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Ok, let's continue to part 3 of the study I've been doing on hell. Again, if you haven't yet, please read all the other parts, they all fit together and provide a mountain of supporting verses that relate to each other. I have been writing about how "hell" is actually the grave, and that the fate of the wicked is to be burned up forever in the lake of fire, the second death. Destruction, not burning forever. Let's start Psalms part 2 off with Psalm 37, a Psalm about blessings of the righteous.
Psalm 37:
[1] Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
[2] For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Notice the word wither here. I'm going to break protocol a little bit, and post a handful of New Testament verses to back this up. I may bring them up again when I unravel more NT verses in a future installment of this study, but it's important that the connection to Psalms is made. The main argument to this "wither" ordeal is probably the one saying that these verses are referring to the life in the flesh, the mortal life. Well, the context of these verses say otherwise.
James 1:
[10] But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
[11] For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
[12] Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
A burning heat withers the grass, and it perishes. It's compared to the rich man fading away. Look at verse 12. James goes on to say that those that endure temptation are blessed with the crown of life. He's talking about life eternal! So it's imperative that we see that the context here is eternity, not a mortal lifetime. Notice also that a burning heat is what causes the grass to wither. Does that sound familiar? Yep, the lake of fire is a burning heat that burns up (or withers) the wicked.
1 Peter 1:
[23] Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
[24] For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
[25] But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Same concept here. Flesh withers, the Lord endures forever. We're seeing this same pattern of absolute opposites that I've recently noticed is everywhere in the Bible. I thank the Lord for shedding some wisdom on me with this! Let's get back to more of Psalm 37:
[9] For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
[10] For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
[11] But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Evildoers cut off, being contrasted with the meek inheriting the earth. Inheriting the earth is the promise the Lord gave to Abraham and his seed! Abraham has not received this promise yet.
[12] The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
[13] The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
[14] The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
[15] Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
[16] A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
[17] For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
[18] The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
[19] They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
[20] But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
Do you see a very familiar phrase in verse 12? I hope you do. Gnashing with teeth. Doesn't the Lord Jesus mention this in the Gospels? Yes He does! He is referring to the day the wicked are destroyed. They see their day coming, and gnash their teeth at Him and the righteous. The days of the upright, and their inheritance are forever. The wicked shall perish. Once again we have that absolute contrast! Still don't agree about gnashing of teeth? Let's briefly skip over to:
Psalm 112:
[9] He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.
[10] The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.
The wicked see the righteous and hate it! They gnash their teeth at them in anger and hatred, and they melt away! It's all right there for us. Here's another teeth gnasher of a verse:
Psalm 35:
[16] With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.
The phrase is used to mean the wicked showing hatred for righteousness, and the upright man.
Back to Psalm 37. Verse 20 says "into smoke shall they consume away." This immediately brought another verse to my mind.
Revelation 14:
[11] And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
I know this verse is used to "prove" a burning inferno, but there is no fire described here. What is described, though, is the aftermath of a fire: smoke! It's a symbolic passage, showing that the wrath of the Lord is forever, and the remains of the wicked symbolically smoke forever. I will get more into this in New Testament studies. The Lazarus passage of Luke 16 plays a role in this as well. From Psalm 37:20, we see the wicked are consumed away into smoke. Revelation says the smoke of their torment rises forever. See the connection? Forever is used to describe finality. It doesn't mean continual. It means God's judgment is final, the wicked are consumed away, like all the verses I'm posting say very clearly.
Continuing further into Psalm 37:
[21] The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
[22] For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
Again we see the blessed inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). On the other side of that, the wicked do not, and are cut off, meaning destroyed. (I explain the meaning of "cut off" in Psalms part 1.) More of Psalm 37!
[29] The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
[30] The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
[31] The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
[32] The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.
[33] The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
[34] Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
[35] I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
[36] Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
[37] Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
[38] But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
[39] But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
[40] And the LORD shall help them and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.
We see again that the righteous inherit the land, and this is forever. So now there's no disputing the fact that this is talking of eternity. Verse 34 shows that the righteous will see the wicked being cut off, or destroyed. 36 flat out says the wicked passed away, and was not. 38 says transgressors shall be destroyed together and cut off. Verse 39 then says that the righteous are saved because of the Lord, and He will deliver them from the wicked! It's all here in plain sight. Look at the words used to describe the fate of the wicked: cut off, passed away, was not, destroyed together, and cut off (again). This Psalm alone is enough proof to show the fate of the wicked. Thankfully I am providing much more to reinforce this.
Let's back up a few Psalms, I missed a verse!
Psalm 34:
[22] The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
Here's the definition of desolate:
H816
אשׁם אשׁם
'âsham 'âshêm
aw-sham', aw-shame'
A primitive root; to be guilty; by implication to be punished or perish: - X certainly, be (-come, made) desolate, destroy, X greatly, be (-come, found, hold) guilty, offend (acknowledge offence), trespassive
Once again, we see a word that means the same as perish, destroy, cut off, etc. Why doesn't the Bible say that the Lord redeems His people from a burning inferno? It says He redeems them from desolation, from being destroyed. It's right there.
Psalm 39:
[10] Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.
[11] When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.
[12] Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
[13] O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.
Verse 10 shows how David is consumed by the hand of the Lord, if the Lord doesn't spare him. Man's beauty consumes away like a moth. The last verse shows David pleading to the Lord to spare him before he is no more. David doesn't say "O spare me...before I go hence, and burn forever," does he?
Psalm 40:
[14] Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.
[15] Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.
[16] Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified.
[17] But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.
The wicked seek to destroy David's soul. Destroy here, again, means the same as it always has so far. Soul is translated from "nephesh," which simply means a breathing creature, or vitality. So David is asking the Lord to drive back those that want him dead. Verse 15 then says to let their reward be desolation, destruction. Death. The Psalm ends by showing how the Lord saves His people and delivers them.
Psalm 41:
[5] Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish?
[8] An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more.
[9] Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
[10] But thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them.
[11] By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.
[12] And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.
[13] Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.
Another plain example here. David asks the Lord when his enemies' names shall perish. How can a name perish if it is burning forever? Then verse 8 says "now that he lieth", or is cast down/deceased (from the Strong's definition of "shakab"), he shall rise up no more. Verse 10 finds David asking the Lord to raise him up, to triumph over his enemies. Is this talking about eternity? I think it is.
Psalm 49:
[6] They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
[7] None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:
[8] (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)
[9] That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.
Corruption is death. See 1 Corinthians 15:42-50. I'll discuss that passage in the New Testament section of this study.
[10] For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
[11] Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.
[12] Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.
[13] This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.
[14] Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
Wise men and fools die, perish. They are laid in the grave, death feeds on them, and their beauty is consumed in the grave. Note the same vocabulary as all the other verses. Also note that the upright have dominion over them. They inherit the earth, and trod the ashes of the wicked. The book of Malachi elaborates this (among others), in the chapter that deals with the coming of the Lord:
Malachi 4:
[3] And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
Continuing in Psalm 49:
[15] But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.
[16] Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;
[17] For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.
[18] Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.
[19] He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.
[20] Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
The wicked are consumed in the grave, the righteous are redeemed from the grave's power. They aren't redeemed from the power of a burning inferno. It doesn't say that.
Psalm 50:
[3] Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
A fire that devours? Interesting. Doesn't Revelation 20:14 say the lake of fire is the second death? Isn't a devouring fire something that destroys? Yep.
Psalm 52:
[5] God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
[6] The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:
[7] Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
[8] But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
[9] I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.
This is one of the clearest examples in the Bible of the fate of the wicked. The Lord destroys them forever, takes them away, and roots them out of the land of the living! What's the opposite of being alive? Being dead! Destruction, having been destroyed! It then goes on to say that the righteous see it and laugh, and that they are like a green olive tree, living forever. Once again it's all right there. We have the same absolute contrasting that is evident throughout many of the verses I'm providing. The righteous praise the Lord forever, because He has destroyed the wicked. Very clear.
Psalm 53:
[5] There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.
[6] Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
This is the fate of the fool: God scatters their bones, while Israel is saved. Are scattered bones equivalent to burning forever? Or does it fit better with death and being destroyed? Combined with the multitude of supporting verses, I think the answer is very apparent.
Psalm 58:
[7] Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.
[8] As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
[9] Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.
[10] The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
[11] So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
Again we see the wicked being melted away, just like Psalm 112:10. Once again pass away is used to describe their fate. The righteous again see it, and rejoice. Verse 11 shows that it's God's judgment, not a prior time, or an earthy death. The Psalm is entitled "The punishment of the wicked" in my Bible.
Psalm 59:
[13] Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah.
Hmm, here we see consume again.
Psalm 68:
[1] Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
[2] As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
Here is another tremendous example of the fate of the wicked. It's undeniable. David compares the perishing of the wicked to wax melting before a fire. Remember the melt away verses? Remember the verses dealing with being consumed? Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Does wax continually melt, or does it melt down to nothing? Please see these verses for what they are. There should not be any reading between the lines or adding to them.
At this, I will conclude part 3 of my study of the truth about hell. I've provided many more verses that I believe show that hell is not a burning inferno, and that the wicked are burned up, not burned forever. They are destroyed, being alive no more. I have more to show from the Psalms, and more to show from both the Old and New Testaments. Please stay tuned for the next installment, coming very soon! Thanks again for reading.
July 25, 2009
July 20, 2009
The Biblical Truth About Hell: Part 2 - Psalms part 1
Ok, I'm not going to waste much time between entries, it's time to start part 2. If you haven't yet, please please please read the introduction and part 1 of this study! It's essential, because all the parts compliment each other, and fully show what I believe is the truth about this. Some people are curious of what I have to say, some are upset, some agree, most don't care. That's fine. If you're still with me, please allow me to continue showing you why I believe hell is eternal destruction/death. In this part, I will examine the first half of the verses I have found in the Psalms that speak of the fate of the wicked, not leaving the righteous in the graves, and other relevant verses. Hopefully this won't be as long as the last one!
We start at the very first Psalm. I'm sure I have missed some verses, but I've tried my best with the time I have. I will try and go in order, and I encourage you to please follow along with your (hopefully translated from the Textus Receptus) Bible.
I would also encourage you to read the surrounding contexts in these verses, when applicable. I don't have the space to post the whole Psalms, and a lot of the time the entire context really clarifies things. Thanks!
Psalm 1:
[3] And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
[4] The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
[5] Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
[6] For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
The key thing to take away from here is verse 6. The ungodly shall perish. What does perish mean in the Hebrew? Let's take a look!
H6
אבד
'âbad
aw-bad'
A primitive root; properly to wander away, that is lose oneself; by implication to perish (causatively, destroy): - break, destroy (-uction), + not escape, fail, lose, (cause to, make) perish, spend, X and surely, take, be undone, X utterly, be void of, have no way to flee.
You guessed it, it means destroy! Be void of! Fail, lose! When does perish mean burn forever?
Also, note the references to trees bringing fruit, leaves not withering, and chaff being driven away. These are themes throughout the whole Bible. Jesus talks plenty about trees, vineyards, and fruits. The bad trees wither away! They are destroyed, they die off.
Psalm 5:
[4] For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
[5] The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
[6] Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
God hates wickedness, evil shall not dwell with Him. He will destroy them. If someone dies from a heart attack let's say, is that God destroying them? No, God destroying them is Him putting His judgment upon them. Casting them into the lake of fire, which is the second death. (Rev. 20:14)
The word "destroy" here is the exact word used for "perish" in Psalm 1:6.
Psalm 6:
[5] For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
Does David say in a burning "hell" there is no rememberance of God? Let's think this out here. If one is saved, they're with the Lord forever. So David isn't talking about Christians in this verse, because Christians will always be with the Lord. He can only be referring to one other group of people, right? He doesn't say they're in "hell," either. He says they're in the grave. Besides, would people in a burning "hell" forget Who put them there?
Psalm 7:
[9] Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
I think this verse is very clear. "Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end." If wicked people are in "hell," aren't they still around? Haven't they not come to an end? We know this verse talks of the eternal fate of a person, especially because God establishes His people forever. A few verses down, talking of the wicked,
[15] He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.
Sounds to me like the wicked go into the pit, the grave.
Psalm 9:
[5] Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
[6] O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.
[7] But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
"Thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever." Destroyed and put out their name! What does someone do to a fire at the end of a campfire? They put it out! God will "put out" the wicked, forever! It further says in verse 7 that God endures forever. It's contrasted with how the wicked are put out. God endures forever, the wicked don't.
[13] Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
I used this verse in this study to show that the gates of death is the thing we are facing, not the gates of a burning inferno. I went into this in part 1 of my study.
[15] The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
[17] The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
[18] For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
So the heathen go down into the pit (a most often recurring theme, as we see already), they are turned into hell (sheol, the grave), but the needy are not forgotten! The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever! Doesn't this say that the wicked DO perish forever? Combined with every other verse (I have well over 80 now), I'd say this is the case.
Psalm 10:
[15] Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
[16] The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.
Again, God is King forever, the heathen perish. They are not forever. A burning inferno would mean that the wicked are immortal too. Are you starting to see how "hell" does not line up with Scripture?
Psalm 11:
[6] Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
I think this is talking of God's judgment on the wicked. Fire and brimstone = lake of fire. (Rev 19:20) The lake of fire is the second death. (Rev 20:14)
Psalm 12:
[3] The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:
Hmm, cut off. What does this mean? Thankfully, the Lord has lead me to another Psalm that defines it. I will skip ahead just to immediately define what this phrase means.
Psalm 88:
[5] Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.
The ones that are "cut off" are ones that God has done away with. Ones He has left slain in the graves, that He remembers no more! Just to solidify this point, the definition of "cut off:"
H3772
כּרת
kârath
kaw-rath'
A primitive root; to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication to destroy or consume; specifically to covenant (that is, make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces): - be chewed, be con- [feder-] ate, covenant, cut (down, off), destroy, fail, feller, be freed, hew (down), make a league ([covenant]), X lose, perish, X utterly, X want.
It means to destroy or perish! To consume! The Lord will "cut off," or destroy the wicked. It's all throughout the Bible, and I'm trying my best to show you.
Psalm 20:
[6] Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.
[7] Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
[8] They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
[9] Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call.
The Lord saves His people, the ones that don't trust in Him are brought down and fallen. After many other supporting verses, I can't help to think that brought down refers to down into the grave/pit. When I read fallen, I think of someone that has died. Here's the Hebrew:
H5307
נפל
nâphal
naw-fal'
A primitive root; to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitively or causatively, literally or figuratively): - be accepted, cast (down, self, [lots], out), cease, die, divide (by lot), (let) fail, (cause to, let, make, ready to) fall (away, down, -en, -ing), fell (-ing), fugitive, have [inheritamce], inferior, be judged [by mistake for H6419], lay (along), (cause to) lie down, light (down), be (X hast) lost, lying, overthrow, overwhelm, perish, present (-ed, -ing), (make to) rot, slay, smite out, X surely, throw down.
It can be defined as cease, die, fail, fall, perish, rot. Look familiar?
Psalm 21:
[8] Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
[9] Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
A fiery oven: the time of judgment, the lake of fire. When the tares are gathered into the oven and are burned up. The Lord will swallow them up in His wrath, and fire shall devour them. Devour! What does devour mean?
H398
אכל
'âkal
aw-kal'
A primitive root; to eat (literally or figuratively): - X at all, burn up, consume, devour (-er, up), dine, eat (-er, up), feed (with), food, X freely, X in . . . wise (-deed, plenty), (lay) meat, X quite.
To burn up! This is huge. To consume! We're talking about a fire that burns up and consumes them. Does an eternal hell burn something up? Nope, it just burns something. Does it consume something? Not if it's continually burning! The fire God sends on the wicked is a consuming one that burns up everyone in its path. Nobody survives it.
Psalm 28:
[5] Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.
God will destroy the wicked, and not build them up. They're done.
Psalm 30:
[3] O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
[9] What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
God hasn't brought his soul up from a burning inferno, He brought him up from the grave, the pit.
Psalm 31:
[23] O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.
The Lord preserves the faithful. Ok, we know that. Here's what it means in the Hebrew:
H5341
נצר
nâtsar
naw-tsar'
A primitive root; to guard, in a good sense (to protect, maintain, obey, etc.) or a bad one (to conceal, etc.): - besieged, hidden thing, keep (-er, -ing), monument, observe, preserve (-r), subtil, watcher (-man).
To guard in a good sense, to conceal in a bad sense. To keep, preserve. Wouldn't the wicked be concealed in a bad sense if they are kept alive in torment? Yes. The Lord does not preserve the wicked, because Psalm 31 states that He preserves the faithful. By this reasoning it's impossible to have anyone preserved in "hell."
Psalm 33:
[18] Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
[19] To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
To deliver their soul from death, not from an eternally burning inferno.
Psalm 34:
[16] The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
Again we see the term "cut off." Destroyed. This just came to me. If anyone is thinking that this is just talking about the mortal condition of the wicked, remember, the meek inherit the earth. They reign with Christ for 1000 years in Israel, then reign with Him after the wicked are destroyed and New Jerusalem descends.
Alright, I feel that it's time to wrap up this entry. I'd rather make these studies shorter than I have in the past, so that they are easier to read. I hope from this first look into what Psalms says about hell and the wicked is showing you a stark reality: the wicked are burned up by God's fire (the lake of fire) and utterly destroyed.
Part 3 of my study on hell is coming soon! I will address many more verses that I have found in Psalms. Thanks for reading, and as always I welcome your comments and will do my best to answer them.
We start at the very first Psalm. I'm sure I have missed some verses, but I've tried my best with the time I have. I will try and go in order, and I encourage you to please follow along with your (hopefully translated from the Textus Receptus) Bible.
I would also encourage you to read the surrounding contexts in these verses, when applicable. I don't have the space to post the whole Psalms, and a lot of the time the entire context really clarifies things. Thanks!
Psalm 1:
[3] And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
[4] The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
[5] Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
[6] For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
The key thing to take away from here is verse 6. The ungodly shall perish. What does perish mean in the Hebrew? Let's take a look!
H6
אבד
'âbad
aw-bad'
A primitive root; properly to wander away, that is lose oneself; by implication to perish (causatively, destroy): - break, destroy (-uction), + not escape, fail, lose, (cause to, make) perish, spend, X and surely, take, be undone, X utterly, be void of, have no way to flee.
You guessed it, it means destroy! Be void of! Fail, lose! When does perish mean burn forever?
Also, note the references to trees bringing fruit, leaves not withering, and chaff being driven away. These are themes throughout the whole Bible. Jesus talks plenty about trees, vineyards, and fruits. The bad trees wither away! They are destroyed, they die off.
Psalm 5:
[4] For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
[5] The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
[6] Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
God hates wickedness, evil shall not dwell with Him. He will destroy them. If someone dies from a heart attack let's say, is that God destroying them? No, God destroying them is Him putting His judgment upon them. Casting them into the lake of fire, which is the second death. (Rev. 20:14)
The word "destroy" here is the exact word used for "perish" in Psalm 1:6.
Psalm 6:
[5] For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
Does David say in a burning "hell" there is no rememberance of God? Let's think this out here. If one is saved, they're with the Lord forever. So David isn't talking about Christians in this verse, because Christians will always be with the Lord. He can only be referring to one other group of people, right? He doesn't say they're in "hell," either. He says they're in the grave. Besides, would people in a burning "hell" forget Who put them there?
Psalm 7:
[9] Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
I think this verse is very clear. "Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end." If wicked people are in "hell," aren't they still around? Haven't they not come to an end? We know this verse talks of the eternal fate of a person, especially because God establishes His people forever. A few verses down, talking of the wicked,
[15] He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.
Sounds to me like the wicked go into the pit, the grave.
Psalm 9:
[5] Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
[6] O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.
[7] But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
"Thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever." Destroyed and put out their name! What does someone do to a fire at the end of a campfire? They put it out! God will "put out" the wicked, forever! It further says in verse 7 that God endures forever. It's contrasted with how the wicked are put out. God endures forever, the wicked don't.
[13] Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
I used this verse in this study to show that the gates of death is the thing we are facing, not the gates of a burning inferno. I went into this in part 1 of my study.
[15] The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
[17] The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
[18] For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
So the heathen go down into the pit (a most often recurring theme, as we see already), they are turned into hell (sheol, the grave), but the needy are not forgotten! The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever! Doesn't this say that the wicked DO perish forever? Combined with every other verse (I have well over 80 now), I'd say this is the case.
Psalm 10:
[15] Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
[16] The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.
Again, God is King forever, the heathen perish. They are not forever. A burning inferno would mean that the wicked are immortal too. Are you starting to see how "hell" does not line up with Scripture?
Psalm 11:
[6] Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
I think this is talking of God's judgment on the wicked. Fire and brimstone = lake of fire. (Rev 19:20) The lake of fire is the second death. (Rev 20:14)
Psalm 12:
[3] The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:
Hmm, cut off. What does this mean? Thankfully, the Lord has lead me to another Psalm that defines it. I will skip ahead just to immediately define what this phrase means.
Psalm 88:
[5] Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.
The ones that are "cut off" are ones that God has done away with. Ones He has left slain in the graves, that He remembers no more! Just to solidify this point, the definition of "cut off:"
H3772
כּרת
kârath
kaw-rath'
A primitive root; to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication to destroy or consume; specifically to covenant (that is, make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces): - be chewed, be con- [feder-] ate, covenant, cut (down, off), destroy, fail, feller, be freed, hew (down), make a league ([covenant]), X lose, perish, X utterly, X want.
It means to destroy or perish! To consume! The Lord will "cut off," or destroy the wicked. It's all throughout the Bible, and I'm trying my best to show you.
Psalm 20:
[6] Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.
[7] Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
[8] They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
[9] Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call.
The Lord saves His people, the ones that don't trust in Him are brought down and fallen. After many other supporting verses, I can't help to think that brought down refers to down into the grave/pit. When I read fallen, I think of someone that has died. Here's the Hebrew:
H5307
נפל
nâphal
naw-fal'
A primitive root; to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitively or causatively, literally or figuratively): - be accepted, cast (down, self, [lots], out), cease, die, divide (by lot), (let) fail, (cause to, let, make, ready to) fall (away, down, -en, -ing), fell (-ing), fugitive, have [inheritamce], inferior, be judged [by mistake for H6419], lay (along), (cause to) lie down, light (down), be (X hast) lost, lying, overthrow, overwhelm, perish, present (-ed, -ing), (make to) rot, slay, smite out, X surely, throw down.
It can be defined as cease, die, fail, fall, perish, rot. Look familiar?
Psalm 21:
[8] Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
[9] Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
A fiery oven: the time of judgment, the lake of fire. When the tares are gathered into the oven and are burned up. The Lord will swallow them up in His wrath, and fire shall devour them. Devour! What does devour mean?
H398
אכל
'âkal
aw-kal'
A primitive root; to eat (literally or figuratively): - X at all, burn up, consume, devour (-er, up), dine, eat (-er, up), feed (with), food, X freely, X in . . . wise (-deed, plenty), (lay) meat, X quite.
To burn up! This is huge. To consume! We're talking about a fire that burns up and consumes them. Does an eternal hell burn something up? Nope, it just burns something. Does it consume something? Not if it's continually burning! The fire God sends on the wicked is a consuming one that burns up everyone in its path. Nobody survives it.
Psalm 28:
[5] Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.
God will destroy the wicked, and not build them up. They're done.
Psalm 30:
[3] O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
[9] What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
God hasn't brought his soul up from a burning inferno, He brought him up from the grave, the pit.
Psalm 31:
[23] O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.
The Lord preserves the faithful. Ok, we know that. Here's what it means in the Hebrew:
H5341
נצר
nâtsar
naw-tsar'
A primitive root; to guard, in a good sense (to protect, maintain, obey, etc.) or a bad one (to conceal, etc.): - besieged, hidden thing, keep (-er, -ing), monument, observe, preserve (-r), subtil, watcher (-man).
To guard in a good sense, to conceal in a bad sense. To keep, preserve. Wouldn't the wicked be concealed in a bad sense if they are kept alive in torment? Yes. The Lord does not preserve the wicked, because Psalm 31 states that He preserves the faithful. By this reasoning it's impossible to have anyone preserved in "hell."
Psalm 33:
[18] Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
[19] To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
To deliver their soul from death, not from an eternally burning inferno.
Psalm 34:
[16] The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
Again we see the term "cut off." Destroyed. This just came to me. If anyone is thinking that this is just talking about the mortal condition of the wicked, remember, the meek inherit the earth. They reign with Christ for 1000 years in Israel, then reign with Him after the wicked are destroyed and New Jerusalem descends.
Alright, I feel that it's time to wrap up this entry. I'd rather make these studies shorter than I have in the past, so that they are easier to read. I hope from this first look into what Psalms says about hell and the wicked is showing you a stark reality: the wicked are burned up by God's fire (the lake of fire) and utterly destroyed.
Part 3 of my study on hell is coming soon! I will address many more verses that I have found in Psalms. Thanks for reading, and as always I welcome your comments and will do my best to answer them.
July 18, 2009
The Biblical Truth About Hell: Part 1
I'm feeling ready to dive right into this, so I'm going to begin. If you haven't yet, please read my introduction to this study, it lays the groundwork for everything I want to accomplish with this.
The first step I took in my study of hell was to download a program called "e-Sword." You can download it for free here. It is simply a Bible study tool where you can search for words and verses, and download add-ons like the original Greek and Hebrew meanings, like I have. I don't use the program for anything other than that. It has commentaries available to download, but I don't like having other people think for me.
So with e-Sword, I did a search for the word "hell." 54 verses come up. I will show you these verses and expound on their meanings. Ready? Good. :)
Before I do that, I feel that it's a good idea to list all the possible definitions of hell from the Strong's Greek and Hebrew dictionaries that I have in e-Sword. Once we have all the definitions it will be much easier to reference them to the verses I list. (Note: I do think that some of the expanded definitions take errant liberties, as we will see in this study.) The definitions will become clearer as Scripture irons things out as we go along. You'll see. Just stick with me, and read everything I have to show you.
Hell refers to a handful of different words: sheol, hades, gehenna, and tartaroo.
H7585
שׁאל שׁאול
she'ôl she'ôl
sheh-ole', sheh-ole'
From H7592; hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranian retreat), including its accessories and inmates: - grave, hell, pit.
G86
ᾅδης
hadēs
hah'-dace
From G1 (as a negative particle) and G1492; properly unseen, that is, “Hades” or the place (state) of departed souls: - grave, hell.
G1067
γέεννα
geenna
gheh'-en-nah
Of Hebrew origin ([H1516] and [H2011]); valley of (the son of) Hinnom; gehenna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem, used (figuratively) as a name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment: - hell.
G5020
ταρταρόω
tartaroō
tar-tar-o'-o
From Τάρταρος Tartaros̄ (the deepest abyss of Hades); to incarcerate in eternal torment: - cast down to hell.
With those definitions established we will dive into every single instance the word "hell" is mentioned throughout the Bible.
First it is important to note that every reference to hell in the Old Testament refers to sheol. Let's explore them.
Deuteronomy 32:
[22] For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
[23] I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.
[24] 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.
[25] The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.
[26] I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:
What do we have here? A fire burns and devours with bitter destruction. The rememberance of those judged here will cease. Once again, hell here means sheol, the grave or pit.
2 Samuel 22:
[6] The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
Note the context here: hell (grave, pit) is mentioned along with the snares of death. In the grave we are dead.
Job 11:
[8] It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
Again, sheol. Think about it. What makes more sense? A deep grave, or a deep burning inferno? I will show more instances of a deep pit as we explore more of Scripture in the coming posts!
Job 26:
[6] Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.
The context here also clears things up for us. The grave is naked before God, destruction can't hide. Why would destruction be combined with a word that means the grave and the pit if there is a burning inferno? Before anyone can say that destruction is an everlasting/continual event, I'll let the original Hebrew do the talking.
H11
אבדּון
'ăbaddôn
ab-ad-done'
Intensively from H6; abstractly a perishing; concretely Hades: - destruction.
Destruction means just that. Perishing, concretely Hades, which also means the grave. Is anything destroyed that is kept alive forever? I have so many verses to back this up, please be patient.
Psalm 9
[17] The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
[18] For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
The wicked are turned into the grave. Verse 18 further explains that the poor shall not perish forever! Perish! Not burn eternally! We see another contextual instance of the grave being paired up with perishing and destruction. Let's see the Hebrew on the word perish.
H6
אבד
'âbad
aw-bad'
A primitive root; properly to wander away, that is lose oneself; by implication to perish (causatively, destroy): - break, destroy (-uction), + not escape, fail, lose, (cause to, make) perish, spend, X and surely, take, be undone, X utterly, be void of, have no way to flee.
Does any of that sound like someone staying alive forever to burn? No. We'll see many more instances of perish as we go along as well. John 3:16 anyone? :)
Psalm 16:
[10] For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
This makes perfect sense. David is saying that the Lord will not leave him dead in the grave. He will raise him up at the last day. Want proof?
Acts 2:
[29] Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
[30] Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
[31] He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
Paul even directly quotes David's Psalm! People may have a problem with this because they have fallen into another errant doctrine: the idea that souls immediately go to heaven or "hell" at death. This is a fallacy, and I would have to write another blog on it. Proving it is quite complete and lengthy, as most of my studies are turning out to be! I will show some of this proof as we study hell, because the idea of being asleep in the grave is relevant to this topic.
Notice here also that in verse 31 of Acts 2 it talks of how Christ wasn't left in hell. It is obvious here that Acts 2 parallels Psalm 16 with this. David will not be left in the grave, just as Christ has not been left there. "Hell" in Acts 2 means Hades, the grave. With these two passages looked at together, how can anyone think Hades means anything differently? Would David not be left in the grave, and Christ not be left in a burning inferno? See what I'm saying? Let's continue.
Psalm 18:
[5] The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
Same as in 2 Samuel.
Psalm 55:
[15] Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
Seeing a pattern here? Once again the context of the verse explains the meaning of hell. Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell, the grave. Death takes them! They're dead! What happens when death seizes someone? That's right, they go down quickly into the pit. Also, even if you believe in a burning inferno, nobody is judged until they are cast into the lake of fire (which is the second death, Rev. 20:14, I'll get to it). So if nobody is judged, how can anyone go down quickly into a burning inferno? This also disproves the idea of the common belief of hell.
Psalm 86:
[13] For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
God delivers us from the grave at His coming. Believers aren't in a burning hell, right? Of course not.
Psalm 116:
[3] The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
[4] Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
We see the same thing here. Death surrounds, the grave takes hold. Pay attention to the word sorrow here, we will see how it pertains to Luke 16's Lazarus passage later. Psalm 116 is even titled "Deliverance from Death" in my KJV Bible. That's an accurate title, because again in verse 4 we see the author calling upon the Lord to be delivered from it.
Psalm 139:
[8] If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
This verse is so clear that I don't even have to explain it. I hope at this point you are seeing that hell so far means the grave, and only the grave. I also hope that you are thinking about what the New Testament says regarding hell. Don't worry, we'll get there. I'm not hiding any verse in this study. Let's first finish the rest of the OT verses so we cover all the bases.
Proverbs 5:
[5] Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
Another verse linking death to hell, the grave.
Proverbs 7:
[27] Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.
Same thing.
Proverbs 9:
[18] But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
And again! :) All verses connecting sheol (the grave) with death.
Proverbs 15:
[10] Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.
[11] Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
Hell and destruction. Remember the definition up there?
Proverbs 15:
[24] The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.
Here we see life compared to death. Keep this in mind, we will see the Master do this in the Gospels!
Proverbs 23:
[13] Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
[14] Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
Death in the same context as hell again.
Proverbs 27:
[20] Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
I know this is getting repititious, but the Bible drums this into our heads! :) We have to understand this. 13 more Old Testament verses to go.
Isaiah 5:
[14] Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
The pit "opened her mouth" so to speak, to embrace the dead. They descend into it.
Isaiah 14:
[9] Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
[10] All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
[11] Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.
This is a fascinating chapter. It talks about Satan's ultimate demise, which I will cover eventually in this study! For now we see that Satan's pomp (pride) is brought down to the grave. The Bible is very clear in this. Continuing to verse 15:
[15] Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
The sides of the pit! There it is very clearly. Doesn't a grave have sides? Of course. It makes perfect sense.
Isaiah 28:
[15] Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
Death in context with hell.
[18] And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
Continuing on in that chapter, we see that the ones judged here are trodden down. There are other references in the Bible to the wicked being trampled, and the righteous walking on their ashes. We'll take a look at those later on.
Isaiah 57:
[9] And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.
This chapter is dealing with leaders of Israel that go against God. They are setting themselves up for the grave.
Ezekiel 31:
[16] I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell 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 nether parts of the earth.
Cast down to hell, descending into the pit. Self explanatory. The very next verse:
[17] They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
[18] To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
Down into hell, slain with the sword. Dead in the grave.
Ezekiel 32:
[21] The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
The slain by the sword have gone down and are lying in the grave.
[27] And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
What's this saying? These mighty men are fallen, they were terrifying while they were alive, but now them and their weapons have gone to the grave. Iniquities shall be upon their bones. They are dead, and their sins ascend to God. They will be accountable at the judgment.
Amos 9:
[2] Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
Dig into hell - would anyone dig into a burning inferno?
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 cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
The fish swallowed Jonah up, and its belly became his grave until the Lord caused it to spit him out.
Habakkuk 2:
[5] Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:
Hell in context with death.
So that does it for every single instance of the word "hell" in the Old Testament. I hope you have read all of these verses and have asked God for understanding on them. Do you see that they all mean the grave or the pit? Does the context help explain that to you? Have my comments helped? I truly hope so!
Now let's move on to the New Testament! First I'll list all the verses in which the word "gehenna" is used, and then I will explain what that word really means.
Matthew 5:
[22] But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
[29] And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
[30] And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Matthew 10:
[28] And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 18:
[9] And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
Matthew 23:
[15] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
[33] Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Mark 9:
[43] And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
[44] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
[45] And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
[46] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
[47] And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
[48] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Luke 12:
[5] But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
James 3:
[6] And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
Ok, that is every instance in the Bible of the word hell, translated from gehenna. Let's delve further into this, seeking an explanation of what these verses are saying from the Bible.
First, let's see the definition of gehenna again:
G1067
γέεννα
geenna
gheh'-en-nah
Of Hebrew origin ([H1516] and [H2011]); valley of (the son of) Hinnom; gehenna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem, used (figuratively) as a name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment: - hell.
So we see gehenna defined as a valley of Hinnom, or a valley of Jerusalem. Then we see how it is figuratively defined as a state of everlasting punishment. Is it right to assume that definition? I will show you that it isn't. I will also show you verses that coincide with gehenna being a valley.
Jeremiah 7:
[31] And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
[32] Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.
[33] And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.
[34] 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 be desolate.
The valley of the son of Hinnom IS gehenna. Gehenna is flat out defined as such. Here we see that the people rebelled against God, burned sons and daughters in this valley, and in turn God will slaughter everyone in that very same valley. Their carcasses will be left to rot there. Keep that in mind, we will see more verses about that shortly.
Jeremiah 19:
[2] And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee,
[3] And say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle.
[4] Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;
[5] They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:
[6] Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.
[7] And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.
[8] And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof.
This reinforces chapter 7.
Jeremiah 32:
[35] And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
[36] And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;
Same thing here.
Joel 3:
[2] I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
[11] Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
[12] Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
[13] Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
[14] Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
[15] The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
[16] The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
This passage is huge. Understanding this will give us very important insight into gehenna and hell in general. Joel 3 talks about the Lord's gathering of all nations for judgment. It is extremely important to notice the reference to the sun and moon being darkened, and the stars withdrawing their shining. This directly links us to what Jesus says in the Gospels about His second coming. (Matthew 24: 29 for example) There is no possible reason to think that Joel 3 is referring to a different time period! Also note the mention of the harvest, the end of the world from the Gospels.
I looked up the word Jehoshaphat here, and I'm very excited as to what I've found. I'm actually doing this part of this Bible study on the fly. I wasn't even expecting to find this!
H3092
יהושׁפט
yehôshâphâṭ
yeh-ho-shaw-fawt'
From H3068 and H8199; Jehovah-judged; Jehoshaphat, the name of six Israelites; also of a valley near Jerusalem : - Jehoshaphat. Compare H3146.
It means Jehovah-judged! Also a valley near Jerusalem! Can this be gehenna? Yes! God's judgment is poured out in the valley of Hinnom as we see in Jeremiah. Hinnom is a valley of Jerusalem, Jehoshapat is a valley near Jerusalem. God's judgment is poured out in the valley, referred to as hell, aka gehenna!
The Lord allows the wicked to assemble in this valley of decision. The harvest is ripe - a clear reference to the wheat and the tares parable, the coming of the Lord. So we know the time frame that this is occuring. There's no other explanation otherwise. It's not some earlier judgment, this is the harvest. The press is full - this is referring to the winepress in Isaiah 5 and possibly other areas of the Bible. I'll show those verses shortly.
The day of the Lord is near the valley of decision! The day of the Lord is the day He comes back, it's all over Scripture. The Lord comes to crush the wicked in the valley of decision, gehenna. Here are more things to support this:
Isaiah 5:
[1] Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
[2] And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
[3] And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
[4] What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
[5] And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
[6] And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
[7] For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
Here is a parable the Lord gives us, connecting people to a vineyard. Jesus also speaks often about being a vine, having branches, and producing good fruit. In Isaiah we see that the Lord's vineyard produced some wild grapes, ones He didn't plan for or want. What does He do? He lays it to waste.
Oh, I want to show you more verses linking carcasses to God's judgment.
Isaiah 66:
[24] And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
Also, extremely important to note in this verse: carcasses of men have worms that die not, with fires that aren't quenched. I will explain this now, and further prove it later. If these are "spiritual" worms that don't die, and if there's a fire that isn't quenched, how can we have a carcass of a man? A carcass is a dead body! The worm's don't die until they eat up the body. The fire isn't quenched until it is finished reducing the carcass to ashes. Yes, there is hell fire. It is the judgmental fire that God rains down on the wicked, consuming them in the valley of Hinnom, gehenna!
Isaiah 14:
[19] But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
This is the fate of Satan, which I will expound on further along in this study. It's important to see here that a carcass is basically trampled upon with the feet of the righteous.
Matthew 24:
[28] For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
This is the chapter in Matthew in which Jesus talks of His second coming. The wicked are judged when he comes back, and their carcasses remain on the earth.
Jeremiah 31:
[37] Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.
[38] Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.
[39] And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.
[40] And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.
This passage deals with the restoration of Israel, and how a new city will be built. Verse 40 mentions the valley of the dead bodies that are reduced to ashes. The valley of decision, gehenna.
There are more verses that flesh out the idea of gehenna being the valley of God's judgment. It's hard to keep all of this organized, since a lot of verses coincide with other topics that I am going to get into. I hope at the end of the study this all fits in for you. My head is spinning a little from getting so involved in this! I hope I'm still being clear, and that the message I am putting out here is easy to see. What we see here so far though, is that every time hell fire or hell is mentioned, and is translated from gehenna, that it is a fire that rains down on the wicked in the day of the Lord, when they are assembled in the valley of Hinnom/Jehoshophat/decision/slaughter. I really hope you see this!
Ok, I feel that I have thoroughly covered gehenna at this point. If you have any questions or want to debate this (or anything I write here for that matter), please leave me a comment! Let's go on and finish up the rest of the "hell" verses in the New Testament. Next up, the translations from the word "hades."
Matthew 11:
[23] And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
Luke 10:
[15] And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.
Hell is translated from hades in these two verses. Note the same phrasing as Psalm 55:15, Isaiah 14:15, Ezekiel 31:16-17, and Ezekiel 32:27. All of them contain the words "down to hell." We have previously established that these verses are talking about going down into the grave. Jesus is talking of the same thing here.
Matthew 16:
[18] And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Again hell is hades here. The gates of the grave, pit, or death. Don't agree? I know it's natural now to picture a burning hell's gates opening or something. It's what I used to do before the Lord led me to the truth. Let's again turn to the Bible for backup.
Psalm 9:
[13] Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
Psalm 107:
[18] Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
Isaiah 38:
[10] I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years.
I think it is very safe to say that the gates of hell Jesus mentions in Matthew 16 are the same gates of the grave and death mentioned elsewhere. Let's continue.
Luke 16:
[23] And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Hell means hades here also. Since we have defined hades as the grave, we know Lazarus is not in a burning inferno. I will completely dissect the Lazarus parable in another section of this study!
Revelation 1:
[18] I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Jesus' words. He was dead, and lives again. He has the keys of hell (hades, the grave) and death. We see the same thing in this verse as many of the others: hell linked with death.
Revelation 6:
[8] And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell 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.
Hell also linked with death here. Hades.
Revelation 20:
[13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
[14] And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
[15] And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Huge verses here! Death and hell delivered up the dead to be judged! Are the dead alive in a burning inferno? No! They're dead! The grave "gives them up" for judgment! What is the judgment? It's the lake of fire! What is the lake of fire? The second death! Does death have anything to do with life? No. Let's take this verse into account:
Revelation 21:
[4] And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Just after the judgment of the lake of fire, the second death, there is no more death, sorrow, or crying. No more pain either, they have passed away. They are no more, they're dead! How can there be no more pain or sorrow or crying if people are alive burning? How can death be finished if there are wicked people in a constant state of death, as I've heard "hell" described? The answer is that it can't be. I'll get more into all of this with my 70+ supporting verses in other parts of this study.
That's it for the hades verses. One more version of hell to look into: tartaroo. This one's easy.
2 Peter 2:
[4] For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
What is tartaroo again?
G5020
ταρταρόω
tartaroō
tar-tar-o'-o
From Τάρταρος Tartaros̄ (the deepest abyss of Hades); to incarcerate in eternal torment: - cast down to hell.
I believe this definition is severely misleading. There has yet to be any mention of an eternal torment in the Bible, and this is no exception. Cast down to hell is more like it. Note the verse above. These sinful angels are reserved unto judgment. They're waiting for their punishment! They haven't received it yet! What is their punishment? We just saw it in Revelation: the lake of fire, the second death.
Well I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted! :) These studies always take a lot out of me. I have covered every single instance of the word hell in the Bible, and explained each verse clearly. Hell is the grave, the pit, the valley in Jerusalem, and a place for angels to be reserved for judgment. Not once is it defined as a burning inferno. There is more to uncover to elaborate and fully prove this, this is only the first part. Ultimately I will show the demise of Satan, the judgment/fate of the wicked, the mortal vs. immortal bodies, and more. I have so much information to show here that I hope I present it clearly and thoroughly.
If you've stuck with me this far, thank you very much. I want to get this message out to every single person I can! If you agree with me, excellent! Teach others, we're commanded to! If you don't agree with me, please pray about it and leave me comments as to why you don't. I will be very happy to discuss things! Granted, keep in mind I haven't fully proven this to you yet. I still have to cover smoke of their torment ascending forever, and other things that "prove" a burning inferno. Don't worry, I won't run from any other takes on this!
Thanks, more to come when I have the strength and time!
The first step I took in my study of hell was to download a program called "e-Sword." You can download it for free here. It is simply a Bible study tool where you can search for words and verses, and download add-ons like the original Greek and Hebrew meanings, like I have. I don't use the program for anything other than that. It has commentaries available to download, but I don't like having other people think for me.
So with e-Sword, I did a search for the word "hell." 54 verses come up. I will show you these verses and expound on their meanings. Ready? Good. :)
Before I do that, I feel that it's a good idea to list all the possible definitions of hell from the Strong's Greek and Hebrew dictionaries that I have in e-Sword. Once we have all the definitions it will be much easier to reference them to the verses I list. (Note: I do think that some of the expanded definitions take errant liberties, as we will see in this study.) The definitions will become clearer as Scripture irons things out as we go along. You'll see. Just stick with me, and read everything I have to show you.
Hell refers to a handful of different words: sheol, hades, gehenna, and tartaroo.
H7585
שׁאל שׁאול
she'ôl she'ôl
sheh-ole', sheh-ole'
From H7592; hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranian retreat), including its accessories and inmates: - grave, hell, pit.
G86
ᾅδης
hadēs
hah'-dace
From G1 (as a negative particle) and G1492; properly unseen, that is, “Hades” or the place (state) of departed souls: - grave, hell.
G1067
γέεννα
geenna
gheh'-en-nah
Of Hebrew origin ([H1516] and [H2011]); valley of (the son of) Hinnom; gehenna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem, used (figuratively) as a name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment: - hell.
G5020
ταρταρόω
tartaroō
tar-tar-o'-o
From Τάρταρος Tartaros̄ (the deepest abyss of Hades); to incarcerate in eternal torment: - cast down to hell.
With those definitions established we will dive into every single instance the word "hell" is mentioned throughout the Bible.
First it is important to note that every reference to hell in the Old Testament refers to sheol. Let's explore them.
Deuteronomy 32:
[22] For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
[23] I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.
[24] 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.
[25] The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.
[26] I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:
What do we have here? A fire burns and devours with bitter destruction. The rememberance of those judged here will cease. Once again, hell here means sheol, the grave or pit.
2 Samuel 22:
[6] The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
Note the context here: hell (grave, pit) is mentioned along with the snares of death. In the grave we are dead.
Job 11:
[8] It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
Again, sheol. Think about it. What makes more sense? A deep grave, or a deep burning inferno? I will show more instances of a deep pit as we explore more of Scripture in the coming posts!
Job 26:
[6] Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.
The context here also clears things up for us. The grave is naked before God, destruction can't hide. Why would destruction be combined with a word that means the grave and the pit if there is a burning inferno? Before anyone can say that destruction is an everlasting/continual event, I'll let the original Hebrew do the talking.
H11
אבדּון
'ăbaddôn
ab-ad-done'
Intensively from H6; abstractly a perishing; concretely Hades: - destruction.
Destruction means just that. Perishing, concretely Hades, which also means the grave. Is anything destroyed that is kept alive forever? I have so many verses to back this up, please be patient.
Psalm 9
[17] The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
[18] For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
The wicked are turned into the grave. Verse 18 further explains that the poor shall not perish forever! Perish! Not burn eternally! We see another contextual instance of the grave being paired up with perishing and destruction. Let's see the Hebrew on the word perish.
H6
אבד
'âbad
aw-bad'
A primitive root; properly to wander away, that is lose oneself; by implication to perish (causatively, destroy): - break, destroy (-uction), + not escape, fail, lose, (cause to, make) perish, spend, X and surely, take, be undone, X utterly, be void of, have no way to flee.
Does any of that sound like someone staying alive forever to burn? No. We'll see many more instances of perish as we go along as well. John 3:16 anyone? :)
Psalm 16:
[10] For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
This makes perfect sense. David is saying that the Lord will not leave him dead in the grave. He will raise him up at the last day. Want proof?
Acts 2:
[29] Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
[30] Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
[31] He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
Paul even directly quotes David's Psalm! People may have a problem with this because they have fallen into another errant doctrine: the idea that souls immediately go to heaven or "hell" at death. This is a fallacy, and I would have to write another blog on it. Proving it is quite complete and lengthy, as most of my studies are turning out to be! I will show some of this proof as we study hell, because the idea of being asleep in the grave is relevant to this topic.
Notice here also that in verse 31 of Acts 2 it talks of how Christ wasn't left in hell. It is obvious here that Acts 2 parallels Psalm 16 with this. David will not be left in the grave, just as Christ has not been left there. "Hell" in Acts 2 means Hades, the grave. With these two passages looked at together, how can anyone think Hades means anything differently? Would David not be left in the grave, and Christ not be left in a burning inferno? See what I'm saying? Let's continue.
Psalm 18:
[5] The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
Same as in 2 Samuel.
Psalm 55:
[15] Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
Seeing a pattern here? Once again the context of the verse explains the meaning of hell. Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell, the grave. Death takes them! They're dead! What happens when death seizes someone? That's right, they go down quickly into the pit. Also, even if you believe in a burning inferno, nobody is judged until they are cast into the lake of fire (which is the second death, Rev. 20:14, I'll get to it). So if nobody is judged, how can anyone go down quickly into a burning inferno? This also disproves the idea of the common belief of hell.
Psalm 86:
[13] For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
God delivers us from the grave at His coming. Believers aren't in a burning hell, right? Of course not.
Psalm 116:
[3] The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
[4] Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
We see the same thing here. Death surrounds, the grave takes hold. Pay attention to the word sorrow here, we will see how it pertains to Luke 16's Lazarus passage later. Psalm 116 is even titled "Deliverance from Death" in my KJV Bible. That's an accurate title, because again in verse 4 we see the author calling upon the Lord to be delivered from it.
Psalm 139:
[8] If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
This verse is so clear that I don't even have to explain it. I hope at this point you are seeing that hell so far means the grave, and only the grave. I also hope that you are thinking about what the New Testament says regarding hell. Don't worry, we'll get there. I'm not hiding any verse in this study. Let's first finish the rest of the OT verses so we cover all the bases.
Proverbs 5:
[5] Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
Another verse linking death to hell, the grave.
Proverbs 7:
[27] Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.
Same thing.
Proverbs 9:
[18] But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
And again! :) All verses connecting sheol (the grave) with death.
Proverbs 15:
[10] Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.
[11] Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
Hell and destruction. Remember the definition up there?
Proverbs 15:
[24] The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.
Here we see life compared to death. Keep this in mind, we will see the Master do this in the Gospels!
Proverbs 23:
[13] Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
[14] Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
Death in the same context as hell again.
Proverbs 27:
[20] Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
I know this is getting repititious, but the Bible drums this into our heads! :) We have to understand this. 13 more Old Testament verses to go.
Isaiah 5:
[14] Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
The pit "opened her mouth" so to speak, to embrace the dead. They descend into it.
Isaiah 14:
[9] Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
[10] All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
[11] Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.
This is a fascinating chapter. It talks about Satan's ultimate demise, which I will cover eventually in this study! For now we see that Satan's pomp (pride) is brought down to the grave. The Bible is very clear in this. Continuing to verse 15:
[15] Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
The sides of the pit! There it is very clearly. Doesn't a grave have sides? Of course. It makes perfect sense.
Isaiah 28:
[15] Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
Death in context with hell.
[18] And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
Continuing on in that chapter, we see that the ones judged here are trodden down. There are other references in the Bible to the wicked being trampled, and the righteous walking on their ashes. We'll take a look at those later on.
Isaiah 57:
[9] And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.
This chapter is dealing with leaders of Israel that go against God. They are setting themselves up for the grave.
Ezekiel 31:
[16] I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell 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 nether parts of the earth.
Cast down to hell, descending into the pit. Self explanatory. The very next verse:
[17] They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
[18] To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
Down into hell, slain with the sword. Dead in the grave.
Ezekiel 32:
[21] The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
The slain by the sword have gone down and are lying in the grave.
[27] And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
What's this saying? These mighty men are fallen, they were terrifying while they were alive, but now them and their weapons have gone to the grave. Iniquities shall be upon their bones. They are dead, and their sins ascend to God. They will be accountable at the judgment.
Amos 9:
[2] Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
Dig into hell - would anyone dig into a burning inferno?
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 cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
The fish swallowed Jonah up, and its belly became his grave until the Lord caused it to spit him out.
Habakkuk 2:
[5] Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:
Hell in context with death.
So that does it for every single instance of the word "hell" in the Old Testament. I hope you have read all of these verses and have asked God for understanding on them. Do you see that they all mean the grave or the pit? Does the context help explain that to you? Have my comments helped? I truly hope so!
Now let's move on to the New Testament! First I'll list all the verses in which the word "gehenna" is used, and then I will explain what that word really means.
Matthew 5:
[22] But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
[29] And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
[30] And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
Matthew 10:
[28] And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 18:
[9] And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
Matthew 23:
[15] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
[33] Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Mark 9:
[43] And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
[44] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
[45] And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
[46] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
[47] And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
[48] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Luke 12:
[5] But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
James 3:
[6] And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
Ok, that is every instance in the Bible of the word hell, translated from gehenna. Let's delve further into this, seeking an explanation of what these verses are saying from the Bible.
First, let's see the definition of gehenna again:
G1067
γέεννα
geenna
gheh'-en-nah
Of Hebrew origin ([H1516] and [H2011]); valley of (the son of) Hinnom; gehenna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem, used (figuratively) as a name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment: - hell.
So we see gehenna defined as a valley of Hinnom, or a valley of Jerusalem. Then we see how it is figuratively defined as a state of everlasting punishment. Is it right to assume that definition? I will show you that it isn't. I will also show you verses that coincide with gehenna being a valley.
Jeremiah 7:
[31] And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
[32] Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.
[33] And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.
[34] 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 be desolate.
The valley of the son of Hinnom IS gehenna. Gehenna is flat out defined as such. Here we see that the people rebelled against God, burned sons and daughters in this valley, and in turn God will slaughter everyone in that very same valley. Their carcasses will be left to rot there. Keep that in mind, we will see more verses about that shortly.
Jeremiah 19:
[2] And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee,
[3] And say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle.
[4] Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;
[5] They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:
[6] Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.
[7] And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.
[8] And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof.
This reinforces chapter 7.
Jeremiah 32:
[35] And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
[36] And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;
Same thing here.
Joel 3:
[2] I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
[11] Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
[12] Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
[13] Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
[14] Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
[15] The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
[16] The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
This passage is huge. Understanding this will give us very important insight into gehenna and hell in general. Joel 3 talks about the Lord's gathering of all nations for judgment. It is extremely important to notice the reference to the sun and moon being darkened, and the stars withdrawing their shining. This directly links us to what Jesus says in the Gospels about His second coming. (Matthew 24: 29 for example) There is no possible reason to think that Joel 3 is referring to a different time period! Also note the mention of the harvest, the end of the world from the Gospels.
I looked up the word Jehoshaphat here, and I'm very excited as to what I've found. I'm actually doing this part of this Bible study on the fly. I wasn't even expecting to find this!
H3092
יהושׁפט
yehôshâphâṭ
yeh-ho-shaw-fawt'
From H3068 and H8199; Jehovah-judged; Jehoshaphat, the name of six Israelites; also of a valley near Jerusalem : - Jehoshaphat. Compare H3146.
It means Jehovah-judged! Also a valley near Jerusalem! Can this be gehenna? Yes! God's judgment is poured out in the valley of Hinnom as we see in Jeremiah. Hinnom is a valley of Jerusalem, Jehoshapat is a valley near Jerusalem. God's judgment is poured out in the valley, referred to as hell, aka gehenna!
The Lord allows the wicked to assemble in this valley of decision. The harvest is ripe - a clear reference to the wheat and the tares parable, the coming of the Lord. So we know the time frame that this is occuring. There's no other explanation otherwise. It's not some earlier judgment, this is the harvest. The press is full - this is referring to the winepress in Isaiah 5 and possibly other areas of the Bible. I'll show those verses shortly.
The day of the Lord is near the valley of decision! The day of the Lord is the day He comes back, it's all over Scripture. The Lord comes to crush the wicked in the valley of decision, gehenna. Here are more things to support this:
Isaiah 5:
[1] Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
[2] And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
[3] And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
[4] What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
[5] And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
[6] And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
[7] For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
Here is a parable the Lord gives us, connecting people to a vineyard. Jesus also speaks often about being a vine, having branches, and producing good fruit. In Isaiah we see that the Lord's vineyard produced some wild grapes, ones He didn't plan for or want. What does He do? He lays it to waste.
Oh, I want to show you more verses linking carcasses to God's judgment.
Isaiah 66:
[24] And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
Also, extremely important to note in this verse: carcasses of men have worms that die not, with fires that aren't quenched. I will explain this now, and further prove it later. If these are "spiritual" worms that don't die, and if there's a fire that isn't quenched, how can we have a carcass of a man? A carcass is a dead body! The worm's don't die until they eat up the body. The fire isn't quenched until it is finished reducing the carcass to ashes. Yes, there is hell fire. It is the judgmental fire that God rains down on the wicked, consuming them in the valley of Hinnom, gehenna!
Isaiah 14:
[19] But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
This is the fate of Satan, which I will expound on further along in this study. It's important to see here that a carcass is basically trampled upon with the feet of the righteous.
Matthew 24:
[28] For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
This is the chapter in Matthew in which Jesus talks of His second coming. The wicked are judged when he comes back, and their carcasses remain on the earth.
Jeremiah 31:
[37] Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.
[38] Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.
[39] And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.
[40] And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.
This passage deals with the restoration of Israel, and how a new city will be built. Verse 40 mentions the valley of the dead bodies that are reduced to ashes. The valley of decision, gehenna.
There are more verses that flesh out the idea of gehenna being the valley of God's judgment. It's hard to keep all of this organized, since a lot of verses coincide with other topics that I am going to get into. I hope at the end of the study this all fits in for you. My head is spinning a little from getting so involved in this! I hope I'm still being clear, and that the message I am putting out here is easy to see. What we see here so far though, is that every time hell fire or hell is mentioned, and is translated from gehenna, that it is a fire that rains down on the wicked in the day of the Lord, when they are assembled in the valley of Hinnom/Jehoshophat/decision/slaughter. I really hope you see this!
Ok, I feel that I have thoroughly covered gehenna at this point. If you have any questions or want to debate this (or anything I write here for that matter), please leave me a comment! Let's go on and finish up the rest of the "hell" verses in the New Testament. Next up, the translations from the word "hades."
Matthew 11:
[23] And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
Luke 10:
[15] And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.
Hell is translated from hades in these two verses. Note the same phrasing as Psalm 55:15, Isaiah 14:15, Ezekiel 31:16-17, and Ezekiel 32:27. All of them contain the words "down to hell." We have previously established that these verses are talking about going down into the grave. Jesus is talking of the same thing here.
Matthew 16:
[18] And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Again hell is hades here. The gates of the grave, pit, or death. Don't agree? I know it's natural now to picture a burning hell's gates opening or something. It's what I used to do before the Lord led me to the truth. Let's again turn to the Bible for backup.
Psalm 9:
[13] Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
Psalm 107:
[18] Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
Isaiah 38:
[10] I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years.
I think it is very safe to say that the gates of hell Jesus mentions in Matthew 16 are the same gates of the grave and death mentioned elsewhere. Let's continue.
Luke 16:
[23] And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Hell means hades here also. Since we have defined hades as the grave, we know Lazarus is not in a burning inferno. I will completely dissect the Lazarus parable in another section of this study!
Revelation 1:
[18] I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Jesus' words. He was dead, and lives again. He has the keys of hell (hades, the grave) and death. We see the same thing in this verse as many of the others: hell linked with death.
Revelation 6:
[8] And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell 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.
Hell also linked with death here. Hades.
Revelation 20:
[13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
[14] And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
[15] And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Huge verses here! Death and hell delivered up the dead to be judged! Are the dead alive in a burning inferno? No! They're dead! The grave "gives them up" for judgment! What is the judgment? It's the lake of fire! What is the lake of fire? The second death! Does death have anything to do with life? No. Let's take this verse into account:
Revelation 21:
[4] And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Just after the judgment of the lake of fire, the second death, there is no more death, sorrow, or crying. No more pain either, they have passed away. They are no more, they're dead! How can there be no more pain or sorrow or crying if people are alive burning? How can death be finished if there are wicked people in a constant state of death, as I've heard "hell" described? The answer is that it can't be. I'll get more into all of this with my 70+ supporting verses in other parts of this study.
That's it for the hades verses. One more version of hell to look into: tartaroo. This one's easy.
2 Peter 2:
[4] For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
What is tartaroo again?
G5020
ταρταρόω
tartaroō
tar-tar-o'-o
From Τάρταρος Tartaros̄ (the deepest abyss of Hades); to incarcerate in eternal torment: - cast down to hell.
I believe this definition is severely misleading. There has yet to be any mention of an eternal torment in the Bible, and this is no exception. Cast down to hell is more like it. Note the verse above. These sinful angels are reserved unto judgment. They're waiting for their punishment! They haven't received it yet! What is their punishment? We just saw it in Revelation: the lake of fire, the second death.
Well I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted! :) These studies always take a lot out of me. I have covered every single instance of the word hell in the Bible, and explained each verse clearly. Hell is the grave, the pit, the valley in Jerusalem, and a place for angels to be reserved for judgment. Not once is it defined as a burning inferno. There is more to uncover to elaborate and fully prove this, this is only the first part. Ultimately I will show the demise of Satan, the judgment/fate of the wicked, the mortal vs. immortal bodies, and more. I have so much information to show here that I hope I present it clearly and thoroughly.
If you've stuck with me this far, thank you very much. I want to get this message out to every single person I can! If you agree with me, excellent! Teach others, we're commanded to! If you don't agree with me, please pray about it and leave me comments as to why you don't. I will be very happy to discuss things! Granted, keep in mind I haven't fully proven this to you yet. I still have to cover smoke of their torment ascending forever, and other things that "prove" a burning inferno. Don't worry, I won't run from any other takes on this!
Thanks, more to come when I have the strength and time!
The Biblical Truth About Hell: Introduction
I have been seeking the Lord diligently for a number of years now. He keeps teaching me, through the Holy Spirit, His truth and His Word. I am outside of the typical "church" setting and I don't rely on men or Bible commentaries to supply me with Biblical knowledge. I ask the Lord for wisdom and understanding, and ask for His Spirit to teach me everything. That's what we should all be doing. We don't need a man with a Bible College degree to tell us what God says, we have God inside us! He is ready and willing to pour out His wisdom to us. On top of that, "scholars" and "theologians" typically just pass down man-made beliefs and doctrines! With that being said, God has been breaking down the walls of Christian mythology, if I may. There is so much error in the Body of Christ that it's appalling. The latest topic that the Lord has been revealing to me over the last few weeks has been the idea of hell. It has been bothering me for at least two years actually. He's been knocking.
First, a disclaimer. I belong to no denomination. I'm not Baptist, Lutheran, non-denominational, nothing. I'm not a Seventh Day Adventist, I'm not a Jevhovah's Witness, I am nothing. I believe in Jesus Christ and His Word, that's it. I think denominations are divisive, and that they help think for us. We adhere to a doctrine we like and stick to it. Well, I have to say that every denomination I've ever looked into has had at least one thing seriously wrong with its doctrine. I also believe that the typical church building form of worship is severely detrimental to the Body and to our growth in the Lord. Besides, if we all have the same Spirit and one mind in Christ, why all the disagreeing? Surely God isn't the One who is confused.
So now I will begin to slowly unravel this bombshell that is all over Scripture. I prayed that I organize it well, because I currently have over 70 passages and/or verses to support this.
I will prove, Biblically, that "hell" in most cases is simply the grave, and that nobody burns forever in an eternal inferno. I will show that the wicked are burned up, and ultimately devoured, destroyed, and consumed.
First, I will list all the verses that mention the word "hell" in the Bible. There are 54 instances. I will show their original Greek and Hebrew meanings for each different version of the word. For example, sometimes hell is translated from sheol, hades, gehenna, or tartaroo. I will break down the distinctions as necessary.
After that, I'm not sure how I will organize this. I will, however, show Satan's ultimate fate, and show through many books of the Bible that the wicked are burned up in the lake of fire, which is the second death.
I really hope I haven't turned anyone off yet with this. I know it's a radical idea, and people are quick to judge and label me as something I'm not. I am fully confident that this is the truth, or else I wouldn't publish these blogs. I'm too scared to teach anything that isn't true. I don't want to have to answer for errant teachings on the day that I meet the Lord. So stick with me, and dive into what I have to show you. Thanks!
First, a disclaimer. I belong to no denomination. I'm not Baptist, Lutheran, non-denominational, nothing. I'm not a Seventh Day Adventist, I'm not a Jevhovah's Witness, I am nothing. I believe in Jesus Christ and His Word, that's it. I think denominations are divisive, and that they help think for us. We adhere to a doctrine we like and stick to it. Well, I have to say that every denomination I've ever looked into has had at least one thing seriously wrong with its doctrine. I also believe that the typical church building form of worship is severely detrimental to the Body and to our growth in the Lord. Besides, if we all have the same Spirit and one mind in Christ, why all the disagreeing? Surely God isn't the One who is confused.
So now I will begin to slowly unravel this bombshell that is all over Scripture. I prayed that I organize it well, because I currently have over 70 passages and/or verses to support this.
I will prove, Biblically, that "hell" in most cases is simply the grave, and that nobody burns forever in an eternal inferno. I will show that the wicked are burned up, and ultimately devoured, destroyed, and consumed.
First, I will list all the verses that mention the word "hell" in the Bible. There are 54 instances. I will show their original Greek and Hebrew meanings for each different version of the word. For example, sometimes hell is translated from sheol, hades, gehenna, or tartaroo. I will break down the distinctions as necessary.
After that, I'm not sure how I will organize this. I will, however, show Satan's ultimate fate, and show through many books of the Bible that the wicked are burned up in the lake of fire, which is the second death.
I really hope I haven't turned anyone off yet with this. I know it's a radical idea, and people are quick to judge and label me as something I'm not. I am fully confident that this is the truth, or else I wouldn't publish these blogs. I'm too scared to teach anything that isn't true. I don't want to have to answer for errant teachings on the day that I meet the Lord. So stick with me, and dive into what I have to show you. Thanks!
July 12, 2009
Pope calls for a "global authority" on economy!
This is not good, but it's also not surprising. Read what the pope has done here.
June 27, 2009
Joyce Meyer: False Teacher, Wolf, and possible Luciferian
I know what you're thinking. You thought my last blog entry was controversial! Well, I've been putting off something I've needed to share for months now. Joyce Meyer is a total wolf in sheep's clothing, and should be avoided like the plague. I have absolutely no problem saying that. I will give you first hand proof of this, and then you'll be held accountable if you decide to watch her or listen to her, or support her "ministry."
Before I give my personal proof, I'll begin by pointing out the very obvious. The Bible calls Joyce Meyer out from the start.
1 Timothy 2:
[12] But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
[13] For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
[14] And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
Read that a few times, soak it in. Now I'm not against women or anything of the sort, but this passage has been largely ignored in this country. People look for reasons to shoot it down. "Oh Paul was talking about that specific church at the time!" I always ask "then why is it in God's eternal Word, if it applies to one little assembly?" The phrase "usurp authority" is key here. The man is the spiritual leader of a household, a family, a congregation. It's akin to the analogy of marriage in the New Testament. The man is to love his wife as Jesus loves His Bride. How's that for a standard set?
Ephesians 5:
[22] Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
[23] For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
[24] Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
From Ephesians we see a clear example that man is the head of the household, and the wife is to submit to them. I'm not saying the man has grounds to be a tyrant or anything of the sort, he is to love his wife like Jesus loves His own! So what am I getting at here? The man is also the spiritual head of a family unit, and he leads the wife and family in all things Christ. The wife does not "usurp authority" over the man, from the verses listed above. This same thing applies to Joyce Meyer. What is she doing when she so arrogantly walks about on stage? She's teaching (false doctrine and evil, I may add) to both women and men! Usurping man's authority over the Body of Christ.
So with that said, Joyce Meyer shouldn't even be standing up on a stage, preaching the self-centered "Enjoying Everyday Life" gospel to the masses. However, she still is, and I must drop this bombshell on you to (hopefully) open your eyes.
I guess I like getting myself aggravated in the mornings. Earlier this year I developed a little habit of turning Joyce Meyer's program on before work here and there. Maybe I did it to get riled up enough to wake up for work, I don't know. Anyway, one morning I'm eating my cereal, disgusted at her prancing around arrogantly and getting the massive applause of the audience, and she spits this out, and I quote:
"We have to have the revelation that we are living under the All-Seeing Eye."
My jaw almost hit the floor as she paused for dramatic effect. The crowd roared after she said it, which added to my shock and despair. I immediately ran from the living room to my bedroom to jot down exactly what she said, word for word. It was so astounding that I never even had to refer back to my notes to explain this to people.
Do you understand what she said? Do you know who/what the All-Seeing Eye is? It's the same eye that's on the back of every dollar bill in America. It represents the eye of Lucifer, also known as the eye of Horus and eye of Osiris. A masonic, purely evil symbol referring to the destroyer that Jesus Christ threw out of heaven for rebelling against God. There are many, many links on the internet about this symbol, and if you pay attention you can see many corporate logos and album covers displaying variations of these, too. In an attempt to fully convince you just how evil this quote from Joyce Meyer is, I will provide you with more information.
Jesus-is-Savior.com - this is an excellent link that provides great insight into all of what I'm talking about here. It goes above and beyond this topic, but it is priceless information!
ancientegyptonline.co.uk - this website shows you the connection of the all-seeing eye to the ancient Egyptian religions. Ancient Egypt's religion never really left, it's just hidden in things like Freemasonry, and believe it or not, Catholicism.
All in all, the All-Seeing Eye is a representation of Satan himself. Joyce Meyer chose this term quite obviously. She was NOT referring to the God of Israel. I had mentioned this quote in a Christian chat, and people either got extremely mad, told me to "get saved," or made excuses for her. Someone said that it's simply another name for God. Wrong! Show me where the phrase "all-seeing eye" is EVER used to address the Lord! I shudder to even think about that. It is nowhere in the Bible, and Joyce Meyer knows it. I believe she has an allegiance to Satan. No Christian would ever think about using that phrase. No Christian would even know of it unless they researched ancient Egyptian religion, freemasonry, or the secrets on our dollar bill!
Please, I ask you to read this with an open mind, hear what I'm saying, and examine it. Research. Pray. Ask God about it. Why would a supposed Christian refer to our Lord with a phrase that all masons and most satanists/luciferians know to be related to Lucifer? It makes zero sense.
There is more information out there on the internet further showing how Joyce Meyer is a phony. I'll leave it up to you to do the research. I will say though, very strongly, that Joyce Meyer is a false teacher and a wolf. She should be avoided like the plague, and I hope you share this message with any Christian that thinks she is ok!
Here are a few pictures showing the All-Seeing Eye's influence in our culture:
This is a masonic ring, depicting their usual logo, except the "G" in the middle is removed, and the All-Seeing Eye (which in this case is a variation of the eye of Horus, same thing) is displayed.
The devil's hands have reached the entertainment industry as well. Here we see a "Hellboy" comic with the title, and a little eye picture transposed on top of Hellboy.
Does Madonna lead a Christ-led life? I don't think so, Tim. Her unabashed sexuality and open practice of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism/magic) tell us otherwise. Here we see her sporting the All -Seeing Eye on her jacket, same style as on our money. Still think this term represents the One true God?
Are you seeing a "coincidence" yet? Here's a few pictures I took off of my own TV, that I blogged about here:
And finally, to drive this home, I'll give you examples from the music world.
Steve Vai - Passion and Warfare
The All-Seeing Eye is right above Steve.
The All-Seeing Eye is right above Steve.
Shadows Fall - Retribution
You have to look carefully, but the eye is dead-center, right above the band name.
You have to look carefully, but the eye is dead-center, right above the band name.
Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings
We see the eye on the bottom left, propped up against a stand.
We see the eye on the bottom left, propped up against a stand.
Dream Theater - A Rite of Passage
The first single for the album above. I posted this cover because it clearly displays the connection with masonry, and the song title refers to masonic rites.
The first single for the album above. I posted this cover because it clearly displays the connection with masonry, and the song title refers to masonic rites.
Jay-Z, who also calls himself J-HOVAH, making the All-Seeing Eye symbol with his hands and left eye. The left eye is always the one depicted in the logo itself.
Pearl Jam - No Code
This one hit hard for me. I grew up listening to these guys, but I never opened this booklet all the way, exposing the huge eye inside the pyramid. It may be hard to see, but the eye is dead center amongst all the pictures. Clever, huh. No code? I don't think so.
This one hit hard for me. I grew up listening to these guys, but I never opened this booklet all the way, exposing the huge eye inside the pyramid. It may be hard to see, but the eye is dead center amongst all the pictures. Clever, huh. No code? I don't think so.
Michael Jackson - Dangerous
Fitting to end this blog entry with a Michael Jackson reference. Check out the eye on the bottom right.
Fitting to end this blog entry with a Michael Jackson reference. Check out the eye on the bottom right.
You've read the quote from Joyce Meyer, you've seen what the term "All-Seeing Eye" means, and you've seen pictures of this eye with ungodly associations. So now it's up to you to decide, is Joyce Meyer a false teacher and a wolf? I certainly think so!
June 20, 2009
The Lord Jesus Christ vs. The Roman Catholic Church
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Ok, this is going to be intense. It will be a very long read, but it's of the utmost importance. I have a major burden for those trapped in the Roman Catholic Institution. I'm very adamant about it. I don't hate anyone who is a Catholic, I just want all Catholics to come out of that system and to come to the truth of the Lord Jesus. I can't stress that enough - I wouldn't have spent the better part of a day doing this if I hated Catholics. I have a lot to say about it, and I won't pull any punches. That's not my style. I will start off by saying that the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) and the Vatican are NOT related to Christianity. I don't consider them a denomination of Christianity, in fact I see it as quite the opposite. I will limit this entry just to how Catholicism measures up to the Bible. There is much more evil in the ranks of the Vatican and Jesuits to get into, but first it's important to see how God's Word condemns this "church." Allow me to show you.
In this blog entry I will compare the Word of God (using the King James Version translated from the original Greek and Hebrew) to the traditions, beliefs, and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. If anyone is a Catholic reading this blog, please hear me out. You need to see your "Mother Church" for what it really is. I pray the Lord opens your eyes and gives you the wisdom and understanding to see this. Please pray for that wisdom before you read!
Before I start, I have decided to keep everything in one giant blog entry, to be easily linked to. This is a very long read, so you may want to bookmark it and read from it when you can. It is of the utmost importance that this message gets across!
Hopefully I can organize this in a consice manner so it's easy to read! Here we go...
- God's Ten Commandments vs. The Roman Catholic Church's version
I'm going straight to Scripture to start this off. The Lord gave His Ten Commandments to Moses in Exodus 20.
[1] And God spake all these words, saying,
[2] I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
[3] Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
[4] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
[5] Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
[6] And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
[7] Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
[8] Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
[9] Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
[10] But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
[11] For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
[12] Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
[13] Thou shalt not kill.
[14] Thou shalt not commit adultery.
[15] Thou shalt not steal.
[16] Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
[17] Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Let me list them plainly:
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or bow down or serve them.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honour thy father and thy mother.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, wife, manservant, maidservant, ox nor ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.
Now let's look at the RCC's version from their own catechism, from the vatican's own site (http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM):
They don't put this in an easy list form of course, so let me paste all of them.
1. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them.
It is written: "You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve."
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. You have heard that it was said to the men of old, "You shall not swear falsely. . But I say to you, Do not swear at all.
3. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work. The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.
4. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. He was obedient to them. The Lord Jesus himself recalled the force of this "commandment of God." The Apostle teaches: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother,' (This is the first commandment with a promise.) 'that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth."'
5. You shall not kill. You have heard that it was said to the men of old, "You shall not kill: and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment." But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.
6. You shall not commit adultery. You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. It was said to the men of old, "You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn."
9. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's. Every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
10. You shall not covet ... anything that is your neighbor's.... You shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant,, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
First, I have to say that I deleted the page breaks that the catechism had in their commandments for the sake of brevity. They paraphrased a commandment, then added other verses to relate to it as you can see. These verses were separated by page breaks.
Admittedly, I made a mistake with the catechisms commandments, as "Kee" kindly mentioned to me. I read right over their inclusion of graven images. For that, I apologize. I attribute some of my confusion to the fact that the Catholic Church does abbreviate their Commandments often, and I had these abbreviated versions in mind at the time of this writing. There is a catechism link here that shows this dangerous abbreviation. There are also other catholic sources that modify, abbreviate, or ignore the Second Commandment, and I will list some:
- beginningCatholic.com
- roman-catholic-catechism
- cylist.com
- catholicbible101 (they explain the shortened version a bit)
- catholocism.suite101.com
First off, the RCC is paraphrasing and adding other parts of Scripture to their Ten Commandments. God's Word isn't to be paraphrased, that's how dangerous things can happen. The links I have listed are example of how the RCC Commandments have been abbreviated. How many Catholics just go by this abbreviation and don't know the full meaning of what God's Commandments are saying? How many children do a general search to learn about the Commandments and aren't given God's full Word? Why would the RCC abbreviate the Commandments in any instance? Oh yea, because they consistently break God's Second Commandment with graven images and statues everywhere you look! They bow to them and worship them, even though priests won't admit it, and Catholics themselves water that notion down. "We're not worshipping we're admiring or respecting." I've heard that before. It's worship, and God hates it.
Please stop and think. Please. Do you want to be a part of a system that mo God's Law? Don't you think that's a bad idea? If you don't, consider God's very stern warning in Revelation 22, the very end of the Bible:
[18] For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
[19] And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
From these verses, we are seeing that the RCC is taking away from God's Word! We will see later examples on how they add to it as well.
- Biblical Mary vs. the RCC's Virgin Mary
This is another tremendously glaring error the Roman Catholic Church advocates. Was Mary a righteous virgin whom God chose to bear her son, and did she have children with Joseph after that? Or was she always a virgin and does she have god-like status? Well, let's see how she is portrayed in the RCC here.
From the article (all quotes will be in purple, since italics are giving me problems) :
"The Virgin Mary . . . is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer.... She is 'clearly the mother of the members of Christ' ... since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head."500 "Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church."
Can anyone tell me where this is in the Bible? When is Mary's virgin status capitalized? That's right, never. When is she called "Mother of God?" Yep, never. "Mother of the members of Christ?" Never. God consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Mary is not in this equation! She was a blessed virgin woman that God chose to birth His Son on earth because He wanted to! Mary did not earn this, she was given a gift!
"Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. "This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his death";502 it is made manifest above all at the hour of his Passion:"
Excuse me? Where in the Bible does it say that Mary is unified with Christ? Union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation?!?! Where is this in the Bible? Of course the answer to both of these is that none of these claims are in the Word of God. It is completely made up by the RCC. What does God have to say about this?
First off, I'm sorry but I have to be a little blunt here. The entire message of the New Testament is that salvation is through Jesus Christ alone, and that He has redeemed us through His sinless life, death on the cross, and resurrection. The entire Old Testament is a foreshadowing of Christ. Jesus IS the Word. (John 1:1) If you believe the teaches of the RCC about Mary and her role in salvation, you probably haven't read the Bible! Mary isn't mentioned at all! She has absolutely no role in salvation, redemption or intercession. Read all of the Gospels, hear what Jesus says about Himself and how He gives the gift of eternal life. Read how He says nobody can come to the Father but by Him. Where is Mary in that? The concept of the Virgin Mary is an addition from the RCC to God's Word!
Please allow me to show you some verses:
Galatians 1:
[6] I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
[7] Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
[8] But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Paul doesn't say the gospel of Christ and Mary!
2 Timothy 3
[15] And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Hmm, no mention of Mary there...
Please read the first two chapters of the book of Hebrews. It talks of how the Son is God's revelation, and Christ's role in salvation. Nowhere is Mary mentioned!
1 Peter 2
[21] For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
[22] Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
[23] Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
[24] Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
[25] For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
Again, it's all Jesus! Mary does not have a thing to do with salvation.
1 John 1
[1] That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
[2] (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
[3] That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
Seeing the pattern? No mention of a "Virgin Mary" anywhere in the Bible! Look for yourself!
"After her Son's Ascension, Mary "aided the beginnings of the Church by her prayers."504 In her association with the apostles and several women, "we also see Mary by her prayers imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her in the Annunciation."
Can you guess what I'm going to ask next? That's right, where in the Bible does it say that Mary had any involvement with the begginings of the Church? Imploring the gift of the Spirit? Utter blasphemy! Jesus Christ gave the Holy Spirit to us after His ascension! It's in the Gospels and in the first chapter of Acts.
The Annunciation? What is that? Of course I don't know what it is, because I only stick to God's Word and I don't branch out to perverted gospels. I'm not even going to look it up.
"Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death."506 The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians:"
Immaculate Virgin, free from sin? Blasphemy once again! Nobody but Christ was free from sin!
Romans 3
[22] Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
[23] For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
[24] Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
This passage tackles both claims from the RCC. God says that all have sinned, and that Jesus Christ is the redeemer, no one else.
When is Mary given the title as "Queen" in the Bible? Of course the answer is never. This title of "Queen" or "Queen of Heaven" echoes the ancient Babylonian pagan religion, to which the RCC is extremely closely connected to. (I will not get into this in this blog, it's just too much. Maybe some other time.) When is she labeled the "Blessed Virgin?" Never.
Was Mary even a virgin after she gave birth to Jesus? No she was not. Scriptural proof:
Matt 1:
[18] Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
[19] Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
[20] But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
[21] And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
[22] Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
[23] Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
[24] Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
[25] And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
What do we learn from this passage? While Mary was married to Joseph, "before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost." Now Joseph didn't know that the Lord did this yet. He assumed Mary cheated on him, and wanted to put her away, or divorce her. The Lord came to him in a dream and told him that the Holy Ghost conceived the child. Now let's look at what verse 25 implies:
"And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS."
What is this verse saying? Joseph "new her not TILL" she birthed Jesus. The Bible doesn't say Joseph never knew her! It says he waited until Jesus was born to consummate his marriage!
Let's look and see the Biblical truth that Mary birthed more children after Jesus was born.
Matthew 13
[54] And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
[55] Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
[56] And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
I know people trapped in Catholicism will attempt to refute this by saying brethren and sisters are symbolic, or that they represent those in Christ. While that is sometimes the case, the context of this passage clearly indicates that Jesus had brothers and sisters. First the crowd asks if Jesus is Joseph's son, and that Mary is His mother. This is a dead giveaway to the fact that James, Joses, Simon and Judas were His brothers! (Half brothers of course, Joseph is not Jesus' father because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit.)
More verses to further back up this claim:
Matthew 27:
[56] Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.
Mark 3:
[31] There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.
Mark 6:
[3] Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
Mark 15:
[40] There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
Mark 16:
[1] And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
Matthew 12:
[46] While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
[47] Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
[48] But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
[49] And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
[50] For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
This passage is of even more significance than the others. Here we see Jesus' mother and brothers desiring to talk to Him. He answers by basically de-emphasizing their importance in their relation to Him on earth, calling everyone that does the will of His Father His brother, sister and mother! What does that say for what Jesus thinks of this "Virgin Mary" idea? There are more verses but I must move on.
I'll leave you with a few more verses from the Bible showing exactly Who is the intercessor between God and man, and then I will move on to another topic. I could drive this into the ground, but I'll leave it up to you to search this further out. These speak for themselves, so read God's Word and hear what He has to say.
Romans 8:
[34] Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Hebrews 7:
[22] By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
[23] And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
[24] But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
[25] Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
- God's Priesthood vs. the Priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church
Do you think this man (Cardinal Egan of New York) is holier than you are? Do you think God holds him in higher regard than you? He doesn't. In fact, God will exact His judgment on Egan unless he repent of his sins and be saved by the Lord Jesus. That's besides the point. :)
Why is the RCC set up with a Pope, Bishop, and all sorts of priests in a hierarchy? Why are they adorned like they are something special, set apart from others? Of course, this isn't Biblical. Are you surprised I'm saying this by now? All born again Christians are the priesthood of God, and Jesus Christ is our High Priest. It's that simple. There is no need for this system - it doesn't even teach God's Biblical truth!
Examples of Christ as our high priest:
Hebrews 2:
[16] For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
[17] Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Hebrews 4:
[14] Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
[15] For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
[16] Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 5:
[5] So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
[6] As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
[7] 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;
[8] Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
[9] And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
[10] Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
Hebrews 7:
[22] By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
[23] And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
[24] But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
[25] Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
[26] For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
[27] Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
[28] For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.
Hebrews 9:
[11] But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
The Body of Christ as a priesthood:
1 Peter 2:
[5] Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
[6] Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
[7] Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
[8] And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
[9] But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Remind me why we need a Roman Catholic priesthood again? We have Jesus as the High Priest, and we believers are a royal priesthood, so there is no need for that system. The RCC priesthood doesn't even teach the truth! They are a bastardized version of the truth! They delete commandments, pervert God's word, teach strange doctrines, and lead people away from the real Jesus!
There is no other mediator to the Father other than Christ Jesus. We do not need a system of priests to connect us to Him, we have The Lord! We all have the right to come before His throne!
Examples of Christ as our high priest:
Hebrews 2:
[16] For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
[17] Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Hebrews 4:
[14] Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
[15] For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
[16] Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 5:
[5] So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
[6] As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
[7] 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;
[8] Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
[9] And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
[10] Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
Hebrews 7:
[22] By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
[23] And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
[24] But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
[25] Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
[26] For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
[27] Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
[28] For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.
Hebrews 9:
[11] But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
The Body of Christ as a priesthood:
1 Peter 2:
[5] Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
[6] Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
[7] Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
[8] And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
[9] But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Remind me why we need a Roman Catholic priesthood again? We have Jesus as the High Priest, and we believers are a royal priesthood, so there is no need for that system. The RCC priesthood doesn't even teach the truth! They are a bastardized version of the truth! They delete commandments, pervert God's word, teach strange doctrines, and lead people away from the real Jesus!
There is no other mediator to the Father other than Christ Jesus. We do not need a system of priests to connect us to Him, we have The Lord! We all have the right to come before His throne!
- God the Father vs. The Roman Catholic "Holy Father"
As I'm sure you already know, the Popes of the RCC have the title of "Holy Father" among other things. What does Jesus, the Son of God say about this?
Matthew 23:
[8] But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
[9] And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
[10] Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
God Himself tells us not to call anyone on earth our father! How much clearer can this be? Note the Rabbi and Master context here. We can know that Jesus is referring to the word "father" as meaning a godly figure. There is one Rabbi, one Master, one Father. The God of Israel is our one and only Father! Not some man-appointed pope who has zero of the characteristics of Christ! Jesus lived a humble, simple life, and told the Truth given to Him by His Father. The popes exalt themselves and sit on a throne as a god while millions of people worship him! Can't you see the audacity of this? How do you think this makes the Holy One feel?
2 Thessalonians 2:
[3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
God's Holy Word is calling out the pope system to be the man of sin. One of the pope's titles is "Vicarius Filii Dei," which means Vicar of Christ. What does Vicar mean? SUBSTITUTE! The pope has the unimaginable audacity to call himself a substitute for Christ! If this doesn't reek of antichrist I don't know what else does. Please think about it. Look how this man adorns himself and eats up the glory. Look at how the RCC claims that popes are without sin. The Bible says all have sinned. Who is telling the truth? God or a man?
Maybe you're confused. Maybe you're thinking "but Peter was the first pope and Jesus gave him authority!" Allow me to expose this lie that the RCC has been feeding their millions of followers.
Matthew 16:
[18] And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Please pay very close attention, because this verse debunks the entire foundations of Catholicism alone. The RCC was not the first church, and Peter was not a pope.
When Jesus mentions Peter, the original Greek word here is "Petros." Here is the definition:
Πέτρος
Petros
pet'-ros
Apparently a primary word; a (piece of) rock (larger than G3037); as a name, Petrus, an apostle: - Peter, rock. Compare G2786.
A piece of rock. Extremely clear.
Now, which "rock" is Jesus referring to next? The Greek:
πέτρα
petra
pet'-ra
Feminine of the same as G4074; a (mass of) rock (literally or figuratively): - rock.
Ooh, Jesus is using a different version of the English word "rock" here! He says His church will be built on a mass of rock! It's clear to see that Jesus is using a little play on words here. He calls Peter a little rock, and then states that He (Jesus) will build His church on a massive rock, himself. Let's get other examples of Christ being called the Rock.
Matthew 7:
[24] Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
[25] And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
"Rock" in this passage is petra.
Luke 6:
[48] He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Petra again.
Romans 9:
[33] As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Again, petra. Let's lock this in with absolute certainty, shall we?
Matthew 23:
[8] But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
[9] And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
[10] Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
God Himself tells us not to call anyone on earth our father! How much clearer can this be? Note the Rabbi and Master context here. We can know that Jesus is referring to the word "father" as meaning a godly figure. There is one Rabbi, one Master, one Father. The God of Israel is our one and only Father! Not some man-appointed pope who has zero of the characteristics of Christ! Jesus lived a humble, simple life, and told the Truth given to Him by His Father. The popes exalt themselves and sit on a throne as a god while millions of people worship him! Can't you see the audacity of this? How do you think this makes the Holy One feel?
2 Thessalonians 2:
[3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
God's Holy Word is calling out the pope system to be the man of sin. One of the pope's titles is "Vicarius Filii Dei," which means Vicar of Christ. What does Vicar mean? SUBSTITUTE! The pope has the unimaginable audacity to call himself a substitute for Christ! If this doesn't reek of antichrist I don't know what else does. Please think about it. Look how this man adorns himself and eats up the glory. Look at how the RCC claims that popes are without sin. The Bible says all have sinned. Who is telling the truth? God or a man?
Maybe you're confused. Maybe you're thinking "but Peter was the first pope and Jesus gave him authority!" Allow me to expose this lie that the RCC has been feeding their millions of followers.
Matthew 16:
[18] And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Please pay very close attention, because this verse debunks the entire foundations of Catholicism alone. The RCC was not the first church, and Peter was not a pope.
When Jesus mentions Peter, the original Greek word here is "Petros." Here is the definition:
Πέτρος
Petros
pet'-ros
Apparently a primary word; a (piece of) rock (larger than G3037); as a name, Petrus, an apostle: - Peter, rock. Compare G2786.
A piece of rock. Extremely clear.
Now, which "rock" is Jesus referring to next? The Greek:
πέτρα
petra
pet'-ra
Feminine of the same as G4074; a (mass of) rock (literally or figuratively): - rock.
Ooh, Jesus is using a different version of the English word "rock" here! He says His church will be built on a mass of rock! It's clear to see that Jesus is using a little play on words here. He calls Peter a little rock, and then states that He (Jesus) will build His church on a massive rock, himself. Let's get other examples of Christ being called the Rock.
Matthew 7:
[24] Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
[25] And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
"Rock" in this passage is petra.
Luke 6:
[48] He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Petra again.
Romans 9:
[33] As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Again, petra. Let's lock this in with absolute certainty, shall we?
1 Corinthians 10:
[4] And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
Jesus Christ is the Rock, the foundation we are all built on, that nothing in the world can prevail over. Peter is a small rock, a fragment of the foundation we are all a part of through Christ. Christ is the cornerstone, Peter is like you and me!
With that being said, Peter was not a pope and he had no more authority then every true born again believer of Christ has! The RCC is lying to you.
I could go on further about the atrocities of the popes, but I have much more to write, and I want to maintain your attention!
[4] And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
Jesus Christ is the Rock, the foundation we are all built on, that nothing in the world can prevail over. Peter is a small rock, a fragment of the foundation we are all a part of through Christ. Christ is the cornerstone, Peter is like you and me!
With that being said, Peter was not a pope and he had no more authority then every true born again believer of Christ has! The RCC is lying to you.
I could go on further about the atrocities of the popes, but I have much more to write, and I want to maintain your attention!
- The Lord's Supper vs. The Eucharist
The Eucharist is another glaring atrocity in the RCC. A lot of Catholics may look at the Eucharist as a symbol, in remembering what the Lord did for us. This is how we should look at it. However, this is not what the RCC says about the Eucharist in the catechism. The catechism claims that this is a literal sacrifice of Christ, and that it is a crucial "Sacrament" to their faith. They incriminate themselves (i'm thumbing through this link from the catechism):
"It is by the conversion of the bread and wine into Christ's body and blood that Christ becomes present in this sacrament."
Do you see what this is saying? This institution claims that a priest converts the bread and wine into Christ! Words can't express how bad this is! It is pure evil to teach this, and to believe this is the case. If you didn't know the RCC advocates this, there it is in plain English from their own catechism. Leave this system! God wants you to! Repent from all of this and come to Christ! He will embrace you and reveal Himself to you, I promise. What does God say about the sacrifice of Christ? This is extremely important.
Hebrews 9:
[11] But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; [12] Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
[23] It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. [24] For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: [25] Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; [26] For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. [27] And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: [28] 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.
These verses very plainly show that Jesus Christ was sacrificed once for all sin, and it satisfied God the Father forever. Jesus is never sacrificed again, He is seated at the right hand of the Father. He does not come into a wafter and die again. That is a very serious error that God will judge when the time comes.
What should the Lord's Supper be then?
Luke 22: [19] And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 1 Corinthians 11: [23] For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: [24] And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. [25] After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
The Lord's Supper is something we do to remember His sacrifice for our sins, by His one time death on the cross. Personally, I think it can be any meal that we choose to remember Him with. It doesn't have to be a wafer and wine, it can be anything we choose. God doesn't limit us to rituals. By partaking in the Eucharist, you are sinning against God and you will be held accountable to Him. Please, I beg you to leave the RCC! Their blasphemous beliefs are in plain sight, and the Word of God exposes them very clearly!
Hebrews 9:
[11] But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; [12] Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
[23] It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. [24] For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: [25] Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; [26] For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. [27] And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: [28] 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.
These verses very plainly show that Jesus Christ was sacrificed once for all sin, and it satisfied God the Father forever. Jesus is never sacrificed again, He is seated at the right hand of the Father. He does not come into a wafter and die again. That is a very serious error that God will judge when the time comes.
What should the Lord's Supper be then?
Luke 22: [19] And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 1 Corinthians 11: [23] For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: [24] And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. [25] After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
The Lord's Supper is something we do to remember His sacrifice for our sins, by His one time death on the cross. Personally, I think it can be any meal that we choose to remember Him with. It doesn't have to be a wafer and wine, it can be anything we choose. God doesn't limit us to rituals. By partaking in the Eucharist, you are sinning against God and you will be held accountable to Him. Please, I beg you to leave the RCC! Their blasphemous beliefs are in plain sight, and the Word of God exposes them very clearly!
- Scripture vs. Tradition
I will start this section with the same verses from Revelation 22 that I posted earlier.
[18] For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
[19] And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
God's Word is final. It is complete. We are forbidden to add or subtract to it, it stands as a whole. This is very important to soak in. There is no adding traditions or rituals to God's Word. It is what it is, and that's it.
What does the Catholic Church do? Add traditions of men and rituals, of course. They have added confessional, in which the priest will absolve sin. They encourage repetitive "Haily Mary" prayers with rosary beads. They command not to eat meat on Fridays during Lent. They set up a system of Sacraments in which a person can hope(!) and not assume(!) they are saved! They forbid priests and nuns to marry, and they pray to dead saints. I'm sure there are many more, but I will expose these with what God's Word has to say about them.
1 Timothy 4
[1] Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
[2] Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
[3] Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
[4] For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
[5] For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
Paul, through the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is calling out the Catholic Church here (although probably not exclusively), quite obviously. He calls their traditions "doctrines of devils!" This is very strong language. He rebukes their lies, the forbidding of marriage and abstaining from meat! Nobody is forbidden to marry, the Bible says nothing of it. Marriage is encouraged (1 Corinthians 7, among other passages). We are allowed to eat anything we want, there is no Scripture that forbids us during any time period throughout the year. Lent isn't even in the Bible, it's a made up man-made tradition! Who do you choose to listen to? God in His Word, or what a blasphemous "Church" has to say?
What does Jesus say about prayer?
Matthew 6:
[5] And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
[6] But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
[7] But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
When you see a Pope or Bishop or anyone praying with their hands clasped in front of a crowd, you have to wonder as to what their intentions are. Are they earnestly seeking the Lord or are they seeking attention and their own reverence? God honors the prayers that are made in secret, and that are from the heart. He doesn't want you chanting repetitious nonsense over and over again! Do you think He has a hard time hearing? Do you think He honors robots? God wants a people to love Him from their hearts, not to be disconnected and chant requests with no feeling. Also, things like the Hail Mary aren't even directed to Him! They are prayers to idols!
God's Word on the forgiveness of sin:
1 Timothy 2:
[5] For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Hebrews 8:
[6] But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
Mark 2:
[10] But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins,
Luke 5:
[20] And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
[21] And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
Colossians 2:
[13] And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him (Christ), having forgiven you all trespasses;
John 1:
[29] The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Romans 11:
27] For this is my covenant unto them, when I (Christ) shall take away their sins.
Acts 13:
[38] Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man (Christ) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
God alone has the power to forgive sins, through the spilled blood of Jesus Christ! No man has any chance in the world, I don't care if it's the blasphemously exalted Pope, he has no power whatsoever! Jesus Christ is the only mediator, and through Him is the only way sins are forgiven!
Even the Pharisees knew that God alone could forgive sins, and they didn't get much right! Some of the Gospels consist of Jesus' blasting them! (Note the similarities between the Pharisees of old and the modern day Catholic Priest system. Jesus knows everything.)
What does our Lord say regarding praying to saints? First, let's learn about what happens to people when they die. This could be a blog of its own, but I will give you the short version here.
1 Corinthians 15:
[3] For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
[4] And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
[5] And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
[6] After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
[17] And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
[18] Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
1 Thessalonians 4:
13] But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
[14] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
[15] For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
[16] 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:
Matthew 9:
[24] He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
John 11:
[11] These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
[12] Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
[13] Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
[14] Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
Now I know this is highly controversial, but the Bible clearly uses the term "asleep" or "sleepeth" to describe the state of the dead before Christ returns. Jesus Himself says it throughout the gospels. It's truth.
With that being said, any and all "saints" in the Catholic faith are dead. So what does God say about praying to the dead? Before we get into that, remember the Second Commandment? We are commanded not to pray to anyone or anything other than the Lord! If that hasn't convinced you yet, let's look further. Please read 1 Samuel 28:3-20. Also, this website shows many other verses as to why praying to saints is not scriptural.
Are we saved by faith alone or do works play a role in salvation, as the RCC teaches? I have already address this to some extent in an earlier blog entitled "Evidence of Salvation and Faith Evidenced by Works." I encourage you to read the bottom third of the entry or so. The top part isn't a bad read either, if you have the time. ;)
Does purgatory exist? The Roman Catholic Church teaches that it does, and scares its members into giving money for the hope that they can shorten a loved one's sentence. Do you believe them, or will you believe what Almighty God has to say? First, the verses on sleep that I showed you teach us through God's Word that the dead are dead. They aren't anywhere else but the grave right now. It's all over Scripture. With that being said, how can there be a Purgatory? Do a Bible search for that word, you won't find anything. Hades is the state of the dead, the grave. So is sheol. It's not gehenna either. Don't try too hard, it doesn't exist in the Word. Here is one verse that closes the book on Purgatory for all eternity:
Hebrews 9:
[27] And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
A final point: doesn't the idea of purgatory suggest that Christ's sacrifice wasn't good enough? I hope you realize that it was definitely good enough, and through His blood we are redeemed and justified to the Father! We don't need to spend time in limbo to earn our way to Him!
- Conclusion
This has been a very great and time consuming undertaking, but I have done it for the Lord's Glory and for His Truth. I have done it because I care about those trapped in the Roman Catholic Church, and I want to see them free from that bondage. I want them to experience true salvation and a true relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, because the one in the RCC is a counterfeit. I know I came on very strong in this blog entry, and that I was blunt. The truth cannot compromise, and I have to tell you like it is. I pray that you soak this up and examine it through the Bible. Read, read, read. God's Word will mold you, and you will see the errors of the Catholic system. The more you learn of the Lord, the further He will distance you from "doctrines of devils."
Please, if you get something from this, pass it on! That goes for born again Christians too. This has to get out there, because the Christian world has embraced Rome as one of their own, while that can't be further from the truth. Nobody wants to stand up for this anymore. The reformers knew it in the 1600s, and this voice existed strongly until the dawn of the 20th century or so. It's been stifled with ecumenism and a very lukewarm Body of Christ. Let's stand up for the Lord and do something for Him. Let's separate ourselves from the world, and learn of the Lord from His Word alone, and conform to it. Make a difference! Jesus told us not to hide our light under a table. Embrace being radical for Him. We aren't on this earth to compromise, we are here to live holy lives for the God who has given us eternal life. We are the only light this darkened world will ever see, and we are commanded to teach the gospel to the lost!
I thank you dearly for reading this entry, if you got this far. There's no prize for finishing this, except maybe the gift of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. :) I pray He touches the hearts of anyone who came across this.
I welcome any and all comments you have. May the Lord bless you.
Please, if you get something from this, pass it on! That goes for born again Christians too. This has to get out there, because the Christian world has embraced Rome as one of their own, while that can't be further from the truth. Nobody wants to stand up for this anymore. The reformers knew it in the 1600s, and this voice existed strongly until the dawn of the 20th century or so. It's been stifled with ecumenism and a very lukewarm Body of Christ. Let's stand up for the Lord and do something for Him. Let's separate ourselves from the world, and learn of the Lord from His Word alone, and conform to it. Make a difference! Jesus told us not to hide our light under a table. Embrace being radical for Him. We aren't on this earth to compromise, we are here to live holy lives for the God who has given us eternal life. We are the only light this darkened world will ever see, and we are commanded to teach the gospel to the lost!
I thank you dearly for reading this entry, if you got this far. There's no prize for finishing this, except maybe the gift of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. :) I pray He touches the hearts of anyone who came across this.
I welcome any and all comments you have. May the Lord bless you.
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