Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):
Is there a REAL Hell Fire?
|
There is no need
to live in fear and doubt -- YOU CAN KNOW what and where hell
is, WHO goes to hell and whether any can LEAVE hell. Read the
answers, plainly written and explained from YEHOVAH's Own Word. |
by HOIM Staff
THE RESTAURANT was crowded with businessmen and women of Pasadena
discussing their day's business over lunch. Fitted in between a
bank building and a hat shop, this particular restaurant was long
and narrow so that many of those sitting in the rear could not
see what was going on toward the entrance. About 12:30, when
people were still standing in line waiting to get a table, three
women walked in. Two were rather skinny, one was overly plump,
all were unkempt and disheveled.
About halfway to the rear of the restaurant, one
of the women burst out in a loud voice screaming, "FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! HELL FIRE
AND BRIMSTONE!"
Panic struck! Diners jumped to their feet, dishes clattered
to the floor as patrons tried to leave through the nearest exit
in response to the one word they had heard over the hubbub of
conversation -- FIRE!
But the women went on "witnessing for Christ," crudely
informing all of the patrons of the restaurant they would go to
HELL and suffer in ever-burning flames unless they accepted Jesus
Christ!
While she was screaming this message at the top of her
lungs, her disheveled partner bent near a patron's ear and
whispered, "If you died TODAY, would you be ready to meet Jesus?"
Recovering from his shock, the manager invited these three
self-styled prophetesses to leave his establishment.
Things quieted down, and the hum of conversation again
returned to near normal -- but few were talking about business
anymore. The Greek name of Yeshua the Messiah had been used in a very
unsavory situation -- people's stomachs were upset, food had
been spilled on some clothing, nerves were shattered and on edge,
the train of thought of those discussing business over their
lunch had been forgotten -- for some the whole day had been
ruined!
But despite her crude manner of presenting it, does the HELL
FIRE this prophetess preached really exist?
World of Confusion!
Almost into the second decade of the 21st century, when mankind seems to have
more knowledge on any given point than he has ever had in his
entire history, there is more confusion, mixed-up ideas and
superstitions prevailing about this burning issue of hell than
ever before! God-defying atheists and narrow-minded scientists
loudly proclaim they do not even believe YEHOVAH GOD exists, much less a
heaven or hell. On the other hand are religious people who, for
sake of dogma, or because it suits their sense of justice,
believe there IS an ever-burning, never-consuming, torturing hell
fire that awaits those who do not make a profession of THEIR
Messiah.
Sincere, though deceived, these individuals insist that the
message from YEHOVAH God to mankind is that if a man does not accept and
love the Messiah in his given span of near 70 years, the Eternal God of
heaven, All-Wise, All-Loving, All-Merciful will heap unimagined
and excruciating pain in the ever-burning flames of hell upon
that soul for all eternity -- because of 70 years of sin.
Many claim that this is the very POWER of the Gospel! That
if you remove the punishment of hell, and the pains of
everlasting suffering, from the GOOD news, the Gospel message, no
one would accept YEHOVAH's other teaching. Hell, in THEIR
good-news-Gospel, becomes the place where YEHOVAH God wreaks vengeance on
"sinners!" If this be true, and the governments of this earth
were to follow the example of this All-Wise God -- then
criminals, instead of being put in jail, or put to death, should
be TORTURED!
Those who claim to be YEHOVAH's representatives on earth, from a
dignified priest to the street-corner evangelist, all demand that
you choose NOW whether you will spend eternity in heaven or in
hell! Two things are taken for granted here: one, that everyone,
regardless of race,
MUST choose NOW; and two, that ETERNITY will be spent in hell.
The Source of Truth!
Where CAN we go to find the real truth of this matter? If
there is an ever-burning, torturing hell fire that the God of
heaven has in store for those of us of Israel who sin against Him, then certainly
it behooves each of us to find out the details regarding it!
Does science have the answer? Has anyone scientifically SEEN
and examined hell? FELT and SMELLED of hell? Observed it in all
of its excruciating agony and returned to tell of its existence
and conditions?
NO! Science does not have the answer!
An encyclopedia can only give you what men have THOUGHT
about hell throughout the ages of the past!
The only source that talks with real authority on this
subject is the Word of YEHOVAH God! "Thy word is truth" (John 17:17).
The Bible is the only source that speaks with ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY
ON THIS SUBJECT -- a subject beyond the realm of modern science,
and yet modern science, as far as its KNOWLEDGE concerning the
dead goes, completely agrees with the Bible in every detail.
Instead of trying to IMAGINE what hell might be like, let us
go directly into the pages of YEHOVAH's Word and find out what YEHOVAH God
has to say -- letting the Bible completely interpret itself --
not letting our imagination run wild on any point -- really
proving all things! The doctrine of hell this world propounds
determines, by the use of stark fear, to FORCE you into
acceptance of the Gospel. This is not the spirit of YEHOVAH God, because
YEHOVAH's Word says, "For God has NOT given us the SPIRIT OF FEAR;
but of POWER, and of LOVE, and of a SOUND MIND! (II Timothy 1:7.)
The truth from YEHOVAH's own Word will agree with
YEHOVAH's spirit
of true love, yet will certainly NOT DETRACT from YEHOVAH's POWER
and will, throughout its entire explanation, be completely
SOUND-MINDED!
The over-all, principle CHOICE that YEHOVAH GOD lays down for every
individual Israelite is found in the much-preached but little understood
"golden text" of the Bible, John 3:16. "For God so loved the
world [of Israel], that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should NOT PERISH, but have everlasting life."
On the one hand YEHOVAH says that if those of you of Israel accept the sacrifice of His
only begotten Son you WILL have everlasting life. On the other
hand, if you do not accept the Savior who died for you, you must
PERISH!
How does hell enter into THIS? WHAT is hell? WHERE is hell?
Who GOES to hell? HOW LONG DO YOU STAY IN HELL? Can you LEAVE
hell?
What Is Hell?
Confusion is in the mind of today's Christian because he is
told either that the Bible does not mean what it says or that
wherever "hell" is mentioned in the Bible it is a hell of FIRE
for the eternal torture of the damned. YEHOVAH's Word plainly reveals
that there is more than one kind of hell.
There are three DIFFERENT Greek words, each having A
DIFFERENT MEANING, which have been translated "hell" in the King
James Version.
The Greek word "hades" simply means "pit" or "grave." In
1611 when the King James Version was translated, the Englishmen
spoke of putting their potatoes in "hell" for the winter -- that
is, simply in a hole in the ground! There has to be a place for
those who die and that place we are all in common knowledge of:
the grave. If men, immediately when they die, either go to heaven
or hell, then YEHOVAH's Word would NOT have said, "For David is NOT
ASCENDED into the heavens" (Acts 2:34) and "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"
(Acts 2:29).
At the time Peter was preaching his first inspired sermon on
that day of Pentecost in 31 A.D. -- 99 days after the Messiah first
ascended to the Father in heaven from this very "hell" -- he says
that the great patriarch David is still in hell!
Let us UNDERSTAND this!
"Because thou wilt not leave my [David's] soul in hell,
neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One [Yeshua the Messiah] to see
CORRUPTION" (Acts 2:27). This is quoted in your New Testament
from Psalm 16:10, where David prophesied of the coming of the Messiah, of his crucifixion and death, of
his burial and stay in
the grave, "hell -- but not long enough in that grave to suffer
"corruption," that is the decaying of the flesh. Yet after the Messiah
was resurrected, David still remained in the grave, in his sepulchre, completely corrupted and nothing but dust at that
time.
By comparing this scripture with the Old Testament, we find
that this hades-hell of the New Testament is the same as the
sheol-hell of the Old Testament. YEHOVAH God's Word describes this hell
very plainly. It is merely the grave where everyone goes when he
dies. It is not "the abode of the dead" in the sense that dead
spirits are walking around in a dark, cold cavern somewhere in
the heart of the earth, but merely the resting place where all
those who have died AWAIT A RESURRECTION. That is why the
triumphant Psalm is quoted in I Corinthians 15 -- the
resurrection chapter -- where it states, "O grave, where is thy
victory?" (I Corinthians 15:55.) All the individual Israelites who have died and
rotted and turned to dust will eventually be resurrected -- some
to eternal life, some to judgment. This hades-hell will not have
an eternal hold on those of Israel who spend time there.
The description of this hell is not left to the imagination
of men but very clearly defined. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to
do, do it with thy might; for there IS NO WORK, NOR DEVICE, NOR
KNOWLEDGE, NOR WISDOM, in the grave [sheol -- hades -- hell]
whither thou goest" (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
Your Bible describes this as a very dead place! How else
would YOU describe the grave?
"For the living know that they shall die: but the dead KNOW
NOT ANYTHING, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory
of them is forgotten. Also their LOVE, and their HATRED and their
ENVY, is now PERISHED"! (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6.) YEHOVAH's Word is very
plain-spoken. In the grave, "hell" -- where you or anyone goes upon
death -- is neither a place of physical nor mental activity of any
kind. "His [man's] breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth;
in THAT VERY DAY HIS THOUGHTS PERISH! (Psalm 146:4.)
Any scientific experiment which can be enacted and observed
completely backs up these Bible statements. But this is as far as
science can help us. This is the ONLY hell that science is
cognizant of.
Churchmen try to confuse this hades-hell by admitting that
it is indeed the grave, but going on to explain that ONLY THE
BODY goes to the grave while the soul goes elsewhere. This
doctrine can nowhere be proved within the pages of YEHOVAH God's Word
(Write for the article Do You Have an Immortal Soul?). YEHOVAH's
Word very clearly says that David, not just David's body, is both dead
and buried and is not in heaven! And if David is not there surely
no one else is.
ANOTHER Hell
The second Greek word translated "hell" is "tartaroo." It is
used ONLY ONCE in the Bible. "For if God spared not the angels
that sinned, but cast them down to hell..." (II Peter 2:4). The
word here, very loosely translated hell, is not a place but a
condition. It refers to the CONDITION OF RESTRAINT that YEHOVAH God has
imposed upon those angels which rebelled against Him and followed
Satan the Devil. This word -- tartaroo-hell -- is never used in
reference to man.
When Satan and his demons rebelled against
YEHOVAH God, He put them
in a condition of restraint -- much as modern governments put
criminals in a condition of restraint -- where they must remain
until their time of judgment (Jude 6).
Science has never observed this tartaroo-hell! Churchmen are
confounded by it! YEHOVAH's truth is very plain concerning it!
The REAL Hell
The Greek word "gehenna" denotes a place of punishment.
Gehenna, or the Valley of Hinnom, is a place just outside
Jerusalem where trash, filth and dead bodies were thrown to be
BURNED UP. It was a city dump and there was always a fire burning
to CONSUME THE REFUSE that was thrown there. Yeshua the Messiah -- and the
disciples and apostles after him -- used this word consistently when
they were referring to that "hell" which will BURN UP SINNERS! Gehenna-hell is a synonym for the "lake of fire" into which the
unrepentant dead of Israel are to be cast at the end of time. This is the
only hell in the Bible which is associated with flames or fire.
No inner caverns in the bowels of the earth are mentioned. No
ice-filled rooms where people's feet are sticking out and being
tickled by demented spirits are talked about in YEHOVAH's Word in
reference to this gehenna-hell. It is never described as a fire
in which the damned LIVE, but a fire in which the damned DIE!
To explain the usage of the two basic words used in the
Greek language and translated "hell" in the English language in
the King James Version: "And death and HELL were cast into the
lake of fire. This is the second DEATH. And whosoever [of Israel] was not
found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire"
(Revelation 20:14-15). The word translated "hell" in Verse 14 is hades,
the grave. The grave itself and those which are not found written
in the book of life are going to be cast into the lake of fire --
gehenna-hell. This will empty the grave -- hades-hell -- and it
will cease to exist -- no dead will ever again be buried in the
grave. They will be burned up.
Those of YEHOVAH's people Israel who refuse to live by YEHOVAH God's law, who insist on
rebelling against the way of life that YEHOVAH knows brings
happiness, health and peace, are going to be cast bodily into
this gehenna-hell, the lake of fire, to terminate their MISERABLE
existence, to put them OUT OF THEIR MISERY, to END their life!
Do These Scriptures Contradict?
In spite of how clearly the subject of hell is
discussed in the Bible, many still quote other scriptures out of context as
supposed proof that YEHOVAH God uses hell for the purpose of inflicting
never-ending torture on the damned; while others also quote still other
scriptures as proof that hell is
the instrument YEHOVAH God uses to destroy the wicked, body and soul!
Does one scripture contradict another? No! YEHOVAH's Word
plainly says, "...Scripture cannot be broken!" (John 10:35.) How can one set
of scriptures be used to "knock in the head" another set of scriptures then?
The answer is, it cannot be done -- honestly!
It is the habit of those who quote
scriptures on the subject to use only part of the verses pertaining to the
subject -- they read a false meaning into them. By subtle half-truths, by
vivid pictures, by peddling popular -- not Biblical -- teachings, they
shackle Christendom to unreasoning fear or insult the intelligence of the
educated into complete disbelief!
We must not read our inherited or desired meaning into
any particular passage of scripture -- "no prophecy of the scripture is of
any private interpretation" (II Peter 1:20 ) -- but each passage is
interpreted by, and in the light of, other texts!
Let's look into a few of the most
commonly used scriptures on this subject, and understand them in the clear
light of YEHOVAH's own Word -- let's see what they really say!
What About Lazarus and the Rich Man?
The 16th chapter of Luke has been used universally by
those who believe in an eternally torturing hell.
If you will carefully read the chapter
beginning in verse 19 and reading through to verse 31 -- the entire parable
of Lazarus and the rich man -- you will notice there is no mention of TIME
in the entire description!
Since this is so universally
misunderstood, and there is not the space here to cover the background
needed to thoroughly discuss the subject because of the need to answer
many other questions, I will put down here a brief excerpt from the core
of an article we have on the subject. This article goes thoroughly into this
particular subject of Lazarus and the rich man. The following is an
EXCERPT, only part of what is
contained in the entire article covering the subject thoroughly:
The Fate of the Rich Man
Now let's see what happened to the rich man --
and when!The Messiah said of him: "...The rich man also
died, and was buried" (Luke 16:22). The Messiah did not say the rich man was
taken immediately at the time to an eternally burning hell. He did
not say the body was buried but that the rich man himself was
plunged immediately into a burning hell. He said the rich man died --
and the rich man, himself, was buried.
Now one would hardly say of one being put into the
burning caldron -- luridly described as the imaginary hell -- that the act of
throwing one into that burning region was a BURYING of the person, would he?
One is not buried unless he is covered up.
People are buried in a grave, and covered with earth. But
the imaginary hell that was described by Dante Alighieri is never pictured
as a place of BURIAL! But this rich man died and was buried! He, himself,
was buried -- not a "house" he had lived in. The Messiah said so -- read it
in your Bible! The rich MAN was buried!
What Kind of Hell?
In the next verse, the Messiah said, "And
in hell he lifted up his eyes" (verse 23). So the
rich man was in a place called "hell," after all, wasn't he? And in this
hell he "lifted up his eyes." His eyes had been closed, in
death, and now there came a time when they opened -- he "lifted up his
eyes"!What kind of "hell" is this? Startling though it may be, the rich man was buried in
the same kind of "hell" the Messiah was buried in! Yes, Yeshua died and was
buried -- and in "hell"!
In the first inspired sermon preached by Peter on the day the New
Testament Church started, Peter said: "He [David] seeing this before spake
of the RESURRECTION of Christ, that his soul was not left IN HELL,
neither his flesh did see corruption" (Acts 2:31).
The most commonly used Greek word for the term "hell" was
written here by Luke -- hades. And hades means the grave -- a
place of burial in the ground!
As we have already seen, when the King James translation of the Bible was made,
Englishmen spoke commonly of "putting their potatoes in hell for the
winter." They buried them in the ground! This is the "hell" the Messiah was buried in -- the
"hell" his soul was not left in -- the grave, or tomb, from which he was
resurrected! And this, hades, was also the "hell" in which the rich
man was buried!
What Is This Flame?
But when he is resurrected, he sees a flame
which torments him. What is this?Now the Messiah did, on other occasions,
speak of perishing and being destroyed in "gehenna FIRE." What is
this? It is described in Revelation 20:14-15, as a "lake of fire." Scripture everywhere describes the final fate of the
wicked of Israel as being burned up by fire. It is this "lake of fire," which is "the
second death," from which there shall be no resurrection! The PUNISHMENT is
death by fire! They remain forever DEAD! This death is for all eternity --
eternal punishMENT -- but it is not eternal punishING!
Now, opening his eyes in his grave, this rich man SEES
Abraham, and Lazarus in his "bosom" -- his embrace! Yes, the Messiah said
that some would SEE Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom and they
themselves thrust out! This rich man sees them! He also sees this awful
flame of fire -- this lake of fire which is about to destroy him forever! He
is terrified!
What happens when one is suddenly so horrified with fear?
His mouth goes dry. His tongue sticks to his mouth and throat! The rich man cries out in this mental agony: "Father
Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his
finger in water, and cool my TONGUE, for I am tormented in this
flame."
Now if the rich man were in the kind of "hell" most
people seem to believe, his whole body would be on fire -- you would think
he would have called for at least a bucket of water to put out the fire,
wouldn't you?
Look at this!
How much water did he call for? He said to Abraham:
"...Send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water."
Just a couple of drops -- that's all the water he requested! Doesn't that
strike you as strange?
Why did he call for water? To put out the fires of all
"hell" -- the kind of hell people would have you believe he was in? Ah, no!
He only wanted a mere couple of drops of water on Lazarus' finger. Why? To
"cool my tongue"! That's what the rich man said! Open your own Bible again,
and read it!
The flame, he said, was "tormenting" him. This word
"tormented," used in verses 24 and 25 is translated from the Greek word
odunomai. This is defined in any Greek-English lexicon as "to cause
pain, to pain, distress; pain of body, but also, pain of
mind; grief, distress."
Why, of course! This rich man opens his eyes in his grave
in a resurrection. He is resurrected mortal, just as he was before he died
-- not immortal like Lazarus! He sees this lake of fire. Now he knows the
frightful, the awful doom he is to be thrust into, to be burned up --
destroyed! He is suffering mental anguish such as he never experienced in
his lifetime. His tongue is dry. He breaks out in a cold sweat. He cries for
a little water on the tip of Lazarus' finger to cool his tongue! He is in a
condition of weeping and gnashing of teeth!
The Final Hell Fire
Now once again read this in your Bible!
Read exactly what the Messiah said, not what the "hell-fire" preachers have
told you he said! Did the Messiah say this rich man was going to suffer
endlessly and forever -- always burning -- being on fire -- yet never
burning up? Did he? Of course NOT! There is not one word here about HOW LONG
his anguish is to last.The rich man is pictured as being among the wicked
of Israel who are going to be cast into the lake of fire! When they lift up
their eyes in the resurrection, they shall know that they are doomed,
now to be cast into the lake of fire to be burned up!
This rich man cried out for help because of his mental
and physical anguish -- knowing what was now to befall him! He knew he was
guilty! When a man realizes he is guilty, and faces his just and terrible
retribution, the very first part of the body to be affected is the
tongue, which dries out -- seems to be on fire!
Be sure to write for our FREE article -- Lazarus and the Rich Man.
Immortal Worms?
A startling statement is found in Mark 9:48. In this
passage of Scripture, Yeshua the Messiah spoke of a worm that "dieth not."
Whoever heard of the immortality of worms? What did the Messiah mean?
Some PEOPLE think that the Messiah was referring to
people as worms and was trying to say that these "people" never died -- but
lived on in agonizing torment. Those who say this fail to notice that Yeshua
does not call the wicked people "worms," but instead speaks of THEIR worm.
The lexicons define the Hebrew (Isaiah 66:24) and Greek (Mark 9:48) words
translated "worm" as a grub or maggot, and these words in no way
refer to a man. The Messiah was NOT teaching the immortality of people or
worms!
Actually, the Messiah was here warning his listeners that
those Israelites who would "offend" -- who would live a life of rebellion against
YEHOVAH God -- would be cast into "hell fire." Most Bibles show in the
marginal rendering that this was Gehenna fire. The Messiah was
referring to Gehenna as a type of the "lake of fire" which
will befall the second death in the ungodly of Israel.
Gehenna, or the Valley of Hinnom, was located outside
of Jerusalem and was a place where trash, filth, and the dead bodies of
animals and despised criminals were thrown. If anything, especially a
dead body, landed on a ledge above the fires, it would be devoured by many
worms or maggots which were kept alive by the animal and vegetable
substances deposited there.
It was to these worms that the Messiah was
referring when he said "their worm dieth not." But the Messiah didn't mean
that each individual worm continued to live forever!
Actually, these worms, or maggots are the larvae which
develop from eggs deposited by flies. They continue for only a few
days in this larval stage, then they pupate and finally emerge as flies,
later dying. These are scientific facts, known by any real student of
science. And yet some people think that the Messiah ignorantly stated that
these larvae continued to live forever in that stage of development!
This just goes to show that we should always be careful to use wisdom and
common sense in studying YEHOVAH's Word. The holy spirit is the spirit of a
sound mind (II Timothy 1:7). Let's rightly use the minds YEHOVAH God gave us!
This same reference to worms is found in Isaiah 66:24.
Here we again find that the Hebrew word simply means a common grub or a
maggot. These worms or larvae also feed on the dead bodies for a few days,
and then emerge as flies. Thus, these worms "dieth not" but continue to
develop into flies just as any normal, healthy worm! The flies
continue to deposit their eggs only as long as there are dead bodies or
other matter for the larvae to feed on. Also notice that this verse
plainly says people are going to see, "look upon" -- this does
not take place in the center of the earth or hidden away in some hole
in the ground.
Startlingly, a clear and thoughtful reading of this particular verse
(verse 24), shows that the verse is not talking about LIVE people, but the "CARCASES
of the men that have transgressed against me." They are not alive and
consciously suffering in any case!
Fire Never Quenched!
"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"! (Mark 9:43 --
see also Matthew 18:8-9 where same question is treated.)
Does that mean burning forever, and never burning up? Try
this test: Put a piece of paper in a pan. Light it with a match.
Now, don't QUENCH that fire!
Don't put it out -- for that's what "quench" means. Very
soon the paper will burn up. Then put it down on the floor and step
on it! Now it's merely ashes under the soles of your feet -- precisely as
your Bible plainly says the wicked of Israel shall be! In Jeremiah 17:27, YEHOVAH God
warned the Judahites that Jerusalem would be burned, and the fire would not be
quenched -- unless they repented. In Jeremiah 52:13, you read the account of
the burning of Jerusalem. That fire was not quenched! It is not still
burning! It just burned itself out.
Example of Hell Fire
YEHOVAH does not leave the answer to
these questions for man to reason about and come up with his own
ideas. In the stern warning to those Israelites who were in need of getting back
to the faith once delivered, YEHOVAH, through His servant Jude, left
the perfect example of the effect of eternal fire! "Even as Sodom and
Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over
to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for AN EXAMPLE,
suffering the vengeance of ETERNAL FIRE"! (Jude 7.)These
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah suffered from the vengeance of eternal fire.
Are these cities still burning and yet not being consumed?
Of course not!
"Eternal fire" means a fire whose RESULTS are permanent
or everlasting. Sodom and Gomorrah have never been rebuilt!
The fires which burned Sodom and Gomorrah went out of themselves. Clearly
there is no question as to the plain meaning of YEHOVAH God's Word.
All who will insist on rebelling against Him unrepentantly will be burned to
a crisp in a very real hell fire!
Tormented Forever?
Many are confused by Revelation 20:10, partly by a
mistranslation, and partly because they do not let the Bible
interpret the Bible. "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the
lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false
prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
In your King James Version you will notice that the word
"are" is in italics. This means that the word was supplied by the
translators and is not in the original Greek. This is the mistranslation
that misleads, indicating that the beast and the false prophet are
still in the lake of fire at the time that the devil and his demons
are cast into this lake. According to the chronology of Revelation
itself both the beast and the false prophet were cast alive into the
lake of fire at the beginning of YEHOVAH's thousand-year reign on
the earth (Revelation 19:20). By merely using YEHOVAH's definition of what
happens to human bodies when they are cast into fire, we can realize that
they will be burned up just like so much fat on a hot stove
(Psalm 37:20), and therefore the phrase in Revelation 20:10 should be
translated "where the beast and the false prophet WERE."
In Matthew 25:41 Yeshua said, "Then shall he say also
unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." The Messiah here
plainly showed that the everlasting fire was prepared for Satan and his
angels. Yet he goes on to show that Israelites who are ultimately judged
unfit for eternal life, and are not granted the gift of LIFE --
something they do not have of themselves -- are also to be cast into this
very lake of fire, as verse 46 says, "And these shall go away into
everlasting punishMENT" (verse 46). This final punishment which sinners
suffer is eternal DEATH by fire. It is not eternal punishING!
Once they are burned up and now dead they are going to stay dead forever --
this makes the punishment everlasting!
When these people are cast into this lake of fire it is
by YEHOVAH's definition -- the Bible definition -- an eternal, everlasting
DEATH from which there is no resurrection forever, called "the second
DEATH"! "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and
murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars
[that is, all those of YEHOVAH's people Israel who insist on breaking YEHOVAH's laws, who persist in
sin -- I John 3:4], shall have their part in the lake which burneth with
fire and brimstone: which is [by YEHOVAH's own definition] the second
death"! (Revelation 21:8.)
"The Smoke of Their Torment" (Revelation 14:11)
Does the scripture, "...And the smoke of their
torment ascendeth up for ever and ever..." (Revelation 14:11), contradict the
passage which reads, "And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be
ashes under the soles of your feet..."? (Malachi 4:3.)Notice
that verse 8 gives the time setting of Revelation 14:11. It is speaking
about the impending fall of "Babylon."
Verses 9 and 10 say: "...If any man
worship the beast and his image and receive his mark...he shall be tormented
with fire and brimstone...in the presence of the Lamb" (that
is, at the Messiah's second appearance)!
Those who have a part in this system of "Babylon," and who receive this
frightful punishment from Almighty God, have "no rest day nor night" as long
as they remain in that land falling under YEHOVAH's wrath! They will either
have to flee that area and seek YEHOVAH's mercy or be tormented by
sulphurous fumes till they perish.
Notice that this passage does NOT say these individuals
are being tormented forever in an ever-burning hell. Verse 11 says: "...The
SMOKE of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever...."
The Bible plainly teaches that flesh and blood is subject
to combustion and death. Malachi 4:3 says the ashes of the wicked
of Israel will finally be under the feet of the righteous. The wicked will be
DESTROYED and will die that death -- the second death -- from which there is
never to be a resurrection (Revelation 20:6, 14).
Why Does YEHOVAH God Use Gehenna-Hell?
YEHOVAH God's plan of salvation for Israel is a 7000-year plan. For 6000 years
of this time YEHOVAH God has allowed Adamic mankind to go his way, under the
influence of his own mind and directed also by the mind of Satan
the Devil. Adamic man has tried every way he can think of to govern
himself to bring peace, happiness, health, prosperity, but has
failed miserably! Down through the ages YEHOVAH has selected some few
whom He called OUT OF His people Israel to realize His plan of
salvation, to repent of their ways which are contrary to His
laws, and to change their way of life to agree with YEHOVAH God.
When YEHOVAH God and His Messiah return to this
earth in the very next few years YEHOVAH will, FOR THE FIRST TIME in Adamic mankind's history, set His
hand to save all of His people Israel -- that is, all Israelites who are alive
on the earth at that time. He will offer them the same salvation
that He has in the past only offered to a few whom He has called
OUT OF Israel. Then, at the close of a thousand years of this
reign, all of the Israelites who have ever died, but never had a chance to
know the True God and His appointed messenger Yeshua the Messiah -- and His true Gospel message
-- will be
resurrected and given their ONE opportunity to obey and, by the
strength of YEHOVAH's holy spirit, enter into His Kingdom!
At ONE TIME OR ANOTHER every Israelite who has ever existed will
stand with his mind open and his understanding clear to live a
life of overcoming with YEHOVAH's spirit and endeavor to enter into
His Kingdom.
There have been, and there will be, however, some few
of Israel who
will UTTERLY REBEL against doing YEHOVAH's will -- who will set their
wills against obedience to His laws so completely that NOTHING
CAN BE DONE WITH THEM. These will be the individuals YEHOVAH God refers
to in His Word as those who have committed the UNPARDONABLE SIN!
YEHOVAH God in His mercy has planned that these individuals should
be COMPLETELY DONE AWAY WITH -- made to CEASE TO EXIST! It is set
down very plainly: "For the wages of sin [the transgression of
YEHOVAH's law, living contrary to the very nature of life itself] is
DEATH [the cessation of life]" (Romans 6:23).
Lest anyone should question what YEHOVAH God meant by this, He
firmly stated: "Behold, all SOULS [OF ISRAEL] are mine; as the SOUL of the
father, so also the SOUL of the son is mine: THE SOUL THAT SINNETH, IT SHALL DIE" (Ezekiel 18:4).
Regarding this to be of
utmost importance, YEHOVAH God was not satisfied with stating it once but
restated it so that there WOULD BE NO QUESTION that He did NOT
mean just the body and not the soul, but very firmly reaffirmed,
"THE SOUL [OF ISRAEL] THAT SINNETH, IT SHALL DlE" (Ezekiel 18:20).
YEHOVAH's promise to His people Israel is LIFE or DEATH! Not life or
LIFE!
YEHOVAH God realizes that Adamic men are weak, that they are subject to
vanity -- He created them that way! He has not devised this lake
of fire in order to torture Adamic human beings, but only to rid them
once and for all from off the face of the earth -- to do away
with their lives. Knowing that they cannot continue to live the
way they WANT to live, but that they would only bring MISERY and
PAIN and SUFFERING on themselves throughout eternity if He
allowed them to live, YEHOVAH mercifully puts an end to their life.
And even in this act YEHOVAH God is NOT PLEASED. "For I have NO PLEASURE
in the death of him that dieth" (Ezekiel 18:32). YEHOVAH does not WANT
anyone of Israel to be thrown into this lake of fire! But those Israelites who insist
on living contrary to the laws of life are going to be mercifully
SNUFFED FROM EXISTENCE by this method.
"For if we [of Israel] sin WILLFULLY AFTER that we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for
sins, but a certain FEARFUL looking for of judgment and FIERY
INDIGNATION, which shall DEVOUR the adversaries" (Hebrews 10:26-27).
Therefore we see from YEHOVAH's Word that hell fire is NOT held
over the head of every individual to force him INTO accepting
Yeshua the Messiah as his personal Savior -- it is NOT a threat of pain
and eternal punishING that the Merciful and All-Powerful Eternal
God is levying against those of Israel who refuse to hear His Gospel -- but
a final judgment, a doing-away-with the individuals of Israel who REJECT
Him AFTER they have received a knowledge of His truth.
The time when the REAL FEAR OF A REAL HELL FIRE comes on an
individual is AFTER he has sinned willfully against the knowledge
of YEHOVAH's truth that has been opened to his mind!
How Hell Fire Works!
Long ago YEHOVAH God set an example in His Word of what this fire is
like, how it works, and what the result of it is. "Even as Sodom
and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving
themselves over to fornication, and going after strange [homosexual] flesh,
are set forth for an EXAMPLE, SUFFERING VENGEANCE of ETERNAL FIRE"
(Jude 7). Sodom and Gomorrah, the two sinful cities in the valley
of the Jordan by the Dead Sea suffered, as you can read the
account in Genesis 19, from a great fire that fell from heaven
CONSUMING everything it fell upon. All the people in those cities
were BURNED TO DEATH. The cities themselves were CONSUMED and ARE
NOT THERE FOR US TO SEE TODAY!
But they are NOT STILL BURNING! They have suffered as an
EXAMPLE of the vengeance of YEHOVAH's ETERNAL FIRE.
THEY ARE BURNED UP. The eternity of this fire is its
EVERLASTING EFFECT!
YEHOVAH God explains that this is going to be exactly the penalty
for those Israelites who insist on disobedience to Him. "For, behold, the
day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea,
and all [of Israel] that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that
cometh shall BURN THEM UP, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall
LEAVE THEM NEITHER ROOT NOR BRANCH....And ye [those Israelites who become
the Sons of YEHOVAH God in His Kingdom] 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" (Malachi 4:1, 3).
When physical bodies come into contact with flame they burn
up! David very graphically describes this in the Psalms. "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 (Psalm 37:20).
YES, THAT IS WHAT YEHOVAH GOD SAYS! Very plain and easy to
understand! There is no mystery about it, no strange fire that
burns forever and yet does not consume anything. No sadistic God
on high who desires to execute pain on an Israelite body forever
because of sins committed over a period of a few years. Only a
loving God Who, after offering one of His people Israel His very own spirit
and mind and power determines to put that individual out of his
misery when that simple human being finally rebels against his
Creator and refuses to hear any of His advice and to use any of
His power.
There is a VERY REAL HELL FIRE -- A VERY REAL PAIN -- A VERY
REAL DEATH! "He [of Israel] that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I
will be his God, and he shall be my son [born into the very
Kingdom of YEHOVAH God -- this is the purpose of life, the plan of
creation from the beginning, the reason those of Israel draw breath now].
But the fearful, the unbelieving, and the abominable, and
murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and
all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with
fire and brimstone [gehenna-hell]: which is [BY YEHOVAH'S OWN
INTERPRETATION, NOT BY THE IMAGINATION OF MANKIND] the SECOND
DEATH" (Revelation 21:7-8).
Whom You Really Need to Fear!
YEHOVAH God offers salvation to His people
Israel, not suffering! You do not need to fear
men's imaginations. You do not need to fear the unreasoning
tortures of an ever-burning hell, but you DO need to have a
HEALTHY RESPECT for the One Individual in all creation Who is
ABLE TO SAVE YOU from being BURNED UP in a lake of fire -- gehenna-hell -- AND GRANT YOU LIFE FOREVER WITH HIM IN HIS
KINGDOM!
"And fear NOT them which kill the body [those who kill and
execute YEHOVAH's chosen people of Israel, making them martyrs because they
believe the truth of YEHOVAH God], but are NOT ABLE to kill the soul [in
Luke's account the word is "life"]: but rather FEAR HIM [fear
YEHOVAH God, not hell or the Devil] which IS ABLE TO DESTROY BOTH SOUL
AND BODY IN [gehenna-] hell" (Matthew 10:28).
Do not fear the imaginations of ignorant men's minds. Do not
fear that the Devil will plunge you into torture for eternity.
But DO begin to see how powerful and loving and reasonable and
true your Creator really is. Begin to have that RESPECT and AWE
-- that proper fear, respect and honor due to the greatest Power
in the universe -- that fear that is the beginning of wisdom, not
the beginning of terror.
YEHOVAH God Is Love -- Justice!
The primary reason so many men and organizations of men
have a false conception of "hell" is that they view the doctrine of hell
just as an isolated doctrine. They fail to look at the overall purpose of
YEHOVAH God in putting Adamic man on this earth, of offering him the gift of
eternal life for obedience, or of everlasting punishment (not punishing) for
disobedience.
YEHOVAH God created man in His own image and
likeness (Genesis 1:26). In the Garden of Eden, He told Adam the way that would
lead to eternal life. Then He told Adam that doing the wrong thing -- eating
of the fruit of the tree which YEHOVAH had forbidden -- would lead to death
(Genesis 2:17). But Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44), told Eve, "Ye
shall not surely die" (Genesis 3:4). Man has been believing that lie -- of being born with immortality within
himself -- ever since!
YEHOVAH's purpose is to develop holy, righteous character in His people
Israel which
would make them fit for eternal life. YEHOVAH God gave ancient
Israel His commandments, "that it might be well with them, and with their
children for ever" (Deuteronomy 5:29). YEHOVAH's decrees are always for Israel's good. They are not designed as
arbitrary decrees which YEHOVAH God has set in order to have some excuse for
plunging His people into flames of fire! Where do men get such ideas about YEHOVAH
God? Certainly not from the Bible!
YEHOVAH God created Adamic man in His own image in order that the line of
Adam might be
brought to the place where YEHOVAH could entrust it with the precious gift
of eternal life. Notice that YEHOVAH God offered Adam and Eve life on
one hand, and death on the other.
If some of YEHOVAH's people Israel would rebel against YEHOVAH God and make it
impossible for YEHOVAH to entrust them with eternal life -- knowing
that they would abuse that life -- then the kindest thing that
YEHOVAH could do would be to let them die. Then, stubborn, sinning
Israelites
would be unable to bring any further misery on themselves or others by their
wrong ways. They would just cease to exist, and thus would not interfere with
the happiness of others who were found worthy of eternal life.
This is exactly what YEHOVAH God said would happen to
Adam and Eve if they disobeyed! The reward of eternal life for obedience --
and of death -- eternal death -- for disobedience is stressed all
through your Bible.
Only this is consistent with the Scriptures, and with
YEHOVAH's plan and purpose for His people Israel -- and His character of supreme love! Yet
YEHOVAH God will not, because of His infinite love, take away anyone's life
because of ignorance or weakness, but because they willfully and knowingly
refuse to obey their Creator.
The warning of a hell fire should be a fearful warning to
those of Israel who know YEHOVAH's truth and still refuse to obey it! It should
bring a sober realization that unless we of Israel surrender to YEHOVAH's will and His
way of love, and refuse to let anything turn us aside, YEHOVAH God will take
away forever the life He has given us!
Seek this God of truth, believe His Word, and His Word ONLY!
Ask of this great God and He will grant to you the Spirit of LOVE
and of POWER and of a SOUND MIND!
|
Hope of
Israel Ministries -- Preparing the Way for the Return of
YEHOVAH God and His Messiah! |
