has no reference to "Hell." Is this not just a desperate
attempt to find a passage that teaches eternal torment?
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SIX PARABLES CONDEMNING ISRAEL
[1] ISRAEL, THE FRUITLESS FIG TREE [Luke 13:6-9]: "And he spoke this
parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit
thereon, and found none. And he said unto the vinedresser, behold, these three years I
came seeking fruit on this fig tree, and found none: cut it down; why does it also cumber
the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall
dig about it, and dung it: and if it bear fruit thenceforth, well; BUT IF NOT, YOU SHALL
CUT IT DOWN." Barren national Israel would be cut down. "And seeing a fig tree by
the way side, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only; and he said unto
it, Let there be no fruit from you hence forward forever” [Matthew 21:18-19; see John
1:11].
[2] THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS [Luke 16:19-31]: See "Part two" of this
chapter.
[3] THE TWO SONS [Matthew 21:28-32]: Christ speaking to “the chief priests and
the elders” of Israel said, "But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to
the first and said, Son, go work today in the vineyard. And he answered and said, I will,
sir; and he did not go. And he came to the second and said the same thing. But, he
answered and said, I will not; yet he afterward regretted it and went. Which of the two
did the will of his father? They said, the latter. Jesus said to them, Truly I say to YOU the
tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before YOU. For John came
to YOU in the way of righteousness and YOU did not believe him; but the tax-gatherers
and harlots did believe him; and YOU, seeing this, did not ever feel remorse afterward so
as to believe him."
[4] ISRAEL, THE HUSBANDMAN [Matthew 21:33-45]: Still speaking to “the
chief priests and the elders” He said, "Hear another parable: there was a man that was a
householder, who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and dug a winepress in it,
and built a tower, and let it out to husbandman, and went into another country. And when
the season of the fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandman, to receive his
fruits. And the husbandman took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and
stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them
in like manner. But, afterward he sent unto them his son, saying, they will reverence my
son. But the husbandman, when they saw the son, said among themselves, this is the heir;
come, let us kill him, and take his inheritance. And they took him, and cast him forth out
to the vineyard, and killed him. When; therefore, the lord of the vineyard shall come,
what will he do unto these husbandman? They say unto him, HE WILL MISERABLY
DESTROY THOSE MISERABLE MEN, AND WILL LET OUT THE VINEYARD UNTO
OTHER HUSBANDMEN, who shall render him the fruits in their seasons, Jesus said
unto them, did you never read in the scriptures, the stone which the builders rejected, the
same was made the head of the corner: this was from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our
eyes? THEREFORE SAY I UNTO YOU, THE KINGDOM OF GOD SHALL BE
TAKEN AWAY FROM YOU, AND SHALL BE GIVEN TO A NATION BRINGING
FORTH THE FRUITS THEREOF. And he that falls on this stone shall be broken to
pieces: BUT, ON WHOMSOEVER IT SHALL FALL, IT WILL SCATTER HIM AS
DUST. And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, THEY
PERCEIVED THAT HE SPOKE OF THEM" Israel was scattered as dust in A. D. 70
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when no Jews were left in Jerusalem or the country around it. Most Millennialists admit
that this refers to the Jewish rejection of Christ. THE KINGDOM WAS TAKEN FROM
THE JEWS AND GIVEN TO THE GENTILES AT THE DEATH AND
RESURRECTION OF JESUS. Millennialists think it will be taken from the Gentiles and
given back to the Jews.
[5] THE MARRIAGE FEAST Matthew 22:1-14: Also still speaking to, “the chief
priests and the elders” He said, "And Jesus answered and spoke to them again in
parables, saying, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king, who gave a
wedding feast for his son. And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to
the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. Again, he sent out other slaves
saying, Tell those who have been invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen
and fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding
feast. But, they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his
business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. BUT, THE
KING WAS ENRAGED AND SENT HIS ARMIES, AND DESTROYED THOSE
MURDERS, AND SET THEIR CITY ON FIRE. Then he said to his slaves, the wedding is
ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main highways,
and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast. And those slaves went out into
the streets, and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding
hall was filled with dinner guests. But, when the king came in to look over the dinner
guests, he saw there a man not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, Friend,
how did you come in here without wedding clothes? And he was speechless. Then the
king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness;
in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few
are chosen." The Jews killed the prophets God send to them, and they and their city were
destroyed and the Gentiles were brought into the kingdom.
[6] THE NARROW DOOR Luke 13:24-30: "Strive to enter in by the narrow door:
for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the
master of the house is risen up, and has shut the door, and begin to stand without, and to
knock at the door, saying, Lord, open to us; and he shall answer and say to you, I know
you not where you are; then shall you begin to say, we did eat and drink in your
presence, and you did teach in our streets; and he shall say, I tell you, I know not were
you are; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity. THERE SHALL BE WEEPING AND
THE GNASHING OF TEETH, WHEN YOU SHALL SEE ABRAHAM, ISAAC, JACOB
AND ALL THE PROPHETS IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND YOURSELVES CAST
FORTH WITHOUT. AND THERE SHALL COME FROM THE EAST AND THE WEST,
AND FROM THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH, AND SHALL SIT DOWN IN THE
KINGDOM OF GOD. AND BEHOLD, THERE ARE LAST WHO SHALL BE THE FIRST,
AND THERE ARE FIRST WHO SHALL BE LAST" This is about the coming rejection of
Israel and the Gentiles being accepted into the kingdom of Heaven, which is the church.
Not about some being cast out of Heaven, which is what it would be if the weeping and
gnashing of teeth were in Hell. ISRAEL WAS THE "SONS OF THE KINGDOM"
["children of the kingdom" King James Version] THAT WAS CAST INTO OUTER
DARKNESS, NOT THOSE WHO NEVER BELIEVED. THE JEWS, WHO WERE
THEN THE CHILDREN OF THE KINGDOM, WERE CAST OUT OF THE LIGHT
AND ARE NO LONGER GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE, INTO THE DARKNESS OF
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THE WORLD WITHOUT THE LIGHT OF GOD'S REVELATION. "O
JERUSALEM...BEHOLD YOUR HOUSE IS LEFT UNTO YOU DESOLATE" [Luke
13:34-35]. Those who believe in Hell leave out the rest of what Christ said in the next
two versus when He says the Gentiles will come into the kingdom, and verse 30 the
Gentles who were last become first. If this were after the judgment, the Gentiles would be
coming into the kingdom in Heaven after the judgment.
"Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken away from you [the
Jews], and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof" [Matthew 21:43].
WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH are both used in the Old and New
Testament.
1]. WEEPING for miseries and grief, both for personal miseries and as a nation [too
often to list them: use any good concordance]. It is used in the New Testament the same
way it was in the Old Testament. See Matthew 2:18; Mark 5:28; Luke 7:38; 8:52: John
11:33; 20:11 Acts 9:39; 21:13; Philippians 3:18 and James 5:1. The weeping is the Jews
when they see Israel being cast out as God's chosen people, and Jerusalem and the
Temple being destroyed, and the end of their national identity See Matthew 24, Daniel 9
and 10.
2]. GNASHING OF TEETH shows anger and rage of the persons gnashing their teeth,
not pain, and is used in both the Old and New Testament. "They hiss and gnash the teeth"
Lamentations 2:16, See Psalms 35:16; Micah 3:5. Used the same way in the New
Testament. "And they gnashed on him with their teeth" [Acts 7:54]. Those who stoned
Stephen were angry with him, not in pain; they were not dead and in Hell, they were alive
and on this earth. If gnashing of teeth were in Hell, as many teach it is, whom are they
going to gnash with their teeth? Does anyone believe some in Hell will be angry with
others in Hell and gnash them with their teeth? The gnashing of teeth is the anger and
rage of the Jews towards those doing the destroying [the Roman army], and maybe even
toward God for letting the destroying be happening. GNASHING OF TEETH IS
BECAUSE OF ANGER OR RAGE. IT IS NOT BECAUSE OF THE PERSON DOING
THE GNASHING OF HIS OR HER TEETH ARE BEING TORMENTED IN HELL. IN
THE BIBLE GNASHING OF TEETH IS ALWAYS BECAUSE OF ANGER IN BOTH
THE OLD AND THE NEW TESTAMENT. IT IS MISUSED TODAY TO SHOW
TORMENT IN "HELL."
• In the Old Testament: Gnashing of teeth is because of anger on the part of the one
doing the gnashing.
• In the New Testament: Gnashing of teeth is changed by those who believe in Hell
to be a person in Hell gnashing his or her teeth because of pain.
Weeping and gnashing of teeth are two different things, which are sometimes both
found together, but most often are not together. Neither one ever occurs in the same
passages with hades or Gehenna. That either one or both will be in Hell is an assumption
that is preached over and over. Could an immaterial, invisible part of a person gnash its
teeth?
THE CENTURION GENTILE Matthew 8:5-13: "And when he was entered into
Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my
servant lying in the house sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And he said unto him,
I will come and heal him. And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy
that you should come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be
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healed. For I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers: and I say to
this one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do
this, and he does it. And when Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that
followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, NOT IN ISRAEL. And
I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: BUT THE SONS OF THE
KINGDOM SHALL BE CAST FORTH INTO THE OUTER DARKNESS: THERE SHALL
BE THE WEEPING AND THE GNASHING OF TEETH. And Jesus said unto the
centurion, Go your way; as you have believed, [so] be it done unto you. And the servant
was healed in that hour." After seeing the faith of this Gentile, Jesus says the Gentiles
will sit in the kingdom and the sons [Jews] will be cast forth. The same as at the marriage
feast (above), the Jews, because they rejected Christ as their king was cast out of the
kingdom. The church, not Israel, is now God's kingdom. Those who teach Hell read the
prophecies of Christ about the judgment of Israel in AD 70 and move the weeping and
gnashing of teeth to Hell after the Judgment Day is over. They have not found one
passage that says anything about the lost after the judgment. Nothing can happen to
nothing. After the second death there could be nothing said, for there will be nothing to
say anything about. There is this life, then the first death, a resurrection to life from the
first death, then the second death for the lost, but nothing is said about a third life for the
lost after the second death. They need something to prove eternal life in their Hell, and
try to make it look as if weeping and gnashing of teeth could only be because of eternal
torment in Hell; although both weeping and gnashing of teeth are used throughout the
Old Testament and those who believe in Hell do not believe weeping and gnashing of
teeth in the Old Testament have any reference to a time of punishment after the Judgment
Day, but they assume that in the New Testament both are used in reference to punishment
in Hell after the judgment day. Weeping and gnashing of teeth has a reference to Hell
only when they want or need them to.
WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH: God says the "wages of sin is death," not
an eternal life of weeping and gnashing of teeth in Hell that will go on forever, for there
is no death for the soul that cannot die. We would never be able to know that this
weeping will be in Hell unless:
FIRST: Many say that there is a Hell, but there is not one word about it in the Bible.
SECOND: Then they tell us that this weeping shall be in Hell. How could they know this
when there is not one passage that says there will be weeping in "Hell"?
Some of the words used by Christ to describe the Jews: blind guides, hypocrites,
murderers, adulterous, transgressors, faithless, perverse, fools, generation of snakes. "O
JERUSALEM, JERUSALEM...BEHOLD, YOUR HOUSE (the temple Christ had just
left) IS LEFT UNTO YOU DESOLATE" [Matthew 23:38].
B. W. Johnson, Matthew 23:33-39, "The People's New Testament With Notes" Gospel Light Publishing
Company, 1889. “33. You generations of vipers, how can you escape? Etc. Brood of vipers, full of
venom, deadly as serpents, treacherous as the lurking serpent. So John had called them nearly four
years before (Matt. 3:7). 34. Wherefore, I send unto you prophets and wise men. In Luke 11:49, is a
passage much like this. The men sent were inspired apostles and evangelists. By giving the Jews still
further opportunities after the sin of the cross, the guilt of those continued to reject the crucified
Lord was aggravated. Prophets. Inspired teachers, like the apostles, Philip, Stephen, etc. Wise men.
Faithful, devout and learned, but uninspired preachers. Scribes. Usually, those who copy and teach
the wisdom of others, but I suppose also embracing those who wrote the New Testament Scriptures.
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Some of them you shall kill and crucify. Literally fulfilled in the next few years. 35. That upon you
may come all the righteous blood. Thus would they fill the measure full and become guilty of all the
righteous blood shed by the whole army of martyrs. Unto the blood of Zacharias. The reference is
probably to 2 Chron. 24:20. 36. VERILY, I SAY UNTO YOU, ALL THESE THINGS SHALL COME UPON
THIS GENERATION. As the Amorites were spared until ‘their iniquity was full’ (Gen. 15:16), so the
iniquity of Israel was allowed to accumulate from age to age, till in that generation it came to the full,
and the collected vengeance of justice broke at once upon it. So it is often in the destruction of a
nation. The French Revolution of 1793 is another example. 37. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kills
the prophets. The intense feeling that spoke in this utterance comes out first in the redoubling of the
word Jerusalem; next in the picture of the sins of the city which he draws--a city so wicked that it was
not content with rejecting the messengers of God, but even slew them. I know of nothing more
touching than this apostrophe. How often would I have gathered your children together. Not only
had the city been warned again and again by the prophets, but the Lord had visited it at least six or
seven times, and had for months taught in its streets. Nor did his solicitude end with the cross. His
long suffering, patience and love are shown by his charge in the commission to the apostles: ‘To
preach repentance and remission in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.’ You would
not. ‘Would not’ explains the cause of the rejection of the gospel. It is not because God in Christ is
not ready: he would gather them. It is not because men cannot come, but because they will not
come. Christ wished the salvation of Jerusalem; his will was for them to be saved: he sought to
influence their wills to make a choice of salvation, but they would not. So God still ‘is not willing that
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance’ (2 Peter 3:9), but there are many ‘who will
not come to Christ that they might have life’ (John 5:40). While God wills the salvation of men, he
does not destroy free agency by coercing the human will, but says: ‘Whosoever will, let him come.’
38. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. This was the consequence of refusing to come to
Christ. The temple is the house meant. God will abandon it and leave it desolate. He will no longer
accept its worship. 39. You shall not see me henceforth. This seems to imply that the temple shall be
deserted when he leaves it. With his departure the presence of God departs. He was the Lord of the
temple. ‘Till you shall say.’ These were his last words in the temple precincts, but they do not shut
out all hope. Even yet when the Jews shall join in the hosannas of those who, on the Sunday before,
had sung his praises, and cry, ‘Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,’ they may be
permitted to behold their Messiah...When Christ abandoned the temple in Jerusalem, it was only fit
for the destroyer.”
"That which Israel seeks for, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, and the
rest were hardened" [Romans 11:7]. Whatever Israel did not obtain, THE ELECT HAD
OBTAINED IT, PAST TENSE AT THE TIME PAUL WROTE THIS. It is not
something that will be obtained by Israel or anyone after at A. D. 70 or at the second
coming of Christ. How is anyone saved today, Jew or Gentile? Only by the Gospel. I was
saved when I heard the Gospel and obeyed it; all that are saved are saved in the same
way. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is THE POWER of God for salvation to
EVERYONE who believes, TO THE JEW FIRST and also to the Greek" [Romans
1:16]. Neither a Jew nor a Greek can be saved without believing and obeying the gospel.
Today a nation cannot be saved as a nation (Israel or any other nation). Individuals must
believe and obey the Gospel; there is no other way. "But if SOME OF THE BRANCHES
were broken off, ["some of the branches," plural, are individuals Jews, not "some of the
nations"] and you, being a wild olive, was grafted in among them [among some of the
branches, the Jews that believed and were not broken off, Paul was one of the Jews that
believed]...Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by your faith...for
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if God spared not the natural branches [individuals Jews], neither will he spare you
[individuals Gentiles, not nations]. Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward
them that fell (individuals, not nations), severity; but toward you, God's goodness;
otherwise, you also shall be cut off. And they [individuals Jews] also, if they continue not
in their unbelief, shall be grafted in" [Romans 11:17-24]. Many of the believers in the
early church were Jews. Paul was a Jew, and he said, "Even so than at this present time
also there is a remnant according to the election of grace" [at the time Paul was writing
this some Jews believed] [Romans 11:4]. Salvation is always available to anyone of any
nation if they will accept Christ. The law was only a shadow of that which was to come.
Israel cannot be restored as a nation without restoring the shadow, including restoring
animal sacrifice, etc.
There is individuality "about the Christian religion that cannot be dispensed with. Those who
accept Christ must do it as individuals, not as a nation. Each one must come to Christ on his own
individual faith. He can come in no other way. In this way he can come now; and this is the only
way a Gentile, or anyone else can come. The Jews were broken off for unbelief, and they must
come in faith. This opportunity they have now, and have always had--they need not expect, or
wait for any thing more." Dr T. W. Brents, Gospel Sermons, Page 329, 1918, Gospel Advocate
Publishing Co.
"Woe unto you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
So you are witnesses and consent unto the works of your fathers: for they kill them, and
you build their tombs. Therefore, also said the wisdom of God, I will send unto them
prophets and apostles; and some of them they shall kill and persecute; that the blood of
all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, MAY BE
REQUIRED OF THIS GENERATION; from the blood of Abel unto the blood of
Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary: yea, I say unto you, IT
SHALL BE REQUIRED OF THIS GENERATION" [Luke 11:47-51].
[1] THE LORD'S LAMENT OVER JERUSALEM WHEN HE WAS ON THE
ROAD TO JERUSALEM Luke 19:41-44: When Jesus drew nigh Jerusalem He wept
over the city and tells His disciples of the destruction of it in language that is similar to
what He said in Luke 21:5-33. "And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it,
saying, ‘If you had known in this day, even you, the things which belong unto peace! But,
now they are hid from your eyes. FOR THE DAYS SHALL COME UPON YOU, WHEN
YOUR ENEMIES WILL THROW UP A BANK ABOUT YOU, AND SURROUND YOU,
AND HEM YOU IN ON EVERY SIDE, AND WILL LEVEL YOU TO THE GROUND
AND YOUR CHILDREN WITHIN YOU; AND THEY SHALL NOT LEAVE IN YOU ONE
STONE UPON ANOTHER; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation’"
[Luke 19:41-44 New American Standard Version]. The Romans did surround Jerusalem,
put up a bank against the wall to go over it, and did not leave one stone upon another.
[2] IN AN ADDRESS TO THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEE AT JERUSALEM:
In Matthew 23 Jesus gives seven woes to the scribes and Pharisees [Matthew 23:13, 15,
16, 23, 25, 27 29] and ends the address with "Verily I say unto you, ALL THESE THINGS
SHALL COME UPON THIS GENERATION. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem that kills the
prophets, and stones them that are sent unto her! How often would I have gathered your
children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would
not! BEHOLD, YOUR HOUSE IS LEFT UNTO YOU DESOLATE" [Matthew 23:36-38].
In Matthew 24:34 He again says, "THIS GENERATION SHALL NOT PASS AWAY, TILL
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ALL THESE THINGS BE ACCOMPLISHED." All the woes in Matthew 23 and all the
signs of Matthew 24 were to come upon that generation, before that generation
passed away.
"ALL THESE THINGS SHALL COME UPON THIS GENERATION" Christ used
"generation" twenty-five times IN REFERENCE TO THE JEWS OF HIS DAY,
nine of the twenty-five are in Matthew [Matthew 11:16; 12:39; 12:41; 12:42; 12:45;
16:4; 17:17; 23:36; 24:24]. "But first he (Christ) must suffer many things and be rejected
of THIS GENERATION" [Luke 17:25; also Mark 8:12; 8:12; 8:38; 9:19; 13:30; Luke
7:31; 9:41; 11:29; 11:30; 11:31; 11:32; 11:50; 11:51; 16:8; 17:25; 21:32]. "Genea," the
Greek word from which "generation" is translated never means "race" as the
Millennialists contend that it does in Matthew 24:34.
• "Verily I say unto you, THIS GENERATION shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" King
James.
• "I tell you this: THE PRESENT GENERATION will live to see it all." New English Bible.
• "Remember this! All these things will happen before THE PEOPLE NOW LIVING have all died"
Today's English Version.
• "I tell you truly, THE PRESENT GENERATION will not pass away, till all this happens" Moffatt's
Translation.
• "I tell you in solemn truth that THE PRESENT GENERATION will certainly not pass away until all
this has taken place" Weymouth's Translation.
• "THIS GENERATION will not disappear till all this has taken place" Phillips Translation.
• "All these things will take place before THIS PRESENT GENERATION passes on" Modern
Language Bible.
• "THE PRESENT GENERATION will not pass away until all this takes place" New American Bible.
• "THE PRESENT GENERATION will not pass away, till all this happens" James Moffat.
"THIS GENERATION" The generation of Jews in the time of Christ.
• John the Baptist: "O GENERATION OF VIPERS, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"
[Luke 3:7].
• Christ: "O GENERATION OF VIPERS, how can you, being evil, speak what is good?" [Matthew
12:34].
• "But to what shall I liken THIS GENERATION? It is like children sitting in the market places, who
call out to the other children, and say, We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we
song a dirge, and you did not mourn" [Matthew 11:16-19; Luke 7:31-33].
• Likened to Tyre and Sodom, which would have repented if they had seen the works did in Israel,
but Israel would not repent [Matthew 11:20-24].
• "The men of Nineveh shall stand up with THIS GENERATION at the judgment, AND SHALL
CONDEMN IT because they repented at the preaching Jonah; and behold, something greater
than Jonah is here" [Matthew 12:41].
• "The Queen of the South shall rise up with THIS GENERATION at the judgment AND SHALL
CONDEMN IT, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon;
and behold, something greater than Solomon is here" [Luke 12:42].
• Likened to a man from which an unclean spirit went out but returned with seven other spirits
that were more wicked. "This is the way it will also be with THIS EVIL GENERATION" [LUKE
1243-45].
• "Why does THIS GENERATION seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign shall be to THIS
GENERATION" [Mark 8:12]
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• "An EVIL AND ADULTEROUS GENERATION seeks after a sign; and no sign will not be given it,
except the sign of Jonah" [Matthew 12:39; 16:4].
• "O UNBELIEVING AND PERVERTED GENERATION, how long shall I be with you? How long shall
I put up with you?" [Matthew 17:17; Mark 9:19; Luke 9:41].
• "Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send unto them prophets and apostles; and some
of them they shall kill and persecute; the blood of all the prophets, which were shed from the
foundation of the world, MAY BE REQUIRED OF THIS GENERATION; from the blood of Abel
unto the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary: yea, I say unto
you, IT SHALL BE REQUIRED OF THIS GENERATION" [Luke 11:49-51].
• "You serpents, you GENERATION OF VIPERS, how can you escape the judgment of Gehenna?"
[Matthew 23:33].
• "Truly I say to you, all these things shall come upon THIS GENERATION" [Matthew
23:36].
• "Truly I say unto you, THIS GENERATION shall not pass away till all these things be
accomplished" [Matthew 24:34].
• "Truly I say to you, THIS GENERATION shall not pass away until all these things take
place" [Mark 13:30]. That generation passed away long ago.
• "But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by THIS GENERATION" [Luke 17:25].
• "Be saved from THIS PERVERSE GENERATION" [Acts 3:40]. This was said before A. D. 70
• "That you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach
in the midst of A CROOKED AND PERVERSE GENERATION" [Philippians 2:15].
If "this generation" means "this race" as some Millennialists teach, are there forty-two
"races" spoken of in Matthew 1:1-17?
The use of "YOU" clearly identified the "generation" Jesus was speaking to in Matthew
24. When speaking to His disciples Jesus said:
• "Do YOU not see all these things? Truly I say to YOU, not one stone here shall be left upon
another" Verse 2.
• "See to it that no one misleads YOU" Verse 4.
• "YOU will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars" Verse 6. Not someone today will hear of wars.
• "See that YOU are not frightened" Verse 6.
• "They will deliver YOU to tribulation and will kill YOU, and YOU will be hated by all nations"
Verse 9.
• "When YOU see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet,
standing in the holy place" Verse 15. "When YOU see Jerusalem compassed with armies" Luke
21:20. Not when someone today sees this. JERUSALEM COMPASSED WITH ARMIES, WHICH
WERE SPOKEN OF BY DANIEL [Daniel 9:27] WAS TO BE IN THEIR TIME AND SEEN BY THEM.
• "Even so YOU too, when YOU see all these things, know YOU that He is nigh, even at the door"
Verse 33. Not when someone today sees all these things.
• "Truly I say unto YOU, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place" Verse
34.
• "For this reason YOU be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when YOU do not
think He will" Verse 44.
[3] THEN AN ADDRESS TO HIS DISCIPLES ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES
OVERLOOKING JERUSALEM: Matthew 24:1-51. There have been thousands of
speculations made on Matthew 24 over the centuries, and it has perhaps been abused
more than any other passage.
THE CONTEXT OF MATTHEW 24: It is in the midst of passages about Israel.
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• The Two Sons [Matthew 21:27-32] Israel believed not Christ
• The Wicked Husbandman [Matthew 21:33-46]. (a) "He will miserably destroy
those miserable men" (b) The stone, Christ, rejected by Israel and Israel “scatted
as dust”
• The Marriage Feast [Matthew 22:1-14] "They that were bidden (Israel) was not
worthy"
• The Seven Woes [Matthew 23:1-36] "All these things shall come upon this
generation." Pronounced upon the scribes and Pharisees of His day.
• Their House (the Temple) left desolate [Matthew 23:27-39]
• Not One Stone Upon Another [Matthew 24:1-2] The Temple to be destroyed
o There question about what He had just said [Matthew 24:3]
o His answer [Matthew 24:4-31]
• The Fig Tree [Matthew 24:32-36] "This generation shall not pass away, till all
these things be accomplished"
• Israel The Unfaithful Servant [Matthew 24:45-25:30]
MATTHEW 24
Matthew 24:1-2 "And Jesus went out from the temple, and his disciples came to him
TO SHOW HIM THE BUILDINGS OF THE TEMPLE, but he answered and said unto
them, see you not all these things? Verily I say unto you, THERE SHALL NOT BE
LEFT HERE ONE STONE UPON ANOTHER, THAT SHALL NOT BE THROWN
DOWN." The stones were the "buildings of the temple." THESE WORDS ARE THE
REASON FOR THE QUESTIONS BY HIS DISCIPLES AND THE REASON FOR
THE DISCOURSE THAT FOLLOWED. The purpose of this discourse was not to give
His disciples signs of His coming at the end of the world but signs of the destruction of
Jerusalem, to warn believers in that generation of the coming destruction of Jerusalem
and to give them a sign for them to flee from the destruction coming in their lifetime.
"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is
nigh" [Luke 21:20; Matthew 24:15].
Matthew 24:3 "And as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him
privately, saying, tell us"
Matthew 24:3
Question one: "Tell us, when shall THESE THINGS be?"
Question two: "And what shall be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the
age?"
o Except for the bad translation of the King James Version ("end of the
world") no one would see the end of the world in these two questions. The
Greek says, "end of the age" (aion); not "end of the world" (kosmos). Not
even the New King James Version would go along with the King James
Version on this bad translation.
Mark 13:4
Question one: "Tell us, when shall THESE THINGS be?"
Question two: "And what shall be the sign when THESE THINGS are all about to
be accomplished?"
Luke 21:6-7
Question one: "When therefore shall THESE THINGS be?"
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Question two: "And what shall be the sign when THESE THINGS are about to
come to pass?"
Question two as given in the three parallel accounts. All are the same question.
1. Matthew "And what shall be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?"
2. Mark "And what shall be the sign when THESE THINGS are all about to be
accomplished?"
3. Luke "And what shall be the sign when THESE THINGS are about to come to
pass?"
• "THESE THINGS" were the things Christ had just said, "And Jesus said unto him,
‘Do you see these great buildings? There shall not be left here one stone upon
another, which shall not be thrown down.’ And as he seat on the Mount of Olives
over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him
privately, ‘Tell us, when shall THESE THINGS be?’" [Mark 13:2-3]. The
disciples, thinking of what the Lord had said, asked two questions, which they
supposed both would be at the same time. (1) When shall THESE THINGS You
speak of be (2) and what shall be the sign that THESE THINGS are about to
come to pass? NEITHER IN WHAT CHRIST SAID OR IN THE QUESTIONS
THE DISCIPLES ASKED IS THERE ANY REFERENCE TO THE SECOND
COMING OR TO A GREAT TRIBULATON THOUSANDS OF YEARS
AFTER "THESE THING." AT THE TIME THEY ASKED THESE
QUESTIONS THEY DID NOT BELIEVE OR KNOW THAT JESUS
WOULD BE PUT TO DEATH OR THAT HE WOULD BE GOING BACK
TO HEAVEN AND COMING A SECOND TIME. THE DISCIPLES STILL
THOUGHT THE CHRIST WOULD RESTORE THE EARTHY
KINGDOM OF ISRAEL JUST AS ALL THE JEWS DID.
1. “And they understood none of these things, and this saying was hidden from them,
and they did not comprehend the things that were said” [Luke 18:34; 19:11;
24:21-27; John 16:16-18; 20:9].
2. When they asked these two questions they did not know or believe Christ would
die and be resurrected from the dead or know or believe anything about the
second coming of Christ or the judgment day.
3. On the day of His resurrection they did not know it was the resurrected Christ
they were talking to and said to Him, "But we hoped (past tense) that it was he
who should REDEEM ISRAEL" [Luke 24:21]. Hoped that Christ was the one the
Jews looked for to redeem Israel from Rome and restore it as a nation as it was
under David.
4. Forty days after He was raised from the dead they still did not understand
therefore, they still did not expect Christ to go away and return to earth a second
time at the end of the world; they expected Him to restore the kingdom to Israel
"They therefore, when they were come together, asked him, saying, Lord, do you
at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" [Acts 1:6].
AT THE TIME THEY ASKED THIS, THEY DID NOT BELIEVE JUST AS
THE JEWS DID NOT BELIEVE THAT THEIR MESSIAH WOULD BE
KILLED, BUT THEY BELIEVED THAT HE WOULD SET UP AN EARTHLY
KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. HOW COULD THEY BE ASKING ABOUT HIS
SECOND COMING WHEY THEY DID NOT KNOW THERE WOULD BE A
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SECOND COMING? MILLENNIALISTS MUST MAKE THE DISCIPLES BE
ASKING A QUESTION ABOUT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST THAT
THE DISCIPLES DID NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT OR BELIEVE AT THAT
TIME, BUT THEY MUST HAVE THE DISCIPLES ASKING QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE MILLENNIAL AND THE RAPTURE TO MAKE THIS
CHAPTER TEACH THEIR VIEW. I have never seen where any Premillennialists
say how these disciples that did not knew that Christ was to die and be raised from
the dead and forty days later ascend to Heaven explain how the same disciples could
know anything about the rapture and the thousand years. From where do they think
these disciples had this knowledge?
[1] SIGNS OF THE THINGS THAT WERE TO COME TO PAST
THAT CHRISTIANS WERE TO WATCH FOR
Matthew 24:4-15: "And Jesus answered (His answer was to the questions they had
asked about the destruction of the temple, not about His second coming) and said unto
them, Take heed that no man lead you astray. For many shall come in my name, saying, I
am the Christ; and shall lead many astray. And you shall hear of wars and rumors of
wars; see that you are not troubled: for these things must needs come to pass; but the end
is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there
shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places. But, all these things are the beginning
of travail. Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and you
shall be hated of all the nations for my name's sake. And then shall many stumble, and
shall deliver up one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall
arise, and shall lead many astray. And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of
many shall wax cold. But, he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved. And this
gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the
nations; and then shall the end come. When; therefore, you see the abomination of
desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place
(let him that reads understand)."
[2] NATURAL DISASTERS TO ISRAEL AND ROME
(a) WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS [Matthew 24:6; Mark 13:7-8; Luke 21:9-10]
with nations and kingdoms rising against each other [Matthew 24:7]. There were many
conflicts and battles before A. D. 70 in which thousands of Jews were killed. In one battle
with the Syrians about 5,000 Jews were killed. From A. D. 66 to 70 there were many
wars and rumors of wars. Many thousands were killed in the many wars in the 5 years
before the destruction of the temple and Israel in A. D. 70.
"The Jewish war began in A. D. 66, and ended five years after. During this period all the Roman
Empire was filled with commotion. Nero, the emperor, was overthrown by Galba; six months
after, Galba was overthrown by Otho; a few months after, Otho was overthrown by Vitelius; a
little later, he was overthrown by Vespasian. All of these but the last, who ascended the throne
shortly before Jerusalem was destroyed, died violent deaths...Tacitus, the Roman historian, says
of this period: 'It was full of calamities, horrible with battles, rent with seditions, savage in peace
itself.'" B. W. Johnson, "The People's New Testament With Notes" Gospel Light Publishing
Company, 1889.
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From the writing of Josephus we learn that the Jews were divided into parties fighting
among themselves and Jews killed others Jews in numbers far greater then those killed by
the Roman soldiers, and villages of Syria and elsewhere were burnt to the ground in the
five years of war before the Romans laid siege to Jerusalem. During the siege many more
Jews were killed by warring bands of Jews in Jerusalem, and Josephus says the Jews
suffered far more from one another inside the walls of the city than from the Romans
outside. Thousand more were killed by bands of robbers.
• "When Christ was born, there was a universal peace in the empire...From the time that the Jews
rejected Christ, and he left their house desolate, the sword did never depart from their house,
the sword of the Lord was never quiet, because he had given it a charge against a hypocritical
nation and the people of his wrath, and by it brought ruin upon them." Matthew Henry, Matthew
24:6. Zondervan Publishing House, 1721.
(b) FAMINES IN DIVERS PLACES [Matthew 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11]: In the
years between the death of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem there were severe
famines especially in the area of Jerusalem. Paul took up a contribution for the poor
among the saints at Jerusalem [Romans 15:25; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4] which many
churches took part in. Agabus signified by the Spirit that there would be a great famine
over all the world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius, and the disciples sent
relief unto the disciples in Judea [Acts 11:28-29].
(c) PESTILENCES [Matthew 24:7 King James Version]: Pestilences tend to come
with famine. There was a great one in AD 40 in Babylon when many Jews died and many
more fled because of it. Another one in AD 65 in Rome when many died. I have seen no
history that tells how many died by wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes in the
years before the destruction of Jerusalem, but no doubt it was hundreds of thousands.
During the siege of Jerusalem but before the fall, the dead from famines and pestilences
filled all the room for burial within the walls of the city and Josephus claims 600,000
more bodies were thrown out of the gates of Jerusalem and left unburialed.
(d) EARTHQUAKES IN DIVERS PLACES [Matthew 24:7]: The earthquakes are
spoken of as a dreadful judgment against the nation of Israel, "But all these things are the
beginning of travail" [Matthew 24:8].
"Of these significant emblems of political commotions, there occurred several within the scene
of this prophecy, and, as our Savior predicted, in divers places in the reign of Claudius there was
one at Rome, and another at Apamea in Syria, where many Jews resided. The earthquake at the
latter place was so destructive, that the emperor, in order to relieve the distresses of the
inhabitants, remitted its tribute for five years. Both these earthquakes are recorded by Tacitus.
There was one also, in the same reign in Crete that is mentioned by Philostratus, in his Life of
Apollonius, who says, that 'there were others at Smyrna, Miletus, Chios, and Samos; IN ALL
WHICH PLACES JEWS HAD SETTLED.' In the reign of Nero there was an earthquake at Laodicea.
Tacitus records this also. It is likewise mentioned by Eusebius and Orosius, who add that
Hieropolis and Colose, as well as Laodicea, were overthrown by an earthquake. There was also
one in Campania in this reign (of this both Tacitus and Seneca speak) and another at Rome in
the reign of Galba, recorded by Suetonius." George P. Holford, "The Destruction Of Jerusalem,"
1805.
Some cities of Israel were totaled destroyed by earthquakes before the destruction of
Jerusalem. I have not found an estimate of how many Jews died by earthquakes but like
both the famines and the pestilences, without doubt many more thousands died in the
earthquakes before A. D. 70.
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Dr. Philip Schaff says there is scarcely another period in history so full of corruption,
vice, and disaster as the six years between Neronian persecution in A. D. 64 and the
destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70, History Of the Christian Church, New Schaff-
Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge.
FOR MANY YEARS EARTHQUAKES, FAMINES, WARS, PESTILENCES HAVE
REPEATEDLY BEEN MADE INTO A SURE SIGN THAT THE END IS AT HAND
BY MANY WRITERS OF FICTION.
[3] PERSECUTION FIRST FROM JEWS
AND THEN ROME, AND THE SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL
(a) "BUT ALL THESE THINGS ARE THE BEGINNING OF TRAVAIL" [Matthew
24:9].
(b) CHRISTIANS WOULD BE DELIVER UP, KILLED AND HATED BY ALL
THE NATIONS [Matthew 24:9]. The persecution of believers came first from the Jews.
Acts 4:3; 4:18; 4:21; 5:18; 5:28; 6:12-14; 7:58-60; 8:1; 8:3; 9:1-2; 13:44-51; 14:2; 14:19;
17:5-8; 17:13; 26:9-10; Paul was one of the persecutors and then one of the persecuted.
"Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with
rods, once I was stoned...I have been in...dangers from my countrymen" [2 Corinthians
11:24-26]. "For you also suffer the same things of your own countrymen, even as they did
of the Jews; who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophet, and drove out us" [1
Thessalonians 2:14-15]. It was soon followed by the persecution of Nero of believers,
which began about A. D. 64. After the fire in Rome Nero attempted to clear himself by
blaming it on the Christians. He then persecuted the Christians with such cruelty that
even many of his fellow Romans were taken back by his cruelty "But before all these
things, they shall lay their hands on you, and shall persecute you, delivering you up to
the synagogues and prison, bringing you before kings and governors for my name's sake"
[Luke 21:12]. See Hebrews 10:32-34. Both the persecution from the Jews and the
persecution from Rome were severe. I have just touched the hem of the garment.
(c) MANY SHALL STUMBLE, DELIVER UP ONE ANOTHER, AND HATE ONE
ANOTHER [Matthew 24:10]. As a result of the persecutions the weak stumbled. "And
brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up
against parents, and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all on
account of My name...and a man's enemies will be the members of his household"
[Matthew 10:22-36].
(d) MANY FALSE PROPHETS [Matthew 24:11]. See 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1; 2:18;
Galatians 1:7. Many false teachers saying they were the Christ [Matthew 24:5]. Josephus
says that they did come about the time of the end of Jerusalem.
(e) LIGHTNING "For just as the lightning comes from the east, and flashes even to
the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be" [Matthew 24:27]. For the use of
"lightning" in the Old Testament for God's angry and judgment see Exodus 19:16; 2
Samuel 22:7-15; Isaiah 30:27. It is also used symbolically in Revelation of judgments.
Revelation 4:5; 11:19; 16:18. The false prophets saying they were the Christ were only
seen by some. The coming of Christ in judgment on Israel with the total destruction of
Israel as a country was seen in the entire known world just as lightning in the east is seen
in the west. “But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say
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to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man
comes” [Matthew10:23].
“It is a coming, which was to take place before all the cities of Israel should be evangelized,
and hence the reference must be, we think, to the providential coming to destroy the Jewish
nationality” J W McGarvey, New Testament Commentary, Matthew and Mark, page 92.
“It would take place before all the cities of Israel should be evangelized, hence it would mean
the coming of Christ to destroy the Jewish nationality” H Leo Boles, The Gospel According To
Matthew, page 230, Gospel Advocate, 1954.
(f) MANY DISCIPLES WILL FALL AWAY, BUT THOSE WHO REMAIN
FAITHFUL SHALL BE SAVED [Matthew 24:13-14].
(g) THE GOSPEL SHALL BE PREACHED TO THE WHOLE WORLD [Matthew
24:14]. The persecution against the church in Jerusalem scattered the saints abroad, and
they went about preaching the word everywhere. [Acts 8:1-4]. The gospel was preached
throughout the world, as it was known before A. D. 70. “The word of the truth of the
gospel, which is come unto you; even as it is also in all the world” [Colossians 1:6]; and
"The hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached in all creation under
heaven" [Colossians 1:23]. Paul says to the Romans, "Your faith is proclaimed
throughout the whole world" [Romans 1:8]. In Romans 10:18 he says, "Their voice has
gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world." "World" as it is
used in the New Testament is all the civilized world of that day, the entire known world.
See Luke 2:1; Acts 11:28. "Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men,
from every nation under heaven" [Acts 2:5]. The devout Jews came from all over the
world to Jerusalem for Pentecost and when Pentecost was over, they returned to all
nations under heaven and some that believed the preaching of Peter and others took the
Gospel with them. "The mystery...has been made known to all the nations" [Romans
16:25-26].
[4] THEN COMES THE END OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL
(a) THEN COMES THE END WHEN THEY SEE THE ROMANS IN JERUSALEM.
"When; therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through
Daniel the prophet [Daniel 9:27], standing in the holy place" [Matthew 24:14-15]. The
parallel passage in Luke 21:20 says, "But when you see Jerusalem compassed with
armies, then know that her desolation is at hand." There will be no armies in Jerusalem
to see at the second coming of Jesus. In the Old Testament the worship of other gods is
an "abomination" [Deuteronomy 7:25; 12:31; 17:3]. The Romans worshiped many gods.
The idolatrous army of Rome in Jerusalem was an "abomination of desolation" to them.
Daniel speaks of an "abomination of desolation" at a time when the regular sacrifice were
abolished because of Israel going into captivity [Daniel 12:11; 9:27].
(b) "THEN LET THEM THAT ARE IN JUDAEA FLEE UNTO THE MOUNTAINS"
[Matthew 24:16]. The last signs the disciples were to look for was the Roman army in
Jerusalem. After going through the country around about Jerusalem and destroying the
cities and killing many thousand of the Jews, Cestius Gallus came to within one mile of
Jerusalem, then after about four days entered the city but fled with many Jews pursuing
him. THE DISCIPLES WERE TO FLEE UNTO THE MOUNTAINS WHEN THEY
SAW ALL THE ABOVE SIGNS. If this passage were speaking of the second coming of
Christ, as many Premillennialists say it is, why were Christians told to flee to the
mountains? In Luke Christ is speaking of the coming destruction of Jerusalem and tells
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the disciples, "But watch at every season, making supplication, that you may prevail TO
ESCAPE all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man"
[Luke 21:36]. They did watch and escape by fleeing to the mountains beyond the cities of
Israel.
"After this disaster had befallen Cestius, the more opulent of the Jews (says Josephus)
forsook Jerusalem as men do a sinking ship. And it is with reason supposed that on this occasion
many Christians, or converted Jews, who dwelt there, recollecting the warnings of their divine
Master, retired to Pella, a place beyond Jordan, situated in a mountainous country, whither
(according to Eusebius, who resided near the spot) they came from Jerusalem, and settled,
before the war (under Vespasian) began. Other providential opportunities for escaping
afterwards occurred, of which, it is probable, those who were now left behind availed
themselves; for it is a striking act, and such as cannot be contemplated by the pious mind
without sentiments of devout admiration, THAT HISTORY DOES NOT RECORD THAT EVEN
ONE CHRISTIAN PERISHED IN THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. Enduring to the end faithful to their
blessed master, they, gave credit to his predictions, and escaped the calamity. Thus were fulfilled
the words of our Lord, Matt. 24. 13. 'He that shall endure unto the end (i. e. of the scene of this
prophecy) shall be saved,' i. e. from the calamities which will involve all those who shall continue
obstinate in unbelief" George P. Holford, "The Destruction of Jerusalem."
"It is very remarkable that not a single Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem,
though there were many there when Cestis Gallus invested the city; and, had he persevered in
the siege, he would soon have rendered himself master of it; but, when he unexpectedly and
unaccountably raised the siege, the Christians took that opportunity to escape." Adam Clarke,
Commentary on Matthew.
At the second coming of Jesus no one will see the Roman army and flee to the
mountains. Premillennialists believe and teach that the rapture will be at the time of this
great tribulation, therefore, the saints could not flee to the mountains for they would be
"up in the sky with Christ" in the rapture; but Jesus clearly told them to flee to the
mountains when the tribulation begins. Christians were to (and did) flee from Jerusalem;
from the very place where Premillennialists say Christ will come to and set up His
kingdom, and if this passage were about a millennial coming, they were told to flee from
Jerusalem at the very time when many Millennialists say He will be coming to Jerusalem
to set up His kingdom.
That this is not the second coming of Christ is shown by the fact that both living and
dead believers did not meet the Lord in the air in A. D. 70, but that only the living
believers were to flee to the mountains.
INSTRUCTIONS AND WARNING TO THE DISCIPLES
Matthew 24:17-20: "Let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out the things
that are in his house: (18) and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak.
(19) But woe unto them that give suck in those days! (20) And pray you that your flight be
not in the winter, neither on a Sabbath; for then shall be great tribulation, such as has
not been from the beginning of the world (aion-age) until now, no, not ever shall be. (22)
And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the
elect's sake those days shall be shortened. (23) Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo,
here is the Christ, or, Here; believe it not. (24) For there shall arise false Christs, and
false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible,
even the elect. (25) Behold, I have told you beforehand. (26) If; therefore, they shall say
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unto you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not forth: Behold, he is in the inner
chambers; believe it not. (27) For as the lightning comes forth from the east, and is seen
even unto the west; so shall be the coming of the Son of man. (28) Where so ever the
carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together."
"For then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the
world (aion-age) until now, no, not ever shall be." This is speaking of the Jewish age, not
all time. Not of the destruction of the flood before the Jewish age and not speaking of any
war after the end of the Jewish age. Daniel 12:1 says, "And there will be a time of distress
such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time." Daniel vision was about
Israel and Michael was speaking only of Israel and should be understood as "since there
was a nation of Israel." It is speaking only of the wars and captivities of Israel.
(a) Those in Jerusalem were to flee without taking time to take things from their
house, and those in field were not to take the time to return to their house for things
[Matthew 24:18-19]. "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize
that her desolation is at hand. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and
let those who are in the midst of the city depart, and let not those who are in the country
enter the city" [Luke 20:20-21].
No one, saved or lost, will be able to flee to the mountains to escape at the second
coming of Jesus. The saved will not want to and the lost will not be able to. Neither will
armies surround Jerusalem at the second coming of Christ. Nevertheless, Millennialists
attempt to make this be an army of Satan surrounding Christ and His saints in the
Millennial Kingdom. Would those who were with Christ in Jerusalem be told to flee to
the mountains to escape the army of Satan? If they were, it would give Satan more power
than Christ has for He would not be able to protect them from Satan.
The saints that were to flee to the mountains would be in the mountains at the time of
rapture, not ruptured to Heaven where the Millennialists say they will be. Although this is
a key passage to the Millennia theory it is an undeniable contradiction to the rapture
theory.
(b) Woe unto them that have a small child [Matthew 24:29]. Those with a child would
have hardships in fleeing to the mountains, but at the end of the world this will be no
problem, no woe to those who will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air.
(c) They were to pray that it not be in the winter or on a Sabbath for the gates of
Jerusalem were closed, and no one could depart from the city [Matthew 24:20]. Because
the streams were then impassable from the heavy rains, the cold wet weather would be
hard on those who were fleeing. The gates of Jerusalem have never been closed after A.
D. 70 and it will be no problem if the gates of Jerusalem, or any city was closed at the
second coming, nor will impassable streams or cold weather be a problem at the second
coming.
Hindrances to flight from Jerusalem in A. D. 70 that would be no hindrances at the
second coming.
• Having a small child [Matthew 24:19]
• In the winter and bad weather [Matthew 24:20]
• On a Sabbath day with the gates of Jerusalem closed [Matthew 24:20]
(d) There would be a greater tribulation than had been from the beginning of the age.
[Matthew 24:20-22].
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(e) There would be many false Christs and prophets that would show great signs
[Matthew 24:23-27]. But, when Christ came in judgment on Israel He was seen by all
through His judgment. False Christs and prophets will not be a sign of His second coming
at the end of the world.
(f) Where so ever the dead body of Israel was (the carcass) the eagles would gather
[Matthew 24:28]. The Jewish nation was a dead and rotting carcass with its birds of prey.
• First: many false Christs.
• Second: Christ coming seen by all.
• Third: Then the dead carcass of Israel. That Christ being seen by all is the coming
of Christ in judgment on Israel and not His second coming is shown by it being
between the false Christs and the dead carcass of Jerusalem.
"For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled"
[Luke 21:22]. Jeremiah ends his prophecy made in Gehenna [valley of Topheth] outside
of Jerusalem with, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I am about to
bring on this city and all its towns the entire calamity that I have declared against it
because they have stiffened their necks so as not to heed My words'" [Jeremiah 19:15].
FIRST CENTURY OR TODAY?
(a) "Let him that is on the housetop not go down." Most first century houses in
Jerusalem had flat roofs, and a person could travel through the city from one housetop to
the next. Today there are almost none with flat roofs and what few there may be would
not be useful as a roadway to the gate of the city.
(b) Not on the Sabbath. The gates would be closed, and no one would be able to leave
the city. Today there are no gates. The Law forbids going more than a Sabbath day
journey, which is less than a mile, and others Jews might have stopped them for breaking
the Law.
(c) Not in the winter. Travel would be hard then but not today with today's ways of
travel.
(d) "For the days shall come upon you when your enemies shall cast up a bank about
you, and compass you round, and keep you on in on every side" [Luke 19:43-44]. Then
the common way that was used by the Romans to take a walled city was to build an
embankment next to the wall for the army to walk up to the top of the wall. Today's
cities, not even Jerusalem, do not have walls as they would be useless with modern
planes and explosives.
(f) "And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but
for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." After Jerusalem was completely
destroyed, the cities of Israel that had not been destroyed before Jerusalem was also
destroyed. If the Roman army had kept going, the fateful Jews beyond the mountains
where Christians had fled to would have also been destroyed. This would make no sense
when it is applied to the second coming of Christ as it is by many Millennialists.
Luke 21:24 "And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into
all the nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the
Gentiles be fulfilled." In A. D. 70 all the Jews that were in Israel that was not killed were
led captive into all the nations. The siege of Jerusalem was at the time of the Passover
when millions were within the walls of the city. IF THIS WERE SPEAKING OF THE
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MILLENNIUM WHO IS GOING TO FALL BY THE SWORD AND LED CAPTIVE
AT THE COMING OF CHRIST?
"Of the Jews destroyed during the siege, Josephus reckons not less than ONE MILLION AND
ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND, to which must be added, above TWO-HUNDRED AND THIRTYSEVEN
THOUSAND who perished in other places, AND INNUMERABLE MULTITUDES WHO
WERE SWEPT AWAY BY FAMINE, AND PESTILENCE, AND OF WHICH NO CALCULATION
COULD BE MADE. Not less than two thousand laid violent hands upon themselves. Of the
captives the whole was about NINETY-SEVEN THOUSAND." George P. Holford, "The Destruction
of Jerusalem." He also says that at this time bands of robbers and murderers plundered the other
towns and slew the resistance of many of the towns.
"No history can furnish us with a parallel to the calamities and miseries of the Jews:-rape,
murder, famine, and pestilence within: fire and sword, and all the horrors of war, without. Our
Lord wept at the foresight of these calamities; and it is almost impossible for any humane person
to read the relation of them in Josephus without weeping also." Adam Clarke, Commentary on
Matthew.
"The destruction of Jerusalem was more terrible than anything that the world has ever
witnessed, either before or since. Even Titus seemed to see in his cruel work the hand of an
avenging God." C.H. Spurgeon, Commentary on Matthew, Page 412.
"And indeed the multitude of carcasses that lay in heaps one upon another was a horrible
sight, and produced a pestilential stench, which was a hindrance to those that would make sallies
out of the city, and fight the enemy: but as those were to go in battle-array, who had been already
use to ten thousand murders, and must tread upon those dead bodies as they marched along, so
they were not terrified, nor did they pity men as they marched over them." Josephus, The Wars
Of The Jews Or The History Of The Destruction Of Jerusalem, Book VI, Page 1. This is only a
small sample of the pages in Josephus's history of the destruction of the Jews as a nation, of the
wars of the Jews with the Romans before, during, and after the destruction of Jerusalem, of the
famines, pestilence and earthquakes through out all Israel unto the entire nation was destroyed.
It is not for those with a weak stomach.
"The Roman leaders endeavored to strike terror to the Jews and thus, cause them to
surrender. Those prisoners, who resisted when taken, were scourged, tortured, and crucified
before the wall of the city. Hundreds were daily put to death in this manner, and the dreadful
work continued until, along the Valley Jehoshaphat and at Calvary, crosses were erected in so
great numbers that there was scarcely room to move among them. So terrible was the visited that
awful imprecation uttered before the judgment seat of Pilate: 'His blood be on us, and on our
children Matthew 27:25'" “The Great Controversy” The nation of Israel sowed a cross and reaped
thousands of crosses.
"Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another" [Matthew
24:2]. Titus wanted to save the temple and give command that it be not destroyed, but
Christ had said it would be. It was set on fire against the command of Titus, and the gold
melted and ran down into the foundation stones and the soldiers dug down to the
foundation stones looking for the gold; not one stone was left on another. In Luke's
account of this [Luke 19:41-44] he says the temple would be even with the ground. After
the destruction of Jerusalem one could not know by looking at the spot that the temple
had been on it. A Moslem Mosque, called the Dome of the Rock, is now on the spot
where the temple was.
"Daniel also wrote concerning the Roman government, and that our country should be made
desolate by them." Josephus, "Antiquities of the Jews" 10.11.7.
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IN THEIR BOOKS OF FICTION THE COMING MILLENNIUM TRIBULATION
IS OFTEN BASED ON MATTHEW 24 WHICH HAS ALREALY CAME IN A. D. 70
BEFORE THAT GENERATION PASSED AWAY [MATTHEW 24:34]. "For then shall
be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world (aion-age)."
The purpose of this discourse was not to give his disciples signs of His coming at the end
of the world but signs of the destruction of Jerusalem, to warn believers in that generation
of the coming destruction of Jerusalem and to give them a sign for them to flee from the
destruction coming in their lifetime. [Matthew 24:21]. Millennialists say, "Not so Christ,
the great tribulation in the Millennium will be much greater then the tribulation at the
destruction of Jerusalem and Israel.
THE CARCASS OF ISRAEL
"Where so ever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together" Matthew
24:28.
"I wonder and can any understand these words of pious men flying to Christ, [in the rapture]
when the discourse here is of quite a different thing: they are thus connected to the forgoing:
Christ shall be revealed with a sudden vengeance; for when God shall cast of the city and people,
grown ripe for destruction, like a carcass thrown out, the Roman soldiers, like eagles, shall
straight fly to it with their eagles (ensigns) to tear and devout it." John Lightfoot, Matthew 24:28
"A Commentary on Matthew."
NOT JERUSALEM ONLY BUT ALL THE NATION OF ISRAEL WAS
DESTROYED, AND ALL THE LAND THAT WAS THE NATION OF ISRAEL WAS
TAKEN OVER BY OTHER PEOPLE. THE NATION OF ISRAEL CAME TO AN
END. The Jewish religion was centered round and totally dependence on the sacrifices
which could only be performed at the Temple and only by the Levitical priesthood. Both
came to an end and have not been restored to this day.
IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE DESTRUCTION
OF JERUSALEM AND ALL ISRAEL
Matthew 24:29-31: "But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall
not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens
shall be shaken: (30) and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and
then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on
the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (31) And he shall send forth his angels
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four
winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
Matthew 24:1-28 is speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem. Then in the next verse
Christ says, "But immediately after the tribulation of those days" and gives a list in verses
29-31 of things that are to happen then, immediately after the destruction, not at His
second coming. Then in verses 32-44 He gives us the parable of Israel the fig tree in
which His coming was "nigh, even at the doors." These verses are highly symbolic of
something that took place immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem. In symbolic
language the sun is a great ruler on this earth, and the stars are lesser rulers. There were
no rulers or teachers in Israel immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem and all the
cities of Israel. All was darkness for Israel. "And then shall all the tribes of the earth
mourn" (see Matthew 10:23 where the coming of Christ is in judgment on Israel). In the
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next parable, Christ is "nigh, even at the doors" and "this generation shall not pass away
till all these things be accomplished." Though not literally, Christ did come in judgment
in the destruction of Jerusalem. If this were at the judgment when all will be raised from
the dead for judgment by Christ, I find it difficult to see how any could think that He will
not give forth His light at the Judgment, and what then are the stars that shall fall from
Heaven? If verses 30 and 31 were speaking of the second coming, they would be out of
place for the second coming was not "immediately after the tribulation of those days"
(verse 29) and not in the "generation that shall not pass away till all these things be
accomplished" (verse 34). Many teach that the things in Matthew 24 are events that are
happening today, but if so, there would some very old people be living today.
The "great tribulation" of Matthew 24:21 is now past history, not something still
to come. "But IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE TRIBULATION OF THESE DAY the sun
shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the
heavens shall be shaken" [Matthew 24:29]. Jesus used the same symbolic language to
describe the fall of Israel that Isaiah used to describe the fall of Babylon [Ezekiel 32:7-9]
and is commonly used in the Old Testament. "For the stars of heaven and their
constellations will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark when it rises, and the
moon will not shed its light" [Isaiah 13:10]. Luke added, "And upon the earth distress of
nations" [Luke 21:21]. The sun being darkened was immediately after the tribulation
Christ was speaking of, which was in A. D. 70, not a tribulation yet to come after the
second coming of Christ. MOST MILLENNIALISTS MOVE THE SUN BEING
DARKEN FROM “IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE TRIBULATION” AND MAKE IT
BEING DARKEN BE THE TRIBULATION, not something that comes “after the
tribulation.”
• Darken “immediately after the tribulation.”
• Not darken during the tribulation as Premillennialists teach.
1. The same figurative language of the sun, moon and stars being darken or falling
from heaven is also used of the fall of Judea [a national judgment] in Jeremiah
4:1-28.
2. Of the fall of Israel [Amos 8:6-9; 8:18-20].
3. Of the fall of Israel [Zephaniah 1:14-18].
4. Of the fall of the Nations [Joel 3:15-16; 2:31].
5. Of the fall of Egypt [Ezekiel 30:3-4; 32:7-8; Isaiah 19:1].
6. Of the fall of Babylon [Isaiah 13:10-20].
7. Of the fall of Edom [Isaiah 34:4-6].
8. Of the city of Arier in Israel [Isaiah 29:5-6].
9. Of the fall of "My people" [Isaiah 51:5-6].
10. Also see Joel 2:1-31; 30:31; Haggai 2:6-7; Amos 8:9; Jeremiah 15:9 46:7; 49:23-
24; Isaiah 17:12-13; 19:1; 47:20; 64:3; Daniel 7:2-17; Exodus 19:16; 13:21-22;
14:19-31; Psalm 18:13; 104:3; Ezekiel 34:4; Nahum 1:3. THIS WAS FAMILIAR
LANGUAGE TO THOSE JESUS WAS SPEAKING TO AND THEY WOULD
HAVE UNDERSTOOD HIM TO BE SPEAKING OF THE FALL OF A
NATION, NOT OF THE END OF THE WORLD. It is similar to that in
Deuteronomy 23:22-28 and both are a judgment on Israel.
11. Compare Matthew 24:29-30 to the fall of Egypt. "And when I extinguish you, I
will cover the heavens, and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud,
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and the moon shall not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens I will
darken over you and will set darkness on your land, declares the Lord God. I will
also trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the
nations" [Ezekiel 32:7-9]. As far as these nations were concerned the lights went
out.
Matthew 24:30: "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven." "In
Heaven" is where the Son of Man is, not where the sign would appear. What did appear
was the destruction of Israel. The sign proves that the man Israel rejected is the Lord and
is the ruler over all nations, and He has the power to destroy the nations that reject Him.
In speaking of God's coming in judgment on Egypt Isaiah says, "The oracle
concerning Egypt. Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud, and is about to come to
Egypt" [Isaiah 19:1; also Jeremiah 4:13; Ezekiel 30:3-4]. This is not God literally riding a
cloud into Egypt, but is figurative language of His coming in judgment on Egypt. When
they saw Jerusalem destroyed, they were seeing Jesus coming in judgment on that city.
Jesus told the high priest, "YOU SHALL SEE THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE
RIGHT HAND OF POWER, AND COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN" [Mark
14:62]. The high priest did not literally see Jesus in Heaven, but he and all Israel did see
the coming of Jesus in judgment on Israel.
"The signs in the heavens, the darkening sun and falling stars, refer to the falling of Jewish
dignitaries, casting down of authorities and powers, long established, and signified the darkness
that settled upon the Jewish state, the sun of the Hebrew temple was darkened, the moon of the
Jewish commonwealth was as blood, the stars of Sanhendrin fell from their high seats of
authority...The sign of the Son of man in the heaven was a signal, the evidence of divine visitation
and intervention in the downfall of the Jewish authorities and in all the transpiring events. The
mourning of all the tribes of the earth refers to the lamentation of the Jewish families all over the
world because of the destruction of their city and their temple and their state. The coming of the
Son of man in the clouds of heaven is not a reference to the second coming of Christ but to the
coming foretold by Jesus to Caiaphas in Matthew 26:64: 'Hereafter shall you see the Son of man
sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of Heaven.' Jesus told Caiaphas that
he would see it, he would be living witness to these event" Foy E. Wallace Jr., "The Book of
Revelation" Page 354.
"And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn." When their country was destroyed,
the Jews that were in other parts of the earth would mourn. The word translated "earth" is
"gee" and in the King James Version is translated "land" forty-one times, "ground"
eighteen times and "country" two times. "Gee" is translated land in Matthew 2:6; 2:20;
2:21; 4:15; 9:26; 11:24; 14:34; 27:45; Mark 4:1; 6:47; 6:53; 15:33; Luke 4:25; 5:3; 5:11;
5:24; 8:27; 14:35; 21:23; John 3:22; 6:21; 21:8; 21:9; 21:11; Acts 7:3; 7:4; 7:4; 7:6; 7:11;
7:29; 7:33; 7:36; 7:4013:17; 13:19; 13:19; Hebrews 8:9; 11:9; Jude 5. "Gee" is translated
"ground" in Matthew 9:29; 13:8; 13:23; 15:35; Mark 4:8; 4:20; 4:26; 8:6; 9:20; 24:35;
Luke 8:8; 8:15; 22:44; John 8:6; 8:8; 12:24; Acts 7:33. "Gee" is translated "country" in
Matthew 9:31 and Acts 7:3. Had it been translated "land" in Matthew 24:30, "And then
shall all the tribes of the land [gee] mourn" most of the confusion would not have
existed. See Zechariah 12:11-12.
"And he will send forth His angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather together
His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other" [Matthew 24:31]. Still
speaking in figurative language Jesus is saying He will send His messengers into all the
world with His Gospel and gather them to Him in His kingdom, the church. Just as there
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was not literally a "great trumpet" that was heard in Egypt and Assyria [Isaiah 27:13],
there was not literally a "great trumpet" after the fall of Jerusalem. "And they will gather
together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other," is figurative
language meaning from all over the earth, just as is "from east and west, and from north
and south" [Luke 13:29 also see Matthew 24:14]. All the saved "His elect" are now
gathered together in His kingdom, the church.
Those in the first century would understand "blood, fire, vapor and smoke" to be used
as it was in the Old Testament [Acts 2:19; Joel 2:28-32], but would never have
understood it to be referring to a nuclear war as many Millennialists apply it. Christ used
the symbolic language of the Old Testament as it was used in the Old Testament, as those
hearing Him would have understood, not something in today's newspapers. Literally, that
day was an ordinary day. The moon was not literally turned into blood, but spiritually it
was an earth shaking day. Even the Millennialists who say all scripture must be
interpreted literally do not believe the moon will ever literally be turned to blood.
THE SON OF MAN SEEN COMING IN HIS KINGDOM "Truly I say to you, there
are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they SEE THE
SON OF MAN COMING in His kingdom" [Matthew 16:28]. The parallel passage in Mark
says, "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not
taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power" [Mark 9:1].
His kingdom came in Acts 2; therefore, Christ was seen coming in His kingdom in power
and glory in A. D. 30. Christ came both in the coming of His kingdom and in judgment
on Israel, but neither one was a visible coming as the second coming that will be seen by
all, both all the living and all the dead will see Him. The problem many have when they
read Matthew 24 is that they see only His second coming and therefore must interpret
much of Matthew 24 to be speaking of the end of time. Neither His coming in His
kingdom in A. D. 30, nor His coming in judgment on Israel in A. D. 70 was the second
coming when the saved will put on immortality and forever be with Him.
COMING OF CHRIST BEFORE HIS DISCIPLES HAD GONE THROUGH THE
CITIES OF ISRAEL. Matthew 10:16-23 "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst
of wolves: be you therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men:
for they will deliver you up to councils, and in theirs synagogues they will scourge you;
and before governors and kings shall you be brought for my sake, for a testimony to them
and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what you shall
speak: for it shall be given you in that hour what you shall speak. For it is not you that
speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks in you. And brother shall deliver up
brother to death, and the father his child: and children shall rise up against parents, and
cause them to be put to death. And you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but
he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this
city, flee into the next: for verily I say unto you, You shall not have gone through the
cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come."
"After the destruction of Jerusalem seventeen hundred Jews who surrendered at Macherus
were slain, and of fugitives not less than three thousand in the woods of Jardes. Titus having
marched his army to Caesarea, he (Titus) there, with great splendor, celebrated the birthday of
his brother Domitian; and according to the barbarous manner of those times, punished many
Jews in honor of it. The number who was burnt, and who fell by fighting with wild beasts, and in
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mutual combats, exceeded two thousand five hundred." G. Holford, The Destruction of
Jerusalem.
Adam Clarke lists some that were killed at other places. "The inhabitants of Caesarea, above
20,000. At Scythopolis, above 13,000. At Ascalon, 2,500. At Ptolemais, 2,000. At Alexandria, 50,000.
At Joppa, when taken by Cestius Gallus, 8,400. In a mountain called Asamon, near Sepporis,
above 2,000. At Damascus, 10,000. In a battle with the Romans at Ascalon, 10,000. In an
ambuscade near the same place, 8,000. At Japha, 15,000. Of the Samaritans, on Mount Gerizim,
11,600. At Jotapa, 40,000. At Joppa, when taken by Vespasian, 4,200. At Tarichea, 6,500. And after
the city was taken, 1,200. At Gamala, 4,000, besides 5,000 who threw themselves down a
precipice. Of those who fled with John, of Gischala, 6,000. Of the Gadarenes, 15,000 slain,
besides countless multitudes drowned. In the village of Idumea, above 10,000 slain. At Gerasa,
1,000. At Machaerus, 1,700. In the wood of Jardes, 3,000. In the castle of Masada, 960. In Cyrene,
by Catullus the governor, 3,000. Besides these, many of every age, sex, and condition, were slain
in the war, who are not reckoned; but, of those who are reckoned, the number amounts to
upwards of 1,357,660, which would have appeared incredible, if their own historian had not so
particularly enumerated them." Clarke's Commentary on Matthew. The unknown number that
was destroyed throughout the country by pestilence, famine, earthquakes and robbers
throughout the reign both before the destruction of Jerusalem, during the destruction, and the
years after it must be added to this. Also, Adam Clarke says most of those taken captive "above
seventeen years old were distributed through the Roman provinces, to be destroyed in their
theaters by the sword, and by the wild beasts."
AFTER TITUS CAME ADRIAN
All of Israel was destroyed.
"'In the reign of Adrian,' say Bishop Newton, 'nine hundred and eighty-five of their best towns
were sacked and demolished, five hundred and eighty thousand men fell by the sword, in battle,
besides, an infinite multitude who perished by, famine, and sickness, and fire; so that Judea
was depopulated, and an almost incredible number of every age and of each sex, were sold
like horses and dispersed over the face of the earth' - (Newton, vol. I, Page xviii.) The war which
gave rise to these calamities happened about forty-four years after the destruction of Jerusalem"
G. Holford, The Destruction of Jerusalem.
"Therefore, behold, the days come, says Jehovah, that it shall no more be called
Topheth, not the Valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall
bury in Topheth, till there be no place to bury. And the dead bodies of this people shall be
food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall frighten
them away. THEN WILL I CAUSE TO CEASE FROM THE CITIES OF JUDAH, AND
FROM THE STREETS OF JERUSALEM, THE VOICE OF MIRTH AND THE VOICE
OF GLADNESS, THE VOICE OF THE BRIDEGROOM AND THE VOICE OF THE
BRIDE; FOR THE LAND SHALL BECOME A WASTE" [Jeremiah 7:32-34].
John Calvin, "For within fifty years the city was destroyed and the temple ruined, THE
WHOLE COUNTRY WAS REDUCED TO A HIDEOUS DESERT." "Commentary on a
Harmony of the Evangelist, Matthew, Mark, and Luke." All Israel, the whole nation, not just the
temple was totally destroyed, "reduced to a hideous desert."
David Chilton, "'Let Him be Crucified! Let Him be Crucified! His blood be on us, and on our
children!' the apostates had cried forty years earlier (Matthew 27:22-25); and when it was all over,
more than a million Jews had been killed in the siege of Jerusalem; close to a million more were
sold into slavery throughout the empire, and whole of Judea lay smoldering in ruins,
virtually depopulate." "The Great Tribulation" 1987, Dominion Press.
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Josephus says, "The countryside, like the city, was a pitiful sight, for where once there had
been a multitude of trees and parks, there was now an utter wilderness stripped bare of timber;
and no stranger who has seen the old Judea and the glorious suburbs of her capital, and now
beheld utter desolation, could refrain from tears or suppress a groan at so terrible a change. the
war had blotted out every trace of beauty, and no one who had known it in the past and came
upon it suddenly would have recognized the place, for though he was already there, he would
still have been looking for the city" The Jewish War.
"The Dead Sea too was filled with corpses which the river (the Jordan River) carried down to
it by the thousands" Josephus.
"And except these days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for
the elect's sake those days shall be shortened" [Matthew 24:22]. If the war had gone on it
would have reached beyond Israel unto Pella and other cities in the mountains where
many Christians were that had left Israel; but it was stopped before it reached them. "No
flesh" will be saved at the second coming. "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom
of God" [1 Corinthians 15:50]. That the days were shortened and some flesh was saved
proves this is not speaking of the second coming of Christ.
[5] HE (CHRIST) IS NIGH, EVEN AT THE DOORS: Matthew 24:32-44
"Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender,
and puts forth its leaves, you know that the summer is nigh; (33) even so you also, WHEN
YOU SEE ALL THESE THINGS, KNOW YOU THAT HE IS NIGH, EVEN AT THE
DOORS. (34) VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, THIS GENERATION SHALL NOT PASS
AWAY, TILL ALL THESE THINGS BE ACCOMPLISHED. (35) Heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (36) But of that day and hour knows
no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. (37) And as
were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. (38) For in those days
which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, (39) and they knew not until the
flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man. (40) Then
shall two men be in the field; one is taken, and one is left; (41) two women shall be
grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left. (42) Watch; therefore: for you know not
on what day your Lord comes. (43) But know this that if the master of the house had
known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have
suffered his house to broken through. (44) Therefore be you also ready; for in an hour
that you think not the Son of man comes." This makes it clear that all Jesus had said
before this applies to the destruction of Jerusalem and not to His second coming for "this
generation" has long ago passed away. "ALL THESE THINGS" are the things He has just
told them. When they saw the signs coming to pass, they know that the end of the temple
and Israel was at hand. Although we are to watch and always be ready, we are not given
any signs as they were that we can see and know that His coming is soon, not even that it
will be in our lifetime or in the next thousand or ten thousand years. Commentaries on
verses 35-44 are divided on whether this is speaking of the coming of Christ in judgment
on Israel or His second coming. It seems unlikely to me that He would have changed
from speaking of judgment on Israel in verse 34, then His second coming in verse 35, and
back to judgment on Israel in verse 40 with nothing to show He changed. He was
speaking to His disciples at this time [Matthew 24:1], and telling them they were to watch
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for the signs He gave them of His coming in judgment on Israel. We are given no signs to
watch for but are always to be ready for His second coming.
"ALL THESE THINGS" Is things before 70 A. D., not at the second coming of Jesus.
Luke says, "But when THESE THINGS begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your
heads; because your redemption draws nigh" [Luke 21:38]. This redemption draws nigh
to those of that generation. It was a redemption from the persecution of the Jews. "This
generation shall not pass away, till ALL THINGS be accomplished" Luke 21:32. Not the
redemption of the U. S. from Russia or any other redemption today.
• "But before all THESE THINGS, they shall lay hands on you, and shall persecute
you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons" Luke 21:12.
• "This generation shall not pass away, till ALL THINGS be accomplished" Luke
21:32, Matthew 24:34.
• "As for THESE THINGS which you behold (The temple and how it was adorned)
the days will come, in which there shall not be left here one stone upon another,
that shall not be thrown down" Luke 21:5.
• "When therefore shall THESE THINGS be?" (Not one stone upon another) Luke
21:7.
• "And what shall be the sign when THESE THINGS are about to come to pass?"
Luke 21:7.
• "And when you shall hear of wars and tumults, be not terrified: for THESE
THINGS must needs come to pass first; but the end is not immediately" Luke
21:9.
• "But when THESE THINGS begin to come to pass" Luke 21:28.
• "Even so you also, when you see THESE THINGS coming to pass" Luke 21:31.
• "But watch you at every season, making supplication, that you may prevail to
escape all THESE THINGS that shall come to pass" Luke 21:36.
Matthew 24:34 is a key to understanding all that came to pass before it, all that has
been said up to this point must come before "this generation" would pass away. Not at
the second coming of Jesus at the end of the world. A generation is about 40 years. It is
the same "generation" spoken of in Matthew 23:36.
Matthew 24:35 "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass
away." He had assured them that the end of Jerusalem was coming, now He assured them
that His word would come to pass, that the heavens would end and the earth would pass
away but not His word; the end of Jerusalem was sure. He was speaking of the end of the
Jewish heavens and earth, the end of their nation, not the end of the world. They did not
know the season when the end would come but was told to pray that it be not in the
winter season, nor did they know the day but were told to pray that it not be on a Sabbath
Day. "But watch you at every season, making supplication, THAT YOU MAY PREVAIL
TO ESCAPE ALL THESE THINGS THAT SHALL COME TO PASS, and to stand before
the Son of man" [Luke 21:36; Matthew 24:42-44; Mark 13:35-37]. The Christians did
watch and did escape all these things, all the things He has just warned them about what
was coming to Israel; but no one will escape the judgment to come.
Just as Noah warned of the destruction of the world but did not give the exact time
and all went on with their lives and did not pay attention to the warning, the warning of
Christ were not heeded by the Jews and the end came when they were not looking for it.
As in the flood only the evil was destroyed and the righteous saved, the unbelieving Jews
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were destroyed and the believers were saved; "two men in the field; one will be taken,
and one will be left." The righteous would be left.
JOSEPHUS, the Jewish first century historian, recorded concerning the year 70, "Thus were
the miserable people persuaded by these deceivers, and such as belied God himself; while they
did not attend, nor give credit to the signs that were so evident and did so plainly foretell their
future desolation; but, like men infatuated, without either eyes to see, or minds to consider, did
not regard the denunciations that God made to them."
JOHN LIGHTFOOT (1859) "This generation shall not pass. Hence, it appears plain enough
that the foregoing verses are not to be understood of the last judgment but, as we said, of the
destruction of Jerusalem." (A Commentary of The New Testament, Volume 2, Page 320).
JOHN WESLEY (1754) "This generation of men now living shall not pass till all these things be
done - The expression implies that great part of that generation would be passed away, but not
the whole. Just so it was; for the city and temple were destroyed thirty-nine or forty years after."
MATTHEW HENRY "As to these things, the wars, seductions, and persecutions, here foretold,
and especially of the ruin of the Jewish nation; 'This generation shall not pass away, till all these
things be fulfilled (Mt 24:34); there are those now alive that shall see Jerusalem destroyed, AND
THE JEWISH CHURCH BROUGHT TO AN END." One Volume Commentary on the Whole Bible.
JAMES D. BALES "And the destruction of the whole Jewish economy was the fulfillment of the
rest of it (Joel's prophecy of the last days Acts 2:16-21). If there was one thing the Jew felt sure of
it was that Jerusalem was the favored city of God and that its future supremacy among the
nations was as certain to come as the sunrise. Its sacrifices would always be acceptable offered on
the altars by the sons of Levi. Now we see the national life of Israel forever ended; the temple
forever closed; the sacrifices become useless; the priesthood forgotten; and Israel no more to
God than any other nation...If you could think of a pious Jew having gone to sleep three years
before Christ was crucified and then wakened in a few years after the destruction of Jerusalem,
what an utter bewilderment he would have! All that he supposed to be permanent was gone, and
in place of it a company of men preaching God's love to all men, worshiping in all places, and
claiming earthly dominion in none. He would well say this in indeed what Joel said to us" The
Hub Of The Bible Or Acts Two Analyzed, Page 70, 1960.
[6] ISRAEL THE UNFAITHFUL SERVANT
Matthew 24:45-51
"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household,
to give them their food in due season? (46) Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when
he comes shall find so doing. (47) Verily I say unto you, that he will set him over all that
he has. (48) But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord terries; (49) and shall
begin to beat his fellow-servants, and shall eat and drink with the drunken; (50) the lord
of that servant shall come in a day when he expects not, and in an hour when he knows
not, (51) and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites: there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Like all parables, all that are in them are not to
be taken literally. They teach a lesson which is the main point of the parable. The point of
this one is that Israel had been unfaithful and a judgment was coming.
[7] UNPROFITABLE SERVANT - OUTER DARKNESS
Matthew 25:30; 8:12; 22:13
IT WAS THE "UNPROFITABLE SERVANT" AND "SONS OF THE KINGDOM"
THAT WERE CAST INTO OUTER DARKNESS, NOT THE ONES WHO NEVER
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BELIEVED, NOT THE LOST FOR THEY WERE NEVER IN THE KINGDOM. The
Jews who rejected Christ were cast out of the light, no longer to be God's chosen people,
into the darkness of the world without the light of God's revelation. Christ said many [the
Gentiles] shall "came from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and
Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast
forth into outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth." This
says nothing about there being outer darkness in Hell. Fire and darkness do not go
together. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets, and stones them that are sent
unto her! How often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers
her own brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is left unto you
desolate" [Luke 13:33-34]. Their house without God in it is darkness. God and His light
is now in the Church.
[8] THE WRATH IS COME UPON THEM TO THE UTTERMOST
"And all the people answered and said, His blood be on us and on our children!"
[Matthew 27:25]. "For you also suffered the same things of your own countrymen, even
as they did of the Jews; who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove out
us, and please not God, and are contrary to all men; forbidding us to speak to the
Gentiles that they may be saved; to fill up their sins always: BUT THE WRATH IS
COME UPON THEM TO THE UTTERMOST" [1 Thessalonians 2:14-16]. This was
written about A. D. 53, just a few years before the destruction of the nation of Israel in A.
D. 70.
[9] MORE TOLERABLE
Christ spoke of the Day of Judgment for lands or cities. More tolerable for Sodom and
Gomorrah than for the cities that did not receive those He sent out [Matthew 10:14-15,
Mark 6:11, Luke 10:10-12]. More tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for Chorazin,
Bethsaida, and Capernaum [Matthew 11:21-24, Luke 10:10-12]. WHEN ARE CITIES
AND NATIONS JUDGED? WHEN IS THEIR DAY OF JUDGMENT TO BE? "And
you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You shall descend to Hades"
[Matthew 11:23]. It was a great city but would go down to hades-the grave. Today, there
are only a few ruins of Capernaum. They went from greatness (exalted to heaven) to nonexistence
(hades-the grave). Individuals, not nations and cities will be judged at the
judgment at the second coming of Christ. Matthew 24 is of the judgment of Jerusalem
[Matthew 23:36-38]. ALL THESE CITIES HAVE HAD A DAY OF JUDGMENT AND
WERE BROUGHT DOWN TO THE GRAVE. THE DAY OF JUDGMENT FOR
THEM IS PAST. The destruction of Sodom was quick and soon over. The destruction of
Jerusalem, which saw and rejected Christ was long and drawn out with much more
suffering, therefore, much less tolerable. The Day of Judgment for a city or a nation is the
time when God will cause it to be destroyed. The Old Testament is full of God's
judgment of cities and nations. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CITIES THAT
REJECTED CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES WERE WORSE (Matthew 24:21) THAN
THE DESTRUCTION OF THOSE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. "These twelve Jesus
sent out after instructing them, saying, Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not
enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And
as you go, preach, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand...And as you enter the house,
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give it your greeting. And if the house is worthy, let your greeting of peace come upon it;
but if it is not worthy, let your greeting of peace return to you. And whoever does not
receive you, not heed your word, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the
dust of your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and
Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment, than for that city. Behold, I send you out as sheep in
the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves. But, beware
of men; for they will deliver you up to the courts, and scourge you in their synagogues;
and you shall even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to
them and to the Gentiles. But, when they deliver you up, do not become anxious about
how or what you will speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak;
for it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. And
brother will deliver up brother to death, and father his child; and children will rise up
against parents, and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all on
account of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. But
whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, YOU
SHALL NOT FINISH GOING THROUGH THE CITES OF ISRAEL, UNTIL THE
SON OF MAN COMES" [Matthew 10:5-23]. He did come in a judgment on these cities
and though all were destroyed, the destruction of Old Testament cities was much less
terrible than was the destruction of Israel and her cities. Christ coming in judgment on a
city or nation in the Old Testament or the New Testament is not the second coming of
Christ when the saved will put on immortality.
[10] DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM
Luke 23:27-31
When Jesus was being led to be crucified "there followed him a great multitude of the
people, and of whom men who bewailed and lamented him. But, Jesus turning unto them
said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your
children. For behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, blessed are the
barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the breasts that never give suck. Then shall
they begin to say to the mountains, fall on us; and the hills, Cover us. For if they do these
things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" Even at the time of His death the
sufferings and the great tribulation that were coming to Israel was on His mind. See
Hosea 19:7-8 where they cry to the mountains to cover them in the destruction of
Samaria, which is an Old Testament expression of wanting to escape destruction.
[11] "YOUR HOUSE IS LEFT UNTO YOU DESOLATE"
Matthew 23:38; Luke 13:35
God left the temple. "And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to
bottom" [Matthew 27:51]. As it is sometimes said today when an entertainer has
finished, "God has left the building." After they put to death their saver, God gives them
forty years to repent, but the book of Acts is a history of the "generation of vipers"
persecuting and putting to death those who God sent to save them. They brought upon
themselves retribution of such severity that it was as if they had killed all the prophets
God had sent to turn Israel from their sin [Matthew 23:34-35].
IS MATTHEW 24:36 A "TRANSITION TEXT?"
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Many think Matthew 24:36 is the "time text" or "transition text" where Jesus changes
from the destruction of Israel to the second coming at the end of the world. Luke gives
this view a problem. In his discourse to the disciples a few days before His discourse at
Jerusalem, Luke put both the "two women" [Luke 17:35-36] and "as it was in the days of
Noah" [Luke 17:26-27] before this "time text" [Luke 17:37]. If this were the "transition
text" Matthew put both after the "transition text" and Luke put both before Matthew
24:27, "Where the body is there will the eagles also be gathered together" [Luke 17:37].
"Where so ever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together" [Matthew
24:28].. Luke also used "that day" in reference to the destruction of Israel, not of the
second coming [Luke 17:31, Matthew 24:17].
Luke 17:11 "On the way to Jerusalem." - Matthew 24:1 After they were leaving.
• "Him that is on the housetop" [Luke 17:31; Matthew 24:17]
• "Lo, here is the Christ" [Luke 17:23; Matthew 24:23]
• "As the lightning comes from the east" [Luke 17:24; Matthew 24:17]
• "The days of Noah" [Luke 17:26; Matthew 24:37]
• “Two men be in the field" [Luke 17:36; Matthew 24:40]
• "Where the carcass is there will the eagles be" [Luke 17:37; Matthew 24:28]
• "Two woman shall be grinding" [Luke 17:35; Matthew 24:41]
o The wrongly called "transition text" Matthew 24:36 not being in Luke
makes it clear that no transition from the destruction of Israel to the
second coming of Christ for Luke’s readers would have had no way to
know Christ made a transition.
• “For this reason YOU be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour
when YOU do not think he will” [Matthew 24:44]
"The coming of the Son of man" both before and after the "Transition Text"
1. BEFORE - "So shall be the coming of the Son of man" Matthew 24:27
2. BETWEEN THEM - the falsely called "Transition Text" Matthew 24:36
3. AFTER - "So shall be the coming of the Son of man" Matthew 24:37
BOTH are identical statements in the same discourse separated by only a few verses.
How are we to understand one to be in A. D. 70 and the other one in the same discourse
to be speaking of an event thousands of years later?
1. BEFORE - The lightning seen in the East and the West BEFORE the transition
text [Matthew 24:27].
2. BETWEEN THEM - the falsely called "Transition Text" Matthew 24:36
3. AFTER - Eating drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage AFTER the
transition text [Matthew 24:37].
"But of that day and hour É÷ÉÏÉø, here, is translated season by many eminent
critics, and is used in this sense by both sacred and profane authors. As the day
was not known, in which Jerusalem should be invested by the Romans, therefore
our Lord advised his disciples to pray that it might not be on a Sabbath; and as the
season was not known, therefore they were to pray that it might not be in the
winter; Matthew 24:20." Adam Clarke, Commentary on Matthew 25:36.
SUMMARY:
• Christ came when He set up His kingdom [Matthew 16:28; Mark 9:1] on the day
of Pentecost [Acts 2].
• Christ came in judgment on Israel in A. D. 70.
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• But, neither of these is His coming in person at the end of this age [1
Thessalonians 3:13-18].
• The destruction of the temple put an end to the worship of Israel, the destruction
of their genealogical records put an end to their identity and an end to their
existence as a nation.
THE A. D. 70 DOCTRINES
The A. D. 70 doctrine that all the passages, which speak of the second coming, were
fulfilled in A. D. 70, also called Preterit Eschatology, Realized Eschatology, Fulfilled
Eschatology, Covenant Eschatology.
FOUR POINTS THAT MUST BE PROVEN FOR THE A. D. 70 DOCTRINES TO
BE TRUE.
[1] That the Law and the Jewish age did not end unto 40 years after the death of Christ.
That the Old Covenant and the New Covenant over lapped for 40 years.
[2] That anyone was resurrected from the dead in A. D. 70.
[3] That the resurrection is passed and all the saved go to Heaven at the moment of death.
[4] That there will be no judgment day for the lost after the judgment they say took place
in A. D. 70.
WAS A. D. 70 THE SECOND AND FINAL COMING OF CHRIST? OR IS THE
SECOND COMING OF CHRIST AND THE JUDGMENT OF ALL YET TO COME?
1. According to Realized Eschatology the second coming of Christ was an
invisible coming in A. D. 70, and He will not come again. There will be no
resurrection and judgment day to come for all at the coming of Christ.
2. According to Realized Eschatology the resurrection was when all the Old
Testament saints were resurrected in A. D. 70. The "judgment day" was when
the Jewish age ended in A. D. 70.
3. According to Realized Eschatology after A. D. 70 all that die in Christ go to
their eternal reward at the moment of death.
4. According to Realized Eschatology the Great Commission given in Matthew
28:18-19 has been completely fulfilled therefore, it is not for us today.
5. According to Realized Eschatology the old heavens and earth have passed
away, and the new heavens and earth are now here.
6. According to Realized Eschatology all the New Testament was written
before A. D. 70, and there is no revelation about anything that will happen
after A. D. 70; therefore, there is no revelation about when or even if the
earth will ever end. They must deny the vast amount of evident that much of
the New Testament (including Peter's letters and Revelation) was written
after A. D. 70 for if just one book was written after that date the Preterit
Eschatology could not be true. Early writers, Eusebius, Irenaeus, Clement,
Origin, and others say Revelation was written in the reign of Domitian.
7. According to Realized Eschatology the Great Tribulation and Armageddon
are both past.
8. According to Realized Eschatology death and hades were thrown into the
lake of fire in A. D. 70.
9. According to Realized Eschatology Satan has been put in the lake of fire.
Max King, "The Spirit of Prophecy," Page 356, 1971.
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o Their teaching is that in A. D. 70 Jesus moved all the righteous dead to
Heaven and cast the Devil and his angels, and the wicked dead into the
Lake of Fire. If Satin were cast into the Lake of Fire which is the second
death, where does evil and temptations come from today?
10. According to Realized Eschatology all prophecy, including all of the Book of
Revelation, has been fulfilled.
11. According to Realized Eschatology all New Testament writer believed that
the coming of Christ was to be in their lifetime.
What the early non-inspired writers said about “the last days” and the second coming
of Christ a few years after A. D. 70; from Florida College Annual Lectures, Almon L.
Williams, 1986, page 217.
• Isnatius: "These are the last times"
• Barnabas: "Wherefore let us take heed in these last days"
• Clement: "Herein He speaks of the day of this appearing, when He shall come and redeem
us, each man according to his works. And the unbelievers shall see His glory and His might:
and they shall be amazed"
• Clement: "But you know that the day of judgment comes even now as a burning oven, and
the powers of the heaven shall melt, and the earth as lead melting on the fire, and than shall
appear the secret and open works of man"
• Polycarp: "Now He that raised Him from the dead will raise up also...Whoever shall pervert
the oracles of the Lord to his own lusts and say there is neither resurrection nor judgment,
that man is first-born of Satan"
There was revelation given in the Old Testament on the establishment of the kingdom
[Micah 4:1] and the resurrection of Christ was given in types and shadows as Moses
lifting up the serpent in the wilderness [John 3:14]; which few if any understood, but the
doctrine of the resurrection, life, and immortality, which Christ taught, were new. The
words, resurrection, immortal, and immortality are not in the Old Testament in the King
James Version or the American Standard Version. The resurrection was new to the
heathen world, which believed in an immortal soul that had no need for a resurrection.
The first coming of Christ, His suffering and rejection, His death and resurrection were
told about in the Old Testament; but there is noting about His second coming in it; the
second coming of Christ, the resurrection, the judgment of all at His second coming and
the promise of life after death in Heaven was new to the New Testament.
THE NEW TESTAMENT CLEARLY TEACHES THAT THE SECOND
COMING, THE RESURRECTION OF ALL, AND THE JUDGMENT OF ALL
HAVE NOT CAME. All the lost will awake from the dead and the saved will awake to
eternal life at the same time. IT WILL BE A RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD, NOT
AS REALIZED ESCHATOLOGY TEACHES, DEATH IS ONLY A CHANGE FROM
ONE KIND OF LIFE TO ANOTHER KIND OF LIFE, WHICH WOULD NOT BE A
RESURRECTION AND WOULD MAKE A RESURRECTION IMPOSSIBLE.
“For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God” (Romans 14:10).
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be
recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or
bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
“He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as
it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having
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been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, apart from sin, to
them that wait for him, unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:26-28).
“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no
longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury
of a fire which will consume the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26-27).
“But the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up
for fire, being reserved against the DAY OF JUDGMENT and destruction of ungodly
men” (2 Peter 3:7).
John 5:28-29: "For an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear
His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life,
those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment." ALL, both the good
and the evil will BE RESURRECTED FROM THE DEAD IN THE SAME HOUR, NOT
SOME OVER TWO THOUSAND YEARS APART FROM A. D. 70 TO NOW AND
STILL COUNTING; AND NOT CHANGED FROM ONE FORM OF LIFE TO
ANTHER FORM OF LIFE IMMEDIATELY AFTER DEATH WITHOUT A
RESURRECTION.
Philippians 3:20-21: "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly
wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state
into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even
to subject all things to Himself." Our body being transformed into conformity with His
body is at His coming from Heaven, not at our death. Christ does not come from Heaven
ever time a person dies. That there will be a resurrection and judgment of all at the
second coming of Christ is discussed throughout this book and in the review below.
A REVIEW OF "THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD"
By Samuel Dawson
A web page in which he attempts to prove from 1 Corinthians 15 that the Old
Testament does teach that the dead in Christ will be resurrected, and that this
resurrection was in A. D. 70.
Dawson says, "I think West inadvertently gives the Old Testament's teaching of the subject short
shrift. You can be a good guy and do that because I've done exactly the same thing." Below is an
examination of how he thinks I give the Old Testament teaching of the resurrection short
shrift.
Some point to restoring of the nation of Israel as a nation as being a resurrection, but
the restoring or resurrection of Israel as a nation after it had gone into captivity, which
happen many times in the Old Testament, is not the resurrection of the New Testament. It
is not the resurrecting of a person to eternal life or immortality. Not even the resurrection
of a nation to immortality or to eternal life. IT IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO BEING THE
RESURRECTION TAUGHT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. "Behold, I will cause breath
to enter you that you may come to life" [Ezekiel 37:5] is speaking of a nation being
restored as a nation, the people that were alive but in captivity being restored to their land
and coming to life as a nation, this is not the resurrection of a single person that was
dead; there is nothing in it about anyone or any nation being given immortality. THE
RESURRECTION TAUGHT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT IS NOT THE
RESURRECTION OF A NATION (RESTORING THAT NATION ONLY FOR A
SHORT TIME) BUT IS THE RESURRECTION OF INDIVIDUALS TO ETERNAL
LIFE AND THERE IS NOTHING LIKE IT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. There is
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nothing in 1 Corinthians 15, or any of the New Testament about the resurrection of
"fleshly bodies" at the coming of Christ. No one put on immortality in A. D. 70, and no
one's corruptible (fleshly) bodies were changed to incorruption, and all that were living in
A. D. 70 died; death was not "swallowed up in victory" [1 Corinthians 15:54], as it will
be at the coming of Christ. IF PAUL WERE NOT SPEAKING OF A RESURRECTION
THAT WILL COME AFTER THIS LIFETIME, THEN WHEN HE SAID, "THEN
THEY ALSO THAT ARE FALLEN ASLEEP IN CHRIST HAVE PERISHED" THEY
HAD PERISHED (depicting a process that had pass before Paul wrote this, not "an on
going process." They had perished - died before he wrote, not were perishing - dying at
the time he wrote) [1 Corinthians 15:18]; he was speaking of some that had died past
tense that were dead present tense in about A. D. 57, but still would be raised, future
tense, with a spiritual body at the coming of Christ. PAUL WAS NOT SPEAKING OF A
RESURRECTION THAT HAD PASSED OR THAT WAS TAKING PLACE AT THAT
TIME, BUT OF THE RESURRECTION TO LIFE AND IMMORTALITY THAT WILL
NOT TAKE PLACE UNTO THE COMING OF CHRIST. At the coming of Christ, (1)
all the saved that have died ("fallen asleep") "the dead in Christ shall rise" (2) and the
living saints will be changed and both at the same time shall be caught up to meet the
Lord in the air and shall "ever be with the Lord" [1 Thessalonians 3:14-17]; this did not
happen in A. D. 70, and those who are fallen asleep are not yet with Christ. PAUL SAYS
THE RESURRECTION OF THOSE WHO ARE ASLEEP IN CHRIST, AND PUTTING
ON IMMORTALITY BY THOSE WHO ARE LIVING WILL BOTH BE AT THE
SAME MOMENT, BOTH IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE. REALIZED
ESCHATOLOGY SAYS, "NOT SO PAUL, THE RESURRECTION OF THE OLD
TESTAMENT SAINT WAS IN A. D. 70, BUT THERE WILL BE NO
RESURRECTION FOR US AS WE WILL BE CHANGED AT THE MOMENT OF
DEATH, BOTH ARE NOT IN THE SAME MOMENT." IF ALL WERE
TRANSFORMED (RECEIVES A "SPIRITUAL BODY" IN WHICH THEY WILL
DWELL IN IMMEDIATELY AND ETERNALLY AT THE MOMENT OF
DEATH) NOTHING IS RESURRECTED; THERE WOULD BE NO
RESURRECTION FOR ANYONE AFTER A. D. 70. ACCORDING TO THEM,
THE ONLY RESURRECTION DAY IN THE BIBLE WAS AT A. D. 70 AND IT IS
PASSED. THERE WILL BE NO RESURRECTION AND JUDGMENT DAY FOR
ANYONE. "Faithful is the saying: For if we died with him, we shall also live with
him...Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who concerning the truth have erred, saying the
resurrection is past already" [2 Timothy 10-19]. ISRAEL WAS NOT DELIVERED IN
A. D. 70, BUT WAS JUDGED AND DESTROYED. THERE IS NOTHING IN 1
CORINTHIANS 15, MATTHEW 24, OR ANY PASSAGE ABOUT ISRAEL BEING
RESURRECTED OR RESTORED IN A. D. 70.
On page 6 he says, "Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to
life" Ezekiel 37 refers to the death of Israel, then says, "West is absolutely right that the
word 'resurrection' isn't there, but what word should we call the process whereby Israel
was dead, and God's purpose was to bring them to life." He needs to see that when the
Old Testament speaks of restoring or resurrecting a nation to life as a nation that would
die again, it is not speaking of the resurrection to eternal life of even a resurrection to
eternal life of one dead person. Not one dead person was restored to life and given
immortality. There is no promise that anyone would ever be given immortality in Ezekiel
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37 or the Old Testament. ISRAEL WAS RESURRECTED OR RESTORED AS A
NATION FOR A TIME BUT SOON DEID AGAIN (WENT INTO CAPTIVITY), IT
WAS NOT GIVEN IMMORTALITY. No nation, not even Israel, will ever be given
immortality; but the saved individuals of all nations will at the resurrection. HOW CAN
HE NOT SEE THAT THE RESURRECTION OR RESTORING OF ISRAEL AS A
NATION FOR ONLY A SHORT TIME IN EZEKIEL 37 IS NOTHING LIKE THE
RESURRECTION OF INDIVIDUALS TO IMMORTALITY PAUL WAS
SPEAKING OF IN 1 CORINTHIANS 15? When Israel was restored as a nation after
the seventy-year captivity in Daniel, it was not even the same individuals in "the
resurrection" of the nation that was in Israel before the captivity from which the nation
was resurrected. One group of Jews went into the captivity and Israel died as a nation,
another group of Jews came out of the captivity and Israel were restored or resurrected as
a nation; not one dead Jew was resurrected. The many restorations of Israel as a nation
from captivity in the Old Testament, which was one hundred percent physical earthly
restoring of a nation, is not the resurrection to eternal life for those who are in Christ,
NOT THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD in 1 Corinthians 15. NOT ONE DEAD
PERSON WAS RESURRECTED TO ETERNAL LIFE IN ANY OF THE
RESURRECTIONS OR RESTORING OF ISRAEL AS A NATION; THERE IS
NOTHING SAID IN ANY OF ISRAEL'S RESURRECTION AS A NATION
ABOUT ANY PERSON EVER BEING GIVEN IMMORTALITY.
Page 89: "'We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed.' Here's a time statement.
When Paul said, 'We shall not all sleep,' he affirmed that not all of those in Corinth were
going to die physically before the resurrection happened" Samuel G. Dawson. IF PAUL
WERE SAYING NOT ALL WOULD DIE PHYSICALLY BEFORE THE
RESURRECTION HAPPENED IN A. D. 70, THEN HE WAS ALSO SAYING ALL
THOSE IN CORINTH AND ALL LIVING CHRISTIANS WOULD BE CHANGED
FROM PHYSICAL BODIES TO SPIRITUAL BODIES WHEN THE RESURRECTION
DID HAPPEN IN A. D. 70. NOT ONE LIVING CHRISTIANS WAS CHANGED
FROM PHYSICAL BODIES TO SPIRITUAL BODIES AT THAT TIME; BOTH
CHRISTIANS AND NON CHRISTIANS STILL HAD PHYSICAL BODIES AFTER A.
D. 70 JUST AS THEY DID BEFORE IT, AND ALL STILL HAVE PHYSICAL
BODIES TODAY; ALL STILL DIE, THEREFORE, DEATH HAS NOT YET BEEN
DESTOYED [1 Corinthians 15:54-57]. THIS TEACHING WOULD HAVE MADE THE
CHURCH ON EARTH GO OUT OF EXISTENCE ON EARTH IN A. D. 70 FOR ALL
LIVING CHRISTIANS WOULD HAVE BEEN “CHANGED” FROM PHYSICAL
BODIES TO “SPIRITUAL BODIES” IN A MOMENT [1Corinthians 15:50-55]; AT
THE SAME TIME THAT THOSE WHO ARE “FALLEN ASLEEP” ARE REISED,
ALL THE LIVING CHRISTIANS “SHALL TOGETHER WITH THEM BE CAUGHT UP
IN THE CLOUSDS, TO MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR: AND SO SHALL WE EVER BE
WITH THE LORD” [1 Thessalonians 4:13-17]. NO ONE WILL HAVE THE
SPIRITUAL BODY BEFORE THE RESURRECTION. Read this "time statement" in the
context, "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed,
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. But, when
this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
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immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in
victory" [1 Corinthians 15:51-53]. The "time" is when "the trumpet shall sound." At the
sound of the trumpet, "the dead shall be raised incorruptible" AND "we shall be
changed," BOTH THE LIVING AND THE DEAD IN THE SAME MOMENT,
BOTH THE LIVING AND THE DEAD IN THE SAME TWINKLING OF AN
EYE, BOTH THE LIVING AND THE DEAD AT THE SOUND OF THE SAME
TRUMPET. ALL LIVING CHRISTIANS WILL BE CHANGED FROM
PHYSICAL BODIES TO SPIRITUAL BODIES IN THE SAME MOMENT THE
DEAD ARE RESURRECTED WITH SPIRITUAL BODIES. If this had happened in
A. D. 70, there would have been no Christians for the Romans to put to death. He
changed, "and we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trump" to "not all of those in Corinth were going to die physically before the resurrection
happened" and nothing will happen to them in A. D. 70, nothing will happen to them at
the time of the resurrection, nothing in the same moment. If I understand him, he says the
living Christians in Corinth were not going to be changed in the same moment but each
one changed in a different moment, each one at the moment of their death, which for
most of them would not be in A. D. 70; and each Christian is changed to a spiritual body
at a different moment than all other Christians. On page 57 he again changed "we shall
all be changed in a moment" to the Old Covenant faithful being taken from the unseen
Hadean state into the presence of Christ in the twinkling of an eye. It seems that Paul's
"we" must be changed to "them." "Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but
we (them?) shall all (only all of "them," not "we" that are living) be changed in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump" [1 Corinthians 15:51]. Does he
think the first "we" is us but the second "we" them? If the first "we" is "them," some of
the "them" did not all sleep, then some of the Old Covenant faithful (those who were
faithful to the Law before the death of Christ) was alive in when Paul was writing this in
A. D. 67 or 68, alive before A. D. 70.
"We that are alive." It is believed that Paul was put to death in about A. D. 67 or 68. If
Christ did come in A. D. 70, Paul was not in the "we that are alive" at His coming. "We
that are alive." is the faithful who will be alive when “the trumpet shall sound and the
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” [1 Corinthians 15:52].
"But, some one will ask, how are the dead raised? And with what manner of body do
they come" [1 Corinthians 15:35]. Paul was reassuring the Corinthians that the
Corinthians that had "fallen asleep in Christ" had not perished, that their hope of the
resurrection did not depend on them being alive at the time of the resurrection [1
Corinthians 15:18-19]. Dawson says, "Who were these 'dead ones?' They were the same
Old Covenant dead ones Paul discussed throughout the chapter." HE SAYS, "WHEN WE
CHANGE WHO THE 'WE' WAS, WE TOTALLY MISS THE TIME ELEMENT IN
PAUL'S TEACHING." THEN HE CHANGED THE "WE" FROM "WE" TO "THEM";
HE CHANGES FROM THE ONES PAUL WAS WRITING TO AT CORINTH ABOUT
THOSE IN CORINTH WHO HAD FALLEN ASLEEP "IN CHRIST" TO THOSE WHO
HAD BEEN DEAD FOR MANY YEARS; HE CHANGED THE "WE" TO ABRAHAM
AND ALL THE OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS. He "totally miss the time element in
Paul's teaching" by changing the "we" from those who were alive at the time Paul was
writing to "them," to those who had been dead for many years The "dead ones" are the
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Corinthians that had fallen asleep in Christ after they were baptized into Christ, not Old
Testament saints who are not even mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15.
On pages 85 -88 he attempts to make the "natural body" be Old Testament Israel and
the "spiritual body" be the new Israel; when he makes Israel be the "natural body" and
the church be the "spiritual body," he takes the resurrection of the dead out of I
Corinthians 15. In about A. D. 57, 13 years before A. D. 70, he has the old Israel "being
sown a natural body, it is being raised a spiritual body (He added “being,” Paul said, “it is
raised a spiritual body” but he changed it to, “it is being raised a spiritual body"). Paul
said, "And as WE HAVE borne the image of the earthly (Adam, 15:45 a natural or
earthly corruptible body), WE SHALL also bear the image of the heavenly (Christ, a
spiritual incorruptible body)" [1 Corinthians 15:49]. He changes the "we have borne" to
"is being sown" and "we shall also bear the image" to "is being raised." Then changes
"we" (those Paul was writing to) to "it" (Israel), changes the “we” to a nation. Can
anyone tell me how he get the nation of Israel out of “we”?
On page 77 he says, "Literally, Paul asked, 'How are the dead ones being raised?'" 1
Corinthians 15 was written about 13 years before A. D. 70, - 13 years before he says
Christ came, 13 years before he says the Old Covenant saints were raised he has Paul
asking, "How are the dead ones being raised?" Did he forget that he had used "then they
that are Christ's at His coming" and applied it to the resurrection of the Old Covenant
faithful? Did he forget that he had applied, "Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all
sleep, but we (them-Old Testament saints-Dawson) shall all (them-Old Testament saints-
Dawson) be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump" [1
Corinthians 15:51]. Yet, he has them being raised 13 years before the moment, before the
twinkling of an eye. On page 85 he says, "Literally, it is 'it is being sown a natural body,
it is being raised a spiritual body'" Is he is not saying Old Covenant saints were being
sown with a natural body and being raised with a spiritual body about 13 years before he
says Christ came a second time, about 13 years before he says the resurrection occurred.
Does he really believe Old Covenant saints were alive and being sown with a natural
body in about A. D. 57 when Paul was writing this? "Presently 'is being raised'" is used
on page 91 and throughout the 110 pages. He puts "is being raised" in quotation marks.
Paul said, "Shall be raised incorruptible" [1 Corinthians 15:52]. "Presently 'is being
raised'" is in no translation but his and then it puts the resurrection as taking place 13
years to soon for the Realized Eschatology view that the resurrection took place in A. D.
70.
On page 99 he quarts Christ saying 6 times of those who believe Him, "I will raise
him up at the last day" [John 6:39; 640; 6:44; 6:54; 11:24; 12:48]. Which one does he
believe? That the Old Testament faithful was being raised in A. D. 57 when Paul wrote 1
Corinthians or "at the last day" which he says was in A. D. 70? Christ is saying this to
ALL THAT BELIEVED HIM, not just to the Jews that believe Him. Dawson says the
Old Covenant had a last day but the New Covenant will not have a last day. Christ was
not speaking of the last day of the Old or the New Covenant. He was speaking of the last
day of the earth, "The day of the Lord" spoken of in 2 Peter 3:10 (see "The Day Of The
Lord" below). Both John and Revelation (and other New Testament books) were written
after A. D. 70.
1 Corinthians 15:45-49: On page 87 he changes the "natural" and "spiritual" to the
Old Testament faithful being changed "from natural to spiritual as the result of the
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gospel" and this is in about A. D. 57 when Paul said this, before A. D. 70, which he says
is when the second coming of Christ was, and before when he says the resurrection of the
Old Testament faithful ones did take place. How he could think that "the first man Adam
became a living soul" is speaking of the Old Testament faithful is beyond my
understanding. There is nothing in this passage or any place in the Bible about Adam
being the Old Testament Israel. "Then the Lord God formed man (Adam) of the dust from
the ground, and breathed into his (Adam) nostrils the breath of life; and man (Adam)
became a living soul" [Genesis 2:7]. Adam was the first man, not the nation of Israel;
THERE WAS NO NATION OF ISRAEL WHEN ADAM “BECAME A LIVING SOUL,”
NOT FOR HUNDARDS OF YEARS AFTER. Adam was the natural man made "of the
earth," he was not Israel. Both Adam and Christ (when He was on earth) were "a man,"
Israel was a nation. Christ is (present tense) "the second man is of heaven" [1 Corinthians
15:47]. By pointing out that this is present tense, he is saying that "the second man is of
heaven" cannot be Christ, that the "second man" of heaven is the Old Testament faithful
ones. If this is not what he is saying, then I cannot understand what he is saying; is he not
saying that Christ is not of heaven, present tense in A. D. 57; is he not saying the Old
Testament faithful ones was "the second man of heaven" 13 years before their
resurrection in A. D. 70? This seems to me to be nothing more than a desperate attempt to
make the resurrection be passed even if he has to use something that was, present tense,
13 years to soon for it to be speaking of something that was to be, future tense, in A. D.
70.
On page 92 and others pages, it seems to me that he basis his whole argument on all
that believes the resurrection is yet to come must also believe the resurrection is to
be "a physical resurrection out of the dust." He is taking what some men teach and
making it into the teaching of the Bible for his argument depends on it. THERE IS
NOTHING IN 1 CORINTHIANS 15 ABOUT "A PHYSICAL RESURRECTION
OUT OF THE DUST." HE IS ATTEMPTING TO PROVE THIS IS SPEAKING
OF THE RESURRECTION OF OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS JUST BECAUSE IT
IS NOT SPEAKING OF THE RESURRECTION OF BODIES OUT OF THE
DUST. TRY AS HARD AS I CAN, I CANNOT SEE HOW HE SEES THE
RESURRECTION OF OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS JUST BECAUSE IT IS NOT
SPEAKING OF EARTHLY BODIES WHEN THERE IS NOTHING IN THE
CHAPTER THAT SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS OR
ISRAEL. It could not be said any clearer that it is "sown in corruption (a physical body
of dust) it is raised in incorruption (NOT a physical body of dust)" [1 Corinthians 15:42].
HE MAKES A PHYSICAL RESURRECTION A MUST FOR HIS ARGUMENT, BUT
THERE IS NOTHING IN THE NEW TESTAMENT THAT TEACHES A PHYSICAL
BODY OF DUST IS TO BE RAISED AT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. He
repeatedly accused others of believing in "a physical resurrection out of the dirt, although
we can't read that interpretation back into Isaiah," but then on the same page (page 92) he
quotes Isaiah, "Your dead shall arise. Your dead will live; their corpses will rise, you who
lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, for your dew is as the dew of the dawn, and the
earth will give birth to the departed spirits" [Isaiah 26:19]. Then says the resurrection of
those lying in the dust sounds identical to Daniel 12:2, which says, "And many of those
who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake." When he said no serious student of the
prophets believes a physical resurrection of a physical body is depicted in Isaiah 25 he
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was right. Just as Ezekiel's valley of bones coming to life is a vision of a physical
resurrection in Ezekiel 37 is figuratively language of the nation of Israel being restored to
life as a nation, Isaiah 26:19 of a physical resurrection of the dead who had turned to dust
is figuratively language of Israel the dead nation that is being restored to life from the
dust and would live again as a nation. Neither one is teaching the resurrection to eternal
life that is taught in the New Testament, neither one is teaching the resurrection of
individuals to eternal life. Nevertheless, he attempts to somehow use a resurrection of
Isaiah as a nation that took place long before Christ to prove Paul was not speaking of the
resurrection of the dead at the coming of Christ but Paul was only speaking of the
resurrection of the Old Testament faithful in A. D. 70.
“Death is swallowed up in victory” [1 Corinthians 15:54]
Throughout 1 Corinthians 15, Paul speaks of death and resurrection from the dead.
What is the death and resurrection he is speaking of? The A. D. 70 doctrine says this is
speaking of the death and restorations of Old Testament Israel and the Law of Moses, not
our death and resurrection. How did Paul use death and resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15?
• Christ died and was buried and raised on the third day and appeared to many [1
Corinthians 15:3-6].
• Death had taken some of the above five hundred that Christ appeared to [1
Corinthians 15:6].
• Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, but if there is no
resurrection Christ has not been raised, therefore, Christ is dead and their faith in
Christ is useless [1 Corinthians 15:12-16].
• The Corinthians that had died (fallen asleep in Christ) had perished [1 Corinthians
15:18-19].
• Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of them that are dead (are
asleep). Just as Christ was dead and resurrected, those who are asleep in Christ
will be resurrected [1 Corinthians 15:20; 15:23].
• All Adam’s descendant’s die (all mankind), the resurrection of all (all shall be
made alive) will come by Christ [1 Corinthians 15:21-22].
• Christ was raised the first fruits, them all that belong to Christ at His coming [1
Corinthians 15:23].
• Then comes the end when Christ shall deliver up the kingdom, the church, to God
and the last enemy, death, will be abolished [1 Corinthians 15:24-26].
• If the dead (those who are asleep in Christ) are not to be raised then living Godly
is of no use, do anything you want to for death will soon bring you to an end [1
Corinthians 15:29-34].
• How are the dead raised, with what kind of body? [1 Corinthians 15:35-49].
o The earthly body of corruption is put in the ground; an incorruption body
is raised.
o The earthly body is put in the ground in dishonor; it will be raised in glory.
o The earthly body is put in the ground in weakness; a body is raised in
power.
o The earthly body is put in the ground a natural body; it is raised a spiritual
body. The earthly body (natural body) is first, then the spiritual body at the
resurrection of the dead. As we have borne the image of the earthly
(Adam) we shall bear the image of the heavenly (Christ).
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• Not all Christians will die but all, those who are living when Christ returns and
those who are asleep will both be changed in the same moment, in the twinkling
of an eye to an incorruptible, immortality body [1 Corinthians 15:50-54].
After the second coming of Christ and the resurrection and judgment and only then
will there be no more death, it will be swallowed up in victory [1 Corinthians 15:54-58].
"But thanks be to God, who gives US the victory through OUR Lord Jesus Christ.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be YOU steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the
work of the Lord, forasmuch as YOU know that YOUR labor is not vain in the Lord" [1
Corinthians 15:57-58, American Standard Version]. Throughout chapter 15 Paul is
speaking to the Corinthians about THEIR resurrection, not the resurrection of Israel.
"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so
that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died
and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until
the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord
Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with
the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and
remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,
and so we shall always be with the Lord" [1 Thessalonians 4:13-17]. THE
CHRISTIANS WHO WERE ALIVE IN A. D. 70 WERE NOT AT THAT TIME
CHANGED FROM PHYSICAL TO SPIRITUAL BODIES, THEY WERE NOT
CAUGHT UP “TO MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR.” I do not believe Dawson
believes they were. I believe he was not trying to prove anyone alive was changed to a
spiritual body in A. D. 70, but was trying to prove the dead Old Testament saints were
resurrected and changed in A. D. 70, and after that time all saints are changed at the time
of their death; not "caught up TOGETHER with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air." He is trying to prove there was one resurrection of all the Old Testament
faithful in A. D. 70, then many resurrections, a resurrection at the time of death of
each faithful. If this is not what he is trying to prove, them I cannot understand what he
is saying.
Max King says, "The eternal kingdom was possessed (Heb. 12:28) and the new heaven and earth
inherited." "The Spirit of Prophecy" page 239. The "new heavens and new earth" is not life on
earth after the destruction of Jerusalem, for after Israel destruction Christians were still
persecuted and the world is still full of evil today. It is the same world that existed before
Israel was destroyed; we are now in the image of Adam, not Christ, all, even Christians,
suffer and die, death has not been abolished. THE A. D. 70 DOCTRINE HAS NO
PLACE FOR LIVING CHRISTIANS BEING “CHANGED” AT THE COMING OF
CHRIST.
Christ “brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” [2 Timothy 1:10].
WHEN DID THE OLD COVENANT END?
At the death of Christ or in A. D. 70?
"Having been buried with him in baptism, wherein you were also raised with him
through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, being dead
through your trespasses and the un-circumcision of your flesh, you, I say, did he make
alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses; having blotted out the
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bond written in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us: AND HE
HAS TAKEN IT OUT OF THE WAY, NAILING IT TO THE CROSS; having
despoiled the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing
over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a
feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day" [Colossians 2:12-15]. I know of no way
anyone could say any clearer that the Law of Moses was blotted out and nailed to the
cross AT THE DEATH OF CHRIST, not in A. D. 70. This was written by Paul when he
was in prison at Rome, about A. D 62, before Realized Eschatology says the Old
Covenant Law ended. The message of Hebrews, which was written before A. D. 70, is
that the New Covenant replaced the Old Covenant with a new and better sacrifice, a new
priesthood, new sacraments, a new tabernacle or temple [John 1:14; John 2:19;
Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 2:21].
Preterits tell us that there was an over lapping of the two, that the Old Covenant was
not nailed to the cross; and it did not end unto A. D. 70.
Dawson used "The abomination of desolation" [Matthew 14:15; Daniel 9:27] to prove
the resurrection took place in A. D. 70. Christ came in judgment on Israel at that time just
as He did in judgment on nations in the Old Testament. I cannot understand how he gets a
resurrection out of "The abomination of desolation," or as Luke puts it, "When you see
Jerusalem compassed with armies" [Luke 21:20]. Luke then adds, "Then know that her
desolation is at hand." The "Abomination of desolation" was the armies that
DESTROYED Jerusalem, not restored it. HOW CAN A RESURRECTION OF THE
OLD TESTAMENT FAITHFUL BE GOTTEN OUT OF "The abomination of
desolation" OR THE DESOLATION OF A NATION?
Christ came in judgment on Israel at that time just as He did in judgment on nations in
the Old Testament.
• On Israel [Zephaniah 1:14-18].
• On the Nations [Joel 3:16-16].
• On Egypt [Ezekiel 30:3-4; 32:7-8; Isaiah 19:1].
• On Babylon [Isaiah 13:10-20].
• On Edom [Isaiah 34:4-6].
• On Arier in Israel [Isaiah 29:5-6].
Israel was destroyed in the Jewish war with Rome, which last for about five years and
ended in A. D. 70. JUDGMENT DID COME ON ISRAEL IN THAT
GENERATION [Matthew 23:36], AND ISRAEL WAS DESTROYED IN THAT
JUDGMENT, BUT THERE IS NOT ONE THING SAID ABOUT THE
RESURRECTION OF ANYONE OR ANY NATION; NOTHING IS SAID ABOUT
THE RESURRECTION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS WHEN THE
NATION WAS DESTROYED. A resurrection in A. D. 70, the only resurrection there
will ever be had to have been at that time for realized Eschatology to be true; it is based
entirely on a resurrection that is not in the Bible.
"The Galatians letter is an indignant protest against and refutation of Judaizing teachers" B. W.
Johnson, The People's New testament With Notes, Volume 2, Page 163.
Speaking to Jews [Galatians 2:14-15] Paul said, "Even we believed on Christ Jesus,
that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law: because by
the works of the law" and "You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by
the law; you are fallen away from grace" [Galatians 2:16 and 5:4]. This was written in
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about A. D. 57 when the law would have been in effect, and keeping the law would have
justified if there had been an over lapping of the Old and New Covenants unto A. D. 70.
Sam and I have been in communication with each other a few times by e-mail, and I
have thought of him as being a friend that I have not seen in person; I think the things he
had written in the past are among the best books I have. He says on page 2, "I'm certainly
not disparaging Robert, as he's only saying what most of us tacitly believe, that the subject of the
resurrection is predominantly (or even exclusively) a New Testament subject. I believed the same thing
until 2005 myself." My prayer is that he will see that Realized Eschatology is not the truth
before it is too late.
“The A. D 70 doctrine says ‘all things’ have been fulfilled: John speaks of 'all thing' (19:28); Luke
speaks of 'all things' (Acts13:29); Mark speaks of 'all things' (13:20); Luke again speaks of 'all
thing' (24:44); Peter speaks of 'all thing' (1 Peter 4:7). What you need to notice is, the 'all things'
of these passages have different things in mind. Because Max claim the 'all thing' in Matthew
17:11 is the same as the 'all things' in Acts 3:21 he is forced to the absurd view he told us of in a
former proposition, viz., The Baptist was Elijah if they accepted him to be, otherwise he wasn't!
But look: In John 19:28 Jesus knew all things were fulfilled and so he asked for a drink and died.
Now 'all things' were not literally completed but the passage says 'all thing.' Obviously the 'all
things' of that passage has a specialized reference. In Acts 13:29 we are more explicitly told that
when they had 'fulfilled all things that were written of him' they took him down from the cross.
Now clearly the 'all thing' here has a specific standpoint for you know there were other things
written of Jesus -- his resurrection for example. See how each writer will have his own
standpoint? Jesus said John has already ('Elijah is come already' -- Matthew 17:21) come and
had...'restored all things.' But if John had restored 'all things' it must have a specialized meaning
there. Because Max refuses to admit that the same expression may mean different things be
believe the Church was 'Elijah.' How dose that grab you? So what we do experience with Max? He
gets a concordance and gathers together all the passages having the same phases and lists them
and sits back smiling as if he had proved his point! The point I am making is abundantly clear
CONTEMPORARIES MAY USE THE SAME EXPRESSIONS AND MEAN DIFFERENT THING.” Jim
McGuiggan, "The McGuiggan-King Debate" Pages 171-172, Parkman Road Church of Christ, 1975.
ISRAEL HAD NOT OBTAINED, BUT THE ELECT HAD [Romans 11:7]. Paul
was put to death in Rome before A. D. 70, yet he said the elect had obtained what Israel
had not. What had the elect obtained? Being grafted in the olive tree - being accepted by
God as His chosen. In A. D. 70 Israel was not grafted in, it was totally destroyed. This
was written before A. D. 70 and the elect had obtained before when the A. D. 70 doctrine
says Christ was to come; this passage is not speaking of a coming of Christ at any time.
If, as Max King clams, the A. D. 70 view was believed and taught by the New
Testament writers, when was it lost? For many centuries no one believed it or know
anything about it. Then came Max King and found it and the Bible was reinterpreted
drastically to fit around his view.
In “Last Thing and Covenant Eschatology” in his answer to a question, “What is your
understanding of ‘no marrying and giving in marriage’” Samuel says this is only
speaking of the command given by Moses that a bother is to “perform the duty of a
husband’s brother” that “the name of his dead brother may not be blotted our from Israel”
[Deuteronomy 25:5-10]. The brother of the dead husband did not marry his brother’s
wife; THERE WAS NO MARRYING AND GIVING IN MARRIAGE [Luke 20:32-35].
Moses did not command the brother who may have had a wife to take a second wife; if
the brother had had 10 or more brothers that died, according to Samuel he would have
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had many wives. “In the resurrection” he changed to “after A. D. 70,” and says that in
the resurrection marriage is optional, not mandatory. Christ did not say marriage will be
optional after the resurrection but that there will be no marriage. “But they that are
accounted worthy to attain to they age, and the resurrection from the dead, NEITHER
MARRY, NOT ARE GIVEN IN MARRIAE: FOR NEITHER CAN THE DIE ANY MORE:
FOR THEY ARE EQUAL TO THE ANGELS; AND ARE SONS OF GOD, BEING SONS
OF THE RESURRECTIN” [Luke 20:2740]. Now we both marry and die. After the
coming of Christ and the resurrection the saved will not marry or die; marriage will not
be “optional.” Where did he find that marriage would be “optional” after the resurrection
when Christ says there would be no marriage or death?
He used Mark 10:19-20 to prove that in “the age to come” we will have house, etc.
Christ said, “There is no man that has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or mother, or
father, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s sake, but he shall receive a
hundredfold,
1. NOW IN THIS TIME, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and
children, and lands, with persecutions;
2. AND IN THE AGE TO COME ETERNAL LIFE” [Mark 10:29-30].
He changes having “land” etc. “now in this time” to having them in the “age to come” in
an attempt to prove the saved will have them after the resurrection which he says is now
passed. It is a fact that Christians have “persecutions” in this life. If “the age to come”
means after the Resurrection in A. D. 70, does he think Christians will always have both
houses and persecutions?
THE GRACE THAT IS TO BE BROUGHT UNTO YOU
In 1 Peter 1:10 Peter speaks of the grace to come to them. In 1:13 he speaks of “the
grace that is to be brought unto YOU at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” In A. D. 70
nothing happened to the living, life went on with persecutions and death.
In summery: According to Realized Eschatology there is no resurrection to come at
the coming of Christ, no judgment day at His coming, no second death. According to the
Bible any life after death depends wholly on the resurrection of the dead at the coming of
Christ (Luke 14:13-14; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55).
2 PETER 3
2 Peter 3:3-4: The mockers were saying, “Where is the promise of his coming, for
from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the
beginning of the creation?” The creation is the creation of the world, not Israel. Peter’s
reply to them was the they willfully forget that the earth that was that was created out of
water was destroyed by water [destroyed before there was a Jewish nation, before
Abraham the father of all Jews] and is now being reserved against the day of judgment
and destruction of ungodly men, it will be “burned up,” it is to “be dissolved,” and “the
elements shall melt with fervent heat.” BOTH THE DESTROYING BY WATER AND
BY FIRE ARE A DESTROYING OF THE WORLD, NOT JUST A PART OF IT, NOT
JUST THE NATION OF ISRAEL.
WORLD - 2 Peter 3:6 is from "kesmos" Wigram, page 430. Kesmos is in the Greek
about 185 times and in the King James Version it is translated "world" all but one time in
1 Peter 3:3 where it is translated "adorning." It is used to mean this planet earth, never the
Jewish age from Moses to A. D. 70.
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• "All the kingdoms of the world [kesmos]" [Matthew 4:8]
• "Go you into all the world [kesmos]" [Matthew 14:9]
• "For God so loved the world [kesmos]" [John 3:16]
• "The savior of the world [kesmos]" [John 4:42]
• "God that made the world [kesmos] and all things" [Acts 17:24]
• "From the foundation of the world [kesmos]" [Hebrews 4:3]
Kesmos is never translated "age." Peter is not speaking of "the end of the age" as
Matthew is in Matthew 24:3.
EARTH - 2 Peter 3:7; 3:10; 3:13 is from "gee" Wigram page 116. Gee is in the Greek
about 242 times and in the King James is translated "earth" about 184 times, "land" 39
times, "ground" 18 times, "country" 2 times, and "world" 1 time. It is used to mean this
planet earth or some particular part of this earth.
ALL THE WORLD
• "I am come to send peace on earth [gee]" [Matthew 10:34]. Not just in Old
Testament Israel.
• "Call no man your father upon the earth [gee]" [Matthew 23:9].
• "Went and dug in the earth [gee]" [Matthew 25:18]. He did not dig in Old
Testament Israel.
• “To lad them out of the land [gee] of Egypt” [Hebrews 8:9].
• "That you may live long on the earth [gee]" [Ephesians 5:6]. According to
Realized Eschatology Old Testament Israel was about to end when Paul said this.
• “For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth
[gee] compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God; (the heavens
and earth that was created by God, the “water” the earth was compacted out of
was literal water) by which means the world [kesmos] that then was, being
overflowed with water, perished (the world in the time of Noah was overflowed
with literal water); but the heavens that now are, and the earth [gee], by the same
word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and
destruction of ungodly men” [2 Peter 3:5-7]. A person has to be hard up for proof
has to take “the heavens that now are, and the earth [gee],” out of context to
make it be only one nation, the nation of Israel that did not exist unto long after
the flood and does not exist now; there is nothing said about Israel in this passage.
IN THIS PASSAGE EARTH [GEE] IS USED THREE TIMES AND WORLD
[KESMOS] ONE TIME. REALIZED ESCHATOLOGY SAYS THAT ONLY
ONE OF THE FOUR IT IS USED FIGURATIVELY, AND ONLY THIS ONE
TIME IT DOSE NOT MEAN THE WHOLE WORLD.
ALL THE WORLD UNLESS SOME PARTICULAR PART OF THE EARTH
IS NAMED
• "The land [gee] of Sodom" [Matthew 11:24]
• "Land [gee] of Gennesaret" [Matthew 14:34]
• "Land [gee] of Judah" [Matthew 2:6]
• "All the land [gee] of Egypt" [Acts 7:11]
ELEMENTS - 2 Peter 3:12 shall melt: Elements [stoikion] is used seven times.
• “And the elements [stoikion] shall be dissolved with fervent heat” [2 Peter 3:10].
• “And the elements [stoikion] shall melt with fervent heat” [2 Peter 3:12].
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• “Were held in bondage under the elements [stoikion] of the world [kesmos]”
[Galatians 4:3].
• “Howbeit at that time, not knowing God, you were in bondage to them that by
nature are no gods: but now that your have come to know God, or rather to be
know by God, how turn you back again to the weak and beggarly elements
[stoikion] whereunto your desire to be in bondage over again?” [Galatians 4:8-
9]. It was Gentiles that did not know God (“not knowing God”) that were in
bondage to the gods that are not gods that turn from the weak and beggarly
elements of the world [kesmos] to God; not Jews that turn from Christ to the
Law.
• “Take heed lest there shall be any one that makes spoil of you through his
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments
[stoikion] of the world [kesmos], and not after Christ…If you died with Christ
from the rudiments [stoikion] of the world [kesmos] why as though living in the
world [kesmos] …” [Colossians 2:8-20]. It was the rudiments [elements] of the
world [kesmos] that they died to, the world [kesmos] that they were living in,
not Israel that they had died to (past tense) before Realized Eschatology say the
Law died in A. D. 70.
IN 2 PETER 3, IT IS THE HEAVENS THAT SHALL PASS AWAY AND THE
EARTH [gee] THAT SHALL BE BURNED UP IN THE DAY OF THE LORD,
NOTHING IS SAID ABOUT IT BEING ONLY A PARTICULAR PART OF THE
EARTH, NOTHING IS SAID ABOUT ISRAEL.
• "By which means the world [kesmos] that then was" [2 Peter 3:6]. Israel did not
exist at that time. It was the world [kesmos] that then was, not Old Testament
Israel that did not exist unto many years after the world perished by water.
• "But the heavens that now are, and the earth [gee]” [2 Peter 3:7]. The earth that
now exists that will perish by fire. “Earth” cannot be changed to be only one of
the many nations that are on the “earth [gee].”
• "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief: in the which the heavens shall pass away
with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth
[gee] and the works that are therein shall be burned up" [2 Peter 3:10]. “In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth” [Genesis 1:1]. “For by Him all things
were created, both in the heavens and on earth” [Colossians 1:16]. The heavens,
which “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be
dissolved with fervent heat” is the universe that was created.
• "But according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth [gee],
wherein dwells righteousness" [2 Peter 3:13].
FATE OF THE UNGODLY IN 2 PETER
• BURNED TO ASHES: Sodom was turned into ashes as example to those who
live ungodly [2 Peter 2:6]. Sodom was “burned to ashes” and the earth “shall be
burned up” and “have been stored up for fire” [2 Peter 3:7, 10], “the heavens
shall pass away,” “the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat,” “the
heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent
heat” [2Peter 3:10-12]. In the same passage Sodom was literally destroyed by fire
and the earth and heavens will be literally destroyed by fire. One is not a literal
destruction by fire and the other a figuratively destruction. The “water” cannot be
literal and the “fire” made figuratively in the same sentence [2 Peter 3:6], just as
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the wicked were literally destroyed by water the wicked will literally be destroyed
by fire.
• DESTRUCTION of ungodly men [2 Peter 2:1; 3:7]
• DESTROYED: “To be taken and destroyed…shall in their destroying also be
destroyed” [2 Peter 2:12]. “They are like brute beast (animals –Strong 2226),
creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beast they too
will perish” New International Version
• BLACKNESS OF DAKNESS has been reserved [2 Peter 2:17]
• PERISHED [2 Peter 3:6]
• DESTRUCTION: The day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men [2 Peter
3:7]
• PERISH [2 Peter 3:9]
• DESTRUCTION: Some “wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto the own
destruction” [2 Peter 3:16]
2 PETER 3:7 IN EIGHT TRANSLATIONS
1. "The heavens SHALL PASS AWAY with a great noise, AND THE ELEMENTS
SHALL MELT with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein
shall be BURNED UP. Seeing than that all these things shall be dissolved" King
James Version.
2. "The heavens SHALL PASS AWAY with a great noise, AND THE ELEMENTS
SHALL BE DISSOLVED with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that
are therein shall BE BURNED UP. Seeing that these things are thus, all TO BE
DISSOLVED" American Standard Version.
3. "The heavens WILL PASS AWAY with a roar, AND THE ELEMENTS WILL
BE DESTROYED with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned
up. Since all these things are TO BE DESTROYED in this way" New American
Standard Version.
4. "And then the heavens WILL PASS AWAY with a loud noise, AND THE
ELEMENTS WILL BE DISSOLVED with fire, and the earth and everything
that is done on it WILL BE DISSOLVED. Since all these things are TO BE
DISSOLVED in this way" New Revised Standard Version.
5. "THE HEAVENS WILL DISAPPEAR with a roar; THE ELEMENTS WILL
BE DESTROYED by fire, and the earth and everything in it WILL BE LAIN
BARE" New International Version.
6. "The heavens WILL PASS AWAY with a terrible noise and the heavenly bodies
WILL DISAPPEAR in fire, and the earth and everything on it will BE
BURNED UP. And so since EVERYTHING AROUND US IS GOING TO
MELT AWAY" The Living Bible.
7. "The skies WILL DISAPPEAR with a loud noise, everything in them will BE
DESTROYED by fire, and the earth and everything in it will BE BURNED UP.
In that way everything WILL BE DESTROYED" New Century Version.
8. "In that day the heavens WILL VANISH in a tearing blast, the very elements
WILL DISINTEGRATE in heat and the earth and all its works WILL
DISAPPEAR. In view of the fact that all these things are to BE DISSOLVED" J.
B. Phillips.
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If this passage does not say the heavens (the sky) and the earth shall pass away, all be
dissolved, be burned up, will disappear, disintegrate, there is no way God could have said
the heavens (the sky) and the earth will not be after the day of the Lord? THERE IS NO
WAY TO READ THE EARTH WILL BE RESTORED TO BE THE WAY IT WAS
BEFORE ADAM SINNED IN THIS PASSAGE. "DISAPPEAR" "MELT AWAY"
"VANISH" "BE DESTROYED" "BE DISSOLVED" "PASS AWAY" "BURNED
UP" DOES NOT MEAN "BE RESTORED"
If the second coming of Christ is passed and all end time prophecy has been fulfilled
as Realized Eschatology teaches then life will go on forever on the earth as it is now for,
according to them, nothing is said in the Bible about the earth ending, the victory over
death when death will have been abolished, or the end of evil.
The fire is just a literal as the water; if one is figurative language the other must also
be. "By which means [water] the world that them was...perished; but the heavens that
now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire." If the "fire" is
spiritualized to be something other than real fire then the "water" must also be
spiritualized to be something other than real water; therefore, the story of the ark must
also be figurative language; therefore, there were no real ark and no real flood.
Figurative language of the sun, moon and stars being darken or falling from heaven is
used of the fall of Judea [a national judgment] in Jeremiah 4:1-28, and "The sun shall not
give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be
shaken" [Matthew 24:29]. Compare Matthew 24:29-30 to the fall of Egypt. "And when I
extinguish you, I will cover the heavens, and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with
a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens I will
darken over you and will set darkness on your land, declares the Lord God. I will also
trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations"
[Ezekiel 32:7-9]. However, Peter speaks of the utter destruction, passing away,
disappearing, disintegrating, being dissolved of "the elements" on the day of the Lord; not
just being darken and not giving their light. He is not using figurative language of the
passing of a nation, but giving a literal description of the earth and the heavens, the same
earth and heavens that He created out of nothing, passing away in one day.
Whichever way you make this [1] a figurative description of the end of a nation, [2] or
a literal description, as a literal description of the end of the heavens and earth in the day
of the Lord, it is a description of the end of something, not the restoring and making
something better. The earth being restored is not in this passage; in it the earth is
destroyed, not restored. THERE IS NOT A WORD ABOUT THE EARTH, ISRAEL, OR
ANYTHING ON THIS EARTH BEING RESTORED AND MADE BETTER IN 2
PETER 3.
"You, Lord, in the beginning did lay the foundation of THE EARTH, AND THE
HEAVENS are the works of your hands: THEY SHALL PERISH; BUT YOU
CONTINUES: and they all shall wax old as does a garment; and as a mantle shall you
roil them up, as a garment, and they shall be changed; but you are the same, and your
years will not come to an end" [Hebrews 1:10-12]. There is no way the writer of Hebrews
could have said any stronger that the Earth, not Israel, will end but Jesus will have no
end. Realized Eschatology says all prophecy has been fulfilled, therefore, according to
them, this has already been fulfilled.
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All ungodly man will be destroyed on the day of the Lord, not just the ungodly Jews
in A. D. 70 when Israel was destroyed. Is there anyone that cannot see that the ungodly
have not yet been destroyed?
Summary: It was the world [kesmos] that was brought into being [“and an earth
compacted out of water and amidst water”] by the word of God [2 Peter 3:5]. It was the
same world [kesmos] that was destroyed by water, all the world, not just one nation that
had not come into exists at the time the world was destroyed [2 Peter 3:6]. It is the world
[kesmos] that now is that is stored up for fire at the Day of Judgment and destruction of
ungodly men [2 Peter 3:7]. The same world [kesmos] (this earth) that was created in 2
Peter 3:5 is the same world that will be destroyed by fire in 2 Peter 3:6. THE FIRE IS
JUST AS LITTERAL AS THE WATER. NOTHING IS SAID ABOUT ISRAEL OR
ABOUT THE END OF AN AGE [ARION] IN 2 PETER 3. IT WAS REAL WATER
THAT FLOATED A REAL BOAT THAT DESTORYED ALL OF THE WORLD
[KESMOS], NOT JUST ONE NATION THAT DID NOT EXIST AT THAT TIME. IT
WILL BE REAL FIRE THAT WILL DESTORY THE WORLD [KESMOS], NOT
JUST THE END OF AN AGE [ARION] FOR ONE NATION.
1 PETER 4:6
“For unto this end was the gospel preached (past tense) even to the dead (present
tense), that they might be judged indeed according to men in the flesh, but live according
to God in the spirit” The question is (1) who were the dead (2) and when was the gospel
preached to them?
Two views on who the dead were that the Gospel was preached to.
[1] Christians that had died at the time Peter was writing this. They were alive in the flesh
at the time the gospel was preached to them and they believed but were dead at the time
Peter wrote this. See 1 Corinthians 15:12-28.
[2] Those who “were dead in your trespasses and sins” [Ephesians 2:1] before the
gospel was preached to them. The Gospel was preached to them when they were
dead through their trespasses and sins (past tense) so that they may live.
• “And you did he make alive, when you were dead through your trespasses
and sins” [Ephesians 2:1].
• “He that hears my word, and believes him that sent me, has eternal life, and has
passed out of death into life” [John 5:24].
Nothing is said about any preaching to any one after they were physically dead or to
spirits. The Gospel is preached to save; Peter is not saying salvation is being offered to
anyone after they are dead.
NO PLACE FOR A RESURECTION
OF THE UNJUST IN THE A. D. 70 TEACHING
Most who believe the A. D. 70 teaching believe the just dead of the Old Testament
was resurrected in A. D. 70 and the saved who have died after that time go to Heaven at
the moment of death, but I have not found where they believe any unjust have been or
will be resurrected form the dead for judgment; no place for the second death after the
resurrection in there teaching; no place for a judgment that comes to them after death.
• "There shall be a resurrection both of the just and unjust" [Acts 24:15]
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• "He has appointed a day in which he will judge the world" [Acts 17:31]. Not only
the just and not only Israel, but in the same day Christ is going to judge the entire
world. That day has not yet come.
• "If so be that it is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that
afflict you, and to you that are afflicted rest with us, AT THE REVELATION OF
THE LORD JESUS FROM HEAVEN with the angels of his power in flaming fire,
RENDERING VENGEANCE TO THEM THAT KNOW NOT GOD, AND TO
THEM THAT OBEY NOT THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS WHO
SHALL SUFFER PUNISHMENT, EVEN ETERNAL DESTRUCTION from
the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, WHEN HE SHALL COME
TO BE GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS, and marveled at in all them that believe
(because our testimony unto you was believed) IN THAT DAY" [2 Thessalonians
1:6-10].
• "He that rejects me, and receives not my sayings, has one that judges him: the
word that I speak, the same shall judge him in the last day" [John 12:48].
• "Do not marvel at this; for THE HOUR IS COMING, IN WHICH ALL WHO
ARE IN THE TOMBS SHALL HEAR HIS VOICE AND SHALL COME
FORTH; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that
have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment" [John 5:28-29]. The
judgment is clearly said to take place after the resurrection, not at death.
• “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, WHO IS TO
JUDGE the living and the dead” [2 Timothy 4:1].
• “Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the living and the dead” [1
Peter 4:5]. The dead had not been judged but were still to be judged (future tense)
they were not already judged at the moment of death and transition from this
world to Heaven or Hell.
• "For we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of God" [Romans 14:10].
• "For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each
one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he had done,
whether it be good or bad" [2 Corinthians 5:10]. The Corinthians that had fallen
asleep in Christ [1 Corinthians 15:20], the just and the unjust must be resurrected
to stand before the judgment seat. That there was such a resurrection and
judgment in A. D. 70 is pure fiction; there is nothing about it in the Bible.
• "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day
of' Judgment" [Matthew 12:36].
• "He that rejects me and receives not my words has one that judges him. The word
that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day" [John 12:48].
• "God now commands all men everywhere to repent because he has appointed a
day in the which He will judge the world by righteousness by that man whom he
has ordained, whereof he has given assurance unto all men in that he has raised
him from the dead" [Acts 17:30-31].
• “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there
no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment
and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE
ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy
on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you
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think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has
regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and
has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, ‘VENGEANCE IS
MINE, I WILL REPAY’ and again, ‘THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.’ It
is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” [Hebrews 10:26-31].
• 2 Peter 3 (see notes above on 2 Peter 3)
THE RESURRECTION ON THE LAST DAY
THE DAY OF THE LORD
All this in one day, the day Christ comes, the day of the Lord.
• The second coming of Christ [2 Peter 3:10].
• The resurrection and judgment of the righteous [Acts 24:15; John 5:28-29; 6:40-
41].
• The resurrection and judgment of the wicked [John 12:48].
• The final judgment [Acts 17:31; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10].
• The total destruction of the earth and the heavens that were made from nothing
and will return to nothing [2 Peter 3:7-11].
• The total destruction of the lost [2 Peter 2:12; 3:7].
• The second death [Revelation 2:11].
• Death will be abolished [1 Corinthians 15:24-16].
• The saved forever with the Lord [1 Thessalonians 4:14-17].
• The kingdom will be delivered up to God [1 Corinthians 15:24-26].
• Christ will bring the lawless one to an end by the appearance of His coming [2
Thessalonians 2:1-9].
• "Wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God" [2
Thessalonians 1:7-10].
[1] ON THE DAY OF THE LORD
THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief" [2 Peter 3:10]. No one knows when the
"day of the Lord" will come, but when it comes, EVERYONE on earth, living or dead,
will know it. Coming "as a thief" shows the unexpectedness of His coming; no one
knows what day or year. No one will be resurrected before the day of the Lord comes, all
will be resurrected when it comes.
[2] ON THE DAY OF THE LORD
THE RESURRECTION AND JUDGMENT
OF THE RIGHTEOUS IN THE LAST DAY
"There shall be a resurrection both of the just and unjust" [Acts 24:15]. Both the
righteous and the wicked will be raised and judged at the same time on the same day, not
a thousand years apart. AS FAR AS I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO FIND NO ONE WHO
BELIEVES CHRIST CAME IN A. D. 70 BELIEVES THERE WILL EVER BE A
RESURRECTION OF THE “UNJUST.”
"Marvel not at this; for the hour comes in which all that are in the tombs shall hear
his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life;
and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of judgment" [John 5:28-29]. All will
be raised in the same "hour." Not the saved raised and then the lost resurrected a
thousand years later, and not many resurrection at the moment of death or each person.
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The resurrection does NOT take place at death; there is a day appointed when all the dead
will rise [John 5:28-29].
"And this is the will of him that sent me, that of all that which he has given me I should
lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that
everyone that beholds the Son, and believes on him, should have eternal life; and I will
raise him up at the last day" [John 6:40-41]. Not a thousand years before the last day.
[3] ON THE DAY OF THE LORD
THE RESURRECTION AND JUDGMENT
OF THE WICKED IN THE LAST DAY
"He that rejects me, and receives not my sayings, has one that judges him: the word
that I speak, the same shall judge him in the last day" [John 12:48].
[4] ON THE DAY OF THE LORD
THE FINAL JUDGMENT
Millennialists must divide the judgment into two parts. If it is shown that the judgment
of both those in Christ and those who are not in Christ is one judgment of both at the
same time and on the same day, not separated by a thousand years, it makes their view
not be possible. In the passages above the judgment, it is not a broken judgment with the
two parts a thousand years apart.
"He has appointed a day in which he will judge the world" [Acts 17:31].
"If so be that it is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that
afflict you, and to you that are afflicted rest with us, AT THE REVELATION OF THE
LORD JESUS FROM HEAVEN with the angels of his power in flaming fire,
RENDERING VENGEANCE TO THEM THAT KNOW NOT GOD, AND TO THEM
THAT OBEY NOT THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS WHO SHALL SUFFER
PUNISHMENT, EVEN ETERNAL DESTRUCTION from the face of the Lord and from
the glory of his might, WHEN HE SHALL COME TO BE GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS,
and marveled at in all them that believe (because our testimony unto you was believed)
IN THAT DAY" [2 Thessalonians 1:5-10]. This passage tells:
• WHAT is to be done to both
1. Them that know not God, "Shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction."
2. His saints: "Counted worthy of the kingdom of God" Verse 5.
• WHEN it is to be done to both
o "At the revelation of the Lord Jesus from Heaven...WHEN HE SHALL COME
TO BE GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS...IN THAT DAY"
There is no way this passage can be broken apart and made to be speaking of two
things that will be a thousand years apart. It is speaking of what will happen to both
believers and nonbelievers "in that day," not a thousand years apart. If all the Bible is to
be taken literally as the Millennialists say it is, could any passage say any clearer then
this one that the resurrection and judgment are simultaneously on the same day?
"Do not marvel at this; for THE HOUR IS COMING, IN WHICH ALL WHO ARE IN
THE TOMBS SHALL HEAR HIS VOICE AND SHALL COME FORTH; they that have
done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the
resurrection of judgment" [John 5:28-29].
"But after your hardness and unrepentant heart treasures up for yourself wrath in the
day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every
man according to his works: to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and
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honor and incorruption, eternal life: but unto them that are factious, and obey not the
truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation, tribulation and anguish,
upon every soul of man that works evil" [Romans 2:5-6]. This will be "in the day when
God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ" [Romans
2:16].
"For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one
may receive the things done in the body, according to what he had done, whether it be
good or bad" [2 Corinthians 5:10]. The Premillennialists time table has the judgment a
thousand years after the day of the Lord. Also Matthew 25:46; Hebrews 10:27; Romans
14:10; 2:5-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3; 2 Peter 2:12; 3:7-11; 2:10; Revelation 2:11; 21:8
[5] ON THE DAY OF THE LORD
THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE LOST [2 Peter 2:12; 3:7]
"For yourselves know perfectly THAT THE DAY OF THE LORD so comes as a thief
in the night. When they are saying, peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon
them...But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that THAT DAY should overtake you as a
thief; for you are all sons of light" [1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, See 2 Peter 3:10]. Both are on
the same day.
"At the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in
flaming fire, rendering vengeance to then that know not God and to them that obey not
the gospel of our Lord Jesus; who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from
the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he shall come to be glorified in
the saints" [2 Thessalonians 1:7-10]. There is no thousand year gap between the coming
of Christ and the destruction of the wicked. Both are "in the day of the Lord."
"BUT WHEN THE SON OF MAN SHALL COME IN HIS GLORY, AND ALL THE
ANGELS WITH HIM...HE SHALL SEPARATE THEM ONE FROM ANOTHER, AS THE
SHEPHERD SEPARATES THE SHEEP FROM THE GOATS...AND THESE [the goats]
SHALL GO AWAY INTO ETERNAL PUNISHMENT: BUT THE RIGHTEOUS [the
sheep] INTO ETERNAL LIFE" [Matthew 25:46]. NO THOUSAND YEARS BETWEEN
THE GOATS AND THE SHEEP. BOTH ARE AT THE SAME TIME. BOTH ARE,
"WHEN THE SON OF MAN SHALL COME IN HIS GLORY."
PREMILLENNIALISTS CANNOT EXPLAIN AWAY THIS PASSAGE AND MANY
OTHERS THAT DO NOT FIT WITH THEIR VIEW.
[6] ON THE DAY OF THE LORD
THE SECOND DEATH
The second death is used four times only in Revelation. Another way of saying the
total destruction of the lost [See The Second Death in chapter two]. Those who are buried
and raised with Christ [Romans 6] in the first resurrection, "Over these the second death
has no power" [Revelation 20:6].
FIRST RESURRECTION - SECOND DEATH: "He that over comes shall not be hurt
of the second death" [Revelation 2:11, 20:6]. The first resurrection is when a person is
"born anew...born of the water and the Spirit" [John 3:3-5]. "And you did he make ALIVE
when you were dead...made us ALIVE together with Christ [by grace have you been
saved], and RAISED us up with him" [Ephesians 2:1-6; Galatians 2:18-19; 3:1]. The first
resurrection is when, "We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death:
that like as Christ was RAISED from the dead" [Romans 6:3-4]. “Having been buried
with Him in baptism, in which you were also RAISED up with Him through faith in
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the working of God, who RAISED Him from the dead When you were dead in your
transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, HE MADE YOU ALIVE together
with Him, having forgiven us all our transgression” [Colossians 2:12-13].
"There are only two alternatives, the crown of life--eternal life--or the second death" Homer
Hailey, Page 128, Revelation, Baker Book House.
THE ALL THAT “OVERCOMES SHALL NOT BE HURT OF THE SECOND
DEATH” IS ALL THAT ARE THAT HAS BEEN SAVED AND ALL THAT WILL BE
SAVED AND REMAINS FAITHFUL, NOT JUST SOME OF THE SAVED IN A
LITERAL 1,000 YEARS. The second death will be for all that does not “have part in the
first resurrection” (buried in baptism and raised up with Christ) [Revelation 20:6; 20:15;
21:8].
Death and hades, and any not found written in the book of life are cast into the
lake of fire; which is the second death [Revelation 20:14‐15].
Lake of fire, which is the second death. He that overcomes shall inherit and be
God's son. For all other, "Their part shall be in the lake that burns with fire and
brimstone; which is the second death" [Revelation 21:8].
If, as some teach, the first resurrection is the resurrection of the soul in hades,
then the first resurrection WOULD BE EVERYONE, SAVED AND LOST and it takes
place at death. They believe both the good and bad wake up in hades immediately
after death, therefore, all, both the saved and the lost, take part in the first
resurrection.
All will die. "It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this comes judgment"
[Hebrews 9:27]. All that are in the grave, both saved and lost, will hear His voice and
come forth at the resurrection (John 5:28‐29). All will be raised for the judgment
that comes after the appointed death. All who are born again, made alive by being
raised with Christ through Baptism; and live faithful shall not be hurt of the second
death after the judgment. Christ paid the wages of sin for them. All others will pay
their own wages of sin, which is death [Romans 6:23]. "But the fearful, and
unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and
idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burns with fire and
brimstone; WHICH IS THE SECOND DEATH" [Revelation 21:8]. From this death there
will never be a resurrection. The results will be eternal. The Dark Age doctrine of an
endless life of torment is not a second death. It is eternal life with torment. IT BEARS
NO RESEMBLANCE TO A DEATH. To feel pain, those in Hell would have to be just as
alive as those in Heaven are. Eternal death is not life.
"As there is a second higher life, so there is also a second and deeper death. And as after that life
there is no more death, SO AFTER THAT DEATH THERE IS NO MORE LIFE" Afford, quoted by
Homer Hailey in "Revelation." The resurrection of all at the coming of Christ makes death be a
sleep from which all will awake, but there will be no resurrection from the second death. It will
be permanent and everlasting.
There is no room in "the day of the Lord" for one resurrection of a few when He
comes and another resurrection of most of mankind after a thousand years as is
taught by many.
"To him that overcomes, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life...He that
overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death...He that overcome shall be arrayed in
white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life" [Revelation
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2:7‐3:5]. The first resurrection is when one is born again. These are the only ones
that will not be hurt of the second death. The overcoming is in this lifetime, not as
the Premillennialists teach that the first resurrection will be at the coming of Christ.
[7] ON THE DAY OF THE LORD
DEATH WILL BE ABOLISHED
"Then comes the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the father;
when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power, for he MUST REIGN,
till he has put all his enemies under his feet. THE LAST ENEMY THAT SHALL BE
ABOLISHED IS DEATH" [1 Corinthians 15:24-16]. For all that overcomes and "shall not
be hurt of the second death" [Revelation 2:7] there will be no more death. Many
Premillennialists believe Christ is not now reigning and will not reign unto the thousand
years when He will reign on the throne of David in Jerusalem, at which time many of
them believe all the saved will be in Heaven and will not return to earth unto after the
thousand years. Is there anyway that death being abolished in the day of the Lord not be a
problem for them?
[8] THE DAY OF THE LORD
THE SAVED FOREVER WITH THE LORD
"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen
asleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the
Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise
precede them that are fallen asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with
a shout, the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ
shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up
in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" [1
Thessalonians 4:14-17].
"When the Lord shall be revealed from heaven...when he shall come to be glorified in
his saints, and to be marveled at in all them that believed...in that day" [2 Thessalonians
1:7-10]. Both the "shall be punished" and "to be marveled at in all them that believed"
are "when the Lord shall be revealed from heaven...in that day," not two difference days
that are a thousand years apart.
[9] ON THE DAY OF THE LORD
THE KINGDOM WILL BE DELIVERED UP TO GO
"Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's AT HIS COMING, THEN
COMES THE END, WHEN HE DELIVERS UP THE KINGDOM TO THE GOD AND
FATHER, when he has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For HE MUST
REIGN until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be
abolished is death" [1 Corinthians 15:24-26].
1. When the Kingdom was established-- or-- When the Kingdom will be established
has been made by Premillennialists into a key question as to where the saved will
spend eternity.
2. The Kingdom has been established and will be delivered up to God in the day of
the Lord-- or-- The Kingdom will be established on earth after the day of the
Lord.
3. Will we have a "spiritual body" in Heaven with Christ-- or-- Will we have an
earthly body on earth and Christ also an earthly body and rule the earth from
Jerusalem for eternity?
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[10] ON THE DAY OF THE LORD
CHRIST WILL BRING THE LAWLESS ONE TO AN END
BY THE APPEARANCE OF HIS COMING
"Now we beseech you, brethren, touching the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ...as
that the day of the Lord is just at hand...for it will not be, except the falling away come
first, and the man of lawlessness be revealed, the son of destruction...And then shall be
revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth,
and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his coming; even he, whose coming is
according to the working of Satan with all power" [2 Thessalonians 2:1-9]. Who or
whatever the lawless one is; he will end on the day of the Lord. Some Premillennialists
believe the lawless one to be the "Antichrist." If they were right then CHRIST WILL
BRING THE ANTICHRIST TO AN END ON THE DAY OF THE LORD, ON THE
DAY OF HIS SECOND COMING, NOT A THOUSAND YEARS AFTER THE DAY
OF THE LORD. Some believe him to be the pope. If so, Christ will bring him to and end
THAT DAY. Whatever "the lawless one" is, Christ will bring him or it to and end ON
THE DAY He comes. If "the lawless one" is the "Antichrist" as many Premillennialists
believe, the "Antichrist" will come to an end on the day of the second coming of Christ.
WHAT EVER OR WHO EVER THE LAWLESS ONE IS, CHRIST WILL BRING
IT TO AN END ON THE DAY OF HIS COMING. IT OR HE WILL NOT EXIST
FOR A THOUSAND YEARS AFTER THE COMING OF CHRIST. IF THERE
WERE A MILLENNIUM, THE LAWLESS ONE COULD NOT BE IN IT.
[11] ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT
WRATH OF GOD
A day of wrath, not seven years or a thousand years of wrath. "And to you that are
afflicted rest with us, AT THE REVELATION OF THE LORD JESUS FORM HEAVEN
with the angels of His power in flaming fire, RENDERING VENGEANCE TO THEM
THAT KNOW NOT GOD, AND TO THEM THAT OBEY NOT THE GOSPEL OF OUR
LORD JESUS; WHO SHALL SUFFER PUNISHMENT EVEN ETERNAL
DESTRUCTION from the face of the Lord and from the glory of His might, WHEN HE
SHALL COME TO BE GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS, and to be marveled at in all them
that believe...IN THAT DAY" [2 Thessalonians 1:7-10]. "Eternal destruction" for the lost
is "in that day," and is the same day "when he shall come to be marveled at by them that
believed."
"Wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God...but unto
them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath
and indignation, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worked evil...in the
day when God shall judge the secrets of man" [Romans 2:5-16 American Standard
Version].
"For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there
remains no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a
fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. A man that has set at naught Moses
law died without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses: of how much sorer
punishment, think you, shall he be judged worthy, who has trodden underfoot the Son of
God, and has counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified and unholy
thing, and has done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that said,
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vengeance belongs unto me, I will recompense, and again, The Lord shall judge his
people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" [Hebrews 10:26-31].
"And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this comes judgment"
[Hebrews 9:27].
"But I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that
you sorrow not, even as the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and
rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For
this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the
coming of the Lord, shall in no will precede them that are fallen asleep, For the Lord
himself shall descend from heaven, and with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and
with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that
are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air;
and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that anything be
written unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a
thief in the night. When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes
open them, as travail upon a woman with child: and they shall in no wise escape. But you
brethren, are not in darkness, that day should overtake you as a thief" [1 Thessalonians
4:13-5:5].
IN THIS PASSAGE THE DAY OF THE LORD IS CALLED:
1. The day of the Lord coming
2. The day the living saints being caught up
3. The day of the resurrection of those that are fallen asleep
4. The day the judgment all take place
5. The day of the Lord
6. The day when "the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven"
"Where is the promise of His coming...But the heavens that now are, and the earth, by
the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment
and destruction of ungodly men...But the day of the Lord will come as a thief: in the
which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved
with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up" [2
Peter 3:4-13]. All on the same day, there is no thousand years [365,000 days] or seven
years after any of the above. They are all on "that day." "Inasmuch as he has appointed a
day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained"
[Acts 17:31]. Those who believe and teach Premillennial doctrines must deny the clear
teaching on the Bible on the day of the Lord.
[12] ON THE DAY OF THE LORD
THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE EARTH AND THE HEAVENS
WHICH WERE MADE FROM NOTHING AND WILL RETURN TO NOTHING
"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" [Matthew
24:35; Psalms 102:25-27]. "By which means the world that then was, being overflowed
with water, perished, but the day of the Lord will come as a thief: in which the heavens
that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being
reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men...But the day of the
Lord will come as a thief; IN THE WHICH THE HEAVENS SHALL PASS AWAY
WITH A GREAT NOISE, AND THE ELEMENTS SHALL BE DISSOLVED WITH
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FERVENT HEAT (The elements are all the things of which the earth is made, the air,
the water, etc. These shall be dissolved, burned up), AND THE EARTH AND WORKS
THAT ARE THEREIN SHALL BE BURNED UP. SEEING THAT THESE THINGS
ARE THUS ALL TO BE DISSOLVED" [2 Peter 3:7-11].
-------------------------------------------------------------
PART TWO
The Interpretation Of Figurative Language
Metaphors And Symbolic Passages
THE INTERMEDIATE BOSOM: THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS
Luke 16:19-31
Does hades have a good side and a bad side? This parable is one of the most used
scriptures to prove both (1) that a person has a part of him that goes to Heaven or Hell,
(2) or that a person has a part that goes into a holding place unto the resurrection. If it
were a literal story and not a parable, as many believe it is, it would be both in conflict
with and a contradiction of the belief that all go at once to Heaven or Hell at death.
Many realizing that the Orthodox teaching that a person goes to Heaven or Hell at
death is not from the Bible, and no one will be in Heaven before and without a
resurrection and judgment, knew they had to have an intermediate or third place that is
not Heaven or Hell to put their immortal soul from death unto the resurrection. Is the best
they can do is to try to make a parable into a true story, making Abraham's bosom into a
holding place unto the resurrection? In doing this, they must set aside the plain teaching
on death and the resurrection as if they did not exist. Making this into a real story and not
a parable may be a life or death struggle with them, for the Bible gives them nowhere for
the living soul to be living in before the resurrection, no other place, and they need to
make this into a real place. If they do not, they have living souls with nowhere for them
to be living in before the resurrection and judgment. They cannot have them in Heaven or
their Hell unto the resurrection; but they must have somewhere to keep them. They
cannot even agree among themselves, for some say it is a parable, and some say, "No it is
a true story." Many that think it is a parable will use it as if it were a true story. They say
it teaches the same thing either way. "Notes On The Parables Of Our Lord" by R. C.
Trench is ranked as one of the best on the parables. He not only says this is a parable, but
on page 17 says parables are not to be made the first sources to teach a doctrine. To go
from the clear to the obscure has been recognized as the law of Scriptural interpretation,
but this has been forgotten by those looking for an argument to sustain a weak position,
and often invent for themselves support in parables. On page 162 Trench says it is most
important to keep in mind that this parable has as it's central thought the rebuke of
unbelief. Nevertheless, this parable is used as the first and only source to teach a doctrine
that is not found in any other part of the Bible.
Some that believe in Hell often point to Luke 16 to prove there is torment after death;
but when pushed, most of them will admit hades is not Hell; but they need to prove there
is torment in Hell and therefore use the torment of the rich man in hades in this parable
and hope in some way to transfer the torment in hades to torment in Hell. EVEN IF THIS
WERE A TRUE STORY AND NOT A PARABLE, IT MAY PROVE THAT THERE IS
TORMENT BEFORE THE RESURRECTION, BUT IT WOULD PROVE NOTHING
ABOUT WHAT WILL BE AFTER THE RESURRECTION, OR THAT THERE WILL
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EVEN BE A HELL AFTER THE RESURRECTION; yet, Luke 16 is one of the most
used passages to try to prove there is a Hell and there is torment in Hell even though there
is nothing about Hell in the parable. They are desperately looking for proof of Hell,
which they cannot find. It says nothing of Heaven. Hell, or a soul. The complete silence
of the scriptures about the dead being anywhere before the resurrection other than the
grave is a deathblow to the doctrine of an immortal soul; THOSE WHO MAKE THIS
PARABLE INTO A LITERAL STORY AND ARE TRYING TO PROVE THE
ABRAHAM'S BOSOM VIEW, OR TO PROVE HELL, USE IT TO PUT ASIDE
HUNDREDS OF PLAIN PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE.
This is the last in a series of five parables all spoken to the Pharisee and Scribes, all in
the same speech.
1. The lost sheep [Luke 15:3-7].
2. The lost coin [Luke 15:8-10] not called a parable.
3. The lost son [Luke 15:11-32] "a certain man" not called a parable.
4. The unjust steward [Luke 16:1-13] "a certain rich man" not called a parable.
5. The rich man and Lazarus [Luke 16:19-31] "a certain rich man" not called a
parable.
• Four of the five are not called a parable.
• Three of the five begin with "a certain...man."
• Two of the five have "a certain rich man."
• No one makes the other four be a true story, but they desperately need the rich
man and Lazarus to be a true story to have proof of their doctrine.
Five "a certain" in a row.
1. "A certain man" [Luke 14:16].
2. "A certain man" [Luke 15:11]. No one questions these two being a parable.
3. "A certain rich man" [Luke 16:1]. And no one questions this being a parable.
4. "A certain rich man" [Luke 16:19]. Why do many question this being a parable?
5. "And a certain beggar named Lazarus" [Luke 16:20].
Christ used "a certain" 18 times, and all 18 are in parables [Matthew 18:23;
21:28; 31:23; 22:2; Mark 12:1; Luke 7:41; 10:30; 10:31; 10:33; 12:16; 13:6; 14:16;
15:11; 16:1; 16:19: 16:20; 19:12; 20:9]. No one questions that the other 16 times "a
certain" is used as being in parables, only the two in this parable to make them fit with
their literal view, but they DESPERATELY NEED this to be a parable for it to be proof
of their doctrine of Hell EVEN IF IT MAKES THE PASSAGE CONTRADICT WHAT
THEY BELIEVE ABOUT HELL.
THOSE WHO MAKE THIS PARABLE INTO A LITERAL STORY DO NOT
ACCEPT THE MAIN PART OF IT AS BEING LITERAL. They do not accept
Abraham’s bosom as being a literal place but as a symbolic place; his literal bosom had
turned to dust many years before and there would not be room for even one person in
Abraham’s literal bosom; therefore, if part of it cannot be literal none of it can be literal,
if it is a true story all of it must be literal. It is a symbolic picture or a true story; it cannot
be a mixture of the two.
The objection of some is that it is not called a parable. Less than half, only 11 of the
26 parables in Luke are called a parable. The three parables before this one that are a part
of the series of five parables all spoken to the Pharisee and Scribes in the same speech are
not called parables but no one questions them being parables. The objection of others is
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that parables do not use proper names. "And he took up his parable, and said, 'From
ARAM has BALAK brought me, the king of MOAB from the mountains of the East: come,
curse me JACOB, and come, defy ISRAEL'" [Numbers 23:7]. Not one but FIVE PROPER
NAMES are used in one parable. "SATAN" [Mark 4:14] and "THE SON OF MAN"
[Matthew 13:37] are used in parables.
If one attempts to explain all the elements as though they are literal, the difficulties of
making this be a true story will be seen.
THE RICH MAN
This is an allegory of the Jews who were rich in God's blessing. Israel was spiritually
rich [see Romans 9:3-5]. All Luke 16 is on the subject of stewardship. The Jews failed to
share with the Gentiles giving them only the crumb, and most of the Jews failed to
believe in Christ. The Gentiles were spiritually poor. This parable is a satire condemning
the Jewish nation, the Scribes, and Pharisees. Christ used one of their own uninspired
fables, which those He was speaking to would know about [see Josephus and others],
which He changed only slightly as the base of this parable to show the end of the Jewish
nation as God's chosen people. See Matthew 21:43-45; 24:2; Luke 13:28; Matthew 23:1-
39. Throughout much of the Old Testament Israel did not obey God and rejected Christ,
therefore, were rejected by God. Israel is no longer His chosen people. Their torment was
being without God and rejected by Him, and as a nation Israel is dead and in hades, the
grave. When they reject Christ there was no comfort for them, no water to cool their
tongue [Luke 16:24].
A picture of the rich Jews and the poor Gentiles is given in Matthew 15:22-27. "And
behold, a Canaanitish women came out from those borders, and saying, have mercy on
me, O Lord...But he answered and said, I was not sent but unto the house of Israel. But,
she came and worshipped him saying, Lord, help me. And he answered and said, It is not
good to take the children's [Israel's] bread and cast it to the dogs [Gentiles]. But she said,
Yea, Lord: for even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." He
gives her the crumbs and healed her daughter.
"And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit
down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: but the sons of the
kingdom shall be cast forth into outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the
gnashing of teeth" [Matthew 8:11-12]. "Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God
shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits
thereof" [Matthew 21:43]. "O Jerusalem...your house is left unto you desolate" [Matthew
23:37-38].
"Odunaomai" [Used only four times in the New Testament, Wigram, Page 524] is
translated "tormented" in the King James Version in Luke 16:24 and 25, but is translated
"in anguish" both times in the American Standard Version. It is used only two other
times and was translated "sorrowing" in the King James Version, when Mary said to
Christ "and I have sought thee sorrowing [odunaomai]" Luke 2:48 and when Paul told
the elders at Miletus that they would see him no more, "sorrowing [odunaomai] most of
all for the words which he had spoken" Acts 20:38; neither Mary or the elders at Miletus
were tormented. THE ANGUISH (or sorrowing - not torment) OF THE RICH MAN
WAS ISRAEL BEING REJECTED BY GOD AS A NATION. This parable is about
those who were rich in God's blessing and those who were poor in God's blessing, not a
literal story about a person who was a beggar. "Ptokos" is used thirty-four times in the
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New Testament and is always translated "poor" except in this parable and Galatians 4:9
and where it is translated beggar in the King James Version, but changed to poor in the
New American Standard.
• “And given to the poor (ptokos) Matthew 26:11
• “A certain poor (ptokos) widow” Mark 12:42
• “Preach the gospel to the poor (ptokos)” Luke 4:18
• “Contribution to the poor (ptokos) saints” Romans 15:26
• “As poor (ptokos), yet making many rich” 2 Corinthians 6:10
• “And a certain poor (ptokos) man named Lazarus” Luke 16:20 New American
Standard.
This parable is about the Jews who were rich in God’s word and the rest of the world
that was poor (ptokos), in spiritual poverty.
Dr. Gill, an orthodox Protestant who believed in the intermediate state of the dead, in his
commentary of Luke said, "The rich man died: It may also be understood of the political and
ecclesiastical death of the Jewish people, which lay in the destruction of the city of Jerusalem,
and of the temple, and in the abolition of the temple worship, and the whole ceremonial law: a
Loammi was written upon their church state, and the covenant between God and them was
broken; the gospel was removed from them, which was as death...their civil power and authority,
were taken away from them by the Romans." Many orthodox writers say the same.
LAZARUS
Lazarus is the Gentiles, the people in spiritual poverty who had only the crumbs of
God's blessing [see Matthew 15:21-26], but become the seed of Abraham-the church.
Lazarus [the Gentiles] becomes rich in God's blessing by the Gospel. Christ says, "The
kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing
forth the fruits thereof" [Matthew 21:43]. "That the blessing of Abraham might come on
the Gentiles through Jesus Christ" [Galatians 3:14]. See Matthew 8:11-12; Luke 8:28'
Acts 8:46; 26:23; Romans 2:28-29; 9:3-5; 9:8; 3:26-29; 4:28; Philippians 3:3; Romans
11:7; Ephesians 2:12-13]. IN THE PARABLE LAZARUS (THE CHURCH) IS NOW
IN ABRAHAM'S BOSOM WHERE THE JEWS ONCE WERE. "Now we, brethren,
as Isaac was, are children of promise" [Galatians 4:28]. "For we are the circumcision,
who worship by the spirit of God" [Philippians 3:3]. "For he is not a Jew who is one
outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew who
is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart" [Romans 2:29]. "And if you belong
to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise" [Galatians
3:29]. Paul calls the church "a new creation" "the Israel of God" [Galatians 6:15-16].
EVER PERSON WHO IS NOW A CHRISTIAN IS THE SEED OF ABRAHAM AND
AN HEIR OF THE PROMISE MADE TO ABRAHAM.
ABRAHAM
Galatians 3:6-22; Romans 9:8. The blessing of Abraham came to the Gentiles through
the Church. Israel does not now by birth have the blessing of Abraham, therefore are "in
anguish, and sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom." Israel is not now in
covenant relationship with God. The Church is now the "sons of Abraham" [Galatians
3:7]. "So then they that are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham" [Galatians
3:9]. Israel has been "broken off" or "cast off" [Romans 11]. THE CHURCH IS NOW
"THE ISRAEL OF GOD" [Galatians 6:16; also 1 Peter 2:9-10; Hebrews 12:22].
THE GULF
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The rejection of Christ cut Israel off from Abraham and the blessing of God. One
cannot reject Christ and worship God. Without believing in Christ and His resurrection,
there is a gulf between God and Israel. One cannot go back to the Law as some Jews in
Paul's time tried to do. As long as they reject Christ, there is not "a drop" of spiritual
comfort for them in Christianity. Those that believe in Christ can give no comfort, no
hope of salvation to them that do not believe whether they are Jews or Gentiles. The Law
of Moses, which Israel gloried in, died at the death of Christ. "Having blotted out the
bond written in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us: and he has
taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross" [Colossians 2:14]. "Be not entangled again
in a yoke of bondage" [Ephesians 2:11-22]. Also Acts 15:24. We cannot cross the gulf
and go back to the Law [Galatians 5:1]. "That which Israel seeks for, that he obtained
not; but the election obtained it" [Romans 11:7]. The only way any person can become a
child of God today is by being born again. The Law is dead and will never be restored.
The nation of Israel can never be restored. The only way any Jew could ever again be a
child of God is to believe the Gospel and be baptized into Christ. "By their unbelief they
(branches-plural, Jews, not nations-plural) were broken off" and Gentiles (not Gentiles
nations) were grafted in. "And they (individual Jews) also, if they continue not in their
unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them (branches - plural Jews - not
plural nations of Israel) in again" [Romans 11:17-24].
The rich man [Israel] went to the grave [hades]. Israel is no longer God's chosen
people. Lazarus, the Gentiles believers went to Abraham's bosom [into a covenant
relationship with God], not to the grave. Abraham's bosom is not a division of [one side
of] the grave [hades]. Many draw a circle and make one side of it be where the rich man
is and the other side where Lazarus is with a gulf between the two sides. This circle is in
the back of most Bibles printed by Star Bible and Tract, and in many other books printed
by members of the church of Christ.
THE FIVE BROTHERS
Christ was telling the Pharisees and scribes they would not believe even when He rose
from the dead [See Trench "Notes On The Parables" Page 162]. Judea and his five
brothers became six of the twelve tribes. Some believe five brothers are used to identify
the rich man as Judea to the Pharisees to whom He was speaking this parable.
In the parable Abraham tells the rich man that if their own scriptures cannot convince
them of their error, neither would they be persuaded if one rose from the dead.
IF THIS WERE A TRUE STORY AND NOT A PARABLE
If this is a true story, IT IS IN DIRECT CONFLICT WITH CHRIST AND PAUL.
Christ said, "for you shall be recompensed in the resurrection of the just" [Luke 14:14];
but if this is a true story, their recompense is in "Abraham's bosom" immediately after
death before the resurrection. What will happen after death? Christ says, "For the hour
comes, in which ALL THAT ARE IN THE TOMBS [not in Abraham's bosom] shall hear
his voice, and come forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and
they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment" [John 5:28-29]. If hades is
not the grave, no one will be in the tombs when Christ comes. Paul said, "There is laid up
for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord...shall give me at that day" [2 Timothy
4:8]. The resurrection keeps getting in the way of the immortal soul doctrine for it seems
to be more than just a little difficult to have a resurrection of something that is alive and
not dead.
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If this is a true story it makes the judgment a mockery and an empty show. All are
judged instantly after death. The wicked are now being punished and the saved are now
being rewarded before the Judgment Day, therefore, both punishment and reward would
begin immediately after death without the judgment, not at the resurrection.
If this is a true story, it makes the resurrection useless and not needed. No one is
dead. It makes void the teaching of Christ about the resurrection of the dead at His
coming. Not only would the resurrection be useless but also a lie for if no one is dead, no
one can be resurrected. The dead would be more alive than we are and at the second
coming of Christ, no one will be in the grave to "come forth" [John 5:28-29]. They would
have to "come back" from somewhere, but it would not be a resurrection of the dead.
"Abraham's bosom," if made to be a real place in a true story, and the teaching of going
directly to Heaven or Hell after death, both makes a resurrection impossible and not
needed. A LIVING SOUL OR PERSON COMING BACK FROM ABRAHAM'S
BOSOM OR FROM HEAVEN FOR THE JUDGMENT WOULD NOT BE A
RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD. Any doctrine which makes the dead not be dead, and
those who are asleep are not asleep, makes a resurrection an impossibility and useless. IF
THIS IS A TRUE STORY AND NOT A PARABLE, IT IS AN UNDENIABLE
CONTRADICTION OF THE PROTESTANT VIEW THAT EVERYONE GOES
DIRECTLY TO HEAVEN OR TO HELL AT DEATH.
If this is a true story it makes the wages of sin being death not possible. There is no
real death. To be dead is just to be alive in another form. It is used to show the nature of
punishment after death in Hell. EVEN IF IT WERE A TRUE STORY, IT SAYS
NOTHING ABOUT ANYTHING AFTER THE JUDGMENT OR ABOUT HELL. IT
DOES NOT MENTION THE SOUL, HEAVEN OR HELL BUT IS USED TO PROVE
ALL THREE.
If this is a true story it would be an actual description of the intermediate state, which
must be true in ever detail, such as praying to Abraham, able to see and hear those in
torment. Both the saved and the lost would receive their reward or punishment
immediately after death before and without the resurrection and judgment day.
If this is a true story it is when the rich man had brothers living on earth, not after the
judgment, therefore could not be used to prove that is a Hell after the judgment by those
who believe the Abraham bosom version for they teach no one will be in Hell unto after
Judgment Day and then no one will have brothers living on the earth.
If this is a true story those who believe souls are immortal and live after the death of
the earthly body believe the rich man and Lazarus to be two immortal souls that do not
have a body. THIS IS THE POINT THEY WANT TO MAKE, THAT A PERSON HAS
A SOUL THAT LIVES AFTER THE DEATH OF THE BODY. Do they think one
immortal soul would want another immortal soul to bring it a drop of water? They tell us
the "soul" of both the saved and the lost are in hades, and tell us at death "the spirit
returns to God" [Ecclesiastes 12:7]. They have the "soul" in hades and the "spirit" in
Heaven at the same time.
If this were a true story those in Abraham's bosom would be able to hear and see
those on the other side of the gulf. The gulf must be narrow enough to be in speaking
distance. Could parents be in joy while they watched their children in agony? Could
anyone be happy and have peace while they could hear the cries of anguish of those on
the other side? Would you be happy if you were confined in a place for centuries where
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you had to see the agony and hear the screaming of some of your loved ones; would that
be a reward for anyone; but if this is a true story them you will see and hear their agony
and screaming? Even most who believes this to be a parable, do not believe the good and
the bad dead can talk to each other, or that the dead can now come back and talk to the
living as the rich man wanted Lazarus to do. The view taught today is Abraham's bosom
is like a lake of fire with the lost in the lake and the saved sitting on the shore watching
their torment, and according to the way Revelation 6:9-10 is used, those on the shore
would be asking God to torment them more.
If it were a true story it is the one place in the Bible where the veil is drawn aside
and we can see what it is like after death. We can even hear the conversation of those on
the other side, and it was given to unbelievers, the Pharisees and Scribes. Luke 15 and 16
is a discourse to them, not to the Apostles.
If this were a true story we have a biblical example of praying to a Saint and to a
person as if he were God, which we are forbidden to do. If after death anyone can pray to
Saint Abraham, why do most why are orthodox teach we cannot pray to Saint Abraham
or any other saint?
THIS PARABLE HAS ELEMENTS
THAT COULD NOT BE TRUE IN A TRUE STORY
[1] If this is not a parable, and if the rich man and Lazarus are real people, THEN
ABRAHAM IS ALSO A REAL PERSON, BUT HE IS NOW IN THE PLACE OF A
GOD. Is he a God? No, for this is a parable, not a true story. IF IT WERE A TRUE
STORY IT WOULD MAKE ABRAHAM, NOT GOD THE SOURCE OF REWARD
AFTER DEATH. GOD OR CHRIST IS NOT MENTIONED IN THE PARABLE.
Coffman said the element of Abraham presiding over paradise forces one to seek an
analogy. "Commentary On Luke" Page 385. Lazarus in the bosom of the God Abraham
can have no parallel in reality; it is a parable, not a true story. It cannot be both. It cannot
have both an allegorical and a literal meaning. If it did, how would one be different than
the other? If taken literally, Abraham is put into a position of being a God, which he
never was, is not, and never will be.
• Abraham is NOT a God. This is figurative language, not a true story.
• Abraham's bosom is NOT a place. This is figurative language, not a true story.
• Abraham's bosom is NOT literally the home of the saved after death. This is
figurative language, not a true story. Many died before Abraham was born. They
could not have gone to Abraham's bosom, a place where Abraham presided over
before Abraham was born before it existed; but those who believe in Abraham's
bosom view believe all the saved in the Old Testament went to it, therefore,
Abraham's bosom could only be symbolic language.
[2] MANY REGARD THIS AS A PARABLE, BUT THEY REASON AND DRAW
CONCLUSIONS FROM IT AS THOUGH IT WERE A LITERAL TRUE STORY. They
go both ways as it suits them. "No reason why Luke 16:19-31 should be viewed only as a parable"
Csonka, Guardian Of truth, January 5, 1995, Page 16. He says it is a parable, but thinks it is also a
true story both at the same time! It could not be both, and he says it is a parable. It
cannot, as many say, "mean the same thing" if it is a parable that it would if it is a true
story. IT MUST BE 100% A TRUE STORY OR 100% A PARABLE. It cannot be a
mixture of the two. IF IT IS A LITERAL TRUE STORY, EVERY DETAIL MUST BE
TRUE AND HAVE A LITERAL TRUE MEANING. Those who say it is a true story
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find parts of it that will not fit into their views [what they believe]; and always try to
make these parts be a metaphor or parable. Abraham's bosom had literally turned to dust
long before Jesus gives this parable. If his bosom is used symbolical and is not his literal
bosom, the rest of the account must also be symbolic and it is not the literal experience of
the two men after they died. Part of it cannot be a symbolic parable, and part of it literal.
It must all be a parable or all literal. In a metaphor, one part of it is never figurative with
another part literal. If Abraham's bosom is figurative, then Lazarus in his bosom must
also be figurative and not a real person, otherwise, a real person would be in a figurative
bosom. We cannot make any part of a metaphor be a literal statement just because we
want it to be, or we need it to be to prove something we want to prove. If "Abraham's
bosom" is a real place, where is Abraham? In his own bosom!
“We want to know if this was a real experience, and if it teaches the condition of the dead. Let it
be remembered, then, according to the philosophy that they are ‘spirits.’ Will you tell me how
you reason that a ‘spirit’s tongue’ can be cooled with water? ‘Oh’ you say, ‘that represents’—
HOLD ON, NO REPRESENTATIONS GO IN A REAL CIRCUMSTANCE. If you say it is real, stay with
it. This policy of making it half literal and half figurative, just because there is an end to gain, is a
nature ‘fakir’ in theology. It, therefore, represents nothing it is a real circumstance, as you affirm.
How could Lazarus carry a drop of water on his ‘SPIRTUAL’ finger? You say, ‘Oh, that doesn’t
mean literal water.’ Well sir, it does or you do not mean what you say, I care not who you are. But
reason with me. How could a spiritual tongue be cooled with a drop of water? ‘Oh,’ you say, ‘that
must not be pressed too literal.’ NOT, NOT TOO LITERAL, BUT JUST A LITERAL AS IN ANY REAL
CIRCUMSTANCE. If it was a literal fact, then the details, which make it up are literal fact also. And
to deny that it to deny your position. Here is a stubborn fact. The narrative say the rich man did
call on Abraham to send Lazarus. That he wanted Lazarus to dip his finger in water. And he
wanted Lazarus to put that water on his tongue. And the reason was that he was tormented in
the flame. That very portrait, if it be read circumstance, will compel every one of you to admit
that the torment of the intermediate state is produced by fire. How do you like it? Then stop
saying it is a sort of compunction of conscience. For understand, conscience was never known to
call for water to cool it. Get that? It will no doubt be granted willingly, that for a real
circumstance, the peculiar incidents connected with it here make this the most remarkable and
phenomenal case on record. For we would be forced to concede that the spirit craved water, that
it gets thirsty or feverish, and that it asked a favor of Abraham instead of God, that it was God
who rendered the verdict and cast him in prison, that Abraham has no right or jurisdiction in the
matter, and a hundred other things that make this narrative an absolute mystery, if it be a real
circumstance .” E. D. Slough, “The Indictment Of Eternal Torment—The Self-negation Of A
Monstrous Doctrine,” Page 262, F. L. Rowe, Publisher, 1914, evangelist, church of Christ.
[3] This is the only parable in which some try to make an allegory literal, but only the
parts of it they want to be literal for they do not want the whole story to be literal. It
would teach things they do not believe. It would teach that the many [the poor] will be
saved, and that few [the rich] will be lost. What about Abraham? He was very rich. It is
not said the rich man was evil or sinful, just rich; but those who teach innately immortal
have a real person in torment before the judgment, before he is judged and found guilty.
It is not said Lazarus was good and faithful, or even that he knows of God, just that he
was poor, as are millions; but being rich is not sinful, and being poor will not save. NOT
ONE GOOD THING IS SAID ABOUT LAZARUS AND NOT ONE BAD THING
ABOUT THE RICH MAN. There is nothing negative said about the rich man and
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nothing positive about Lazarus in their lifetime, but they have Lazarus who they say is a
real person being rewarded before being judged.
[4] It would teach that the rich man, who would then be in a supernatural state [not of
this earth] and therefore, most likely have a much greater knowledge of supernatural
things than we now have, that he would believe or know that the dead could come back to
earth and teach the living. This is not what most believes, but it would greatly support the
spiritualist who says they can call the dead back.
[5] What bodies would the rich man or Lazarus have when their earthly body was still
in the grave? They will not have a "spiritual body" unto the resurrection [1 Corinthians
15:44]. Do disembodied spirits that have no body and are "immaterial, invisible" have
human body parts? The rich man has "eyes" and "tongue." Lazarus has a "finger."
Abraham has a "bosom." Is there a third kind of body, which has these earthly parts?
What would a "spirit" or "soul" which does not have an earthly body want with water?
Only in speaking in a metaphor can it be said that God or any spiritual being has a human
part, or to want water. How could an "immaterial, invisible part of man" have body parts
or want water if this were a true story and not a parable? It would make this "immaterial,
invisible part of man" very material.
[6] If the rich man were a real person in torment, God would be unjust to be
tormenting him without his knowing why. If he knew why he was being tormented, he
would have known that Lazarus could not come to take his torment away by bring him
water.
[7] The rich man wanted Lazarus to go to his brothers "from the dead." How could
Lazarus "go to them from the dead" [Luke 16:30] or "rise from the dead," [Luke 16:31] if
he were not dead but were alive in Heaven or Abraham's bosom?
Al Maxey: "To fabricate a theology of disembodied spirits and Hadean holding cells and
everlasting torture of the wicked from this passage is an unconscionable abuse of biblical
interpretation and should be rejected by all disciples intent upon discerning and declaring Truth
rather than perpetuating the tedious tenets of paganistic Tradition" Reflections, Issue #28, April
4, 2003.
Adam Clarke: " Let it be remembered that by the consent of all (except the basely interested),
no metaphor is ever to be produced in proof of a doctrine. In the things that concern our eternal
salvation, we need the most pointed and express evidence on which to establish the faith of our
souls" Note on Matthew 5:26.
R. C, Trench: "The parables are not to be made first sources of doctrine. Doctrines other wise
grounded may be illustrated, or even further confirmed by them; but it is not allowable to
constitute doctrines first by their aid. For from the literal to the figurative, form the clearer to the
more obscure, has ever been recognized as the law of Scripture interpretation. This rule,
however, has been often forgotten, and controversialists, looking around for arguments with
which to sustain some weak position, often invent for themselves supports in these" Notes On
The Parables Of Our Lord, Page 17,1948.
Luke 16:19-32 -- Very similar -- Isaiah 14:9-20
1. Both the rich man and king of Babylon go there after death
2. Both represent nations
3. Both are represented as being alive
4. Both found person(s) to speak with
5. Both are not to be taken literally
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SUMMARY: THE THREE CONFLICTING VIEWS. THREE DIFFERENT
GOSPELS Galatians 1:6-9
1. Luke 16 is used to prove at death the body dies and the spirit or soul (?) goes to
hades or Abraham's bosom unto the resurrection.
2. At death the soul or spirit of all goes to Heaven or Hell
3. Ecclesiastes 12:7 is used to prove that the spirit or soul of ALL came from God at
birth, both the saved and the unsaved, and at death ALL go back to God.
Which one do you believe? All three cannot be true. Many who believes the dead go
to hades to be with the rich man in torment or to be in "Abraham's bosom" also believe
and teach the soul goes directly to Heaven at death to "be with the Lord." They seem not
to be able to see that they are making the dead go immediately to Heaven or Hell after
death and, therefore, they have made this, which they teach as a true story impossible. No
one could be in "Abraham's bosom" and in Heaven simultaneously. How many of the
three conflicting gospels do you believe? Does the orthodox view not know what the
orthodox view is? DO THOSE WHO BELIEVE THE ABRAHAM'S BOSOM VIEW
FORGET THAT THEY TEACH NO ONE WILL BE IN HEAVEN BEFORE THE
JUDGMENT? YES, THEY ALMOST ALWAYS DO AT FUNERALS AND HAVE
THE DEAD LOOKING DOWN AT THEIR OWN FUNERAL.
PART THREE
THE SYMBOLIC PICTURES OF REVELATION
The Interpretation Of Figurative Language
Metaphors And Symbolical Passage
The symbolical pictures of Revelation versus a literal interpretation. All the literal
passages in the Bible which use words like death, die, destruction, life, it is insisted that
one word be interpreted only figuratively in these passages, not the whole passage, until
they come to a book that is figurative, then it is insisted that the figurative be interpreted
as being literal. It is a hopeless cause that requires such poor handing of God's word.
THE FIFTH SEAL - SOULS UNDER AN ALTAR
A SYMBOLICAL PICTURE [Revelation 6:9]: To understand this scripture we must
keep it in the context. John was seeing a vision of what was to come to pass after the time
he was writing [Revelation 4:1]. When we read the symbolism of Revelation, we must
remember that the figures symbolizes something that is a word picture and are not to be
taken literally. We must look for what is symbolized and not make the symbols into
something real or literal. The red horse of Revelation 6:3 is not a literal or real red horse.
John did not see a literal or real vision of what heaven is actually like when he saw a
view of horses in Heaven or souls under an altar. None of the symbols can be taken
literally. THE FIFTH SEAL IS FIGURATIVE JUST AS THE OTHER SEALS WERE.
SOULS ARE NOT LITERALLY LIVING UNDER AN ALTAR. THAT THE
SYMBOLIC SOULS UNDER AN ALTAR MUST MADE INTO LITERAL SOULS
SHOWS THE WEAKNESS OF THIS BELIEF. Even those who believe souls go to their
eternal abode in Heaven at death do not believe souls are now living in a prison under an
altar, but they are desperate for any passage to prove we now have in immortal soul that
goes to Heaven or Hell at death that they make it literal even if the souls must be living
under an altar, even if it puts a literal altar in Heaven.
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Souls under the altar crying out in Revelation 6:9 is similar to Abel's blood that "cries
unto me from the ground" [Genesis 4:10]. Both are figurative and not literal. The fifth
seal is only one of six seals in this vision, and cannot be made literal while the others are
figurative. Is the 5th seal literal, but the 6th one figurative? Read all six. The 5th seal is
taken out of context. Souls under an altar are no more literal than white, red, black, and
pale horses running around in Heaven are. Like the horses, they are part of a symbolic
picture. But when you take at look at the seven seals, they are all of things on this earth,
not things that are in Heaven. IN THE SYMBOLIC PICTURE(S), THINGS OF THIS
EARTH ARE SEEN IN HEAVEN THAT IS NOT LITERALLY THERE. There are not
literally horses in Heaven. Souls under the altar is an allusion to the Jewish altar on which
their sacrifices was offered, not to a real altar in Heaven. If this symbolism were made
literal, not even those who believe we have a part of us that lives after the death of the
body believes what this passage would say, that an immortal immaterial part of a person
lives under an altar.
"That the blood of the sacrifices was poured out at 'the base' of the altar [Lev 4:7,18,30 et all.].
Therefore, when the blood was poured out, it was the life that was being offered. The 'souls'
[psuchas], which John saw beneath the altar was the lives of those who had been sacrificed for
Christ." Homer Hailey "Revelation," Baker Book House, Page 194.
The life is in the blood, which was under the altar. Psukee is translated "life" about as
much as it is "soul." Lives would be a better translation of psukee than "souls?" The
blood of the sacrifice was poured at the base of an altar. The life was in the blood
[Genesis 9:4, Deuteronomy 12:23]. Just as the blood of Abel cried out from the ground
for justice [Genesis 4:10], the blood of these who were sacrificed for Christ cries out for
justice. It will come at the judgment. This is symbol picture is taken from something on
this earth before the judgment, not a literal picture of Heaven. Surely, John did not
literally see them living under the altar on which they were killed and that this altar has
been moved from earth where they were killed to in Heaven.
"The souls of this altar scene are represented as the sacrifices of life in the aggregate slain for the
word of God...the souls under the altar: as the figurative altar of this vision signifies martyrdom,
the phrase under the altar describes the scene of defeat. The cause for which they were offered
was represented as being despised and defeated. But it was temporary, because the same souls
were removed from beneath the altar of chapter 6, and elevated to the thrones in chapter 20,
signifying the resurrection of the cause for which they had died." Foy E. Wallace "The Book Of
Revelation," Wallace Publications, 1966, Page 150.
The Protestant version of Hell is that the lost are now in Hell being tormented with
more torment than anything we can know, but it has the saved that Protestants teach are
now in Heaven now under an altar and are now wanting more torment on those who they
believe are now being tormented in Hell. What would you think of some you now know
seeing many being tormented by some one asking to see more torment? To make this
passage literal to prove torment in Hell makes those in Heaven be more heartless than
any living person and makes them be completely without any love. They would be seeing
the agony and hearing the crying of unceasing anguish and asking for more.
SYMBOLIC PICTURES
A LITERAL ALTAR IN HEAVEN? There cannot be literal souls on a symbolic
altar. If the souls are literal, then the altar must also be literal; when one part of the vision
is made literal, there is nowhere to stop without making the whole vision literal. What
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sacrifice is made on this literal altar in Heaven? If the altar were literal, then there would
be literal death in Heaven, for to have a literal sacrifice on the literal alter there must be a
literal death of what is sacrificed. What is the reason for the sacrifice? Not for sin, for
there is none in Heaven. Who is making the sacrifice? Do angels have a reason to make a
sacrifice? Are souls in Heaven confined to the area under the altar? See Genesis 4:10 and
Hebrews 12:24. This altar in Heaven is no more literal than: (1) Jesus having a literal
sword coming out of His mouth. (2) A church is a literal lamp stand. (3) False religion is
a literal harlot riding a beast.
Revelation 6:9; 14:9-11 are symbolic pictures of events that happen in time just as the
other symbolic pictures around them are of events that happen in time. To put an altar for
sacrifice or smoke from burning flesh in Heaven is absurd. Just as absurd as making
Revelation 12:1, "A woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon
her head a crown of twelve stars" into a literal woman would be. Her head would need to
be much larger than the sun to hold a crown with twelve suns in it. They are symbolic
pictures; they are not literal or real events not at the judgment or after it. The end of time
is not described unto near the end of the book [see Hailey and Wallace below]. To prove
"Hell," the symbolic pictures of these in time judgments [judgments that take place on the
earth before the Judgment Day] are taken out of context and moved unto after the end of
the earth after the Judgment Day and placed in Hell even when there is no revelation that
"Hell" exists. Those who believe in Hell think these symbolic pictures of in time
judgments in Revelations are one of their strongest proofs of Hell. Peterson said, "The
book of Revelation paints some of the most graphic pictures of hell found in the Bible"
Page 93. He takes the visions out of context and makes them be literal by making all the
judgment pictures in the book be torment in Hell after the Judgment Day is over. He ends
up with such absurd things as Heaven being always full of smoke from the burning
bodies of those in Hell. ALTHOUGH IT IS AGREED BY MOST THAT NO
DOCTRINE CAN BE PROVED BY THE SYMBOLIC PICTURES OF REVELATION,
YET "THE SMOKE OF THEIR TORMENT" IS CONSTANTLY QUOTED AS PROOF
OF ENDLESS TORMENT. THE FACT THAT BELIEVERS IN HELL CAN PROVE
THEIR HELL ONLY BY USING SYMBOLIC PASSAGES, METAPHORS, AND
PARABLES; AND MUST USE THESE TO SET ASIDE PLAIN PASSAGES THAT
SAY THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, THE LOST DIE, PERISH, ARE DESTROYED
SHOWS HOW UTTERLY GROUNDLESS THEIR BELIEF IN HELL IS. THE CLEAR
STATEMENTS ARE THE TRUTH, NOT THE MISUSED SYMBOLIC PICTURES.
The Bible does not say yes and no to the same thing. It does not prove both the
affirmative and negative. A symbolic picture does not prove the opposite of a clear
statement. A symbolic picture of smoke in Heaven does not prove "the wages of sin is
death" to be "the wages of sin is eternal life burning in torment" with the smoke of their
burning going into Heaven for all eternity.
Like most if not all the symbolic pictures in Revelation, this language is taken from
the Old Testament and is speaking of judgments on this earth, not in Hell. On the
judgment of Edom in Isaiah 34:5-17 it is said, "It shall not be quenched NIGHT OR DAY;
IT SMOKE SHALL GO UP FOREVER," but after it did it work it went out and the land
became a desert inhabited by jackals and other wild things. John says, "AND THE
SMOKE OF THEIR TORMENT GOES UP FOR EVER AND EVER; AND THEY HAVE
NO REST DAY AND NIGHT." Both are symbolic language speaking of an in time
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temporal punishment on this earth, not of eternal torment in Hell. If “the smoke of their
torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night” were literal, THE
TORMENT AND SMOKE WOULD NOT BE IN HELL BUT IN HEAVEN, “IN THE
PRESENCE OF THE HOLY ANGELS AND IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LAMB”
[Revelation 14:10]. “Day and night” has to do with time, not eternality; the American
Standard Version say, “Greek, ‘unto the ages of ages’” which would put the smoke in
time and end when time as we know it ends. When it said the smoke would be going up
“unto the ages of ages” is saying the smoke will be going up in time and will end with
time; there is no hint that it will go up throughout the “ages of ages.” “Unto” a given
time “the ages of ages” is not forever.
“In the clause ‘they have no rest day nor night who worship’…is the present participle denoting
they have no rest day nor night while they are worshipping” Charles Welch, The Wages of Sin,
www.truthaccordingtoscripture.com/death/Wages-of-sin-6.php
“The smoke of their torment” is in the third of the seven angels having seven plagues.
Revelation 15:1 says, “For in them is finished (complete) the wrath of God.” “Because in
them the wrath of God is finished” New American Standard. According to those who
believe in Hell the wrath of God will never be finished. The seven plagues are plagues
that take place in time and will be finished in time, not plagues after the judgment day
that will never be finished.
A CONTRADICTION TO THEIR OWN BELIEF. In an attempt to find their belief in
the Bible, many make the symbolic picture of souls under the altar literal, but when they
do it does not say what they want it to say.
1. SOULS UNDER THE ALTAR BEFORE THE JUDGMENT DOES NOT
FIT WITH THE PROTESTANT VERSION OF HEAVEN, THAT ALL
THE SAVED GO DIRECTLY TO HEAVEN AT DEATH. Those who believe
souls go to Heaven to be at home with the Lord, but they do not believe those in
Heaven will be shut up and unhappy under an altar crying out for revenge on
those in Hell and/or some still on the earth. If made literal, it does not fit with
their belief. If souls go to their eternal home with Christ in Heaven at death, why
are they so unhappy that they cry unto God? Why are they crying to God for
judgment and vengeance on those who are in torment if the lost go to Hell at
death? Will those in Heaven want more vengeance than the awful torment they
believe Hell will be for some who maybe their father, mother, brother, or sister?
2. SOULS UNDER THE ALTAR BEFORE THE JUDGMENT DOES NOT
FIT WITH THE AFTER JUDGMENT VERSION, THAT ALL THE
SAVED ARE IN ABRAHAM’S BOSOM AND WILL NOT BE IN HEAVEN
UNTO THE JUDGMENT DAY. Many who believe in Abraham's bosom also
make this literal, but when they do they have an even greater contradiction of
their belief. They have people in Heaven before the Judgment Day. They have
souls that are not in Abraham's bosom, but in prison under an altar before the
judgment. They do not believe any will be in Heaven before the Judgment, but
they have some that are now in Heaven under an altar. They have some that are in
Heaven and some that are in Abraham's bosom simultaneously before The
Judgment Day. This is inconsistent with their own teaching, particularly on Luke
16. They teach Abraham's bosom with the good and bad sides, then they use this
passage and teach that souls are "under the altar," therefore; souls are in two
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different places before the resurrection. They change from one to the other, and
then back to the first, as they need to. If a symbolic passage can be made to prove
something they want it to prove by making it literal; they make it literal and use it
just as they do Revelation 12:7-9 and other passages in Revelation. In their
attempt to prove Hell, they make two symbolic passages literal, [Luke 16:19-31;
Revelation 6:9], but if they did proved what they are trying to prove with each of
the two passages they would contradict each other.
A drowning man will desperately grab at anything to try to keep his head above water.
They have no plain statement [no boat to save them] that teaches men have an immortal
inter part that is not subject to death, therefore, they grab at any symbolic language or
parable.
"Some persons have turned to the Book of Revelation and hung over its sublime imagery, as if
these were literal descriptions of our eternal home; but we must remember that this is a book of
symbols, and that this fact will not permit a strict adherence to the letter in seeking the meaning
of its glowing visions. Revelation does not aim to teach us, as some have thought, that the
ceaseless employment of heaven is eternal singing or praising, but that it is an abode of
rapturous joy of which song and praise are the natural expressions. Nor are we to conclude that
the heavenly city is literally paved with gold and fenced in with jasper walls and pearly gates, but
that it is a splendid and glorious home beyond anything that mortal eye has ever seen." B. W.
Johnson, Christ and the Future Life, 1891.
Commonly accepted rules: (1) A symbolic passage cannot overturn the teaching of a
passage that is not symbolic. (2) A symbolic passage cannot be used to build a doctrine
on.
REVELATION 14:9-11 WORSHIPERS OF THE BEAST
"And the smoke of their torment doth go up to ages of ages; and they have no rest day
and night, who are bowing before the beast and his image, also if any doth receive the
mark of his name." Footnote in the American Standard Version, "Gr. UNTO the ages of
the ages." This smoke goes up UNTO the ages of ages, not without end IN the ages of
ages.
Revelation is a book of figurative language taken from the Old Testament. It was
written to people who know the Old Testament and would be familiar with its
symbolisms but those persecuting them would not understand it. The symbolism in
Revelation can be understood by the way it is used in the Old Testament.
WHO ARE WHAT IS THE BEAST?
To understand whom the worships of the beast are we need to know what the beast
symbolizes. In Daniel, "beast" is used to represent a great political empire.
A. M. Ogden says worshiping Babylon is Emperor worship. "The Avenging of the Apostles and
Prophets" Page 295.
F. E. Wallace "The name Babylon had come to symbolize the ultimate in corruption, and the
fallen Babylon of verse 8 is figurative of the spiritual degradation of Jerusalem-'the faithful city
turned harlot.'" "The Book Of Revelation" Page 310.
Homer Hailey "Judgment should motivate and bring men to repentance [Acts 17:30f]. But,
what judgment is in the divine mind here-the final judgment, or an immediate one? In the light of
this exhortation to fear God, give Him glory, and worship Him, it is impossible to make 'the hour
of his judgment' refer to the final judgment...but rather, it refers to the hour in which God is to
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judge Babylon." "Revelation, An Introduction and Commentary" Page 307, 1979, Baker Book
House.
Ralph F. Brashears said he is not describing the eternal Judgment, but a temporal retribution,
figuratively. "The Revelation of the Christian Age." Page 276, 1989, Vantage Press.
This passage speaks of a judgment that takes place in time before the coming of
Christ and the judgment day. Whether the beast is pagan Rome or the papal power, it is
only a small part of those who are not in Christ. It says nothing about all the lost in John's
time or today, and nothing about any of the lost going to Hell. It is not the judgment at
the coming of Christ for all the lost will be in that judgment. Those who believe in Hell
do not believe anyone will worship the beast nor receive the mark of his name after they
are in Hell. If the powers of this world are cast alive into Hell and tormented forever, then
the evil powers of this world will exist forever, but even those who believe in Hell do not
believe evil world powers will exist forever and be tormented in Hell.
There are four symbolisms in the passage, each one taken from the Old Testament.
1. Those that worship the beast shall drink of wine of the wrath of God, which
is prepared unmixed in the cup of His anger. This is an Old Testament
expression of destruction. See Jeremiah 25:15-27; Obadiah 16 and 18; Psalm
75:8; Job 21:20; Habakkuk 2:16; Malachi 3:2.
2. Those that worship the beast shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in
the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. See “The
Types Of The Judgment” in chapter seven.
3. They have no rest day and night. This is often applied to those in Hell being
tormented forever, but it says nothing about all the lost in Hell but about those
who worship the beast (Emperor worship or pagan Rome). All four symbolisms in
this passage are speaking only about those who worship the Emperor and not
God, not about eternal torment in Hell.
4. The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. Even if Revelation 14:9-
11 were literal, it would not be depicting torment, but the aftermath of the
destruction just as the smoke of Sodom that Abraham saw depicted of the total
destruction of Sodom. The ascending smoke is a sign of the destruction that has
already taken place, a destruction that had been completed. Those in Sodom were
dead when Abraham saw their smoke ascending. When a city or a person has
been turned to smoke, the destruction is past, not forever ongoing. If the smoke
were literal, the ascending smoke of Revelation 14 would show their destruction
has taken place, not that they are undergoing torment. The ascending smoke seen
by Abraham became the basis of much of the language of destruction found in the
Bible. It is a sign of an utter destruction that is passed, not of eternal torment,
Genesis 19:24-28; Isaiah 34:9; 66:24; Jeremiah 17:27; Ezekiel 20:45-50;
Revelation 14:9-11; 18:9; 18:18. Much of the symbolism in Revelation can be
understood by the way it is used in the Old Testament. In Daniel "beast" is used to
represent a great political empire.
SMOKE IN HEAVEN Revelation 14:9-11: A symbolic picture of a judgment in the
time of Emperor worship or pagan Rome, It is a picture of the destruction of these powers
on this earth, not of their torment in Hell after the coming of Christ. If this passage were
literal, who would worship a beast with seven heads? How many have you ever seen
with the mark of this seven headed beast on their forehead? That some would make
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everything about the beast be a symbolic picture unto it comes to the punishment of
those with his mark on their forehead, but then change from symbolic to literal
shows how desperate they are for anything that may support the doctrine of Hell.
According to this passage, the torment referred to is occurring on this earth for it is while
they are worshiping (present tense) the beast and while there is "day and night." WHERE
IS HELL? If this passage were literal and is made to be literal picture of Hell, then Hell
would be on this earth and those in it would not have died, but the smoke of the torment
of those still living on the earth would go from the earth and fill Heaven with smoke. This
passage speaks of a limited number when they are living on the earth, only those who
worshiped the beast, not all the lost who will not be living on the earth. Young's literal
translation of the Bible translates this action in the present tense as "bowing" (i.e.
worshiping). These people have no rest while they are still worshiping the beast, while on
earth. WHAT IS NOT SAID IS THAT THEY ARE TORMENTED FOREVER BUT
THE SMOKE FROM THEIR TORMENT (THE AFTERMATH OF DESTRUCTION)
GOSE UP FOREVER, EVIDENCE THAT GOD HAS DESTROYED THEM.
N. W. Allphin said smoke symbolizes the effects or evidences of fire and the evidences of this
destruction will never end, "Visions Unveiled, or The Revelation Explained" Page 168, 1985, Star Bible
Publications.
"Smoke has aptly been said to be the formless relic of an object that has been consumed or
decomposed, by the action of fire. It is but a relic, a vestige, an emblem, a lingering trace of the
passing, the drifting aftermath that remains from AN OBJECT THAT HAS BEEN DESTROYED. A
perpetual smoke may, therefore, will stand for a perpetual reminder before the universe of an
irreparable ruin that has taken place, a burning up that has accomplished its allotted purpose, The
same inspired portrayed, it is to be ever remembered, declares that God will 'consume,' 'devour,'
'destroy,' cause to 'perish,' and 'blot out' all the wicked. That dread transaction, or operation, involves
and constitutes the 'second death.' The perpetuity intended is not, therefore, of the torment, but of
the death following thereafter and caused thereby" Leroy Edwin Froom, “The Conditionalist Faith of
Our Father: The Conflict of the Ages Over the Nature and Destiny of Man,” Volume one, Page 409.
In Revelation 18:21 John says there will be a time when Babylon "shall be found no
more at all." Revelation 19:3 says the smoke of Babylon goes up forever and ever
[UNTO the ages of ages].
1. Babylon “shall be found no more at all” Revelation 18:21
2. “Voice of harpers…heard no more at all” Revelation 18:22
3. “Craftsman…found anymore at all” Revelation 18:22
4. “The voice of a mill shall be heard no more at all” Revelation 18:22
5. “A lamp shall shine no more at all” Revelation 18:23
6. “Voce of bridegroom…shall be heard no more at all” Revelation 18:23
• Being “found no more at all” clearly means Babylon will not exist forever in
eternal torment
• Babylon is fallen [Revelation 18:2]
• Burned up with fire [Revelation 18:8]
• The "smoke of her burning" was seen [Revelation 18:18]
If this were a literal worshiping of the beast and image given by John and a literal
receiving a mark on the forehead, few, if any would be guilty today. Have you ever seen
anyone with this mark on his or her forehead? I have not. The smoke of their torment is a
symbol just as are the wine and the cup. "The smoke of their torment" cannot be made
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literal without making the other symbol in the passage literal, which those that use it to
teach eternal torment are not willing to do.
Those who believe in Hell take it out of context and make Heaven be literally full of
smoke from the burning bodies of those in Hell after the Judgment Day, and this smoke
has been changed from those who worship Babylon BEFORE THE JUDGMENT
and has been made to be coming from all the unsaved who are in Hell AFTER THE
JUDGMENT even though this judgment scene in Revelation 14:9-11 takes place on
this earth before the judgment. SMOKE COMING FROM BABYLON BEFORE THE
JUDGMENT MUST BE CHANGED TO SMOKE COMING FROM ALL THE LOST
IN HELL AFTER THE JUDGMENT
Adam Clarke "Her smoke rose up. There was, and shall be, a continual evidence of God's
judgments executed on this great whore or idolatrous city; nor shall it ever be restored."
It is the evidences of this destruction, which is symbolized by smoke that will last
"unto the ages of the ages," and not evil world powers being tormented forever. In Isaiah
34:10 the smoke from Edom will go up forever.
Hailey says, "A constant reminder of the punishment for sin…Edom is not burning today, and
Heaven is not literally full of smoke. It is the everlasting remembrance of God's victor over evil
that is symbolized by the smoke." A Commentary On Isaiah" Page 290, 1985, Baker Book House.
Their "everlasting smoke" is that they will be forever remembered with disgrace and
contempt.
Some say, "O. K., if we must put the smoke of Hell in Heaven forever to have our
Hell, then we will take this symbol out of context, make it literal, and fill Heaven with the
odor from the burning bodies of most of mankind forever."
Smoke in Heaven in chapter 14 is a vision of the fall of beast (Emperor worship or
pagan Rome) and her worshipers. In chapter 18 the kings of the earth weep and lament
over Babylon (probably symbolisms for Rome that would not be understood by those
persecuting them) when they see the smoke of her burning. "Babylon, the strong city! For
in one hour your judgment has come" [Revelation 18:10]. And in verse 21 "THUS WILL
BABYLON, THE GREAT CITY, BE THROWN DOWN WITH VIOLENCE, AND WILL
NOT BE FOUND ANY LONGER." Then in 19:3 "And a second time they said,
'Hallelujah!' HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER" ("Unto the ages of the
ages" eiv touv aiwnav twn aiwnwn). It is clear that this is a vision of a judgment that
takes place in time, a judgment on Babylon, not the judgment at the coming of Christ.
The same apocalyptic language is used in Isaiah of the judgment of Edom. "IT SHALL
NOT BE QUENCHED NIGHT OR DAY; ITS SMOKE SHALL GO UP FOREVER"
[Isaiah 34:10]. Edom's fire was not quenched "night or day" [Isaiah 34:10], but it did go
out, and Edom became a place for wild creatures [Isaiah 35:11-15]. "Day and night"
means there is no let up, no break until the end. The fire of Edom did not burn in the day
and go out at night, but it burned "day and night" until there was nothing more to burn.
The outcome of the unquenchable fire that burned "day and night" was permanent
destruction, not burning forever. "From generation to generation it shall be desolate"
[Isaiah 34:10] not "from generation to generation it shall be burning." A person suffering
from cancer will suffer "day and night" until the end. "Day and night" does not mean
"forever." Examples where "day and night" were temporary and means continued day
and night as long as they existed but have ended. Isaiah 34:10; Acts. 9:24; 1
Thessalonians 2:9; 3:10. BOTH BABYLON AND EDOM ARE NATIONS, NOT
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PERSONS THAT ARE BEING JUDGED, AND I KNOW OF NO ONE THAT
BELIEVES NATIONS WILL BE IN HELL. YET, THEY USE THIS PASSAGE THAT
PROVES SOMETHING THEY DO NOT BELIEVE WHEN THEY MAKE IT
LITERAL. They change it from nations before the judgment to people after the judgment
and then say they do not believe in changing the Bible.
Those who believe in Hell use 2 THESSALONIANS 1:9 to prove Hell is away “from
the presents of God” and that death, the wages of sin is separation from God. Yet they
make REVELATION 14:10-11 be literal to prove Hell. In doing so, they make Hell be in
Heaven “in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”
“Angels who through the ages had watched the unfolding and revealing of God’s eternal purpose
and the conflict between good and evil, now see the consummation of the purpose and final
consequence of evil” Homer Hailey, Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary, page 310.
Even those who believe in Hell do not believe that any will be tormented in Heaven
forever, but when they make this torment be literal torment, they make it literally be in
Heaven in the presence of the angels and Christ, not in Hell. WHERE DO THEY THINK
HELL IS? AWAY "FROM THE PRESENCE OF GOD" OR "IN THE PRESENCE OF
GOD." THE SAME PEOPLE SAY BOTH.
THE LAKE OF FIRE
The "lake of fire" in which the Devil is cast is used five times, all five in the Book
of Revelation.
[1] LAKE OF FIRE: First time it is used - Revelation 19:20: The beast and the
false prophet-two world powers are cast into the lake of fire. The beast, which is the
great heathen world power of that day, the Roman Empire, and the false prophet, "these
two were thrown alive into the lake of fire." Those that worshiped the beast were not
thrown alive into the lake of fire but were killed with the sword, which came from the
mouth of him who sat upon the horse, "and all the birds were filled with their flesh." The
fire was no more literal fire than the beast is a literal beast and the birds are literal birds
that eat the literal flesh of literal people. It is a symbolic picture of total destruction, the
end of the beast and the false prophet (world powers). THOSE WHO MAKE THIS
LITERAL HAVE A LITERAL BEAST BEING BURNT IN A LITERAL LAKE OF
FIRE. ONLY THE BEAST AND FALSE PROPHET WHERE CAST INTO THE LAKE
OF FIRE. THE REST (those who people worshiped the world powers) WERE
KILLED [not tormented] AND EATEN BY BIRDS. WHEN SOME MAKE THIS
LITERAL TO PROVE THERE IS A HELL, IT IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THE
HELL THAT IS TAUGHT TODAY, NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THE HELL THEY
ARE TRYING TO PROVE. When something is not taught in the Bible, no passage that
is misused to prove it will prove it. They want to make only the lake be literal, but all
others things in this passage, the beast, the sword, the birds, etc. must be symbolism for if
they were literal, they would not fit with today's Hell. Why do they use this passage to try
to prove Hell when it is nothing like they say Hell will be? It puts a beast alive in Hell
and leaves the people that they say will live forever in Hell not in the lake of fire [not in
Hell], but they are dead and are eaten by birds, not alive and tormented in Hell. THE
"HELL" THAT IS PREACHED TODAY DOES NOT HAVE A BEAST THAT IS
ALIVE IN IT AND DEAD PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT IN HELL BEING EATEN
BY BIRDS.
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The lake of fire is used only in the Book of Revelation and is a symbolic picture taken
from this earth. Literal fire will not exist after the end of this age [1 Peter 3]. Anything
cast into a literal lake of fire would be totally destroyed, not tormented forever. It is a
symbol of total destruction, not of eternal torment, not something that will exist after the
destruction of the earth. To have their Hell in this passage, they must mix symbols and
literal together in the same passage and only they can tell us what part is literal, and even
then they cannot find anything that is close to the Hell that is preached today in it.
Homer Hailey "Revelation, An Introduction And Commentary" Chapter 19, Baker Book
House. "The beast is the great heathen world power of that day, the Roman Empire" Page 387.
Then on page 388 he says "These 'two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burns with
brimstone,' where the harlot had already met her fate, being 'utterly burns with fire'...Because of
the expression, 'cast alive,' some writers have concluded that these two are literally individuals
who will appear in person before the end of time. But this does not necessarily follow; for 'being
cast alive into the lake' indicates that up to the actual time when they were cast into the lake of
brimstone and WERE BROUGHT TO FINAL DESTRUCTION by His mighty power and judgment,
these two personified forces of political and spiritual power were actively fighting against the
Lamb. The Roman Empire and emperor worship backed by the imperial power were now
BROUGHT TO A FINAL AND COMPLETE END, never to rise again" On the same page he says
"The Roman power and the paganism which it supported ARE NOW DESTROYED FOREVER. The
vision of Daniel is fulfilled [Daniel 7:11], AND IN THIS DEFEAT AND DESTRUCTION IS
REVEALED THE DESTINY OF ALL SUCH POWERS THAT SHOULD EVER ARISE TO FIGHT
AGAINST GOD AND HIS KINGDOM. This is God's guarantee to victory to the saints who lived
then and to all who would come after them, even until the end of time. 'And all the birds were
filled with their flesh' completes the symbolism of verses 17-18. Not a vestige of the anti-Christian
forces were left; THE DESTRUCTION WAS COMPLETE." And on page 398, "The devil, man's
great deceiver from the beginning, now reaches his final doom and eternal end. First, he was cast
down to the earth [12:9], then into the pit of the abyss [20:3], and now into the lake of fire and
brimstone, his ultimate end." When he gets to Revelation 20:11 he says, "THUS FAR IN THE
BOOK SEVERAL SCENES OF JUDGMENT HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED, BUT NONE DEPICTED THE
FINAL JUDGMENT" Page 399
Foy E. Wallace, Jr. says the lake of fire is a figurative description of complete destruction and
annihilation of all persecuting powers opposed to the church [Page 434], and then of the
complete destruction and annihilation of Satan, and all who are not in the book of life. "The ones
who had part in it [the lake of fire] came to the same end as the persecuting beast-a figurative
description of complete destruction and annihilation of all persecuting powers opposed to the
church whose opposition was crushed." Wallace says. "ONE OF THESE PASSAGES CANNOT BE
CONSIDERED MORE OR LESS LITERAL THAN THE OTHER-BOTH WERE FIGURATIVE
EXPRESSIONS WHICH SIGNIFIED THE UTTER END OF THE PERSECUTING AUTHORITIES OF
HEATHENISM AGAINST CHRISTIANITY. The phrase cast alive into a lake of fire was equivalent to
burned alive, AND IT SYMBOLIZED COMPLETE DESTRUCTION. The signal triumph of the cause
of truth represented by the burning alive of the beast and the false prophet did not symbolize the
destruction to the Roman Empire, but of the persecutions waged by the emperors, which the
beasts represented. THE LAKE OF FIRE WAS NOT LITERAL ANY MORE THAN THE BEAST WAS
LITERAL. NEITHER WAS SUBJECT TO LITERAL APPLICATION, BOTH WERE FIGURATIVE. THE
BEAST SYMBOLIZED THE PERSECUTING POWER OF THE ROMAN EMPEROR: AND CASTING
HIM INTO A LAKE OF FIRE SIGNIFIED THE COMPLETE DEFEAT OF THE HEATHEN POWER HE
REPRESENTED IN THE WAR AGAINST THE CHURCH " The Book Of Revelation, Page 397.
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Of the final judgment in Revelation 20:14-15, Hailey says, "'He that overcomes shall not be
hurt of the second death' [2:11]; those that overcome had part in the first resurrection [20:6].
Thus far the harlot, the beast, the false prophet, Satan, and now death and Hades, HAVE BEEN
BROUGHT TO THEIR END IN THE LAKE OF FIRE...There remains only one group to be dealt
with: those not found written in the book of life...Of this second death, Alford writes, 'As there is
a second higher life, so there is also a second and deeper death. And as after that life there is no
more death, so after that death there is no more life'" Page 403.
Death and hades are nonliving things. They have no life, thoughts, or feelings. They
can be destroyed and "brought to a final and complete end," but it would not be possible
to torment them. They can no more be tormented than a rock, but both will come to an
end. Both will be made not to exist.
A. M. Ogden said the lake of fire in Revelation 19:20 is symbolic of God's fire of destruction
coming upon the Roman Empire and its pagan religions that were the persecutor of the church.
Page 354.
Both Wallace and Arthur Ogden said, "The holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband" [Revelation 21:2] is the
kingdom of God, the church of Christ; and not a vision of Heaven; but is a vision of the church,
the bride of Christ.
B. W. Johnson on Revelation 19:20 said, "Here the false prophet, both symbols of the same
power, is cast in the lake of fire. THE SYMBOL INDICATES UTTER DESTRUCTION. WHAT IS
CAST INTO THIS LAKE IS SEEN NO MORE."
Frank Walton said it is not a literal lake of fire. It symbolizes the total defeat of heathen powers
that war against the church. Florida College Lectures 1994, Page 176.
Jim McGuiggan in his commentary on Revelation 19:20 said he believes the lake of fire stands
for the utter defeat of the enemy.
These commentaries are some of the best, if not the best, and they all say the lake of
fire is symbolic of destruction or death, not of eternal life in torment. If Revelation 21 is a
symbolic picture of the church on earth as the bride of Christ, or if it is a symbolic picture
of the church in Heaven, in either case the lake of fire is symbolic and not a real place.
John clearly says in Revelation 21:8 that it is symbolic of the second death. Many who
believe in Hell are forced to admit that in Revelation 19:20 the lake of fire is symbolic,
but insist the same lake of fire in chapters 20 and 21 is a real literal lake of fire.
"FALSE PROPHET" IN HELL BEFORE THE JUDGMENT: On page 169, Peterson
says the "false prophet" [Revelation 19:20] are thrown alive into it and are still there a
thousand years later. Then he says Revelation 20:14 speaks of all human standing before
God at the Last Judgment. By making symbols literal, he changed nations [false
prophets] into people and puts people into Hell before they are judged at the Judgment
Day.
"DEVOURED" not "TORMENTED" Even if they make the symbolical language
literal, it would teach God would destroy His enemies, not torment them. "And fire came
down out of heaven, and devoured them" Revelation 20:9; the Bible language does not
suit today's teaching of fire that eternality burns but never devours, fire that never
consumes.
[2] LAKE OF FIRE: Second time it is used. Revelation 20:10 The devil is cast in
with the beast and the false prophet. Nothing of the physical realm could live in a lake
of fire. It is a symbolic picture of destruction, not of torment. Just as any living thing of
the earthly realm we know, if it were cast into a lake of fire it would be totally destroyed,
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a symbolic picture of the devil being cast into it would be a picture to us of his total
destruction, for if the devil were a flesh and blood being, he would be totally destroyed
by a literal lake of fire. The devil, the beast, false prophet, death, the grave, and all that
are not in the book of life will be totally destroyed. After the resurrection and judgment,
no one will be of the physical realm and could not be tormented by a literal lake of fire
that is of the physical realm. A literal lake of fire could not torment a spiritual being and
could have no effective on Satan or a "soul" as the word is used today. The devil that is a
being not of the earthly realm, a being of the spiritual realm, is cast to the lake of fire
along with two earthly things, the beast, and the false prophet. It is a symbolic picture of
their destruction, not a literal casting of beings of two realms, both earthly and spiritual,
into a literal lake of fire, which is of this earthly realm. Things of the earthly and spiritual
realms can be mixed in symbolic pictures, but not in reality. If the lake of fire were of the
earthly realm Satan could not be cast into it, and if it were of the spiritual realm, the beast
and the false prophet could not be cast into it. In Revelation 20:15 and 21:8, John
interpreted the figure or symbol he used and said the symbolic picture of the lake of fire
is in reality the second death. THE LAKE OF FIRE WILL HAVE THE SAME EFFECT
ON SATAN THAT IT WILL HAVE ON DEATH. "AND DEATH SHALL BE NO
MORE" [Revelation 21:4]. If it is the end of death, then it is the end of Satan. It is a
symbolic picture of the end of both.
SATAN'S MINISTERS: The ministers of Satan, like Satan, shall have an end.
"WHOSE END shall be according to their works" [2 Corinthians 11:15].
REVELATION 20:10 IS A SYMBOLIC PICTURE OF THE END OF SATAN, OF HIS
BEING ABOLISHED (DESTROYED), NOT TORMENTED FOREVER. Hebrews 2:14
IS A LITERAL STATEMENT OF HIS END. "That through death he might BRING TO
NOUGHT (nothing) him that has the power of death, that is, the devil" [American
Standard Version]. God made the world and all that is in it out of nothing. It will go back
to nothing. Satan also will be brought to nothing. "So that through death he might
DESTROY the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil" [New Revised Standard
Version]. In Hebrews 2:14 "naught" [nothing] is translated from "katargeo" which is
translated ABOLISHED, VANISH AWAY, BRING TO NAUGHT, DO AWAY WITH,
DESTROY, BE DONE WAY, AND CEASED.
• "That through death he might BRING TO NAUGHT [katargeo] him that had the
power of death, that is, the devil" [Hebrews 2:14]. "That through death he might
DESTROY [katargeo] him" King James Version.
• Death "SHALL BE ABOLISHED [katargeo]" [1 Corinthians 15:26].
• Knowledge "SHALL VANISH AWAY [katargeo]" [1 Corinthians 13:8].
• "God SHALL BRING TO NAUGHT [katargeo] both it (their belly) and THEM" [1
Corinthians 6:13].
• "The last enemy that shall be ABOLISHED [katargeo] is death" "DESTROYED"
[katargeo] King James Version [1 Corinthians 15:26].
• "The stumbling-block of the cross been DONE AWAY [katargeo]" "CEASED"
[katargeo] King James Version [Galatians 4:11].
• "It (the veil) is DONE AWAY [katargeo] in Christ" [2 Corinthians 3:14].
• "HAVING ABOLISHED [katargeo] in his flesh the enmity, even the law of
commandments" [Ephesians 2:15]. The same word is used for
o The end of death
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o Knowledge
o The belly
o Satan
o The Law of Moses
o And the lost. Whatever happens to one happens to the others; they all have
been or will be brought to nothing [katargeo].
A DEATH BRUISE TO THE HEAD OF SATAN: The serpent of Genesis 3 is not
said to be Satan but most all believe it to be Satan working through the serpent, which
was "more crafty than any beast of the field" [Genesis 3:1]. With the first lie, the devil
brought death into the world and became the murderer of Adam and Eve, therefore, the
murderer of all their seed [John 8:44]. He sinned "from the beginning" [1 John 3:8]. "He
[Christ] shall bruise you [Satan] on the head, and you [Satan] shall bruise him [Christ]
on the heel." See Romans 16:20.
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown says, "Thus, fatal shall be the stroke which Satan shall receive
from Christ" Commentary on Genesis 3:15.
"The terminology of this verse is such that it cannot apply to anything in heaven or upon earth
except the long spiritual conflict between Christ and Satan" J. B. Coffman, Commentary on
Genesis 3:15.
A wound to the heel is not fatal. Satan wounded Christ by sin and death, which he is
responsible for being in the world. It made the death of Christ necessary, but Christ rose
from the dead and in doing so bruised the head of Satan [Hebrews 2:1]. Did the serpent or
any other animal have the power to speak or was it Satan speaking through it? God did
speak through an animal [2 Peter 2:1]. It looks as if Satan did. See 2 Corinthians 11:3.
Christ said the devil "is a liar, and the father of lies" [John 8:44].
Albert Barnes on John 8:44, "He was a murderer from the beginning. That is from the beginning
of the world, or the first records there are of him. This refers to the seduction of Adam and Eve.
Death was denounced against sin Genesis ii.17. The devil deceived our first parents and they
became subject of death, Genesis iii. As he was the cause why death came into the world, he may
be said to have been a murderer in that act, or from the beginning."
Revelation 20:7, which may be symbolic language and not intended to be taken
literally says, "And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called
the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and
his angels were thrown down with him." Also see Revelation 12:9.
It is difficult to know what John meant by much of the symbolic language he used in
Revelation, but even more difficult to understand if it is made to be a literal non-symbolic
passage, yet many use a symbolic passage as the base of their faith and make it override
many clear passages.
[3] LAKE OF FIRE: The third time it is used is in Revelation 20:14 where Death
and hades cast into the lake of fire. If death and hades are annihilated in the lake of fire,
all who are not found written in the book of life must also be annihilated. IF ALL WHO
ARE NOT FOUND WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE ARE NOT ANNIHILATED,
DEATH IS NOT ABOLISHED [1 Corinthians 15:26]. THE SAME THING HAPPENS
TO ALL THREE [death, hades, and those that do not have their name in the book of life].
THEY COME TO AN END. "And death shall be no more" [Revelation 21:4].
HELL CAST INTO HELL [Revelation 20:14 King James Version]. I have often heard
in sermons that the lost will forever be tormented in the lake of fire. Most who believe in
Hell teach the lake of fire is Hell, but in the King James Version Hell is cast into the lake
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of fire, both cannot be the same place, but both Catholics and Protestants believe they are
the same place. Both believe the lake of fire is Hell. For both the Catholic and Protestant
versions of Hell, Hell being cast into Hell presents an absurd problem. Casting Hell into
Hell is another blunder made by the King James Translators trying to put Hell into the
Bible, but most other translations have corrected this blunder.
Dr. C. Campbell on Revelation 20:14 says, "If we interpret Hades, 'hell,' in the Christian sense of
the word, the whole passage is rendered nonsense. Hell is represented as being cast into
hell...THE PHRASE 'CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE' IS A FIGURE OF UTTER DESTRUCTION. IT
IS SIMPLY SAYING 'DEATH AND HELL WAS DESTROYED.'"
DEATH IS ALSO CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE. [Revelation 20:14] Will the
lake of fire be the end of death but not the end of Hell? Or will death be forever
tormented in the lake of fire, which many say is Hell? Death cannot be tormented; this is
a symbolic picture of the end of all three, death, hades and the wicked? DO SOME
THINK THE LAKE OF FIRE WILL ABOLISH DEATH BUT TORMENT PEOPLE?
"AND HELL DELIVERED UP THE DEAD" Revelation 20:13 THE KING JAMES
VERSION HAS HELL BEING EMPTIED BEFORE THE JUDGMENT, But, most
who believe in Hell do not believe that any in Hell will ever get out, "And death and hell
delivered up the dead which were in them" Revelation 20:13 King James Version. Many
believe that no one will be in Hell unto after the Judgment Day to be "delivered up," but
they use this passage to prove the lost will go to Hell after the Judgment although it will
be emptied and cast into the lake of fire before the Judgment. IN THE KING JAMES
VERSION THE JUDGMENT IS AFTER HELL HAS BEEN EMPTIED. NOT
ONLY IS HELL EMPTIED BEFORE THE JUDGMENT, BUT ALSO SOME
THAT WERE IN IT BEFORE IT WAS EMPTIED WILL EVEN BE FOUND
WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE, AND THOSE TAKEN OUT OF HELL ARE
NEVER PUT BACK INTO IT. According to the King James Version, the Judgment
will not take place unto after all that are in Hell have been taken out, "And the sea gave
up the dead which were in it; and death and HELL DELIVER UP THE DEAD WHICH
WERE IN THEM; AND THEY WERE JUDGED every man according to their works"
[Revelation 20:13]. In trying to put a place of eternal torment in the Bible by
mistranslating, they made the Bible teach something that they did not believe and most
today that believe in Hell do not believe. Most new translations, including the New King
James Version, have corrected this blunder, but unfortunately this has done little or
nothing to correct any of the many Protestant versions of Hell.
The end will not come unto Christ "shall have abolished all rule and all authority and
power for he must reign till he has put all his enemies under his feet, the last enemy that
shall be abolished is death" [1 Corinthians 15:24-20].
[4 and 5] LAKE OF FIRE: Forth and fifth times it is used. Any not in the book
of life will be thrown into the lake of fire [Revelation 20:15]. Lake of Fire is the
second death [Revelation 21:8].
What is cast into the lake of fire?
[1] The BEAST AND THE FALSE PROPHET, which are symbols of two world powers,
two nonliving things [Revelation 19:20].
[2] THE DEVIL cast in with the beast and the false prophet [Revelation 20:10].
[3] DEATH AND HADES, two more nonliving things are cast into the lake of fire
[Revelation 20:14].
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[4] AND ALL WHO ARE NOT IN THE BOOK OF LIFE [Revelation 20:15].
• FOUR NONLIVING THINGS that can come to an end but cannot be tormented. I
know of no one that believes world powers will forever be tormented in "Hell."
(1) The beast [symbol of a world power] (2) The false prophet (3) Death (4)
Hades [the grave].
• TWO LIVING (1) The devil (2) Any not in the book of life. For them the wages
of sin is death, not the death of the body that comes to all, but the second death.
IT IS THE BOOK OF LIFE – NOT A BOOK OF REWARDS
The book of life is not a book or rewards for soul that cannot die, not a book of
rewards for souls that have life and cannot be dead. THE SECOND DEATH is not just a
loss of well-being, a loss of privilege, pleasure, or a reward; the second death is death, not
life with torment; death is the reverse of life, death is not life.
The book of life is in seven passages.
• Revelation 3:5: He that overcomes will not have his name blotted out of the book
of life.
• Revelation 13:8: The beast given authority over all that dwell on the earth all
worship the beast that do not have their name in the book of life.
• Revelation 17:8: The beast will go into destruction and all that dwell on the earth
whose name has not been written in the book of life shall wonder.
• Revelation 20:12 and 20:15: There is to be a judgment with all the dead standing
before the throne of God, the great and the small. At this judgment any not found
written in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death. It
is either or, either your name is in the book of life or it is not. If it is not then it
will be the second death. It is life or death, not a reward or punishment. “I will
give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that
overcomes shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My
son. But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and
fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the
lake that burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death” [Revelation
21:6-8]. LIFE OR DEATH, NOT LIFE IN HEAVEN OR LIFE IN HELL, NOT
LIFE WITH A REWARD OR LIFE WITH PUNISHMENT.
• Revelation 21:27: Nothing unclean, only those that are written in the Lamb’s
book of life shall enter in the holy city.
• Revelation 22:19: Any that adds to or takes from the words of the book of this
prophecy, God shall take away his part from the “tree of life, and out of the holy
city, which are written in this book.” “The tree of life” in this passage seems to be
the same as “the book of life.”
THE THOUSAND YEARS AND THE LAKE OF FIRE: In the New Testament
many symbols are used and many of them we are told just what they are symbols of. We
are given the interpretation in clear plan language. WHEN WE ARE TOLD EXACTLY
WHAT THE INTERPRETATION IS IN PLAN LANGUAGE, WE MUST NOT
CHANGE THE INTERPRETATION OF THE SYMBOL. THE
PREMILLENNIALISTS MAKE A SYMBOL [the thousand years] INTO A LITERAL
TIME. THE BIBLE'S INTERPRETATION OF THE THOUSAND-YEAR REIGN
CANNOT BE ACCEPTED BY THEM FOR IF IT WERE, IT WOULD END THE
PREMILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. IN THE SAME WAY THOSE WHO TEACH THE
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LAKE OF FIRE IS HELL CANNOT ACCEPT THE BIBLE'S INTERPRETATION OF
WHAT THE LAKE OF FIRE IS, THE SECOND DEATH, FOR TO THEM THE LAKE
OF FIRE IS AN ETERNAL LIFE OF TORMENT IN FIRE; THEREFORE, THE
SECOND DEATH CANNOT BE DEATH. THE BIBLE'S OWN INTERPRETATION
OF WHAT THE LAKE OF FIRE IS NOT ACCEPTED FOR IF IT WERE THERE
COULD BE NO HELL.
THE SYMBOLS - - - - - -THE BIBLE'S INTERPRETATION
[1] THE FIELD -------- IS THE WORLD not a farm Matthew 13:38
[2] THE GOOD SEED ---- ARE THE SONS OF THE KINGDOM not a garden Matthew
13:38
[3] THE TARES -------- ARE THE SONS OF THE EVIL ONE not weeds Matthew
13:38
[4] BOWLS OF INCENSE - ARE PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS not cereal Revelation
5:8
[5] THE TEN HORNS ---- ARE TEN KINGS not ten trumpets Revelation 17:12
[6] THE WATERS ------- ARE PEOPLES, MULTITUDES, NATIONS not seas
Revelation 17:15
[7] THE WOMAN -------- IS THE GREAT CITY not a female Revelation 17:18
[8] SEVEN CANDLESTICKS ARE THE SEVEN CHURCHES Revelation 1:20
[9] TEN HORNS -------- ARE TEN KINGS not a band Revelation 17:12
[10] FINE LINEN ------ IS RIGHTEOUS ACTS OF THE SAINTS not a
tablecloth Revelation 19:8
[12] THE DRAGON ------ IS THE DEVIL AND SATAN Revelation 20:2
[13] 1,000 YEAR REIGN - IS THE FIRST RESURRECTION not a kingdom on earth
after the second coming of Christ Revelation 20:5
[14] LAKE OF FIRE ----- IS THE SECOND DEATH not a deathless place of
torment. All die once, sinners will die twice Revelation 21:8
The interpretation is ONLY what it is stated to be. The thousand years is the first
resurrection. The thousand years and the lake of fire are the two most misused symbols in
this book. It is as if God knew they would be misused, and He plainly said what they are
symbols of so there could be no excuses to misuse them. Those in Christ are now "kings
and priests" [Revelation 1:6]. Are a "kingdom and priests; and THEY REIGN UPON
THE EARTH" [Revelation 5:9-10]. Those who are baptized into Christ have been raised
with Him; they were dead and now have the life He gives and they live with Him. This is
the first resurrection, and those who have a part in it will not be subject to the second
death after the judgment. All others are dead in that they do not have the life Christ gives
and after the resurrection and judgment they will die the second death. The 1,000 years is
symbolic of an indefinite time in which the saints will reign with Christ; the saved
reigning with Christ begins after the resurrection of Christ and will last to His second
coming.
Strong lists ten Greek words that are translated thousand in the New Testament. Only
two of them are used in Revelations.
• Strong's word 5505, "chalias" is used 22 times in the New Testament. Luke 14:31
used two times; Acts 4:4; 1 Corinthians 10:8; Revelations 5:11; 7:4; 7:5 three
times; 7:6 three times; 7:7 three times; 7:8 three times; 11:13; 14:1; 14:3; 21:16.
In all of the 22 times it is used the precisely number of thousands is stated.
• Strong's word 5507, "chiloi" which Strong says is "plural" and "uncertain" is used
eleven times in the New Testament. Thousands (an indefinite plural) of years is a
long indefinite period of time having no certain or fixed limit. "Chiloi" is used in
2 Peter 3:8 two times; Revelations 11:3; 12:6; 14:20; 20:2; 20:3; 20:4; 20:5; 20:6;
20:7.
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In all four times the second death is used, death is from "thanatos," which is used 118
times in the New Testament. In all 118, death is death, not eternal life with torment, not
alive but separated from God, not alive with only a loss of well being.
• "You do proclaim the Lord's death [thanatos] till He comes" [1 Corinthians
11:26].
• "He was sick nigh unto death [thanatos]" [Philippians 2:27].
• "Brother shall deliver up the brother to death [thanatos]" Matthew 10:21].
• "Shall not taste of death [thanatos]" [Mark 9:1].
• "What death [thanatos] he should die" [John 12:33; 18:32].
• "By the death [thanatos] of his Son" [Romans 5:10].
Thanatos always means death, never any kind of life, but today's theology tells us that
John's interpretation of the Lake of Fire must be reinterpreted and death changed to
eternal life with torment for there could not be death to a soul that cannot die, therefore,
John's interpretation of the Lake of Fire being the second death must be reinterpreted to
be the Lake of Fire is eternal life with torment.
• Lake of fire - interpreted by John to be the second death.
• Lake of fire - reinterpreted today to be eternal life with torment.
The lake of fire is only a symbol of the real thing [the second death], but many preach
and teach it as if there is a real lake of literal fire somewhere but it is not on this earth and
this fire will last forever. There is not now or ever will be a lake of literal fire. They must
turn it around and make the second death be only a metaphor of the lake of fire, and it is
not a real death, for the second death cannot be a real death if the "soul" can never die.
They also make the second death be only a metaphor of Gehenna (but only after Gehenna
has been mistranslated into "Hell"). They do not seem to be able to make up their minds
on whether the second death is a metaphor of the lake of fire or a metaphor of Gehenna
after Gehenna has been changed to "Hell."
Changes made by those who say they do not change the Bible.
• The Bible says THE LAKE OF FIRE ------ IS THE SECOND DEATH
• Today many say THE SECOND DEATH - IS THE LAKE OF FIRE
• Today many say THE LAKE OF FIRE --- IS HELL
• Today many say THE LAKE OF FIRE --- IS GEHENNA
DEATH WILL END AFTER THE JUDGMENT WHEN DEATH IS DESTROYED.
The end will not come unto Christ "shall have abolished all rule and all authority and
power for he must reign till he has put all his enemies under his feet, the last enemy that
shall be abolished is death" [1 Corinthians 15:26].
• Death will be "DESTROYED" King James Version, New King James Version,
New Revised Standard Version, New Century Version, and New International
Version.
• Death will be "ABOLISHED" American Standard Version.
The lake of fire, which is the second death [Revelation 21:8], will be abolished,
destroyed when the kingdom is delivered up to God [1 Corinthians 15:24-26].
THE BRIMSTONE AND FIRE OF THE SECOND DEATH. How "fire and brimstone"
are used in the Bible and in the Book or Revelation.
BRIMSTONE AND FIRE IN NON-SYMBOLIC PASSAGES
Fire and brimstone [sulfur rock] were literally rained on Sodom and Gomorrah in
Genesis 19:24. THE "FIRE AND BRIMSTONE" THAT DESTROYED SODOM WAS
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RAINED FROM JEHOVAH OUT OF HEAVEN, NOT FROM HELL, AND THE
DESTROYING WAS ON THE EARTH, NOT IN HELL. "Then Jehovah rained upon
Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of Heaven" [Genesis
19:24; Luke 17:29]. Both cities were literally burned up and brought to a total end by the
fire and brimstone that rained on them. Fire and brimstone are used six other times in the
Old Testament [Deuteronomy 29:23; Job 18:15; Psalms 11:6; Isaiah 30:33; 34:9; Ezekiel
38:22], one time by Christ in Luke 17:29 speaking of the total destruction of Sodom. He
said, IF THE DESTROYING WILL BE "AFTER THE SAME MANNER" THEN THE
FIRE WILL BE RAINED FROM HEAVEN, NOT BE IN HELL, AND THIS FIRE
WILL DESTROY, NOT FOREVER TORMENT THOSE ON WHICH IT IS RAINED.
Most believers in Hell put both the brimstone and the fire in Hell, but in every
passage in both the Old and New Testament this literal fire and brimstone is always
on this earth, IT IS NEVER IN HELL. They must move the brimstone and fire from
earth to Hell for they have no scripture which is not symbolic that put it where they want
it.
Edom's destruction Isaiah 34:9-10: "Its smoke shall go up forever; from generation to
generation it shall be desolate; none shall pass through it forever and ever." The fire did
go out, and today there is no smoke going up. After the fire went out, it became the home
for pelicans hedgehogs, owls and ravens [Isaiah 34:11]. Thorns came up in its fortified
towers after the fire went out [Isaiah 34:13]. The fire was not quenched but went out
when there was nothing more to burn. The smoke is a symbolic picture showing that the
complete destruction was forever.
IT IS ALWAYS A TOTAL DESTRUCTION, NEVER A FOREVER ONGOING
TORMENT. Today's preaching of "Hell fire and brimstone" does not fit with the use of
fire and brimstone in the Bible. In today's theology the destruction is changed from total
destruction into a never ending torment without destruction.
BRIMSTONE AND FIRE IN SYMBOLICAL PASSAGES
Fire and brimstone are used six times in Revelation as a symbol of total destruction,
which is taken from its literal use in the rest of the Bible.
• (1) Revelation 9:17 "Out of their mouths proceeds fire and smoke and brimstone."
Out of the mouths of horses! This does not sound like the fire and brimstone we
are told will be in "Hell?"
• (2) Revelation 9:18 "The third part of men killed, by the fire and the smoke and
the brimstone, which proceeded out of their mouths" Even most who believes in
Hell say this fire and brimstone coming out of the mouth of horses are a symbol
of something on this earth before the end of time, something before the coming of
Christ and not an eternal torment. Believer's in Hell does not believe that a third
part of those in Hell will be killed by the fire and brimstone that comes out of the
mouths of horses; they believe no one that is in Hell can be killed. HELL
COMING FROM HORSES MOUTHS is a symbolic picture. Does anyone
believe this "fire and brimstone" that kills is the Hell-fire that torments as
preached by Jonathan Edwards? THEY DO NOT THINK HELL COMES OUT
OF HORSES MOUTHS and want to make only a part of the symbolic language
be literal and they get to pick what part. Most who believe in Hell believe the first
and second occurrences of "fire and brimstone" in Revelation is used figuratively,
not literally. They only make it be used literally when it will prove their Hell, and
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fire and brimstone coming out if the mouth of horses is not what they are trying to
find.
• (3) Revelation 14:10. Brimstone used in a symbolic picture of Babylon. A part of
the same symbolic picture is smoke in Heaven in Revelation 14:11. See [17]
REVELATION 14:11 above. THE BIBLE IS ITS OWN BEST INTERPRETER.
Isaiah 34:10 says the smoke of Edom "shall go up for ever and ever." Today,
there is no smoke. It is symbolic for a punishment that has eternal consequences
and not a punishment that shall go on forever.
• (4)-(5)-(6) Revelation 19:20; 20:10; 21:8. Three times of the lake of fire, which
burns with fire and brimstone is the second death. The symbolic use of brimstone
and fire depends on its use in the non-symbolical passages for it meaning. In
them, it is always a destruction that ends when the destruction is total. Many
symbols in Revelations come from the Old Testament. In the Old Testament fire
and brimstone always brought a literal death; in Revelations fire and brimstone
are used as a symbolical picture of death.
PART FOUR
EVERLASTING OR FOREVER
Of The King James Version
OLAM in the Old Testament: "Age, age-lasting, olam" Robert Young, Young's
Analytical Concordance To The Bible, Page 310. OLAM (olamim-plural) in the Hebrew
Old Testament is translated everlasting in the King James Version and others, but does
not mean without end as eternal in today's English does.
Olam-singer and olamim-plural are used of:
1. A Period of times that had both a beginning and an end. Forever (olam) is used
about sixty-five times in the Old Testament for things that have already passed
away.
2. Periods of times that had a beginning but the end is obscure or had not yet came.
3. A Period of time that is followed by another period of time; “from olam (age) to
olam (age)” and “from olam (age) to olamim (ages), which are often translated
“for ever and ever, ” which would make there be more than one eternality.
AGES WITH BOTH A BEGINNING AND AN END
SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE "EVERLASTING" OR "FOREVER" IN THE
KING JAMES VERSION THAT WAS AGE LASTING, NOT "EVERLASTING."
1. THE LAW OF MOSES - "A statute forever (olam-age)" See Exodus 12:24;
27:21; 28:43; 29:28; 30:21; Leviticus 6:18; 6:22; 7:34; 7:36; 10:9; 10:15; 16:29;
16:31; 17:7; 23:14; 24:3; Numbers 10:8; 15:15; 18:8; 18:11; 18:23; 19:10;
Deuteronomy 12:28; 13:16; 15:17; 23:3; 28:40; 29:29; Joshua 4:7; 8:28; 14:9. It
lasted for an age (about 1500 years) and was replaced with a better covenant
[Hebrews 8:7-14]. It was not "forever" with the meaning of forever in today's
English. Forever in the King James Version is a bad translation of olam, for olam
in the Old Testament did not have the same meaning that forever had in 1611.
2. JEWS WERE TO POSSES THE LAND "FOREVER" (olam-age) [Genesis
13:15].
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3. TEMPLE RITUALS TO CONTINUE FOREVER (olam-age) [2 Chronicles2:4].
Today there is no temple in Jerusalem and no rituals in the temple that does not
exist.
4. LEVITES WERE TO BEAR THE ARK FOREVER (olam-age) [1 Chronicles
15:2]. There are no Levites to bear the Ark and no Ark for them to bear.
5. SACRIFICES WERE FOREVER (olam-age) [Leviticus 3:17; 6:18; 7:36; 10:9-
15; 16:29; 17:17; 23:14: 24:3; Numbers 10:8; 15:15: 18:8; 19:10].
6. CIRCUMCISION WAS FOREVER (olam-age) [Genesis 17:13].
7. DAVID'S THRONE WAS FOREVER (olam-age). [2 Samuel 7:12-13; 1 Kings
9:5].
8. A SLAVE WAS A SLAVE FOREVER (olam-age) [Exodus 21:6; Deuteronomy
15:17] Olam [forever] lasted only to the end of his life.
9. JONAH'S "EVERLASTING" (olam-age) lasted only three days [Jonah 2:6].
AGES THAT HAD A BEGANNING
BUT THE ENDING IS IN THE OBSCURE FUCTURE
THE EVERLASTING (olam) HILLS [Genesis 49:26]: The hills had a beginning
when the earth was made but there ending is some times in the obscure future.
THE EVERLASTING (olam) COVENANT OF THE RAINBOW [Genesis 9:11-17]:
Like the hills, the beginning of the rainbow covenant is known but it’s ending is some
times in the obscure future, probability both the hills and the rainbow ends at the end of
the earth.
Neither is eternal, without beginning or ending. The “olam hills” are not the “eternal
hills.”
FROM ONE OLAM (age) TO ANOTHER OLAM (age)
Old Testament - "from olam to olam" [from age to age] is used twenty-one times.
From one period of time to another period of time demands a separation of the two
periods – ages; therefore, neither or the two olams could be without a beginning or
ending. Two olams would demand that there be more than one olam, more than one age,
not more than one eternality.
From olam (age) to olam (age) applied to people or things
1. “Thou hast blotted out their (the wicked) name for ever (olam-age) and ever
(olam-age) [Psalms 9:5]
2. “He (the king) asked life of Thee, Thou didst give him length of days for ever
(olam-age) and ever (olam-age)” [Psalms 21:4].
3. “The people praise thee for ever (olam-age) and ever (olam-age)” [Psalms 45:17]
4. “All His precepts are sure. They are upheld for ever (olam-age) and ever (olamage)”
[Psalms 111:8]. From one age to another age, not from one eternality to
another eternality.
5. “Thy law continually for ever (olam-age) and ever (olam-age)” [Psalms 119:44]
6. “From this time forth and for ever (olam-age) and ever (olam-age)” [Psalms
125:2; 131:3]
7. “I will bless thy name for ever (olam-age) and ever (olam-age)” [Psalms 145:1]
8. “I will praise thy name for ever (olam-age) and ever (olam-age)” [Psalms 145:2]
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9. “He has also established them (the heavens) for ever (olam-age) and ever (olamage)”
[Psalms 148:6]
10. “Also established them for ever (olam-age) and ever (olam-age)” [Isaiah 30:8].
“That it may serve in the time to come as a witness forever (olam-age)” New
American Standard Version
11. "Then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers
forever and ever" "from olam to olam" [Jeremiah 7:7]. From a long time past to a
long time to come, but not forever as the word "forever" is used today.
12. "And dwell in the land that the Lord has given unto you and to your fathers for
ever and ever" "from olam to olam" [Jeremiah 25:5]. If "forever and ever" is for
eternity, then the world cannot end for they must dwell in the land for eternity and
then for another eternity. None of them could dwell in Heaven or in Hell for they
would be dwelling in the land on this earth for eternity and then for another
eternity.
13. “As the stars for ever (olam-age) and ever (olam-age)” [Daniel 12:3]
From olam (age) to olam (age) applied to God
1. “The Lord shall reign for ever (olam-age) and ever (olam-age) [Exodus 15:18]
2. “Blessed the Lord God of Israel for ever (olam-age) and ever (olam-age) [1
Chronicles 16:36]
3. “The Lord is King for ever (olam-age) and ever (olam-age)” [Psalms 10:16]
4. “God is our God for ever (olam-age) and ever (olam-age)” [Psalms 48:14]
5. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel form everlasting (olam-age) and to
everlasting (olam-age)” [Psalms 41:13]
6. “Even from everlasting (olam-age) to everlasting (olam-age) thou art God”
[Psalms 90:2] ""from olam to olam" - from age to age. "From everlasting to
everlasting" would mean one everlasting would have to end for there to be
another. Two everlasting are not possible. There cannot be a "from one eternity to
another eternity."
7. “The Lord is from everlasting (olam-age) to everlasting (olam-age)” [Psalms
103:17]
8. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting (olam-age) to everlasting
(olam-age)” [Psalms 106:48]
a. From “everlasting to everlasting” from “one eternality to another
eternality”? How could there be from everlasting to everlasting or from
eternality to eternality? Today’s concept of eternality seems not to have
existed in the Old Testament; they had the concept of one age after
another age after another age, but not of today’s eternality.
DAYS OF OLD
If olam means everlasting or eternal, why did the King James Version translate it old
and ancient; could it be that they knew eternal as it is used today would have made no
sense in these passages? DAYS OF OLD (olam-age) IS DURATION ENDED, NOT
ENDLESS DURATION.
[1] "Remember the DAYS OF OLD (olam-age), consider the years of many generations"
[Deuteronomy 32:7]. One word translated into three words.
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[2] "For those nations were OF OLD (olam-age) the inhabitants of the land" [1 Samuel
27:8]. The same one word translated into two words.
[3] "The OLD (olam-age) way which wicked men have trodden" [Job 22:15]. The same
one word translated into only one word.
[4] "For they have been ever OF OLD (olam-age)" [Psalms 25:6].
[5] "I remembered the judgments OF OLD (olam-age)" [Psalms 119:52].
[6] "Is there anything whereof it may be said, see, this is new? It has been already OF
OLD TIMES (olam-age) that was before us" [Ecclesiastes 1:10].
[7] "I held my peace even OF OLD (olam-age), and you feared me not" [Isaiah 57:11].
[8] "And he bare them, and carried them all the DAYS OF OLD (olam-age)" [Isaiah
63:9].
[9] "Then he remembered the DAYS OF OLD (olam-age), Moses, and his people" [Isaiah
63:11].
[10] "The prophets that have been before me and before you OF OLD (olam-age)"
[Jeremiah 28:8].
[11] "He has set me in dark places, as they that be dead OF OLD (olam-age)"
[Lamentations 3:6].
[12] "When I shall bring you down with them that descend into the pit, with the people
OF OLD TIMES (olam-age), and shall set you in the low parts of the earth, in places
desolate OF OLD (olam-age)" [Ezekiel 26:20].
[13] "Let them feed in Basham and Gilead, as in the DAYS OF OLD (olam-age)" [Micah
7:10].
[14] "Then shall the offering of Judea and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the
DAYS OF OLD (olam-age), and as in former years" [Malachi 3:4].
[15] "And they have caused them to stumble in their ways from ANCIENT [olam-age]
paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up" [Jeremiah 18:15].
Olam is used repeatedly where it means an age but cannot mean everlasting. To go
into them would take many pages. Look up "ever" in any good concordance or Wigam,
pages 907-910, Old Testament. A few of them - 1 Samuel 13:13; 2 Samuel 7:13,16,25,
26, 29; 1 Kings 2:33; 2:45; 9:5; 1 Chronicles 17:12, 14, 23, 27; 22:19; 28:4, 7; 2
Chronicles 8:5; Psalms 89:4; Ezekiel 37:25. Olam is used many time for things where
both the beginning and end are known; many times where the beginning is known but the
end is unknown; the beginning of God’s covenant of the rainbow is known but not it’s
end – probable at the end of the earth.
AION AND AIONIOS
AION (a noun - the plural is aions) and AIONIOS (the adjective form of aion) in the
New Testament. Like olam in the Old Testament, aion in the New Testament is also used
repeatedly where it means an age but cannot mean everlasting. One example is
Colossians 1:26.
• King James Version: "The mystery which hath been hid from AGES [aions] and
from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints"
• New King James Version: "The Mystery which has been hidden from AGES
[aions] and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints"
• American Standard Version: "Even the mystery which hath been hid for AGES
[aions] and generations: but now hath it been manifested to his saints"
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• New American Standard Bible: "That is, the mystery which has been hidden from
the past AGES [aions] and generations, but has now been manifested to His
saints"
• New Revised Standard Version: "The mystery that has been hidden throughout
the AGES [aions] and generations but has now been revealed to his saints"
• New International Version: "The mystery that has been kept hidden for AGES
[aions] and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints"
• Young's Literal Translation: "The secret that hath been hid from the AGES [aions]
and from the generations, but now was manifested to his saints"
Why did none of the translation use "forever"? It was obvious to them that God had
kept this mystery hidden for ages but not for eternities.
An aion (age) HAS A BEGINNING [1 Corinthians 2:7, 2 Timothy 1:9, Hebrews 1:2].
An aion (age) HAS AN END [Matthew 24:3, 1 Corinthians 10:11, Hebrews 9:20].
Forever and eternality, as they are used today, have no beginning and no end.
"WORLD" [Greek-aion] in the King James Version
It had to be obvious to the translators that there are more than one aion, but they hid
this from their reader by translating it "this world" and "the world to come." A PERIOD
OF TIME (An Age) IS CHANGED TO A PLACE (World). “Age, indefinite time,
dispensation” Robert Young, “Young’s Analytical Concordance To The Bible,” page
1073.
[1] Matthew 12:32 "Neither in this WORLD* (aion-age) nor in that which is to come."
"Either in this age, or the age that is to come" New King James Version, New American
Standard Version. Not "neither in this eternity or that eternity which is to come." There
are not two forevers, one that now is and one to come.
[2] Matthew 13:22 "Care of this WORLD* (aion-age)." "Care of this forever or eternity"?
[3] Matthew 13:39 "The harvest is the end of the WORLD* (aion-age)." "The end of the
forever or the end of eternity"? "The end of the age" New King James Version, New
American Standard Version.
[4] Matthew 13:40 "So shall it be at the end of this WORLD (aion-age)." "At the end of
this forever or this eternity"? "The end of this age" New King James Version, New
American Standard Version.
[5] Matthew 24:3 "At the end of the WORLD* (aion-age)." "At the end of the forever or
this eternity"? "The end of the age" New King James Version, New American Standard
Version.
[6] Matthew 28:20 "Unto the end of the WORLD*" (aion-age). "The end of eternity"?
[7] Mark 4:19 "The cares of this WORLD (aion-age)." "Cares of this forever or this
eternity"?
[8] Mark 10:30 "In the WORLD* (aion-age) to come." "In the forever to come"?
[9] Luke 1:70 "Since the WORLD (aion-age) began." "Since the forever began"?
[10] Luke 16:8 "Children of this WORLD* (aion-age)." "Children of this forever"?
[11] Luke 18:30 "In the WORLD* (aion-age) to come." "In the forever to come"?
[12] Luke 20:34 "Children of this WORLD* (aion-age) marry." "Children of this
eternity"?
[13] Luke 20:35 "Worthy to obtain that WORLD* (aion-age)." "That eternity"?
[14] John 9:32 "Since the WORLD (aion-age) begin." "Since forever begin"? “In the
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beginning God created the heavens and the earth” [Genesis 1:1]. Beginning of what? The
beginning of time. Although it seems there may be ages after the earth [Luke 18:30; Mark
10:30] and may have been ages before the earth, this is an age that had a beginning and is
not the beginning of the world.
[15] Acts 3:21 "Since the WORLD (aion-age) begin." "Since eternity begin"?
[16] Acts 15:18 "From the beginning of the WORLD (aion age)." "From the beginning of
the forever"?
[17] Romans 12:2 "From the beginning of the WORLD (aion-age). "From the beginning
of the eternity"?
[18] 1 Corinthians 1:20 "Where is the disputer of this WORLD*" (aion-age)." "Disputer
of this eternity"?
[19] 1 Corinthians 2:6 "Not of the wisdom of this WORLD*, (aion-age) nor of the princes
of this WORLD* (aion-age)." "Wisdom of this forever ... princes of this eternity"?
[20] 1 Corinthians 2:7 "Which God ordained before the WORLDS" (aions-ages, plural in
the Greek, singular in the King James, plural in most translations). Ordained before the
eternities? God’s wisdom, which had been hidden but has now been made known, was
foreordained before the ages, not before the worlds plural or before eternities plural. “In
hope of eternal life, which God…promised before the ages (aionios-ages)” [Titus 1:2].
“Promised before the world began” (King James) or promised “before times eternal”
American Standard makes no sense, promised to whom before the world began or before
times eternal? If eternality has no beginning or ending when was before eternality?
• “Before the ages (aions-ages)” New American Standard and Revised Standard
Version.
[21] 1 Corinthians 2:8 "None of the princes of this WORLD* (aion-age)." "Princes of this
eternity"?
[22] 1 Corinthians 3:18 "Seems to be wise in this WORLD* (aion-age)." "Wise in this
eternity"?
[23] 1 Corinthians 8:13 "While the WORLD (aion-age) stands." "While the forever
stands"?
[24] 1 Corinthians 10:11 "The ends of the WORLD* (aions-ages)." "The ends of the
eternities"? "Upon whom the ends of the ages are come" American Standard Version.
[25] 2 Corinthians 4:4 "The God of this WORLD (aion-age)." "The God of this eternity"?
[26] Galatians 1:4 "From this present evil WORLD* (aion-age)." "Present evil forever"?
Is this present evil world to last for an age or to last for an eternity?
[27] Ephesians 1:21 "Not only in this WORLD (aion-age)." "Not only in this eternity but
also in another eternity"?
[28] Ephesians 2:2 "According to the course of this WORLD (aion-age)." "Course of this
forever"?
[29] Ephesians 3:9 "The beginning of the WORLD* (aion-age)." "The beginning of the
eternity." Young's Literal Translation, "And to cause all to see what is the fellowship of
the secret that has been hid FROM THE AGES in God, who the all things did create by
Jesus Christ, that there might be made known now to the principalities and authorities in
the heavenly places, through the assembly, the manifold wisdom of God, according to A
PURPOSE OF THE AGES, which He made in Christ Jesus our Lord."
[30] Ephesians 3:21 “WORLD (aion) without end.” The footnote in the New American
Standard says, “To all generations of the age of the ages.”
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[31] Ephesians 6:12 "Of the darkness of this WORLD (aion age)." "Of the darkness of
this eternity"?
[32] 1 Timothy 6:17 "That are rich in this WORLD* (aion-age)." "Rich in this eternity"?
[33] 2 Timothy 4:10 "Having loved this present WORLD (aion-age)." "Loved this present
forever"?
[34] Titus 2:12 "Godly, in this present WORLD* (aion-age)." "In this present eternity"?
[35] Hebrews 1:2 "By whom also he made the WORLD (aions-ages)."
[36] Hebrews 6:5 "Powers of the WORLD* (aion-age) to come." "Powers of the forever
to come"? Will there be another world?
[37] Hebrews 9:26 "Now once in the end of the WORLD (aion-age)." In the end of
forever which was more than 1900 years ago? It was in the end of the age of the Law or
Jewish age, which lasted from the giving of the law by Moses to the death of Christ, not
the end of the world. The sacrifice of Christ was in the end of the age of the Law given
through Moses not in the end of the world.
[38] Hebrews 11:3 "The WORLDS (aions-ages) were framed." God made the ages. Did
the King James translators think there is more than one earth? “By faith we understand
that the ages (aions-ages)." were prepared by the word of God” New American Standard
footnote. Plural ages were prepared by the word of God, periods of time, not plural places
or worlds.
Aionios, the adjective form of aion is translated world three times.
[39] Romans 16:25-26 “Kept secret since the WORLD* (aionios-age) began, but now is
made manifest…is made known.” Was not kept secret for all eternality, as eternality is
understood today.
• “For long ages past” New American Standard and New International Version.
• “For long ages” New Revised Standard Version.
[40] 2 Timothy 1:9 “Which was given us in Christ Jesus before the WORLD* (aioniosage)
began.
• “Before times eternal” American Standard Version, footnote “long ages ago.”
What times dose anyone think was before eternality began?
• “From all eternity” New American Standard.
• “Before the ages (aionios-age) began” New Revised Standard Version.
• “Before the beginning of time” New International Version.
o The promise of salvation was first given in Genesis 3:15 at the beginning
of the first age on earth, the Patriarchal age, which was from Adam to
Moses, before the Christian age begin age that Paul was in.
[41] Titus 1:2 “Which God, that cannot lie, promised before the WORLD* (aionios-age)
began.” Given or promised to whom before the world began, to whom before everlasting
or eternality began? If eternality had no beginning and will have no ending, how could
there be a “before eternality began? “Before the age began” not before the world or the
ages began, by “the age” Paul is probably speaking of the age we are now in, before the
Christian age began; Christ lived and give us the promise of the resurrection to life before
the Christian age began.
• *Translated "age(s)" in the New Revised Standard Version.
In the above there are past age(s), the present age, and age(s) to come. There are not
worlds past, present, and future. We speak of "the Stone Age," "the Iron Age." etc. Age
(aion), century and year are all periods of time. The world is a place. HOW DID
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THE TRANSLATORS GET A PLACE FROM A WORD THAT MEANS A
PERIOD OF TIME? HOW DID THEY GET "WORLD" FROM "AION"? The
King James Version has “world without end” and “in the end of the world” [Ephesians
3:21; Hebrews 9:26]. Eternity has no beginning; therefore, they could not translate it
forever so they change a word that means a period of time that has a beginning and an
end to a place. Most translations used "age(s)." If aion means forever, what did the
translators do when they came to Matthew 24:3? Did they translate it "the end of
forever"? No, they could not have an end to eternity; therefore, they change aion to
"world." In the Greek "world" is from "kosmos" not "aion." Were they not being less than
truthful with their readers? Just as truthful as they were in the Old Testament where
"olam" is translated "world" in Psalms 73:12. Despite the fact that they have translated
"olam" into "everlasting" repeatedly, they could not have the ungodly prosper for
"forever." An aion (age) in Matthew 24:3 is not a place, not a world.
PLURAL is changed to SINGULAR. When the King James translators translated
aions into "worlds" [Hebrews 1:2; see Ephesians 2:7; Colossians 1:26] they left it in the
plural, but when they translated it "forever and ever" they changed it to the singular.
They could have plural worlds, but they could not have a plurality of forever or more
than one eternality. Their Hell must last forever (singular), not forevers (plural), and not
just UNTO the age of ages.
HOW DO THEY KNOW "HELL" IS EVERLASTING? NOT ONE OF THE
FOUR WORDS TRANSLATED "HELL" IN THE KING JAMES VERSION IS
USED WITH AION. NOT ONE OF THEM IS SAID TO BE EVERLASTING OR
AGE LASTING.
Aion is used of past ages, the present age, future ages, and in the plural about two
thirds of its occurrences in the Bible. Therefore, there MUST be more than one age.
It follows that eternity is not an acceptable meaning of this Greek word. There
cannot be past eternities, a present eternity, and future eternities, neither can there
be plural eternities. An aion (age) is a long period of time that has a beginning and an
ending, but it is not eternity which has no beginning or ending. There are more than one
aions, but there can be only one eternity.
In the Bible there is the Patriarchal dispensation (age), and the Law of Moses
dispensation (age) [Luke 1:70; Romans 12:2; Colossians 1:26], and the Christian
dispensation (age). Age (aion) is applied to the Jewish dispensation (age) that has ended.
See Hebrews 9:26; 1 Corinthians 10:11; Matthew 24:3; Luke 1:70. In this age the good
seed and the weeds are together, but at the end of this age (the Christian dispensation) the
weeds will be "collected and burned up with fire" [Luke 13:40 New Revised Standard
Version]. This age will end at the coming of Christ. Eternal life will be given in the age to
come [Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30; 20:35; Ephesians 1:21; 2:7; Hebrews 6:5].
AION and AIONIOS: When both the singular and plural are used together in one
passage there must be more than one aion (age). A plural eternity or forever is
impossible; aionios refer to periods of time (ages). Unless an age means all of time, there
must be another part(s) of time (another age or ages); an age is not forever or eternity as
the English word "eternity" is used today.
The word "eternal" was first put into the Bible when the Latin Vulgate Version of
Jerome was translated into English; there is no word in the Hebrew or Greek Bible
that corresponds to the English word "eternal"; Jerome translation give aion two
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difference meaning. If the first English translation had come directly from the Hebrew
and Greek, it is unlikely that "eternal" would have ever been in it. Jerome was
inconsistent in the way he put eternal into his translation by translating aion into eternal
twenty-seven times out of about one hundred twenty-five times that aion is used,
nevertheless, his inconsistencies were translated into English and most later translations
copied them.
"TO or UNTO the ages of [the] ages"
[1] “The smoke of their torment doth go up UNTO the ages of ages” [Revelation 14:11].
If, as some believe, the ages of the ages is eternity after the judgment, then the smoke of
their torment, the torment of the devil, and the reigning last UNTO the end of time, but
nothing is said about after the judgment.
[2] “Her smoke doth come up UNTO the ages of [the] ages” [Revelation 19:3].
[3] “They (the devil, the beast and the false prophet) shall be tormented day and night
UNTO the ages of [the] ages” (20:10). "Day and night" belongs to time, not eternity
[Revelation 22:5]. We do not know what is going on in the mind of Satan, but it is only
reasonable to believe that he knows his time will come to an end. Would this not be
torment to him? "The Lord knows how to...keep the unrighteous under punishment unto
the Day of Judgment" [1 Peter 2:9]. UNTO the ages of ages could only mean the time
that is before the ages to come, BEFORE HEAVEN, not forever. NOT DURING OR
THROUGHOUT ETERNITY. This torment, whether it is literal or figurative torment, IS
ONLY SAID TO BE "UNTO THE AGES OF AGES" WHICH IS BEFORE MANY
BELIEVE ANYONE WILL BE IN HELL. IT ENDS AT THE TIME THEY SAY HELL
WILL BEGIN (“UNTO the ages of ages”). IT SAYS NOTHING ABOUT TORMENT
NEITHER LITERAL TORMENT OR FIGURATIVE TORMENT IN THE "AGES OF
AGES." When the Greek says, "unto the ages of ages," it is not "forever and ever." This is
just another attempt of the translators to put an eternal place of torment in the Bible
where there is not one.
The superlative degree:
• The song of songs - the best of all songs
• The book of books - the best of all books
• The party of parties - the best of all parties
• The lie of lies - the biggest of all lies
• The king of kings and lord of lords [1 Timothy 6:15] - the greatest of all kings and
lords
• The ages of ages - does this mean the best age of all ages?
o “Ages” (plural – more then one age) “of the ages” (plural – also more then
one age).
THE AGES TO COME: "UNTO the ages of [the] ages" [Revelation 1:6; 2 Timothy
4:18; etc.] Does eternity have ages? "Who shall not receive manifold more in this time,
and in the world to come (aion, - the AGE to come) eternal (aionios, the adjective form
of aion) life" [Luke 18:30; Mark 10:30]. Life that will have no end will be given at the
judgment after the end of the Christian Age [Romans 6:22; Galatians 6:8; Titus 1:2].
Christ was speaking of life after the judgment when He said, "and in the age to come."
Paul speaking to those in the Christian Age, those that were saved by grace when he say,
“THAT IN THE AGES (aions) TO COME (ages to come after the Christian Age) he
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might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus”
[Ephesians 2:6-7].
There may be no way we can know, but it is possible that there was a time before God
made anything, where there was just God, was one age. Then after He made Heaven and
all was perfect was another age. After Satan and other angels sinned was another age, and
things we know nothing about could be the beginning and ending of ages. There is no
way we can know something God has not revealed to us, and it is unreasonable to think
that we with our limited knowledge could know even the hem of the garment when it
comes to knowing what an infinite God has done before He made this world and will do
throughout all eternity. "Unto the ages of the ages" may mean that eternity after the
judgment will have "ages." God does not change, but there is no reason to believe that
after the judgment He will just sit and do nothing that could be the end of one age and the
beginning of another. In all of time we know anything about, God has used ages that had
begins and ends, and there is no reason to believe He cannot or will not always use them.
There is no man in Heaven now but the saved will be in Heaven after the judgment; when
all the saved of mankind are in Heaven will that not be one change from what Heaven is
now, maybe the beginning of a new age? And there could be others changes later that
would be the beginning and ending of ages. I do not believe He is a sleeping God who
woke up one day and made the world in six days and went back to sleep. What He has
done and will do throughout eternity is beyond my imagination and as He has not
revealed it, no one can know, but eternity is a long time and it is not reasonable to believe
He is now sleeping and will not frequently do many things as great or greater than
making the earth; things that will be the beginning of an endless number of new ages.
Angels are not self-existing being as God is, they were created by God; therefore, their
creation may have been the beginning of an age in Heaven. Heaven itself was created;
only God is self-existing, unchanging and without a beginning, not created things. All the
things that God created that we know about and all the beings, angels and mankind, were
not created at the same time there is no reason to believe that God will not go on creating
both new things and new beings.
PAST AGES, A PRESENT AGE, FUTURE AGES: If, as many teach, "aion" did
means "forever" or "eternity" then there would be past eternities, present eternities, and
future eternities to come, both singular and plural.
SINGULAR
• A PAST AGE, NOT A PAST ETERNITY [singular] Acts 15:18 "From the
beginning of the aion" Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:26; Luke 1:55.
• A PRESENT AGE, NOT A PRESENT ETERNITY [singular] Galatians 1:4
"From this present evil aion" Matthew 12:32; 13:22; 13:39; 13:40; 24:3; 28:20;
Mark 4:19; Luke 1:70; Luke 16:8; 20:34; John 9:32; Acts 3:21; 15:18; Romans
12:2; 1 Corinthians 2:6; 2:8; 3:18; 8:13; 10:11; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Galatians 1:4;
Ephesians 1:21; 2:2; 6:12; 1 Timothy 7:17; 2 Timothy 4:10. The present aion
(age) is clearly distinguished from a past aion or a future aion, not a past or future
eternality.
• A FUTURE AGE, NOT A FUTURE ETERNITY [singular] Luke 20:35
"Worthy to obtain that aion." Matthew 12:32; Mark 10:30 "In the aion to come."
Luke 18:30; 20:35; Ephesians 1:21; 2:7; Hebrews 6:5.
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PLURAL Of the one hundred twenty four times aion is used in the New Testament sixty
six are in the plural, more than one age, not more than one eternality and in twenty one
others that there is more than one age, the plural is implied by “this aion” or “that aion,”
this age or that age, not this or that eternality.
• PAST AGES, NOT PAST ETERNITIES [plural] Colossians 1:26 "Hid from
aions" Luke 1:33; Hebrews 1:2; 11:3.
• PRESENT AGES, NOT PRESENT ETERNITIES [plural] Hebrews 1:2 "By
whom also he made the aions" Romans 1:25; 9:5; 11:36; 16:27; 2 Corinthians
11:31; Hebrews 13:8.
• FUTURE AGES, NOT FUTURE ETERNITIES [plural] Galatians 1:5;
Philippians 4:20; 1 Timothy 1:17; 2 Timothy 4:18; Hebrews 13:21; 1 Peter 4:11;
5:11; Revelation 1:6; 1:18; 4:9; 4:10; 5:13; 5:14; 7:12; 10:6; 11:15; 14:11; 15:7;
19:3; 20:10; 22:5. It may be that what we think of as eternality as being one
endless time period will be an infinite number of aions (ages).
• PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE AGES, not past, present and future eternities.
"Throughout all ages" Ephesians 3:21 King James Version.
Singular/singular – age of the age (aiona tou aionos) Hebrews 1:8
Singular/plural – age of the ages (aionos ton aionon) Ephesians 3:21
Plural/plural – ages of the ages (aionas ton aionon) Revelation 20:10, 1 Peter 4:11
In the Bible there are:
1. Aion [age] in the SINGULAR.
2. Aions [ages] in the PLURAL
3. Aions [ages] in the PAST.
4. Aion [age] in the PRESENT.
5. An aion [age] TO COME.
6. Aions [ages] TO COME.
7. The ENDS of the aions [ages].
The Greek is "unto the aions of the aions." It is not "ever + ever," not one "ever"
added to another "ever" as in the King James Version. It is ages that last UNTO, not a
plural of eternities which none can end. "Forever and ever" is a contradiction of itself.
There cannot be more than one infinite eternity. Not more than one forever. There cannot
be eternities after eternities. An age will fit into eternity, but eternity will not fit into an
age. It is infinitely bigger. Neither can one eternity fit into another eternity, or two
eternities exist at the same time. Neither can one eternity come after the end of another
eternity.
“For ever (aionas) AND (ton) ever (aionon)” [Revelation 4:11]. Both Greek words
are in the plural, “ever” that is used in the King James Version is singular; there is no
plural of “ever” in English; it cannot be translated “for everS and everS.” The “and”
between the two everS is from “ton” and never means “and” in the Greek. “For ever and
ever” totally changes what the Greek says.
"Ages" long periods of time followed by more long periods of time might have been
the nearest concept the early Hebrew people had to "eternity" as we understand the word
"eternity" today. CAN "OLAM" OR "AION" EVER MEAN ETERNAL AS THE
WORD IS USED TODAY? Endless is not inherent in either of the two words and in over
90% of the times they are used it is unquestionably that they mean a limited time - a time
that has ended or will end. When they are applied to God [as in Exodus 3:15; Genesis
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21:33] and things that are intrinsically endless, some say it takes on a meaning not
inherent in the word itself but from the thing that is endless, but it is more likely that God
was speaking to them using the only words that they would understand, words with
nearest concept the early Hebrew people had to an eternity without beginning or end. The
concept we have of eternity was is not in the Old Testament and may not have came
about unto after the New Testament.
Marvin R. Vincent, "Word Studies In The New Testament" Note On Olethron Aionion (eternal
destruction). "The word always carries the notion of time, and not of eternity. It always means a
period of time. Otherwise it would be impossible to account for the plural, or for such qualifying
expressions as this age, or the age to come. It does not mean something endless or everlasting.
To deduce that meaning from its relation to aei is absurd; for, apart from the fact that the
meaning of a word is not definitely fixed by its derivation, aei does not signify endless duration.
When the writer of the Pastoral Epistles quotes the saying that the Cretans are always (aei) liars
(Tit. 1:12), he surely does not mean that the Cretans will go on lying to all eternity. See also Acts
7:51; 2 Cor. 4:11; 6:10; Heb 3:10; 1 Pet. 3:15. Aei means habitually or continually within the limit
of the subject's life. In our colloquial dialect everlastingly is used in the same way. 'The boy is
everlastingly tormenting me to buy him a drum.' In the New Testament the history of the world
is conceived as developed through a succession of aeons. A series of such aeons precedes the
introduction of a new series inaugurated by the Christian dispensation, and the end of the world
and the second coming of Christ are to mark the beginning of another series. Eph. 1:21; 2:7;
3:9,21; 1 Cor 10:11; compare Heb. 9:26. He includes the series of aeons in one great aeon, 'o aion
ton aionon, the aeon of the aeons (Eph. 3:21); and the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews
describe the throne of God as enduring unto the aeon of the aeons (Heb 1:8). The plural is also
used, aeons of the aeons, signifying all the successive periods which make up the sum total of
the ages collectively. Rom. 16:27; Gal. 1:5; Philip. 4:20, etc."
AIONIOS the adjective of aion is used 71 times in the New Testament and in the King
James Version is translated (1) age, (2) eternal, (3) for ever and ever, (4) course, (5) for
ever, (6) evermore, (7) everlasting, (8) world, (9) beginning of the world, (10) world
began, (11) world without end.
FOREVER - UNTO THE AGES
[A] "Unto the ages" eiv touv aiwnav Wigram ("The Englishman's Greek
Concordance" Page 19), Footnote in American Standard Version "Gr. unto the ages."
Alfred Marshall in "Parallel New Testament In Greek And English" translates eiv touv
aiwnav "unto the ages."
1. Luke 1:33 "Over the house of Jacob FOREVER (eiv touv aiwnav-unto the ages)."
2. Romans 1:25 "Who is blessed FOREVER (eiv touv aiwnav-unto the ages)."
3. Romans 9:5 "God blessed FOREVER (eiv touv aiwnav-unto the ages)."
4. Romans 11:36 "To whom be glory FOREVER (eiv touv aiwnav unto the ages)."
5. Romans 16:27 "Through Jesus Christ FOREVER (eiv touv aiwnav unto the
ages)."
6. 2 Corinthians 11:31 "Which is blessed FOR EVERMORE (eiv touv aiwnav unto
the ages)."
7. Hebrews 13:8 "Yesterday, and to day, and FOR EVER (eiv touv aiwnav-unto the
ages)."
[B] "Unto the ages of [the] ages" eiv touv aiwnav twn aiwnwn is used twenty-one
times in the New Testament, seventeen times it is applied to God or Christ, one time to
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Satan, one time to worshipers of the beast, one time to the great harlot, and one time to
those who are in the book of life.
• Alfred Marshall translates it "Unto the ages of the ages," "Parallel New
Testament In Greek And English" Page 747. "To whom [be] the glory unto the
ages of the ages. Amen" Galatians 1:5.
• Adam Clarke translates it "To the ages of ages."
• Robert Young translates it "To the ages of [the] ages." Young's Analytical
Concordance to the Bible, Page 310, and in "Young's Literal Translation."
• Ashley S. Johnson “Ages of ages, or ages upon ages” Founder and president of
the Johnson Bible College.
• Jamieson, Fausset and Brown "Unto ages of ages."
• The Amplified Bible "Through all the ages of the ages" Galatians 1:5.
• The Christian Bible "For the remaining ages of the ages" Galatians 1:5.
• American Standard Version "The consummation of the age" Matthew 28:20 and
in many other passages.
• New American Standard Version "Even to the end of the age" Matthew 28:20
and in many other passages.
• New Revised Standard Version "end of the age" Matthew 28:20 and others.
• New International Version "To the very end of the age" Matthew 28:20.
o Strong's word #165, Aion "An age" Comp 5550 "A space of time"
[1] - [17] The seventeen times "unto the ages of the ages" that are applied to God
or Christ from Young's Literal Translation. In the same way that saying God is the God
of Israel does not mean He is not also the God of the other nations, to say He is now the
God of this age does not mean He was not the God of all the other ages that have been
before, and the God of this age, and will not be the God of all ages that shall come after
this age. He is the God of Abraham, the God of this age; God is the God of the ages, all
the ages, past, present, and future. There are three main ages that covers all the time of
this earth. (1) The Patriarchal Age: From Adam to the giving of the Law, when God
spoke directly to men, mostly to the fathers. (2) The Law Age: From the giving of the
Law to the death of Christ. (3) The Christian or Church Age: From Christ to the end of
the world. These ages are often subdivided into smaller ages; for example, the Law is
often divided into the Judges, the Untied Kingdom, and the Divided Kingdom. How
many ages there might have been before the earth and how many there will be after it
ends we have no way of knowing but the Bible speaks often of "ages to come" after this
Christian Age. “And raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly
places, in Christ Jesus: THAT IN THE AGES (aions) TO COME he might show the
exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” [Ephesians 2:6-7];
after the end of the earth it seems that there may be more ages with God over them, He
will always be the God of the age that is. The concept we have of eternity was is not in
the Old Testament and may not have come about unto after the New Testament; if
there is a word in the Greek that was used in the time of the New Testament with
today’s meaning of eternity it was not aion – age.
[1] Galatians 1:5 "To whom is the glory to the ages of the ages. Amen."
[2] Philippians 4:20 "And to God, even our Father, is the glory to the ages of the ages.
Amen."
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[3] 1 Timothy 1:17 "And to the King of the ages, the incorruptible, invisible, only wise
God, is honor and glory to the ages of the ages! Amen."
[4] 2 Timothy 4:18 "And the Lord shall free me from every evil work, and shall save me
to his heavenly kingdom; to whom is the glory to the ages of the ages! Amen."
[5] Hebrews 13:21 "Make you perfect in every good work to do His will, doing in you
that which is well-pleasing before Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory to the
ages of the ages! Amen."
[6] 1 Peter 4: 11 "That in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom
is the glory and the power to the ages of the ages. Amen."
[7] 1 Peter 5:11 "To Him is the glory, and the power to the ages and the ages! Amen."
[8] Revelation 1:6 "To him is the glory and the power to the ages of the ages! Amen."
[9] Revelation 1:18 "And he who is living, and I did become dead, and, lo, I am living to
the ages of the ages. Amen! And I have the keys of the hades and of the death."
[10] Revelation 4:9 "And when the living creatures do give glory, and honor, and thanks,
to Him who is sitting upon the throne, who is living to the ages of the ages."
[11] Revelation 4:10 "Fall down do the twenty and four elders before Him who is sitting
upon the throne, and bow before Him who is living to the ages of the ages, and they cast
their crowns before the throne."
[12] Revelation 5:13 "To Him who is sitting upon the throne, and to the Lamb, is the
blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the might to the ages of the ages!"
[13] Revelation 5:14 "And the four living creatures said, 'Amen!' and the twenty-four
elders fell down and they bow before Him who is living to the ages of the ages."
[14] Revelation 7:12 "Saying, 'Amen! The blessing, and the glory, and the wisdom, and
the thanksgiving, and the honor, and the power, and the strength, are to our God to the
ages of the ages! Amen!'"
[15] Revelation 10:6 "And did swear in Him who doth live to the ages of the ages, who
did create the heaven and the things in it, and the land and the things in it, and the sea
and the things in it."
[16] Revelation 11:15 "And the seventh messenger did sound, and there came great
voices in the heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of the world did become those of our Lord
and of His Christ, and he shall reign to the ages of the ages!'"
[17] Revelation 15:7 "And one of the four living creatures did give to the seven
messengers seven golden vials, full of the wrath of God, who is living to the ages of the
ages"
These passages may simply be saying, "as long as this creation (age) last, God will be
it’s God." Christ will reign as king and priest in the kingdom unto He has abolished all
rule and authority, unto he has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be
abolished is death [1 Corinthians 15:20-28]. As long as this age lasts, He will reign "unto
the ages of ages." At the end of this creation, Christ "shall deliver up the kingdom to
God...then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto
him, that God may be all in all" [1 Corinthians 15:24-28].
"The word always carries the notion of time, and not of eternity, it always means a period of
time." Marvin R. Vincent, "Word Studies in the New Testament"
Satan knows his end is coming at the end of this age, at the end of this creation, and is
being tormented day and night as long as there is day and night, as long as this age last by
knowing his end is near. "The Lord knows how to...keep the unrighteous under
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punishment unto the Day of Judgment" [2 Peter 2:9] which will be "to the age of the
ages."
Death and the grave will last only "to the age of the ages." After the end of this
creation (age) they will not exist. Saying God is the God of this creation from its
beginning unto it end is not to say He was not God before its beginning and after its end.
He is the God of this age and all other ages. Revelation 7:12 Saying, "Amen, the blessing,
and the glory, and the wisdom, and the thanksgiving, and the honor, and the power, and
the strength, [are] to our God to the ages of [the] ages. Amen." Also for all ages that
have been and will come after the end of this creation (age).
I think this is saying that after this world ends that God will not forever be doing
nothing, but that He will forever be doing things that have a beginning and an end as
great as the creation of this earth, and its end. There will forever be things that have a
beginning and an end, forever ages. Just as angels may see this creation, the saved will
maybe see the things God will forever be doing. The lost, the dead will forever miss all
this. O that I may live in such a way that I will live and forever see the great things God
will be forever doing in all the ages to come. We sometimes think of God to small for we
think of Him as only having to do with our world, our creation; and in all eternity before
He made this world we think He did nothing and will do nothing after the end of this
world. As great as that would make Him, it still would make Him small in comparison
with what He is, and makes His power small in comparison with what it is.
"Unto the ages of [the] ages" eiv touv aiwnav twn aiwnwn. The other four of the
twenty-one times.
[18] REVELATION 14:11 "Unto the ages of [the] ages" is applied one time to
worshipers of the beast: "And the smoke of their torment doth go up TO ages of ages;
and they have no rest day and night, who are bowing before the beast and his image, also
if any doth receive the mark of his name." Footnote in the American Standard Version,
"Gr. UNTO the ages of the ages." This smoke goes up UNTO the ages of ages, not
without end IN the ages of ages. See notes above.
[19] REVELATION 19:3 “Unto the ages of [the] ages” is applied one time to the
great harlot: “And a second time they said, ‘Alleluia;’ and the smoke doth come up to
the ages of the ages” See notes above on Revelation 14:11.
[20] REVELATION 20:10 “Unto the ages of [the] ages” is applied one time to
Satan: “And the Devil, who is leading them astray, was cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone, where [are] the beast and the false prophet, and they shall be tormented day
and night to the ages of [the] ages.” See notes above on Revelation 14:11.
[21] REVELATION 22:5 "Unto the ages of [the] ages" is applied one time to
those who are in the book of life: "And night shall not be there, and they have no need
of a lamp and light of a sun, because the Lord God doth give them light, and they shall
reign to [TO or UNTO] the ages of [the] ages." No matter what view you have, this may
be one of the most difficult passages in the Bible.
THE MOST COMMON VIEW: This is speaking of the saints in Heaven after the
judgment. This view puts the reign of the saints in the "ages of Ages" not "unto the ages
of the ages." It makes the reign of the saints start after its end. The King James and other
translations remove this difficulty by mistranslating.
ANOTHER VIEW: Christ is both king and priest unto the church. He is our high
priest [Hebrews 8:1]. "For He must reign, TILL he has put all his enemies under his feet"
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[1 Corinthians 15:25]. When all his enemies are under his feet and the last enemy, death,
has been abolished, then He shall deliver up the kingdom to God and be subjected to Him
[1 Corinthians 15:23-28]. Christ is our high priest. Hebrews 2:17; 3:1; 4:14; 4:15; 5:1;
5:5; 5:10. He is "a priest forever [aion-age] after the order of Melchizedek" [Hebrews
5:6]. "A high priest for ever [aion-age] after the order of Melchizedek" [Hebrews 6:20].
"A priest for ever [aion-age] after the order of Melchizedek" [Hebrews 7:17]. "You are a
priest for ever" [aion-age] [Hebrews 7:21]. Christ is now reigning as our high priest, but
will He be our high priest after the judgment when there is no sin and therefore, no need
for a priest? "And did make us kings and priests" [Revelation 1:6]. Those in Christ now
reign as kings and priests. "For you were slain, and did purchase unto God with your
blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and made them to be unto
our God a kingdom and priests; and THEY REIGN UPON THE EARTH" [Revelation
5:9-10]. ALL CHRISTIANS ARE NOW KINGS AND PRIESTS BUT WILL
CHRISTIANS BE KINGS AND PRIESTS AFTER THE JUDGMENT WHEN THEY
ARE NOT "UPON THE EARTH"? Will there be any need for priests in Heaven? Christ
will be our Lord in Heaven, but maybe not our high priest. Christian now reign as kings
and priests unto the ages of ages, but whatever we will be in Heaven, it does not look as
if there will be any need for priests. In this age, those in Christ have Him as their light
[John 8:12; 9:5; 11:10; 12:36] and He shines the same always. There is no nighttime
when He shines less. THE REIGN OF THOSE IN CHRIST AS KINGS AND PRIESTS
"UNTO THE AGES OF THE AGES" WILL BE OVER WHEN THEIR ETERNAL LIFE
IN HEAVEN BEGINS IN THE AGES OF AGES. They shall reign UNTO the ages of
[the] ages (22:5) "Unto the ages" is before the harvest at the end of this age [Matthew
12:36-43]. It is before the time many believe Hell will begin. It is NOW.
A THIRD VIEW: Most likely the right one. This passage is symbolic, not to be taken
literally. The first two views both make the wording be literal, but just as most of this
book is in symbols, this may also be symbols and no more to be taken literality than a
woman arrayed with the sun [Revelation 12:1] or any of the other symbols in the book.
• Whatever view of this passage you may take, Christians will be "in the ages to
come" after this age has ended [Ephesians 2:6-7].
That aion means forever when it is used with reference to the life of the believer, and
that it takes on a meaning of unlimited time that is totally different than its meaning is
without precedent with any other word. I understand that this dual definition came about
by learned and faithful believers trying to explain some difficult passages, but it seems to
me that it makes more problems than it helps. If God in His revelation to us used a word
to sometimes mean a limited time with a beginning and an end and at other times used
the same word to mean an unlimited time without beginning or end no one could know
what He said to us, could not know when this word was limited and when it was
unlimited without an inspired person to tell us.
It is obvious that forever or eternal with the meaning that eternal has today is a total
mistranslation. Three days [Jonah 2:6] or a lifetime [Exodus 21:6] is not eternally.
Whatever view you take, this is in a book of symbols that are difficult to understand
and it is unwise to base any doctrine on the interpretation of symbols, and less than
unwise to make the interpretation of symbols over rule the plain statements of the Bible.
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“If aion sometimes means a limited and sometimes an, unlimited time, then we need a pope, or a
church, or human tradition to tell us what it means in each case, and divine inspiration vanishes,
and is replaced by corrupt human mentality.” Unsearchable Riches, Volume 27, Page 175.
ETERNAL
[1] ETERNAL [Aionios] LIFE: About 43 times to the life Christ promised to those who
obey Him. "In the world [age - aion] to come eternal [aionios] life [zoee]" Mark 19:30.
"What shall I do to inherit eternal [aionios] life?" Luke 18:18. "In hope of eternal
[aionios] life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the age [aion] began." Titus
1:2. Also in Matthew 19:16; 25:46; Mark 10:17; 10:30; Luke 10:25; 18:30; John 3:5;
3:16; 3:36; 4:14; 4:36 5:24; 5:39; 6:27; 6:40; 6:47; 6:54; 6:58; 17:2; 17:3; Acts 13:46;
Romans 2:7; 5:21; 6:22; 6:23; Galatians 6:8; 1 Timothy 1:16; 6:12; 6:19; Titus 3:7; 1
John 1:2; 2:25; 3:15; 5:11; 5:13; 5:20; Jude 21.
Related terms [other ways of saying eternal life].
1. "Everlasting [aionios] HABITATIONS" [Luke 16:9; Hebrews 9:15].
2. "Everlasting [aionios] CONSOLATION" [2 Thessalonians 2:16].
3. "Eternal [aionios] INHERITANCE" [Hebrews 9:15].
4. "An eternal [aionios] WEIGHT OF GLORY" [2 Corinthians 4:16].
5. "A BUILDING FROM GOD, A HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS, eternal
[aionios], in the heavens" [2 Corinthians 5:1].
[2] ETERNAL GOD: (1) "Everlasting [aionios] God" [Romans 16:25]. (2) "Power
everlasting"[aionios] [1 Timothy 6:16]. (3) "Called us unto His eternal [aionios] glory"
[1 Peter 5:10].
There are other words that teach an endless duration that are applied to God and
the saved that are never applied to the lost.
TO GOD:
1. Romans 1:23 "The glory of the INCORRUPTIBLE [aphthartos] God."
2. 1 Timothy 6:16 "Who only has IMMORTALITY [athanasin]."
3. Romans 1:20 "Even his EVERLASTING [aidios] power and divinity."
4. 1 Timothy 1:17 "Now unto the King eternal IMMORTAL [aphtharsia], invisible,
the only God."
TO CHRIST:
1. 2 Timothy 1:10 "Who [Christ] abolished death, AND BROUGHT LIFE AND
IMMORTALITY [aphtharsia] TO LIGHT"
2. Hebrews 7:3 “Abides a priest CONTINUALLY (dieenekes).” “But he, when he
had offered one sacrifice for sins FOR EVER (dieenekes), sat down on the right
hand of God” [Hebrews 10:12]. “For by one offering he has perfected FOR
EVER (dieenekes) them that are sanctified” [Hebrews 10:14].
3. Hebrews 7:16 "After the power of an ENDLESS (akatalutos-indissoluble) LIFE."
4. Hebrews 7:24 “Because He (Christ) abides forever (pantote), holds His
priesthood permanently.”
TO MAN:
1. 1 Corinthians 9:25 "Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown: but we an
INCORRUPTIBLE [aphthartos]."
2. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in
corruption; it is raised in INCORRUPTION [aphtharsia]; it is sown in dishonor;
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it is raised in GLORY; it is sown in weakness; it is raised in POWER; is sown a
natural body; it is raised a SPIRITUAL BODY."
3. 1 Corinthians 15:52-54 "For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
INCORRUPTIBLE [aphthartos], and we shall be changed. For this corruptible
must put on INCORRUPTION [aphtharsia], and this mortal must put on
IMMORTALITY [athanasia]. But, when this corruptible shall have put on
IMMORTALITY [athanasia] then shall come to pass the saying that is written,
DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY."
4. 1 Peter 1:3-4 "Begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, unto AN INHERITANCE (aphtharton) INCORRUPTIBLE
[aphthartos], AND UNDEFILED, AND THAT FADES NOT AWAY,
RESERVED IN HEAVEN FOR YOU."
5. 1 Peter 5:4 “And when the chief Shepherd shall be manifested, you shall receive
the crown of glory that fades not away.”
6. Romans 2:7 "To them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and
INCORRUPTION [aththarsia], eternal life."
7. 1 Thessalonians 4:17 “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall
ALWAYS (pantote) be with the Lord.” “Seeing he (Christ) EVER (pantote)
lives” [Hebrews 7:25].
8. Ephesians 2:6-7 “And raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the
heavenly places, in Christ Jesus: THAT IN THE AGES (aions) TO COME he
might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ
Jesus”
CHAPTER NINE
UNIVERSALIST - The "age lasting" Hell
Universalist (sometimes called "Restoration" and "Unitarian Universalist") believes
that all will end up saved. They believe no one will end up in Hell, that it is not possible
for anyone, the worst person that ever lived, to not go to Heaven. Whether death is death
or if death is only separation, they believe no one will die or be forever separated from
God; therefore, there is no death, no wages of sin, no second death after the Judgment
Day. There seems to be some who believe in a universal salvation mixed in many
denominations, also there are Universalist groups like the "Tentmakers" with the one
thing all have in common is the belief in universal salvation. There seems to be two kinds
of Universalist. [1] Some who do not believe in any kind of Hell and that all sins are paid
in full in this lifetime. [2] Some who believe there will be a Hell but a very different Hell
than the Protestant versions for it will last only for an "age," and will be more of a
disciplinary character than punishment. Both destroy the character of the sinner and turns
them into them saints.
They do much writing to prove the word that is translated everlasting, eternal, forever,
age, and world in the King James Version, is from the Greek word "aion," which means
"age." In Matthew 24:3 the King James Version says, "end of the world," but the New
King James Version, New American Standard Version, New International Version and
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many more say "end of the age." They have written hundreds of pages to prove that
"aion" means "age," and their purpose was to prove that Hell will last for only an age.
They may be right in their translation of aion to mean age, but not one of the repeatedly
times "aion" is used says anything about Hell, aion (age) is not used in the same passage
with any of the four words translated Hell in the King James Version.
Without proving there is a Hell, and without "age lasting" (aion) being used with any
word translated Hell, they make Hell be "age lasting," with a beginning and ending but
not everlasting.
They have immortal souls in their "age lasting" Hell without proving all the lost will
be immortal and will live forever after the judgment.
They believe all those in the age lasting Hell will be saved when the age is over.
Although Universalist have told me they do not believe in the soul being immortal they
believe that no one will ever be destroyed, that all will sooner or later end up in Heaven; I
can not see how all would not be immortal from the day of their birth if no one will ever
be destroyed, if no one will ever really be dead.
THEIR BIG PROBLEMS FOR UNIVERSALISM TO BE TRUE
THEY MUST PROVE
[1] IMMORTALITY: THAT THE LOST HAVE A SOUL THAT IS NOW
IMMORTAL OR THE LOST WILL ALL BE MADE IMMORTAL AFTER DEATH,
this immaterial part of a person cannot die and will outlast the "age lasting" Hell. To
have never ending life is as immortal as immortal can be. IF NO ONE WILL EVER
DIE AND ALL WILL LIVE FOREVER IN HEAVEN, HOW COULD ALL NOT
HAVE ETERNAL LIFE? HOW MUCH MORE IMMORTAL COULD A PERSON
BE?
[2] THE DEATH PRNALTY: THAT THERE IS NO DEATH, those who do not
believe on Christ will not perish but will have eternal life the same as those who do
believe [John 3:16].
[3] HELL: THAT THERE IS A HELL even if it is only "age lasting" and will be more
of a disciplinary character or “attitude adjustments” than punishment.
[1] IMMORTALITY
UNIVERSALIST MUST PROVE THAT ALL MEN NOW HAVE AN
IMMATERIAL PART THAT IF IS NOT NOW IMMORTAL IT WILL BE MADE
IMMORTAL IN ALL MANKIND AFTER THE “ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT;”
THAT IF ALL ARE NOW IMMORTAL THEN ALL WITH BE GIVEN
IMMORTALTUY: In the "Debate on the Destiny of the Wicked" between George T.
Carpenter of the church of Christ and John Hughes of the Universalist Church, 1875,
Hughes says, "The soul, the principle of animal life. The spirit, the 'inward man,' the real
man, to be invested in the resurrection with a new, spiritual body; clothed with
immortality, to live forever in the spirit world." Even so, most Universalist seems to be as
unsure of what part of a person, soul or spirit, they think has immortality, as are most
Protestants who believe some part of a person is now immortal and can never die
therefore, this immortal part of a person must live forever somewhere. Universalist must
prove that Christ will give "eternal life" to all, even to those who do not come to Him
[John 5:40]. They know this and know that all will not come to Christ in this lifetime;
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therefore, they have made up an "age" after the resurrection, which is not in the Bible, in
which they think all will come to Christ.
[2] THE DEATH PENALTY
They MUST do away with the Bible teaching on death. There can be no wages of sin,
as they believe there is no death. The only real difference with them and unconditional
immoralist is where their immortal souls will end up, (1) some in Heaven and some in
Hell, (2) or all in Heaven.
• Both must do away with death. Both must deny the Bible when it says, "The
wages of sin is death."
• Both believe, "You shall not surely die," that from the day of your birth you can
never be destroyed and it is not possible for you to die.
WILL THE SECOND DEATH MAKE ALL ALIVE, AS UNIVERSALIST
BELIEVES IT WILL? They teach after the second death, all will be made alive. Both
the good and the evil will be made alive, and both will then be immortal. They believe
that when death the last enemy is destroyed, no one can be dead. They think the end of
death must give life to all that are dead. All who die the second death will be alive and
have immortality. THE UNIVERSALIST BELIEVES THE SECOND DEATH TO BE
THE END OF DEATH, NOT THE END OF THE SINNER; THAT FOR DEATH TO
END ALL THAT WAS DEAD MUST BE MADE ALIVE FOR THEY BELIEVE
THAT AS LONG AS ANY ARE DEAD, IT CANNOT BE THE END OF DEATH.
They seem to think that when "death shall be no more" [Revelation 21:4] could only
mean that all who had died are raised from the dead, and all that ever lived would have to
be alive for if any were dead it could not be said there is no more death. IT IS THE
SINNER THAT WILL DIE [Revelation 21:8], AND WHEN THERE IS NO MORE
SINNER LEFT TO DIE THERE WILL BE NO MORE DEATH, NO MORE WILL BE
DYING. The wages of sin is death. It is the sinner who will be paid the wages of their
sin, which is death. They want to make death pay the wages of the sin of the sinner, and
the sinners pay nothing; THERE WOULD THEN BE NO DIFFERENCE IN A SINNER
AND A SAINT. Death is an enemy and will be destroyed, but Universalist make there
being "no more death" into a gateway to Heaven for all sinners, and God will forgive all
sins of the worst sinner even if they rejected Christ all their life. DOES DEATH MEAN
THE END OF LIFE or DOES DEATH MEAN THE BEGINNING OF ETERNAL
LIFE? Death, the last enemy will be abolished [1 Corinthians 15:26]; Universalist makes
the abolishment of death be a resurrection to eternal life of all the lost that are now the
enemies of Christ. John said of unbelievers and murderers, "Their part shall be in the
lake that burns with fire and brimstone; which IS THE SECOND DEATH," but the
Universalist changed this and say it is anyone being dead which will end, and all that
have "their part" in the lake will be made alive at the death of the lake of fire (which will
be the death of death)! DEATH MEANS THE END OF LIFE, NOT THE BEGINNING
OF AN IMMORTAL LIFE, but they must find a way to do away with the second death.
They believe the lost will be someplace, Hell or whatever name they give it, but not in
Heaven and will undergo an "attitude adjustments;" then they will have their name in the
book of life and never die, that the second death will be the end of death (the death of
death, not the death of the sinner); for death to end they believe that life and immortality
must be given to all and death being abolished must means eternal life in Heaven for all!
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• Universalist believes that "the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and
murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars" will
be made alive in Heaven and that death will be cast into the lake of fire and
there will be no more death.
• The Bible says, "the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and
murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their
part shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone: which is the
second death" [Revelation 21:8]. Both death and the lost are cast into the lake
of fire [Revelation 20:14-15]; therefore, if the lake of fire is the end of death,
it is also the end of the lost.
[3] THE HELL PROBLEM
Gary Amirault, a Tentmaker Minister in an e-mail to me said, "Most universalists I know
who believe in 'age-during correction,' do NOT see it as God torturing people in a literal lake or anything
like that, they see it as simply correcting or teaching them further." If they call it Hell or something
else, they still have a place where the all the lost to go after the judgment for an "age."
They have made Hell into an age lasting place where the all the lost are corrected and
then go to Heaven. What if some would not repent then? Will God make them repent
against their will?
G. Jessup said, "We can be sure there will be judgment, punishment, corrections, or whatever kind
of 'attitude adjustments' necessary for the unbelievers according to their works, and for some it could be
very long and painfully excruciating: but forever?" He did not give one passage from the Bible to
prove this "attitude adjustment," and I cannot find where they try to prove it in any of
their writing. Maybe the reason they do not is that they know there is no proof. If they
had proof, I am sure they would use it in bold print. That there will be a second chance
after death is opposed to what is taught in the Bible.
[1] THEY MUST PROVE THAT ALL THE LOST ARE NOW ALIVE SOMEPLACE
OR WILL BE ALIVE THERE, THAT THERE IS SUCH A PLACE WHATEVER
NAME THEY GIVE IT.
[2] THAT THE LOST WILL BE THERE FOR ONLY AN "AGE" OF DISCIPLINARY
TRAINING.
[3] AND THAT ALL WILL REPENT AND WILL END UP IN HEAVEN.
They must disprove the "Hell" that many Protestants believe, but at the same time
prove there is some kind of a "Hell" that is "age lasting" and not eternal. As is shown in
the above quotation Universalist do not believe any will forever be in the lake of fire that
is not a literal lake of fire, and they do not believe the Protestant view of Gehenna;
therefore, they must prove that God will torment all who do not believe in Christ in this
lifetime, some for a short time, some will be tormented more, some tormented much
more extremely. G. Jessup says "We can be sure there will be judgment, punishment, corrections,
or whatever kind of 'attitude adjustments' necessary for the unbelievers according to their works, and for
some it could be very long and painfully excruciating." I have not seen where they say why there
will be a judgment. Maybe for God to decide how much He will have to torment them
and how much He will torment Satan and his demons to make them repent. Whatever
forms the Universalist says the torment will be, physical, mentally, or whatever, it would
still be God doing the tormenting.
UNIVERSALIST MUST PROVE THAT THERE WILL BE AN "AGE" OF
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT. They say there has been many "ages," and will be an "age"
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after the resurrection in which "judgment, punishment, corrections, or whatever kind of 'attitude
adjustments' necessary for the unbelievers according to their works" takes place. They reason that
there must be such an age for those who do not come to Christ in this life must have a
time to come to Him. All must accept Christ, and most do not in this life. It is a made up
"age" which is not found in the Bible. Not one word about it. UNTIL THEY PROVE
THERE WILL BE SUCH AN "AGE," THEY ARE ON A MAKE BELIEVE
FOUNDATION. THERE IS NO PLACE CALLED HELL IN THE BIBLE, WHETHER
IT IS AN AGE LASTING ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT, OR EVERLASTING LIFE
WITH TORMENT.
• PROTESTANTS CHANGED THE SECOND DEATH INTO ETERNAL LIFE
IN HELL FOR ALL THAT NEVER BELIEVED IN GOD.
• UNIVERSALIST CHANGED THE SECOND DEATH INTO A PLACE
WHERE ALL THAT NEVER BELIEVED IN GOD WILL SOME HOW BE
MADE BELIEVERS AND MOVED TO HEAVEN WITH ETERANL LIFE.
• BOTH MUST PROVE THE PLATONIC DOCTRINE THAT ALL ARE BORN
WITH A PART THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO DEATH. Both the doctrine of Hell
and the Universalist doctrine that all will be saved are founded on an assumption
that a person has an immaterial, invisible, immortal part in them that cannot die,
and this immortal soul must live somewhere.
• BOTH MUST DENY THAT DEATH IS REAL AND THAT ANY WILL DIE.
Death cannot be the wages of sin for all will have the gift of eternal life; therefore,
no sinner can pay the wages of sin if it is death. Universalist point to this passage
to prove there is no Hell, but they do not believe it when it says, "the wages of sin
is death."
• BOTH MUST DENY THAT THE PENALTY OF SIN IS DEATH. The
Protestant does away with death by making it an eternal life of torment in Hell
separated from God; Universalist cannot have death being death or an eternal life
separated from God, therefore, they must do away with death. They try to do this
by making the end of death be eternal life in Heaven for all that have died. Both
turn death into life, but both do it in different ways. Both make the dead that are
not dead be living at different places. For both, if "the wages of sin is death," if
death is death, it would completely destroy both; therefore, both try to
destroy death by making death be life, but they do it in a different way.
Universalist take from the Platonic doctrine that when the soul is set free of the
body, the soul will in time return to God, death becomes the instrument of
salvation for all.
o According to one, the wages of sin is eternal life with torment.
o According to the other, the wages of sin is eternal life without torment
even to those who reject Christ.
• BOTH MUST DENY THAT DIE, PERISH, DESTROYED, LOST, AND
DEATH ARE NOT USED WITH THEIR TRUE MEANING, and must believe
that they are only used in a peculiar or theological sense, therefore, they could not
be understood without help from someone who is inspired. BOTH BELIEVE NO
ONE WILL EVER DIE. ACCORDING TO BOTH, "THE WAGES OF SIN IS
DEATH" TO NO ONE. Just as with innate immoralists, Universalist must
redefine many words, life, death, die, dead, destroy, perish, destruction,
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consumed, kill, end, burned up, and sleep, must ALL be redefined in a way that
the world does not use them. See chapter two.
UNIVERSALIST USE OF "ALL"
The way Universalist use “all” seems to be their main argument. "But what it really says is
IN CHRIST...ALL A-L-L ALL shall be made ALIVE! Then each of the ALL in his own order" (from one of their
web pages, "CAN THIS BE TRUE?"). They ask questions like: God will have all to be saved [1
Timothy 2:4]; can His will be thwarted? Jesus came to save all [John 12:47]; will He
succeed? Jesus is the savior of the world (1 John 4:14); why don't you believe it? And
many more like these. Their thinking seems to be that Christ came to save ALL; and if
He does not do it in this lifetime, then He must save all who are not saved in this lifetime
after the resurrection. This would be great if it was true, but nothing is said about anyone
being saved after his or her death. They know that most do not believe in Christ in this
lifetime, therefore, they MUST make ALL believe at some time after death. What will
happen after death? Christ says "For the hour comes, in which ALL that are in the tombs
shall hear his voice, and come forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection of
LIFE; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of JUDGMENT" [John 5:28-
29]. There is nothing said about anyone being saved after death. The lost are raised to
judgment, not to eternal life. "NOW is the acceptable time: behold, NOW is the day of
salvation" [2 Corinthians 6:2]. God loves ALL, and Christ died for ALL, but ALL will
not come to Him. He made a person where he or she could choose to or choose not to.
Universalist teaching is that God will show His love to ALL in a way that ALL, even
Satan, will love Him. To so overpower the freewill of a person is the same as making
them love Him when they could not help it. It would be the same thing as taking their
freewill away. This "attitude adjustments" must be strong enough to overpower the most
evil; therefore, they are made to believe even against their will. They make up both this
"attitude adjustments" and the place where it takes place because they must have them if
ALL are to be saved. They are not in the Bible.
UNIVERSALIST TEACHING OF ALL WILL BE SAVED makes much of the
Bible be foolishness, vain babbling, meaningless, or just an out right lie. It makes:
1. Satan's greatest lie would be no lie, but is the truth. If all will be saved, no one
will die. Satan told the truth; but when God said they would die, He is the one
who told the greatest lie [Genesis 3].
2. God said, "The fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and
fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars; their part shall be in the
lake that burns with fire and brimstone; which IS THE SECOND DEATH"
[Revelation 20:8]. Universalist says, "Not so God, all will be saved. None will die
the second death, for there cannot be a real second death."
3. No broad way "that leads to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby"
[Matthew 7:13].
4. NO DEATH. Whatever you think death is, whether death is death, or death is just
a separation from God, no one will be dead; no one will be separated from God.
Death could not be. The wages of sin could not be death [Romans 6:23]. “The
wages of sin is death” must be changed to some "kind of 'attitude adjustments'
necessary for the unbelievers according to their works," which will last for an
"age"; but the wages of sin cannot be a real death that will be forever. While this
attitude adjustment is going on, they must be very much alive, just as alive as they
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will be when it is over; IF THE WAGES OF SIN IS NOT DEATH, DOES SIN
HAVE NO WAGES?
5. “But he that obeys not the Son SHALL NOT SEE LIFE” [John 3:36] must be
changed to, “But he that obeys not the Son SHALL SEE ETERNAL LIFE.”
6. They use "all made alive" to teach all the lost will be raised with immortality.
When they make "all made alive" to be all will be given eternal life at the second
coming of Christ, there cannot be a judgment or a second death. All will be saved.
No need of a judgment day to judge some good and some bad, it is made to be
useless for both those who believe in this lifetime and those who do not believe
will be the same, all will be saved. They over look the fact that THE "ALL"
PAUL IS SPEAKING OF ARE ALL THE SAVED. ALL saints who are asleep in
Christ, and ALL saints who will be living at His coming. Nothing is said in that
passage about ALL the ones who are not in Christ; they will be raised to
judgment, not life at the resurrection; they are not NOW IN CHRIST, and they
never will have the "life" Christ gives to those who obey Him. Their names are
not in the book of life. "For we are a sweet savor of Christ unto God, in them that
are saved, and in them that perish: to the one a savor from death unto death; to
the other a savor from life unto life" [2 Corinthians 2:15-16]. Christ will raise
them from the dead, but only to be judged and return to the dead "from death unto
death"; and there will never be another resurrection.
7. Makes parables of Christ not true. They do not teach anything and, therefore, are
useless. THERE WILL BE NO TARES. Christ said, "I will say to the reapers,
Gather up first the tares, and bind them into bundles to burn them; but gather the
wheat into my barn" [Matthew 13:30]. Christ was wrong. The tares will not be
gathered out of the kingdom and burned at the end of the age (aion-age, not
world). The tares will not be turned into wheat and gathered into the kingdom, for
they will be burned as Christ said they would be "at the end of the age." NO BAD
FISH. All the bad little fishes will be turned too good little fishes. There will be
no bad little fishes to burn.
8. "I tell you Nay: but, except you repent, you shall all in like manner perish" [Luke
13:5]. Universalist says not so Jesus, all will be saved; no one will perish. It can
be asked of them as they ask, "Did Christ not know what He was saying; why
don't you believe it?" Even they cannot deny that Christ said, “Except you repent,
you shall all likewise perish.” Why do they not believe Him? How do they
change “perish” into “you shall all likewise be saved even if you do not repent”?
9. "Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
Heaven; but he that does the will of my Father who is in Heaven. Many will say to
me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by your name, and by your name
cast out demons, and by your name do many mighty works? And then will I
profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity"
[Matthew 7:21-23]. How could Christ have been so wrong? How could He not
know that the Universalist says ALL will enter into the kingdom of Heaven? Why
would Christ be telling them in the Judgment Day after the resurrection that not
all will enter into the kingdom of Heaven?
o UNIVERSALIST: ALL will enter into the kingdom of Heaven.
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o CHRIST: Not ALL will enter into the kingdom of Heaven [Matthew 7:21-
23]. Why do they not believe Him?
10. They must change the words of Christ. "He that believes and is baptized shall be
saved; but he that believes not shall be condemned" must be changed to, "He that
believes and he that believes not shall both be saved." Why do they not believe
Christ? Why do they make, “Shall be saved,” and, “Shall be condemned” both
mean, “Shall be saved”?
11. Makes being a Christian and living for Christ be no better than not being a
Christian. All are going to end up being saved. Makes taking the Gospel to the
lost a waste of time. They are all going to be saved anyway, and those who do not
hear the Gospel may spend less time in the age lasting Hell and have less torment
than will those who hear and reject the Gospel; therefore, taking the Gospel to
them may do more harm to most than it will do good. Because most will not
believe the Gospel and will reject Christ, most will be made to suffer longer in the
"age lasting attitude adjustment" than they would if the Gospel were not taken to
them.
Will Jesus save everyone? Gary Amorality in an E mail to me June 15,1999, said,
"You've taken a big step out of Hell, but you still leave Jesus as a sinner. He didn't accomplish what He
came to do...save the world. If He fails in His mission, He can't be the Messiah."
1. God give His Son to save "whosoever believeth on Him." [John 3:16], but they
must believe in their lifetime, and many do not. "Without faith it is impossible to
be well-pleasing unto God" [Hebrews 11:6]. God will not raise them and save
everyone after He torments them for an age. He will not take away their freewill
and make them believe.
2. Paul says they who practice the works of the flesh SHALL NOT inherit the
kingdom of God [Galatians 5:16-24]. Universalist says Paul was wrong, they who
practice the works of the flesh shall inherit the kingdom of God after they spend
some time in some kind of torment having an "attitude adjustments."
3. Christ said, "He that obeys not the son SHALL NOT SEE LIFE," [John 3:36].
Universalist says they will see life. How do they think those who shall not see
life, and shall not inherit the kingdom of God, will have everlasting life in the
kingdom they shall not inherit [Matthew 7:21-23]?
HOW DOES UNIVERSALIST THINK JESUS IS A SINNER? Gary Amorality said,
"But you still leave Jesus as a sinner." Jesus had no sins of His own and even if He saved no
one, not one person, He had no sins, and not giving eternal life to those who do not
believe in Him does not make Him a sinner as Gary Amorality said it would.
UNIVERSALIST says God is a God of love, and He will not kill any; all will be
saved. They overlook the fact that He is also a just God, and sin must be paid for with
death [Romans 6:23]. The death of the sinner is just if it be death in this life or is the
second death at the judgment for ALL who has not had their sins washed away by the
blood of Christ; for ALL have sinned, and therefore, it is just for them to receive the
wages of their sins. If they have not had their sins washed away by the blood of Christ,
raised with Christ in baptism, the sinner will die. Death is sure and just for them.
Throughout the Old Testament, God destroyed those who rejected Him, as in the flood,
or ordered the destruction as with the Amalekites. He never tormented His enemies. He
destroyed them; their life ended. Death is the way God dealt with His enemies then, and
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the way He will deal with them at the judgment. He will destroy them with death, the
second death, not torment them forever or for an age.
Universalist may think this cruel, but it is justice, not cruelly. God would not be God if
He were not just? If He had no law, which has a penalty for not keeping it, He could not
rule and there would be no sin. There is sin, and its penalty is death.
"In the first place we complain of its relative novelty. It does not appear in the history of doctrine
until the beginning of the third century. Barnabas, Clement of Rome, Hermas, Ignatius, Polycarp,
Justin Martyr, Theophilus of Antioch, Irenaeus, all the first fathers of the church are
Conditionalists. Not one of them taught Universalism. Merely the first slight traces of the doctrine
are contained in the writings of Clement of Alexandria." E. Petavel, D. D., The Extinction Of Evil,
Page 90, 1889.
Note: Many in the Church of God and Congregation of God also teach there will be
"an opportunity for salvation" after the resurrection, but unlike the Universalist, they
believe some will reject it, and for them there will be the second death, not torment in
Hell.
CHAPTER TEN
The Results Of Attributing Evil Pagan Teachings
To God By Religious People
THIS GOD SLANDERING DARK AGE DOCTRINE OF HELL MAKES GOD
EVIL, CRUEL, SADISTIC, AND FIENDISH. By some unknown and twisted
reasoning it is assumed that for God to be just He must forever torment the lost for
His justice demands this; HOW DOES “GOD IS A JUST GOD” DEMAND THAT
THERE IS A HELL OR PROVE THERE IS A HELL? From the first sin, God's
sentence to Adam was not eternal torment but death. Throughout the Bible, the
sentence for sin is always death, not torment. "The wages of sin is death." That His
justice demands that He must forever torment the lost is without any foundation in
His word. To put it pure and simple, it is a doctrine of man and it makes God evil,
cruel, and fiendish for if the punishment exceeds the crime by millions of times, it is
injustice, not justice.
If a man should put a single person that had raped and killed his wife in a dark pit and
torment him day and night for ten years, most would condemn him to the hottest part of
"Hell." Yet, some teach that God made mankind knowing that most of them would be
lost, and many millions would never hear His word; yet He will torment them worse than
anything we can imagine, not for ten years; but time without end. It will be God doing the
tormenting; God will be the one who makes the fire and keeps it burning forever. Satan
or the evil ones will not be tormenting themselves. Many try to justify God for doing
more than any man can do, and being more cruel and sadistic than the most evil man
could ever be by saying we cannot understand the evil of sin. The God of the Bible is a
God of love and justice; not as many make Him: sadistic, fiendish, cruel, evil, and in
character much like Satan. In the Hell that is preached today no one will be corrected by
the torment; therefore, it can only be sadistic?
The Ultimate Evil: “The idea of never-ending conscious agony is so completely revolting
to our instinctive moral and judicial senses that we could fittingly call it the ultimate evil. If we’re
honest about the matter, this is exactly what it is. After all, is it possible to come up with a worse
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notion than perpetual fiery conscious misery – with no merciful respite or end to the suffering?
The mere idea is so disturbing that it makes it a very hard subject to discuss calmly. How can
anyone with an ounce of human compassion contemplate the idea dispassionately when the
view of ceaseless torture is so profoundly disturbing?” Chapter eight, www.hell-know.net/
The Deprived, Revolting Evil: "To torment a child that dies without ever knowing
anything about God or His word forever day and night with a torment worse than any pain we
can have on this earth would not be 'justice,' but sadistic. What kind of a person could love a God
who was tormenting his wife and children with more pain than anyone has ever had in this life?
When we are in Heaven, do you think we will be singing of God's love and mercy while He is
cruelly tormenting most of mankind and many you now love, your wife or husband, your father
and mother, your child, your friend? Is there a greater perversion of Scripture than to attribute
such characteristics to God? Is it reasonable to believe that the righteous in their glorified state
can be indifferent to, and unaffected by, the endless sufferings of countless millions of their
fellow beings; among whom would probably be found parents, children, husbands, wives, etc.? Is
it possible that they will be destitute of deprived of qualities which are considered most lovely
and godlike in this life; viz., piety, sympathy, compassion, commiseration for others' woes, etc.?
Will insensibility to the woes of the wretched ever become a virtue? Will that which is a vice in
this life, become a grace in the glorious future life?" From a web page by "Ron" which is no
longer on the net.
Today, many think that the electric chair or hanging of a person who has killed many
is inhumane though it takes only a few seconds; but these same people see no
inconsistency in believing it is just for God to torment the same person, even if that
person has never heard His word, with a torment which they say is much worse than the
few seconds would be and this torment by God will not last only for a few seconds but
for an endless eternity.
More Cruel And Sadistic Than Any Heathen God: THE CALVIN GOD, which is
believed in and worshiped by many, is a God many times more evil, more cruel and
sadistic than any heathen god. Before the Calvin God made the world, He rigged the
outcome and chose to make most of mankind to be lost before He made them. He even
made it impossible for them to believe, but will torment them forever for not believing.
The torment by the worshipers of heathen gods soon end with death of the ones being
tormented; but Calvinism teaches God made most men, many millions, just so He could
torment them without end for eternity "for his good pleasure." According to Hell fire
Calvin teachers, this torment will be many times worse than any torment by the
worshipers of heathen gods; and will never end in the death of those being tormented.
How could any person who has an ounce of compassion, love and worship such a God?
Those who believe in the Calvin God say this God chose you to be saved or to be lost
before he made the world. If you are one of the few chosen by this evil God to be saved,
even if you live in the most out of the way place in the world and never know of God or
Christ, when the time comes for you to be saved you will be. You can do nothing about it
and you cannot say no. If you are one of the many he chose to torment forever there is no
use to send preachers to you; there is no use for you to read the Bible or do anything;
there is nothing you or anyone can do. According to Calvin this God made you just
because he wants to torment you forever, and he will. Such a God is like a very rich ruler
who torments a thousand people "for his good pleasure" and enjoyment, and chose you to
make rich and happy. He would not be worthily of your love, but only your contempt. To
destroy the evil, either in this lifetime or at the judgment is one thing; but to make them
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be evil before they were born, and then torment them without end with more pain than
they can know in this lifetime for being what he made them to be is not justice. He would
be an unjust and evil God. He made them evil and gave them no chance not to be, and
then torments them for being what He made them to be. If you put a person who worked
in a store in the electric chair for unknowingly short changing a person one cent, your
injustice would not equal that of a God that made one person just so he could torment that
person forever. Many say He did this with most of mankind. Most are filled with grief
when a loved one or friend has some sickness that makes them suffer even when they
know the suffering will soon end with death. Yet, they worship a God who they believe
will take pleasure in the suffering of billions without end; and not only will he take
pleasure in it but he will be the one that is tormenting them and making them suffer and
he made them just so he could torment and make them suffer. CALVIN DID NOT GET
HIS DOCTRINE FROM THE HEATHENS FOR THE HEATHENS HAD NO
DOCTRINE AS CRUEL, AS FIENDISH, AS BLACK, OR AS UNJUST.
A Scandal Against The Almighty: "For were a woman to commit a crime against her
husband, and he punishes her by holding her hand in the fire until the flesh burned off the
bones, he would be pronounced one of the most cruel beings in the world; and if he were to
escape justice, he would be hunted as a wild beast; and when brought to trial and condemned,
he would be pronounced worthy of thrice the punishment that the law could inflict. And he
would have been tried and condemned by men, most of whom, perhaps, believed that God
would take that same woman, for that same crime that she had committed against her husband,
and put-not only her hand, but her whole self into a Lake of Fire and Brimstone;-not for half an
hour-not for a day-not for a year-nor for ten thousand years only, but for all Eternity. Also, that
this Burning of her in a Blazing Hell would be so agreeable to the determination of the Almighty
that no pity could be excited, no mercy shown; but that there, in that Lake of Fire she should
gnash, and groan, and wail Eternally. Oh! How horrid the picture! And what a terrible crime, even
in the light of their own actions, to charge God with such cruelty!" John Kent, "Eternal Burning, A
SCANDAL AGAINST THE ALMIGHTY" 1879.
A God Of Infinite Horror: "That God would rise the wicked and give them immortality
only to torment them in a devil's hell unendingly is both gross and vulgar, even blasphemous.
Such a God is not the one described in the Bible...If the God of heaven subjects innumerable
billions to unending and indescribable torment, it can only be seen as the one infinite horror."
Leroy Garrett, Restoration Review, November 1990.
A Mockery Of Truth And A Blasphemy Against Deity: "My opponent will make an
effort to try and demonstrate that our loving, compassionate, merciful God will be content with
nothing less than the perpetual, never diminishing, horrific torture of the vast majority of
mankind. Not only is that not what the Scriptures teach, it has the distinct disadvantage of
portraying our God as a Monster the likes of which the human mind cannot even conceive. It is
to proclaim a God foreign to the inspired revelation. Thus, it is a mockery of Truth and a
blasphemy against Deity." Al Maxey, Maxey-Thrasher Debate on the Eternal Destiny of the
Wicked by two ministers of the church of Christ at: http://www.zianet.com/maxey/MxThrshr.htm
- I recommend this debate to all members of the church of Christ of which he is a member, and
to all who want the truth.
Worst Than Gods Of Paganism: "Paganism in its worst forms has never surpassed, if it
has equaled, the savage and terrible descriptions which have been given by Christians of their
God. The character ascribed to Him; the dreadful wrath and vengeance with which He is moved;
the cold and malignant purpose of creation in regard to million of souls; the stern severity and
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gloom of His government; the horrible and never-ceasing tortures which He will inflict on His
helpless, children-all this, and much more of like character, defies the power of language to set it
forth in its true light, or to present it in a manner adequate to its shocking revolting reality."
Thomas Thayer, "The Origin And History Of The Doctrine Of Endless Punishment."
Makes The Universe A Theater Of Cursing And Blasphemy: "What, then, is the
doctrine of endless misery? Stripped of all its drapery, it is no more or less than this: That a large
part of the human family are doomed to suffer the most intense and indescribable torments as
long as God shall exist, without the least hope or possibility of being benefited by their
sufferings. In some part of this beautiful universe, God has prepared an awful, dismal, burning
hell, and there countless myriads of human beings shall weep and groan, unpitied and
unrelieved, while ceaseless ages shall roll; and when ten thousand times ten thousand years shall
have passed, they shall have as long to suffer as if their sufferings had but just began. And, then,
to think of the number of the lost to remember that there are on this earth not less than eight
hundred millions of human beings, and that out of these there are not more than fifty millions
that can be saved, upon the broadest system of partialism; and that, by consequence, there must
be more than seventy thousand souls going down to hell every day; and, then, to think of
generations that have past, and reflect upon the vast and countless multitudes that must be
congregated in that huge reservoir of tears and woe; the very thought bears the lie upon its front.
The degree of the punishment outrages all ideas of proportion between guilt and punishment,
and the number of the victims shocks all feelings of humanity or mercy. It makes the universe a
theater of cursing and blasphemy, rather than a field for the display of the boundless perfections
of a merciful and benevolent Creator." I. D. Williamson, An Examination Of The Doctrine Of
Endless Punishment, 1860.
God The Tormentor: Spurgeon, one of the greatest of Baptist preachers, said, "When
thou driest, thy soul will be tormented alone; that will be a hell for it; but at the day of judgment
thy body will join thy soul and then thou wilt have twin hells, thy soul sweating drops of blood,
and thy body suffused with agony. In fire exactly like that which we have on earth, thy body will
lie, asbestos like, forever unconsumed, all thy veins roads for the feet of pain to travel on, every
nerve a string on which the devil shall forever play his diabolical tune of hell's unutterable
lament." From his sermon "The Resurrection of the Dead." Like most who believe God will
forever torment many billions, he must have some revelation that is not in the Bible to tell him
about their suffering. In his day most orthodox Protestants believed the Devil would be doing the
tormenting, but today most orthodox Protestants think he was wrong, that God is the one who
will be doing the tormenting. The man made "Hell" is forever changing. What was orthodox in
his day is no longer orthodox. For many Baptists his truth is no longer truth.
Ebenezer Erskine in "The Judgment" "How shall the adulterer satisfy lust when he lies on a
bed of flames? The swearer shall have enough of wounds and blood when the devil shall torture
his body and rack his soul in hell. The drunkard shall have plenty of his cups when scalding lead
shall be poured down his throat, and his breath draw flames of fire instead of air."
An Atrocious Slander On God: Henry Ward Beeches speaking of Michael Angelo's
painting, The Last Judgment said, "Let anyone see the enormous gigantic coils of fiends and man;
let anyone look at the defiant Christ that stands like a superb athlete at the front, hurling his
enemies from him and calling his friends toward him as Hercules might have done; let anyone
look upon that hideous wriggling mass that goes plunging down through the air-serpents and
man and beasts of every nauseous kind, mixed together; let him look at the lower parts of the
picture, where with the pitchforks men are by devils being cast into cauldrons and into burning
fires, where hateful fiends are gnawing the skulls of suffering sinners, and where there is hellish
cannibalism going on-let a man look at that picture and scenes which it depicts, and he sees what
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were the ideas which man once had of Hell and of divine justice. It was a night-mare as hideous
as was ever begotten by the hellish brood it-self; and it was an atrocious slander on God...I do not
wonder that men have reacted from these horrors."
Jonathan Edwards, "The world will probably be converted into a great lake or liquid globe of
fire, in which the wicked shall be overwhelmed, which will always be in tempest, in which they
shall be tossed to and fro, having no rest day or night, vast waves and billows of fire continually
rolling over their heads, of which they shall forever be full of a quick sense within and without;
their heads, their eyes, their tongues, their hands, their feet, their loins and their vitals, shall
forever be full of a flowing, melting fire, fierce enough to melt the very rocks and elements; and,
also, they shall eternally be full of the most quick and lively sense to feel the torments; not for
one minute, not for one day, not for one age, not for two ages, not for a hundred ages, not for
ten thousand millions of ages, one after another, but for forever and ever, without an end at all,
and never to be delivered."
Benson, "He will exert all his divine attributes to make them as wretched as the capacity of
their nature will admit...They must be perpetually swelling their enormous sums of guilt, and still
running deeper, immensely deeper, in debt to divine and infinite justice. Hence after the longest
imaginable period, they will be so far from having discharged their debt that they will find more
due than when they first began to suffer." He has God charging interest on the debt of the
suffering sinner owes Him at such a high rate that the sinner gets more behind as time goes on.
If the punishment exceeds the crime by billions of times would it be justice or injustice?
Dr. E. Beecher said it, "Involves God, his whole administration, and his eternal kingdom in the
deepest dishonor that the mind of man or angel can conceive, by the violation of the highest and
most sacred principles of honor and right, and on the scale of infinity and eternity" Page 225.
"The human mind cannot be held back from abhorring such a theory, except by the most
unnatural violence to its divinely inspired convictions of honor and right" Page 306, Conflict of
the Ages.
WHAT KIND OF JUSTICE IS THIS? To fill many books with the most harrowing
descriptions of torment would not equal the torment we are told that God will give to just
one person for all eternity. After someone who never knows of God in his lifetime on
earth has been in torment in Hell for not believing in God for trillions times trillions of
years, we are told they will still have eternity with not one second less time to suffer.
Those who believe in Hell say, "It is justice." My question to them is how do they know
it to be justice; where did God tell this to them? It being justice is something they had to
make up to try to justify their heathen Hell even if they make God be much more evil
than Satan. They are saying, “Stepping on a person’s lawn may get you a disapproving
look, but stepping on God’s lawn will get you eternal torment by God.” No one could
know this without a revelation from God and there is no such revelation, it is an addition,
it is making God evil just to justify their evil teaching.
DO YOU WONDER WHERE IN THE BIBLE THEY FOUND THINGS LIKE THE
DEVIL POURING SCALDING LEAD DOWN THE THROAT OF A PERSON AND
MANY THOUSANDS OF LIKE THINGS? THE ANSWER IS THAT THEY ARE IN
THE SAME PASSAGE WHERE THEY FOUND HELL AND THE SAME PASSAGE
WHERE THEY FOUND THE NAME OF HELL. THEY FOUND THEM IN THE
TEACHING OF MEN, NOT THE BIBLE.
"As a child, Robert Ingersoll heard a preacher proclaim the doctrine that God subjects sinners
to unending torment in hell. Ingersoll decided that if God were like that, then he hated Him.
Later he wrote of this belief that it 'makes man an eternal victim and God an eternal fiend. It is
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the one infinite horror. Below this Christian dogma, savagery cannot go.' There are
substantial moral and logical difficulties in believing in a God who tortures
His enemies forever. Like Ingersoll, thousands of thinking men have turned
away from such a God" Tim Crosby in Ministry.
E. Petavel, D. D., "The lamentable results of the Platonic doctrine may be seen in the theology
of a Tertullian and an Augustine,--theology called orthodox.--which makes the God of love an
Executioner whom innumerable victims will curse eternally. Such a doctrine is a burden even to
its adherents. It has drawn from them admissions, which we are bound to record. Henry Rogers
declared that 'for his part he would not be sorry to see every child die at the age of four years.'
Albert Barnes admits, with a soul full of anguish that he cannot understand why there are men
destined to suffer forever. 'The Gospel,' says Isaac Taylor, 'fills us with a universal sympathy
which sometimes make us regret that it must be true in all its teaching.' Calvin himself cannot
refrain from confessing that the decree of God concerning sinners seems to him horrible
('decretum horrible fateor'). In a word, the traditional dogma conducts to pessimism by making
evil eternal. What has been the result? Extremes meeting, the doctrine of eternal
suffering has led to Universalism. More or less secretly many of the partisans of the
traditional dogma, unable to hold it any longer, have quitted their position, to embrace the hope
of a universal salvation; while others wander in the penumbra of eschatological skepticism" The
Extinction Of Evil, Page 78, 1889.
THE CAUSE OF ATHEISM AND STUMBLING IN MANY Matthew 18:6
A DOCTRINE THAT MAKES ATHEISTS
God has been made so cruel, and this doctrine is so unthinkable that it has
probably created more atheists, and caused more weak believers to fall away than
any other false teaching. The dread of Hell has caused misery and metal anguish to
countless millions and INSTEAD OF THE HORROR OF HELL TURNING MANY
TO GOD TO ESCAPE ETERNAL TORMENT, MANY MILLIONS HAVE BEEN
TURNED AWAY FROM SUCH AN UNJUST GOD. The doctrine of Hell is one of
Satan's best tools to turn many away from Christ. Do you want to give an account to God
at the judgment for teaching it? No heathen religion has a God as unjust and fiendish as
many "Christians" make their God.
Edward White said, "It cannot be denied that the frightful doctrines on the future of
humanity...supported by the general authority of nearly all Christendom for at least fourteen
centuries, are regarded with contemptuous skepticism by the bulk of the existing male
population of Europe, who assigns these articles of 'the faith' as the chief reason for their ever
extending and fierce revolt against Christianity" Life In Christ, Page 65, 1878.
GOD IS NOT A GOD OF TERROR, A CRUEL AND EVIL BEING THIS
DOCTRINE MAKES HIM TO BE. DO YOU THINK HE WILL SAY TO THOSE
WHO TEACH HE IS UNJUST, "WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL
SERVANT...ENTER YOU INTO THE JOY OF YOUR LORD" [Matthew 15:21]?
If the reason anyone converts is because of a fear of Hell, his or her conversion is just
superficial, not real, not because he or she had a love for God, just afraid of being
tormented in Hell. A conversion because of the fear of Hell makes a hypocrite, not a
Christians. The harm that has been done by the heresy of eternal torment is beyond belief.
DILEMMAS OF THEIR OWN MAKING
The doctrine of Hell puts those who teach it in dilemmas from which they have no
way out.
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[1] Dilemma number one: According to most who believe in Hell only a few will
escape it, but they say all who die before the age accountably will escape Hell and will go
to Heaven. By their own teaching, the Abortionist maybe sending more to Heaven and
saving them from Hell than preaching is. Yet, many preachers that teach "Hell" with all
its horrors bitterly oppose abortions, which by their own teaching, is saving more from
"Hell" than they are. Why? According to their own teaching, in the US alone by abortion
millions have been sent to Heaven but most of them would have ended up being in
eternal torment if they had lived. If I believed their teaching about Hell, I would be all for
a sure way to save millions from an eternity of torment and put them safely in Heaven.
[2] Dilemma number two: Many pagans count girl babies of little or no use and kill
many of them. For centuries, millions of girl babies in China have been killed at birth.
Today, because of the law in China of one child per family, many girl babies are being
killed at birth by parents who want a boy. According to the teaching of those who believe
in Hell there are millions of Chinese girls in Heaven that would have been tormented in
Hell if they had lived, but not many Chinese boys are in Heaven.
[3] Dilemma number three: According to them, the children killed in the Old
Testament in Gehenna would be blessed for by not having a few years of life with pain
and problems they will forever live with God in Heaven.
There are many more dilemmas like these. How many children have been sent to
heaven by wars? How many children were send to Heaven when the two A-bombs were
dropped in world war two; do we need more wars and bombs to keep more out or Hell
and to send more to Heaven? How many children will be in Heaven because they had no
food or some sickness? By their teaching, a child that is killed or dies soon after birth is
blessed over those that live for most of them that do not die as a child will live forever in
torment and all those that do die when they are a child will live forever in Heaven.
According to their own teaching (if they were right), Heaven will have more in it that was
killed as a child than by all the preaching.
Annihilationnation is God giving people freedom to choose not to accept Christ and
the life He died to give them. Their not-accepting Christ and life means they have chosen
to accept death. God gives them their choice, and lets them pay the wages of their sin,
death, for they have chosen not to let Christ pay it for them. He is a just God, not a cruel
sadistic God who will torment forever. Some say, "God is a God of justice and sin must
be paid for, or God would not be just." Yes, but being sadistic is not justice in anyone's
book, and the very fact that He is just would not let Him cruelly and sadistically torment
anyone forever without end. The wages of our sins were paid by the death of Christ;
those who have not been baptized into His death will pay for their own sins in the second
death, not by having scalding lead poured down his or her throat for all eternity. God
made all out of nothing and has the right to send any back to nothing. Sending those back
to nothing that choose to not give Him the worship He is entitled to is His right and there
is nothing cruel about it. They have the life He has given to them and have chosen to live
it for themselves.
MAKES GOD HAVE A DOUBLE STANDARD
One for Him and another for us
What would be wrong for us, to torment all that do not believe, is made to be right and
good for God to do “for His good pleasure” on a scale that is infinitely greater than would be
possible for all men combined to do.
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Many have tried to lessen the cruelty in a number of ways. [1] Perhaps the most
common one is to make Hell be only in the mind of the lost. Billy Graham said, "I have
often wondered if Hell is a terrible burning within our hearts for God, to fellowship with God, a fire that
we can never quench." This does not help any and maybe makes it crueler. Mental pain is as
bad and sometimes worse than physical pain. God tormenting most of mankind by
making them live in mental pain for eternity would not make Him any less cruel. [2]
Some have tried to justify this cruelty by saying the punishment must fit the crime. If a
person commits a crime against a person he or she does not know, it is not as bad as the
same crime would be if committed against his or her mother and the same crime
committed against God is infinitely worse, but no one could know this without a
revelation from God; where in God’s word does He say the same trespasses become
infinitely worse when it is against God? Jesus teaches that what ever we do or do not do
for mankind we do or do not do it for God [Matthew 25:40, 45], and He makes no
distinction as to whom the sin was against. For centuries many of the best thinkers in
the orthodox churches have tried to find a way to justify Hell. I think the best they
have done is to say the same crime/sin committed against an infinite God demands an
infinite punishment, and God would not be just if He did not torment all sinners forever;
they have tried to make it look as if He has no way out and must torment in Hell. What
new revelation do they have that makes God be wrong when He said, "The wages of sin
is death"?
• First: they are speaking where the Bible does not say anything and are making
God be bound by their theology; therefore, they give God no choice, making God
be bound to forever torment most of mankind all to justify their "Hell."
• Second: God's law in the Old Testament had the same punishment if the sin were
against man or against Himself. To lie was the same if the lie were to a person or
to God. His law was an eye for an eye no matter whom the sin was against. Their
theology makes it be one eye if the lie were told to a person, but if the same lie
where told to God it would be an endless number of eyes.
• Third: If any sin against an infinite God demands an infinite punishment of
eternal torment in Hell, all have sinned. If the only payment for our sin against an
infinite God is eternal torment, Christ did not pay it for us. If the payment is
death, Christ did pay it for us.
• Fourth: God made us and if He had chosen not to give anyone eternal life, to let
us pass out of exists, to return to not existing, He would still be a good and
merciful God for giving us the life we have. But, God has given us much more if
we will only believe and obey Him. He has given His only Son that we may given
life, not death. He has saved us from the wages of sin; the death that we deserve
and given us life.
• Fifth: Who could love and worship a God that according to traditional doctrine
would have made our father, mother, wife or husband, our children, and many we
know and love just so He could torment them and He gives them no change to not
be tormented.
Throughout the Old Testament, God destroyed His enemies, Sodom and Gomorrah,
the flood, drowning in the Red Sea, etc. He did not torment them forever. The Bible does
not teach it is the character or nature of God to torment the lost.
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Not only is Hell an addition to the Bible but also Hell is many times crueler than
anything the pagans ever even thought of. Because for most it is something that is far
away and not something they can see now, I do not think they can see how cruel they are
being too most, or how cruel they are making God be. Because it is not something that is
not real to them, they are able to tell themselves "it is justice." If the Hell they teach was
real and they could look over into it and see God tormenting most of mankind in the
terrible way they now teach that He will be doing, they would be terrified of such an evil
being as they say their God is. HOW CAN ANYONE NOT SEE THIS?
The doctrine of an immortal soul that cannot die and must forever be tormented is the
most heartless doctrine any person ever believed. BELIEVING IN HELL IS AS
HEARTLESS AS ANY PERSON CAN BE, AND IS LOVING AND WORSHIPING
THE MOST CRUEL, SADISTIC AND FIENDISH OF ALL GODS. If being created in
the image of God means mankind cannot die but must forever be tormented, then
being in the image of God is a curse for most of mankind; it would have been better
for them to be as animals are. God made all things that are, if Hell does exist, it could
only have been God that thought it up and made it.
DO THOSE WHO TEACH THE DOCTRINE OF HELL REALLY BELIEVE
IN HELL? The plain inference is that they do not believe in it. They see some of their
family, their friends, those they work with or live next door, that they say are going to
Hell at death, but do little or nothing about it. If they really believe in Hell when they see
unsaved people they know and love dying all around them, why do they do so little to
save them? They seem to care more about what is on television than they do about the
eternal torment of those they say they love, and countess millions of others.
The Saints In Heaven Are Deprived Of Qualities God Has Given To Us,
Sympathy, Pity, Love For Others.
"The smoke of their torment shall ascend up in the sight of the blessed
forever and serve as a most clear glass always before their eyes to give them
a constant, bright, and most affecting view... THIS DISPLAY OF THE DIVINE
CHARACTER AND GLORY WILL BE IN FAVOR OF THE REDEEMED, AND
MOST ENTERTAINING, AND GIVE THE HIGHEST PLEASURE TO THOSE WHO
LOVE GOD, AND RAISE THEIR HAPPINESS TO INEFFABLE HEIGHTS.
SHOULD THIS ETERNAL PUNISHMENT AND THIS FIRE BE EXTINGUISHED,
IT WOULD IN A GREAT MEASURE OBSCURE THE LIGHT OF HEAVEN AND
PUT AN END TO A GREAT PART OF THE HAPPINESS AND GLORY OF THE
BLESSED." Samuel Hopkins, "The works of Samuel Hopkins, D.D." Page 458.
What kind of sick man could get the highest pleasure from seeing a cruel God doing
his cruel work on billions and even on many he knows and loves? He makes the saints in
Heaven be deprived of qualities God has given to us, sympathy, pity, love for others,
caring for others; and made them to be cruel monsters that delight in the pain of others,
and loves to hear the groans of those they now love, and the groans of the countless
millions of the lost. He makes the saints in Heaven taking satisfaction from seeing God
inflict eternal pain without end on those who they loved on earth be more cruel and blood
thirsty then those in Rome who took satisfaction in seeing lions eating Christians.
Saints On Earth Become Like The God they Worship: (See “The Crusades, bloody
Mary” in chapter one.)
“I am reminded of this talk show, which showed a group of religious “Christians” screaming at
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people in a department store parking lot. Waving their bibles, they were shouting lines like
‘You’re all going to hell!’ (Of course what they really meant by this was ‘You’re all gonna be
tortured forever and ever!)’ Needless to say, they looked like hideous fiends, and to think that
such people actually believe they’re obediently doing God’s will. What deception. I can’t help but
be a mite suspect of the character of those who unswervingly defend the eternal torture
doctrine…I personally believe that these people who staunchly support eternal torture – these
folks who almost seem to relish the idea of human beings consciously roasting in agony for all
eternity and who become ridiculously irate when a fellow Christian rejects such a ghastly view
(even though based upon a thorough biblical analysis) – I believe that such people have given
reign to their flesh in this one area. Their very character must be questioned; it has somehow
become warped and perverted. I say this because they would zealously do everything in their
power to oppose supporters of everlasting destruction. Some go as far as to teach that adherents
of literal destruction aren’t even saved, that they aren’t fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Such people have such a sinister, repulsive, hostile air to them that I wouldn’t doubt that, if this
was the Inquisition era of medieval infamy, they would not hesitate to put to death or torture
adherents of everlasting destruction” From a web page www.hell-know.net chapter eight.
“The smoke of their burning flesh shall be as a sweet smelling savor in the nostrils of the
Almighty” Jonathan Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”
Summary: THE REAL ISSUE IN THE DOCTRINE OF HELL IS THE NATURE OF
GOD. IS HE A GOD OF LOVE AND MERCY OR IS HE A CRUEL, SADISTIC, AND
FIENDISH GOD TO MOST OF MANKIND AND MADE THEM JUST SO HE
COULD TORMENT THEM AND GIVE THEM NO CHANCE TO NOT BE
TORMENTED AND WILL NOT LET THEM DIE? THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN
SUCH A GOD MUST DEFEND EVERLASTING TORMENT AND THE GOD
WHO MADE MOST OF MANKIND KNOWING THAT HE WOULD TORMENT
THEM FOREVER; AND ACCORDING TO THE CALVIN AND JONATHAN
EDWARDS VERSIONS OF HELL THIS GOD WILL DELIGHT IN IT, AND
ACCORDING TO CREEDS, AUGUSTINE, SPURGEON AND MANY OTHERS,
THOSE IN HEAVEN WOULD FIND DELIGHT IN SEEING THOSE IN HELL
BEING ROASTED IN FIRE. SUCH A GOD AND HEAVEN CANNOT BE
DEFENDED. A GOD WITH SUCH VINDICTIVENESS IS A TOTALLY
CONTRADICTION TO THE GOD WHO WOULD HAVE ALL MEN COME TO
REPENTANCE. God is not an eternal prison keeper who loves to torments all that are in
His prison. Those who believe in an immortal soul must believe in an eternal hell, and in
eternal punishment that has no purpose, a punishment that is not proportionate to the sin,
and in a god with a nature that the basest of men would not defend; eternal torment in
Hell requires a god that is so dreadful that it make many reject him and his bible. When I
gave up the evil God of Hell, and believed in the true God; it brought a peace and
joy I never believed possible. I now worship a God who is worthy of being loved and
worshiped.
THE FATE OF THOSE WHO ARE NOT IN CHRIST
[1] UTTERLY DESTROYED [Acts 3:23]
[2] DEATH [Romans 6:23; 6:21; 7:5; 4:17; 8:6; 1 Corinthians 3:22]
[3] MUST DIE [Romans 8:13; John 8:24; 6:50]. This is not the first death, which comes
to all, to both those who are saved and those who are lost [Hebrews 9:27], but is the
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SECOND DEATH (eternal nothingness) [Revelation 21:8]. All will die once but the lost
will die twice
[4] "And when sin is accomplished, it brings forth DEATH" [James 1:15]
[5] "Condemned them to EXTINCTION" Revised Standard Version [2 Peter 2:6]
[6] They “are WORTHY OF DEATH” [Romans 1:32]
[7] PASSES AWAY [1 John 2:17]
[8] Their END is DEATH [Romans 6:21-22]
[9] Their wages for sin “IS DEATH” [Romans 6:23]
[10] They “MUST DIE” [Romans 8:13]
[11] "Their END is DESTRUCTION" [Philippians 3:19]
[12] "Whose END is TO BE BURNED" [Hebrews 6:8]
[13] "Everlasting DESTRUCTION" [2 Thessalonians 1:9]
[14] "Sudden DESTRUCTION" [1 Thessalonians 5:2-3]
[15] "Swift DESTRUCTION" [2 Peter 2:1]
[16] "Will reap DESTRUCTION" [Galatians 6:8]
[17] "DESTRUCTION of ungodly man" [2 Peter 3:7]
[18] Are on the broad way leading to DESTRUCTION [Matthew 7:13-14; Philippians
3:19; 1:28; 2 Peter 3:7]
[19] God will DESTROY [1 Corinthians 3:17; 2 Peter 2:12]
[20] Will be "DESTROYED" like Sodom [Luke 17:29]
[21] BRING TO NOTHING [2 Thessalonians 2:8]
[22] Will be TURNED TO ASHES like Sodom and Gomorrah [Peter 2:6]
[23] Will "BE BURNED UP" [2 Peter 3:10]
[24] Will "PERISH" [John 3:16]
[25] Will be "SLAIN" [Luke 1914]
[26] Will be "THROWN AWAY" [Matthew 13:18]
[27] They "SHALL NOT SEE LIFE" [John 3:36; 5:40; 1 John 3:15]
[28] DO NOT HAVE THE "LIFE" Christ gives to them that obey Him [John 3:36;
5:21; 5:24; 5:29; 5:40; 6:27; Matthew 19:29; 1 John 5:12]
[29] Will LOSE LIFE [Matthew 10:39]
[30] Will have NO ACCESS TO THE TREE OF LIFE [Revelation 2:7; 22:2; 22:14]
[31] Will be BLOTTED OUT OF THE BOOK OF LIFE [Revelation 3:5]
[32] Shall PASS AWAY in "the Day of Judgment and DESTRUCTION OF
UNGODLY MEN," the "heavens shall pass away...shall be dissolved...burned up" [2
Peter 3:7-13]
[33] Will be "DEVOUR" [American Standard Version] "CONSUME" [New American
Standard Version] [Hebrews 10:27; 12:29]
[34] Fate of the wicked in the parable-always destroyed, death, not tormented
• THEY WILL BURN UP like the useless chaff of wheat [Matthew 3:12,
Luke 3:17]
• BURNED like weeds, tares and bad fish [Matthew 13:30-50]
• Like harmful plants will be rooted up [Matthew 15:13]
• Cut asunder like the unfaithful servant [Matthew 24:45-51]
• Cut down like useless fig tree [Luke 13:6-9]
• SLAIN (killed) like enemies [Luke 19:27]
• Cast out and KILLED like the unfaithful husbandman [Luke 20:9-17]
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• Are BURNED UP like withered branches [John 15:6]
o If the above language does not denote the utter destruction of the wicked,
what language could God have used that would? None. Those who try to
explain away the above would try to explain away any language that could
be used.
[35] Fate of the wicked in the Old Testament (the fate of people and nations in this
lifetime)
• "Behold the day comes, it burns as a furnace [see 2 Peter 3:10-12] and all the
proud and all that work wickedness shall be stubble; and the day that comes
SHALL BURN THEM UP, says the LORD of hosts, that IT SHALL LEAVE
THEM NEITHER ROOT NOR BRANCH" [Malachi 4:1-3]. Probably said of the
nation of Israel. Burn up a plant and leave it neither root nor branch and nothing
will remain of it. Nothing will remain of the nation.
• The wicked "shall soon be cut down like the grass" [Psalms 37:2]
• "Shall be cut off...shall not be" [Psalms 37:9-10]
• "Will be as nothing" [Isaiah 41:11]
• "Become as if they has never existed" [Obadiah 16]
• "Shall perish...in smoke shall they consume away" [Psalms 37:20]
• "They shall be destroyed" [Psalms 37:38]. "Altogether destroyed" New Revised
Standard Version
• Shall "melt away" [Psalms 112:10; 68:2]
• "But the way of the wicked will perish" [Psalms 1:6]
• "But all the wicked, He will destroy" [Psalms 145:20]
• "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book" [Exodus 32:33]
• "The wicked is reserved to the day of destruction" [Job 21:30]
• "They are like the chaff which the wind drives away" [Psalms 1:4]
• Souls shall die [Genesis 3:3; Ezekiel 18:4; 13:19]
[36] Add to this the fact that Hell is not in the Bible, not the name or the concept; nothing
is said about God tormenting anyone after the judgment; nothing is said about the wicked
after the second death; and you have a clear picture of the fate of the wicked. GOD
COULD NOT HAVE SAID IN HUMAN LANGUAGE ANY CLEARER OR
STRONGER WHAT THE FATE OF THE WICKED WILL BE. If you think it
could be said any more clearly, try it. You cannot do it. BETWEEN THE
STATEMENTS OF THE INSPIRED WRITERS OF THE BIBLE ABOVE, AND
THE UNINSPIRED TEACHING OF MEN, THERE IS AN ENORMOUS
DISCREPANCY AND CONTRADICTION THAT CANNOT BE EXPLAINED
AWAY.
Our choice is life or death [see Deuteronomy 30:19-20]. To live or die [Ezekiel
18:20], an eternal life in Hell forever being tormented by God is not one of our choices.
“But even if we are an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to
what we preached to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, so now I
PRPEAT, if anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one
be accursed” [Galatians 1:7-8]. Is there another time Paul said something so serious that
he repeated it? If “the wages of sin is death” and someone preaches to you “the wages of
sin is eternal life in torment” that one should be accursed of preaching a gospel contrary
to that which Paul preached.
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AFTER THE RESURRECTION
THE FATE OF THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST
[1] Eternal life [Romans 6:23]
[2]"Shall inherit eternal life" [Matthew 19:29]
[3] After the judgment they "shall go away into eternal life" [Matthew 25:46]
[4] Will "have eternal life" [John 3:5]
[5] Christ will raise them up on the last day [John 6:40]
[6] Will be immortal after the resurrection [1 Corinthians 15:51-56]
[7] Will have incorruption [1 Corinthians 15:42]
[8] Will have glory [1 Corinthians 15:43]
[9] Will be like Christ "We shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is" [1 John
3:2]
[10] Are "heirs according to the hope of eternal life" [Titus 3:7]
[11] Will have a spiritual body [1 Corinthians 15:44]
[12] "And as we have borne the image of the earthly (The earthly flesh and blood body
of Adam was made to live on this earth but it "cannot inherit the kingdom of God" 1
Corinthians 15:50), we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" (Shall be like the
spiritual body of Christ for life in Heaven) [1 Corinthians 15:47-56]
[13] "Will never perish" [John 10:28]
[14] Forever with the Lord [1 Thessalonians 4:17]
[15] MANY MANSIONS IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE: "In my Father's house (Who
is in Heaven Matthew 5:16; 5:45; 5:48; 6:1; 6:9; 7:21; 10:32-33) are many mansions...I
go to prepare a place for you." (Where did Christ go to prepare a place for us? In the
mansions in His Father's house in Heaven. "For it was not David who ascended into
heaven, but himself says: 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,
UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.'" Acts 2:34-35)
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, (A place in my Father's house in Heaven) I
come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am there you may also be
(With me in the place I go to prepare for you in My Father's house in Heaven [John 14:1-
3]. But now I go unto him (unto My Father who is in Heaven) that sent me" ("The
word-Christ who was with the Father in the beginning and has always been a heavenly
being with God became flesh, and dwelt among us" John 1:14) [John 16:5]. He is no
longer flesh, but has now gone back to Heaven to prepare a place for the saved and will
come back for them. "He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My
throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne" [Revelation
3:21]. Christ is now on His Fathers throne in Heaven where He went to prepare a place
for us.
[16] FLESH AND BLOOD CANNOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD: "And
as we have borne the image of the earthy [flesh and blood], we shall also bear the image
of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren that FLESH AND BLOOD CANNOT INHERIT
THE KINGDOM OF GOD; (Our bodies in the image of Adam made for this earth are not
suitable for Heaven) neither do corruption inherit incorruption (Neither can our
corruptible bodies in the image of Adam inherit in the heavenly realm). Behold, I tell you
a mystery: We all shall not sleep, (Shall not die) but we shall all be changed, (ALL the
saved that are asleep when Christ comes and ALL the saved that are alive) in a moment,
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in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead
shall be raised incorruptible, (Raised in the heavenly image of Christ, not in the
corruptible image of Adam which they had when they died). For this corruptible must
put on incorruption, (This earthly body in the image of Adam must put on incorruption,
a spiritual body in the image of Christ. Adam never had a spiritual body before or after he
sined), and this mortal must put on immortality (This mortal body which is the body we
now have must be changed to an immortal spiritual body which will not be the body of
this earth which we now have). But, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption,
and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is
written, Death is swallowed up in victory" [1 Corinthians 15:50-54]. In this passage Paul
is telling the Corinthians what their body will be after the resurrection.
• It cannot be "flesh and blood" for flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of
God [1 Corinthians 15:50].
• It cannot be a body of "corruption" in the image of Adam for a body of corruption
cannot inherit incorruption [1 Corinthians 15:50-54].
• It cannot be the mortal body that we now have for this mortal body must put on
immortality [1 Corinthians 15:53-54].
[17] "We that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede
them that are fallen asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall
rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the
clouds (To meet Him in the air and will have a body not of this earth) to meet the Lord in
the air: and so shall ever be with the Lord" [1 Thessalonians 4:16-17].
[18] "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall
be. (We know what the image of Adam is for we now have it. His image was flesh and
blood both before and after he sinned, and we know that we now have his image, a body
of flesh and blood, but we do not now know what the spiritual body in the image of
Christ will be like.) We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him because we
shall see Him just as He is" [1 John 3:2].
[19] WILL BE LIKE ANGELS "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,
but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age (The age to come. Not all will
be worthy to attain to it) and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given
in marriage; for neither can they die any more, FOR THEY ARE LIKE ANGELS,
(Like the angels, the saved will have a body that will be suitable for Heaven. Not an
earthly being and will no longer have a body in the image of Adam made for this earth,
but will have a spiritual body in the image of Christ. ANGELS HAVE NEVER HAD AN
EARTHLY BODY IN THE IMAGE OF ADAM. WHEN WE ARE LIKE ANGELS WE
WILL NOT HAVE AN EARTHLY BODY IN THE IMAGE OF ADAM) and are sons
of God, being sons of the resurrection" [Luke 20:34-36]. Adam was made of the earth
and had a flesh and blood body and Eve was made from his body before their sin, they
never had a spiritual body or a body like the angels. To have a body like Adam before he
sinned would be to have a flesh and blood body and be male and female. It would be
nothing like the Angels.
[20] "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his
great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead, unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away,
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reserved in heaven for you, who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" [1 Peter 1:4].
[21] SEEK THE THINGS ABOVE "If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep
seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind
on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and you life is
hidden with Christ in God. WHEN CHRIST, WHO IS OUR LIFE, IS REVEALED, THEN
YOU ALSO WILL BE REVEALED WITH HIM IN GLORY" [Colossians 2:1-4].
[22] WE NOW BEAR THE IMAGE OF THE EARTHLY [Adam] WE SHALL BEAR
THE IMAGE OF THE HEAVENLY [Christ] "And just as we have borne the image of
the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" (Not the flesh and blood image
of Adam before or after he sinned, not an earthly body, not a body of dust) [1 Corinthians
15:48].
AN ETERNITY IN HEAVEN OR ON EARTH
Some ask. "An eternity in Heaven doing what?" I ask them, "An eternity on earth
doing what?" I have not seen anywhere that they say what they think we will be doing on
earth for an eternity. Take whatever they think there will be to do on earth for eternity
and multiply it by a 100, or 10,000, or even by 100,000 and you will not have all that we
will be doing in Heaven for an eternity. All the best of this earth will be gone. There will
be no marriage, therefore, no family life [Matthew 22:30]. No sea [Revelation 21:1]
therefore, nothing that has to do will the sea, no boating, no fishing, no sunset over the
water, etc. Multiply the beauty of earth by 100,000 or more and you still will not have the
beauty of Heaven.
LIFE ON THIS EARTH - versus - LIFE IN HEAVEN
1. Life on this earth: a natural body - versus - after the resurrection: a spiritual body
[1 Corinthians 15:42-58].
2. Life on this earth: a mortal being - versus- after the resurrection: an immortal
being.
3. Life on this earth: image of Adam - versus - after the resurrection: image of
Christ.
There are three major views of the fate of the lost after death. There may be many
variations on each, not to over simplify, but I think all the variations will be on one of the
three.
1. God made most of mankind to be tormented forever.
2. God will save all mankind no matter how evil they are.
3. The wages of sin is death for those not in Christ.
o a) The eternal home for those in Christ will be on earth.
o b) The eternal home for those in Christ will be in Heaven.
When Christ came to earth He became “flesh and blood” in the image of Adam, IF
CHRIST IS TO COME BACK TO AND FOREVER BE A KING ON THIS EARTH HE
WILL FOREVER BE “FLESH AND BLOOD” IN THE IMAGE OF ADAM.
A SUMMARY OF WHERE THE DEAD ARE. Four views on what happens at
death, each one is in sharp conflict with the other three and makes them not possible. Yet,
the same preachers put the dead in three places simultaneously.
1. The spirit of all returns to God – misused to prove all have an immortal soul.
2. The dead are alive in sheol.
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3. The soul of the saved go directly to Heaven at death and the soul of the lost
directly go to Hell at death.
4. All the dead are asleep unto the resurrection.
GOD HAS SPOKE
In The Clearest Way That Is Possible With Human Language
"For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have
they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten...for there is no work, nor
device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you go" [Ecclesiastes 9:5-10]. "His
breath goes forth, he returns to the earth: in that very day his thoughts perish" [Psalms
146:4]. "So man lies down and rises not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not
awake, nor be roused out of their sleep" [Job 14:12]. If you read God's word and you still
believe a person now has an immortal soul; and is not subject to death, there is no human
language God could use to tell you otherwise. You have believed men and Satan, and will
not hear God.
There is nothing hard to understand about the nature of a person or the fate of the
wicked. It takes much help from theology to not understand the clear teaching of the
Bible. Much help to make many believe Satan's lie over God's word. Much help for
anyone to not be able to see the simple truth when he or she reads the Bible.
COULD GOD HAVE GIVEN HIS REVELATION ABOUT THE FATE OF
MANKIND AFTER DEATH IN A WAY THAT ALL COULD UNDERSTAND IT?
THE ANSWER IS YES. HE COULD AND DID CHOOSE WORDS, PARABLES,
SYMBOLS, AND METAPHORS THAT CLEARLY TEACH THE DEATH OF,
NOT THE ETERNAL TORMENT OF THE LOST. THE UNSAVED DIE,
PERISH, ARE DESTROYED, AND ARE LOST. THE OBEDIENT ARE SAVED
FROM DEATH, AND GIVEN LIFE AND IMMORTALITY AT THE
JUDGMENT. GOD COULD NOT HAVE SAID IT ANY CLEARER. IF YOU
THINK HE COULD HAVE, TRY TO SAY IT ANY CLEARER. The words and
expressions are used that put the truth beyond all possibility of question. Eternal life
with torment would not be death.
BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF, WITH GOD, AND GO TO HIS WORD WITH
HONESTY, LOVE, AND REVERENCE. Can pagan teachings, which are promoted in
the name of Christ, result in knowledge of the truth that can save?
DO YOU WANT TO DIE? WHEN THE BIBLE SAYS, "THE WAGES OF SIN IS
DEATH" IT LITERALLY MEANS WHAT IT SAYS, “THE WAGES OF SIN IS
DEATH” NOT ETERANL LIFE IN TORMENT. Do you want to face God's wrath at
the judgment and be found not fit to live? Do you want to know that the second death will
be an eternal end of you? If not, then: Hear and Believe [Romans 1:16; Hebrews 11:6].
Repent [Luke 13:5]. Die to sin, and through baptism be buried and raised to walk in
newness of life with Christ [Romans 6:1-23; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38 John 3:5]. "For if we
have become united with him in the likeness of his death (through baptism), we shall be
also in the likeness of his resurrection" [Romans 6:5]. "God gave unto us eternal life, and
this life is in his Son. He that has the Son has the life; he that has not the Son of God has
not the life" [1 John 5:11-12]. Live faithfully unto death, and receive the crown of life
and immortality at the resurrection [Revelation 2:10; 1 Corinthians 15:52-55; John 5:21].
"But they that are accounted worthy to attain to that world, and the resurrection from the
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dead...neither can they die any more: for they...are sons of God" [Luke 20:35]. "It was
necessary that the word of God should first be spoken to you. Seeing you thrust it from
you AND JUDGE YOURSELVES UNWORTHY OF ETERNAL LIFE, lo, we turn to
the Gentiles" [Acts 13:45-48]. THE QUESTION IS NOT WHERE WILL YOU
SPEND YOUR ETERNITY, BUT WILL YOU HAVE AN ETERNITY.
"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we wait for a Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ; who WILL transform the body of our humble state into conformity with
the body of His glory" [Philippians 3:20-21]. "To him that overcomes, to him will I give
to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God" [Revelation 2:7]. THE
RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD TOTALLY DESTROYS THE DOCTRINE OF
AN IMMORTAL SOUL FROM BIRTH. IF ANYONE HAD A SOUL THAT WAS
ALIVE AND IN HEAVEN, IT COULD NOT BE RESURRECTED FROM THE
DEAD, IT WOULD HAVE NO NEED OF THE RESURRECTION.
A brief summary of some of the main points of this book.
• An immortal undying soul makes death, the wages of sin, and the resurrection
impossible. Who do you believe, God or Satan?
• Going to Heaven at the moment of death makes a person judgment be at death,
not at the second coming of Christ, and makes the resurrection impossible. Who
do you believe, Christ or the Platonic philosophy of the survival of the soul?
• When unconditional immortality says the soul is the real person and can never
die, that the soul of Christ, which was the real Christ was alive before the
resurrection on the third day, that only the body of flesh dies, it makes the real
Christ to have never died, only a body of flesh; therefore, the real Christ never
died for us and we are still in our sins.
"But now has Christ been raised from the dead, the first fruits of them that are asleep.
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in
Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But, each in his own order: Christ
the first fruits; then they that are Christ's at his coming." Could Paul have been any
more specific? ONLY THROUGH THE RESURRECTION AT THE SECOND
COMING OF CHRIST WILL ANYONE HAVE LIFE AFTER DEATH.
--------------------------------------------------
Save this free pdf book "Unconditional Immortality Or Resurrection Of The Dead”
By William Robert West
Or buy the printed copy FROM BOOKSTORES ON THE WEB: Infinity Publishing,
ISBN- 0-7414-4620-0, 2008, Third edition
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Or is available is many bookstores and can be special ordered from most bookstores.
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--------------------------------
Or html: CHAPTER ONE: The reinterpretation of the nature of man
• Soul in Genesis, Soul in the New Testament, Old Testament words, which are
translated life, spirit, breath, or soul, are all used referring to both a person and
animals, Soul in the Old Testament.
• Soul in the New Testament, Plato's immortal soul versus Christ's life and
resurrection, Historical proof of reinterpretations of the Bible. The great confusion
- Soul or Spirit or Both? http://robertwr.com/
CHAPTER TWO: Life or death? http://robertwr.com/life.html
CHAPTER THREE: The reinterpretations of the great doctrines of the Bible.
http://robertwr.com/immortal.html
CHAPTERS FOUR, FIVE, SIX, AND SEVEN: http://robertwr.com/hell.html
1. CHAPTER FOUR: From where came hell? The given no chance Hell. Edward
Fudge's Short Hell. The Changing Hell. The Vanishing Hell.
2. CHAPTER FIVE: Sheol, Hades, Tartarus, and the Nether World. The soul is the
image of Adam.
3. CHAPTER SIX: The thirty-one passages where Hell is used in the King James
Version.
4. CHAPTER SEVEN: A Strange and Unexplainable Silence.
CHAPTERS EIGHT, NINE, AND TEN: http://robertwr.com/heaven.html
1. CHAPTER EIGHT: The interpretation of figurative language, metaphors and
symbolical passage.
o PART ONE: Israel's destruction, her weeping, gnashing of teeth, outer
darkness.
o PART TWO: The intermediate bosom, the rich man and Lazarus.
o PART THREE: The symbolical pictures of Revelation versus a literal
interpretation.
2. CHAPTER NINE: Universalist: The "age lasting" Hell.
3. CHAPTER TEN: Evil Pagan teachings that are attributed to God.
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OTHER WEB SITES of William Robert West, church of Christ, Tallahassee Florida
“The Rapture and Israel” at:https://www.createspace.com/3457158
http://robertwr.com/rapture.html The Premillennial thousand-year reign of Christ, the Rapture,
and the Kingdom of Heaven.
• After the Judgment where will we spend eternity?
• When will the secret rapture come to pass? Will you miss it?
• Will there be cars without drivers after the rapture?
• What is the battle of Armageddon?
• Is Armageddon coming soon?
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• Will Israel be restored? Will there be a worldwide conversion of Jews?
• Will the temple be rebuilt in Jerusalem?
• Will animal sacrifices be restored?
• What are the signs of the second coming of Christ?
• Who are the 144,000?
• Will there be one, two, or three resurrections?
• What is the "time of the Gentiles"?
• What is the "gap" theory?
• Who is the thirteenth tribe?
Impressum
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 11.12.2010
Alle Rechte vorbehalten
Widmung:
To all who love God